(A/N) So this is my first fanfiction. I decided to make it for a game I really loved as a child, and still do. Significant changes are noted within, and explained- besides the ages of the characters. The war of the stones starts earlier than in the actually game (or rather, the beginning signs of the war).

Enjoy. ~ Ancestral Romance

Prologue

It started out as a sunny day. That much she could remember. She thought back to the days- most of them seemed sunny to her as a child. She didn't have many cares back then either. Her biggest worry was when Lyon and Ephriam went off somewhere without her. Yes, now, she'd give anything to have something like that be what bothered her most. There was a particular incident in which she remembered most clearly- a sunny (of course) day when she beat Lyon in a sword duel and Ephriam took him away for the rest of the few hours they could've spent together. She wasn't too happy when they came back and Lyon apologized.

She reminisced on the memory. She couldn't have been more than seven at the time, thinking that the both of them were always out to get her when together. She would've laughed at her childishness if she could delve into her mind further. She wanted to think of more of the old, happy days, but a grotesque bellow shook her from her hypnopompic state.

"Eirika…." A gnarly voice called out to her.

She gave a turn a rolled out of the way before a bonewalker took a slice at her. She swung her rapier straight through the center of the monster. It did not rise again. Thankful, she turned her back to the now pile of bones and leather skin, ready to slice through another. In times of war, it was best one didn't get to think too much whilst on the battlefield: it could lead to an injury that would've been easily avoided. She'd already noted before, that in times of war, it was better to look to the future and not the past. She couldn't afford to make it into a habit. She looked grimly at the amount of monsters she still had to fight. It was only she. No one else was here to help her. When had things become so bad? She couldn't recall the last time she'd had a moment's rest. She was always on the run. She breathed heavily. There was too many this time- she was too unprepared. The clusters of monsters had had less and less time in between their ambushes. General Seth hadn't taught her how to master the use of her rapier to be more efficient during these raids. He'd only given her lessons at her pace, which she found had slowed to a stop a few years back. Her inability made her inefficient, especially when one on many, like she was now.

She never had time to even cleanse her wounds before the next attack. She was tired. She dodged a spear aimed her head. Her movements were lagging behind the speed of what they normally were. She couldn't maneuver around the next arrow that flew at her. It stuck her through the left side of her chest. She choked. She sputtered out blood and looked up at the incoming monsters. Her vision began to fade. In the black spots, she saw the claw of a revenant swipe at her temple. She would never know if it made contact or not.

Lady Eirika of Renais, the fourteen-year-old princess, knew no more.

Erik woke with a sweat. She'd had this reoccurring dream for as long as she could remember. She never could recall the beginning of the dream, just a fog until a name 'Eirika' is drawled across the air in a scratchy voice. From one of her first memories, this was the best thing she came close to, to figuring out who she was. She thought it was just a dream, nothing more. It was where she came up the name of 'Erik' though. If the dream really did have any connection with her past life, before the darkness, she wanted nothing to do with it. Hence why she had taken an abridged version of the name in her dream.

Currently, she has been making her living on a ship with a bunch of pirates and bandits. She couldn't say that the life was an easy one, but it was the only one she's ever known. From the first moment she could remember, she'd lived on the ship. Of course, she knew she wasn't originally with all these burly men, from what the captain told her, they found her floating in the water, like a dead man. They'd pulled her up on the deck and made-do with the medical equipment they had on board. Apparently, her injuries were pretty extensive, she 'should have been dead,' they said. She knew nothing of the abrasions on her body, just scars littering her body. When she did her best to remember, the dream was the only thing she could think of, so she told them to call her Erik. And they did.

The captain was as kind as a man could be for his line of "work". He'd been kind enough to allow her to stay on board, leech meals from him and protect her. She'd asked to stay with him, when they had reached land after a few weeks travel. After he bargained with her to stay for her to work, she relented. She learned the backbreaking work, she began to wield heavy axes, and Erik was forced to do work she had a feeling she would have never done in her previous life. None-the-less, she came to love the life abroad the ship, fighting monsters that appeared on the sea, even helping with the crew to "collect debts" for the captain. Of course, she knew that the "debt collecting" they did wasn't entirely legitimate, but neither were the people whom she collected from. With the gold they collected (or items, in some cases) the captain would take them to some impoverished or barren town and clean out their ale cellars and clean out their shops of needed items. Eventually, it could help the town out. In a twisted way, it was justice, and Erik saw and venerated him for that.

It's been four years since she first became a part of the crew, and now, a steady member, she'd been minimally involved in the bigger of the dealings of all these men. Yes, some were shady figures, but for the most part, they were good men. She could attest to that. However, she didn't really know what the world she was dealing with was like. She never knew that both the metaphorical and physical ships she was on were sinking. Not until today- not until she met the man with the lance at the captain's throat.

The rest of the crew was severely injured. One of the oldest members, one she'd hardly spoke with, lay on the ground, blood leaking from his skull. She processed all this in the small amount of time it took her to scan the room, identify the odd men out and prepare to attack.

There was one problem: the blue haired man who was pointing the steel spear into the captain's neck dropped his weapon upon seeing her. His face was full of disbelief. She couldn't say that the slack-jawed look suited this man in expensive amour- nor did it suit the rest of the men and few women he had with him. Erik held her axe, ready to attack the first person that came near her. She steeled herself for a blow she was ready to receive upon entering the Captain's cabin. Nothing came.

"Is that you?" Erik just narrowed her eyes. 'you' could be anyone. She didn't think she wanted to be the 'you' he thought she was.

"No, I do not know you. Do you have a purpose, man? Or are ye just here to harass some sailors?" She spoke. And the man dropped his weapon and he looked like his eyes were welling up. Some of the men he had with him looked the same. She had no clue what was going on. She bared her teeth and looked over to her captain.

(A/N) A short prologue leading to future chapters, Eirika is in a new life with no recollection of her past. How will the man and his troops react with this meeting? An inspiring song for the prologue is Starting a New Life by Van Morrison. Leaving me a few reviews will help for better chapters. Constructive criticism is appreciated.

~ Ancestral Romance