Chapter 1: The Plains of Beginning

By Dathedr

Here I am again, with the first chapter (as the one before is just a prologue)... For those who have reviewed, or at least read the prologue, thank you very much. Please keep reading, and help me make this better and better..

I know there are already a LOT of tactician fics, so I'll be sure to use some original ideas...Well, anyways, here's the first chapter.. Hope you enjoy it..

" "= dialogues

' '= thoughts

Disclaimer: I do not own Fire Emblem.

Chapter 1: The Plains of Beginning

I saw my village burning. People screaming, sounds of metal.. My family slain, my mother and sister skewered on a spear, bandits killing everyone, they tore my father apart.. Then suddenly I saw my companions, my fellow mercenaries, in the burning camp, hundreds of bandits storming. They fought greatly, but one by one, the bandits slayed them, our leader, my best friends.. I swinged my sword, slashing some of the bandits. More of them came. I took my Elfire tome and chanted an incantation, "Elements of the world, I summon thee... Serve your master, and bring doom to my enemies! Elfire!" a great pillar of flame was formed, burning them with an unbearable heat. But, even more came, and after a long fighting, one of them drove a blade into my stomach.. But, instead of pain, I heard a girl saying, "Are you awake?"

I opened my eyes, and found myself in a strange-looking hut. In front of me was a girl about my age, with green hair and eyes. She is wearing a, uh... 'WHAT, by God's sake, is that? It doesn't seem like ANY dress I have EVER seen in Etruria nor in my journeys to Ilia, Lycia, Bern, even Nabata. But, now that I think of it.. There were quite a lot of clothes with similar styles in Sacae.. So, I guess it's a typical Sacaen clothing.' The dress was blue, and it revealed the girl's legs. She was holding a wooden bowl of some sort in her hands. I thought it was filled with water, or at least kind of fluid. Hmm... Now that I look again, she's kind of cute..

I quickly force the thought out of my mind, 'STOP IT, you damn little bastard! That is NOT what a well-taught mage ought to think about!'

She said, "I found you unconscious on the plains. You were wounded deeply. I have tended it wih a vulnerary, but... It wouldn't recover in a short time. My, I think you won't be able to wield any kind of weapon or casting any spells either. I'm Lyn, of the Lorca, by the way. How about you? What's your name?"

I replied weakly, "My name's Conrad, I came from Etruria. Thanks for saving me, though.."

'Wait. Did she mention something about mending? The wound was on my back, and it was ery deep, so... In order to tend the wound, she had to...'

I looked at my body, and I realized that I was right. I was shirtless, and I saw a white clothing aross my body.. I blushed a little. But... That was no problem though... She was forced to do it, I'm sure that she wouldn't want to take off my shirt unnecessarily either...

She must have noticed my discomfort, because she stammered, "I – I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take it off.. I had to do it, o-or you'll die.. Forgive me.. This is your robe and shirt, I repaired them last night... Oh, and your equipments, too.." she looked so sorry and panicked that I didn't hesitate for even a second to forgive her.

~Lyn's POV~

'Is he mad at me? No way, I saved his life.. But.. His pride might be injured.. However, I have to stay calm.' and I heard the man speaking something. But I was still deep in my thoughts. 'Conrad, was it? It's a strange name to me, but.. I guess it's usual for them to have names like that in Etruria.. Hmm... still, it's a good name..'

I was shocked when Conrad touched me, saying, "Is something wrong? I said it was OK, I'm not mad at ya.. Y' did that in order to keep me alive.. There's nothing to be mad about." He said cheerfully.

I wanted to drive the conversation into a different topic, so I asked him, "What brings an Etrurian like you to the Plains of Sacae? Would you share your story with me?"

I noticed that on my question his face darkened, he (surprisingly) seemed unspirited... He looked hesitant for a moment, so I thought, 'Just like me, he might have a dark past.. Now, his face shows that he was going to tell me his past.. Why would he trust me with his secrets in just a few minutes since we met? Well, maybe because I saved his life... I know that many people, especially from countries like Lycia and Etruria, despised we Sacaen nomads, believing we're dumb barbarians who can't read nor wrote.. But, this guy's not like that, and I appreciate it very much..' He had just opened his mouth when suddenly, I heard a strange sound outside.

~Conrad's POV~

I was going to tell her her everything when she suddenly said, "Hmm? What's that noise? I'll check outside.. Conrad, wait here for a minute."

Then she left the hut, leaving me to take a better look of her house. 'This is a typical round hut, and it seemed like a normal girl's room (yes, the hut was very small, just a bit bigger than any kind of Etrurian typical bedrooms) except for.. Wow, she has a pretty dmn good sword! Her life must be a hard one, considering that girls don't usually like this tools.. Weapons, to be exact...'

I didn't have any time to examine the house anymore as she ran panickedly inside, and she grabbed her sword. "What's happening here?" I asked, being puzzled by the sudden ruckus.

"Bandits! They came down from the Bern Mountains. They must be planning on raiding nearby villages.. I-I have to stop them!" she exclaimed with a very, very determined look that made me offer my assistance in a, uh... Less than a second.

Instead of receiving it instantly, she only raised one brow, saying "Can you wield a weapon in that condition? With that kind of wound, even the srongest warriors would think twice to engage in a battle.. You wouldn't be able to even cast ANY spell from that tome of yours. At least, not for now.."

I stayed ilent, knowing that she wasn't insulting me, she was just... concerned, somehow, to a stranger she had just met less than an hour ago. Strange. But, however, I had to admit that she was right.

"Well, you're right, I might even be an obstacle in the fight.. Still, I'm also a tactician, y' know... I can help you with my advices, right?" I replied, because I HATE to be left behind by anybody (and the grim thoughts about how useless I was that comes along). And also, the word 'bandits' had awakened my insatiable lust for revenge.. 'My friends, family, and comrades... All were slain by those heartless men. No, not men.. They're even worse than beasts, they're a blasphemy, sacrilege to nature and to the God! I don't think even St. Elimine herself would show mercy to those.. maggots.'

She definitely was shocked with my horrible expression, but she managed to keep her self-control, and just said, "Very well. We'll go together!"

~vVv~

Outside the house..

I saw just two bandits. 'What, are they idiots? What CAN possibly they do against any village? Yeah, i remembered father said something about that..'

~flashback~

A neighboring village had just been slaughtered by a poorly armed group of bandits. To my surprise, there were only FIVE bandits... How could they possibly beat 50 or more villagers with no casualties?

I wondered about it for some time, then, being unable to find an answer, I asked my father. Smiling grimly, he said, "That's a good question. Here, let me explain. Common villagers are not used to any military sight, 'cause they are not trained in any ways of war, right? For them, even a very poorly armed, not to mention untrained, small force of bandits is very frightening. Just looking at them could make a whole village flee in horror. Do ya understand what I'm saying?"

"Yes, father.."

~end of flashback~

I told Lyn, "Hmph. These guys sure have some raiding experience, considering that they have the guts to raid with just two men. They might cause us some trouble. Watch out for the bigger one, he looks tough."

"Hmm... Maybe. But I'm quite confident with my skills. I'll finish that one first", pointing at the supposedly lower rank bandit. Then she dashed to the bandit (wow, she's fast). Although the bandit noticed her approach, he was too late to block Lyn's sword. The next second, he was covered in blood, as Lyn's sword gave him a very dangerous wound. All of us knew that he would die in a few seconds. But surprisingly, the bandit fell into a wild rage. With his last breath, he charged at Lyn, who dodged, though it was not a full success, the bandit's axe made a nasty wound on her sword arm, before she finished him.

"Victory!", she said with a grin. "But I've been injured, and my hand can't take my vulnerary in this condition. Conrad, please get me one, okay? It's in my satchel.."

So I took her the vulnerary, and tended her wound, and she let out a noise showing her pain. I'm not surprised.. A vulnerary stings the wound it tends for a second or two.

The next moment, she said, "Thank you.. I'm better now.. Let's strike at the leader! He's in the front of the ger over there.."

"Err.. pardon me, but.. What is a ger?" I asked her, since I don't know what a ger is supposed to mean (it's a Sacaen word).

And as she ran away again, I mumbled to myself, 'it doesn't seem like she is a girl who was wounded here just now.'

She ran towards the bandit leader with full speed. A few steps from him, she immediately jumped and swinged her sword, aiming at the bandit's head. But unfortunately, the bandit was quick enough to block the dangerous attack, and he even managed to toss Lyn a few feet back. She was surprised, and so was I. 'That was damn quick for a mere axe-wielding bandit! He DOES have some battle experience, afer all.. This is going to be a bit tough. I secretly brandished my Elfire tome in case something bad unexpectedly happened. 'Though using it, even once, would drain my entire strength', I thought.

Then, I saw Lyn striking with BOTH full force and speed, and this time, she left a wound on the bandit's body. But before she managed to step back, the bandit (again, with a surprising speed) charged at her, and he managed to score an even dangerous wound.

Lyn leaped back and said, "Whew.. He's very tough... I'll do my best in this last stike.. If I fall, I want you to flee. You have to escape!"

"No! I'm not a coward, and I an fight, too!" I objected.

She replied, "You're badly wounded! Even a bit fighting would make you collapse out of exhaustion. He's coming, by the way.. Wish me luck."

The bandit threw a mocking look at us, saying, "Who do you think you are? You think you can stand up to Batta the Beast?"

'Disgusting,' I spoke to myself. 'This bandit surely thinks too high of himself. What's with the strange title? I mean, I agree that he's a beast, but... I don'tthink he's geat enough to get ANY titles.. Except the Fool, maybe.. Batta the Fool.. Yes, that surely suits him.

A second after, Lyn greatly impressed my... She moved even faster than she ever did, so fast that I could only see her as a flash of blue. The bandit was even more shocked than I was. He obviously hadn't expected his badly-wounded foe could still run that fast, I'd wager.

He tried to block the attack, but it was futile. I saw Lyn slashed him so quickly twice, and she stopped behind the bandit, her sword shines under the bright Sacaen Sun. The bandit said his last words, "What? How... how did you-" before he fell on his knees, and fell dead to the ground.

Then, Lyn walked towards the hut which Batta the Beast was guarding, and checked inside. In a few minutes, she came out again, and told me, "Good job, Conrad! Let's go home.."

'Ahh... It was so tiring today.. Now I think I'll need a good night's sleep, as the sky is almost dark already,' I thought. I went inside Lyn's house, and after saying good night, I lay on a carpet and fell asleep in a few second.

~the next morning~

I heard birds chirping happily.. I was enjoying their soundss with my eyes closed, when a familiar voice disured me..

"Good morning, Conrad!" It was Lyn. "Are you awake yet?"

"Ünh.. Yes, I am.. I had a good sleep tonight.." *yawning*

"Haha.. that fight yesterday must've made you incredibly tired."

"Yep, I guess so.." I replied, massaging my own back.

"Hmm.. By the way, I want to talk to you about something. A request.."

"Okay.. go right ahead.." I was a bit puzzled.

"You have some experience in the ways of war, I can see. Would you allow me to travel with you?"

BANG. It hit me on the head. 'What? We've only known each other for a day, and now.. She wants to travel with me? What would her parents think? They might think I'm a scoundrel or something..'

"Well.. Do your parents allow you?"

"Wha-? You want me to... get permission from my parents?" She was shocked, and a second after, her face darkened. "My mother and father.. died six months ago. Well, you know.. I'm the last of my tribe." at this point, tears began forming in her eyes. "Bandits attacked at night, and... they- they killed so many people. The tribe was scattered. My father was our chieftain, and I wanted to protect our people. But no one would follow me, because I was so young, and I 'm a woman. They were so old-fashioned. If only.." *sniffles* "I'm sorry. I've been alone for so long.."

"No, Lyn.. It's me who have to apologize.. I'm sorry because I made you remember those painful memories.. I know how it feels to have my family slaughtered. Be strong, Lyn.." I replied.

She thought for a moment, and then she said"Yes.. You're right. I will shed no more tears."

I gave her some time to calm down. After a minute, her expression was normal again.

"Thank you. I'm better now." She thanked me.

"Conrad.. I want—no... I MUST become stronger, so that I may avenge my father's death!" she said with an eye full of determination. It was even like her eyes was burning with so many emotions- anger, determination (of course), excitement, eagerness, and surprisingly, lust.

She continued, "Yesterday's battle taught me something. I won't become stronger by sitting here, doing nothing. Tell me you'll train me, that you'll let me travel with you!"

Seeing that she was that determined, I had no other choice but to agree. She was truly, truly happy.

"You will? That's wonderful! Thank you! Oh, Conrad... Thank you very much! We can improve a lot if we work together, I know it. We can do it! Right?"

"Yes.. I'm sure about that."

"Great! Let's start our journey tomorrow... Our first destination is Bulgar!"

Ökay.. Let's get prepared!" and we packed our supplies, preparing for the journey the next day.

~Chapter End~

A/N: Actually, Lyn wears a kind of nomadic Mongolian dress, but of course, in Elibe they don't know any about Mongols, so.. I explained it as a typical Sacaen dress.

Well... Finally, the first chapter... I've been wondering if I used too much of the original script... So, if any of you think I did, please tell me right away...

Anyways... Please review.. Both compliments and critics are appreciated, but.. No flames please..