Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. Any and all canon characters and settings are property of Intelligent Systems. I also do not claim anything non-canon that might appear.
The Sacae plains were green once more and everywhere one went it was filled with the buzzing of insects. To Lyn, though, the green of the grass was a bit duller in the day and at night the insects' noises were no longer thought of as lullabies. Everything now just seemed to be a reminder and it was beginning to get to her a little too much. However, it still had only been a couple of months since the attack. After a few weeks recuperating with the tribe that rescued her, they were kind enough to give her a tent and supplies once she decided to travel the plains. Now in the middle of nowhere with no tribe or town she could call home, Lyn was completely alone for the first time in her life.
Every day was the same. She woke up just as the sun was rising, put on the garbs of the Lorca tribe, and secured her father's sword onto her belt. Every morning was spent walking around and swinging her father's sword in an attempt to tone her arms. She was still young and had never done much in the way of pure physical activity on account of her mother. On the other hand though, she still remembered everything about the lessons her father gave her when her mother wasn't looking. Early on in her exercises she would start to remember her life before the bandit raid. A smile somehow always snuck onto her face. It was caused by memories of better times. Times such as when her mother caught her and her father in the act of training. Ignoring the trouble this caused them, Lyn would still always ask to learn more and this fact gave Hassar endless joy and caused endless frustration for Madelyn.
The smiles, however, never lasted for very long. Any good memories only served to bring up the one event which forced her to live alone. She would become angry. As the day would wear on, the path she would clear became wider and more erratic. She would come back to the tent in the evening sore and in a bad mood. She would then eat the food she had gathered earlier in the day under the setting sun. As the sun would fade over the horizon, Lyn would undress and finally plop down onto a rug where, if she was lucky, the nightmares might have become a bit less intense.
Today had started out just like any other for Lyn and it would have continued that way if not for a small rabbit. She had just cut her exercises off early and was now trying to coax it out of its hole, but the rabbit was becoming increasingly annoying.
The one day I find some meat I can catch and it disappears before I can get to it!
Lyn lets out an annoyed sigh as she takes her knife from the belt she wears.
I'm beginning to think this is that rabbit who just stared at me as it jumped over my sword yesterday. That rabbit was really good. The stupid - Thing - Is probably digging - Another - Hole - To get out.
Lyn stops stabbing the ground and listens for any movement. Hearing nothing and hoping she finally killed it she puts her hand through the holes she's made. Hole after hole she feels nothing and Lyn starts to worry if her meal got away.
"Ow!"
Lyn lets out a small yelp and quickly realizes her meal is still there and that it's a bit too alive for her tastes. She jerks her hand back and looks at her fingers to see that a small bite is noticeable.
I missed!
Before she can dig her knife into the ground again, she notices a small head pop out a meter or two away. The rabbit notices Lyn with her frustrated stare directed straight at it and does what almost any other prey does when faced with an angry predator who has indecent thoughts on the mind. The rabbit turns and runs away as fast as possible. Lyn isn't about to go hungry though and is well in tow.
You aren't getting away that easily.
Even through the brush, Lyn is still able to follow the rabbit. Following its little, white tail, she stalks it with the motivation of a much needed meal in mind. The rabbit runs into a small clearing where Lyn had evidently already been and suddenly stops. It straightens its back and perks its ears. It seemingly accepts the idea of being dinner and Lyn is more than willing to oblige. Lyn readies her knife.
Thanks for stopping. Now I have a clear shot.
A strong wind suddenly starts to pick up but it only registers in Lyn's now focused mind as a reason to adjust her aim. Throwing her knife, Lyn lets it sail towards the rabbit. Even with only weeks of experience Lyn manages to hit the rabbit due to its unnatural stillness. As Lyn reaches the rabbit and takes the knife out of its head she notices the rabbit's hair moving. She finally begins to feel how the harsh wind is and looks up to notice the grass heaving violently. Just before Lyn can begin worrying about the weather, the wind suddenly stops and leaves the grass as it was before. Lyn quickly realizes that such a short gust couldn't have been natural.
Sacaen winds are never that strong and they usually last all day. And not even Huey's wings-
Her thoughts are cut short as something alien forces itself into her mind. She starts to feel a great, unknown pain as the presence grows stronger.
What is this. . .But I'm not hurt. . .A rabbit bite shouldn't. . hurt so. . .bad.
Lyn almost doubles over but just as nearly as it came, the pain disappears. Lyn stands back up and tries to think about what happened but still feels the presence in her head causing her to pause.
Why do I feel as if I'm not alone?
Help . . .me. . .
"That wasn't me!"Lyn cries out in surprise and nearly trips onto her back, but she soon comes to her senses. The presence she was feeling had started to weaken but she knows whatever it was that it had called out to her. "Who's there? Where are you?!"
Some sort of. . .burrow. . .behind you. . .
After the presence stops giving Lyn its thoughts, it fades away leaving Lyn's mind. Behind me? That's the rabbit hole I was just at. But nothing else was there! . . . Right?
Curious and a bit worried for whoever or whatever it was, she whirls around looking for the path from where she came crashing. She puts her knife back into her belt and takes her sword out. She takes a calming breath and begins to run back into the uncut brush.
What was that and what did it come from? A spirit? No, they don't have physical bodies right? No, of course not. All the stories say they don't so that means they can't feel pain. And from what I felt, whatever it is, it is in a lot of it. I just hope I can get to it in time and that it's nothing dangerous. But if it's dangerous. . .what if it's a bad spirit and it's wanting me to think that? Didn't mother tell me a story one time in which a spirit played music to take a town's children away? I wish I could remember it.. . .oh no am I forgetting everything already? Please no!
Lyn's wagon of thought quickly goes downhill from there. Now completely consumed in her personal fears and utterly confused as to what was happening, Lyn stops paying attention to where she's going. She suddenly finds her foot catching something and she is allowed a short glimpse of her foot getting stuck into the rabbit's escape hole. Lyn flies through the air screaming and falls face first into the dirt mounds she had created just a little while ago.
Get a hold of yourself Lyn. I didn't hunt rabbit just so I could eat dirt. . .The dirt is a bit softer than I would have thought though. Almost feels like cloth.
Lyn lifts her aching head and finds out that the soft dirt was actually her robe that had flipped up over her face. She throws it back over and then suddenly finds herself face to face with someone else.
"Ah!"
Lyn scrambles back and lifts her sword in front of her to defend but immediately finds out that it was unnecessary. The person's eyes are closed and their body unmoving. There's also no sign of any type of weapon. Looking closer she realizes it's a young man in an elegantly made but tattered robe colored in black, gold, and purple. It has a hood that covers much of his face but Lyn can see that some of the man's matted blue hair falls over his eyes. The more interesting fact is that he appears to be soaking wet. Lyn credits it to a nearby stream. She moves closer and notices that the man doesn't appear to be breathing normally.
Is this who it was? But how could a man be able to push thoughts into another's mind?
The man barely moves while letting out a pained gasp. "He. . .hel. . ." Lyn's curiosity is quickly crushed and replaced with worry. Stifling her embarrassment, she checks for wounds and takes a short look to see if there are any outward signs of disease on his skin. The only things she finds though are dirt smudges and a few bruises.
He must have just collapsed here. It doesn't look as if he has anything else.
She guesses that the cause of his ailment may be severe dehydration and quickly takes out her small water bladder. She holds it to the man's mouth but the man doesn't drink. His body is completely limp and Lyn assumes he must have fallen unconscious. She forces his head up and, hoping he doesn't choke on it, squeezes some water into his mouth. He doesn't start to choke and instead swallows the water. After giving him all of the water she had, Lyn tries to think of what she could do.
Ok, ok, ok. Unconscious man in the middle of nowhere who obviously needs help. Can't let him die. Can't let him die. Uhh. . .my tent shouldn't be too far off if that clearing was any indication. I'm not strong enough to carry him . . . Would it be safe to drag him there? Maybe? Ahhhh! I'm going to have to try!
Lyn is able to get a good hold of the limp body and starts the journey back to her tent. She drags the man's body through the brush and into the relatively cleared pathway where she lays the dead rabbit onto his chest.
I probably shouldn't do this but I'm really going to need something to eat after dragging this guy back with me.
Lyn finds out that she's actually a fair distance away and after a few hours of dragging the man a bit, taking breaks, and gathering more food along the way, Lyn arrives at her tent near sunset. She's almost too tired to even push through the flaps and nearly drops onto the rug before realizing her newfound charge needs it more. She then starts to lay down on the grass. She hears a loud growl before she can go to sleep though and jumps up. It's quiet for a few seconds but then it happens again. It's her stomach.
Did I really forget to eat something? I haven't eaten anything the entire day!
Lyn finally remembers the rabbit. She takes it off of the man and moves ever more sluggishly outside to begin cooking. Lyn looks up into the darkening sky and allows her mind to wander.
What have I gotten myself into? Will I really be able to help this man and keep myself alive at the same time? Where did he even come from? . . . and the presence that I felt . . . the wind too . . . none of this makes any sense.
It doesn't really matter to Lyn though. She now has a purpose in keeping the man alive and having a purpose sometimes makes all the difference. She falls sound asleep on the other side of the tent letting the cool breeze of the night tuck her in. Exhausted both mentally and physically but now having gained a focus, she has the best night's sleep she's had in the past couple of months. No swords, no smiles, Lyn only has thoughts of survival and faint images of a most unusual traveler.
Authors Note (28/02/15): Hello readers, as you can probably guess we now have our tactician! Well, maybe not completely yet. He's sort of under the weather right now, so to speak. And with this, the prologue is done. It was a short chapter again but the next one will be a bit longer. Hopefully I haven't lost you yet. I'll admit the summary narration in the beginning might have been too much and I'm sorry to say that it might be a recurring thing for the rare chapter. Next chapter though we'll finally get to meet the traveler and find out a little about him! Until then.
PSA: So while writing the chapter I was curious to know how safe giving water or food to an unconscious person is. As I expected, it's not safe at all. So please don't actually give anyone who's unconscious anything to drink or eat. It's more than likely to cause choking or drowning than it is to go down into their stomachs. Something to do with the airway being open by default, closing off the esophagus.
Dialogue: There's going to be three forms of communication so I thought I'd list them. I'm only doing this so it'll be perfectly clear.
" " (quotation) : Talking or verbal communication. The obvious one, nothing that needs explaining.
un-bolded italics : Thoughts. This will be used to show what a person is literally thinking.
bolded italics: Hoho, I won't be explaining this until the next chapter! You already know what it means though since I almost but not quite say it.
As always, any and all criticism is welcome.