AN: Here's the first 'Prologue' chapter. It got a bit long, so I had to split it in two parts.

This chapter, and up to the game's save screen on chapter ten, was all written during Camp NaNoWriMo last month, and just got minimal editing- grammar and minor plot holes that popped up.

Now, for the disclaimer. I may own Fire Emblem in some universe, but thankfully for everyone's sanity, this is not that universe. I do, however, own Ryoko, the plot twists, and the other OCs mentioned.

To the guest reviewer Koal, no, this is not interactible. I just thought that it'd be fun to write the Premonition from Daraen/the Avatar's perspective in second person, to sort-of mirror the beginning of the game. That doesn't mean I'm not open to suggestions, though!

On to the story!


Fire Emblem: Dragon's Claw

~ Prologue ~

Diverging History

The skies were clear, the grass swaying gently to a slight breeze, and the quiet was only interrupted by the occasional animal passing by.

All in all, it was a good day to be making the trek between the remote forest villages and the closest major town.

The traveler was, perhaps, half an hour from her destination if she wanted to hurry. But since she had no jobs at the moment, she decided to take it slow.

Besides, the weather was too enjoyable for her to leave the merchants' paths in favor of the faster routes the local patrols used to move between villages.

"You're such a lazy-ass woman." The traveler's partner, a massive black wolf, commented.

She shrugged. "It's nice and quiet for once, I'd rather enjoy it before I take another job."

"Whatever," was the drawled reply, "just call me when there's some action."

With that, the black wolf disappeared.

The traveler didn't appear at all surprised by it, and merely shook her head in clear exasperation.

"And he calls me lazy…." She muttered to herself.

She sighed when she noticed that her hood fell, revealing short and messy dark blue hair spiking in every direction, pointed ears and intense green eyes. Her features were sharp, giving her a slightly mature look despite her short stature and, coupled with her slightly deeper than normal voice, made her easily pass for a young man or boy rather than a woman.

Not really bothering to replace her cloak's hood, the traveler continued on her way, idly wondering if she should take a detour to nap in the grass.

There's something strange. A deep and raspy voice stated, interrupting the traveler's thoughts.

The traveler resisted the urge to let out a loud feral growl at the voice's words.

'Now what?' she thought irritably.

Something is interfering with my power. The voice replied, clearly unconcerned with the traveler's annoyance.

'And why should I care?' she snapped back, 'It's that damned cult of yours that is making my life hell.'

With that, the traveler proceeded to ignore the voice in her head being it's usual annoying self, intent on continuing on her way.

Well, it's not my—

Before she could, however, she felt an unusual pulse of a very familiar power, one she had often felt clinging to the cult members she had taken down a good amount of times like a bad smell.

Cursing under her breath, the woman took off at a sprint towards the source of the disturbance.

[Dragon Blaze, Boost!]

She was somewhat startled by the sudden boost in strength, but managed not to stumble. Instead, she ran as fast as she could towards the source, pushing to the limits of her already enhanced speed.

There was a man and a woman fighting against a shadowed being.

The man was unfamiliar, tall with slightly messy silver hair and brown eyes, but the woman….

'Mother!' the traveler thought excitedly, 'I finally found her!'

The woman was older than the traveler remembered, but her hair and eyes were unmistakable, the same dark blue of her own hair, albeit admittedly much longer, and the same brown eyes as the man.

The being they were fighting against was wearing a Grimeal cloak, but that was its only truly identifiable feature besides being of similar height to the man.

The traveler put all her efforts in a burst of speed to reach the pair.

The being launched a dark spell at the woman.

She jumped.

The woman screamed in pain, and the being pursued the now fleeing man.

The traveler paid them no mind.

She was more worried about the dying woman she barely missed saving.

"M-Mother?" she said, trembling.

The woman lifted a shaky hand to her face. "M-My child. My beautiful child…. I feared… I'd lost you… forever…. Please… take care… of him."

"Mother, no!" the traveler shouted, tears falling from her eyes, "No! I just got you back, don't leave me again!"

"Be brave…" the woman whispered, "my youngling…."

"MOTHER!" the traveler screamed in despair as the woman took her last breath. She sobbed. "I-Ish n-n-no f-fair."

Snap out of it! The voice snapped urgently, That other one is doing something!

She tried to control her sobs, pulling up her hood for comfort. "Be back shoon, Mother."

[Boost!]

The second increase in power made the woman completely snap out of her grief, at least for now, and she quickly ran in the direction the waves of power were coming from.

Her right arm flared painfully, and she grit her teeth.

Finally, she reached them.

The man had been heavily injured, and the being was standing over him, magic rolling off it.

The traveler immediately recognized it as powerful mind magic used in possessions, willing or not.

Judging from the situation, it was certainly the latter of the two.

Wasting no time, the traveler reached with her own magic and put herself between the man and the being's spell in an effort to help the man her mother asked her to protect.

Blackness surrounded her.

.

Suddenly, she was fighting, fighting against a certain piece of shit, demon-looking sorcerer that was also the leader of the cultists hunting down non-humans in the last few centuries.

She barely managed to land correctly after taking a hit, but forced herself to remember that this was an illusion of somebody's mind and avoided an attack that would have likely 'killed' her with unnatural speed.

She focused once and a ghostly silver dragon appeared and completely destroyed all enemy units.

Everyone else but the silver-haired man faded, but this time there were two of them.

"W-Who are you?" they both yelped.

"A friend." The traveler replied, deepening her voice.

"Why do you look like Mother?" the younger-looking of the two men asked.

"Funny you ask that." The traveler said with a smirk. "Kate is my mother. She asked to get you outta this mess."

The two stared as the silver dragon lowered itself to their level.

She climbed on its back. "Well, what are you waiting for?"

The younger of the two hastened to follow, and she pulled him up.

What about him? The voice asked concernedly, unheard by the other two.

The older of the men hesitated before he climbed onto the dragon's back, and they were quickly off, blasting through the defenses of the mind keeping them all trapped there.

The silver dragon made short work of anything trying to get in the way, and they soon managed to reach the boundary between the being's mind and the man's.

The traveler landed.

"Well, I stop here." She told them. "I can't interfere beyond this point."

Making a barrier to prevent the being from interfering with the two returning to their mind, the traveler directed the silver dragon she created to fend off the incoming forces.

Isn't this a bit overkill? The voice asked amusedly.

'Not really.' The traveler thought back. 'The Summons? Now that would be overkill. This is nothing special.'

Because you could do it since you were six. The voice shot back.

Finally, there was the flare of power that indicated that the men had finally returned to their own mind. The traveler quickly dismissed the dragon and returned to her own mind and body, back to the real world.

.

It took her a second to reorient herself, but she was quick to throw the confusion of switching between the physical and spiritual worlds too fast off and punched the cloaked being in what would have passed as its face, unleashing a torrent of magic on its mostly defenseless form.

It wasn't long, just a few seconds, before the being hissed in displeasure and disappeared, the magic that led her here disappearing with it.

'Well, that went well.' The traveler thought sarcastically.

No kidding. The voice piped in, But at least we know what was interfering with my magic.

'Yes. A freak trying to randomly possess people.' The traveler snapped back, shutting down the connection to the best of her ability and cursing.

The man was unconscious and badly injured, and she couldn't do much, especially as the [Dragon Blaze] ability was cooling down, making using magic hard enough that even lighting a fire hard, let alone attempting to mimic healing spells.

The traveler cursed again, before deciding that she might as well screw it and try Summoning.

Quietly sighing, she studied the man as she carefully gathered magic.

He wore a pair of cream-colored pants, comfortable traveling boots, a white tunic which was half-soaked in blood from a large gash on the man's chest and a black longcoat with a hood and dark red designs on its sleeves which were oddly similar to the Grimeal's.

The traveler hastily took a card out of her pocket, and muttered a short incantation.

"I call for the Drake Healer Fina. Summon!"

A small silver-blue dragon materialized with a puff of smoke at the traveler's call.

"Can you heal him, please?" she asked worriedly.

The Drake gave a small bow in midair and landed near the unconscious young man, breathing her Healing Flame on his wounds.

"He should be alright now." She said once she was done. "He's probably going to have a major headache once he wakes up, there's been some damage to his mind. What in the Skies happened to the kid?"

The traveler sighed in relief.

"Some freak-possessing-thing-whatever attacked him." She replied, "Must have been that."

The Drake shook her head in fond exasperation at the woman's eloquence, and disappeared with another puff of smoke.

Now she just had to wait until he woke up, make sure he was alright, and hopefully she would get an easy escort job or at least a traveling companion to chat with until they reached the town.

Seeing as it was beginning to take a while, the traveler decided to take off her cloak, revealing her attire, which consisted of a simple black tunic, a pair of light brown pants and traveling boots.

At her waist there were a pair of belts, each with multiple pouches and holding a scabbard with a sword. An elaborate-looking knife was hidden under the belts, while a thick yellow tome was resting in a harness at her side.

Looking closer at the man's clothing, she noticed it had a number of designs that were identical to those on her own cloak.

'No, this can't be him.' She thought to herself. 'It's too good to be true.'

Amused laughter echoed in the traveler's mind. And I think someone's in denial.

'Shut up.' She snapped at the voice, which for once obeyed her will.

She decided that she could at least pay her respects to her mother, no matter how much it hurt when she had just found her again.

She set a quick monitoring spell that would alert her when anyone would get near the area or the man woke up, and left.

The traveler choked back tears.

It was so unfair. The damned cultists had taken everything from her.

Her childhood, her freedom, her father, her chance at a semi-normal life, her family magic… and now, her mother as well.

Why, when she would have been content just living the delusion that she would somehow bump into her one day on a job and live happily for the rest of their lives?

She searched her mother's bloodied body for any personal effects she might want to keep, grim as it was.

The traveler's life was not cheap, and her money would only last her so long. An extra tome or sword could come useful someday, and she would have something to remember her by.

Her hands stilled.

Hanging from her neck, though previously hidden by her shirt, were a Dragon Knot and a pair of feathers, one brown and one silver.

Her marriage feathers.

Father had shown her his, identical to these, when she had been much younger. Ryoko herself still held both of her own, a lighter brown to symbolize both her parents.

Two feathers, one to keep forever, and one to give in promise of love forever.

She wondered of she would ever find someone to give her feather to, and receive another from. And she wondered if their love would not have a bitter ending like her parents'. She hoped so.

She took both the Knot and the feathers, but only kept the Dragon Knot. It wouldn't be right to take those feathers.

Her mother also had a few books on tactics, making the traveler smile sadly as she put them out of the way.

Seeing as she was done, the traveler took out a thin red tome and flipped it open, forcing herself not to cry and to keep her voice steady.

"Dying Blaze!" she incanted firmly, though her voice choked a little at the end.

Red flames engulfed her mother's body, shifting to a more gentle blue.

The legends said that burning the body of a loved one who died in battle with that spell would ease their passing.

The traveler fully believed it, and this was just confirmation.

Staring at the fire consuming her mother, the traveler finally allowed herself to break down and grieve, thankful for the voice's lack of remarks.

For a moment, she thought she felt someone embrace her and whisper comforting worlds.

.

The traveler returned half an hour later.

The young man on the ground groaned quietly.

The traveler leaned closer to the man's face, trying to see if he was alright.

The man's eyes opened slowly and unfocused for a moment, and the woman thought that it must have worse than she thought for him to get that kind of headache.

She wished that he was drunk off his ass and pissed off a passing bandit, and not recovering from whatever that being had done.

It wouldn't be the first time she found a drunk on the side of the road, and it certainly wouldn't be the last.

The chocolate brown in his eyes was a shockingly plain color in contrast with the man's hair, but for a second the traveler could have sworn they were a murky red instead.

Dismissing that as her imagination, the blue-haired traveler focused on the man lying on the ground.

"Y'know," she quipped, "I'd say that there are better places to sleep than on the ground, but I actually rather like the grass."

The man attempted to smile, but it was clear he was still half-asleep.

Resisting the urge to groan and rage at the unfairness of the world that she still hadn't managed to nap somewhere on the grass, the traveler offered her hand to the young man.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

The man managed to choke out a yes and took her hand.

Both of their eyes lingered on the strange tattoo-like marking on the back of the man's hand for a second before the traveler helped the man up with a small smile.

The man's hood fell off completely, revealing slightly pointed ears.

The traveler decided to introduce herself. "My name is -"

"Ryoko." The man blurted out suddenly.

Frowning slightly, the blue-haired traveler gave a small nod. "Yes. My name is Ryoko. How did you know that one?"

The man hesitated, before rubbing his head as if to try to ease an headache.

"I- well…" he tried to explain, "your name, it just… came to me…."

Ryoko hummed thoughtfully. "How curious…. Say, what's your name? And do you know how'd you get here?"

"My name is…" the man stopped abruptly, "…It's…"

He suddenly hissed in pain, clutching at his head.

She resisted the urge to curse. It was the worst-case scenario.

"Easy, there." The woman told him. "Don't try to force it, it'll come back on its own… hopefully." She muttered the last part to herself.

I don't think a hangover is- before the voice could continue, Ryoko slammed the connection shut with as much force as she could, giving herself an headache in the process.

"Really?" the man asked disbelievingly.

The traveler nodded. "I had a few head injuries after which I had trouble remembering my own name. And this one nasty hangover. Can you remember anything?"

The man attempted to focus, but only got a headache out of it and shook his head.

"Amnesia…?" Ryoko asked herself.

Really, of all the people to run into….

"Hail there, travelers!" someone shouted from a distance, "Is something the matter?"

The blue-haired traveler turned towards the voice, and let the two approaching horses catch up to them, one bearing a brown-haired Great Knight and the other a blue-haired man and a blond girl whose hair was kept in a pair of small twin tails.

"I found him injured at the side of the road." Ryoko lied. "Nothing much, but he seems to have amnesia."

"And are you certain it's not a load of Pegasus dung?" the mounted knight asked as the other two got off their horse.

'No, we was nearly possessed and got his memories completely shattered. By the way, the Grimeal are after him.' Yeah, like that'd go over well.

Besides, there was nothing to prove the truth as it was.

The green-eyed traveler nodded. "As sure as I can be without being an expert medic. His headaches match what it felt like when I had amnesia, but other than that…" she shrugged carelessly.

"I see…" the man replied sarcastically.

"Peace, Frederick." The blue-haired man told the knight. "I'm sure we can sort this out peacefully."

The last sentence was directed to Ryoko and the silver-haired man, who both gave slight nods.

"I'd rather be able to be at the town in time to get a room at the inn," the traveler added curtly, "we can talk as we walk."

The blue-haired man, obviously the leader of the group nodded in agreement. "Yes, it will be easier to sort this out at the town."

"Wait a minute, don't I have a say in this?" the amnesiac asked, slightly panicked.

"Would you rather be out here where we could be attacked by bandits?" Ryoko shot back.

"Nevermind." The silver-haired man said hastily. "The town is fine."

The traveler laughed. "Come on, let's get moving, kid."

"Aren't you younger than me?" the blond girl piped in.

"Hey!" Ryoko protested childishly, "I'll have you know that I'll turn six next year! That's plenty old!"

"Six?" the blond asked, confused.

Ryoko let out a despairing sigh. "I had the luck of being born on the 29th of February. I'm actually twenty-three."

The other girl nodded in understanding.

The traveler took a moment to observe the three who had decided to escort them to town.

They were the local militia, there was no doubt about it in Ryoko's mind.

The girl was a Cleric in skills at least, even without the Heal staff she was holding to announce it, as the pale yellow gown she was wearing was clearly not made for cutting down foes but rather for resisting spell damage, yet not of the kind used by more offensive spellcasters. She was probably also a noble, if the elaborate design of her dress was anything to go by.

The blue-haired man was also a noble and likely the girl's older brother from the way he subtly tried to place himself between them and the girl and the fact that they had the same intense blue eyes.

The man's clothing was much more apt for battle than the girl's, barring his uncovered sword arm which bore a familiar mark on the shoulder. He wore a dark blue tunic and pants with a golden trim, white boots and a white cape held by a pair of belts. A third belt at his hip held a red and golden scabbard with a golden sword.

Finally, the Great Knight was wearing heavy light blue armor, as was his massive white horse. He had a cheap bronze sword strapped to his belt, but the man's hand hovered towards the silver lance on the horse's saddlebags, and it was clearly his favored weapon. He was likely also the two nobles' bodyguard.

"So…" the silver-haired man asked, "what are you going to do with me?"

"Nothing bad, don't worry." Ryoko reassured him. "They will most likely just make sure that we're not a threat to Ylisse and let us go our own way."

The blue-haired man nodded in confirmation.

"Ylisse?" the silver-haired man asked, "Is that where we are?"

The Great Knight scoffed. "You've never heard of the halidom? Ha! Someone pay this actor. He plays quite the fool! The furrowed brow is especially convincing…."

Everyone glared at the knight, who clearly didn't believe the silver-haired man was suffering from amnesia.

"Frederick, please." The blue-haired man scolded.

Ryoko offered a smile and started explaining. "This land is known as the Halidom of Ylisse. Their ruler, Emmeryn, is called the Exalt. She took over after the war with Plegia some fifteen or so years ago when her father died." She shuddered at the memory. "Trust me, those were not good times to be an orphan or a refugee."

The blue-haired man looked at her sadly, but recovered himself quickly.

"Well," he said, "I suppose proper introductions are in order…. My name is Chrom. The delicate on here is my little sister Lissa."

Said girl pouted. "I am not delicate!" she huffed, even though she was smiling a little. "Please excuse my brother, he can be a bit thick sometimes."

"Hey!" Chrom protested at his sister's jab.

"Anyways," Lissa continued, ignoring her brother, "you're lucky your friend and the Shepherds found you. Brigands would've been a rude awakening!"

Ryoko laughed, while the amnesiac frowned in confusion.

"Shepherds?" he asked. "You tend sheep… in full armor?"

This set Ryoko off again, causing the two nobles to glance worriedly at her.

Chrom smirked at the amnesiac. "Hey, it can be an hazardous job. Just ask Frederick the Wary here."

"A title I shall wear with pride." The man in question stated. "Gods forbid one of us keeps an appropriate level of caution. I have every wish to trust you, strangers, but my station mandates otherwise."

"Don't worry 'bout it." Ryoko replied easily. "Caution has saved my life more than once."

The stoic knight nodded in acknowledgment.

"My name's Ryoko, by the way." The blue-haired woman added. "I'm a wandering mercenary, though you may know me better by the name 'Roy'."

"And I'm Daraen." The amnesiac piped in suddenly. "…I just remembered that. How odd. I suppose that's one mystery solved."

Ryoko nodded.

"Daraen? Is that foreign?" Chrom asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Ryoko shouted, interrupting. "Look! Southtown is on fire!"


AN: Well, that was it.

The black wolf and Fina are OCs. The wolf will likely never be heard of again, but Fina definitively is.

She's also a small nod to Sword Art Online, and originally was called Luna. But then I was reminded of SAO while editing, so I changed her name.

The Dragon Blaze is a result of reading too many crossovers, and just a plot device that will not get much use. Probably. Who knows?

As for Ryoko's lines with her mother's death, they are intentional. She has an accent, and it'll be more noticeable when distressed.

Finally, the small sequence with the two Daraens was inspired by another FE fanfic called First Encounter.

Hope you enjoyed it, and please leave a review.