(Author's Note)

Hello! This fanfiction started being written on September 7th, 2022. This is an Alternate Universe (AU) where Varian is an orphan thief that lives in the alleyways of the Kingdom of Corona. This note was written after finishing Chapter 19 (The Final chapter of Arc 1) on October 8th, 2022. Enjoy the story! :o

~ VarianLeAlchimiste

Chapter 1
Sage

"Pocket full 'o sage, check..."
"Beat up in the alley by three children taller than me, check..."
"Feral cat that hissed at me while I was walking by, check..."
"Think I have everything."

Varian perked his head up from his list on an dusty and dirty piece of parchment that really only had the word Sage written in a messy handwriting on it, parts of his face swollen, red and bruised. He had dried blood that ran from his nose over his mouth and chin from the fight in the alley earlier and he had sage falling out of his pocket from gathering it. "Thank gosh for the Tales of Flynnigan Rider, else I wouldn't have been able to pull that off so easily..." Varian reached into his pocket and pulled out the sage.

"Let's see, sage... Wards off demonic presences when burned either by itself or as an essence, a symbol of purity, used in holy cleansing of buildings..." Varian mumbled to himself as he walked along the backside of the city he was in, staring at the sage draped in his hands.

"Could be used for other means, but seems to be mostly for keeping demons and evil away." He added, rambling. He put the sage back into his pocket, took a breath (which was quite numb due to the fact that his nose was swollen slightly) and then dusted off the sage that was left on his gloves. He kicked the dirt, mud and horse-manure off of his boots and then began trying to climb one of the buildings to head up to the rooftops.

Varian occasionally looked down, but he wasn't afraid of heights, he was just worried about others finding him and attacking, whether it be royal guards or naughty brats that hated him.

He managed to get to the roof and he rested, kicking his feet gently off the side of it, watching the people in the city streets from afar. They were all very interesting in their own little ways, some had big noses, some had hooks for feet or hands, some were short and had a white beard, and some had golden suits of armor encrusted with the Coronian sun, some had nice dresses stained with paints and dyes, some had funny hats with plump bellies, some were tall and had orange, frizzy hair... Some even had beautiful blue dresses and lovely black hair.

Varian's eyes slanted and a doofy grin appeared on his face...
Cassandra, he thought.

He had heard the name of the lady with the blue dress from some of the guards while he was hiding nearby, it was actually a very scary time but he learned her name so he thought it was worth it. Varian couldn't help but stare at her beauty, yet she had such a cold face and voice; snapping at the guards when they did something stupid.

He did always wonder why she was allowed to talk to the guards that way. If anyone else had talked to the guards in such a rude, angry tone... They'd probably get arrested and taken to the dungeons where they'd never see the streets of Corona ever again, and if they did, it's because they were being transferred to a ship that went to a prison away from Corona...

Varian could only speculate and theorize, because he knew nothing. He tried not to wander too much out in the open, especially around those parts nearby the castle.

Sleeping beside him, was a raccoon; his name was Ruddiger, and he was Varian's only friend, much like a certain thief and his certain also-a-thief monkey, ah if only Varian could remember the name of that guy, interesting story about them, really.

He had saved Ruddiger from a trap that had been set to catch pesky raccoons like Ruddiger, since then, Varian and Ruddiger have been partners-in-crime.

Literally, after all... Living alone with no house to live in, no parents to nuture and care for you, no money to buy food, water, or anything you want or need...

This was the life these two had.

It didn't help that Varian was an alchemist, which was shunned upon by the current society due to not only the fact that some citizens thought it was evil witchcraft and devil's work, but the way it can end up causing explosions and wasn't safe to do. He had heard that in places outside of Corona, they would burn alchemists' and what they deemed witches.

Varian didn't care about all that and what people thought of him and his alchemy.

He loved science, he loved chemistry and he wanted to create new elements and machines that could help... But alas, it was hard with having to steal resources and hide away your alchemical projects from the public, and sometimes even your closest allies... Not that Varian had any.

Except, for Ruddiger. But he was a raccoon and they also kind of had a deal between eachother after the whole situation with the trap.

Varian rubbed his face; ah yes he could already feel the bruises quickly spreading across his face, wonderful; with the most sarcasm he could muster up. He took off his bag and then dug around until he found an cloth he had stole from the market and some water he gathered from the river outside of the city of Corona and he poured it gently on the cloth.

Varian washed away the blood and dirt from his face, letting out a sigh of disgruntlement as he did so, because he wouldn't have had to do this so often if it weren't for him getting beat up in the alleys by those kids. Ruddiger woke up, stretched his body (and tail) then crawled onto Varian's lap with a chatter. "Hello Ruddiger, good evening. Sleep well?" Varian pet him.

Ruddiger chattered again as a way to say yes and rolled over on his back, wanting a belly rub. Varian smiled, put down the wet cloth and then scratched Ruddiger's furry belly. "Y'know, for a homeless stray, you sure are chubby Ruddiger." Varian jokingly said.

Ruddiger let out an angry chatter but couldn't complain too much because Varian was giving him belly scratches and rubs. "Nah... I get it, you can eat stuff out of the trash, I can't." Varian snickered and rubbed Ruddiger's belly.

Varian looked up to the sunsetting sky and couldn't help but wonder if his life would change... Not only for himself, but for Ruddiger too... Slowly, Varian started to sing;

"I wonder what life will bring to us,"
"If we can change our hard days and nights,"
"To something much more happier."

"I wish that we could change our ways,"
"Yet here I sit, you and I, on the rooftops,"
"Bloody and bruised, hurt and covered in dirt."

"Maybe one day, life will bring us something much more,"
"Something much more... Happier,"
"Something much more... Exciting,"

"Just something, much more..."
"Maybe we can have so much more,"
"Maybe one day..."

"Ruddiger." He paused,
"Maybe one day..." He said, stroking Ruddiger's fur.
"We'll have something much more..." He closed his eyes and continued to pet Ruddiger...