Chapter 1
The sounds of combat rang out on the field as two masses of men and women battled for control of this field. Jon Crier was in the middle of the field hacking away at the enemy LARPER's with a rattan sword. He was the last one out of his platoon; the rest had fallen early in the battle. He was doing pretty well, having cut down dozens of foes. He slammed his sword into the side of the head an enemy, and slammed it again into the gut of another.
He turned around to glimpse a sword flying through the air. It smashed right into a face and knocked him to the ground. He tried to get up but the pain in his head countered that idea. After that idea he decided to lie on the ground and let the pain drift away. He closed his eyes and almost drifted off to sleep in the quietness of the field. Wait quietness?
Jon sat up suddenly to find a sword at his throat and a woman holding it. She had long dark hair, creamy skin, and sharp blue eyes. She was wearing a set of armor that looked like it belonged to royalty. Even through the armor you could tell this woman had a hell of a body. She was saying something but Jon must have been ignoring her because she smacked him in the side of the head, with the flat side of the sword. It was a quick blow but hurt like hell.
Jon put his hand up to the side of his head. He looked at the woman. "What did you do that for?"
"You were staring at my body, and ignoring me." The woman said, still holding the sword at Jon's throat. "Now tell me, Plegian, are you a bandit or an assassin?"
"What did you call me?" Jon asked a look of pure confusion on his face. "Where am I?"
"I called you what you are Plegian." The woman said. "And don't act like you don't know you are in the Halidom of Ylisse."
"I have no fucking clue what you are talking about. I think you are crazy and this is some massive joke." Jon said pushing the sword away and getting up. The woman pulled the sword but back kept unsheathed just in case. "I am in some field in the middle of nowhere, right? And my friends are watching me from the bushes. Ok, very funny guys but I have to be at work in the morning so get me the fuck out of here."
"I have no idea if this is a joke or not." The woman said, sheathing the sword after seeing Jon wasn't a threat. "But you are in Ylisse, and I can't just let you wander. I have to take you back to Ylisstol."
"That does seem like the best course of action." Jon said. He looked down at his armor. It was a mix of leather and steel to allow for mobility. "I could use new armor too."
"I don't think you will be going anywhere." Jon turned around to see a small group of men, about 5 people, walking out of the bushes. Each one had a weapon in his hand. The leader was holding a spear. Three of the men had swords while the last had a large axe. They all had armor on that seemed to be scavenged from many different battles.
"I think I will go where I want to." Jon flashed a sarcastic smile. "Last time I checked I am a free person, so please go away."
The leader stopped smiling and stared at Jon. "Kill him last, I want him to see his friend here die."
The men charged at the woman while the one with the axe charged Jon. He swung his axe with enough force to fell a tree in a single blow but Jon side stepped the blow and punched the man in the side of the head. The axe man went down in a daze. Before he could get up Jon kneed him again in the side of the head, knocking him out this time.
Jon looked over to the woman to see her holding her own against the men. Still Jon had to try to help. He hefted the heavy axe and let it rest on his shoulder. He looked at the leader and his eyes widened.
He lifted the axe up over his head and prepared to throw it. The leader was about 10 feet away. Close enough for Jon to not miss. Taking a deep breath, Jon cocked the axe back and threw it at the leader.
It hit the leader in the side of the body and took him off his feet. The leader hit the ground with a scream that rang out through the countryside. The other bandits stopped to see what happened and the woman slayed every single one of them in quick succession.
Jon walked over to the leader who was still alive but severely injured. Jon took one look at the man and all of the blood, and doubled over. The axe was sticking into the side of the man who was close to death. He took one look at Jon and smiled.
"I got killed by a lad who can't stand the sight of blood." The man continued to smile even as he slowly died. Jon closed the dead man's eyes and took the axe out of his body. The woman came over wiping the blood off of her sword.
"You killed him?" Jon nodded. The woman put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. It gets a lot easier to handle."
"I hope it does." Jon picked up the dead man's spear. He weighed it in his hand and decided that it felt nice. "I like this weapon. Though I think I will use the sword."
"I am Lucina by the way." The woman held out her hand. Jon eyed the gesture with suspicion at first but accepted the handshake. Lucina had a grip that said there was strength within that body.
"I am Jon Crier." Jon let go of her hand and picked up one of the swords lying on the ground. It was a simple blade but it would do the trick. "Now I suggest we go to Ylisstol, but you are in charge here."
"Ylisstol is only about an hour away if we move with quickness." Jon nodded to her and she took off. Jon followed close behind trying his best to keep up.
It was a tiring effort but Jon kept up with Lucina all the way to Ylisstol. Ylisstol was a beautiful city towering above everything else around it. It was like a beacon with the sun glittering off of it. Lucina snapped her fingers.
"I have to take you to the commander. There he will decide where to put you." Lucina walked towards the front doors. Jon grabbed her arm.
"When did I sing up for the military?" Jon asked, angry that he wasn't consulted. "Im not saying I won't go through with it, but you should have asked."
"Better I decided for you outsider." Lucina said and ripped her arm away. Jon felt bad for yelling at her but kept it to himself. He followed through the gates and to the military base. She led him straight to the commander.
The commander was a mountain of a man in heavy steel armor. A hammer was strapped to his back. Lucina said something to him while Jon was standing back politely. He walked up to Jon and looked him over. "Yes he will do. I will place him with your platoon."
"Why?" Lucina asked confused, clearly not wanting Jon to come along. "He would be better off in a different squad."
"Well he is yours. Everywhere else is full." The commander went back over to Lucina. "Take him to the smith and get him situated. Sergeant Grom will be waiting."
Lucina nodded but the look on her face said she wasn't too excited about the decision. She rushed pass Jon who stumbled backwards avoiding her. He struggled to catch up to her as they neared the smithy.
Lucina suddenly stopped causing a fast moving Jon to smash into her, nearly causing them both to fall. He put his hands in apology after Lucina gave him an angry look.
The smith stepped out from behind a small table he was working at. He looked up at Lucina and Jon. "Which one of you is getting outfitted today?"
Jon stepped forward. "I am sir."
"Well step over here to I get a good look at you." Jon stepped forward and the smithy stared closely at Jon. He checked every inch of him before moving over to an armor rack. He picked a suit of armor out from the rack. It was similar to the one Jon had on. "This should fit."
Jon took a few minutes to put on the armor to the annoyance of Lucina. It did fit, quite comfortably. "Thank you for the armor, sir."
The smith just nodded and handed Jon a new sword. It looked the same but Jon could tell it was made of steel. Jon nodded thanks and followed Lucina down a series of hallways. The finally ended up in a small field where a group of people were standing. Lucina walked up to them like they were friends, which Jon suspected they were. Jon stayed a few yards back waiting for the sergeant to appear.
One of the friends started walking towards Jon. He was about six feet tall with long blonde hair and dark eyes. His skin was the color of honey. A bow was strapped to his back. He stopped in front of Jon with a smile on his face. "Hi, I am Elias. I am a friend of Lucina's."
"I am Jon." Jon nodded to the man and continued to look for the sergeant. "Why are you the only to come over and say hello?"
"The rest of the group is trying to figure out if you are and enemy or ally. I am just a nice guy and think I should at least say hello." Elias looked back at the group. "Would like to come meet them?"
"I guess." Jon said and followed Elias back over to the group. He noticed the two armored males, Lucina, and one other bowman, who happened to be female. The armored males gave Jon a cold stare while the bowman seemed to be indifferent.
"The two males are Jory and William. The bowman is Carlotta. You already know Lucina." Elias pointed everyone out. "Everybody this is Jon."
"I already don't like him." said a voice from behind the group. Everybody turned around to see a fully armored man with a frown on his face. "I am Sergeant Grom. I will train you maggots into better soldier's not just fighters. Now get running."
Everybody took off running behind Sergeant Grom as he surged ahead. After about the fifth mile, the group started to thin out. Jory and William collapsed to the ground. The tenth mile and the bowmen dropped out. This left Lucina and Jon.
Jon was starting to fall back when he saw the look on Lucina's face. The one of a smug victory. Jon took a deep breath and continued running, keeping pace with Grom. After the 11th mile, Lucina stopped. Grom stopped there too along with Jon who looked at Lucina.
Grom took a few breaths and motioned for everyone to follow him back to the practice area. They all obeyed and followed him back at an extremely slow pace. Grom handed each one of them a flask.
They all drank it and got a huge burst of energy. Grom had everyone line up. "This is where I will test your combat skills."
"Sir if I may, I would like to challenge Jon to a practice duel." Lucina stepped forward. Grom looked at the both of them and nodded.
"Sir I do not think is a fair fight." Jon said speaking up. "I don't have any training."
"War isn't fair. Now take this practice sword." Grom tossed a wooden sword to the both of them. Jon moved to the center of the ring.
Lucina struck first. The blow landed on Jon's arm, but Jon ignored it. Lucina moved closer to go for a blow to the body and Jon blocked it just in time. He struck at her arm and the blow missed a bit and smashed into her hand. Lucina yelped but continued to fight.
Jon scanned his brain for all of that sword training he took and LARPING he did. He blocked another incoming blow and then another. It went on like this for about 10 minutes when Lucina smashed the wooden sword into Jon's head.
Jon saw stars and fell to the ground with a thud. He saw the blood leaking from his face to the ground. Still he couldn't give up.
He lifted himself up and struck at Lucina, using his good eye to fight. The other eye was being clouded by blood. Lucina wasn't expecting the blow and it got her on the leg. She jumped back and started to fight again.
Jon took more blows than he did before. A few smashed into his knee causing him to collapse to one knee. Grom went to step in but Jon held up his hand. He stood up and let out a battle cry.
He launched a flurry of blows that caught Lucina along the arms and legs. She blocked one of the blows and stepped back from flurry. Jon tried to limp after her but he took another blow to the head on the other side. Jon didn't fall down this time. He put his hand up to his head and felt the blood running down his face again.
He looked around as best he could and fell to the ground. He tried to keep his eyes open, but felt them close. The last thing he saw was Lucina with a horrified look on her face.
