The apprentice tactician Sion and the young swordfighter Lyn. A strange pair on an even stranger journey. To prepare for the long road ahead, they go to Bulgar, the commercial center of Sacae. Unbeknownst to Lyn, she will discover something that will alter her life forever.

Sion looked in awe at all the little shops on the roads of Bulgar. This was nothing like the other towns he had been to. Bulgar had been much, much busier. Not realizing while looking around, he had begun to slow down and get separated from Lyn.

"Sion! Over here!" Lyn called out to him.

Realizing he had drifted away, Sion saw Lyn and ran up to her to catch up. She began to speak to him.

"This is Bulgar, the biggest city in all of Sacae. We should purchase supplies for our journey."

"Yes Lyn, this does seem quite the place to find a well crafted sword."

Lyn and Sion began to walk to a local weapon store that appeared to be upper cut, until they heard someone in the back.

"Oh my heart! What a dazzling vision of loveliness."

Lyn looked at Sion with a odd, confused look on her face. Sion turned a bit red.

"Lyn, I didn't say that."

"But, if you didn't then who-"

Before Lyn could say anything else, a knight had galloped in between Lyn and Sion, and turned to face Lyn.

"Hm?" Lyn turned to face the knight.

"Wait, O beauteous one! Would you not favor me with your name? Or better yet, your company?"

Sion crossed his arms and gave a "Hmph!", then walked beside Lyn, staring at the knight.

"You are interrupting our preparations for our trip, sir!" Sion replied.

"Sion! Maybe he can help us!" Lyn said to Sion before she continued speaking to the knight.

"Where are you from, sir knight, that you speak so freely to a stranger?"

With a devilish grin, he responded.

"Ha! I thought you'd never ask! I am from Lycia. I hail from the Caelin canton, home to men with passion and fire.

Sion did not like the attitude of this man, and looked away going into his satchel, pretending to look busy so he wouldn't speak to the knight.

Lyn retorted, "Shouldn't that be 'home to callow oafs with loose tongues'?"

Sion couldn't help but snicker a bit as he kept digging into his satchel, listening to Lyn's insult.

The knight said, "Ooooh... You're even lovelier when you're cruel."

Lyn lost her patience.

"Let's go, Sion. I've nothing more to say."

Sion stood up and faced Lyn, putting his supplies back into his satchel one by one. After he finished, he and Lyn began to walk off.

"Wait! Please...", began the flirtatious knight, but he was interrupted by his companion.

"Sain! Hold your tongue!" said his companion in a serious tone.

Sain smiled. "Ah, Kent! My boon companion! Why so severe an expression?"

Kent's frown remained unmoved even as he spoke.

"If your manner were more serious, I wouldn't have to be so severe! We still have a mission to complete, Sain!", he impatiently yelled.

Sain groaned. To him, Kent was like a mother hen, always nitpicking at him, always scolding him for his actions.

"I know that. But how could I remain silent in the presence of such beauty? It would have been discourteous!"

Kent scoffed, "What do you know of courtesy?"

At this moment, Lyn and Sion had appeared by the horses. Sion seemed slightly irritated. Lyn moved closer to them.

"Excuse me!", she said, "You're blocking the road. If you would be so kind as to move your horses..."

"Of course.", Kent said before Sain could hit on Lyn again, "My apologies..."

"Thank you. You, at least, seem honorable enough."

Kent couldn't take his eyes off of Lyn. Memories kicked in, and he kept looking her over.

"Hm? Pardon me, but... I feel we've met before." Kent said.

Lyn seemed puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"

Sain, all flustered, nudged Kent. "Hey! No fair, Kent! I saw her first!"

Lyn, all of a sudden, lost her nerve. She turned to Sion.

"Tsk! It seems there are no decent men among Lycia's knights! Let's go, Sion! I've run out of patience!"

"As you wish Lyn." Sion said with a smile as they started out of Bulgar.

Kent tried to get her to stay. "Wait, please! It's not like that." However, Kent's words seemed not to have any effect on Lyn or Sion.

"..." Kent put his hands in his hair out of frustration.

"Sain, you lout!" He yelled.

Sain seemed to be a bit nervous and replied.

"Huh? Not like that? I thought you were..."

"I am NOT you!" Kent sighed, then softly continued. "Come, we must follow her. I suspect she might be-"

"Be what? She's our mission? You're joking! Wait!"

But Kent did not wait and promptly galloped after Lyn, followed by Sain

Outside Bulgar...

Sion and Lyn sat together on a hill, going over their supplies, including vulneraries and a new blade. Lyn all of a sudden, perked her head up and looked around.

"Lyn, is everything OK?" Sion asked, with a look of concern on his face.

Lyn's eyes went wide, then she grabbed Sion by the hand and lifted him off the ground.

"Run! We're being pursued! Could it be those knights from town?"

Sion shrugged, still looking at Lyn with a worried face.

Lyn kept looking. "No... It's not them. These men are out for blood!"

All of a sudden, a bandit came close to Lyn, and Sion jumped in the way and glared at him.

"..." Lyn remained silent.

The bandit began. "Heh heh hehhh... Aren't you the pretty one! Your name is Lyndis, is it not?"

Sion put his hand on his dagger, but Lyn put her hands on his to stop him.

With wide eyes, Lyn replied. "What did you call me? ...Who are you?"

The bandit grinned. I am Zugu. Such a waste. An absolute waste. The things I'll do for gold... Ah, well. Time to die, darlin'!"

"Over my dead body! You will not harm my trainee!" Sion yelled.

Lyn just stood there, and watched in fear as Sion made a charge at the bandit with his dagger drawn from his sheath. Sion jumped in the air and stabbed the bandit in the arm. As a reflex, the bandit swung his arm, also moving his axe into Sion, throwing him in the air, slightly cutting his leg. Lyn ran beside Sion when he landed on the floor.

"Sion! Sion are you hurt."

Sion promptly got on his feet and smiled at Lyn. "Yes, I am. It's just a scratch."

The bandit smirked, then called out.

"C'mon out, boys!"

At that moment, several bandits revealed themselves from hiding. Lyn shuddered at the numbers and held Sion's arm.

"Oh no! There are more than them than I can handle..."

Sion frowned a bit. "We have no choice. We must fight, or die here and now."

Sion and Lyn were startled by a faint voice they heard behind them.

"Hey! There she is!"

The bandit seemed confused. "Huh?"

At that moment, Sain and Kent had galloped into the scene.

Sain smiled. "Whew... Finally caught up." Sain eyed the bandit with seriousness. "Hold! You there! What is your business? Such numbers against a girl? Cowards, every one of you!"

Lyn seemed startled. "You! You're from-"

Kent interrupted. "We can discuss that later. It appears these ruffians mean to do you harm. If it's a fight they want, let them look to me!"

Sain said, "Stand back! I'll take care of this!"

Lyn got upset. "No! This is my fight! Stay out of my way!"

Sain disagreed. "Well, I can't just stand here and do nothing..."

Kent had an idea. "I have a solution. You there," Kent pointed to Sion, "Command us. I am Kent, a knight of Lycia. My companion is Sain. We will follow your orders in this battle. Is this acceptable, milady?"

Sion grinned. He reconsidered. "Maybe you knights are not as bad as I thought."

Lyn smiled. "Yes, it is. Sion and I will lead! Let's go!"

Sion and Lyn ran further towards the hills where Zugu stood waiting for someone to hack his axe into. They kept running and running, closely followed by Sain and Kent. Sain threw his iron lance into a bandit's chest, while Kent attacked with his iron sword, cutting into a bandit's neck. They looked on as Sion and Lyn got closer to Zugu.

Lyn finally approached and faced Zugu face to face. He scowled at her.

"Accursed knights, always tampering in others' affairs."

"Lyn, attack from right, dodge his axe!"

Lyn followed his order and began to fight with Zugu, blocking every one of his blows with her sword. Sion also helped, doing small damage with his dagger. Kent and Sain finally caught up with Sion and Lyn. Lyn finally drew the fatal blow, slashing Zugu's chest with her sword.

Laying on he floor, Zugu managed to breathe his last words.

"Blast... There was only...supposed to be a lone...girl..."

Zugu sighed and then lay still, beneath Lyn's foot. Lyn turned to Sion with a smile.

"Great job, Lyn!"

Sain and Kent dismounted their horses and walked towards Lyn and Sion.

Lyn smirked, "And now for these knights of Lycia. You were going to share your story with me?"

Kent stepped forward, wiping his brow. "Yes. We have ventured from Caelin, in Lycia, in search of someone."

Lyn thought. "Lycia...That's the country beyond the mountains southwest, isn't it?"

Kent continued, "Correct. We've come as messengers to the lady Madelyn, who eloped with a nomad some 19 years ago."

Lyn seemed a bit sad. "Madelyn?"

Kent went on explaining, "Our lord the marquess of Caelin's only daughter. He was heartbroken his own daughter would abandon him so. Eventually, the marquess simply declared that he had no daughter."

Sain intervened, "And then this year, we received a letter from Lady Madelyn. It said that she, her husband, and their daughter were living happily on the Sacae plains. The marquess was ecstatic to learn he had a granddaughter of 18 years. I remember the smile on his face when he announced that he'd suddenly become a grandfather. The granddaughter's name is Lyndis. This was also the name of the marquess's wife, who passed away at an early age."

Lyn seemed to be in deep thought, as she ignored Sion's look of sympathy.

"Lyndis?", Lyn asked.

Sain continued. "That she should bear this name thawed the marquess's heart. Now, his only wish is to meet his daughter's family at least once. This is why we're here. We didn't know that Lady Madelyn died a few days after sending her letter... We only learned this shortly after we arrived her in Bulgar."

Kent said, "But we also learned all was not lost. Her daughter yet lives. We heard that she was living alone on the plains... I... I knew it immediately. You are the Lady Lyndis.

Lyn asked, "Why would you think that..." with a sad look still on her face.

Kent responded to her. "Your resemblance to your departed mother is remarkable."

Lyn eagerly asked, "What? Did you know my mother?"

Kent said, "I'm sorry to say I never met her directly, but I saw her portraits in Castle Caelin."

Sion, feeling sorrier for Lyn, held her hand.

Lyn, with tears in her eyes, hugged Sion tightly. Sion turned a bit red.

Lyn went on, trying to fight the tears. Speaking into Sion's shoulder, she said, "To the rest of my tribe, I was always Lyn. But when I was with my parents... When it was just the three of us, I was Lyndis. It's all so strange. I was all alone in the world, and now I have a grandfather. Lyndis..."

She looked up into Sion's eyes. "I never thought I would hear that name again."

Sion held her tightly, rubbing the back of her head to comfort her.

Kent and Sion remained silent as they watched Lyn and Sion.

Lyn took her face from Sion's shoulder, and with tears brimming in her eyes, looked at Sion in the face.

"Wait! That bandit! He called me Lyndis, too!"

Kent seemed alarmed. "What? How could he have-"

Sain frowned. "...He was a henchman of Lord Lundgren, wasn't he?"

Lyn asked, "Lundgren? Who's that?"

Kent, pushed his red hair out of his face, and looked Lyn with his brown eyes, into hers. "He's the marquess's younger brother. Everyone assumed the lady Madelyn was one forever. This made Lord Lundgren hair to the marquess's title."

Sain, running out of patience, interrupted Kent, and removed his hairband from his brown hair. "To be blunt, milady, your existence is an obstacle to your granduncle's ambitions."

Sion let go of Lyn, and watched as she faced the knights.

"That's- But I have no interest in inheriting any title!"

Kent tried to explain. "Unfortunately, your granduncle is not the sort of man to believe that. I believe the attempts on your life will persist."

"What should I do?", Lyn asked.

Kent answered, "Accompany us to Caelin. Continuing on this way is dangerous."

"I feel I have little choice. I will go with you."

Sion smiled a bit, but couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed that things would be even harder, commanding more than one person would take skill he was not sure he was ready to face.

Lyn noticed and walked up to Sion.

"Sion... I'm sorry. This changes everything. What will you do, Sion?"

"You tell me, Lyn."

Lyn seemed startled.

"You...want me to decide?"

Sion simply nodded, and gave Lyn a very sincere smile.

Lyn thought a bit. She then turned to face Sion again.

"Of course, your companionship would do much to ease my journey, but... It's going to be so dangerous."

"It's only another risk of being a tactician. I have come to accept that. When you found me on the plains unconscious, that was merely one of the consequences of my career. I wish to join you, it will only give me more experience."

Lyn asked, "You'll come? Are you sure?"

"Yes, Lyn."

Lyn beamed, and squeezed Sion tightly. "Thank you!" She then let go.

"Sion, let me again ask you for your friendship and your aid."

"You never need to ask Lyn, I owe you my life."

Lyn and Sion then joined Sain and Kent and spent the rest of the day together making a camp to stay overnight. They all slept in separate tents, and Sion looked at Lyn one last time before he got ready for bed. He tied the horses to a post and left them a bucket of water so they can sleep.

"Good night everyone. Good night, Lyn."

Lyn did not hear him, as she had already fallen asleep. Lyn seemed to have fallen asleep with a slight smile on her face. Sion then slid under his own blankets and fell asleep, thinking about how meeting the knights changed the whole course of their journey and how much better as a tactician he would become after all this.

Before he knew it, Sion fell sound asleep. With a smile, dreaming about how he would be the most famed tactician in the world, and his newfound friend Lyn.

How will the unexpected turn of events affect Sion and Lyn's planned adventures? Will Sain drive Sion, Lyn and Kent crazy! How will they all get along? Will the foursome all survive Lord Lundgren's attacks? Will Lyn see her new grandfather? Find out in the next chapter, Sword of Spirits.