"Where am I? Why can't I see anything" said the young man in a purple robe while standing in the void.
"Your time is ending. Soon you will be mine, just like your mother" said a sinister voice.
"NO! YOU CAN'T CONTROL ME!" screamed the young men in desperation.
"Of course I can control you. I am the mighty Owain, the chosen one. I order you to abandon dream land and come to reality"
"Cut it off, Owain. You may scare him"
The young men finally opened his eyes. He was lying in an open field, under a tree. He saw two figures in front of him. Both of them were young as him, one blue-haired and the other white-haired.
"Finally, you answer my call" said the white-haired young men.
"Good to see you awake now. There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, you know?" said the blue-haired guy while extending his hand to the lying young men.
The guy with the purple robe accepted the help and got up. He analyzed the two persons who had just found him. Both seemed to be good persons, and their clothes and armor indicated that they were warriors. Anyway, he couldn't stop to have a strange feeling about this encounter.
"My name is Inigo, and this is my cousin Owain" the blue-haired men presented himself and his companion.
"The chosen one himself" said Owain while doing an 'heroic' pose.
"Owain, you are embarrassing me as always" said Inigo getting a bit nervous. "Anyways, who are you?" then asked.
The guy in the purple robe removed the hood from his face, revealing his black hair and dark eyes. "My name is Morgan, I am… a traveler."
"Well, nice to meet you, Morgan" said Inigo with a bright smile.
"I can't say the same, I feel a mysterious aura emanating from you. I can't tell if it is good or pure evil" said Owain while looking with curiosity at Morgan. Like if he could find an answer on his aspect.
"Uh, what?" asked Morgan with confusion.
"Don't mind him. He always acts like this" Inigo advised Morgan.
"There you are, Inigo, Owain" said a girl, who had just dismounted a horse. The girl had brown hair and red eyes. She seemed a bit angry.
"If it isn't my dearest friend, Severa" Inigo greeted the girl, his nervous were back again.
"Destiny is kind to reunite us again, Severa the moon born" said Owain.
But nothing of that changed the semblance of the girl, who now was with her arms crossed.
"Why do you always run away without me!? And now you are with a stranger!?" Severa scolded both young men.
"Don't take it personally, but sometimes you are a bit over-protective" answered Inigo, he seemed used to the girl's temper.
"And you are too risky, talking to a stranger, who clearly is a Plegian" said Severa, looking at Morgan with despise.
"There's nothing wrong with talking to a Plegian" said Inigo, then he crossed his arms.
"Of course there is, you know better than anyone what is happening with them" said Severa.
"What's wrong with Plegian people?" questioned Morgan really concerned.
That question caused frustration in Severa, who asked "have you been living under a rock or what?"
"Severa! Could you please not be so severe?" asked Inigo.
"Hey, that was my joke!" claimed Owain.
"Listen, Morgan, I don't know if you are Plegian. But lately, those people have been acting… strange" explained Inigo.
"They have been attacking villages and towns with no reasons" complemented Severa.
"And it's my duty, as the chosen one, to eradicate this evil force that threats our pacific land" said Owain with an immense energy.
"What Owain tried to say is that we are patrolling the zone, trying to find answers…" said Inigo.
"I had no idea. I just arrived to Ylisse. I'm from Valm, actually" said Morgan.
"See, Severa? He is not Plegian, so he is not dangerous" said Inigo.
"Oh, yeah. What a relief" Said Severa with sarcasm.
"Guys, look!" said Owain while pointing at the sky.
The other three looked at the signaled direction and saw a pegasus, that some moments later landed near them.
"It's Cynthia" said Severa.
Inigo, Owain, and Severa walked towards the pegasus. Morgan, without knowing what else to do, followed them. In the animal was mounted an orange-haired girl.
"Cynthia, shouldn't you be patrolling the west?" asked Inigo with concern.
"Yes, I was and there is trouble" answered Cynthia.
"What happened exactly?" asked Severa.
"In the village some folks started attacking others. It seems to be a rebellion" explained Cynthia "I came for your help."
"We have to go" said Severa to Inigo, looking deadly serious.
Inigo glanced at Morgan and told him "Sorry, but we have to go."
Morgan didn't think two times before saying "I can help."
"It can be super dangerous, are you sure?" asked Inigo.
"Don't worry, I can defend myself" said Morgan while grabbing a tome from his pocket.
"Well then, Cynthia, guide us" Inigo ordered to the Pegasus knight.
Before going anywhere, the guys searched for their mounts. They were near, grazing in the fields. Each one mounted their horse, except for Morgan, who had been traveling by foot. So, Inigo offered to take him.
In the way to the village, Inigo and Morgan shared a conversation.
"So, what brought you to Ylisse?" asked Inigo.
"I'm here to find answers" answered Morgan.
"Answers for what?"
Morgan thought if he should share that information, he didn't want people involved. But then again, Inigo seemed kind to him. And he seemed to be important, like a leader of a brigade or something like that. That could end being useful.
"My mother had a strange disease, that ended up killing her. I'm trying to find a cure" answered Morgan.
"Well, I don't know about diseases. But I'm sure you can find something on Ylisstol. We have lots of libraries there, and scholars who can guide you" Inigo offered.
"Ylisstol? Ylisse's capital?" asked Morgan a bit alarmed.
"The one and only" answered Inigo.
"That's a good offer, but I shouldn't go there… Though, the probability of seeing him is low. And it's not like he is going to recognize me" thought Morgan.
"Something wrong?" asked Inigo concerned by Morgan's silence.
"Nah, I was just thinking" answered Morgan.
"You know, I'm not usually this friendly with other people. Some people would say I'm shy. But you seem rather familiar to me, do you understand?" expressed Inigo.
"He he, familiar? Really?"
"There is!" shouted Severa. The village was close.
When they arrived, they were able to contemplate the chaos. People screaming and running from some villagers who were attacking. In all the chaos, they found some familiar faces. A blue haired girl in a big purple armor, and a blonde mage. The armored girl was blocking some savages who were trying to hurt innocent people. The mage was using fire magic to repel reinforcements.
"We have to help Kjelle and Laurent" ordered Inigo.
"Yeah, my sword hand is eager to release its power!" exclaimed Owain.
"The bad guys are just commoners. We shouldn't hurt them, just knock them" said Morgan.
"Alright, guys, try not to kill anyone. Specially you, Owain" said Inigo.
"I'll try" said Owain, less excited than before.
The five guys went towards Kjelle and Laurent. Owain and Inigo used a sword, with their movements they knocked whoever was in their path. Morgan used his wind tome, containing his power so he won't hurt someone badly. Severa didn't dismount her horse, she was a knight after all. Severa and Cynthia were using a lance.
Severa and Inigo helped Kjelle to maintain the good villagers safe, while Owain, Cynthia, Morgan, and Laurent defeated the savages. The fight was difficult, specially since they had to be careful with the villagers.
It didn't take much before they cleaned the zone.
"I see reinforcements coming from the north" screamed Cynthia, mounting a Pegasus gave her a broad view of the area.
"Inigo! I don't know if we can defeat more villagers" said Severa. They weren't many, and it was easy to get tired, and some of them were hurt.
"We don't have to" said Morgan.
"What do you mean?" asked Inigo.
"If you noticed, the people who were attacking had a purple shimmer in their eyes" explained Morgan.
"Yes, I noticed that too" added Laurent. "It must be dark magic, but I have never seen something like that before."
"Yes, It's a curse. And whoever placed it, it must be close. If we defeat it, we can return people to normality" said Morgan.
"So, do you want us to search for a mage in the entire village?" asked Severa.
"Not all of us. Cynthia is the pegasus knight, right?" said Morgan.
"Yes. Oh, I see what you are doing" said Inigo. Inigo looked at the sky and when he saw Cynthia, he screamed "Cynthia, look for a mage or sorcerer, it must be in the villager. It should look different from any villager."
Cynthia heard perfectly Inigo's words. So, she started searching. She passed by the reinforcements. "Thanks Naga, nobody is using a bow" she thought. Cynthia saw something suspicious in the main square. Close to a fountain was a person wearing a red robe that covered most of its body. That person seemed to be casting a spell, but without any tome. A purple aura was surrounding it. Cynthia didn't need more evidence to know that it was what they were looking for.
Cynthia returned with the others, she landed in front of them.
"I saw a sorcerer in the square, I think it's a man with a red robe. He is near a fountain. The reinforcements are in the way" said Cynthia.
"What should we do?" asked Kjelle.
"We should go straight to the mage" said Inigo.
"We can't do that" contradicted Morgan.
"Why not?" asked Inigo.
"Reinforcements are about to arrive, and here there is still innocent people in danger. We should split. Two people go after the sorcerer, the rest should stay here" proposed Morgan.
"I like your plan. You are coming with me. You and I will go after the sorcerer" ordered Inigo, Morgan nodded as an answer.
"You can't go alone with him!" argued Severa.
"Severa, please. Morgan has proved to be a reliable ally and a skillful mage. I trust him" said Inigo.
"You have just met him today!" reclaimed Severa.
"Reinforcements are here!" screamed Kjelle. Immediately, she, Owain, Cynthia, and Laurent charged towards them.
Severa had no other option, she said to Morgan "If Inigo dies, I'll kill you" and then she followed her comrades, leaving Morgan and Inigo alone.
"Let's go, Morgan" said Inigo.
"We need to find a safe and fast shortcut" suggested Morgan.
A male villager approached them and said "excuse me, I heard your conversation. I may know a fast way."
"Then guide us, please" asked Inigo.
Inigo and Morgan followed the villager through some houses. As the villager promised, soon they were in the square, without encountering any problem.
As soon as Inigo and Morgan arrived, the sorcerer spotted them. It was a man as Cynthia said. He started attacking them. Morgan and Inigo easily dodge his attacks.
"Inigo, let me distract him. Attack him from behind" said Morgan.
"Alright" affirmed Inigo.
Morgan started to counterattack the sorcerer's spells. Morgan's attacks were strong enough to make the sorcerer focus on him, and forget about Inigo's presence.
When someone throwed an attack, the other blocked it and vice versa. It was really a match.
At some point the sorcerer spoke to Morgan, "you are just like me" he said.
Morgan felt a chill, "what?" he asked confused. The distraction made him fall on his back.
"You fool" said the sorcerer preparing his next attack.
The sorcerer was about to finish Morgan, if it wasn't for Inigo who stabbed the sorcerer with his sword, from the back as Morgan planned. The sorcerer's body fell on the ground.
"Morgan, are you okay?" asked Inigo worried while helping Morgan to get up.
"Uh-hu" said Morgan still concerned.
"You… i-idiots can't…stop… Grima" were the sorcerer's last words.
As soon as the sorcerer lost his life, the villagers were free from the curse. They all looked like if they just got out of a trance.
"Grima? What was he talking about?" questioned Inigo.
"I don't know" said Morgan really stunned.
Both young men approached the corpse. Analyzing it, the sorcerer didn't seem so different from any person. If he hadn't used that red robe, he wouldn't had been spotted. But then, they saw something on his neck, a mark. It was a strange black mark with six eyes.
Morgan swallowed and started to shake, while Inigo just looked at the mark with confusion.
"Guys there you are" they heard their comrades calling them.
"I can't believe with did it" said Severa.
"We are like true heroes!" Cynthia celebrated.
"Another deed successfully done by the awesome and mighty Owain dark!" exclaimed Owain while posing heroically.
"I'm just glad that everyone it's okay" said Kjelle.
"The damage is low, almost no casualties" said Laurent.
"Yeah, we were all awesome. But I think our victory was possible thanks to Morgan" said Inigo while patting Morgan in the back.
"Hm?" asked Morgan while coming back to earth.
"Morgan, your strategy was awesome and you seem to be a very bright boy. I need that kind of person on my side. Are you interested in being our tactician? The Shepherds' tactician?" proposed Inigo.
All that information fell into Morgan like a can with cold water. "Are you the Shepherds!? I have been working with the Shepherds!?" asked Morgan.
"Inigo, you can't be serious! Offering an important position like that to a stranger!" Severa argued again.
"I think it's and excellent idea, who is with me?" asked Inigo to the others.
"Well, I like Morgan" said Cynthia.
"I don't know him, but he was a big help today" said Kjelle.
"His strategy was excellent and it led us to the victory. He has knowledge and security, and thinks outside the box, important characteristics in a tactician" said Laurent.
"As long as he can handle my superiority, we won't have problems" said Owain.
"So, most of us agree. Morgan, what do you say?" asked Inigo again.
"I don't know, I really have to think about it" Morgan answered.
"Well, we have time before leaving" said Inigo.
"Prince Inigo! Thank you very much for saving us!" said a woman, who approached them.
"Nothing to thank, it's my duty" answered Inigo a little bit blushed.
"Prince!?" asked Morgan in more shock than before.
"Oh, yeah. I forgot to mention that" said Inigo embarrassed.
"Are you the son of the king?" asked Morgan with difficulty.
"Yeah, my father is king Chrom" answered Inigo with a smile.
"So, that mean you are…"
"Yeah, I am Ylisse's prince"
"My half-brother…" Morgan thought.