Yaaaaaaaaaay it's hereeeeee
Firstly, I would like to thank you all for your very kind comments, I hope this rewrite won't disappoint you :)
Like I said, I've rewritten a few chapters, will post one every week or so I don't run out chapters in case I can't write too much due to work.
Frankly, I personally believe this is better than the original version, but only you guys will be able to tell me if it really is, so any constructive criticism is vastly appreciated.
On another note, my buddy Swordsumo, also known as Lord Darkrai here in , actually wrote his own version of this fanfic (which frankly is way godamn good) which he didn't post as far as I'm aware... What I'm trying to say is that, with his permission, I took a few elements of the version he wrote and sent me and used in this rewrite.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, please let me know what you think of the prologue :D
Prologue
Link slowly walked down the mountain path, the lack of a true destination making each step heavier than the last. It had been 6 months since he arrived in this foreign land, yet he had spent all his time there aimlessly wandering around.
The Master Sword strapped to his back and the rustling sounds of leaves around him were his only sense of comfort, one he enjoyed yet, in his heart, he couldn't help but loathe.
Link's steps halted, he placed a hand on the Master Sword's hilt, ready to draw at any moment, he turned to the group of around 5 or 6 bandits that he noticed had been following for some time.
"Hey there, kiddo." The one who appeared to be their leader spoke up. "That's a nice sword you got there. I'm certain it could fetch a good price. Why don't you be a good kid and hand it over?"
But Link didn't respond, he merely drew the blade of evil's bane while observing the assailants. Their stances are full of openings, and their weapons are rusted, they're good for intimidating, but that's about it. With a glance, he determined the bandits to be of little threat.
Then, he moved forward, quickly breaking into a run. The leader, noticing Link's resistance, ordered his men to attack, but Link was faster. He moved toward the leftmost bandit, quickly and effortlessly dodging a ridiculously wide strike from his axe and, noticing a blind spot, he struck, he easily killed the bandit with a horizontal strike of his sword. Then, he moved to the next bandit. The second bandit tried to defend himself, but Link noticed that he swung his rusted sword carelessly. Link ducked, avoiding the blow as easily as he did the first, and stabbed the Master Sword straight into the bandit's chest, killing him.
Link stopped and looked at the three remaining bandits, who were too afraid to even move. But Link didn't give them the chance to escape, he moved to the two bandits that were close to him, striking them each with a horizontal slash before they could even react. After he dealt with those two, he saw out of the corner of his eye the final remaining bandit running, but Link didn't move to chase him, he focused, then swung the blade of evil's bane until it released a beam of blue light which quickly caught up with the survivor and split him in half.
Hearing the sounds of someone walking closing in, Link readied himself for another skirmish, but what he saw was a man dressed in brown clothes. He had brown hair and armor in both his arms.
"Hey, kid, never quite seen anyone so young remain so calm in the face of death, aside from my daughter. Who taught you how to fight so well?"
"I don't know." Link replied callously.
"What kind of answer is that?" The man looked clearly dumbfounded at Link's reply. "Well, if you don't want to tell me, I won't force you. By the way, are you foreign?"
"Yes."
"Figures. The ears kind of gave it away. The name's Jeralt by the way… Speaking of which, I run a mercenary group stationed in a village close to here. We could use someone as skilled as you, we could help you learn more about these lands, and you look like you've been travelling for a while. What do you say?"
Link thought for a second, he did see a rather small village nearby, although he didn't know there were mercenaries in there. And he figured joining a group would be far better than wandering without purpose, so he nodded to the man's proposal.
"Great. Glad to have you on board. What's your name, by the way?"
"Link."
"Alright, Link. I'll show you around, let you meet your new comrades."
"Boss, you can't be serious! You invited a foreigner you just met to join us? Not to mention the fact he's just a kid." Several of the mercenaries seemed to oppose Link joining them. Link's face remained as emotionless as ever.
"I've already told you, Samson. This kid might even be better than me. He dealt with 5 bandits in like half a minute. Plus, he looked quite lost as to where to go, so I invited him to join us." Link looked passive through all of this, which only served to infuriate the mercenaries even more.
"If he's as good as you say, you wouldn't mind if we have a little spar, do you, boss?"
"Fine, but don't come crying to me when he beats you senseless." Jeralt then turned to Link. "I'll show you to the training ground, there are wooden swords there you two can use in your spar."
On the training field, the onlookers watched dumbfounded as Link evaded Samson's attacks almost as easy as breathing for a few minutes, until Link started getting bored of doing so and he struck, taking advantage of an opening the opponent showed to land a hit on his stomach, making him keel over clutching it in pain.
"Damn, you really are good." Samson said after getting to his feet. To which Link only shrugged. He turned around to see a woman with teal hair and the weirdest coat Link had ever seen.
"You're Link, right?" She asked, Link nodded.
"I'm Byleth, Jeralt's daughter. A pleasure to meet you." She extended her hand, Link took it, after which she turned away.
"Don't mind her." Link heard Samson's voice behind him. "She doesn't speak much, like yourself, but she's a good girl." Link nodded.
"Mind showing me where the dining hall is?" Link's stomach growled, almost too loud, to which Samson laughed as they walked.