Scarred
Note: I own only the plot, settings, and original characters in this fan fiction.
Note: Though this is written as a Fire Emblem fan fiction, the setting is different. This takes place much before the popular American Game Boy Advance game, so none of the characters are copyright.
Note: Assassins were uncommon at the time.
Final Note: There will be no more disclaimers or stuff like that in any other chapters.
Prologue
Throughout the land, he was known as the Assassin. Not an honorable title, the name mirrors a history of strength, secret, and tradition. The Assassin traveled the land, not as a killer, but as a human. He was Assassin only when need was dire. This meant serving under the Lord whom which he was pledged to. Though the job was of no honor, it was a necessity. The Assassin was of a cursed lineage, one bounded to the laws of old and ancient. His father, and fathers before him, had served the Lord of Flourin, the capital city. The Assassins of the Hyaru family were renown for their skill—and ferocity.
The Hyaru of the Cardinal Era was Keith Hyaru, the fifth of the line. The Assassin was a young man, and an old man. On the occasions that he had the urge to cleanse himself in a cool stream within his home of nature, one could see youthful muscles of his thirty-year-old body. They were the signs of strength of one for whom a trek over an impassable mountain or scorching wasteland would be a simple morning stroll.
It was the eyes of Keith Hyaru that were old. Keen and attentive, they resembled those of his forefathers, who had passed on their experiences unto this new Assassin. But, it would have been better had they not—the Assassin was a bringer of death, and experience was a bringer of a more potent Assassin.
The particular story of the new Hyaru was peculiar. Though he was the amassment of the properties of his past, Keith possessed one quality they did not. This was hidden for many years, until one night that changed his life...
He waited upon the top of a hill, surrounded by woodland. The dark sky was spread above his head. A chilly wind blew behind him, sending a chill up his spine. The concept of killing out of cold blood was one he was used to, but the event looming before him was frightening. If there was a worse thing than watching the face of an unsuspecting victim, it was the face of one out to avenge such a person.
Hyaru was perched, still. He heard a rustle of the forest before him, and a figure stepped out. He was a man, dressed in a simple robe, and with short black hair tied up in a knot. The new man approached the Assassin, and drew his weapon, a sword.
To most, the Assassin would have looked fearsome. Though Keith was an average-sized man, there was a certain intimidating aura, which surrounded him. His long dark hair covering his eyes, dark robe, and ability to seamlessly blend into darkness composed a mysterious man. Nobody knew the true identity of the Assassins.
Keith Hyaru stared with pity at the man, knowing there was nobody around his vicinity, but a new victim. This job, he had often told himself, is for responsibility, promise, and survival. However, with every death he caused, there was one element that dissolved slowly at the cause of the Assassin's blade: his conscience.
"Hyaru," the man spoke shakily, and angrily. "Draw your weapon, Shamed One. You die tonight!"
The Assassin stared deep into the man's eyes. "Francis, was it?"
A grim nod.
"I have no more to speak of. Attack me if you wish, but keep in mind that if you do not strike, I shall return the favor. Life is not something to be thrown away."
"You should know." Abruptly, Francis swung his blade horizontally, aiming for a quick slash at his torso. There was just one problem. No matter how fast the angry man was, the Assassin was trained for speed. He dodged the strike with ease.
The man stood, panting. He leered up at the Assassin with heavy hatred. Once more, he attacked, this time with a stab towards the stomach. Keith sidestepped, and struck the man. A fist to his shoulder knocked Francis straight to the ground.
The man was sprawled over the ice-cold grass, and nobody was around. "Fine, you win."
Keith lowered his fists, and stared at the pitiful figure. "Correct. Now leave."
"Okay..."Francis drew his blade and swung wildly at the Assassin's head, with an obvious ambition to end the duel, with a surprise attack. Keith's reaction was quicker. He drew a slender knife from his belt, parried the move, and stabbed the man straight in the heart. Another life was ended.
The Assassin stared at the shocked expression on his victim's face. It was no unfamiliar scene, but a scene at the back of his head tingled strangely, or rather, a scene at the back of the hill.
"FRANCIIIS!!!" a shrill voice rang shakily. It was a woman, an onlooker. Fool...what is she doing here? The Assassin had never witnessed any watchers of his activites.
Keith's dark eyes shook with guilt. The woman ran up the hill, via the surrounding woods, and kneeled over the dead man's body. When the Assassin stepped back, the woman looked up at him. She had the purest clear blue eyes the Assassin had ever seen. It shamed him to be the cause of the hurtful tears that tarnished the innocent pearls of eyes.
"You...how could you slay a fellow human?!" she spat at him.
Keith was disgraced. He was petrified by the fact that the woman was forced to endure the death of a loved one. Struck by shame, the Assassin chose the coward's way out. Before, he had never killed a woman, and wasn't planning on doing so that night. Keith Hyaru fled.
Within his sudden torrent of mixed emotions, the Assassin flew through the wilderness at a speed equally tremendous to his anger at himself. He had killed before, but never before a victim's friend. This shed a new light upon Keith Hyaru's mind.
Aznboy714: Okay, there's the prologue. Yeah, I know it doesn't seem very Fire Emblem-ish, but I'll be sure to include FE-related elements in the next chapter! Review please!
Next chapter: An introduction to more characters, settings, and the plot.