Part I- Love of Dusk

"With this Tempest Blade, I hereby swear unto you my eternal love and loyalty." With quivering hands, Leonardo handed me the elegant blade. His hands lingered over mine, as if to emphasize the strength of his words. "What say you, Edward?"

The pacific voice that Leonardo uttered imbued into me just how deeply he felt for me. His sincerity piercing my heart, I could no longer resist this passion of mine. "Yes. I vow to take care of this gift you have given me, and I will use it to slay many a foe."

"You have no idea how your words placate me," Leonardo spoke, kissing my hands. "May we both see our beloved Daein restored to its former glory."

With these reassuring words, I had no doubt that the two of us could see the Daein we once knew – the Daein in which we cherished each other's company in peace. It fazed me, then, when soon after King Pelleas' coronation, Daein did not rebuild but instead engaged in another war. In the coming battles, I could not fathom what in all of Tellius possessed King Pelleas to ignore the plight of his people – and side with the despicable Begnion Empire, no less! It pained me not only to see our general Micaiah suffer, but also realize that the continuation of this senseless war would hasten the end of my homeland.

I absolutely had to let Micaiah know I will not tolerate any of it. As I made my way for her bedroom, with my hand on the doorknob, I heard the wails of Queen Almedha. "You signed a blood pact with the senate after you were crowned! That's why you've been so scared, so terrified as of late. Oh, my son… I knew that Izuka could not be trusted."

"I'm so sorry, everyone…" King Pelleas' sorrow echoed through the door. "I had no idea… Now it's all because of me that everyone in Daein is going to die."

"What about asking for help outside Daein?" Tauroneo suggested. "If we make our case to General Ike, we can surely overcome the Begnion senate."

"That's not an option," King Pelleas replied. "If we do anything that the senate doesn't care for, the blood pact will take effect."

"Yet if we send all of our troops to war, then the Laguz Alliance is going to annihilate our forces anyway," Sothe cut in. "So, regardless of what we do, a lot of Daein citizens are going to die."

"It seems that I've been crowned the last king of Daein." I heard Pelleas fall hard onto the floor and lament loudly. "There's nothing that can be done about the blood pact."

At the realization of King Pelleas' words, my heart quickly fell into despair. Unable to hear any more of the conversation, I ran as fast as I could to my bedroom. I felt utter shame for hating King Pelleas so much without understanding what he went through. To bear the burden of leading a country destined for demise… I would be cruel to hate a man who wanted only what was best for his people.

As I arrived at my bedroom, I leaned my back against the door and cried. The thought that my countrymen and I could soon be massacred brought unto me a profound fear. Wanting nothing more than to get rid of this despair, I entered my bedroom, shocked to see a blonde archer sitting on my bed.

"Leonardo…" I could think of nothing else to say – not that my flood of tears would let me, anyway.

"You don't look good." Leonardo patted the bed as a request for me to sit next to him – a request than I gladly granted. "What's wrong?"

"I just heard why King Pelleas chose to enter Daein in this war."

"And?"

"Apparently, Izuka tricked the king into signing a blood pact with the Begnion senate. If King Pelleas does anything at all to irritate the empire, then the Daein populace will slowly die off."

"That's the worst thing I've ever heard! We've got to do our part, then, to defend Daein with everything we've got."

"But, Leonardo! We're going to die in a war that shouldn't concern us, and in the worst possible way!"

"No, we're not." Leonardo assured me as he hugged my head, drenched with tears. "Don't you remember our promise to see the complete restoration of Daein?"

"How could I forget when you gave me the precious Tempest Blade, swearing your love upon it?"

To further mollify my emotions, Leonardo caressed my face, leading it into a gentle kiss. The gentle kiss lead from one thing to another, and before I knew it, I felt Leonardo's warm breath on my collarbone.

"Fear nothing, dear Edward," Leonardo reassured as his nude flesh rubbed against mine. "I swear upon Ashera's name that we will stay together for an eternity. Both of us, safe and sound… That's how I want this war to end."

"Leonardo… Ah…" As I ushered Leonardo in with my entire body, he sent through me a wave of pleasure. "I vow to the goddess that I will never love anyone but you. Let's stay together – forever and ever."

The night I shared with Leonardo passed into morning, a morning that took on an entirely different mood. With the feeling of Leonardo's love lingering within me, and with my Tempest Blade at the ready, I stood behind the door of Daein Keep alongside my fellow soldiers. I would not let a single laguz into this keep and hamper my country's ability to liberate itself.

To my chagrin, however, I did not see my beloved Leonardo anywhere in the vicinity. Heck, for that matter, there was not an archer to be found! Where could they be?

"They'll be here any minute, now," Tauroneo, who stood to my right, warned. "They say that General Ike himself will be here, commanding the forces."

"The famed Hero of Crimea, and father of Sothe's children…" I spoke, with my Tempest Blade shaking in my hand. "Do you think I'm going to meet him in battle?"

"I don't know. You will be meeting a lot of laguz, that's for sure. Watch out for the hawk laguz in particular; their great mobility allows them to traverse the fences and possibly infiltrate the keep."

"Oh, that reminds me. Where are our archers? Someone's going to need to man the ballistae."

"They're already on the top, outdoor floor of the keep," Zihark answered. "King Pelleas ordered them there, saying that the archers will be able to get a better aim at our enemies from there."

"That's a smart strategy," I remarked, more to hide how distraught I felt rather than how clever the strategy actually was. What if something happened to Leonardo while I cut down my foes with the Tempest Blade? What if the hawk soldiers got to him before I did? What if-

"The enemies have arrived!" Micaiah's announcement pulled me from my thoughts. "Over the top!"

"Yoicks!" I barely avoided the stampede of my eager teammates and the laguz claws that soon followed. "I never thought I'd be so scared to see so many kitties!"

"Just focus on attacking them as often as you can." Nolan spoke as he severed the wings of a hawk. "They eventually won't have the energy to stay in animal form."

"The problem is, there are so many!" Meg seemed to aimlessly flail her sword. "I'd say we're outnumbered 10-to-1."

"At least there are not that many hawk laguz," Aran remarked, impaling the gut of a nearby tiger laguz. "We don't have that many archers left to man the ballistae."

Aran's last comment sent chills of concern throughout my body. When I looked overhead to see the top floor, I felt horrified to learn that he was right. I unfortunately could not see that blonde head from where I stood, so I resolved to make my way up there – come hell or high water.

"Leonardo! Where are you?" I hollered right before three cats lunged at me. I swung the Tempest Blade in irritation, and a shock wave smattered the cats. "Out of my way!"

"Edward…" Tauroneo slayed a hawk on his way to me. "You were wondering if you were going to face General Ike in battle, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Well, don't look now, but he's coming in your direction." Tauroneo pointed south, where sure enough, I saw the renowned blue-haired general. Not only that, but more enemy beorc began to appear on the battlefield. One that caught my eye in particular was the raven-haired tactician, Soren, whose close proximity to Ike ruffled my feathers. It was simply disgusting that the man who is responsible for the ruination of Daein could have his soulmate within arms reach, while I didn't even know if mine was alive. Unable to tolerate such tripe, I raced for the ledge from which I knew I could attack the general.

"Edward, no!" Tauroneo futilely attempted to stop me. "You can't take on General Ike all by yourself!"

"You bastard!" I swung the Tempest Blade, triggering a shock wave down the ledge. With more swings, I hollered, "You're going to pay for everything you've done to Daein!"

"Argh…" Ike groaned, thankfully debilitated by the shock waves.

"Ike!" Soren caught his boyfriend from falling.

"No! General Ike has fallen!" Titania, the vice-commander, took Ike upon her horse.

"Titania, I'm fine. I just need to rest a little, that's all."

"Godspeed to you…" Soren spoke as Titania and Ike trailed off. Then, turning his attention to me, he snarled. "I'm going to make you pay for what you've done to Ike. You better pray to the goddess in what little time I'm going to let you live. Yah!"

I've heard stories of the Greil Mercenaries' tactician toppling buildings with his wind magic, and could tell from the gust of Arcwind that such stories were not unfounded. Unable to keep my balance, I fell on my backside, weakened from the gust. Before he could launch another Arcwind at me, one that would surely ensure my demise, I heard Micaiah shout, "They're infiltrating the keep! All soldiers, fall back!"

"I better join my allies, then." Soren took off in a huff. "Count yourself lucky that I spared you, boy."

I knew that I couldn't let such a lethal soldier into the Daein keep and ruin any chances of us breaking the blood pact. Yet Micaiah's next command stopped me in my tracks. "No, Edward, you're going to help me find survivors. In fact, I've ordered all of my old friends to do the same thing."

I wasn't sure what to make of Micaiah's order, but it reminded me of my need to locate Leonardo. As Jill surveyed the area, I called out to her, "Hey, Jill, you got a minute?"

"Yeah, sure. What do you need?"

"Take me up to the top floor."

"If you're worried about me, that's fine. I can search up there myself."

"There's a certain archer that I have to look for. Please."

"Okay, then." Jill told me as I mounted her wyvern. "If you insist."

"Thank you." It was quite evident from what I saw that our archers were nearly annihilated. Almost no soldiers moved on the top floor, and corpses lay on top of each other in heaps. It worried me greatly that Leonardo could be at the bottom of such a heap, and I could never find out his fate.

"Hey, Edward!" I heard Laura call out to me. "Come see this!"

"What is it?" I asked as I jumped from Jill's wyvern, hoping that Laura found Leonardo alive. "What did you find?"

"Actually, I don't know if you really want to see this…"

"No, please! Tell me."

"Oh, dear Ashera!" Laura began to cry into Aran's shoulder – an action that did not reassure me at all. What brought more dread to my heart, however, was what I saw next, on top of a vast pile of archer corpses.

There, in the midst of such bloodshed, lay the lifeless body of my dear Leonardo.

I wished to Ashera that what I saw was a complete falsehood, and if I just slapped myself silly, then this ghoulish nightmare would end. I stooped down to reclaim the body of my beloved and attempted to shake him awake. "Leonardo… Leonardo, wake up! It's me, Edward. Laura, heal him right away!"

The lack of a response sunk my heart further into agony. Dear Ashera, this could not be true, could it? You're going to awake me from this horrific dream and keep Leonardo by my side forever, right?

"Edward…" Fiona placed her hands on my shoulders in an attempt to calm me. "He's already…"

"No…" I held Leonardo close to me, as if to revive him with my body heat. Coupled with the biting temperatures, my strident cries of anguish tore at my throat. "This… This can't be true! Leonardo!"

"If you care to know," Fiona began, "I saw the face of the person who killed him. She was a blue-haired swordsmaster who wielded a magic sword. She attacked him from under the ledge with the shock waves."

"I swear upon all that is good…" I used Fiona as a crutch to get up, "that if I meet her in battle again, I will rend her to ribbons with this Tempest Blade. She will receive no mercy nor any relief from pain whatsoever."

With these words, I dedicated my life to finding the demon who robbed me of my most precious Leonardo. Surely, in this next battle against General Ike and his Laguz Alliance, I would meet the swordsmaster. Not only that, but we had the Prince Kurthnaga of Goldoa on our side, which would surely help slaughter the savages that continue to burden Daein. Add that to Queen Nailah, and I could fight in a war that embroiled all Tellius' nations. The chaotic scenery of this battle accentuated my thirst for revenge perfectly.

"Come at me!" I taunted the Laguz Alliance as I raced for the heart of the Laguz Alliance. "Blue-haired swordmaster, show yourself!"

"Edward, haven't you learned your lesson? You can't just storm the front lines like that!" Nolan scolded me – a scolding that I readily ignored. I don't have the time for nagging, not when I had to invest all my concentration on my current goal – and avoiding anything that could hamper me, such as the rumbling Thoron bolt that struck two feet in front of me.

"Yeowch!" I exclaimed as a shower of Thoron sparks rained upon me. That was odd; the Laguz Alliance wasn't exactly known for its thunder mages. Moreover, I could think of only one possible person that could use the powerful Thoron spell, and she stood before me with a determined hand. "Ilyana! Where in Tellius have you been all this time? I've missed you so much! Why the heck did you leave Daein?"

"Sorry for leaving without a word, but… my merchant caravan and I have deep friendships with Ike. I am fighting for the Laguz Alliance now."

"Does that mean… we're enemies now?"

"…If you want to put it that way, yes. Watch your step!" Ilyana warned before launching Thoron at me again.

"Argh!" The bolt, while it did not hit me directly, scattered a rain of painful sparks upon me. As if Leonardo's abrupt death weren't enough, the fact that Ilyana consciously attacked me couldn't be any worse. Apart from Leonardo, she was my closest friend on the Dawn Brigade. She is the only other person I've ever told about my relationship with Leonardo, and without her, I wouldn't have had the will to fight when Leonardo did not accompany me to battle. And now, she's siding with the loathsome Laguz Alliance? "I thought we were friends! Don't you value your deep friendship with me at all?"

"You know that I wouldn't be alive without my caravan!" Ilyana shouted through tears, her hand ready for another Thoron shot. "How could I deny their wishes, after all they've done for me? And you! Fight me, damn you!"

"I won't." I refused, dropping my Tempest Blade. "I will not lose another friend, even if said friend is intent on having my head."

"G-Gah…" Ilyana's hand wavered in the air, as if to summon an approaching flash of light. As the light resonated through the battlefield, I suddenly developed a migraine, and nausea surged through my body.

"Great Scot, what was that?" King Pelleas halted his Verrine attack to search for the light's source.

"It can't be…" Prince Kurthnaga, who appeared to know more about the light than anyone, commanded, "Everyone! Duck right now!"

As the power of the light intensified, instilling nausea in just about every soldier on the battlefield, my consciousness decided to shut down. The last sight I remember before fainting was the sight of my comrades suffering the same fate as I.