Chapter 1: Footsteps of Fate
Author's notes: Wow! Almost 6000 words! guess putting my own little touches in early on can really put in some word count. Now hopefully I just go somewhere with it...
nothing much to say here, Enjoy and leave a review so I know what's good and what needs to be fixed!
The streets of Bulgar were bustling with life. People flooded the pathways as they shopped and socialized. Merchants called at people walking by to visit their stalls as their assistants advertised their wear or services as loudly as they could to be hear above the noise. The buildings where people lived stood stories into the sky, possibly the largest buildings in the entire region. It would prove very easy for one to become lost in a city such as this. The city truly lived up to its reputation as the commercial center of Sacae.
"This might take more time to navigate through than I thought…"Michael said as he surveyed the amount of people crowding the streets.
"At least we won't be short for merchants to buy from" Lyn pointed out.
"True," Michael agreed. "Of course, now that we're here, I don't feel so optimistic about how much of our budget is going to be left."
Michael's eyes wandered onto one stall and he found that it was selling three vulnerary in a set for seven hundred gold. "Look at these prices! Outrageous!"
"Don't like the prices? Beat it!" the merchant who manned the stall told Michael.
Michael was about to give the merchant the best retort he could think of but Lyn pulled him away, "Don't antagonize the merchant; he might have friends at other stalls."
"Good point" Michael conceded, settling for giving the merchant a dirty look while he was busy with another customer.
As the two continued to look around for possible supplies, Lyn discovered a talent neither would ever thought she would have: haggling. Lyn managed to not only procure an entire set of kitchen utensils but also several sets of clothes for only one fifth of their original asking price. Michael was just as stunned as he was pleased.
"Remind me to never go shopping without you around" he said jovially.
"That was fun!" Lyn laughed as she stretched her arms. "What else do you think we'll need?"
"Not sure. But let's browse. We'll find something eventually." Of course as Michael said that he took the opportunity to look at the wares of the nearest stall.
The stall wasn't one that had any supplies that the duo would ever need for their journey. This stall was selling jewelry and small toys. There were all kinds of accessories ranging from rings to earrings to glasses. While there were toys such as little stuffed bears and toy swords. Some of the things on sale were quite cute in Michael's opinion and he found himself smiling to himself before he could realize it.
"See something you like?" The merchant asked him, making Michael jump slightly in surprise.
"Oh, no," Michael told her. "Just browsing."
The merchant was silent for a moment as she gave Michael a quick look over. This made Michael a little uncomfortable. She had long dark-red hair that was tied in a ponytail, with eyes just as dark. She wore a red shirt, but it was a much brighter shade than her hair. She was actually quite attractive in Michael's opinion.
"Alrighty!" she said with a smile as she began to walk over to one another stall, "But if you change your mind, just holler!"
"Weird…" Michael said to himself as she walked away.
"What are you looking at?" Lyn asked as she suddenly appeared behind Michael's back.
"Nothing much" Michael told her, not allowing himself to look as surprised as he felt.
"Jewelry?" Lyn asked as she took a look for herself. "Why would you be looking at that?"
"No reason," Michael told her. "This was just the first stall I came to.
Lyn looked around the stall until her eyes fell upon the merchant which then quickly went back to Michael. "And I assume the beautiful merchant running the stall had nothing to do with it?" It was her turn to tease this time.
"Oh, don't even start!" Michael partially yelled in annoyance, "Do you think I'm that dumb as to just be attracted to a pretty face?"
Lyn was silent for a while, her face slowly turning into a sly expression, "So you can dish it but can't take it."
"What?" Michael asked.
Unbeknownst to the both of them, the merchant from before had heard their bickering and was silently listening while slowly turning to face their direction.
"You teased me before, but when the shoe is on the other foot it isn't so fun, is it?" Lyn had a truly smug look on her face.
"You're still on about that?!" Michael asked, flabbergasted.
"All jokes are fair between friends!" Lyn said with a smile as she walked away, leaving Michael in wonder about how personally she could take things.
Michael maybe would have stayed put for quite a long time more if the merchant from before didn't speak up.
"Little fight with your lady friend?" the merchant asked.
"What?" Michael asked, not truly listening to what she said. "Oh, no. It's nothing serious. Just some teasing between friends."
The merchant just gave Michael a big smile. "Of course. The customer is always right." There was a hint in her tone that made it clear she didn't believe him.
"I should probably get going now," Michael announced as he began to leave. "Thanks for letting me browse for so long. Your wares are quite wonderful."
"Thank you" The merchant told Michael. "…But don't you want to get your friend back?"
"Excuse me?" Michael asked, slowly stepping back to the stall, his interest piqued.
"If I know how a lady thinks-and I think I know pretty well-she'll probably think you'll try to trick her back. Why not take her off-guard by buying her something?"
"That's…a good idea?" Michael asked, slowly being sucked into the merchant's sales pitch.
"If I might make a suggestion," The merchant continued, picking up a hand-sized teddy bear from one of the farther racks, "Girls love cute things. Anything furry especially. And this little guy here happens to be the best of the best! How fast these little guys fly off the shelves and the fact that even I keep one with me should tell you all you need to know!"
"…How much?" Michael asked, caught hook line and sinker, but still retaining enough sense to not be ripped-off.
"For you? Fifteen gold. It's usually thirty, but I like you, so I'll give you a discount."
"DEAL!" Michael shouted as he put the gold in the merchant's hand.
"Pleasure doing business with you!" The merchant thanked Michael as he grabbed the bear.
"Oh, yeah. I almost forgot!" Michael said just as he left, "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?"
"My name?" The merchant asked, caught by surprise. She let out a little smile before responding, "Anna."
"Anna. Mine's Michael. Thanks a bunch!"
"Good luck!" Anna called out as Michael left. Anna made sure Michael had left before she spoke to herself. "Wow! That was an easier sale than I thought! Hook line and sinker! Hope everything goes well for him. The look on his face when she caught him off-guard though? Priceless!"
After several fear filled minutes of searching, Michael found Lyn sitting on the fountain in the center of the city plaza. She looked as if she didn't have a care in the world, her smile still broadly showing on her face.
"Finished flirting?" Lyn asked playfully.
"Yeah," Michael told her, deciding to just go along with her, "I got her name and everything. She was already trying to discuss marriage with me."
"Really?" Lyn asked in complete disbelief, her smile quickly disappearing.
"No," Michael told her flatly.
"Well that's good. I wouldn't want our adventure to end before it even began!" Lyn replied.
Before Michael could respond, a new voice caught both of theirs attention, "Oh, my heart! What a dazzling vision of loveliness!" The voice belonged to a man, they could both obviously tell. And what soon followed the voice was the man it belonged to.
The man had swamp-green hair that went down to his shoulders that was kept from covering his eyes with a purple bandanna. His eyes were the same shade as his hair and the armor he wore was also green, but a more vibrant dark green.
'What's it with people having the same hair and eye color?' Michael asked himself as the man approached.
"Wait, O beauteous one!" the man plead as he made his way over to the duo, "Would you favor me with your name? Or, better yet, your company?"
"Who the heck are you?" Michael asked, quickly getting on his defensive.
Lyn nodded to him and Michael relaxed, if only marginally. "Where are you from, sir knight that you speak so freely to a stranger?" Lyn asked.
"Ha," the man laughed, "I thought you would never ask! I am from Lycia. I hail from Caelin canton, home of men of passion and fire!"
"They must have really lowered the standards for knights if you're one" Michael responded, his voice hollow with disappointment. Lyn let out a small chuckle in response.
The knight from Caelin frowned as he turned his attention to Michael, "And who might you be, my good man, to say such a thing?"
"I happen to b−" Michael began, but his retort was cut off by yet another male voice muffling his own.
"Sain! Hold your tongue!"
This man that quickly made his way over had short orange hair, trimmed so it didn't trouble his vision. His eyes were a light red, thankfully not being the same color as his hair. His armor, while much like the other knight's, was red instead of green.
"Ah, Kent!" the knight called Sain said, "My boon companion! Why so severe an expression?"
"If you're manner were more serious," the knight called Kent told Sain through clenched teeth, "I wouldn't have to be so severe! We still have a mission to complete! And here you are, flirting with yet another maiden!"
"But Kent," Sain whined, "How can I keep on such a mission when there is a maiden as beautiful as her that's caught my eye!?"
"Honestly," Kent said as he massaged the bridge of his nose, "What am I to do with you?"
As the two continued to talk, Michael ever so lightly tapped Lyn shoulder to get her attention before whispering, "As fun as it is to watch them argue, I think it might be advantageous for us to get a move on."
"Good idea," Lyn agreed. "Let's make haste and leave this place before they stop arguing."
As soon as the duo were about to leave, Kent put his shoulder on Lyn's arm, which caused Lyn to spin around to face him, her hand hovering over the hilt of her sheath.
"Pardon me but…," Kent began, almost unsure about what he was saying, "I feel we've met before."
"I beg your pardon?" Lyn asked, almost scandalized.
"Kent!" Sain whined again, "No fair! I saw her first!"
"It seems there are no decent men in Lycia's knights after all" Lyn huffed as she walked away, Michael right behind her.
"Wait!" Kent said, "It's not like…that…"
But the duo were already gone, lost in the sea of shoppers.
"Sain," Kent said once again through clenched teeth in a barely controlled rage, "YOU LOUT! Last time I remembered, I was not you!"
"So you weren't…" Sain began, only now realizing his friend was not thinking the same way he was. "Oh…a thousand pardons."
"Hold the apologies for later! For now we must find that maiden! I think she might be our mission!"
"Truly?! We must act fast then! They were certainly quick on their feet to leave!"
"And who do you think was the cause of that, hm?"
The two knights began to scour the city, but soon realized that they had lost the duo within minutes. Desperate to find them, they decided to make their way to the entrance of the city. Eventually, they would have to pass through to leave.
For the duo however, the two knights quickly became the least of their worries, as they were being followed almost immediately after fading into the crowd. What was originally one pursuer soon became two. If it weren't for Lyn looking over her shoulder earlier to make sure whether the knights were following them or not, they would have never known they were being pursued. Even as they ran, Michael was dedicating everything he had to formulating a winning strategy for Lyn.
"We have to get out of the markets!" Michael told Lyn, "It's too suffocating for any of your sword techniques."
"You're the tactician!" Lyn answered him as they ran out towards the entrance of the city and towards the wide open fields.
Surveying the area, Michael was relieved to find that the area had many more little thickets of trees than the last battle. This would prove useful both as a means for Lyn to more easily avoid attacks, but almost presented more areas for him to hide so he could continually relay commands and strategies in order to keep Lyn battling effectively. The entire area was split into two side by a river running through it, with two bridges serving as the only way to cross from one side to the other.
"I hear something!" Lyn spoke up as they both froze in silence. "Horses! Are those knights after us?!"
"Can't be," Michael reassured her, "There's no way they would be able to track us once we got in that crowd"
"But we were being followed before!" Lyn pointed out.
"That's different," Michael explained, "Someone had their eyes on us since we were talking to them. Unless−"
But Michael never got to finish that thought, for at that same moment, a bandit walked up to them.
He was aged, with gray hair and an equally gray stubble. But his body had many scars, testaments to the battles he had had. The axe he carried over his shoulders was stained in dried blood.
"Well aren't you a pretty thing!" The bandit laughed as he gave Lyn a once over. "I assume your Lyndis?"
"How do you know that name?! Who are you?!" Lyn yelled.
"That shouldn't matter to you dearie," The bandit answered. "But still…It's such a waste…The things I do for gold. Come on out boys! It's time to earn your coin!"
At the bandit's command, several bandits emerged from cover in the thickets Michael had been thinking of using for cover.
"There goes that plan…" Michael muttered.
"This might be more than I can handle…"Lyn said dejectedly. "But that doesn't mean I won't try!"
Just as a battle was about to commence, the sound of horses galloping, now clearly close by, filled the air. On those two horses, were the knights Kent and Sain from earlier.
"You two!" Michael exclaimed.
"Finally caught up…" Sain managed to say in between gulps of air. "We were looking everywhere for you."
"Great," Lyn said in annoyance, "Just what I need. A knight to flirt with me as I get an axe through the head."
"You wound me, fair maiden!" Sain responded. "We are here to help! You there!" He addressed the bandit leader, "Why so many numbers against one girl? You are all cowards!"
"Why are you-?" Lyn began, but was cut off by Kent.
"We will explain all later. Once the battle is done."
"Wise advice" Michael agreed.
"Very well," Kent addressed Michael, "We shall be under your command! Direct us as you see fit."
"I think I'm about done giving you all the time to chat!" The bandit leader announced as he made way to attack.
"Get on the horse!" Michael told Lyn as he jumped onto Kent's, leaving Lyn to get onto Sain's. "Ride down south towards that small thicket! We'll form a strategy there and catch our breath!"
Dutifully following Michael's instructions, Kent rode his horse as commanded, with Sain and Lyn following close behind.
"Damn!" The bandit leader shouted, "Don't just stand there you half-brained idiots! Go haul them back here!"
As they got to the thicket, Michael, rather ungracefully, got off Kent's horse, earning a few bruises for his trouble from the tumble down. While Lyn got off Sain's horse as if she had been around horses her entire life. Though being from the plains, Michael couldn't expect anything less from her.
"What will our plan be?" Lyn asked, her full faith in him coming up with a perfect strategy.
"Give me a minute," Michael told her as he peaked around the trunk of a tree.
Two of the bandits from the group were attempting to pursue them, but their speed and ability to cover ground were nothing compared to Sain and Kent's mounts. All the other bandits were waiting patiently for their comrades to bring back their quarry. It was a mistake to assume they were trapped and helpless animals.
"Alright," Michael said as he turned to face the other three, "Here's the first part of our attack: Sain, on my mark, I want you to engage the bandit on our right side. He looks to be slightly faster than the other ones and is covering more ground. We'll wait until they tire themselves out with running over here to attack."
"I will be as swift as the wind itself!" Sain answered.
"Whatever," Michael told him. "Meanwhile, Lyn: I want you to go after the guy on our left. You'll be leaving after Sain engages his opponent. That guy will probably want to help his buddy while Sain is dealing with him. While that's happening, that's when you can get the jump on him."
"Leave it to me!" Lyn told him.
"What about me?" Kent spoke up.
"Kent," Michael began, "You'll be carrying me over to our next little hideaway so I can direct our next step. After that, you'll be joining Lyn and Sain on the front lines."
"Understood!" Kent nodded.
"On my mark, Sain," Michael motioned as he peaked his head back out to see the two bandit's progress, holding his arm in the air as he did so.
As soon as Michael could clearly see their faces, he gave Sain the signal to move in. True to his word, Sain engaged them almost as quickly as Michael had given him the signal.
Just as predicted, the other bandit began to rush in to assist his comrade, when Lyn appeared from out of nowhere and began to engage him herself, dodging every sloppy swing with his axe he could muster.
Unfortunately, Sain was not doing as spectacular as one could hope. His spear wasn't connecting with its target, the bandit dodging every thrust before they were completely followed through.
"Sain!" Kent yelled, "What is this foolishness?! Take out your blade and be done with him!"
"A blade?" Sain answered as he pulled his horse back from an attack, "But the lance is a far nobler and heroic weapon!"
Michael's hand collided with his forehead, "You have got to be joking…"
From Kent's own reaction, Michael wasn't alone. "He forgot to bring along a sword…May I?" Kent asked Michael.
"Are you going to help him out?" Michael asked in return.
Kent gave a nod.
"By all means."
In two blinks of an eye, Kent was at Sain's side, where he produced an iron sword and threw it over to Sain.
"A thousand thanks, my good friend!" Sain thanked Kent.
"You're just lucky I have a spare," Kent chastised him, "Otherwise you would be on your own."
"I don't believe you would let me out to die for one minute," Sain quipped back as he ran the bandit through, as if he was a fly to be swatted away.
"OK, the knights are done, how about you Lyn?!" Michael asked as he looked over to where she was last engaging the bandit. But all that was left was his corpse.
"I've been done for some time now" Lyn explained as she sat down next to him.
"That was fast!" Michael noted.
"That oaf of a knight was just slow."
"I'll have you know I was just playing with him before he would be dealt his horrible demise!" Sain desperately tried to defend himself as the two of knights made their return.
"Your orders?" Kent asked, eager to serve.
As Michael peaked around the tree once again, he saw that the bandits had decided to converge on the bridges rather then attempting to engage two knights on horseback.
"It seems they've changed their plan from just running at us to blocking the bridges so we can't get by" Michael noted.
"A mistake they will learn soon enough" Kent mentioned.
"You know it!" Michael agreed. "But first, let's make our way closer to where they are. I want to see how many of them are left."
Being sure to tread carefully, the group made their way to another thicket. On the short ride they were spotted by the bandits, but they didn't try to engage them in combat. There were three bandits left in all. The leader from before, and two underlings. Each of the underlings was guarding one of the bridges, assuring that no one would be able to pass through without going through them first.
"This is almost too easy," Michael announced to the others. "Kent, I want you to keep the bandit on the bridge to the left of us busy for a while."
"I shall commence with my task as soon as you give the signal" Kent told Michael.
"Meanwhile, I want Sain to take the guy on the right. Think you can handle it?" Michael asked Sain, remembering the fiasco that was Sain's first brush with the other bandit.
"It seems I'll have to outdo myself in order to repair my image" Sain huffed, obviously sore from Michael's little comment.
"Fine," Michael told him, "Lyn, you g−"
"WAIT! I never said I wouldn't do it" Sain yelled.
"Please treat them seriously this time," Lyn advised, "It wouldn't be very heroic to wind up on the wrong side of an axe."
"If it shall keep the lovely maiden from fretting about my well-being, consider the bandit already dead."
"Nice to see you still have some fire left in you" Michael noted.
"What about me?" Lyn asked.
"You'll be staying back this time," Michael told her. From the look of their leader, he has a lot of battle experience. I want you to stay back for a while and catch your breath. Since you aren't on a mount, you'll be less of a target once the time comes."
"And I want you two to be careful," Michael warned, turning his attention to the two knights, "You'll be fighting on the bridges. Your horses won't have the luxury of maneuvering you out of danger as with the last skirmish. You'll have to finish off your bandit as soon as possible."
"I shall keep that in mind as I approach" Kent said.
"Those two look like they are expecting us. They probably won't give us an opening to exploit, so I think you guys can just rush in whenever you feel like you can-but be careful! Actually…" Michael began to rub his chin as he looked at Lyn.
"What?" Lyn asked.
"How many vulnerary do you have on you right now?" Michael asked her.
Lyn took a moment to pull out the pouch from before and counted its content. "Five."
Michael's mouth fell open as quickly as a Lyn cut down bandits. "I'm sorry, I think I misheard you. Did you say FIVE vulnerary?"
"Yes."
Michael massaged his temples as he let the information sink in. "Is that a problem?" Sain asked him.
"No," Michael let out in a long sigh, "I'm just…thinking about how nobody tells me important details like these. But anyway, please give Kent and Sain a vulnerary."
With the two each packed with a vulnerary, they each set off to dispatch their respective bandit. They each did well considering they were on the losing end in terms of maneuverability, but after some time coaxing the bandits away from the bridges, they fell quite easily. Though, both Kent and Sain did receive their own wounds during that dangerous game of cat and mouse. Michael was wise to give them each a vulnerary in case things went awry.
"Nicely done guys," Michael commended them as they drank some of their medical potions. "You pulled that off very well."
"Ha!" Sain laughed, "It will take far more than a few measly bandits to defeat Kent and me!"
"Indeed," Kent agreed, "With your tactical genius, there should be no enemy we cannot defeat if we work together."
"All that's left is the leader of that little force" Lyn pointed out.
"He's smart," Michael thought aloud, "He's not engaging us on his own. Rather, he's waiting for us to come to him."
"Why so?' Sain asked.
"If we all came in to overpower him all at once, we risk the threat of harming each other," Michael explained. This last fight is strictly going to be on a one-on-one basis. If someone is taking too much damage, they'll have to tag someone else in for them to finish the job."
"That's why you wanted me to rest!" Lyn guessed, "So I could be ready to fight him and bring him down all at once."
Michael gave an affirmative nod. "But just because you're rested doesn't mean he'll be easy. Remember last time; don't underestimate your opponent."
"I was careless once," Lyn said, "And that was the only time I shall ever be."
"He's all yours" Michael told her.
"Good luck!" Sain called out as Lyn walked toward the bandit leader.
"May your sword bring him swift judgment!" Kent called out.
As Lyn walked over to the leader, Michael sat down in the grass, his eyes trained on Lyn.
"What do we do now?" Kent asked.
"It's simple really," Michael said as he motioned for both of them to take a seat on the ground, "We wait for Lyn to win."
"Ba!" The bandit leader spat, "Damn knights. They never know when to keep their noses out of our business!"
"You don't have to die here," Lyn told the bandit, attempting to avoid further bloodshed, "You can walk away right now and be done with it."
As much as Lyn wanted to avoid a fight if she could, her arm was resting firmly on her sheath, just in case the bandit would not listen to reason.
"I think you know as well as I do girlie!" The bandit leader scoffed, "That this here day isn't going to end unless one of our head's is rolling down the river!"
"I tried…" Lyn muttered sadly to herself as she quickly drew her iron sword.
With a ferocious roar cry, the bandit leader, with more speed than one of his age would let on, delivered a deadly horizontal slash with his axe aiming for Lyn's stomach. Lyn quickly put up her sword in a defensive position in order to block the blow. His axe met her sword, and the two were locked in a struggle to push each other back, each hoping to create an opening as they did so.
As far as strength went, Lyn was outclassed. Lyn was slowly seeing herself being pushed back against the overwhelming force behind the leader's axe. It would only be a matter of time before her guard gave out from her arms cramping up. In a wise move, Lyn jumped back and out of the axe's range, just as the leader put in a large thrust of force behind his axe.
As the bandit leader delivered another blow, this time a vertical slash, Lyn bounced out of the way and attempted to stab at him through his side, but the bandit's strike turned out to be a faint as he drew his axe back to deflect Lyn's blow.
"Sorry girlie," The Bandit leader laughed, "Last time I was stupid enough to let somebody do that, I got this here scar on my face and almost lost my right eye."
"Damn!" Lyn muttered under her breath.
Away from the fight, Michael was analyzing both combatants fighting styles. Lyn's style focused greatly on grace and quick strikes. Neither Lyn nor her style was cut out for prolonged battles. Michael would do best to remember that for later battles.
On the contrary, the bandit leader had the opposite style, focusing purely on power and force rather than any true speed and trickery. This man had a style that proved to be the result of many long battles. He was the worst opponent for Lyn to face.
"She's being pushed back," Kent observed. "Let me take her place."
"She's not finished yet!" Sain reminded Kent.
"I agree with Sain," Michael said, "Lyn still hasn't shown her trump card yet.
"Trump card?" Kent asked curiously.
"Keep watching," Michael recommended, "You might just see it soon."
The battle between Lyn and the bandit leader had devolved into Lyn just keeping out of his attack range as he slowly advanced his way towards her. Lyn's breathing was beginning to become haggard, a telltale sign that she was becoming fatigued. This battle would be decided in just a few more moments.
"I think we're nearing the end of our little game here, Lyndis" The bandit leader said mockingly.
"Michael was confident enough to let me take you on all on my own," Lyn told him, "I won't betray his trust and expectations!"
"Thick-headed to the bitter end," The bandit leader mused, "That's youth for you…"
As the bandit readied what was surly meant to be his killing blow, Lyn took a new stance. Instead of keeping the blade low like she usually did, she brought the blade to her shoulders as she crouched down, putting her front foot out as she took a long breath.
"Here is comes!" Michael announced.
Almost as if he was moving at two different speeds at once, Lyn slowly, but somehow quickly, disappeared before everyone's eyes. A shock went through everyone but Michael when Lyn vanished.
In his shock, the bandit leader lowered his axe as he surveyed the area, but it was a wasted effort. The sound of a blade cutting through flesh echoed in the air as Lyn tore through the bandit's body with every strike. The final slash cut open his neck. His last sounds were him gargling on his own blood as he fell down in a single heap to the ground where he died shortly as his body connected with the ground.
"So that's what she did last time…" Michael muttered to himself as him, Kent, and Sain ran to meet Lyn.
"That was marvelous technique!" Kent said, truly awed.
"That bandit didn't know what was coming!" Sain gushed, "The look on his face as she disappeared was to die for!"
"He was definitely more skilled than the last one…" Lyn stated. "If it wasn't for him leaving an opening from getting cocky, my technique wouldn't have worked half as well."
"All part of the battle though," Michael reassured her. "You were on your guard. He wasn't. It's obvious who the victor would be."
Lyn gave him an affirmative nod to show that she agreed. "Now," Lyn said, "Let' hear what these knights have to say."
"But of course," Kent began almost immediately, "We have ventured from Caelin, in Lycia, in search of someone."
"Lycia," Lyn said as she looked at Michael, "Isn't it that the country beyond the mountains in the southeast?"
Michael gave her a confused shrug in response.
"You are correct," Kent told her. "We came as messengers to lady Madelyn, who eloped with a nomad some nineteen years ago."
"Madelyn?" Lyn asked.
"Our lord the marquess of Caelin's only daughter," Kent continued. "He was heartbroken his own daughter would abandon him. Eventually, he simply declared he had no daughter."
"And then wouldn't you know," Sain jumped in, "This year we received a letter from lady Madelyn. It said her, her husband, and their daughter were living happily on the Sacae plains. The marquess was ecstatic to discover that he had a granddaughter of eighteen years. Why, the smile he had on his face when he announced he had suddenly become a grandfather went from one end of the castle to the other! Especially so when he found out the girl's name was Lyndis. It was the same name as the marquess's wife, who passed away at an early age."
"Lyndis?" Lyn asked once again.
Michael was fully absorbed into the conversation to make any comments.
"You can certainly believe that little tidbit melted whatever was left of the ice around the marquess's heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family at least once," Sain went on. "That's why we are here. But we didn't know that lady Madelyn died a few days after sending her letter…We only learned this shortly after arriving in Bulgar."
"But we also learned that all was not lost," Kent began anew, "Her daughter yet lives. We heard she was living alone on the plains… I knew immediately that she was you."
"Why would you think that?" Lyn asked.
"Your resemblance to your departed mother is remarkable," Kent explained.
"Did you know my mother?" Lyn asked again.
"I am sorry to say I never met her directly," Kent told her, "But I saw her portrait in Castle Caelin."
"To the rest of my tribe," Lyn began, 'I was always Lyn. "But when I was with my parents…When it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis. It's so strange. Before, I was all alone in the world, and now I have a grandfather. Lyndis…I never thought I would hear that name again."
Silent tears swept down Lyn's face as she finished speaking. Everyone was silent as she dried her tears.
"Wait!" Lyn yelled as she opened her eyes in revelation, "That bandit! He called me Lyndis, too!"
"What?" Kent asked, "But how could he have−"
"…He was a henchman of Lord Lundgren, wasn't he?" Sain spat.
"Lundgren?" Lyn asked, "Who's that?"
"He's the marquess's younger brother," Kent explained. Everyone assumed the lady Madelyn was gone forever. This made Lord Lundgren the heir to the marquess's title."
"To be blunt, milady," Sain stepped in, "Your existence is an obstacle to your granduncle's ambition."
"That's-" Lyn stuttered, "But I have no interest in inheriting any title!"
"I'm afraid your granduncle isn't the sort of man to believe that," Sain told her. "I believe the attempts on your life will persist."
"What should I do?" Lyn asked, clueless as to how to act following these new revelations.
"Accompany us to Caelin," Kent beckoned her, "Continuing on this way is dangerous."
"But I was traveling with Michael," Lyn explained to the knights, "I can't just go on without him!"
"It's alright," Michael told her, as he had finished processing everything Kent and Sain had said. "Besides, I original plan was going to involve us just wandering from place to place. Now, we have a destination−and a goal in mind."
"Will you continue to be my master tactician?" Lyn asked.
"Will you continue to be my peerless warrior?" Michael answered her.
Lyn let out a small smile. "Very well," Lyn said to Kent and Sain as she faced them, "I will go with you."
The four have banded together on their way towards Caelin. However, on the way lies a shrine famed for its mystical sword. Their next stop is the temple where this sword is enshrined. Since this sword is said to bring luck to those who touch it, it is a stop not just for sightseeing, but for morale as well. But there Lyn will discover her most steadfast ally and her most trustworthy of weapons.
Author's notes: Don't listen to what Michael says, Lyn was blessed by the RNG Goddess and we all know it!
Going by my limited knowledge of FE7 (Only got to the chapter where you get a boat to Dead Isle) Anna doesn't appear nearly enough for my liking. I hope to make her a recurring/main character. Maybe not in Lyn's route, but definitely in Eliwood's and Hector's.
