Whom She Found

by HylianHero5465

Before the battle with Nergal, before the fight for Caelin, before her journey began, Lyn found a young man unconscious on the Plains of Sacae, only he wasn't a tactician or even from the same world. LegendofZeldaFireEmblem cross. Please R&R.

19. Old Friends

Aaaaand out of left field comes the update you thought you'd never see again!...or maybe you did. It's not like my track record indicates this as anything new….

Yeah so after WAY too long I finally decided to update again. Not much to say really. School happens, work happens, friends happen, a girlfriend happens, random tv series happen, epic length games happen, other people's fanfictions happen, and sleep happens. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell. Somewhere in there is writing my own story. Once I sit down and actually start writing I can bang stuff out pretty quick but the problem is I'm a chronic procrastinator and starting the things I should start is way harder than it should be. Alas I have myself to blame and I make all of you suffer. In the words of my girlfriend:

I'm a terrible person.

So yeah I've made you all wait long enough so let's get this underway. First up, READER RESPONSE!

To:

Dragonskyt: I am very glad that you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing the "Milk Incident" and I'm glad you approve. As for Rebecca I can honestly say, without any shadow of a doubt, that she is one of my favourite characters in the game. While it is true that she is painfully weak when you first get her and you have to babysit her like crazy in order to level her up, once you do she turns into a complete and utter monster. I can't tell you how many times Rebecca has absolutely destroyed people for me and I've played the game multiple times. She's like the archer version of Lyn. Fast, accurate, dodges everything, and critical hits a lot. I have plans for her and I'm very excited to get to them.

Obiki Doragon: I'm glad you liked my Rupee theory, I hope it was understandable. And I'm definitely gonna forget I read that haha!

Jimbobob5536: Check, check, and check, eh? Haha I'm glad you enjoyed it. Hope the next one is good for ya as well!

Adyen: And again! No. No he has not. He hasn't needed to yet and he definitely has things he hasn't used yet and I can't wait to start using them!

Lazruth: Yeah I like that one too. Honestly there's a few names I came up with and I think I'm gonna have it be a running joke that Link is known by different names by the people who haven't met him yet. I think it'd be funny. First impressions are critical and Link definitely knows how to make one! Haha! And that's pretty much exactly how I envision those three's reactions! Hope to hear from you again!

Calming-seas88: Up and running wouldn't be the term I'd use…more like hunched over and slogging…through molasses…in winter…yeah I suck…I'm very glad to hear you liked my opening chapter! Gotta do it with a bang you know? And what better way to do that than by pissing Link off? I can't think of one that's for sure! I sure hope you enjoy the meeting between Link and Hector cause that's coming up in this chapter!

Xult: Thank you very much! I hope you continue to read and enjoy!

Portgas D Trace: Guess I did a pretty good job with the "Milk Incident," a lot of people seem to like it. Rebecca is one of my favourites as well and trust me, I have plans for her! As for the Rupees – the different colors do have different value in Elibe but it's not proportional to their value in Hyrule. I see the different colors as also being different sizes and purities so their value increases in Elibe based on that. I suppose their value could also vary based on the people appraising them at the time. I don't really have a set numerical value for them…Anyway just know that they are worth quite a bit no matter the color but greens are still worth the least. As for Link and Hector…read on, my friend, read on. I'm sorry I made you wait and thanks for the vote!

Shadow0888: Glad I made you laugh! That's what I was aiming for! Mental image and everything! Jack Sparrow and his rum ain't got nothing on Link and his milk!

WildfireDreams: Glad to hear from one of my regulars again! Yeah Lowen and Rebecca are going to need to find some other form of common ground I guess…haha not that they're going to be paired together necessarily…Hope to hear from you again!

Anarion Star-Dragon: Yeah I thought so too…Too bad I didn't maintain that pace…Thanks for the tip on editing. I'm sorry if those made it painful to read. I try to catch them but obviously I miss a lot. Anyway I'm very glad to hear from you and I hope you continue to enjoy may story!

Bloodwolf432: Thank you. Writing this story has given me a lot of opportunity to think more deeply about the world of Hyrule and gives me a chance to flush out my theories and see people's responses. I'm glad you liked it and I will have fun writing this story just as I hope you will have fun reading it!

AreiaCananaid: Woohoo! Happy to hear you enjoyed it so much! Yay for safe, crazy, addictions! I do apologize if I plunged you into a life of suffering for the wait…hopefully I can put some life back into you with this!

Wraith54: Very glad to hear you liked it! I hope I don't disappoint you with the action between Link and Hector this chapter! Again, sorry I made you wait…

chm01: Awesome? Yay! Success! Yup Link is training archers. The world is doomed! Muahahaha! Link's secret will indeed be revealed but not for awhile yet. The reactions when they find out though should be pretty funny,

Linkblade1: Glad you liked it! Actually I'm planning on having Hector pick a certain fight with a certain someone rather than wait for a full blown battle. Should be just as good, methinks. Thank you very much for your review and vote and I hope to hear from you again. (Totally agree with you on the Malon front btw). Oh and I responded to your second review further down…

Darklink1011: Damn straight! You do NOT mess with Link and his milk! He will F you up!

Linkfan680: Glad to hear you like how I did things with last chapter! I had a lot of fun with it! Thanks for the encouragement! I hope you continue to enjoy my works!

Dessel Ordo: Yes an update. Believe it or not and yes, permission to act snarky as hell granted. But yeah it turned out to be a pretty big write up despite being such a small game chapter…but I guess intros can kinda get away on you like that. As for the Link/Hector bit: keep reading. I think you'll be pleased.

Isoulmani: Haha yeah I can imagine I caused some heart attacks with such a fast update. Don't worry though I'm back to my normal pace it seems. A shame. Hopefully this won't take another 7 years. I think I'd cry. But my slothfulness aside I am ecstatic to hear from a long time reader for the first time! I hope you will continue to enjoy this story and I hope even more to hear from you again!

OniKiDD: Thanks! I greatly appreciate your words of approval! I hope those two chapters were worth the wait and hopefully you won't have to re-read the whole thing every time I update… Hope to hear from you again!

Cj1of4: I'm glad you liked it! And yes there is definitely a rule about insulting a man's drink. But then again it's hilarious when someone does and you get to watch the fireworks…As for the scene with Eliwood and Ninian…I can't really say what I'm gonna do with that…spoilers and all…

Sparxthehdgehog: Mind blown? SUCCESS! I have achieved my goal! Sooo glad that you like my story! Just wait till you see what other things I have in store for the future…Muahaha! Good to hear my explanations make sense. Sometimes I wonder if they're understandable outside my head. Never mess with Link's milk. You will die. And no he doesn't need the gauntlets except for doing ridiculous things like lifting castle gates. Normally he doesn't wear them.

Linkfreak210: Hey! Spilled milk is no laughing matter! And Link doesn't cry. At least not over milk. Killing is much more therapeutic!

Greener223: I'm glad you approve of my Rupee theory although you are correct in that I've never heard of Rosy Rupeeland. As for Link, trust me I know about the overpoweredness issue and have said so in the past. I also agree with what you say as well. It's one reason why I have Link hang back a lot. As he is though right now there isn't anybody around that can match him. BUT I have plans for this. I can definitely say I have plans that have been laid down since the beginning of this story years ago that concern Link and his power. Trust me (if I ever get there) you won't be disappointed. Everyone else is growing stronger as well so they won't rely on him forever. I do hope I hold your interest long enough to reach those parts. Thank you very much for the review and the comments!

Dminion: Haha I saddle up only to fall right back off! Hey now, there is no such thing as a shameless request!...Actually no I take that back there definitely is such a thing but that's not one of them. Actually (and I'm not going to say what) you've touched on one of my years ago laid plans for the future of this story. I think you'll find it to your liking, if I ever get there…

Swordmaster7175: Thanks a lot for the review! I appreciate it!

SneakyDorcas: I think I've gone beyond deserving the legions' pikes and have graduated to something much more sinister…Anyway very nice to hear from you again and I'm exceedingly glad that you still like this. Thank you for your vote for pairing as well. I also think Florina is among my favourite characters and is one of the reasons why the pairing is hard for me to choose. As for the path of the story I'm planning on mostly following Eliwood's story but also incorporate a few of Hector's specific chapters. Hahaha yes, Farina will be in this. Eventually. I have plans for Guy as well but I can't say what they are cause that would be telling heehee…As for my pen name no it's not a reference to any specific character. I got sick of my old pen name a while back and decided to come up with a new one that incorporated shadows and overall ninjaness. That's what I ended up with. Wow…that is a pretty powerful statement to describe my story…I'm honored. Truly. Don't worry, I don't plan on dying any time soon, especially not before this story sees its end so no need to call the Lady of Pain yet. Hope to hear from you again!

Aneesh: Megaman? Yeah…I don't think that's gonna happen…sorry.

Guest: Indeed. Foolish bandit…Milk is for AWESOME PEOPLE!

Aneesh srinivas: Are you the same person that asked for megaman? Either way I don't think Darunia is gonna show up either.

Secret Weapon Unit 06: Thanks!

JustAPerson: Holy crap. Now THAT was a review. I don't even know what to say to that besides thank you very, very much! I am very honored to be worthy of such praise and reviews like that truly make writing fanfiction worth it. I try very hard to write a good story and your words tell me that all my efforts pay off. Thank you. Thank you. I do hope I continue to live up to those standards and I truly hope to hear from you again!

Dragon God xxx: I'm glad you love this story! I love everyone that reviews! So we both win! Yay! Your thoughts on Link paired with Lyn and Florina are sound and only add to my grief. Honestly you will not believe the mental struggle I am having with choosing the pairing since I'm trying very hard to keep this out of the "harem" genre. Have to see how things work out I guess…

Link-the-lightbringer: You sir, have found my pride and joy fanfiction and I'm very glad to see that it's hooked your attention! Multiple reviews are awesome hahaha! How is that cover art that you were working on coming?

Raikouga: Haha it's fine. The LoZ timeline is messed up enough that anyone can get lost in it. As for your second question about the masks: Yes.

Hylian Knight: Hey thanks for the review! Yeah Link misses everyone from Hyrule but I'm not gonna say whether or not he finds his way back. That would be spoiling things!

Linkblade1: Oh a second review. Yay! Let's see here…Yeah I know I need to update sooner. I've always been bad at that. At least I DO get it done though. Nothing sucks worse than an unfinished story on hiatus. But have no fear, your wait for Hector/Link interaction is over! I hope you enjoy it. You have some VERY interesting ideas as well. Some of them are funny cause they actually touch upon my already laid plans, well done (not gonna say what though, I'm a jerk like that)! Thank you for your second review and I'll try to update more often! Sidenote: very happy to hear you read the responses. It actually answers a concern of mine that I've been having lately.

Guest: Ha! Very glad you hear you like my story and made you laugh! It's what I aim for! And you can never go overboard when it comes to Link and his milk! Hahaha!

Shader013: Thank you very much! I hope you continue to read and enjoy!

WhiteHero: Glad this story caught your interest! I hope you enjoyed it!

Clover: Hey thanks! Your claims about Link and the techniques of Twilight Princess are sound and you're right they are canon. We'll have to see how things turn out though. Can't really say too much without giving stuff away.

Jack fire 2: Thank you very much!

Guest: Thanks for the vote!

Mirakuru: Thank you and thanks for the vote!

Whatwhatwhat333: I'm glad you stumbled across my fic and I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for the vote!

Serenity-neko-chan: Wow. That's a lot of rereading. I'm both impressed and flattered! I hope you continue to enjoy my story!

The Azure Heart: Hah! Thanks! Glad you approve of the awesomeness that is Link! I look forward to your pairing input!

Blackclover: Sorry this took so long.

The twin tailed guardian: Wow, nice to know you like my story so much. I'll have to take a look at your other fav. Thank you for taking the time to step outside your norm and dropping a review, I really appreciate it! Thanks for the vote!

Wolfstorm333: Wow you're a fast reader. Glad to know you like my story so much and nice to hear I satisfied your craving! I really like Florina personally. Just like Rebecca she starts out pathetic but turns into a beast later on. Plus she's adorable! Yeah I like Erk and Matthew as well, especially Matthew. He's just awesome! Sad what happens to Leila though…As for Lloyd and Linus…we'll see haha! I really hope you continue to enjoy my work and I hope to hear from you soon!

Lektorr: Yeah it takes me awhile, sorry about that.

Nesser24: Thank you so much for your words of praise! Reviews like yours fuel me to write! Hopefully I'll be able to finish this before I grow old hahaha. I also do hope that I do not disappoint you with my future chapters!

Hylian Knight: Oh a second review, yay! Haha did I convert you to the Fire Emblem fandom? Yes! I win! Totally agree with you too, Florina is adorable! Link's OPness will be resolved in the future, fear not!

Luna Warsong: Wow, that's some pretty high praise in such a short review. I'd personally still recommend playing the actual game but if my story fills that little void then I'm honored!

Soul Titan: Haha thanks! Though I wouldn't recommend gambling with your life…haha

Fellatio: Sorry for the wait.

Ob3s3N1nja: Hahaha glad you stumbled upon my story! New readers are ALWAYS welcome! I'm very glad to hear you like my theories and details about the various things I've touched on. I agree that a lot of fanfics skip out on those things and I like to flush them out. I feel it adds to the story as a whole. I'm also happy to hear you like my portrayal of Link! As for the fight scenes, you're not the only one who has said as much and I've been trying to adjust to that. Hopefully I'll continue to improve and make this story as easy as I can to read and enjoy! Thanks for the constructive criticism!

Starwars05: Thanks! I hope you continue to enjoy it!

Dontae Jordan: Uh…thanks! As for your friend, I couldn't find anybody by that name and I'm curious as to how you want my help.

Wow that took me awhile…Actually now that I'm done I've actually been wondering: Does anybody actually read my reader responses? Should I keep doing them? I saw somebody do them way back when I first started reading and writing fanfiction and I thought it was a good idea. I love reading your reviews and answering questions but I get a lot of repeated ones and I'm just wondering if I should keep doing them or if they are a waste of time and space. I'll probably still continue doing them regardless but it would still be nice to know…

Anyway enough rambling and delaying and whatnot. You've waited for an update now here it is:

Whom She Found

Chapter 19

Old Friends

With the words of Rebecca's father directing them towards the territory of Laus, Eliwood and his group made their way towards Santaruz the neighbouring territory of Pherae and gateway to many of the other territories.

The two axemen, Dorcas and Bartre, after learning of Eliwood's quest and his need for able bodied men had decided to join him although for different reasons. Dorcas, like Link, felt he owed Eliwood for helping them out during the dispute with Lundgren and wanted to repay that debt. Bartre on the other hand just wanted to fight and he felt that traveling with Eliwood would merit him some good brawls. Unfortunately travel was thus slowed due to the lack of horses to go around, something they hoped to remedy in Santaruz. For the time being though the two large men had both quietly volunteered to hoof it alongside the horses while the others rode. Well Dorcas had quietly volunteered while Bartre had proclaimed something about real warriors not needing horses.

Eliwood had sent word to Marquess Helman in order to arrange a meeting with him. Lord Helman was a good friend of Eliwood's father and Eliwood suspected that the marquess would be able to offer some insight as to his father's whereabouts. However after three days they were still a day or so travels time from the border of Santaruz and it would be another day and a half to reach the capital city from there.

But since there was no real urgency that demanded they make extra effort to move faster the slower pace bothered no one. While Eliwood was desperate to find his father the only clue he really had to go on was the talk of Laus's preparations for war. It was true he would have liked to move faster but he knew that Laus was a long ways away and forcing people to march quickly for such a distance without solid cause would be far more detrimental than beneficial. As such he contented himself with the knowledge that he had a direction to move in and had already found several strong allies to aid him. Moving a little slower was a small price to pay.

At least it was a small price in the eyes of Eliwood. Other people, namely Link, found the slower pace to be a beneficial circumstance. He used the added evenings when they stopped to begin training a certain green haired archer in the ways of combat. The introduction to which was not at all like the young woman expected...

xxx

"Alright, Rebecca, before we get started I need you to understand something very important." Link told her with a serious expression and crossed arms.

"And that is?" Rebecca replied curiously.

"I understand that you're a hunter but there's a big difference between hunting and fighting and you need to realize that before I can teach you anything."

"I see..." Rebecca nodded but Link shook his head.

"No you don't. You can't. At least not yet." He sighed and uncrossed his arms, a solemn look on his face. "It is true that learning to hunt builds an essential foundation for combat and many of the skills you acquire can be applied directly to it. Stealth, patience under pressure, a steady aim, experience with weather conditions, and so on. All of these things are vital to becoming a deadly archer. However, there are elements in combat that don't exist when hunting. The first issue is the target. Instead of a wild animal you will be shooting at a person, an intelligent human being just like you and that is hard to come to terms with."

Rebecca looked at him in silence for a moment before slowly nodding again. "I...understand...I...I knew I would have to kill people when I decided to come. Maybe I'm too young to fully realize that concept but...even so I want to fight."

"That is good," Link smiled at her. "A strong resolve is the most important thing right now and you have that. Everything else will come in time. I don't expect you to be a merciless killer that can do so without batting an eye. In fact I never want you to become that. But you will have to be able to kill somebody before they kill you or one of your comrades. As long as you are prepared to accept that responsibility then we can move on."

Rebecca tightened her grip on her bow and nodded resolutely. "I understand."

"Good," Link turned and walked over to a large tree some fifty paces away. Drawing his sword he quickly slashed an "X" on the trunk at about head height. "Now then, I need to see what your basic skill set is so that I know where to start your training. Shoot three arrows as accurately and as fast as you can at the center of this." He tapped the center of the X mark with his blade. "But do not sacrifice your accuracy for speed. One shot that hits is better than a hundred that don't."

Rebecca nodded and waited for him to stand beside her before raising her bow and taking aim. She concentrated on the target for a moment before letting an arrow fly and watching it sink solidly into the tree. She repeated the process twice more under Link's critical eye. When she was done they moved to examine the results up close. While none of her arrows struck dead center they were all consistently within the target area.

"Hmmm," Link nodded. "Not bad. While there is definitely room for improvement, you have a pretty solid aim and your speed isn't too shabby either."

Rebecca beamed at the praise knowing she had performed well.

"However," Link turned to her and pointed to her bow. "You are going to need a better weapon than that at some point."

Rebecca looked at her shortbow in surprise. "Why? I've used this bow for a long time, what's wrong with it?"

"There's nothing wrong with it per se, it's just not suited for combat," Link replied taking the bow from her and drawing the string back. "The shortbow is technically a versatile and effective combat bow that can be used in many situations where other bows are impractical, but due to its size it lacks the punch that larger bows of the same material and design possess. This particular bow has an even lighter draw than a typical shortbow and while it may be fine for hunting game it won't fare well against even lightly armored opponents."

"Oh..." Rebecca lowered her head dejectedly.

"Hey cheer up," Link smiled at her. "It's fine for the time being. I don't expect us to be facing much more than bandits for now; at least we haven't a reason to fight anything worse. You can use the time to get used to combat situations and firing seriously at people. We'll get you a better bow the first chance we get."

"Alright," Rebecca nodded. "So what should I do now?"

"Now," Link handed her bow back to her. "We get you ready for combat. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to use a bow in ways you never dreamed you could!"

Rebecca stared at him excitedly and waited for him to continue.

"The first thing you need to know is that you are now part of a team. We all work together to cover for each other's weaknesses and make sure that we all come out alive." Link stated. "As an archer you play a unique role in the team dynamic: you will be responsible for surveying as much of the battlefield as possible and provide ranged support with the melee fighters that need it. Your ability to deal death from a distance can help us to safely and effectively whittle down our enemies before they reach us. Your position can be both offensive and defensive depending on the situation."

"Ok," Rebecca replied. "That makes sense."

Link nodded and continued. "Unfortunately your role as an archer will also make you a prime target."

"A target?" Rebecca's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"The bow is a deadly weapon at range; it can strike swiftly and silently from afar at any time. If an archer exists on one side but not on the other, the side with the archer has a distinct advantage. A good archer is capable of singlehandedly changing the course of a battle and as such if anybody has an opportunity to take out an enemy archer, they will."

"I see..." Rebecca swallowed nervously and gripped her bow tighter.

"But that's only if someone gets the opportunity," Link reassured her. "Any melee fighter will have to go through us, well more specifically me," he added with a light grin "to get to you. Until you gain enough experience to handle yourself in a fight I don't plan on letting you out of my sight."

"Well that's a relief," The young teen giggled.

Link simply smiled at her before continuing. "The problem with the bow is that no matter how you look at it, it's a ranged weapon. Once someone gets close enough to face you on even ground it becomes almost obsolete. But that's exactly where we're going to start your training," his smile grew into a full blown grin. "I'm going to teach you how to fight with a bow even at close range."

"Really?" Rebecca smiled brightly. "That's great! I'll do my best!"

"I'm sure you will," Link laughed at her enthusiasm before withdrawing a (somewhat) padded wooden training sword from his belt pouch. "Alright we'll start with training your speed and reflexes. I'm going to attack and you're going to dodge as best as you can."

"Wait, what?" Rebecca stared at him in confusion and no small amount of nervousness. "How is that going to help me?"

"In a number of ways actually," Link replied casually, taking a few practice swings as he strode forward. "This will teach you to read an opponent's moves, respond quickly in any situation, increase your level of concentration and focus, and overall condition your body among other things. Not to mention you'll be able to keep yourself safe if someone does attack you. After all an attack is worthless if it never hits."

"But couldn't we start with something el-EEEEEP!" Rebecca hastily ducked under a not-so-gentle swing aimed at her head.

"Not bad," Link grinned evilly. "Let's see how long you can keep it up!"

xxx

Link's nightly training sessions with Rebecca resulted in mixed feelings from the young teen. On one hand he was a teaching genius that was quick to correct her flaws and encourage her successes. Rather than teaching her the rigid form of a mass trained soldier he encouraged her to find her own way of fighting by helping fully realize what her body was capable of. He never got angry when she made a mistake and urged her to think about ways she could turn those mistakes into advantages. Her admiration for him grew on a daily basis and she would be eternally grateful for his guidance.

On the other hand his training forced her to give nothing less than her very best lest she face injury. He always seemed to be aware of her exact limits and constantly pushed her beyond them. He was a master of triggering fear induced adrenaline which resulted in surprising feats she never believed she could do. His training was harsh, brutal, and serious; Rebecca crawled into her bedroll every night exhausted and sore with new scrapes and bruises. Sometimes Link even had to carry her back to camp. Never before had she admired, feared, and hated an individual so much.

In spite of her feelings she could not deny the results. She had already made noticeable improvement in only a few days. Link was actually quite surprised at how quickly she adapted to her training. Her strong resolve and determination carried her through everything he dished out to her and greatly impressed him. In many ways she reminded him of Lyn; they were young, strong willed, earnestly seeking to improve, and both possessed great potential.

Outside of training she was a cheerful and optimistic young girl who always seemed able to brighten the day. Even the stoic Dorcas cracked a smile around her. She was also a great cook which helped her form a fast friendship with Marcus's apprentice, Lowen, who also possessed a love of food and had taken it upon himself to prepare the company's meals. Link had no doubt that if Sain was with them he would be quite taken with the energetic young woman. But then again he was usually taken with any young woman…

Link chuckled to himself in amusement; it was funny how life turned out sometimes. He had traveled around Elibe more or less by himself for a year without any major issues outside of a few typical mercenary/escort jobs and the usual bandits-in-the-right-village-at-the-wrong-time incidents that just seemed to follow him, now he was suddenly on another potentially far-reaching adventure with a few familiar faces. He wondered if he'd see anyone else anytime soon. If only he knew…

xxx

As the group approached the border of Santaruz they stopped to rest before going through the small mountain pass that separated Pherae from its neighboring territory.

"We're almost to Santaruz," Eliwood stated as he looked towards the pass.

"Indeed," Marcus nodded. "We should rest here for the evening and make our way to the capital at first light."

"Agreed," Eliwood replied. "No sense being stuck in the pass after nightfall if we can help it."

"Do you really think the Marquess will help?" Link asked as he waited for Rebecca to dismount from Epona before following suit.

"Yes," Eliwood replied confidently. "My father and Lord Helman have always been good friends. Even if he does not know my father's whereabouts he will at least grant us supplies."

"Hopefully he will do more than that, milord," Marcus added somewhat sternly. "I do not feel it wise to enter Laus with such a small group."

Link responded with an approving gesture before patting Epona's flank and turning her loose for the evening. He never had to worry about her wandering off and she would always come back when called, a fact that always astounded everyone in the group. He watched her leave for a few seconds before turning to help the others set camp.

xxx

In a large and dimly lit private room within Castle Santaruz, a single man paced nervously back and forth. A casual glance inside would lead one to believe he was alone but if one looked more intently they would see a set of golden eyes watching him carefully from the shadows.

"What?" Marquess Helman demanded. "Eliwood is here?"

"Yes." The shadow replied casually with no hint of emotion. Helman always shuddered from the tone; it made him feel like he was speaking with a ghost. "He has set camp up on a hill south of here. He seeks permission to enter Santaruz. He seeks an audience with you."

Helman stopped his pacing abruptly. "Could it be... Do you think Eliwood's come to ask of his father?" The old marquess wrung his hands nervously. "If that's the case... I... I know not what to tell him."

"Tell him you know nothing, and let him be on his way." The shadow stated.

Helman nodded, knowing that was what he SHOULD do. "Yet... I know young Eliwood well. His father, Elbert, and I are old friends. I've no children of my own, and I've always treasured Eliwood... I do not believe I could look him in the eye and..." He trailed off before closing his eyes in thought. "I could not lie to him. I could not."

A pause brought a heavy silence over the room until the shadow spoke again in that same even and emotionless tone. "We've no choice then. Let us chase the boy away. If you do not speak with him, you need tell no lies."

"Wait!" Helman gasped. "Do you mean to harm Eliwood?"

"Not harm. Frighten." The voice replied. "A scratch or two will leave no scars. He will run home to Pherae and be done with his adventure. He is, after all, all that Pherae has left..."

Silence again.

"Very well." Helman sighed. He didn't need to look to know that the shadow had disappeared as soon as the words had left his mouth. "Eliwood…forgive me…"

xxx

The sun began its slow descent over the horizon slowly bathing the land in a golden hue. Eliwood's company were gathered around a fire and enjoying a decent meal provided by Lowen while indulging in idle conversation. Rebecca rubbed a bit of vulnerary over a scrape on her knee from her recent training session and sighed as the healing medicine took effect. Link couldn't suppress the chuckle that followed and began waving his hands apologetically when the young archer turned and glared at him, an act which brought a laugh from the rest of the group. Everything seemed calm and peaceful until Link suddenly sighed heavily, catching everyone's attention, and stood up.

"We have company." He stated simply. Dorcas, the only one in the group who had firsthand experience with traveling with Link, was on his feet instantly and hefted his large axe over his shoulder. The others stared at him in surprised confusion for a moment before turning their attention to where he was looking. A rather large and dirty man was walking casually towards them. The group all stood at his approach and Marcus moved to meet him.

"Heheheh…ah noble sirs, alms for a poor villager?" The rotund man asked rather mockingly with a toothy grin. He had short messy hair and a round chubby face with beady eyes that held unconcealed ill intent.

"A poor villager?" Marcus scoffed, easily recognizing that man for what he was. "You look nothing like an honest man. Begone!"

The man merely laughed in response. "Be gone? Heh sound advice. Perhaps you should follow it."

"What?" the veteran knight glared and moved his hand to his sword.

The man gestured to Eliwood with a grin. "Someone wants the boy in an early grave. A shame if you ask me, but he'll die today."

Marcus instantly swung his blade but in a surprising show of agility the bandit leader jumped back out of harm's way with a laugh.

"Time to earn your keep, boys!" the man announced as he was joined by many other bandits that came out of hiding.

The arrival of the sudden threat caused everyone to jump to their feet and arm themselves. Their faces held mixed reactions all around. Bartre looked excited by the impending fight while Rebecca held an expression of mixed surprise and fear. Lowen scrambled to remove the pot of food from the fire before fumbling for his sword. Eliwood recovered quickly from his surprise and adopted a grim but determined look. Dorcas seemed indifferent to the whole situation and merely cracked his neck from side to side.

"Here we go again, eh, Link?" The large axe fighter grunted. "Just like old times..."

"It would seem so…" the Hylian sighed and scratched his head. "I'm still surprised to see you out here and not with your wife."

"Natalie? Don't worry about her. She's recovering well from her sickness and she knows what I'm doing this time so she's not too worried."

Link nodded casually before imitating Dorcas and cracking his neck with a groan. "Well, let's get this over with, I'm still hungry."

xxx

The battle, if you could call it that, gave Link a good opportunity to see everyone's level of skill. The only ones he was familiar with were Dorcas and, to an extent, Eliwood. Dorcas was still the same type of fighter as ever although Link did note he was a fair bit better all around than the last time they fought together. He still maintained his calm and taciturn personality which was actually a boon to his fighting style allowing him to bring his might to bear alongside collected focus. His friend Bartre, on the other hand, was the exact opposite. He was loud, brash, and fought with wild abandon caring little for defense. Both men fought to crush foes with their great strength but Dorcas at least fought with a semblance of strategy and skill; Bartre was just a rampaging bull. Then again when you're a hulking figure swinging around a giant axe while crying like a mad man with a wild grin on your face people tended to move away from you rather than toward you.

Marcus was a veteran knight that so Link didn't concern himself much over him. He was fully capable of taking care of himself. His apprentice Lowen had also been trained quite well although Link could tell he lacked experience. Out of them all though, it was Eliwood that impressed him the most. The young lord had made remarkable improvements since Link had sparred with him. He still had a long way to go to reach his full potential but he was well under way and Link was quite pleased to see his improvements.

Rebecca, however, was another story altogether. While she had done quite well during her the past couple of days of training she had never been in an actual fight let alone shot her bow at another person. She was notably nervous and rightly so.

"Don't worry," Link smiled and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything's going to be alright."

"How can you say that?" Rebecca stared at him in surprise. "Look how many of them there are?"

"Hey now, being outnumbered doesn't mean we're going to lose." Link waved a finger at her. "Quality makes up for lack of quantity."

"If you say so…" Rebecca sighed, not convinced.

"I do say so," Link grinned. "In fact, I don't care if you kill anybody at all."

Rebecca blinked at him in confusion.

"For now I just want you to get used to shooting at people," Link clarified. "I don't even care if you hit them. I just want you to grow comfortable with pointing your arrows at people. Consider it training."

"Training?" Rebecca stared at him in disbelief.

"Yup," Link nodded seriously. "Training. Shoot at every chance you get until you can focus on a single target without hesitancy. It'll take time, I know, but I want you to be able to be able to shoot arrows at an enemy with the same proficiency, focus, and resolve as a practice target." He gave her a serious look. "For now though, just shoot. Don't worry about anything else, I'll protect you. Just shoot."

Rebecca swallowed hard before nodding solemnly, nocking an arrow, and turning towards the nearest bandit. She took a deep breath, focusing her intent, and drew the string back. As she took aim at the burly man she couldn't help but recall Link's earlier words and she was forced to agree; shooting a human was nothing like shooting an animal. She was nervous. Her breathing was short and shallow, but she maintained her aim. She gasped as soon as the arrow left her fingers, becoming fully aware of how strained she had been, and watched it soar. It struck into the bandits right shoulder causing him to stumble and cry in pain.

Rebecca's eyes widened at what she had done and immediately took a few deep breathes in an attempt to calm herself. She was surprised not only by how difficult the action of shooting him was but also by how easy it was at the same time. It was a strange juxtaposition. She wondered what she would have felt like had she actually killed him. As soon as that thought passed through her head however she watched as another arrow sunk into the man's head, killing him instantly. She blinked in shock and turned to see Link smiling at her with his own bow in hand.

"Good job," He smiled at her. "Now do it again."

The young archer looked at him for a moment before tentatively reaching for another arrow.

xxx

Eliwood grunted as he thrust his rapier into the chest of one of the marauders. So far they hadn't had any problems defending themselves beyond a few close shaves here and there but the sheer number of the attackers was beginning to wear on them.

"How many of them are there?" Eliwood panted. "This is getting ridiculous…"

He was given no reprieve however and was immediately attacked by another man, barely having any time to take note of how the others were doing. Eliwood began to worry that if this pace kept up they would be overwhelmed. Luckily, he was unaware of the reinforcements that were soon to come from the north; reinforcements with familiar faces.

A lone soldier at one of Santaruz's border watchtowers stared at the battle in the distance with an impassive gaze. He didn't need to be in the tower to see it and so he sat next to a small fire to cook some of his rations. His meal was interrupted, however, by the arrival of a small company being led by a rather large man in armor.

"Hey!" The blue haired man called to the soldier. "What's going on over there? Looks like some rough business. You there! Soldier! Are you just going to sit there and watch?"

The soldier bristled at the man's audacity but reigned in his anger. He recognized the man's armor as that of a noble, although not one of Santaruz.

"Who do you think you are? This is Santaruz. What occurs here is no affair of a foreign lordling!"

"I believe I have to disagree with you there," the young lord growled. "You see I'd recognize that mop of hair anywhere, the man they are attacking just so happens to be a friend of mine."

The soldier blinked. "A friend? What are you…" He didn't get to finish his remark before he was struck down by the swift falling of a battleaxe.

"Hmph," the lord spat. "Sorry but I'm in a hurry."

A shrill voice shattered the silence that followed as a certain pink haired cleric approached.

"Ewwww! That's terrible!" Serra squealed. "I loathe violence!"

"Nicely done, milord!" Another familiar voice called out in encouragement. "You are a fighter born!"

Matthew, the enigmatic thief/spy of Ostia, slid up next to Serra. He was followed by a man even larger than Hector wearing a brown full-body suit of armor.

"I cannot condone resorting to force so quickly, Hector." The armored man sighed.

"Chastise me later Oswin," Hector shrugged. "Right now we must go help Eliwood."

"Help Eliwood?" Oswin sighed again. "Sounds like a convenient excuse for more violence."

"Oswin!" Hector glared at him.

"Yes, yes, I'm coming," the armored man followed after him.

"Matthew!" Hector called to the thief. "Take Serra and find someplace to hide."

"Hide?" Matthew gaped. "With Serra?!" Surely such a notion was next to impossible...

"No! I'm going with!" Serra demanded.

"You are not!" Hector growled. "You'll only slow us down! Oswin let's go!" The blue haired lord charged off followed closely by his right hand man.

"Oh!" Serra puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. "How rude!"

"Come on, Serra," Matthew sighed. "We'd better do as he says."

xxx

Eliwood jumped away from a swordsman's strike and tried to counter but his fatigue slowed his movements and his attack was blocked. The two opponents locked blades, vying for control, until a loud roar disrupted the exchange. Both swordsmen turned to see a large man in armor falling towards them with an axe overhead. Eliwood and the bandit broke apart as the intruder crashed his axe into the ground before instantly lunging after the bandit and burrowing the weapon into his chest.

"You alright, Eliwood?" Hector grunted as he pulled his weapon free.

"Hector?" Eliwood blinked in surprise. "What are you-?"

"Later!" Hector waved him off. "Let's clean out these louts!"

"Heh," Eliwood grinned with renewed vigor. "Right!"

With the added power brought by Hector and Oswin the stalemate quickly turned into a one sided battle. Their group began pushing the bandits back at an increasing rate, gaining momentum with every passing moment, until their assailants were finally on their last legs.

"Bah!" Zagan, the bandit leader, grumbled as he eyed Eliwood. "He puts up a good fight for a pampered noble pup. Guess it's up to me to finish him."

He charged forward heedless of the men falling around him and attacked the red headed Pheraean. Eliwood saw him coming and immediately hopped back to set up his stance. His eyes focused on his assailant as he readied his rapier. The thin bladed weapon would never be able to match the might of his opponent's axe so blocking was not an option. He would have to be a little more creative than that but fortunately his regular sparring partner just so happened to be another strong axe fighter and Eliwood just so happened to be on a bit of a winning streak against said partner. Eliwood watched Zagan's charge with a critical eye, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. All he needed was one good opening to strike…

"GRAWWW!" Zagan roared as he lept into the air raising his axe high.

And there it was.

Eliwood hopped back with a perfectly timed maneuver just before Zagan's axe struck where his head was. His hop put just enough distance to for Eliwood to spring forward to counter with a full strength thrust into Zagan's chest far too fast for the large brute to raise any form of defense.

"Erk…" Zagan grunted with a blank expression and stared at the hilt of the rapier sticking out of his body. " This was…not so…easy…it seems…" His eyes dimmed as life left them and Eliwood withdrew his blade before flicking it to the side to clean off the blood and sheathing it.

The young lord took a deep breath to steady himself as the adrenaline began to fade. He did not like killing. Not that he had done much of it mind you. While he had already slain a few bandits before Zagan, the large brute could technically be considered his first kill as a duelist and Eliwood didn't like the feeling. Yet despite his feeling he couldn't stem the excitement that the challenge had instilled in him and truthfully Eliwood was glad that Link had shown him how close minded he had been a year ago. He had no doubts that if he had stayed as he was then this duel could easily have turned out quite differently.

His thoughts were interrupted when a sharp exhale to his right punctured them. "Is that all of them?" Hector, his childhood friend, asked as he approached.

"Hector!" Eliwood exclaimed. "Where did you come from?"

"Well met Eliwood," The blue haired axe fighter chuckled.

"Yes," Eliwood nodded in reply. "But what are you doing here?"

Hector narrowed his eyes into a mild glare. "You wound me!" He grumbled and crossed his arms over his burly chest.

Eliwood blinked in surprise. "How do you mean?"

"You're looking for your father, right?" Hector replied as if the answer was obvious. "Why didn't you send word?" He demanded angrily. "Did you not think that I would be willing to help?"

"Well…" Eliwood replied sheepishly. "Your brother was just named Marquess Ostia. He's going to be very busy setting up his court council. Lord Uther must need your support. You are his brother, after all."

"Feh." Hector waved his hand dismissively. "My brother is not so weak. Oh, he has mentioned some things in public, but he knew exactly what I was planning, and he let me go"

"Is that so?" Eliwood laughed. If he knew Hector as well as he thought he did than Hector's brother probably just realized that trying to convince Hector not to go would be far more trouble than it was worth to keep him. "Well then, it would be unwise to refuse his kindness! It does me good to see you, Hector. Thank you."

"Hmmph, think nothing of it," Hector replied with satisfactory nod before gesturing to the armored man even bigger than he was at his side. "You know Oswin, don't you?"

"Well met, Lord Eliwood." Oswin gave a light bow to the Pheraen Lordling.

"It is good to see you again, Oswin." Eliwood smiled. "So you came as well?"

"Yes," The knight nodded in reply. "Lord Uther was worried about Lord Hector traveling alone. I've been ordered to keep a close eye on him."

"Of course!" Eliwood laughed again. "Good to have you with us."

Oswin nodded again but before any other words could be spoken a shrill cry interrupted them.

"Lord Hector!" Serra shouted as she dashed towards them with Matthew trailing behind her. "Why didn't you tell me the fighting was done!?"

"I apologize for the interruption!" Matthew gasped out between pants. "I couldn't restrain her any longer!"

Eliwood raised an eyebrow at the pair before turning to his friend. "Are these your companions, Hector?"

"Oh yes, I suppose they are…" Hector sighed in reply. "One might have hoped for better, but…"

Serra gasped in shock at his words. "That was uncalled for! I can't believe you said that!" She cried out in disbelief before turning to the sandy haired thief beside her. "Matthew, did you hear what he said about you?"

"Me?" Matthew gaped at her. "He was talking about you!"

"Hector," Eliwood chuckled at their antics. "Why don't you introduce us?"

"The noisy one is Serra." Hector sighed again. "Believe it or not, she's a cleric.

"Yes, I am Serra, my lord." The pink haired cleric bowed graciously as if not registering Hector's less than approving words. "Pleased to meet you."

"And you as well milady," Eliwood smiled and nodded to her.

"And that's Matthew." Hector gestured to the thief. "He does a lot of…sneaking around."

"My lord," Matthew bowed with a dramatic flourish.

"Sneaking…around?" Eliwood blinked, not sure how to take that information.

"Well I… er… gather information, open doors, chests, and such," Matthew struggled to describe his profession tactfully. "I've got…nimble fingers."

"That sounds like a thief's work." Eliwood narrowed his eyes.

"Well…Don't let it worry you." Hector said dismissively.

"But…" Eliwood turned to him in mild surprise.

"This journey," Hector explained. "I suspect it will be harder than you imagine. You may have to accept things like this if you want to survive."

"What is it, Hector?" Eliwood asked, catching the hidden meaning in his statement. "Do you know something?"

"Nothing specific," his friend replied. "Rumors abound, though. A league of assassins from Bern has been moving around in Lycia. Experienced bounty hunters and mercenaries are vanishing."

"Hmm…That reminds me," Eliwood said. "One of the men who attacked us said something odd."

"What was it?" Hector asked.

"Lord Eliwood, if I may?" A new voice spoke up. Everyone turned to see Marcus approach.

"Marcus! Good to see you!" Hector proclaimed.

"Lord Hector, it's been far too long." Marcus nodded and gave a light bow similar to what Oswin had done earlier. "Your assistance is greatly appreciated."

"Come now, Marcus. No need for such formalities." Hector shook his head. "Tell me what you heard."

"Of course," Marcus nodded. "The apparent leader of that gang of thugs, he indicated that someone was watching Lord Eliwood and that someone needed him dead."

Hmm…" Hector mused aloud. "That is troubling. Actually, a captain of the guard was watching the fight when we arrived. He was a knight of Santaruz, and yet he just stood there and let a lord be attacked. I think he was planning on seeing you die."

"I see…" Eliwood rubbed his chin. "Perhaps something may have happened to Lord Helman…We must hurry to the castle!"

Unfortunately he was stopped by Marcus. "I would advise against that milord. Even if we rush we will not reach the castle for at least another day and it is getting late. We should rest ourselves for tonight and prepare to move swiftly tomorrow."

"I…see…" Eliwood sighed and tried to calm himself. "Very well then we shall rest for now. Come, let us meet up with the others." He turned and began leading the group back towards the campsite. By this time the rest of them had already returned. As they approached, Eliwood was about to introduce everyone but the opportunity was suddenly taken out of his hands.

"Eeeeeeee!" Serra's sharp squeal cut off any attempt Eliwood had of speaking. "Link! Is it really you?!"

"Serra?" The Hylian in question winced as his pointed ears registered the exuberant cleric's high pitched voice. Before he could make any other response he was enveloped by a surprisingly strong glomp from the girl.

"It's been far, far too long!" Serra bubbled. "You missed me, didn't you? Of course you did. I knew it."

"What are you doing here?" Link asked in surprise as he tried, unsuccessfully, to politely remove himself from her grasp.

"Hm?" Serra blinked. "Didn't I tell you before? I'm in the employ of Ostia, Lycia's ruling territory. I'll be here to help you just like before! Aren't you lucky!"

"Very." Link replied blandly. Although he couldn't say he disliked the girl he also couldn't say he was overly fond of her either. Then again her personality quirks aside Serra's healing abilities were nothing to shake a stick at and it would also be good to see how far she had come with the magic lessons he had given her.

"Good to see you again, Link," Matthew piped up as well.

"Ah Matthew!" Link gave a much more cheerful greeting to the sandy haired thief. "I take it you're here in your true capacity this time?"

"Eheh…yeah," Matthew chuckled knowing that Link was the only person who knew his true purpose for being in Lyndis's Legion.

"Well that is good," The Hylian chuckled and extended his hand. "I look forward to working with you again."

"Likewise!" Matthew grinned as he shook the offered appendage. "Here's to our mutual survival, although with you around I don't think I have to worry too much about that."

Meanwhile Hector was staring at the exchange between his vassals and the stranger in green with no small amount of confusion. "Er…Eliwood! Who is this?"

"Ah, my apologies," Eliwood replied. "Hector this is Link. He's a wandering warrior who has graciously agreed to aid in the search for my father."

"Oh, I see," Hector extended his hand to Link as well. "I'm Hector of Ostia, a childhood friend of Eliwood."

"Well met," Link shook his hand, easily matching Hector's firm grip.

"Tell me, how do you know these two?" The Ostian Lord inquired.

"I believe they traveled with the Lady Lyndis during the inheritance dispute of Caelin last year," Eliwood answered for his friend. "Link was instrumental in their success over Lundgren."

"Instrumental? That's putting it mildly!" Matthew laughed. "Without Link we all probably would have died several times over. If he's decided to join this little adventure, milord, then I fear for anything that gets in our way!"

"All right," Hector nodded, though slightly skeptical. He was used to taking Matthew's exuberance when he wasn't being serious with a grain of salt. "I suppose I shall witness your skills firsthand."

"Likewise," Link chuckled. "Although what Matthew says might be a little exaggerated."

After that the following introductions were rather short, though Serra and Matthew also cheerfully greeted Dorcas, and everyone gathered round the fire for a well deserved meal. Soon light conversation picked up as old friends caught up with each other and new acquaintances were made. It wasn't long before a certain thief decided to turn his attention towards his favorite mystery.

"So Link," Matthew piped up. "What have you been up to this past year?"

The Hylian in question looked at him before shrugging. "Not too much, just traveling around mostly. I couldn't find what I was looking for in Etruria so I've been looking elsewhere."

"Any luck?" The thief/spy inquired and frowned when Link shook his head. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's fine," Link smiled lightly. "I'll find it eventually and there's plenty of things I can do here in the meantime."

"Things like what?" Matthew raised an eyebrow.

"Some minor mercenary work, the occasional escort job, a bit of research and training," Link shrugged again. "Things like that."

"I see," Matthew smirked. "So you have no attachment to the so called "Green Wanderer" who popped up recently?" He burst out laughing when Link shrugged yet again. "I knew it!"

"Green Wanderer?" Eliwood asked aloud turning to Hector who gave him an equally unknowing look.

"Ah, my apologies milord," Matthew calmed himself before addressing the two nobles. "Over the past year there have been several stories passing from town to town on the lips of travelers and minstrels about the deeds of a wandering swordsman clad in all green." He paused to give a mild glance at the forest green outfit worn by the Hero of Time before continuing. "The stories vary a bit from place to place but all of them tell of the wanderer performing heroic deeds such as routing bandits, foiling kidnappings, and the like. Now individually these feats might not seem like much but the sheer number of them in such a short time that feature the same person indicate someone of exceptional ability."

"Oh!" Rebecca's eyes widened. "I've heard a few of those stories, too!" She turned to the Hylian next to her. "Those were about you?"

"I guess so," Link scratched the back of his head. "I never really paid much attention to them."

"Well, that certainly explains what you did at my village then," Rebecca beamed.

"Heh, same old Link," Matthew smirked. "When I first heard the stories I knew immediately that the person they spoke of had to be Link, the unsung Hero of Caelin! There were a number of other names that were used to describe him but they all featured the same description. It's nice to know you haven't changed, Link!" Matthew grinned while Link just chuckled in exasperation.

"Why am I not surprised you know all this?" Link mused and Matthew's grin merely deepened in response.

"Wait! You mean you're the Blue Eyed Beast of Caelin?!" The boisterous voice of Bartre interrupted.

Link blinked. "Huh, well that's another one I haven't heard before…"

"I've been traveling with such a strong warrior next to me this whole time?!" Bartre immediately jumped to his feet with fire in his eyes. "Fight me!" He demanded.

Link blinked again in surprise but before he could respond to the challenge Dorcas, who was sitting next to Bartre, reached up and grabbed his friend by the belt and pulled him back down.

"Sit down," Dorcas said in his usual stoic voice. "You're not nearly good enough to fight him. It would be a waste of time."

"What?!" Bartre rounded on his companion. "How can you say that?!"

"Easy," Dorcas replied calmly. "It's the truth. None of us are a match for Link yet. In fact we could all face him at once and he would beat us easily."

THAT comment seemed to catch everyone's attention especially since it came from the group's most taciturn member.

"True enough," Matthew laughed, reinforcing Dorcas's statement. "I'm actually surprised there was anybody left for Lord Hector to fight today now that I know Link was here."

"Ah well, I didn't really think I would be needed," Link laughed sheepishly. "I was watching over Rebecca here." He indicated the young girl next to him. "I'm training her to be an archer." He turned his head to her. "You did very well today, by the way."

"Thanks!" Rebecca beamed at him.

"I see, still have everybody's best interest at heart eh?" Matthew nodded understandably and smiled at Rebecca. "Well if Link's taken you under his wing then you're in the best of hands milady. Even I'm forced to admit there's no one I know better."

"That's a bold statement coming from you, Matthew," Hector narrowed his eyes dangerously at the Ostian spy.

"Perhaps," Matthew shrugged. "But it is what I believe. Remember last year when I told you it would be unwise for Ostia to make on enemy of the Lady of Caelin? I was mostly referring to Link at the time."

"Really…" Hector turned his glare at the Hylian who ignored the cold look.

"Oh!" Serra squealed as memories of her time traveling with the Legion resurfaced. "Do you remember that time when Link beat those dark mages back after-"

Link groaned at the words being said about him as stories and memories began to be shared before tuning them out and turning back to his meal. In all honesty he didn't really like it when people talked about him since he truly didn't believe his deeds needed to be lauded. He was just doing what he felt was right at the time. Granted how he defined the term "what is right" was nothing short of noble but he still didn't believe the praise was necessary. He knew he was strong and where he stood compared to the average person but his ability was not a something he was born with.

Despite what others may believe Link was not an invincible undefeated warrior. Throughout his travels he had met several people of substantial ability that he had faced and been defeated by. Granted none of those battles had any significance greater than a challenged duel and he had yet to lose a fight that really mattered but it had still happened. Yet those losses were also part of what made Link so untouchable now.

It may be hard to believe but the Hero of Time had never received a day of formal training in his life. It was something that he himself didn't fully understand but the fact was that Link possessed an uncanny, almost instinctual, affinity for combat in all its forms. When he first held a sword as a child it was almost like a void within him had been filled, it felt so right in his hand. His first few swings were typical of any amateur fool with a new toy but as he fought Link just seemed to feel what was right and what wasn't and he adapted to those feelings accordingly. Whenever he picked up a new piece of equipment he instantly visualized hundreds of different possible uses for it. Learning how to use the new gear was simply a matter of very fast trial and error.

An example of this was when Link fired his bow for the first time. His eyes automatically tracked the arrow's course while his mind instinctively recorded its velocity and trajectory. With every arrow that followed he discovered that he fundamentally understood all the factors that made them hit where they did and from that point mastery was quickly realized. It was the same way with everything else as long as it could be applied to combat. Such incredible ability only proved Link's status as a Goddess blessed warrior.

Whenever Link fought with someone that was capable of beating him he only had to rechallenge them a day or so later to even the score. It wasn't that he would learn some crazy new technique or anything like that tailored specifically to fighting his new opponent, it was more like he would just…understand how to fight them and adapt accordingly. Perhaps that was what made Link so powerful, the ability to adapt to whatever situation he found himself in. He actively learned from every fight he was in and he could even improve on his own techniques or develop new ones based on the knowledge he gained from fighting better opponents.

This ability showed through even in unarmed combat. When it came to a fist fight Link was a brawler, plain and simple, but despite not knowing or using any formal fighting style he had bested people who had dedicated their lives towards hand to hand combat. Oh sure there had been times where a seasoned fighter had defeated him but Link would just incorporate everything he learned into their next fight and beat them down. Everything from the strengths and weaknesses of a style to the particular tendencies of the fighters he faced all just clicked in his mind and made him that much stronger. If you beat the Hero of Time you only did so once; there was never a second. Master fighters and warriors had described fighting him as like unto fighting a sponge. No matter what they did he just bounced back while constantly absorbing information from them. He may not have been formally trained but that didn't mean he wasn't taught new things.

Sometimes Link felt a bit ostracized by his own ability; a freak of nature capable of impossible feats of superhuman levels. He honestly didn't know if there was a limit to what he could do and it was that chasm of ability between Link and normal people that led him to handicapping himself almost constantly and hiding who he was from everyone that didn't already know. It was the closest he could come to feeling normal even if that was something he knew he'd never be.

Link had fought towering monsters capable of destroying castles ever since he was a child, growing stronger with each victory not just in skill but also from absorbing some of the life force of the creatures he slew. His body had been honed over the years to a physical level even greater than before Zelda had sent him back in time to relive his youth. When he awoke in the Sacred Realm after his seven year slumber his body had grown into top physical condition through the power of the Master Sword which sealed his young body away until he had grown capable of wielding it properly.

This time around however his body had grown to accommodate years of battle with creatures that should only exist in nightmares and grueling travel to some of the most harsh and remote locations of the world. His body had been forged, tempered, and honed to physical perfection. His dense, steel-coiled muscles were capable of physical strength far greater than one his size should be while holding none of the bulk that would hamper speed and agility. His threshold for pain was nothing short of superhuman as was his incredible stamina. He was the perfect warrior and had worked very hard to become such. He had too. The stakes were far too high for him to be anything but. Not that he doubted he wouldn't have become a powerful fighter even if destiny didn't force him to be.

Simply put, Link loved to fight. He loved the challenge of pushing himself, improving his abilities, learning new skills and overall just getting stronger. He saw the great monsters he battled as a challenge and fighting them had become a euphoric high unrivaled by any drug. When others whimpered he laughed, where they saw fear he saw a challenge, while armies fled he charged forward. Never giving up and never losing hope, Link stood as an immovable sentinel against all that would move against him.

All these attributes together equaled a being that could truly be called a divinely blessed warrior. Perhaps that was the subtle blessing that the Triforce of Courage gave him: the potential to be an unrivaled warrior. But considering everything he had been through in his life it only made sense he would be so powerful, with or without the Triforce. After all the reason he was still alive had required him to be stronger, faster, tougher, more resourceful and tenacious than all the monsters and people he had faced. When a lot of those monsters could be grouped together with Volvagia, an ancient dragon that actually ATE gorons and was capable of laying waste to the entire kingdom of Hyrule, comparing Link to an average soldier was like comparing a young house cat to full grown alpha lion – utterly unfair.

He let out another sigh as he noted the subject of his ability was still being talked about after he had finished his meal. If anyone had been paying attention during their stories they would have noticed one person in particular wearing a deep scowl on his face. A scowl that only increased with every word that was spoken. It wasn't long before the conversation of the camp was shattered by a loud roar.

"THAT'S IT!" Hector stormed to his feet and leveled a deathly glare at Link. "I'm sick and tired of hearing rumors and stories about you!" He growled at the Hylian across from him and tightened his grip on his axe. "I can't believe such outlandish claims until I see them for myself!"

"Hector…" Eliwood started but was cut off by his hot blooded friend.

"No Eliwood!" The blue haired Ostian shouted. "I just can't accept this! I have to fight him!"

Eliwood sighed and shook his head, "You always were the one to use action over words, but don't say I didn't warn you." He turned to the elvin warrior who sighed again.

"I've never actually made claim to doing any of these things. I'm not the one who started these rumors nor do I really know the details of what they say. Like I said I never paid any attention to them and I don't doubt they were exaggerated. But I doubt that will be enough to satisfy you," Link replied before standing up. "Very well then." He moved to a more open area of the camp followed closely by Hector while everyone else also stood up to watch. Once they had enough room to maneuver Link turned around and narrowed his gaze at the young lord. "Come at me."

"Hmph, draw your weapon!" Hector declared and raised his axe.

"What makes you think, I'll need it?" Link challenged.

"You plan to face me unarmed?" The axe wielder growled to which Link merely smirked and crooked his fingers. With a roar of anger Hector charged forward, leaping high into the air for a powerful axe drive. The Hero of Time merely hopped back a step to avoid and waited for the young lord to attack again which Hector gladly obliged. Recovering quickly from his jump attack Hector lunged forward again and unleashed a flurry of wild strikes. Link sidestepped, ducked, and weaved almost casually around all of his attacks much to the Ostian's growing ire before he pivoted around an overhead cleave and delivered a spin kick into Hector's backside as he passed by sending the young lord sprawling into the dirt.

While he waited for the blue haired lord to rise to his feet Link went over everything he had learned about Hector thus far in his mind. He had to hand it to the hot blooded youth; he had potential. Just like Lyndis, both Hector and Eliwood possessed an incredible amount of it. While Link wasn't sure if they would ever be able to beat him one on one since he himself was unsure of his own limits, he knew for a fact that once the three of them reached their full strength he would have to take all three of them absolutely seriously in a fight. That thought excited him; especially since all three of them were strong in different ways.

While not as physically strong as either of the two boys Lyn had the potential for unrivaled speed and skill. She already possessed a small number of killing techniques to compensate for her lack of strength and she would only continue to grow stronger. She could very well become an unparalleled master of the sword one day.

Eliwood was a more balanced fighter with well-rounded abilities. He was stronger and wore more armor than Lyn but was slower and proportionately less skilled despite their different styles. On the other hand he was faster and more skilled than Hector but was weaker and wore less armor. Eliwood's greatest strength, however, lay in his mind. He was the most tactical fighter of the three young lords. He could keep a calm and level head while analyzing his opponent for any weakness or opening and could counter attack with prodigious timing. He had the makings of a great leader and knight.

Hector on the other hand was a tank. He fought with pure power in order to crush his opponents while wearing heavy armor that could defend him from almost anything. Physically he was quite easily the strongest of the three and his large constitution made him an imposing figure. While he may be the slowest of them all he was still surprisingly fast and had very good reflexes. He had the capability of becoming a powerful juggernaut. Unfortunately he was also the easiest to anger and while blind rage did increase power and overall ability it was best used against multiple opponents of lesser quality. Anger clouded judgement, made you reckless and sloppy: against someone like Link it was as good as handing him the victory.

A roar of fury halted his thoughts as Hector swung at him again. Link took a step forward and easily slid passed Hector's strike. Turning quickly as he did the Hylian grabbed Hector's arm and used his own momentum to effortlessly toss him over his shoulder. The Ostian lord flew several feet before landing roughly on his back with a grunt. Again Hector rose to his feet and charged forward coming in with a wide horizontal swing. Link ducked under the blow, noting by the air movement an impressive amount of power behind the attack, and knocked out Hector's legs with a sweep kick. The blue haired man hit the ground on his back once again but instantly rolled away to gain some ground before jumping to his feet again.

"Fight me seriously, damn it!" Hector roared. Link tilted his head to the side and stared at the lord for a moment.

"Very interesting," He said aloud causing Hector and those watching to blink in surprise.

"What?" Hector growled and narrowed his eyes.

"You…are like me in a way," Link replied evenly. "You've never been trained to fight have you?"

Hector stared at him in surprise, "No…" He admitted. "I taught myself how to fight."

"I can tell," Link replied. "You're style is rough, unpolished, and uncontrolled; a surprising contrast to Eliwood." Hector growled again at Link's apparent dismissal of his abilities and prepared to charge him again but was stopped when Link continued. "Yet you possess a level of ability comparable to his…or at least you did."

Hector blinked. "I…did?"

Link nodded. "I understand that you and Eliwood spar routinely do you not? From what I also understand up until about a year ago you were fairly evenly matched weren't you?"

"Yeah…we were," Hector admitted begrudgingly. "He's pulled ahead in our matches but I'll get him next time."

"No you won't," Link stated. "At least not as long as you continue as you are."

"What do you mean?" Hector demanded.

"Let me know if any of this is wrong," Link requested before continuing. "As a lordling growing up your large stature always gave you an edge over everyone else. With your older brother in line to rule you had no desire to learn about the finer points of lordship and were happier fighting than studying. You were stronger and tougher than everyone else and that made you the top fighter amongst your peers. Rather than accept rigid formal training you preferred to just jump into a brawl and win with your natural abilities, giving you a sense of superiority that has carried over even till now. The only one who ever stood a chance against you was Eliwood, who was diligent in his studies and active in his training, your polar opposite. His lack of intimidation from you and defensive formal training was a good match to your aggressive power and overwhelming confidence and you became fast rivals."

He paused for a moment to glance at Eliwood who was paying rapt attention and knew that so far he had hit the mark. He continued, "But recently Eliwood suddenly began pulling ahead of you. You weren't worried about it at first since you've been so evenly matched for so long that a loss or two didn't really raise any cause for alarm. But you soon noticed he was beating you repeatedly and with greater ease and you've been trying to figure out the reason for the sudden change. You've never entertained the possibility that you or Eliwood could ever be beaten by anybody but each other and after Eliwood admitted to a loss to someone you've never met it only increased your frustration. And now you hear about someone who, despite your friendship and lordly standing, is a stronger ally than you and that is more than you can bear."

Silence descended upon everyone as Link finished his analysis of Hector's psyche and waited for his response. The young lord in question was stunned by Link's apt summary of his life and tightened his grip on his axe again.

"How?" Hector demanded through gritted teeth, a question of multiple meanings.

"I can tell in the way you fight," Link replied evenly. "You might say it's something of a skill of mine. To answer your other question, it's simple. Eliwood had his eyes opened."

"He what?" Hector was confused. "What do you mean?"

"He lost a real fight, a true fight," Link answered coolly.

"And how does that explain anything?! We've fought many times!"

"It explains everything," Link replied. "The fights you've had aren't the same as a true fight. You're used to duels with rules and regulations, training fights meant to make one concede defeat rather than kill, against people who had no desire to kill you without remorse. You've never gone into a battle with the belief that you could possibly die or that others could die if you failed. Even the bandits you just killed couldn't really constitute a real fight because they were less skilled than you already and drew their strength from numbers."

"I don't see how that changes anything," Hector grunted in disbelief. "I've been doing fine so far."

Link shrugged, "Don't worry, you will soon learn for yourself, perhaps even more so than others I have shown since you are like me."

"How am I like you?!" Hector demanded.

"Like you, I have taught myself how to fight." The Hero of Time replied, a statement which raised the brows of both Marcus and Oswin, two veteran knights who had been watching with undivided attention. Both of them had overseen much of the training and growing up of their respective lords and both would admit to the two young men being exceptional fighters. While it was no secret that both of them still had much to learn even Oswin, a soldier of the renowned heavy infantry of Ostia, was hard pressed to match Hector's ferocity and power. That this mysterious man, who claimed to be the same pivotal warrior of Caelin's dispute and whose many nicknames were commonly heard from minstrels and in taverns, could so easily toy with the hot blooded axe wielder was not something the two of them were ready to believe – or for that matter, trust. His claim to be self taught did not help his cause either.

"But," The Hylian continued. "Unlike you my experience comes from a lifetime of battle in situations where death was never more than a single mistake away against things much stronger than myself. I had to become strong in order to survive and protect everything I cherished. Now it's time I showed you the difference between our experience." He took a deep, slow breath and immediately shifted his posture. No longer was he a well meaning and cheerful wanderer; now he was the Hero of Time, Guardian of Hyrule, bane of evil, and slayer of the impossible. He slowly drew the Master Sword from its sheathe and removed the shield from his back before narrowing his eyes and focusing all his attention on the armored lord in front of him.

A strange chill sent a shiver down Hector's spine as he witnessed the change in demeanor. There was…something…about Link that felt completely alien to him and he couldn't seem to pin down the cause of the feeling. Was it his posture? Stance? His eyes? A combination of all three? He couldn't tell.

Eliwood watched the change in tension and couldn't suppress a shiver of his own as memories of his own duel surfaced in his mind. He could still feel the oppressive weight of Link's presence and the fear he had burned into his very being. A fear that haunted his nightmares. A fear that shattered his innocence. A fear that made him stronger. A fear that Hector needed to feel.

The young Pheraean Lord clenched his fists and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself. Even though he never truly wanted to fight Link again, his loyalty to his friend demanded he jump in to help and he had to fight to keep from doing so. At the moment, Link truly felt like an enemy and it astounded Eliwood how he could make such a change so readily. He knew without glancing that Marcus and Oswin had both taken much more guarded stances and were ready to attack the green wanderer themselves.

"Don't," Eliwood spoke softly but firmly, stopping both knights. "Hector needs this. Trust me."

The two older knights turned their gaze towards him and stared with an intense scrutiny for several long seconds before slowly returning to their previous, less guarded, stances. Reluctantly they turned their attention back to the duel that, to their eyes, would soon turn into a death battle.

Hector, unaware of the interactions of the others, maintained his attention on Link and readied himself for attack. He attempted to tighten his grip on his axe but was surprised to find difficulty in doing so. He look down at his hands and was shocked to see them shaking. He growled angrily and forced them to stop although he couldn't for the life of him understand why they had started in the first place.

He didn't dwell on it for too long though, instead choosing to fall back on his tried and true method of solving a problem: pummel it into submission.

"Graaah!" Hector roared and charged forward like an angry bull. As he closed the gap between himself and Link the blue haired axe wielder launched into the air and raised his axe high. With a loud battle cry he brought the weapon down in a crushing blow.

*CLANG*

The resounding clash of metal on metal rang through the air but the sharp sound barely registered in the ears of those watching the fight. They were too stunned by the sight before them. Hector openly gaped and for once his mind was shocked into stillness.

"Im…possible…" He breathed as he stared at the man who had blocked his attack by merely raising his sword above him. There was no change in stance, no bracing for impact, no change in expression at all. He had not buckled, strained, winced, or shown any sign of the force affecting him at all outside of a minor shift of the blade during impact. Hector's strongest attack had been stopped cold. Not deflected, parried, or dodged: stopped.

The young Ostian Lord couldn't believe it. No one had ever tried to block that attack and came out unaffected. Even Oswin had tried and lost feeling in his hands from the force of impact. Hector had thrown everything he had into that strike and not only had it been stopped easily but HIS hands had gone numb.

Link for his part had to give Hector credit, he packed a good punch behind his swing but it wasn't the strongest attack he had blocked by any means and it wasn't even close to the sheer power of an Iron Knuckle. He had once tried blocking one of those strikes and it had nearly shattered his arms even with them being reinforced by the Silver Gauntlets. If he wore the gauntlets now though he would probably be able to do it and get away with nothing worse than a hard jarring. At any rate he knew that the young lord could become much stronger than he was, so much so that the current Hector would seem like a kid with a wooden toy in comparison. Unfortunately he was not that strong yet and while he may be a more than a match for a bandit or an average foot soldier; against someone of Link's caliber, he WAS the kid with the wooden toy.

The Hero of Time broke the weapon stalemate easily by pushing his sword into an outward swing and knocking Hector back several steps. He didn't give him any chance to regain his footing and immediately lunged forward to unleash a flurry of slow but powerful slashes. Hector struggled to block each strike, swinging his axe to meet Link's blade, and barely succeeding in doing so. Every time their weapons met it felt like he was striking a solid steel pillar: immovable and jarring. Hector's Wolf Beil was knocked aside each and every time only succeeding in keeping Hector barely out of harms way while Link's Master Sword continued on its path.

A powerful upward slash knocked Hector's arms up over his head opening his guard wide for Link to easily plant a solid front kick into the lord's armored chest. Hector grunted painfully from the impact and fell to the ground. His reflexes saved him from further injury when he immediately back-rolled up to his feet and barely avoided Link's jump slash follow up. He tried to counter attack and return to the offensive but Link spun low and thrust the pommel of his sword into Hector's stomach stopping his advance cold and instantly knocking the air from his lungs.

"GAK!" Hector coughed roughly, spittle flying from his open mouth, before falling the ground again and gasping from air. A brutal kick to his side sent him sprawling onto his back. He tried to stop himself, tried to will his body to move, but to no avail. He was in too much pain and in too much shock to do anything but gasp for breath. He opened his eyes just in time to see Link falling from the sky towards him with his sword poised to drive into his head. He gasped when the impact came and could only stare blankly up into the cold eyes of the Hylian as he sat on Hector's chest as if he were nothing more than a bale of hay, his sword plunged into the dirt next to the young Ostian's head close enough to cut hairs.

Several long seconds passed as Link stared coldly at Hector, one arm casually resting on is knee. Hector's mind was still trying to process everything that had happened while sorting through the new emotions that flooded his brain. Not only had he been defeated - he had been overpowered. Hector had always prided himself in his strength but Link had taken everything he had thrown at him and turned it around completely. Hector had been denied everything that he was and beaten at his own game.

Suddenly things became clear to him. The truth behind the rumors, the reason for Eliwood's increase in strength, the crucial factor he had been missing. For the first time that he could remember, Hector felt fear. He realized that everything that Link had said had been true; he had grown up sheltered and had never known the true meaning of battle. He had never entertained the thought or the consequences of defeat, never felt the pressure or desperation of fighting for one's life, and never experienced the tension of a situation where a single mistake could be fatal. He had never fought a battle he couldn't win.

Link continued to stare at Hector's vacant expression for a few seconds before he slowly stood, pulling his sword from the ground, and stepped away. With a quick flourish he sheathed his sword and made his way back to the group, leaving the young Ostian Lord to his thoughts. He didn't say anything to anybody as he passed by while those unfamiliar with his skill gaped at him in silence. Without a word he disappeared into his tent.

Silence reigned for a few moments longer before Eliwood strode up to his friend who was still lying on the ground.

"Need a hand?" He chuckled as he offered to help Hector up.

"Thanks…" Hector replied before accepting the offer and rising to his feet.

"I warned you," Eliwood smirked.

"Yeah," Hector admitted and turned his gaze towards Link's tent. "You did." He continued to stare for a few minutes before he gave a very uncharacteristic sigh.

"It seems we both have a long way to go…" He admitted.

"Indeed," Eliwood chuckled. "But at least we know that now."

"True," Hector nodded before giving his friend a challenging smirk. "I'm going to catch up to you, you know?"

"I would expect nothing less," Eliwood met his smirk. "and once you do, I'll race you to the top."

"Your on," Hector met his smirk.

The two friends grinned at each other before making their way back to the fire. They had a long way to go but now they had a new goal to work towards and they would face that challenge like they had all the other challenges in their young lives. Together.

xxx

A/N: Well that's that. I hope I didn't make too many grammar and spelling mistakes...But now Link has officially met the three lords of Fire Emblem. Believe it or not the fight between Hector and Link actually took me a long time to bang out. There were a lot of factors that I had to juggle with that caused me to write and delete then write and delete some more. In the end I think it turned out pretty well. I really like Hector and I wanted to do his character justice for his first appearance. I hope I portrayed him as well as I think I did. I rather enjoy the dynamic that he has with Eliwood and their solid friendship despite different personalities. I'm finally starting to reach into the areas that I've been looking forward to writing for quite awhile…I can't tell you how long I've been waiting to write the battle at Laus, only a few more chapters... Granted I have nothing but myself to blame for how long it takes me to update but so long as I keep chugging along I'll get there eventually. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this past due update and as always please READ and REVIEW! Until next time!