Fire Emblem 7 fan-fiction The Story of Mark: The Tactical Edge

In a place far away, a place not of this world, lies the continent of Elibe. It was once a land where 2 species coexisted and lived in harmony. Humans...and Dragons. But sadly, peace did not last. Humans, corrupted by greed and domination, began to despise and fear their dragon neighbors. The inevitable soon came... WAR... A war that would last scores of years, bringing destruction and calamity throughout the entire continent. A war that would be aptly named the Scouring.

Overcome by the sheer might of the Dragons, Elibe and its people suffered defeat after bloody defeat. Until...a miracle. The separate continents of Elibe, realizing that doom was nearing, formed an alliance...with this alliance came new hope. Humans knew that they could never defeat the Dragons with their own strength, but what to do?

The answer came to them in the forms of weapons... Divine weapons, infused with enormous amounts of Sacred magical power, a power that could pierce through the iron-like scales of their dragon foes with ease. With these weapons 8 human warriors, 1 chosen from each of the 8 corners of Elibe, these 8 led the people of Elibe to much needed victories against the Dragons. Yet as great as the victories came, they came with a price.

As the warriors of the Sacred weapons fought against the might of the Dragons, the amount of power from the clashes were so great, that the land itself was changed because of it. Thus began the Phenomena known as the Ending Winter. Extreme cold enveloped Elibe, causing the earth itself to respond, using its magic to correct the imbalance... Because the Dragons relied on magic of the earth as the source of their great power, they began to weaken... Thus the fate of the Dragons was sealed...The Humans finally won the upper hand, eventually dealing the last blow in what was the final battle of the long and costly war...

Having lost the war, the Dragons fled in fear of their lives. Having nowhere to go, they retreated using a portal, a doorway to another world, a portal they called the Dragon's gate. But not all were able to escape. Some were too far away and were slain before they could reach safety.

But some, ones that still kept the idea of peace in their hearts, begged and prayed to the Divine Dragons for help. Hearing their cry, the Gods gave the peace-lovers one last parting gift. A land hidden away deep into the depths of the Nabata Desert, where Humans and Dragons could coexist peacefully, as they once had since the beginning of time. The land was called Arcadia, and It became a refuge for those wishing for peace again.

Meanwhile the Humans celebrated their great victory over the Dragons. But Amidst the joy, The 8 Hero Warriors disused what should be done with the Sacred Weapons. They all agreed unanimously... the weapons, possessing power that could ultimately destroy the whole continent, must be hidden so their powers could never be abused. The Heroes, hid their weapons in the most difficult places possible, putting traps that would make thieves think twice about attempting to loot the treasure inside. (If they were somehow lucky enough to locate the hiding place...)

After keeping their solemn oath, the 8 Heroes returned to their homelands and became the leaders of newly founded countries. The Heroes and countries are as follows...

Harmut : The leader of the 8 Heroes and the wielder of the sword Eckesachs, returned to the south-east of Elibe and became the first king of the country of Bern. Over time, Bern would grow to become the most powerful of all the countries of Elibe, as well as the most ambitious, unfortunately...

Elimine : The user of the tome Aureola, returned home where she was given the title of Saint by her people, soon founding the country of Etruria. Rivaling the mighty Bern, Etruria became the most advanced country, particularly in thanks to the founding of the Saint Elimine Church...

Roland : The wielder of the sword Durandal, united the many territories of his homeland into a federation today known as Lycia. Each territory is ruled by a marquess, who answers to that territories council. The most prominent territory is currently Ostia...

Barigan : The wielder of the lance Maltet, seeing how his homeland had been ravaged the most by the Endless Winter, made himself Lord of Ilia. The land is mostly barren of crops due to the cold, causing Ilia to become a land of mercenaries and scholars, who offer their abilities to Elibe as resources for their country...

Hanon : The wielder of the bow Mulagir, returned to her home the same as she had left. She vowed to keep the oath of the nomads, that all men should be free to rule themselves. She refused to become ruler, instead letting her people stay as tribes. The country now called Sacea, consists of 3 main tribes, the Kutolah, the Djute, and the Lorca...

Durban : The wielder of the axe Armads, returned to the Western Islands and proclaimed himself the Barbarian King. The only one of the Heroes to break the oath, He used the power of Armads to conquer all 3 of the Western Islands. Seeing how he had broken the oath, the combined forces of Bern and Etruria invaded the Islands, and Durban was supposedly killed in battle. (Armads became the death of him...) The Islands are now colonized by Etruria, but "ruled" by pirates...

Athos : The user of the tome Forblaze, journeyed to the Nabatta desert, where he disappeared without a trace. It was rumored that he was searching for the paradise known as Arcadia, but most people believe it is just a myth of a lost city that never existed. Nonetheless Athos became a legend in his own right, still talked about to this day...

Bramimond : The user of the tome Apocalypse, after sacrificing its body to use the power of Apocalypse, It was last seen at the Island of Valor, "The Dread Island". Valor is filled with ruins and many people refuse to go near it (the ones who have have never returned) , therefore the few people who live there live sheltered lives away from the rest of Elibe...

This story is the tale of 4 heroes. Heroes that when destiny called them together to again save Elibe, they formed an unbreakable bond, an alliance. 3 of these heroes are nobles, born to someday lead their people with their enlightened rule. But one is just a commoner. A simple man, born and raised in a village, who is leaving to find his life's purpose. To follow a dream that he has had his whole existence. Today He leaves home for the first time. On his journey he will find many things. Fame, fortune, friends, adventure...love?...

This is his story, the story of a man who, despite his lowly origins will someday be known in Elibe as a legendary hero, remembered for ages to come...

Our story begins in the country of Ilia, the country of mercenary warriors, in a village called Sevstol. A young man has just bid farewell to his friends and family,and is leaving Sevstol for the first time in his life. But before we continue, we must know his story.
The mans name is Mark. He was born in Bern, into the family of a tavern-keeper, as the middle child (Older Sister -Younger Brother). When he was 3, His father(who was originally from Ilia) inherited the family inn back in the home country. Mark and his family immigrated back to Ilia, to a quaint little town called Sevstol.

Mark loved his new home almost immediately. To a young boy, the snowy mountainside was much lovelier than the crowded city in Bern. Mark had a happy childhood, always making friends with lodgers who came to the inn. As a young boy he loved hearing the stories that visiting battle-scared mercenaries would tell of the great battles they fought against, pirates, bandits, rebels, and even monsters! Or the tales that Pegasus Knights would tell about catching their partner pegasi.

He and other village boys would play with wooden swords, pretending to be fighting in great battles. But eventually playtime was over.

When Mark became 10, he began his training to become a mercenary. Training was brutal, and at first Mark struggled. He thought of giving up, the other boys were just stronger than him. But he wouldn't. He thought of a plan. Instead of focusing on the things he couldn't excel at, he focused on the things he DID excel at. He wasn't as strong or as heavy as the others, buuuttt...he was lighter...

As grew older he found out that he was faster than all the boys in his training group...ALOT Faster. He found out that he was better at dodging, blocking and countering attacks, as opposed to just outright attacking. He practiced jumping off obstacles and walls, and running with armor on. Soon he beat all his sparing partners by letting his opponent tire himself out, then landing winning blows when they made a desperate mistake. He became his commanders most unique trainee, and his friends all envied his abilities.

At age 13, he began thinking of ways he could become stronger. He was already a good fighter but he felt like something was missing. Then one day when listening to a peg knight gossip to her friend about a "cute" scholar she saw in Edessa. Mark thought for a moment then he got an idea. TACTICS! He yelled out loud, startling everyone in the tavern. He left the inn to visit the village elder.

The elder was a man who everyone went to when they had a problem to solve, because he had once been a trainee sage in the Church of Saint Elimine. His house was filled with books that he had aquired in his 70 years of life. Mark was not only happy to find he had a collection of 10 books on battle strategies, but the elder even let him borrow the books whenever he wanted. After studying for a week, Mark had already finished his first book. He had found his missing skill. Mark was already thinking about the future possibilities. What army could refuse a mercenary that knew tactics?

Mark kept studying, but he was neglecting his training! So much that he lost his first sparing match for the first time in 2 years! The other trainees laughed at him, saying that all his time spent reading, helped them kick his ***. Mark hated to admit it but in a way they were right. He had lost to a pegasus knight, and his usual fighting style had no effect considering it was not the rider but the pegasi doing all the hard work. He hadn't trained in almost a month. And he had looked rusty. Was too much studying bad? Mark grinned, "Nah... I'll just have to make a schedule. If I just balance what I do,I know I'll be alright...

Mark set a schedule, one that made sure he balanced both his brains and brawn. Basically he trained from 9:00 to 1:00, took time off for 2 hours, and studied from 3:00 to 7:00. Finding it reasonable, he ended up using it for the next 5 years.

When he turned 18, he surprised everyone by saying he was going to leave the village. His plan was to just go wherever he pleased going from country to country, asking to be hired as a tactician. If he failed he would return home to Sevstol, and just wait to be hired as a mercenary.

Most of the village told him he was making a mistake. Mark was one of the best young fighters in Sevstol,maybe in all of Ilia. Why would he leave when he would be sure to be enlisted if needed? Mark told everyone he wanted to follow his dream of becoming the best tactician in Elibe. He wanted to see the world, and secretly he wanted the freedom to choose who he fought for, if by chance a war ever came.

The village stopped trying to make him stay. The people of Sevstol, loved Mark. They agreed to support him and his goal. And so on the day he was to leave, the entire village came to wish him farewell. They gave him encouraging words as well as provisions.

But his favorite gift came from his tearful mother. She had made him a green hooded piece of clothing, one she said would protect him from harm. It was multi-use, being able to be used as either a cape, a coat, or a cloak. The second gift came from his training master. It was a letter of recommendation from the veteran, and it was to be used if he couldn't find work as a tactician. His last gift was a strange one. The village elder had given him an Iron Lance. ...Mark was puzzled. His choice weapons were his Slim Sword, and a unique type of healing magic the Elder had taught him. Why was he given a weapon he had never used?

The elder said he couldn't explain but he knew that Mark would need it someday, making Mark promise that he would learn to use it. The Elder joked that it could also be used as a sturdy walking staff...Mark politely accepted the gift. He was finally ready to leave, and waving goodbye to everyone, Mark began his journey...a grand adventure that would whisk him farther than he ever dreamed he would go...

Mark made good time his first few days. Frankly he was so excited to be out in the world that he jogged instead of walking. He greeted people he met with a cheerful "how do you do",even if some looked at him like he had a screw loose. Who was this strange lad, all alone in the world?

It was spring time in Elibe, and Mark couldn't help but smile at the beauty of the land that he never had the chance to see. He kept a journal, recording all the new things he was seeing. He pressed flowers, drew small sketches of a waterfall, sang with birds, and shared his lunch with a mother deer and her doe.

A week had passed and Mark was resting in a village before crossing the mountains separating Ilia and Sacae. As he talked to people in the village inn, he was approached by a tough looking man. The man warned him about a band of brigands in the mountains that stole from (and sometimes killed travelers.) He offered to be Mark's guide, since Mark looked a bit "weak" to him. Mark felt insulted...he felt like lashing out ( he had always had a bit of a temper ), but not wanting to make a ruckus, he calmed down and managed to mutter a no thanks to the guide.

Mark left as soon as he could, but not before sending a letter back home to Sevstol, telling everyone he was safe. Mark found crossing the mountains easier than he thought, mostly thanks to the grueling training he had endured back home. He calculated that he could be in Sacae by the next day. The sun was setting, prompting Mark to make camp for the evening. After eating his supper, he soon fell fast asleep...

Hours past...it was now midnight. Mark was sleeping peacefully, until he heard a rock clatter down the hill...Mark slowly woke up... There was no wind... why had the rock fallen? Mark knew there could be only one answer. Someone was up there! Mark feared the worst. Working on a hunch, Mark bolted upright. He quickly doused his fire, picked up his sack of possessions, as well as his weapons, and started to run as fast as he soon as he ran He heard a yell far behind him. "Get him Boys!"...

Fortunately, Mark was smart enough to camp in an area where he could make a safe getaway without being trapped. He knew he could outrun any bandits as long as kept running. But the brigands were no fools either, they seemed to know the mountains like the back of their hand, making Mark use all his mental power to try to outwit them. And Mark did, using techniques he had learned from his books, he strategically found temporary hiding places, waiting for the brigands to give him an escape route.

After 3 hours of Mark's mind game, he had finally made it to the other side of the mountain. He breathed a sigh of relief, but his back was turned from the mountains, just above him a lost bandit saw him. The bandit, who was too far up a mountain cliff to give chase, fired a desperate arrow at Mark. Somehow the arrow nearly found its target, grazing Mark in the arm. Mark cried in pain,as He started to bleed. But he couldn't stop, He had to keep going or he would be killed. He wrapped his wound in a spare shirt and wearily continued.

He had made it to Sacae but he was worried... The brigands might give chase. He hoped and prayed he would survive. But he was feeling faint. Although he had tied his wound, Mark still felt like fainting mostly due to him being tired from the nights escapade. He hiked for another hour before finally falling in a field of grass he hoped would shelter and hide him from harm. As he was loosing consciousness he saw that the sun rising.

He tried to calculate the time, but finally blacked out from exhaustion . Before he lost it, he had heard what sounded like a voice nearby. Thinking that the brigands had now caught up to him, Mark thought to himself ..."So...this is how my journey ends? Dying like a helpless idiot...I ...wanted...to ...at least...die...fighting..."

The Next Morning...

Mark felt himself waking up...He heard a beautiful voice talk to him, the woman asked "Are You awake yet?" Mark thought for a moment as he slowly opened his eyes, and grinned slightly. "As a positive... at least I made it to Heaven..."

End of Prologue 1