AN: Welcome one and all you wonderful people who for whatever reason clicked on my story! I've written stories before but never shared them, this is my first full on attempt at a proper story. I was inspired by the story "Rekka no Ken: A Story Retold" and I highly recommend it. Anyways there is no set schedule to uploads, for the first few chapters it will be at regular-ish intervals, but then things will no doubt lose all sense of schedule. Please please PLEASE provide any feedback you can, constructive criticism is the greatest gift you can give me as a writer! With all that said….uh, enjoy!
9:30AM:
At a small private college, in an on-campus housing dorm, a young man rose from slumber… and promptly fell out of bed with a cry of pain.
"My aching… damn, these beds are too thin…" He thought as he got up and stumbled to the bathroom. He got his tinted glasses and put them on before looking at himself in the mirror. His brown, mid length hair was a mess. A short while later he was out of the bathroom, properly dressed and looking significantly improved. "Right, New Years tonight…" he muttered as he glanced at the calendar. It waa getting harder by the week to find it in his wall due to an ever growing collection of vinyl. His eyes passed over the other half of his dorm room, where there was a neatly made bed and electric keyboard, both recently unused. "Riley's not gonna be back until the day after tomorrow, so not much to do with others…." He sighed, making a mental note to at least TRY to make a couple more friends to hang out with. He moved his guitar case out of the way of his drawers, next to several boxes with sheet music poking out.
With a Semper Ludens hoodie to keep him warm, the young man went to lie on an outside bench and relax in the fresh air.
"Hey Rec! Didn't know you were still here!" a tall redheaded girl the boy called Rec's age, and about an inch taller, said as she approached the bench on roller skates
"Hey Ashley." Rec said without taking his eyes off his PS Vita.
"That's all? No 'oh thanks Ashley for taking the time to check up on me in my loneliness stuck at college over the holidays'?
"I'm not stuck here, i just don't like the family gatherings over the holidays. I can't stand most of my extended family. We've been over this."
Ashley looked over 'Rec's' shoulder, pretended to be invested in what game he was playing.
"Sooooooo…." Ashley began.
Rec sighed and paused his Vita. "Alright, Ashe, what favor do you need THIS time?"
Ashley just smiled innocently. "Hey that's a pretty rude thing to say ya know! All I was gonna ask is for some tutoring in languages."
"How does this involve me? I don't know Chinese."
"But you do know Latin!" Ashley countered. "Maddy, a friend of mine, is taking Latin here and she could use some help."
Rec thought hard. "Maddy… oh, Maddelyn, that last minute transfer?"
"That's her! We were pen pals before she transferred here. Anyways c'mon! You're the best Latin student I know! Pretty please?" she pleaded. At last Rec let his shoulders drop.
"...fine. But you owe me big time, we've been over this-"
"Yeah yeah, you don't like dealing with people. Don't worry, I'm sure you and Maddy will get along great. Besides, you could use a girlfriend, I doubt you want everyone calling you Recluse forever."
Rec's pale skin flushed a bit in both anger and embarrassment. "Okay one: I should've known you were trying to hook me up again. And two: How long until you learn that-"
Ashley completely ignored him. "And I don't care if you 'don't like people', that's no excuse for almost going on 20 and having never even flirted with a girl. Thanks again!" Ashley ruffled Rec's already unkempt hair, before skating off. In the distance she could hear him yell: "STOP PLAYING MATCHMAKER!"
Exasperated, Rec went to his dorm's recreation room. "I need some Fire Emblem…"
As the credit sequence to Blazing Sword on the screen of his Wii U ended, Rec checked the room's clock: 11:59 PM, December 31st.
"Fireworks are gonna start soon… whatever, I skipped homecoming, I can afford to skip this too." It was his usual line of reasoning for skipping social gatherings.
There was a long sigh as Rec lolled on the couch, in the silent freshman dorm.
"Everyone should be celebrating right about now…" He thought before he looked at the clear time. "yeah, that looks about right…give or take a couple of hours shaved off by save states." He yawned as a sudden drowsiness swept over him. "Already exhausted? Must be losing my edge, it's only midnight…" he thought as he powered the system off and made his way around the first corner into his bedroom, he used his key with it's tag with initials and number "G.M. 103H" immediately collapsing on the bed, images of all his favorite characters, not a single one having died under his watch, congratulating him still fresh in his mind…
The young man heard fireworks in the distance as he almost immediately succumbed to sleep.
With a migraine in his head, the same young man awoke in an open plain, the wind rustling the long grass. Drowsily and painfully he roused from sleep, unable to fully process what was going on, before he heard a voice. Nothing was functioning right though, he couldn't even make out what the voice sounded like as his vision settled in, and as he turned to the voice what he saw made his heart stop short.
Looking down from above him was a green haired teenager with a long blue dress. She repeated herself louder. "Hey! Are you okay? You-" the voice was cut off as the young man immediately blacked out completely with one word in his mind: "Impossible."
With a soft splash of cold water on his face, the freshman awoke with a start in a bed. He took in his surroundings, and once more his heart nearly froze over.
"Please stop blacking out!" the young woman huffed, worried but irritated. It seems this was not her first time waking her guest.
To his credit, the freshman managed to not black out. He did, however, begin hyperventilating. After being handed some water, he downed it in an instant and his breathing began to return to normal. After a long silence with the hostess waiting intensely, the young man spoke. "Am I… is this Sacae?" he whispered, not for fear but for lack of composure. Terror and hope both in his voice.
"Yes, I found you outside in the open plain." The girl responded. "You blacked out when you saw me, though. Can you remember much?"
"I… I felt a sudden drowsiness come over me…"
"You must have passed out, it's the only reason I can think of for going to sleep in an open field." The girl said with unintentional wit. "My name is Lyn, do you remember your name?"
With those words the young man began to finally get a grip on hi situation, but he quickly started stumbling over his words. "M-M-My n-name? Oh! It's…" there was a long pause as the girl began to fear for her guests mental state, but her fears were eased when he finally answered "Varric. V-Varric Solas."
The girl seemed almost bewildered by the response. "Varric Solas? A strange name….I didn't even know such kinds of names existed, it sounds unreal…" She thought aloud and the young man winced.
"I uh… I get that a lot…" he mumbled. Immediately the girl looked apologetic.
"Forgive me! Pay it no mind, it is still a good name! By your clothes I take it you aren't from Sacae yourself?"
"My clothes-" at that, Varric realized he was wearing a familiar green cloak. "I… I really am…" he said aloud in disbelief.
"Where might you be from then-?" Lyn began before there was the sound of very loud bickering outside. "Bandits!" she said in a hushed exclamation. She quickly grabbed a sword by the exit of her hut and was halfway out before Varric realized a crucial error.
"Wait! You forgot your vulnerary!" he said instinctively. Lyn turned bewildered as she realized he was right.
"How did you…never mind, thank you!" she said as she dashed out.
Before he even realized it, Varric was out the hut himself, realizing A. he still had his athletic shoes on for some reason, and B. based on the error Lyn made before, she might very well need more guidance.
By the time he caught up, Lyn was already using her Vulnerary to heal a mild wound she'd received from her encounter with the first of the two bandits. "He got lucky… wait, Varric?! You should be-"
"Listen to me!" he interjected fearfully; he had trouble gathering his words with Lyn's gaze on him, but eventually spoke in an almost eccentric manner. "The other bandit, Batta, he'll do a lot of bragging. Don't get intimidated, after his first attack he'll be wide open to a deathblow," he said rapid-fire, barely intelligible to Lyn as she listened only becoming even more bewildered.
"How do you know this?" She said doubtfully.
"I… I've seen him fight before!" Varric quickly lied. He failed to sound convincing, but Lyn couldn't argue against his response. "please believe me, I can't let anything happen…"
"…You don't sound sure even of yourself, but then again, not once have you since awakening. Stay back, hide in case the worst happens. Use your dagger and go for his back if need be."
"Dagger-?" Varric started but couldn't finish as Lyn quickly but carefully approached the remaining bandit. "I have a dagger?" Varric thought to himself before finding, to his surprise, there was a curved, razor sharp blade under his cloak. It's hilt was a mix of green colors , almost like camouflage for foliage. What stood out, however, was the hilt. It has a cobalt gemstone embedded in the hilt, with 5 slots in the hilt connected to the embedded gemstone. "What on earth is this supposed to be?"
"Bahaha! You, a little girl, dare challenge Batta the Beast?!" the bandit exclaimed, laughing menacingly. "This is downright pathetic! And did you think I didn't see your little friend over there? When I'm through with you, he'll be next if he doesn't hightail it!" the bandit went on and on for literal minutes bragging as Lyn simply awaited his attack.
"Well, he certainly is bragging, just as Varric said he would." "Enough with the talking, ready
your weapon!"
"Eh? You don't want to hear my achievements? I figured you'd be a little happier if you knew what you were up against before being killed! BUT HAVE IT YOUR WAY!"
"I don't know why I'm putting my faith in a stranger's prediction… but… the way he spoke, it was as if he'd experienced it before..." Lyn thought as she went against her instinct and, rather than attacking first, prepared herself to dodge her opponent's strike. True enough, she avoided a heavy blow and her opponent was wide open.
"Please, use your Critical Hit…" Varric pleaded in his mind from his watching point.
"Agh! What is wrong with me today? Sorry about that beaut- what?!" Batta exclaimed as he realized his opponent had vanished.
"Goodbye." Lyn's voice echoed as there was a flash of her blade and she reappeared in front of Batta on one knee, her blade stabbing behind her through her opponent's chest.
There was a clash of wonder and horror in Varric as he saw both his first killing, and the reality of something he had only seen through an animation of pixels.
"Your advice today was invaluable. I may not have survived either bandit had it not been for you." Lyn said as Varric was writing down everything he could remember with incredible fervor.
"huh?" he looked up from his writing to Lyn, and he reddened deeply at her smile. "O-Oh, it's n-nothing, just what I do…" he shrugged off as he kept writing in a language Lyn couldn't even begin to decipher."
"It's… what you do? You mean, your profession?" She asked with piqued interest.
"Yeah. Um…I guess you could say…I'm a tactician by trade, if that makes sense. I analyze strengths and weaknesses of friend and foe, and instruct people through battles." He said as he finished writing and folded the parchment before putting it under his cloak, along with his dagger and another newfound item on him. He began taking deep, concentrated breaths in an attempt to keep from becoming a stammering wreck.
Lyn had an epiphany. "So that's how you predicted those things! You knew his weaknesses through observation! And it also explains why you're in general so observational, like noticing I had no Vulnerary…"
"Actually, I'm just by nature a very observational person. But… um… yeah, you're right about Batta." He said nervously.
"It must be problematic for someone with your duty to naturally speak so unassured of himself…" Lyn said pityingly.
Varric hung his head. "Already I've made a poor impression… and with Lyn of all people." He quickly snapped out of it though as he had a realization and ran out to the battleground.
"Wait! It might be dangerous to go out there!" Lyn cried and followed him.
"What do you think you're doing?!" Lyn said in disgust as Varric, despite wanting to puke at just the sight of the body, checked Batta's body for belonging or valuables.
"There's a phrase in war: to the victor go the spoils." Varric said stoically, in almost physical pain from Lyn's disapproval.
"But-!" Lyn stated.
"Look, I know it may seem as bad as them, but I'm doing this for our sake. What if he was carrying a message to another larger group of bandits? They'd get suspicious about a missing messenger, and send someone out eventually. They'd find this place, and we'd be killed."
For a moment Lyn was speechless, not expecting such an assured and thought out response. "I…suppose you're right…"
Varric finished up his looting and had little to show for it besides a bag of gold and an unusual looking blue shard of rock.
"That shard, it's just like the other four you had in your pouch. Why would a common bandit have something so specific?"
"…Like I said, this isn't my first time dealing with Batta." Varric responded enigmatically. "I wonder…" he quickly became lost in thought back in the hut, mainly in an attempt to keep his mind from overloading by focusing on something simple, but was finally snapped out of his thinking by a nervous Lyn.
"Varric? I'm sorry to bother you, but…You're probably wondering why I'm alone out here, aren't you?"
Varric went dead silent as things sank in. it wasn't just her that was real now, but her tragedy as well. Much to his surprise there were tears running down his face as he thought this.
The fact that Varric somehow already knew was the last straw, and Lyn broke down. She began crying, trying to choke out her story before Varric got up and handed her water, the same way she had done to him.
"Drink, collect yourself, THEN tell me the details…" He said quietly
A short while later, the two left the hut, with belongings in hand, they set off.
"Thank you again for letting me come with you…I honestly don't know if I could've taken it if you said no." Lyn said, with a small smile on her face.
"...you could ask me a million times, I'd always say yes." Varric said, his face reddening again, luckily hid by the sun's bright shine. Lyn smiled and took Varric's hand in a clasped handshake.
"Right then! You can be my master strategist!" She cheered.
Varric felt like he was about to pass out again from her touch, but the familiar line kept him sensible. "Only if you be my peerless warrior." Varric returned with all the confidence he could muster, before setting off, as worried as he was excited. "I just hope I can protect all of you… looks like I'm playing Iron Man Mode this time."
