A/N: My first Fire Emblem fanfic! Special thanks to Chibi Gigi for inspiring me to write it. I hope you enjoy this fanfic. I sure will. I don't own any of the fire emblem characters. I do however own Renzin. My fics Tactician.
Chapter 1- Tears of the Lorca
Lyn's POV
The great plains of Sacae. A land who's history was timeless. Ageless. A land that was blessed by the Goddess Elimine with lush forests and great rivers that stretched out as far as the eye could see. Those same rivers changed over to roaring rapids as they reached the lands of Caelin and Pherae. Forests as healthy as they were in Sacae were rare, especially after the hundred's of pointless wars that continued long after the scouring, a conflict of which little was known. The reasons lost to the recesses of time.
Sacae was different. Atleast to me it was different. As many people that looked down upon us; as many thought us as barbarians, we persevered. Even in the worst of times, we persevered. I for one, do not look down at my lineage in shame. I take pride in our great history.
Tears fell from my eyes, bluring my vision; my stomach wrenching though the grip on my reins didn't waver. My horse which I named Lafirah galloped at a steady pace as I made my daily rounds within the great plains. It had been six months. Six months since the incident that ruined my life and nearly destroyed my faith in the good of people. I thought I had gotten over it or atleast had put the past behind me. With a light kick to it's sides my horse picked up the pace. Though I tried to put my attention elsewhere, the pain in my heart was unbearable.
I will never forget that night as long as I live.
I wanted to die. I wanted the earth to swallow me whole and make sure I never leave. Why was I cursed to live on only to watch my family be slaughtered so mercilessly? They attacked without warning. I didn't even know who they were. Men, Women, young and old... it didn't matter. They were slayn without a second thought. The warriors fought valiantly but they were ambushed, outnumbered and outclassed. And they fell...
Then they killed the children one by one without a second thought.
The screams! The blood... and all the demons did was laugh...
Laughing! The bastards were actually laughing!
Papa tried to stop them bringing his Zweihander sword down on them with a fury I had never seen. He cut through one of the demons splitting the head cleanly in two. His blade then veered off to the right until he tore the blade out of the murderer's ribcage. Blood splattered all over dads face as the demon made a gurgling noise and dropped to the floor dead even before he hit the ground. The rage and complete hatred he held for the bandits was frightening but it was a justified hatred in my eyes. But like the others, it was all a matter of time before the mob run him through in the gut. Even dead they continued to mutilate his body with their crude weapons.
And I stood there and watched completely paraylized. It had to be a nightmare. SOMEONE! Please tell me it was only a nighmare? No... this was no dream. These fiends were living terror. My legs buckled and I collapsed, the sound of blood curdling screams burning into my mind, infusing fear into my very soul. Helpless and completely lost in my despair. Whimpers turned to sobs and sobs turned to wailing. I felt a hand on my shoulder but I didn't need to turn my head to tell me who it was. The soft caressing hands. The shy, gentle warmness of a mothers love. Long blond hair spilling onto my shoulders and the deepest blue eyes searching for my own.
"Momma..." I embraced her as hard as I could, tears falling from my eyes as pieces of my soul shattered.
I looked up to see my mother fearing what was next. Her eyes was what terrified me the most. They told of a broken spirit within and the horrors that she would soon face.
"My little Lyndis, please listen to me. I will always love you."
I continued to stare at her blankly. The words she spoke still hadn't registered into my mind.
"Now run! Run for your life. Run and don't turn back!
"I am the last one..." I whispered just to keep mind focused. If I didn't keep focus I honestly thought I'd go insane. It was funny really. All this time we wanted to prove to the kingdoms that we were civilized and inturn, we'rethe ones who end up slaughtered by barbarians. The real scum of this world. "I... I'm all alone now."
It was true. None of the other clans would help her. The so called civilized kingdoms treated her and the Lorca like garbage. "Florina's my one and only friend..."
And probably the only reason I haven't commited suicide.
I was too stunned to say anything. My mind took a moment before finally catching up to speed with the events of the world. Momma's last words hit her like nothing else ever could or will. My mom was going to die and sacrifice herself to save me.
"RUN NOW!"
That's all she said before she charged at the advancing mob. She had no weapon to defend herself with. My mother was no fighter by any means. Yet a mothers love can go along way as I was about to witness. There was a flash of light, and immediatly the demons... atleast I call them demons began to panic. I wasn't quite sure what happened, but I didn't stick around to find out. Momma gave me precious time. Time I will not waste and so I ran. Deep down I knew that I would never see mamma or papa ever again. Part of me died that day.
I ran for hours... atleast I thought I ran for hours. I honestly don't know. My mind was lost in a maelstrom of bitter and all too real memories. I didn't even hear my pursuers until I found myself tripping on the ends of a decomposed tree stump. I didn't even realize that I had broken my shin.
"Guys over here! We've found the wench!"
I was dizzy. I felt like I was going to vomit. Physically and emotionally spent I could barely keep my eyes open as the remainder of the bandits closed in on me. I've never felt so helpless in my life. All this pain and suffering they cause and STILL they come.
"Momma... I couldn't get away... I'm so sorry."
"It's a shame really." one of the demons said. Probably the leader.
"We'd make a bundle in the slave market but orders are orders."
Fear and despair gripped my heart at that moment. I had failed. I had failed and now I would die and there was nothing I could do about it. With that the man raised his sword ready to bring it down and kill me. I wanted to look away but I couldn't. It was almost as if fate was laughing at me. Laughing at the pitiful excuse for a Sacae plains woman.
The mans blade never came close.
Almost as if out of nowhere, there was a blur of green, brown, black and red towards my left and the next thing I know, the mans head fell to the ground right next to me. The next ten minutes were more of the same. Blood splattered everywhere as the screams of my pursuers rang out like music to my ears. I tried to focus on what was going on... but I couldn't. I was too weak. One by one, they fell. My rescuer cutting through them as if they were nothing. I was shocked but it was more out of relief then out of any real surprise. Then... atlast the screams died out but I almost found myself laughing. Whoever just killed them, I hope he or she made it as painful as possible.
Though it wasn't much, I managed to sit up and try to find out what happened. The blood was everywhere. Bodies dismembered in several places at once lying in pools of it. Then I heard footsteps and looked up to see a man in a dark cloak. The blade I thought responsible for this bloodshed was in his left hand. It looked like a katana of sorts and seemed to glow red faintly but I wasn't really sure. Sheathing his sword in a scabbard I guessed was behind him and to the side, he turned around to face me. I had never seen eyes as green and intense as his, piercing my very soul. He continued to gaze upon me expressionless but I could barely keep eye contact. Weariness set in once more. I tried to fight it but it was too much and I knew no more.
When I woke up, I found myself in the care of a nearby tribe nursing my injuries. What had happened? That man stopped the bandits and then? He must have brought me there. The weeks went by slowly as the Likira tribe worked at healing my leg and other small injuries. As for me, I didn't know what to think. My family... my tribe was completely destroyed and the only reason I'm still alive is because someone actually cared enough to stand up to them. Not only that but even bring down the bandits that were chasing me. Later I had checked to find out if that man was still here but it appeared that he had left long before I even woke up.
I didn't even get to see his face. Though I'll never forget those eyes. That was when I had decided to take up the ways of the sword. To deal with the ones responsible for the deaths of my parents and my tribe and finally one day to find the man that saved my life... to thank him I guess. The Lorca would continue. I won't let something like this bring an end to it.
Sacae hadn't changed much. Atleast it didn't change much to the untrained eye. Now the plains felt tainted. Raped. A scar that would never heal. Not really. At first I ignored it, thinking that it was only a figment of my imagination. Now though, it was hard not to feel it. That unnatural silence in my soul.
But then there was something else. I couldn't explain it but I felt like I needed to go there... Go where? I wasn't sure but I felt like I was being pointed toward the east. With another light kick to Lafira, I was sprinting as fast as I could. Over hills, past groves, and even beyond a small lake. Anxiety was building up inside of me. Something was happening. Something important. Something I didn't even understand. We ascended up another hill and pulled my horse to a halt. Dismounting, I made an effort to look at my surroundings. The tree's rustled loudly in the wind; the sky a crystal blue. The animals native to this area where scarce I noticed but that wasn't what caught my attention.
A man lay unconcious not even seventy feet away.
Immediately I ran down the hill, nearly stumbling several times but I kept to my feet. I kept running till I was just several feet away and knelt down to his side examining him.
And I felt my cheeks turn slightly red.
Slightly tanned skin and brown hair that went down to the mans shoulders. He wore a brownish green cloth tunic and dark pants held up by a brown belt with a brass buckle. Knee length brown boots made sure he could traverse under the roughest terrain. Along with the boots he wore a dark green cloak with the hood pulled back to expose a light scar on his right cheek. There was also a strange sword that was sheathed to his back side at a low angle. Very odd. It reminds me of...
Wait a minute... could it be? No... it couldn't. It's not possible.
Thats when I noticed how badly injured he was. Several deep cuts in his chest and midsection. A dark bruise took a good portion of the left side of his face. More bruises and small cuts lined both his arms. His right arm was clearly broken as it hung at an unnatural angle. I couldn't tell how bad his legs were. There didn't appear to be any cuts but that didn't mean he didn't have any broken bones. Not that I could really check for any without moving the leg which was something I didn't really want to do. Remembering something momma taught me earlier, I placed two fingers on the side of his neck, checking for a pulse. It was there but it was very shallow.
"What am I gonna do?"
Yes... what was I going to do? I couldn't just leave him here to die. Maybe I had something that could help him. That's right! Lafira has some vulnary's in the satchel I placed on her! Half smiling, I brought two fingers to my mouth and whistled her over. She did as told without hesitation. I did train her afterall. Taking the vulnary from the satchel, I twisted the cork out with some effort I might add. The cork was screwed on tighter then I hoped. Walking back to the injured man, I opened his mouth and slowly poured the liquid down. He choked on it once and I stopped as the man struggled to open his eyes. He didn't get farther then halfway before they closed and he fell unconcious once again. I finished pouring the vulnary down his throat and with some effort, and natural impulses in his brain, he swallowed the rest of the vulnary down. Inwardly I smiled as the vulnary's instantaneous began to take effect. Most of his cuts began to heal, though the deeper ones would take a bit more then a single vulnary to heal completely. Unfortunately It was the last vulnary in the satchel. The rest where back home and home was quite a ways away.
I sighed rubbing my head in frustration. The injuries were healed somewhat but that won't mean anything if I can't get him some proper treatment. All it takes if for infection to set in and that would be the end of him.
I looked down at him again, frustration bearing down on me hard. Maybe... maybe I could just move him a little... If I could get him to sit up on Lafira then maybe I could get him back home and give him some proper treatment. Picking up and placing the man's arm on my shoulder, I made my way back to Lafira, hoping that I could find a way to get him back to my house.
Tactician Renzin's POV
Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to be caught in an ambush? Especially one concocted by a bunch of low grade briggands? Deep down in the vast corners of my mind I had more then enough time to brood over... recent events. For one, how the hell did they manage to catch me off guard? Most bandits are too stupid to be that smart. I should have sensed something. Even then, if I wasn't with it, Muramasa would have sensed blood and would have been more then willing to taste it.
So how could they have possibly even got close to me without me being aware of it?
They bypassed Muramasa? Now I know that's impossible. Nothing outside of magic could bypass Muramasa. Magic... Magic! How could I be so stupid? They could have used magic to dull my senses and somehow still get around Muramasa's bloodlust. If they could do that, then it must have been one hell of a mage. Maybe on par with the great mage Pent. This complicates things... alot.
If someone on par with Pent is working with a bunch of petty thugs, then it was obvious that there was more to this then some slavery ring. Maybe... maybe if I'm lucky enough, I'll find a lead to the Black Fang.
There's that word again... luck.
In the past few weeks my luck has been atrocious. With the exception of the slavery ring, the best lead I've gotten was to investigate some guy named Matthew. From what I heard however is that he's dropped off the face of the earth. Wonderful...
So the best thing I can do right now is continue pursuing the head honcho of the slavery ring. I don't even get why they do this anymore in all honesty. There's enough prostitutes running on the streets nowadays ever since the nation wide depression. No... not prostitutes. People that just can't get by any other way. The poor... the destitute...
What a lovely picture I'm painting. No Renzin... focus on something else...
It's very strange being able to talk like this inside my mind when without a doubt I'm not actually coherent so to speak. Unconcious thought. Actual thought. Uggh... How do I say this? Thought is thought alright?
So how are the thieves going to torture me assuming I'm not dead?
Scorpions? Acid? Knifes? Selective amputation?
I cringed at that thought. Leave it to me to think of the worse case scenario.
"Something else is going on... what's that light?"
What if I'm... what if im dead? That's it... I'm dead...
Unbelievable... I can't believe I'm dead... not after everything I've been through...
The light became brighter...
No... I'm not dead. This light doesn't feel all that holy. No... I'm... I'm... I'm waking up!
Weakly... I manage to open my eyes. I was half expecting to be tied up in the middle of some sort of cave with the bandits preparing any sort of means to inflict as much pain as possible without killing me. I say not killing me because I believe I would have been dead already otherwise. But no... where ever I was... it felt... warm...
Sunlight splashed over my eyes, temporarily blinding me but I do manage to regain my focus. The first thing I notice is that I'm under warm covers in a bed. A bed? wait a minute...
I don't think after completely overtaking me, that the bandits would treat me with any kind of decency. So what was it then? Looking around, I saw walls made of insulated sheets and wood of the finest bark. Several chests lay near them, containing supplies of anything between clothing and first aid gear. A tent then of some sorts. So where am I?
"Oh! Your awake."
I turn around to find a girl probably no older then 17 with green hair, dark blue eyes and a delicate smile. She wore the blue-green dyed robes of a Sacae Plains Woman and matching boots with high heels. I continued to stare at her blankly while she inturn stared back seemingly lost in thought. Finally it was her that broke the silence.
"I found you collapsed just within the borders of the Great Plains"
Sacae? Man was I way off! I thought I was far along the way to Ostia! Maybe I was drunk or something... nah.
"Excuse me... but... are you alright? You've been asleep for two whole days."
Two days? Alright... calm down Renzin. Now is not the time to panic. However now that she asked me, I was a bit sore all over. A vast improvement from near death I suppose.
"A lot better then I thought I'd be." I turned to her. "Thank you for your hospitality."
She smiled lightly before placing the tray of soup in her hands to the left side right next to me. It turns out instead of a soup, it was a stew made of freshly cooked meats and vegetables. Thanking her once again, I began to partake my fill.
Munch. Chop. Crunch.
"So what's you name? If I may ask."
Munch. This is delicious.
"Renzin."
She nodded.
Munch. Chop. Crunch.
"My name is Lyn of the Lorca tribe."
I stopped chewing. Almost stunned. The Lorca? I continued to stare at her trying to hide my surprise. I'm not sure if I succeeded or not. If she really is of the Lorca... then that would mean...
"Renzin? Are you alright? You seemed to have zoned out."
That she was the one that I saved six months ago.
"Uh... um yeah! Yeah, everythings fine."
She looked like she was about to say something else but whatever it was, it died in her throat as she heard something. Whatever it was, I heard it too... it sounded like a blade being sharpened.
"Did you hear that?"
I nodded but didn't say anything. Grabbing her iron sword from the supply bin, she strapped the sword belt to her waist, her gaze like cold steel. I knew that look. There was going to be some action. Inwardly I smirked. Looks like I'll manage to satisfy Muramasa for a few weeks yet. She gazed in my direction, and her eyes soon found my own.
"Renzin, stay here. I'll have a look outside."
Lifting up a flap of the tent; I've yet to find a better word for it; she walked outside. As soon as she did, I got out of my err... her bed and searched for Muramasa. It was right where Lyn's iron sword was. Just a bit behind the chest. I strapped it on, to my most favorable position which was low and to the left. That way, I didn't have to reach out for it from my shoulder, making it easy to draw. The reason I just didn't strap it to the side like Lyn did was because I usually held my satchel there, incase the need of a vulnary should arise. Too bad, most of my gear was stolen by those damn bandits. Taking inventory, I still had two vulnary's left. That's quite a blessing actually.
It didn't take Lyn long to return, that steel gaze softened to one of anxiety and fear. "Bandits..." she said finally. I wasn't overly surprised. They probably found out where Lyn took me and had decided to finish the job. How unlucky for them. This time I was ready.
"Renzin, you stay here. I'll take care of them. If I fall, I need you to run away."
Me run away from a bunch of barbarians? You've got to be kidding me.
"Actually Lyn, I believe I can help you fend them off." I'd better or Muramasa would not be too happy.
She turned to me, slightly surprised. "You want to help? Can you use a weapon?"
I smirked patting the hilt of Muramasa. "That's what this is for. Actually, I'm also a tactician of sorts."
"A warrior and a strategist. Impressive."
"Not really, but it's a start."
"Alright then Mr. Tactician... guide me."
When the both of us had left our tent like thing (I was still baffled as to what to call it.) I immediately noted the terrain, my ingrained tactician's instincts taking over. The ground itself was rather plain. Grass fields extended far off to the Bern Mountains. Overall there wasn't anything signifigant about the terrain. Overall it neither helped us nor hurt us and there was surprisingly no nearby forests or trees to take advantage of. The mountains were too far off to make any use of either. There were no forts besides the Ger at the end, but that was to be expected. No rivers. No walls. No houses that needed to be defended or at the very least evacuated. Nothing except me, Lyn, and the enemy which numbered five bandits including there leader.
As for the bandits themselves, there didn't appear to be anything that remotely stood out, however I could tell that the entire group had the combined intelligence of a snuffed candle. All of them were armed with axes. Thus the mighty weapon triangle, would overcome them as was Dominiques Law.
Still, they had the advantage of numbers. A wrong move out of me or Lyn would make the difference in this fight. Gazing at the sun, it was high noon. Not a very typical time for a routine bandit ambush. Then again If I were to be surprised, I'd have to assume that these guys had a speck of intelligence, but that doesn't seem to be the case. The last bandit, there leader seemed to be a bit smarter and stronger then the lot of them but not by much. All and all, a typical bandit ambush, though I thought there would be a few more bandits then this. Still, I can't complain. Muramasa was pulsing madly in it's sheath, waiting to taste blood.
I ignored the urge and looked to Lyn who seemed to be measuring her adversary just as I was. However she didn't seem to be nearly as confident. From the way she stood gave me the impression that Lyn's style involved alot of agility and little strength. A hit and run approach but that's if she was good enough to dodge an axe. In all honesty, I couldn't tell you if she could or not. I'd just have to wait and see.
And pray that she can.
"Lyn, do you know of the weapon triangle?"
"Not really."
"According to Lawrence Dominique's law, the heavy axe tends to fail in comparison to the swiftness of the sword, making it the ideal choice against axe fighters. Apparently the stupid (cough) I mean fearless leader has the entire group equiped with them."
"Meaning my sword can really do some damage."
"Precisely but hold up. Watch the enemies tactics and watch for the approach. If my predictions are correct then they will split their force evenly in an attempt to kill the both of us."
"So what do we do?"
"There approach it divide and conquer. Ours will be surround and snuff."
"What? That's insane! How are we gonna pull that off?"
"Easy. I'll feign a direct charge at the leader while you remain where you are until I reach the other side. The enemy, seeing this will drop what they are doing and begin to chase after me. If I take out the leader, the battle would already be won."
"Why is that?"
"Because without the leader, confusion will spread and the enemy would collapse upon itself, that and the fact that the ger is probably filled with the bandits recent loot including my equipment but that's not the point. My goal instead is to feign an attack on the leader, causing the other bandits to stop and begin attacking me thus forgetting you. That's when you'll come from behind and run'em through."
Lyn was stunned to say the least and inwardly I smirked. Tactician indeed.
"It... it sounds so crazy it's BRILLIANT!"
"Told you so. Remember to veer off a bit to the side so that they split up and attack us evenly. Ok? Now come'on, lets go meet with them."
"Excellent! We found the brat and the wench at the same time!" The leader spoke with a mirth that I had known all too well. Inwardly though, I was going to enjoy seeing the look on the mans face as I make the killing blow. Muramasa was eager. This would be alot of fun if things worked the way I thought they would. Lyn slowly made some distance between me and herself as she faced the enemy without any fear whatsoever. I could already tell the differance between me and her. I usually overestimate my chances, she tends to not be as confident. Both could be stated as weaknesses but I won't go into that at the moment. There was garbage to take out.
"Kill the annoying brat but we need the girl alive. The slave ring is restless. After we kill them, it's payday."
I scoffed. "Are you really so sure of your abilities?" I taunted. " I bet that your not even half as strong as your weakest grunt."
"WHY YOU? Ignore the girl! Kill the boy!"
This was gonna work better then I thought. Drawing Muramasa I started my madrush toward the closest bandit I saw. That one turned out to be the second on the left. My boots trudged dirt and grass as I made my way to meet the bandits assault. When I was within range, the first bandit brought down his axe hard and to my left. His right. I dodged it quickly by feigning right but didn't stop there. I scored a nice hit on his side drawing blood. Whirling about, I managed to get in a second hit behind his left knee making him drop to the floor in pain. Excellent. That was quite an added bonus. Before the other bandits could make any counter attack, I straffed left and even further away from Lyn. When I was satisfied with the distance I made, I cut across center so that I was exactly where I wanted to be. Between the cronies and their leader.
"What? Damn it! Kill Him!"
I wasn't overly concerned with the leader. He had to protect the ger and was therefore unable to fight where I was. Even as the bandits began to panic, Lyn had already finished off the one I hindered and was already working on her second kill. I ran up to meet back with Lyn and deal with the final two bandits that weren't preoccupied. By now even for them, they had gotten the gist of my tactic but at this point it didn't matter. This battle was won before it ever really began in all honesty.
I ran down the third bandit before he could even turn around and struck his juggular with the tip of Muramasa. Lyn after a powerstruggle had finally managed to win out over the second bandit. She pierced his heart after managing a solid cut on his arm that made him drop his weapon, though I noticed that she took a nasty cut on her leg.
"Lyn!" I tossed her one of my last two vulnary's. She caught it thanking me in the process as she downed it quickly.
Meanwhile I took the liberty of facing off against the last grunt. I won't lie to you. The man looked scared out of his wits at the ease of how quickly three of his buddies just went down. Sucking up his pride, he charged at me with all his might.
Do they ever learn?
This time however, the man swung his axe horizontally in such a manner as to stop me from ducking it.
Maybe they can learn a little.
Instead of ducking, I vaulted over the blade and twisted in such a way that I could counter with a hard kick to his face.
Success.
The man doubles over fast. With precious little time, I follow through by ruining his stomach with Muramasa. I heard that getting hit in the stomach is one of the most painful ways to die if you follow through with striking something vital. After I impaled the grunt, I twisted the blade for maximum damage but I didn't pull my blade out. The man screamed in pain but I didn't care. Twisting Muramasa back into it's original position, I then proceded to cut upwards from the stomach, to his heart and finally his neck though I decided I wouldn't go further then that. It didn't take long for the man to fall limp after that.
That was when Lyn walked up to me. She was a bit shocked at my tactic but it quickly subsided. We both nodded silently and turned to face the leader... who at that time had gone a bit pale.
"They can't be human..." I heard the man whisper... he shook his head quickly though and put up a brave facade.
"Grr... nobody can beat Batta the Beast!" he said before charging at Lyn. He probably assumed that she was the weaker of us and hoped that he'd fair better then his breatheren. I have to admit, even though Lyn is untrained, she holds great potential. Too bad Batta will learn that lesson too late.
As I thought. Batta was just as sloppy as his grunts. Probably even more so from the lack of training. Lyn won almost easily. Even untrained though Batta still had a quite a bit of endurance and strength and that was the only reason he could put up any fight at all against the Lorca plainswoman.
"Victory." I said almost casually.
"Victory." She repeated almost as if the word hadn't registered yet. Then it clicked.
"VICTORY!" she danced with delight. Jumping on the balls of her feat and yelling as loud as she could.
I smiled again. Just a child...
Then I turned my attention to the ger. "I wonder what they got in there."
I walked inside the ger, Lyn following shortly after noticing that I had walked away. I have to admit that I was rather unimpressed. The room only contained a few treasure boxes along with a table containing a map. They say that to the victor go the spoils. So I better be spoiled dammit. The first chest I found contained my things.
Four vulnary's, One throwing dagger I bought a while back, several lock pick's for investigative purposes only heh..., my fingerless gloves, 400 something in gold, several notes jammed packed with information I had gathered on the Black Fang as well as the Slavery Ring, and finally my pendant. The other stuff was expendable but it was the last two items that I trully needed. The notes where my lifes work and the pendant...
Well... lets just say that it was very special to me.
The next chest held a whopping 5,000 pieces in gold. Oh yeah! I split it evenly with Lyn. This must have been the payday Batta was talking about.
The last chest only held a single sheet of paper but all it had was some numbers.
06 45 71 22 12 39
Odd... hmm...
I showed the paper to Lyn who couldn't make heads or tails out of it either. I turned around. Maybe it had something to do with that map. Maybe it was coordinates but there wasn't time to look into it now.
"Let's go Lyn, there's nothing left to find here."
"Alright." She agreed with me.
After snatching the map and placing it in my satchel, something else caught my attention. There was a key under the map. So I took that too. Now there really wasn't anything left.
When we returned to Lyn's hut (I finally found a name for it.) both of us were physically exhausted.
"Lyn, I'll sleep on the ground so you can have your bed back."
"No. Your my guest and It wouldn't be very appropriate."
I shrugged. "Are you absolutely sure?"
"Positive."
So I took the bed and Lyn took a small mat on the floor and we drifted off to sleep.
Lyn's POV
It was him. This was the same man that saved my life six months ago. I don't think he even recognizes me. I continued to stare at him, not completely sure what to do... The proof was all in black and white. His sword, the way he fought, his eyes. The night passed quickly for the both of us. Perhaps to fast for comfort. Who was this man that fought like a demon? What could drive him to such a state?
It was ten o'clock in the mourning before Renzin woke up. I had prepared breakfast again but my mind seemed elsewhere. I had a feeling he'd be leaving today. Last night, I had been thinking alot... of my past, and my future if I stay here. And I saw very little. That was when I made a decision. I'd ask Renzin if I could come with him, if he'd let me.
We ate breakfast in silence. Our minds elsewhere and at the same time we tried to find something to talk about but the words wouldn't come. That's when I saw him smile. "Lyn you've been an excellent hostess to me, and I truly am thankful for all you've done but I believe this is the time when we part ways. I still have alot of training to do as a tactician and there is still so much I need to do."
"Where will you be going?" I asked. My voice quieter then I thought it would be.
"Probably to the nearest settlement. I have to look some stuff up. " He replied.
Things fell silent again... and I could see the nervousness in his eyes. I don't get it... what would he have to be nervous about? But enough about that. I had to ask him. It was now or never.
"Umm... Renzin?"
"Yes?"
I fidgeted a little, trying to find the words to say.
"Uhh... Please let me go with you."
His eyes buldged out in complete surprise, clearly unprepaired for that request. The silence stretched for another minute.
"Please train me to fight like you."
When the surprise faded, Renzin stared into my eyes... almost as if he was searching for something.
"I guess it's alright with me... but you have to ask your parent's first."
Just like I caught him off guard, now he managed to throw me for a loop. I tried to find a way out of this without having to tell him about my parents... but it was hopeless. I sighed as the wounds in my heart and soul reopened and I began to tell him my tale.
I had been studying Renzin's eyes and the more I told him of my story, the more pain striken he became but that wasn't all. There was something more to it. Something deep. Something I may never understand. Tears continued to fall freely from my eyes. Then I felt a hand on my shoulder as Renzin dried my tears away, his small pained smile seemed to ease my own pain.
"I'm sorry..." I said drying the last tears away. "There'll be no more tears. I'll take my revenge on those responsible and that will be that. Please... Renzin... I beg you."
For a moment all was silent again as Renzin mulled what I said in his mind. Then that smile came back.
"You can come."
Three words. Three words was all it took for my smile to return. Three words to turn my sorrow into complete joy.
"Thank you..." I said tears once again falling from my eyes. "Thank you. You'll be my fearless tactician and I'll be your peerless warrrior."
A/N: Yeesh... Long chapter. But a necessary one. R and R. Your comments are appreciated.