A/N: For notes, please visit my livejournal account.

It's another Nephenee fic brought to by yours truly. This time, I've decided to alter the Radiant Dawn universe. This thing has been gathering virtual dust for a while... sheesh! One last thing, Tauroneo is this AU's deuteragonist, not the love interest (not that I've picked one because I'm feeling very flexible with that).

Feedback and critiques are always appreciated.

Enjoy!

Prologue

A band of drunken ruffians cornered me into a dead end.

I noticed that a few men started following me when I left the town's bar late at night, and after a while, a couple more joined my original pursuers. I do not know if I had somehow insulted them, or if they were just trying to pick a fight with the new girl in town. Either way, I lead them to a faraway corner to avoid any nasty conflict that could've potentially hurt any innocent passerby. But I wasn't going to let them scare me off.

I inhaled a deep breath before turning around and seeing just how many were behind me. I saw five of them. All of them had a strong build, and although they were unarmed, I wouldn't have been surprised if they could've inflicted a lot of damage on me with just their bare hands. Thankfully, I was armed and armoured; at least I had that advantage if the situation got ugly. Not that I expected that the reason for which they followed me was to make me feel welcomed. And after seeing their eyes, I was completely sure they meant me harm. Despite the darkness that surrounded us, I could clearly see the malicious intentions they had.

One of them started snickering mildly. That very same man took a few steps towards me. I could see that he was having trouble maintaining his balance, this confirmed my assumption that they were indeed drunk – well, at least this one was definitely drunk. Since he did not stop, I tightened my grip on both my steel greatlance and shield. I raised my lance, the tip just a few inches away his from his neck. He gasped the moment he stopped walking.

I used that moment of surprise to flip my lance, and I thrust the butt of my weapon right to the torso of the drunken man in front of me. He moaned in pain as he fell to the ground. A second later, he started vomiting the contents of his stomach. I only wanted to scare him off. Perhaps I applied too much strength if I forced him into that state.

The other four men started to laugh, the opposite reaction I was expecting from them, when they saw their companion on the ground. It was disgusting to hear the mixture of snorting and hiccupping as they laughed. I was starting to regret having reacted so hostile towards them – even if they asked for it. The only thing I accomplished by defending myself was provoking them even further - typical.

When I took a step back, the four of them smirked. Now, all four of them approached me in unison. I flipped my lance once again to threaten them with the sharp end of my weapon. Of course, alcohol clouding their better judgment – if they had any – must've impeded them from registering the fact that they could've gotten hurt if they got to close to me. Like them, I wasn't scared, but I wasn't scared because I had faced much worse: ebon-clad soldiers, beasts... and even dragons. Drunken men in a dark alley didn't scare me, but I wanted to avoid any conflict or attention.

"Why are ya so cold, pretty lady," slurred the man to my left.

"We ain't gonna do nothin' bad to ya," said another one.

"Where are ya from?"

"Isn't it obvious, mate?"

"She ain't a Daein lass, she looks too sweet."

I really didn't like where this was going.

"That she does." They all stopped dangerously close to me, and the only thing keeping them at bay was the tip of my weapon.

"Are ya a Begnion girl, lassie?"

"She don't look stuck-up like one of 'em Begnion folk."

"That's too bad. She must be one of 'em damn Crimeans!" That man pushed my lance aside with his bare hand, and charged clumsily at me. I slammed my shield against his head making him stagger back. Then, I kicked him on the chest without holding back too much, and he fell backwards like a rock. I noticed that he stopped breathing normally, and started wheezing instead. The first thing that came into my mind was how truly glad I was that this happened away from the public eye.

I blocked the man to my left with my shield, and the one to my right with lance. I delivered a blow to the middle man's head with my own helmeted one. His hands shot up to cover his face to stop the bleeding. He also muffled his screaming with his hands. He started running around screaming until he ran right into nearby wall, knocking him unconscious. I saw a small glint of fear in the eyes of the remaining two men, but they continued trying to push me back.

Lucky for me, these guys didn't seem to know squat about fighting, and they were intoxicated, meaning a veteran gal like me had a chance against these big guys.

I raised my lance and shield above my head. The two men I was holding back stumbled forward, almost falling. In one swift motion, I dropped my weapon and shield, and turned around. I quickly grabbed the back of both their necks, and bumped their heads together; the sound from this action had been most sickening. I released my grip on their necks. They both dropped to their knees, and they lost consciousness a moment later.

Before leaving, I went over to the one that was bleeding. I knelt next to him to make sure I didn't crack his skull open. I didn't, but apparently I must've hit him too hard since he had a big wound on his forehead. I couldn't leave with this hanging on my conscience; the man could've been a father. I took out my vulnerary container, dipped my thumb on its medical content, and rubbed the medicine on his wound. The wound started closing after just a moment of applying the vulnerary. I could now leave without too many worries, not that I was about to leave them like that and cross my fingers hoping that they didn't suffer any permanent injuries.

After grabbing my dropped equipment, I ran out of there.

The first thing I did was to contact the elderly doctor that sold me the vulnerary who conducted his business from his modest home. I told him I found five men in need of medical attention because they had been beaten a few streets down. He seemed worried about the situation, and started packing supplies. He asked me if could help him, but I told him that I couldn't due to pressing matters; those pressing matters included not risking the possibility of one of them waking up, recognizing me, and getting me into trouble with the authorities.

"Thanks for yer help," I said.

"Excuse me, miss."

"Yes," I said. I was hoping he wouldn't start small talk since I was in a hurry.

"I met a nice young girl that had that same accent of yours. You wouldn't happen to know her? She also bought medicine from me a few days ago."

Could it be? The trail went cold a week ago, I thought.

"Doctor, was this a short girl with brown hair?" I asked a little too excited.

"Yes. She had pigtails. She was also wearing a ton of armour. I hope a young girl like her isn't looking for a fight, 'tiss dangerous times to be wandering 'round Daein."

"Would ya happen to know where she went?"

"I think she was talking about finding her fiancé near the desert. Kids today are getting married too early," he rambled. "The desert is to the east."

"Thanks for the information." I left before the elderly man had a chance to speak again. It was rude of me to behave in such a manner, but pleasantries were the farthest thing from my mind, especially since I was just attacked.

I had planned to stay the night in that town, but the information I received from the doctor might turn obsolete if I wasted a single moment.

I went to the inn I had been staying on to pick up my belongings: my pouch filled with silver and gold coins, dark cloak, spare lance, and bag full of dried meat.

With my cloak around me, lances strapped to my back, and pouch and bag tied around my waist, I took my leave of that town. And I was glad to have left, the wilderness was much nicer and safer than any Daein settlement I visited since crossing the Crimea-Daein border.

As I headed east, I finally started thinking how ridiculous my situation was, and how I wasn't supposed to be in Daein. A month earlier, my friend and battlefield partner, Brom, left our hometown to sell his crops in Crimea's capital. He asked me to watch over his youngest daughter while he was away – he was concerned because she had tried to run away once before. But despite my vigilance, she managed to escape one night. Without giving it too much though, I left the safety of my village, Ohma, to pursue the daughter of one of my closest friends; leaving my own family to be worried about my safety.

I've known Meg, Brom's daughter, since she was but a wee toddler. The thought of her running around this dangerous country scared me silly. For some reason, Daein wasn't the same as I remembered it from the Mad King's War. Sure, they weren't hospitable back then, after all, I was part of an invasion force. But the hatred and desperation I saw in the eyes of the Daein citizens that figured out I was Crimean was something that wasn't there three years ago. Not that Daein people would receive the warmest of welcome in Crimea, but they wouldn't be treated like… like how Crimeans used to treat the Laguz.

I just hoped that I would find Meg safe and sound. I truly wanted to find her, and get the heck out of Daein... Something big was going to happen, I could feel it.

XXXX

The desert's cold night air made my old bones ache, more than usual whenever I wore my heavy armour. Despite my discomfort, I kept a strong composure in front of my much younger companions. I doubted that the ten ex-soldiers that were accompanying would've judged me too harshly had I let on how the cold air was making me feel, they all knew my prime had been decades ago, and they all knew that I was but a shell of my former self. Maybe it was my pride or my foolishness, but I wouldn't show weakness in front of ten men that were risking their very lives because I had asked them to join me in what could've easily been a trap to lure in possible threats to the Occupation Army.

Perhaps we were all crazy, or at least they were all crazy to follow an old senile soldier to the desert in search for "King Ashnard's son". No... We were desperate. For the first time in three long and dreadful years we received news that could possibly bring hope for Daein's future, and we were ready to act upon anything could've released Daein from the shackles of the oppressive Begnion Empire.

That's why ten former members of King Ashnard's Imperial Guard accompanied me to Daein's most hellish place. It was because we wanted to hope for a better future... or at the very least, stick it to those damn imperials for as long as we could. How I hated Begnion for what they did to my beloved country.

With each passing day, I've started to regret my role in Daein's downfall.

The clanking of our armours filled the silence of the desert. It reminded me of the many marches I've been on my long military career. The sound was like music to my ears, sweet harmonious music. I enjoyed it during the entire trip. It was one of the things that kept me going through the desert, and the sound was a most welcomed distraction from the constant beating the sandstorm was giving us.

On that night, we arrived at the ruins of the desert. It was a most welcomed sight, for me, it meant that we weren't tricked into a trap.

Even though the large structure was clearly in decay due to what I assumed was hundreds of years of lack of maintenance, it was still magnificent to look at. It was tall and wide, it barely had any windows, and the only entrance was pretty minuscule compared to the rest of the building. It seemed perfect for defending something or someone, but at the same time it looked like a perfect place to set up a trap.

When we reached the entrance, I noticed the walls were filled with strange markings I couldn't recognize. I wondered if this building was built by Laguz since its architecture wasn't like any I had seen before.

"Wyvern!" shouted one of the soldiers.

In a matter of seconds, all of them had readied their weapons. It was the typical reaction I came to expect from Daein soldiers: kill first, and ask questions later.

"Stand down," I ordered. They lowered their weapons without hesitation.

I looked up to see that there was indeed a wyvern flying above us. The beast looked like it was tamed since it wasn't screeching wildly, or looking at us like we were its next meal. Even if I couldn't see a rider on top of it, the signs of one being there were obvious. The wyvern landed on the plateau behind us, and I saw not only the beast's rider, but also an extra passenger. The rider was a young red-headed woman armoured-up in crimson plates. I recognized her as the promising daughter of the deceased Lord Shiraham, Jill Fizzart. The passenger was a gray-haired mercenary named Zihark, whom I remembered as a talented swordsman from the Crimean Liberation Army.

They both hopped out of the wyvern to greet us. Jill left her weapon on her mount, but Zihark kept his right hand resting on the hilt of the sheathed sword on his hip. The soldiers didn't lower their guards, if anything, they raised it by circling around Zihark, Jill, and I when they approached me.

"General," Jill greeted me with a genuine smile, "I'm so glad you've made it." She saluted. "I'm looking forward to working with you."

"No need for that," I told her, and she resumed her normal posture.

I extended my arm to her. She looked slightly bewildered, but she recovered after a moment and shook my hand. I shook Zihark's hand as well once I released Jill's.

"Come with us, I believe Lord Izuka should still be up," Jill said. She whistled sharply, signaling her wyvern to fly off to somewhere I didn't see.

When we entered the ruins, the ex-imperial guards that came with me stayed behind as Jill and Zihark lead me deeper into the empty and dark corridors of the massive structure. The halls were undecorated except for some torches that offered orange light in the dark. Sand oozed visibly from the cracks in the walls, slowly filling the floor. I was already sick of all the sand surrounding me, the amount on my person was more than enough to make me uncomfortable. Lord Izuka must've thought that the ruins were a great hideout due to it being so far away from civilization, but it was also an inconvenience to us to be right in the middle of nowhere.

"Tell me, how many forces do we have at our disposal?" I asked.

"Counting us, and the ten men that you just brought, we have a total of thirteen," Zihark replied.

"Lord Izuka has been most careful about recruiting," Jill said. "For the past couple of days, Zihark and I have just been serving as the Prince's bodyguards. But we've increased the chances of success by adding your strength to our cause."

I was flattered by her faith in me, not that I truly believed that I would be such a great asset. I believed that the future of Daein should be left to a younger and more idealistic generation, but I wanted to offer my strength… one last time.

"What's with all the noise!" echoed the high-pitched scream of an old man. "I need absolute silence for my genius to be at its full potential."

"It's him," they moaned in unison.

Although I hadn't seen Lord Izuka in many years, I had no trouble recognizing the voice of the vainest man I ever had the displeasure of meeting.

"Would someone care to explain why aren't the two of you vigilantly watching out for the Prince's safety," said Izuka as he emerged from the shadows, dragging a heavy purple coat through the sandy floor.

Zihark looked away in disgust when Izuka was in our field of vision. On the other hand, Jill straightened up even more.

"Lord Izuka, please accept our apologies. Zihark and I left our post to escort..."

Izuka averted his gaze from Jill to me. He grinned wickedly, revealing his yellow rotting teeth.

"Splendid!" he shouted, interrupting Jill. "It's so good that you've come, General Bryce. Come, come, we have much to discuss. We must shape the future of our grand country."

I cleared my throat before speaking. "You must have me confused, Master Izuka, I'm General Tauroneo," I corrected.

"What! What happened to Bryce?" His grin was replaced by a scowl.

"My old friend died three years ago during the last battle of the war." Because I killed him, I thought with remorse.

"What a pity," said Izuka, wrinkling his features even further.

"Indeed. General Bryce was a great soldier, and a good friend."

"Not that, you fool!" he shouted again. "I asked for one of King Ashnard's Four Riders, instead I get some washed-up old man who couldn't keep his position."

I'm not so old that I can't break your slimy neck! I thought as anger rose to my head.

"Girl," he pointed at Jill with his scrawny index finger, "I told you to get me one of the Four Riders. Someone like Petrine, the Black Knight... or Bertram! Yes! Someone find Bertram!"

"I'm afraid you'll have to settle with me," I said trying to keep the annoyance out of my tone. "They all died."

"How Daein has fallen," he said solemnly. "At least I'm still here and ready to offer my amazing genius!"

His shifting personality was already getting on my last nerve.

"I'll have to appoint you Supreme Commander of Daein's forces. My brilliance will make up for any shortcomings our military might experience."

"Of course," I said. I could feel a vein in my head pulsing.

"I'll introduce you to Prince Pelleas in the morning. After all, the boy needs his rest, but I'll continue to working day and night until he's sitting on his throne... yes, his rightful throne." Izuka had tried to hide his chuckling under his sleeve, and failed miserably. The horrible sound that came out of that vile man still reached my ears, as well as Jill's – I noticed she was also having trouble with Izuka's presence.

I couldn't see Zihark. He must've left without anyone noticing. I couldn't blame the lad for leaving; I would've done the same thing had I been in his position.

We lost so many fine soldiers during the Mad King's War: Bryce, Shiraham, Katasai, and so many more. And when Daein needed to stand up against the tyranny of the Begnion Empire, this crazed madman was the first one to rebel. Had we fallen so deep that we had to entrust the future of our country to him? Daein used to be a proud and mighty country, and it was a country worth dying for, but it became broken and defeated after the war.

In some ways, Daein became like me.

XXXX

I wrapped my cloak even tighter around me. I remembered that Daein was a cold country during the war, but I didn't think it was always so cold. It was early summer, and I was still shacking. I originally brought my cloak to cover myself, and my armour during daytime. To say that I brought it because I knew I would need it to keep me warm would be a pretty big lie, but I was so glad I brought it with me. Thanks to it, the cold weather was much bearable.

I could see a few rays of light at a distance, and I realized I had walked during the entire night. I figured that if Meg was indeed heading east, the distance between us should've shortened quite a bit overnight. I doubted that she was expecting me to have followed her, better yet, I couldn't believe I was following her. I had so many things to do back home like watching over my baby brothers, or working in my mother's fields; instead I was in a foreign country whose inhabitants happened to be hostile to every Crimean they see.

At least I was safe as long as I stayed out of any settlement, although it could get lonely.

Right at the moment I thought about my lack of companionship, I heard rustling from a nearby bush. At first I thought it was just a critter, but more noises came from the same direction. I thought that this was either someone following me, or this animal was really persistent. I wanted it to be something cute like a rabbit or a baby fox, but I knew my luck wasn't that good.

I got my answer a moment later when a brown-haired teen jumped out of the bushes with a thin sword in his hands. He let out a battle cry, and came straight at me. I didn't see any killing intent in his movements, just foolish recklessness. I blocked his attack with my shield which had been concealed under my cloak. He looked surprised when he saw that his bluff strike had been stopped. I grabbed his sword arm's wrist, and gripped it tightly until he dropped his sword. Instead of crying out in pain, he hissed at me.

Proud and reckless, I thought about the boy.

I pushed him back, and quickly grabbed his sword from the ground before he had a chance to take it.

"Kid, didn't your mother teach you not to run around with swords, you could poke your eye out," I reprimanded. The teen looked at me in disbelief.

"I'm no kid! I'm Edward of the Dawn Brigade!" I vaguely remembered hearing about this 'Dawn Brigade' during my travels. "And who are you to be lecturing me?"

"Who are you to be attackin' me?" I shot back

He scratched the back of his neck and looked away. "I thought you were a Begnion soldier, and I wanted to be sure."

I sighed. "What made you think that?"

"I heard clanking," he replied.

"Lots of people wear armour." I pulled down my hood. "See?" I pointed at my helmet. "It's blue." I went over to him, and handed him his sword. "Besides, you should go around pickin' fight with soldiers, they're there to protect and serve."

Edward's hands clenched into fists, and his eyes were suddenly filled with anger. I should've kept the sword.

"Not here they don't. In here they torment and torture," he said through gritted teeth.

I didn't know what he was talking about. Perhaps I should've tried to get to know my surroundings better since I knew literally nothing about what was going on, well, aside from the fact that I wasn't welcomed, and that alone made me want to stay away from everything and everyone.

"Hey, Edward!" came a male voice that broke me out of my thoughts. A moment later, an emerald-haired lad showed up. "This isn't the time to be sociable. You're supposed to be hunting, not that it matters anymore, Leonardo just found our breakfast."

Something about his intense yellow eyes seemed very familiar, and apparently he must've thought the same thing about me when he stared at me.

"Nephenee?" he asked. We definitely knew each other from somewhere, but I still couldn't remember where or when I met him.

"You know her, Sothe?" Edward asked.

Sothe? Wasn't he a thief General Ike used to employ? He certainly grew out of his boyish features.

"I met her on my travels." He shook my hand, and leaned closer to me. "Don't mention the war, it's a touchy subject," he whispered in my ear.

"Gotcha," I whispered back. I wasn't going to mention the war, and I already knew the subject was taboo way before I left Crimea.

"It's good that you know her, 'cause I kinda told her I was part of the Dawn Brigade," Edward said nervously.

Sothe sighed, and slapped the back of Edward's head.

Edward rubbed the spot where Sothe stuck him. "That was uncalled for."

"Nephenee, where are you going?" Sothe asked.

"To the desert," I answered. Edward giggled as if I had said something funny, and Sothe slapped his head again.

"You're heading south."

My world came crashing down when Sothe told me that. I must've picked the wrong road due to lack of sleep.

That's just great.