Chapter 1: News from Tor Garen
"YAAHHHH! TAKE THIS!" yell Lord Ike. Ike ran with tremendous speed at his opponent, a wooden sword in his hands. She parried his attack with ease, and commenced her own series of strikes. Lord Ike was barely able to block her attacks, a bead of sweat dropping from his forehead.
"You are very good, Lord Ike. But not GOOD ENOUGH!" She continued her attacks, Lord Ike staggering after each blow. She was about to make her final move upon him and end the match, but he was gone. Lord Ike was behind her, the wooden sword at her throat.
"What the…" gasped Lord Ike's opponent. She released her wooden sword in defeat. Ike let go of her as soon as she consented, grinning for the first time since the match started three hours ago. She spun around, her mouth open incredulously. "How in the world did you do that? You just disappeared!"
Ike laughed softly and replied, "You didn't see me jump over your head, Mia?"
Mia looked absolutely stunned for a few seconds while Lord Ike laughed once more. She regained her composure and smiled back. "Well then, good match." She extended a hand in front of him, a warm smile on her face.
Lord Ike took it without hesitation, still smiling. "Shall we do this tomorrow?" he asked, showing signs of enthusiasm.
"Absolutely!" replied Mia, who turned and left the training center.
Ike was alone. His expression changed immediately after Mia's departure, as if in deep thought. He had eliminated his father's killer, the Black Knight, and vanquished the King of Daein.
However, no enemy came to the continent of Tellius. For five years, he had trained as hard as he could, ready for the next foe to attack. He missed the excitement of defeating enemies, and the adventure he and the rest of the Griel Mercenaries went together.
Since the fall of Daein, Crimea's army split up to protect the rest of the continent. Tibarn and Naesala returned to their countries to keep peace among their people, along with Tibarn's loyal eyes and ears, Janaff and Ulki. Tormod, Ranulf, Mordecai, Lethe, and Muarim returned to Gallia to await instructions from their king, while Ena and Nasir journeyed back to Goldoa.
Under the command of the Apostle, most of Lord Ike's closest friends returned to Sienne, the capital of Begnion. Marcia, Kieran, Brom, Nephenee, Astrid, Makalov, and Tanith decided to go along with the rest of Begnion's army for further studies and training.
Most importantly, many of Ike's Mercenaries went back to Daein's former capital, Nevassa. They included Titania, Rhys, Ilyana, Tauroneo, Haar, and Geoffrey. Under Lord Ike's orders, they were to protect this territory with their lives to prevent rebels from attacking and conquer the former capital once again.
Many of Ike's closest friends went back to the Mercenary Fort where Ike first grew up. Ike felt they would be responsible to training new recruits in case of upcoming battles. Oscar, Boyd, Rolf, and Shinon agreed to this arrangement and the fort was active once again.
Ike also felt it best to commission many mercenaries to go to Port Toha in case of sea invasion. Zihark, Stefan, Devdan, Calill, Lucia, Bastian, Largo, and Giffca were the ones to protect this port, many of whom seemed enthusiastic about taking the job.
Reyson and Leanne, the two remaining members of the Heron clan returned to the forest with Mist's medallion, locking it up for good. They remained in Serene's Forest so that nobody could reclaim the medallion and become corrupt like Ashnard did five years previous.
Jill was the only person who was commissioned to protect Tor Garen, which started the decline of Daein's army years ago. Ike felt anxious about making that decision first, but he knew Jill had tremendous skill on the wyvern and would immediately ask for aid if trouble started.
As for Sothe and Volke, their existence became unknown soon after the war ended. Lord Ike had requested that they stayed information seekers, and they had considered it for a while. However, in the end, both refused to help and rejected any amount of money offered by the Griel Mercenaries.
Those who remained were Lord Ike, Soren, Mist, Mia, Princess Elincia at Melior, the capital of Crimea. Ike felt obligated to protect her as long as she was ruling the people of Crimea, even though his job was over.
Lord Ike left the training facility, still thinking over what had occurred these past five years. He left the castle grounds and went to a stream that headed toward the Sienne forest. The trip to the stream was short, but Ike memories slowed him down. When he finally arrived, he sat of the soft green grass underneath the old oak tree that had existed before Crimea became a separate country centuries ago.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and looked out over the water. The water was sparkling, the reflections of the golden sun on its surface. Lord Ike had felt lonely for the longest time, ever since he ordered almost everyone to leave and protect the capitals and places of interest. I doubt another war would be coming anytime soon, he thought to himself. Maybe I should send everyone back to Crimea for a reunion or something. Then again, who would come? Probably the original members of the Griel Mercenaries. He went asleep soon afterward.
Meanwhile, sailing from the west, a large boat was heading for Port Toha. The crew ran around frantically, releasing the main sail, and getting ready for boarding. One of the crew members on board had finished his duty and quickly went down to the captain's quarters. He knocked on the door twice.
"Come in." said the voice behind the door.
The sailor opened the door and walked in, closing the door behind him. He looked at his captain, saluted him, and pronounced, "We have arrived outside Port Toha. It is a port city outside the edge of Crimea. Should we get ready to arrival into the port?"
"Yes. You may." The captain nodded to the sailor, who left immediately. The captain leaned back in his chair, smiling slightly. He wore attire similar to Lord Ike, but had very blue hair and squinting eyes. A few moments later, another knock was heard outside the captain's door.
"Enter." The door opened and in came a man, shorter than the captain, but wore similar clothing as the captain and had dark red hair. "Ah! My second-in-command! I guess you also heard the news from Xander?"
"I did, my friend. We are one step closer to achieving our goal, aren't we?" said the second-in-command, enthusiastically.
"Yes, indeed. For three months, we have traveled the seas to finally meet up with the warrior who defeated Daein's army five years ago. What was his name again?"
"Lord Ike, general of the Griel Mercenaries, sir."
"Ah, yes." He stood up and patted his companions shoulder. "Shall we head up for arrival?"
"Absolutely, my friend," the captain's friend replied. They went up to the top deck together. The captain took a waft of the salty sea and exhaled slowly. The second-in-command finally regained his composure as they went up, overseeing the crew working frantically.
The boat finally reached the docks in fifteen minutes time. The crew threw the anchor into the water, and the boarding plank was placed onto the nearest dock. The two gentlemen were the first to get of the boat towards the shoreline. Right as they were about to enter Port Toha, they were stopped by a berserker. Largo.
"Who are you, and what business do you have here in Crimea?" he barked.
The captain stepped forward before his second-in-command could speak. He bowed to Largo and replied calmly, "My name is Lord Marth, and this here is my friend, Lord Roy. We have come to this country to seek to the defeater of Daein's army, Lord Ike of the Griel Mercenaries."
Largo's eyes widened considerably, and bowed before them quickly. When Largo went back to position, he whispered to Marth, "This must be an urgent matter. I will let you speak to Zihark, the commander who was commissioned by Lord Ike to foresee the safety of Port Toha. Follow me."
Marth nodded and followed the berserker, with Roy following right behind.
Princess of Elincia was watching over the balcony of the castle she was residing in. She was extremely bored, watching over the people below, buying food and entertaining. There was nothing to do at all inside the castle, and Lord Ike was nowhere to be seen.
Mist entered the princess's room around mid-afternoon, also looking extremely bored. She had grown to be a very beautiful young lady, just as Elincia had. She walked across the room to join the princess, placing her hands under her chin. "So…you are bored too?"
"Yeah…I have been for quite some time now," replied the princess.
"You should go ask Mia or Gatrie, Princess Elincia. They might know," suggested Mist.
"I was thinking about that, but I thought it would be best not to disturb them. Besides, I am supposed to be running this Melior. They have important responsibilities."
"Yeah, but they have volunteered to help you with any service you might have. I am at your disposal, as well, Princess."
"Yeah, but…" There was a knock on the oak doors. She went over, unlocked the door, and opened it. One of Crimea's soldiers was standing in front of it, panting hard like a dog after a long run.
"Princess…I must…speak…with…Lord Ike… This…is…very urgent…business…that needs…to be…discussed…" stated the soldier.
"He isn't here, good sir. What business do you have for Lord Ike?" Elincia demanded.
"It isn't…from me, princess… It is…from an assassin…I think…Volke…is his name."
"Volke. This must be urgent. Send every guard in the castle and prepare a meeting with the remaining members of the mercenaries."
"YES MA'AM!" the soldier yelled, and left the room.
The group assembled in the throne room. Lord Ike, Mist, Gatrie, Mia, and Elincia were around a marble table, awaiting the entrance of the assassin. All of them were silent. Soon, the enormous marble doors opened, and Volke entered the room at a brisk pace. He immediately sat down and stared at his comrades. The assassin looked grim, in Lord Ike's opinion, something he hadn't seen since he decided to join them in the first place.
After a moment of continued silence, Volke finally spoke. "Lord Ike, Princess Elincia. I have tragic news from Tor Garen. The fort has been overrun. Every soldier and archer has been murdered."
"Murdered? By whom?" asked Elincia.
"What about Jill? Is she alright?" demanded Gatrie stupidly.
"How did you receive this information, Volke?" requested Lord Ike, who seemed to remain calm, unlike the others.
Volke put up his hands, stopping them from asking anymore questions. He faced Elincia first and answered her question. "We believe to be rebels from the east. They have been well trained and our soldiers were completely outclassed." He faced Gatrie. "I have no knowledge about Jill, so I cannot say whether she is dead or alive." He turned to Ike, and smiled, saying, "I was there, on the outskirts. Sothe and I decided as we were on our way to split and keep track of former members. I was outside Tor Garen two days ago when the attacks started. When I heard the attacks start, I ran as fast as I could to get back here."
Elincia turned to Lord Ike. "Do you think this is an invasion?"
Lord Ike sighed, looking at Volke. "From the information Volke has presented us, it is an act of war. By whom and for what reason, we don't know of yet. Volke, send word to Titania everything you have just told me. We must strengthen our defenses there as soon as possible. There might be an attack there soon. I am going out to the Tor Garen to find out the casualties. Everyone else will stay behind."
"But…but…"
"No, Mist. You cannot go with me. It is your responsibility to protect Princess Elincia with everything you've got. That was my vow." He turned to face Elincia. "Princess, I need you to send a messenger requesting that all fighters at the mercenary base and at Port Toha return to the capital on the double. We need to strengthen our own defenses."
"I…understand, my Lord Ike," replied Elincia.
"Good." Ike stood up, gave his blessing to each person, and left Melior without another word.
Once again, I hope you enjoyed this segment. I request that you read and review. I promise that more action will begin soon! Next chapter will be ready in approximately two weeks time! THANKS!