Disclaimer: Fire Emblem Awakening and all characters therein are the property of Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.

He was so tired. His legs felt like pudding from all the running he'd been doing over the past week. Running, running, running nonstop. He couldn't afford to rest. Couldn't afford to pause. Couldn't afford to eat or sleep, or else they'd catch him.

They… but who were "they"? Where am I?

All around him was nothing but blackness. It was so dark.

Thousands of voices raised in prayer and shrieked in agony upon the moment of his awakening. Their blood poured from his maw as he feasted and feasted upon their misery, their sorrow, their rancor and their bodies. These were only the first. All the world would join in his all-consuming despair.

He had no final strategy. No cards left to play. It was all over. His father had won.

His father had lied to him. Neither his wife nor his child had been killed by the Grimleal. By some miracle, they had managed to escape capture. Now, he was certain that having them captured and killed by his father would have been a kindness compared to what awaited them. His own body shifted to his weaker, mortal form, and moved out of his control to bring the two green-haired manaketes into his cold embrace. And then, he relished in their cries of despair as he drove bolts of lightning, much like those which killed his first love, into each of their hearts.

He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. He felt nothing. …Nothing…

"-om, we have to do something!"

I… I hear a voice…

"What do you propose we do?"

Chrom! Chrom, I hear you-! B-but… who are you…?

"I- I dunno!"

The world slipped hazily in and out of focus as he slowly forced his eyes to open. As his vision cleared from black, he beheld two figures standing above him. The one on the left was a young girl with blonde hair and green eyes, whose hair was held out of her face by a strange series of silver coins draped over her head. The figure on the right was a young man with short blue hair and blue eyes, who was dressed in clothes fit for a royal. Both figures looked surprised, but then happy with his awakening.

"I see you're awake now." The figure on the right intoned.

"Hey there!" the figure on the left greeted with a cheerful smile on her face.

The figure on the right had a genial smile on his face as he said, "There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know."

A hand reached for him as he laid on the ground, looking between the two people. "Give me your hand."

He did so, and as he did, he beheld a strange mark upon the back of his hand- that of a many-eyed beast. He knew of its significance. He just needed to think of it- a feat which was proving remarkably difficult as he caught sight of the blue-haired one's smiling face. That warm, gentle, welcoming smile set his heart to racing and scattered his gathering thoughts.

It took many long moments, but at last, he rose to his feet with some help from the blue-haired one. No, I know his name… I felt it in my heart just a moment ago…

"You all right?"

The question came from the blue-haired one with a look of concern. The response fell from his lips easily. "Y-Yes. Thank you, Chrom."

Chrom. Yes, that was his name.

It felt sweet on his lips, and familiar.

"Ah, so you know who I am, then?"

He blinked. And blinked again. Suddenly, familiarity began to fade and become replaced with confusion. He knew he knew this Chrom. And yet, when pressed, he couldn't remember just who he was. The knowledge floated just out of his reach like a wisp. Aloud, he murmured, "No, actually, I… It's strange. Your name, it just… came to me."

He knew it sounded mad as soon as he said it aloud, and Chrom wasn't impressed by this explanation. "Hmm, how curious. Tell me, what's your name? What brings you here?"

"My name is… It's… Hmm?"

This should have been the easiest question in the world for him to answer. His name. Surely he had one. Everyone did, since their birth. Even children could answer this question. But as he tried to think of it, all he found was more of the blackness from his nightmarish visions earlier.

Now Chrom seemed confused, rather than doubting. "You don't know your own name?"

His voice wavered as he replied, "I-I'm not sure if… I'm sorry, where am I exactly?"

The blonde girl gasped in shock and drew back in surprise, exclaiming "Hey! I've heard of this! It's called amnesia!"

A third figure who he hadn't noticed until now, a tall brunet man dressed in heavy blue armor narrowed his eyes and cut in with a low voice, "It's called a load of pegasus dung. We're to believe you know milord's name, but not your own?"

They'd only just met, but he already knew he wouldn't care much for this man. Even though he knew logically his claims sounded like lies or madness, they were all he knew. His voice was weak as he protested, "B-but it's the truth!"

Chrom turned to his brunet companion with a look of concern. "But what if it is true, Frederick? We can't just leave him here, alone and confused. What sort of Sheperds would we be then?"

Frederick. Frederick was the tall, doubting man's name. He didn't like Frederick, even if he understood the reason for his concern. This dislike only grew as Frederick responded to Chrom in a cold, detached manner, "All the same, milord, I must emphasize caution. 'Twould not do to let a wolf into our flock."

Frederick calls Chrom milord… that implies some position of deference. Does Chrom hold some sort of title here? He wondered.

Chrom gritted his teeth at Frederick's logical argument to temper his compassion with reason. "Right then- we'll take him back to town and sort this out there."

He blinked in shock and drew back. His heart raced in his chest. Wasn't I supposed to be running to somewhere? I can't wait until they sort this out if I was fleeing… "W-Wait just one moment. Do I get a say in this?"

Chrom turned to him with a reassuring smile. "Peace, friend. We'll hear all you have to say when we get to town. Now, come."

He trailed along after the other three as they continued along the road. The air was fresh and clear, carrying with it the scent of trees, grass and flowers. Something in this seemed strange to him, like it was something he hadn't experienced much of in his lifetime.

Perhaps I was born and lived somewhere with a warmer climate? This temperate weather feels strange to my skin… But then, were I to live in a hotter clime, my choice of dark-robed attire would make very little sense, as it would simply absorb the heat…

He turned his attention to his arms, studying the purple patterns on his robes. I wonder… were these a mere aesthetic choice, or something forced upon me by a position I once held? Are they religious in nature? What religions are there in this place?

He turned his head to Chrom, and allowed a thought running through his head to be heard. "What will you do with me? Am I to be your prisoner?"

Chrom turned back to him with a laugh. "You'll be free to go once we establish that you're no enemy of Ylisse."

His brow furrowed in confusion. Ylisse… Hm. The name strikes a bell, and yet… No. I have nothing. "Is that where we are? Ylisse?"

Frederick turned to face him with a look on his face that was nothing short of derisive. "You've never heard of the halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actor, he plays quite the fool. That furrowed brow is especially convincing…"

Chrom spared him the need to glare at Frederick by cutting him off with a plea. "Frederick, please." The tone of his voice made it clear there was no room for argument or continued barbed insults. Chrom turned to him with a conciliatory look, and said, "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Our ruler, Emmeryn, is called the exalt. I suppose proper introductions are in order... My name is Chrom—but then, you already knew that. The delicate one here is my little sister, Lissa."

The blonde girl in the yellow dress, Lissa as he now knew her, stamped her foot and raised her fists in the air with a cry of, "I am not delicate! Hmmph!" She turned to him with a beguiling smile, and said, "Ignore my brother, please. He can be a bit thick sometimes. But you're lucky the Sheperds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

Sheperds… there's that term again… But the definition I know of it doesn't at all match up with the assembly before me. "Sheperds? You tend sheep? In full armor?"

Chrom chuckled with a knowing grin that was both endearing and infuriating. "It's a very dangerous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

Frederick bowed at his waist at the address. "A title I shall wear with pride, milord. Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, stranger, but my station mandates otherwise."

He nodded in understanding, even though something in his heart still boiled with sick, undeserved anger. "I understand, sir. I would do no less myself." A single piece of knowledge finally escaped the mire clouding his blank mind. "My name is Robin. …I just remembered that. How odd." A blithe smile crossed Robin's face as he continued, "I suppose that's one mystery solved."

Robin. Just being able to name himself gave him a feeling of power and identity. He was no longer some blank, nameless, faceless vessel for a consciousness. He knew who he was, to a limited extent. Robin. Robin.

"Robin? Is that foreign?" Chrom asked, a brow raised in curiosity. Robin wished he could have given him an answer, but he had little knowledge of where he was, much less where he came from. Chrom shrugged after a moment, and continued, "...Ah, well. We can discuss it later. We're almost to town. Once we—"

Smoke. Robin could smell it from a mile out. It sent the pit of his stomach plummeting into his feet. He had a feeling something awful was coming on the winds. And almost as soon as they crested the hill they'd been climbing, Lissa screamed.

"Chrom, look! The town!"

The town to which Robin was supposed to be taken was in flames. Shops, homes, everything was being eaten alive by fire, belching smoke into the air. Even at a distance, it was clear to Robin's eyes that the town wouldn't last much longer if that fire was left untreated and the townsfolk didn't band together.

"Damn it! The town is ablaze!" Chrom swore, drawing his blade. "Those blasted brigands, no doubt. Frederick, Lissa, quickly!"

Robin stiffened at the commanding tone in Chrom's voice, his whole body tensed and ready to aid in whatever way he could. The others were running ahead of him, leaving him to try to catch up on legs that protested the action of running and a stomach that cried for nourishment.

Frederick paused and looked back at the man in hot pursuit of them, and asked of his lord, "What about him?"

Chrom was in no mood to deal with Frederick's wariness when people's lives were at stake, and made it clear by saying, "Unless he's on fire, it can wait!"

Frederick nodded. "Aptly put, milord."

Lissa pointed at the burning town, where the fire raged higher every moment. "Let's go already!"

As the three others raced ahead of him, Robin extended a hand in weary protest. "But what about- hmm."

Rushing off into the thick of battle hardly seemed like a logical decision from Robin's point of view. Even as well-armored and skilled as all three of his companions looked, he couldn't just leave them to rush off alone. He noted a blade at his hip and a tome stashed in the folds of his robes. I… have these weapons… I wonder, can I help them to fight…?

He didn't take one moment to consider whether or not he could fight, only feeling in his core that he had to. He took only a moment to catch his breath, and charged off after Frederick, Lissa, and Chrom.