DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fire Emblem, Nintendo does. I just own this version of the plot, and original characters.

Reviewer's Corner:

Dairokkan: Bandits don't always listen to the advice being given.

Green Paladin: It's reviews like yours GP, that keep me writing. When I first began reading fiction here at there were very few stories that had any Taliver involvment. There were also only bits and pieces in Lyn's quest when playing, that included info onthe Taliver,but itwas not enough in my opinion, so I decided to explore how brutal the Taliver can really be.

Tim: A dark theme was what I was aiming for, so thanks for noticing.

Chaos Knight Malik: You'll find out a little bit more about 'Lisa' in this chapter my friend. AndI do intend to make more for this fiction, so don't worry. Now there isn't a lot of past revealed for the tactician this time, but somethingin this chapterthat plays an important part down the road.

(A/N: I still find that when my document saves in this editor, that words go together, when they should not.Also, there is not as muchblood/gore in this chapter this time, but I'm keeping mystory rating up at M, as there is still plenty ofviolence.)

Chapter 4: The Mark of the Taliver

My leg seemed to be better now, that I had put the vulnerary onto it. My curiousity seemed content for the moment, as I at least now know who I just saved. Well, I knew her name anyway.

"Well Lisa, I'm Paul." I outstretched my hand, where-by someone could, and in this case I believe should, shake hands. My new acquaintance grasped my hand and shook it once.

"Nice to meet an honorable bandit." She chuckled a little bit, and I smiled, as we both knew that words like 'honor' and 'bandit' seldomed went together, if at all.

I just remembered that I still had her sword, so I undid it from my belt, and handed it back to her, hilt first.

"I believe this is yours."

She clasped the hilt, and took back her sword, but carefully enough that I didn't cut myself. And the Gods should know that I had enough cuts from this day.

We heard Groznyi calling out to everyone within earshot. "Get whatever weapons and loot you found, and lets head back to camp.
We leave for Bern at first light."

"Bern?" asked a curious Lisa.

"Yeah, Bern. We've heard rumours that there were more Ganelons just inside Bern's border. Our leader, who goes by the name of Jayson, the one that you saw earlier that had the big scar on the arm, says we need to teach them to respect our group."

"I'm sensing though, that you would just as sooner stay where you are, or at least go some where other than Bern, right?"

"Yeah, there a couple things I don't like about Bern." 'Only a couple? Well, for starters anyway.'

"This shouldn't come as a surprise, but I don't like their wyverns. Even with the amount of axe-weilders that I have to command in this little band, those air-riders are military trained. There are only three archers in the entire group, and moving and fighting in mountainous terrain is not exactly my first choice for a place to fight."

She nodded, taking in everything that I said. She might not have understood much about tactics, but it was nice to have someone just listening, and not trying to stab me at the same time.

"And the other thing?"

"Well, the other thing that concerns me, for the moment, are the rumours that are floating around. I've heard captured villagers say that Mercenaries, and Assasins are moving around in Bern, to help combat the bandits in the North."

"A little disconcerting," came the reply. 'One of those groups is also another of my assignments.'

"Slightly," I replied. "But enough about Bern." As if on cue, my stomach rumbled. "Let's just get back to camp, and get a meal. At least before I get into another arguement with Groznyi."

"What is it with you two anyway?"

"It's a long story ... I can tell you about it, over chow if you would like to listen."

"Sure." 'Its part of my job to gather information, my friend. Too bad I can't tell you that. Plus, its not like I have anything else better to do right now.'

"One condition though..." She looked at me, as we walked past the main gates, following the rest of the men to camp.

"You will have to tell me why you were at that village, and a little about yourself too," I said, as I was carrying my bloodied lance. 'I have to remember to clean my weapons when I'm done fighting. It's going to be a real pain to get that blood off now. I heard the sounds of a small river when camp was being set up, so I'll go there, after I'm done telling some of my story to her.'

Lisa seemed to be thinking over my request, as that's what it essentially was. We were both looking at the campfire, when she said, "So you'll give me your story, if I'll give you my story, is that it?"

Still looking forward, I replied, "Yeah, that about sums it up."

"Alright, deal."

I nodded, and continued walking to my tent.

Lisa slowed down a little bit, but kept her pace up, when she fell in step behind me. I figured she was trying to decide how to start telling me her story. I already knew what I was going to say. I wondered what the girl's story was.

Though, with what was going to happen tonight, my story telling would have to wait until tomorrow, while we travel. This night would have one more nasty surprise for me yet.

I fell in step behind the young man wearing the green hooded cloak, known as Paul. Of all the bandits here, I trusted him more than any other, as those beasts had tried to rape me, and he was the one that saved me. I believe I was fortunate to have met this young man, but I have not enough evidence to truly decide if he is a rogue that Ostia thinks, or if he is a dishonorable warrior like the Black Fang believes he is. Knowing this, I still must keep my gaurd up.

There is a chance that he might see through my cover story when we finally sit down to chat.

For information gathering however, he should be my easiest assignment yet.

I was getting hungry, and just hungry enough to eat Earl's food even.

Earl was the designated cook, and did most of the hunting while everyone else was raiding a village, or in a battle. He was a large man, but mainly due to his appetite, where most of his size was in the area of his stomach. Other than that though, he was a quiet man compared to the rest of the group.

Most of the men made fun of him because of his stomach size, but he shrugs it off and just grunts in reply most of the time. I was one of the few, who actually said thanks to him when getting my meal though, so in return, he usually gave me the latest gossip.

Tonight was no exception. Too bad the food was. It was supposed to be deer soup, but it looked more like just a bunch of bones in water, with a few vegatables tossed in.

"I heard that Sid is no longer with us," Earl said gruffly, not quite looking at me, but at the bowl that I handed to him.

"He got what was coming to him, Mr. Chef," as I took a piece of bread that was near the soup pot.

"Also, I hear the girl is quite the looker, but that she has some sort of 'protector' watching over her," when, at that moment, Lisa came behind me, taking a bowl and spoon out of her bag of ... things.

"Howdy lassie, Earl is the name, cooking is my game."

"He is not a bad cook either." I was just wanting to learn a little more info from Earl, not more food, thats for sure.

"You trying to get a second helping or what? I have a couple more mouths to feed yet."

"I was just wondering if there was anything else I should know about ... and is there?"

Earl spoke softly into my ear, so the girl, or anybody elsewoundn't hear, while he passed back my bowl. "You're getting the mark tonight."

I turned to him, and looked right into his eyes, to see if he was lying. His gaze met mine, and I knew then that everything he had said to me, was ... true. Interesting.

I was trying for a little more, and asked, "When tonight?"

Earl had already turned back to the food line up. I knew then that he didn't know, but he had told me enough already. Despite, what had happened today, I must have done enough to warrant the elevation of getting the clan mark, and to become a full clan member.

I just hope my deepest fear hadn't come true. Even back when I joined in the first place, I was hoping against hope, that these guys were not Taliver Bandits. But given how Toma was, Sid's behaviour, and Groznyi's aggressive attitude, it seemed like my fear was coming true.

But I haven't seen mass killing yet, and what I heard from villagers in Ilia have been proven incorrect. I was thinking all of this when I was eating on the ground, near my tent, and Lisa found her way to me.

"You sure this stuff is edible?" she asked with a little concern in her voice.

I looked at her as she sat down on a rock that was close to where I was sitting. Her question brought me back to reality. "Yeah, most of the time," I said smiling.

Lisa was still prodding it with her spoon, unsure.

"Don't worry, Earl doesn't put anything that he doesn't eat himself in the food," as I said in between mouthfuls. "Besides, you would hear cursing and complaining from the men, before anything would actually happen."

"Umm,... O... k." She took a sip of some of her soup. "Hmm, not bad. Hey Earl, Your soup is good!"

"Thank you lassie," came the reply.

Jayson was within earshot of Lisa's shout to the cook. "Don't eat too fast, or you'll be as big as Earl!" Some laughing came from this comment, as it was actually kind of true. I did it once ... and you don't want to be bloated on Earl's cooking, as you actually inflate as big as a boulder.

She shrugged it off, but slowed her eating. As long as she ate slow, her appetite should be full till at least breakfast tomorrow. I continued eating, as did she.

About a half hour later, I found myself tidying up the inside of my tent, and trying to figure out a way to have two people sleep in one bedroll. I finally figured, that it just wouldn't happen.

Lisa was still sitting on her rock, done her meal, but with one of her hands resting on her sword hilt. Seeing the drunks and fools sitting around the flames, I still couldn't blame her, not after what happened. Though, she looked cute, the way she was sitting up. With her facelooking at the fire in the middle of the camp, her pink hair was reflecting some of the light from the fire. It would be one of the few nice moments that I was going to remember about her.

"You wouldn't happen to have a spare bedroll in that bag of yours would you? I only happen to have the one," I asked her.

"I usually find a spot of dry land, or a rock, to lie down on when travelling about, so I only have a few blankets that I use for sleeping."

"Hmm, you can use my bedroll then."

"You don't have to-"

"I insist. You'll need it more than I will." After this night was over though, I was going to seriously take those words back. "You should be on your gaurd though, as I need to go clean my lance, and have a little privacy, after today's events."

Lisa went on her guard alright, as she drew her sword. She then went and sat on my bedroll though, after seeing how soft it was. It was definitely softer than a rock would be.

"Don't take too long, alright?" she asked with concern in her face.

"I promise."

Groznyi, and Jayson saw me leave towards the river. Groznyi had just stood up, going over to where Earl had the camp fire going.

"Earl, is the 'marker' ready yet? I'm itching to hear a bastard scream at the top of his lungs."

"He didn't even notice it, as he passed through getting his meal. Though he asked about if he was getting it."

"And you told him what, Earl?" Jayson asked.

"That he was getting the mark. I just didn't say when." 'They don't need to know I told him that he was getting it tonight.'

"No harm done. Get it ready, we do it in five minutes time."

"Hehehe, time for some real fun." Groznyi remarked.

"Don't take your weapons Groznyi. The last thing we need is for Paul to grab a weapon and start swinging it at us."

"Yeah, your right."

"Meanwhile, I have to try and assure that little girl, that she won't be harmed, and that her only friend is going to be a little loud in a few minutes."

A few of the men were making bets as to how long their tactician roared in rage at being burned, or if Groznyi or Jayson, were going to be injured first. Knowing the kid to be a fighter, as was proven already, the men were definitely going to be betting on something.

The two leaders were preparing to put an iron poker with the hot end having the shape of a 'T' on one end, pressed onto the bare skin of their tactician. Anyone who proved themselves in battle or other acts deemed worthy of clan member status, had this did to them, so as to prove allegiance to the clan.

In a few minutes, I was going to have a searing, and burning pain in my back.

Jayson had went to my tent, looking for Lisa. She saw him first, and stood up, with sword at the ready.

"Jumpy thing aren't you. Well, then again, maybe I would be too."

Her face was one of 'Hurt me, and you die' looks. "I just want to say two things, so all you have to do is to listen, ok, Lisa? Darling?"

"I'm not your darling, but I am listening," came the reply with piercing brown eyes. 'If looks could kill,' thought Jayson ...

"Alright, I am going to apologize for what Sid tried to do earlier. He was the second rapist killed by the kid, if that is any consolation. I'm sure the Kid willtell you all about it." Jayson thought he saw a grin on the corner of her lips, but he wasn't sure.

"The other thing is, our tactician is going to be very loud in a few minutes." Her eyebrows furrowed at that comment.

"Why? Is he in trouble? You better not harm him-"

"We're not going to hurt him per se, but only give him the mark of the clan. Its a big 'T', that is burned onto the bare skin. After today, Paul has earned it."

"You are going to burn him? That's harming him in my view."

With a dismissive wave of the hand, Jayson tried to calm her some more. "Like I said, we're not exactly hurting him, we are just going to ... to ... burn him. Anyway, I came here to tell you that, so you wouldn't do anything rash."

"Who's to say I won't?"

"Suit yourself, just realize, that Paul is not around if you do something..."

"Fine. But he better only be burned."

"I promise," Jayson said with a grin. Both knew, that the bandit leader was lying right to her face. But there was nothing that she could do, but pray to St. Elimine for her friend.

(Five minutes ago, near the river:)

I found the river gurgling its flow of water constantly. It wasn't a fast moving river, nor did it need to be. It appeared deep enough, that if someone dove into it, they would be completely submerged. I just needed it to clean my weapon and my clothes though. Unbeknowst to me however, I'll be taking an unexpected bath in that river too.

The sounds from the river was a welcomed sound though, especially from the confusion of battle, and the sounds of weapons clashing. Also from Groznyi's arguing. Man, he can argue with me until he's blue in the face. Quite a color combination, when he has scruffy green hair.

I brought my lance with me, but cleaning my weapon was not the only reason why I came to the river. I had wanted to freshen up too. Months of travel, with the occasional skirmish, well, I wouldn't be invited to any upper class social gatherings thats for sure. I took off my green hooded cloak. Its been through a lot with me, and by the looks of it, I should get another six months out of it. I placed it on a nearby rock. I then removed my brown vest, and finally my white shirt, which was also placed near my cloak.

My bare back was facing the camp, while I had a torch dug into the ground to light up the area. It was a clear night, but dark none the less.

I first grabbed my lance, and submerged the blood-dried stains and other dirt that was on it, into the river. The water turned crimson. It was a sick color, but it was from the remains of a sick man too. Once it became clean, I took it out of the water, and laid it up against a tree. It should dry fairly quick, as there was a slight, refreshing breeze.

(Present Time, Just hidden in the bushes behind the tactician:)

Whispering between each other, were the two leaders. "What a nice target he just gave us Jayson. I'm going to stick it just below his right shoulder on his back."

"Hold on for a moment, until you see me move his lance to another tree, a little further away. The last thing we need is to have a spear through our guts."

"Right. Be ready to run. When contact is made with his skin, I expect him to be throughly pissed after this."

Jayson smiled, and then moved over to where my weapon was positioned. I of course, was not even aware of any of this, as I was washing my cloak, and then laying it out on a tree bough, grabbing my next piece of clothing.

I felt all of a sudden, an uneasy feeling again, so I stopped cleaning my shirt, and looked around. Nothing. "Hmm, just maybe the wind in the trees."

I went to further clean my shirt, just starting to think about what Earl said at mealtime, when I felt something in my back. Apain that was very rapidly increasing, with the sound of searing flesh. I just realized that it was my skin!

"AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

(30 Seconds Earlier:)

'What he thought was the wind, was Jayson moving his spear. I moved at the same time, so I could be closer to him. Have some pain, boy, courtesy of my late blood-brother, Toma.' Groznyi thought wickedly, and finally thinking:

'Welcome to the Taliver.'

With that, Groznyi pushed the hot end of the iron 'T' into the back the apprentice tactician.

Back at the camp, the men were listening intently, as everyone was just talking quietly to each other. Lisa was very confused about this. But then it dawned on her, as they were waiting for Paul to yell, scream and curse from the burn mark that he was getting.

Suddenly, a scream could be heard from the woods, in the direction of the river. The men cheered, and raised their glasses in a toast to their newest member.

"To the Kid!" One of the men shouted. "To the Kid!" Everone cheered after him. Then the laughing and talking went back to normal.

However, one little girl jumped from such a sound. She had tears rolling down her face soon though. While inside his tent, she started looking upwards towards sky, but in the direction of Etruria. 'He shouldn't deserve this life St. Elimine. Why have you let this happen to him?'

Lisa cried herself to sleep on my bedroll, but with her grip still firmly on her sword.

Groznyi, pulled back the hot lance, and tossed the hot end into the river. He was then weapon-less against a raging mountain of anger. Smoke was still coming off of my back when I spun around, and suckered punched him. He landed hard on his back, with a very shocked expression on his face, at seeing me move that fast. I guess he didn't know that I had that much strength to knock even him down.

"YOU BASTARD!" I raged.

I remembered the river just as an after-thought, as my back pained considerably, so I dived right into the middle of the river.

SPLASH! The cooling sensation the water gave, was very welcomed. If I didn't have to come back up for air, I would've stay down longer. I re-surfaced when I could no longer sustain my lungs, to find two men laughing hard at me. They were crunched over, holding their sides. Well, Groznyi was holding his sides, and his head.

"Subtle," I muttered.

"You could have at least warned me about this." I said angrily.

"It would not have been as funny if you had known," replied a dazed, but snickering Groznyi.

"Funny? Funny! You are way lucky that my back is too sore to move right now, or you would have received more than a punch!"

"Alright, fine. We should not have laughed, but seeing you dive into the river like that was unbelievably funny." They were still smirking though. This was going to be a longer night than I thought.

"Come on, kid, get out of the water, and let's take a look at that new letter 'T' of yours," said Jayson.

The 'T.' So it was true. I turned around, for those two to look at my burnt back. Sure enough, there was a blackened 'T' on my right shoulder blade. It was still tender when I tried to touch it though. 'I wonder if I'm going to get any sleep tonight.'

I trudged out of the river, shivering a little. I went to my cloak, as it was clean now, and used it to dry off. 'Those two idiots have not given me the mark of the clan, but my own personal mark of shame.'

"Don't be too long sonny, well be putting out the camp fire soon."

I nodded to them, and went back to putting myshirt and vestback on.

"I think he is angry at us Groznyi," said a smiling Jayson. "Best to leave him alone, and give him some space."

"Yeah, well after his knockout punch he gave me, could you give me a hand back to camp?"

Jayson took one ofhis arms andhelped Groznyi along. It seemed I took more out of Groznyi than I realized, as he was staggering some heading back to camp. It was worth it though, after what they did to me, the curs.

I began to pull my shirt over my head. When it reached my 'injury,' it irritated the skin some, but subsided once my shirt was pulled on all the way. I grabbed my vest and put it on, and pulled my wet cloak over my left shoulder. I then went to recover my missing lance. 'There you are,' as Jayson put it down behind some rocks. At least that was dry and clean.

Unlike my conscience and my soul. But I tried to put those thoughts out of my mind for now, as I walked back to the camp,to my tent.

"Ah, here he comes, our newest clan member!" roared Jayson. The men cheered and raised their glasses of beer and ale to me. I tossed my stuff inside my tent, and peeked a look at Lisa. Sound to sleep. I let her be, as I had to raise my glass to these idiots.

"For my first act of being a full clan member, I just want to do this ..." I punched Jayson in the face, while he was taking a drink. I then took a drink from his cup.

The men laughed and cheered. Jayson swore. But he still had a grin, while rubbing his cheek.

"Was that because I was laughing at you too?"

"Damn right! Now if you'll excuse me, I got a sore back to heal up."

There was some more laughing, and then another toast to me as I went inside of my tent. 'Some damned glad that initiation is over with,' I thought, and was about to sit down into my bed, before I stood up again and realized who was sleeping in it.

'If she didn't have her sword, maybe ... No I can't be thinking like that. I'll stay awake for a while, letting my body get used to the fact that I now have an injury that will stay with me forever. Staying awake will also let my conscience know, that I have now become a monster.' I hung my head down.

I was still awake, when the lights were doused. I waited a few minutes, and then went just outside my tent to look at the clear sky again, with all its beauty. It was peacful.

I then turned towards the West. I prayed to St. Elimine, long and hard that night, before I finally went back inside.

I prayed for the future victims of my existence, and the one real friend that I had. So that they can find some way to forgive me.

I know I'll never forgive myself.

"How did it come to this?" With that final question, I went inside, layed down onto the ground, andfell into the land of sleep.