Forever I had lived by the sword. Nothing else mattered except my mercenary company. After the Mad Kings war I learned who and what had happened to my men. Ike of the Greil Mercenaries slayed all of them single handedly. I am a sell sword, my blade arm to the highest bidder. And right know this Izuka character is the highest bidder. My job: Protect the prince.
As Begnion troops approach where I stand I raise my blade, death takes to the battlefield today. A Dragonknight, Jill circles above going down suddenly, a soldier died. A fellow Swordsmaster, Zihark, Swings his killing edge in a deadly ark knocking the tides of battle away. Our General, Tauroneo, stands in the entrance to the ruins, in which the Daein scion hides.
My name is Kain Highwind. A master of the sword, and espionage from time to time depending on who my boss currently is.
For some reason the tide of battle has changed and then I realize, reinforcements for us? I'm not going to pass up help saying as we're losing right now. "Kain!" Tauroneo shouts shocking me out of my thoughts, "Get to work!" My blade is drawn my mind set. Time for the slaughter. With speed equal to Zihark and greater strength I batted a lance aimed at my midsection away and brought my sword down in an ark. Not a chance.
And then came the mages. I leapt to the side just before a Fire spell hit my previous location. "Come and get it." I coldly told the poor Myrmidon in front of the Thunder Mage. He charged, not surprising. I swung my specially made blade, The Blood Sword, at him, he did a standard block. I smirked, pathetic. With a lazy flick, his sword went flying into the wall. Disarmed he began begging for mercy. Not a second later he was dead. I felt no regret.
For the next hour or so (I wasn't sure, in a desert, time couldn't be told except from night to day) we fought of waves of enemies that slowed as the reinforcements decimated their source. The battle was over.
I stood perfectly still my black coat hiding me in the evening light obscured by the shifting sands. My arm had been hit by an arrow and despite my healing it with a vulnerary it still gave off waves of dull pain. I sensed a presence behind me. I turned blade drawn and leveled in the second it had taken me to turn.
A grey wolf was silently standing there looking at me with his intense gaze. A wolf Laguz that had arrived with Micaiah and her "Dawn Brigade". I sheathed my weapon trying to recall his name. "Hello, Volug." I said taking a cautious step forward. He just continue looking at me intelligence in his violet eyes1. He barked seemingly in response and jumped off of the ruins.
A campfire was lit below and the green-haired man who followed Micaiah everywhere began speaking with Tauroneo. Apparently my fellow soldiers knew each other from The Mad King's War. They had served with Ike. Now this piqued my interest as I began listening. Damn it! they stopped talking about the war.
My Employer was pointing at the Prince "Look here! Before you stands the one and only, the grand Prince Pelleas, true-blooded son of the king of Daein." He shuffled in his robes, Madness showing in his eyes. But he payed well, and on time that was all that mattered. "And here we have the consort and queen of our late King Ashnard, Lady Almedha. And look at you! You're standing? Did the desert dry out your brains? Kneel ye before these royal personages!" Oh My god what a egotistical-
"It's all right, Izuka. Please, don't stand on ceremony. I didn't know I was a prince until very recently. So, really, I'm not used to any of this." The prince. Far too modest if you ask me.
After this I tuned out realizing they wouldn't discuss the mad-kings war any further. I sat there in thought. So some of these people had fought with the Hero Ike. My vendetta could wait for a time. For now gathering information would be best. Learn his weaknesses. Practice furiously. My revenge would be sweet.
My mind turned to other things. The Blood Sword. The first time I had touched that cursed blade I had killed my teacher with it. A fearsome weapon with seemingly a will of its own. That sword breathed out evil and consumed the mind. As you killed with it you lost control. Fifteen years of practice had dulled its influence to me and it now sought out an easily corruptible mind and soul.
Truly the Fire Emblem in blade form.
I drew it from its sheathe. It was a hand-and-a-half sword capable of being wielded in almost any battle style. The blade was 18 inches log and despite looking like normal steel it had a red tinge to it. The guard looked ornamental but was made of a mysterious and strong metal that had always held despite the circumstances. The pommel was normal steel with a round ruby set into the bottom. You wouldn't notice unless you held it, but the blade curved slightly.
I sighed sheathing it again; if I gave this weapon to anyone else they would be drawn in by its dark powers. Even now wielding it gave me a sharp thrill. For each drop of blood the sword's deadly hymn grew into a mind-splitting spear.
And with that I disappeared into the night.
When morning came I woke up to the sound of the door to my room in the cave ruins. A sword was in my hands and I had no idea how it had made its way into my hands. This weapon was leveled at the Swordmaster Zihark. He had a surprised look on his face. "It's you." I said breaking the tense silence.
"The silver-haired maiden would like to speak with you in the great hall." He said after I stood up, my weapon drawn into a hidden sheath.
"Very well." I replied, busy grabbing my coat from where I had hung it last night.
Moments after he had left I followed his lead. As I walked my crimson eyes scanned the hallway. A surprising amount of activity greeted me. This must have been due to the fact that Micaiah, our so-called savior had arrived.
The Great Hall was merely a few paces away. I stepped in and as I did I felt power pulsing from the woman with silver hair. She would bring me closer to my goal of defeating Ike.
She turned to look at me, her golden eyes seemingly peering into my soul. "It's rude to pry into other's affairs my lady." I said breaking the silence.
Her eyes slipped out of focus for a brief moment. Then they were back to normal. "That woman with the bow, who was she?" Now it was certain, she had peered into my mind. Best to keep my guard up around her.
"With all due respect, maiden, who she may be is nobody's business but my own." I kept my voice calm, despite the effort it took to hold my emotions in check. "Let's speak about why you called me here."
"Kain Highwind," she began slowly as if testing the name, "I called you here to meet you in person. After the interesting description given to me by General Tauroneo my curiosity got the better of me." She smiled. My face remained neutral. "Anyway," she continued not missing a beat, "you seem to have a rather interesting weapon in your possession."
"Your point?"
"Oh it's nothing." Behind her seemingly sincere face, I sensed her unease. This dark weapon held many secrets.
"If that's all I will take my leave." Turning towards the door I began to move to open it.
"No, that's not all I wished to talk about, would you please stay?"
Very slowly and deliberately I turned to look at her. "What else did you wish to discuss?"
She tilted her head and stepped down onto the crimson red carpet adorning the floor. "How much are your services?" That was no what I was expecting.
"Excuse me? I'm already in your army."
"But you serve that vile man, Izuka." She said as if that was everything.
"Once again, I don't see your point." I lied smoothly. She wanted me to be loyal to her rather than that 'vile' man.
"Five thousand." Her friend jumped in.
"Seven, plus meals." I said emotionlessly as you must when negotiating.
"Five thousand-five hundred." He shot back.
"Six thousand flat." The green-haired man, Sothe? turned to her. She nodded.
"Done." He said.
We could have gone on for a long time, but personally I had just doubled my pay so I wasn't going to complain. "Your orders my lady?"
