Arthur leaned over the railing of The Sea Rat as they began coasting into the harbor of Southport, full of both dread and excitement.

On one hand, he felt dread because he was approaching the task the Time Dragon had given him. The way Dialga had described it, their actions in the near future would decide the fate of the world. Arthur could not help but feel dread at the thought of such a responsibility. For most of his life he had thought of the Fell Dragon Grima as a legend, a bedtime story that Ylisseans used to keep their children well-behaved. Dialga hadn't exactly taken questions, but from what Arthur gathered Grima was somehow going to return to this world, assisted by…uh…evil time travelers? Arthur had so many questions and so little information. He was flying practically blind into a situation he knew could determine the fate of the world. So, all things considered, it made sense that he felt some dread for the future.

On the other hand, Arthur was excited. He had never been to the mainland before. He had spent his entire life so far on Pyrath, and he was finally leaving it. His father had always spoken of the mainland in a rather contemptuous tone, as a place of scheming and wars in contrast to the simple, peaceful life of the Pyrathi. But Arthur couldn't help feeling excitement to set foot in the wider world. He had read so much about it! As preparation to be Duke, he had read dozens of treatises on the history and politics of the continent, but that was nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. Plus, Arthur was not so sure that his father's isolationist policy was the best thing for Pyrath. Why shouldn't they take part in the politics of the realm? Were they not part of Ylisse? Arthur would never tell his father this, but he hated the idea of spending his life as Duke of Pyrath, simply managing the island. Sure, he could do a lot of good looking after the interests of the common people, but… he didn't know…it felt so… sleepy, He didn't want a sleepy life as Duke of the sleepy island of Pyrath. He wanted more - and now that he was on a quest to the continent, he saw an opportunity for more.

Dialga had directed him to meet Chrom in Southtown..He had heard of this Chrom person - the younger brother of Exalt Emmeryn, leader of the newly formed Shepherds. The group had formed in response to recent banditry along the western border of the Halidom and had already won admiration among the common folk for their defense of the sailors on The Sea Rat were mostly Ylisseans from Southport, and over the past day of sailing they had regaled him with stories of the Shepherds' exploits.

"That Chrom" said one of the sailors midway through one such story. "I'm glad he's out there fighting for us. I've no problem with Exalt Emmeryn, but I do think she's a mite too peaceful for our current situation. We're under attack, for Naga's sake! And everyone with half a brain knows the Plegians are the ones doing it! We should march into Plegia and teach them a lesson about attacking us!" Arthur didn't know whether he agreed. On one hand, it did seem foolish to ignore Plegian attacks on the Ylissean countryside. Ylisseans were dying - it could not be ignored. Even so, was war the answer? To Arthur, it seemed that waging war on Plegia was what had caused this problem in the first place. He had read many novels that painted war in a romantic light, but remembering how the Great Crusade had changed his father he viewed these accounts with a great deal of skepticism. Arthur supposed that one way or another, he would soon experience war for himself - he would see if the romantic accounts were true then.

Arthur pulled on a pair of gloves as the ship coasted into the harbor of Southport. He had decided that at least for now, he would cover his brand. Dialga had told him to conceal his mission, after all, and even though a number of the Exalt's vassals possessed holy blood it would probably be ideal not for him to draw attention to his own. It might raise questions he was not sure he could answer without violating Dialga's assignment.

The ship finally docked. Arthur bade the crew and captain goodbye and disembarked, walking towards the city proper. He paused for a moment where the docks underfoot turned to dirt. He was about to take his first step on the continent. After pausing for a moment to contemplate the steps, he stepped forward. A whole new world! Despite the gravity of his quest, Arthur couldn't help but break into a smile at the thought of it.

Focus on the mission, Arthur. Fell dragon returning, world ending – very serious stuff! No time for sightseeing! Arthur clamped down on his emotions and focused on his task. Southport was no city, but it was the largest town on Ylisse's southern coast. There were things he could buy here to help him in the upcoming days. He stopped at the market and picked up enough food to last him a few days and stored it in his pack. At the market, he got directions from some townspeople to where he could find a bookstore in town.

He found the bookstore where the townspeople had directed him. He entered the shop and found there were no other customers - probably to be expected in a town of this size. Books were a luxury, after all, one which most people of Ylisse did not spend their money on. Arthur was just happy that the town had a bookstore at all. After perusing their selection briefly, Arthur walked up to the counter and rang the bell.

DING

The bell rang loudly in the silent store, and a middle-aged bespectacled man poked his head out of the back room in response. "I'll be right with you!" said the man, bustling about the back room briefly before stepping up to the counter. "Hello, young man! What can I help you with today?"

"I'm looking for a map of the continent, plus maybe a treatise on modern Ylissean politics. Do you have any of those available?" In his brief perusal of the store he had mostly seen novels, but he hoped that they had nonfiction available as well. He would need to be as well-informed as possible in order to complete his task.

"Hmmm…" replied the shopkeep, clearly not expecting these requests. "We've got some maps, sure. Political treatises, though? I don't have any. Not much demand for them, really." He smiled apologetically, but quickly pulled some more books out from under the counter. "If you like politics though, you'd LOVE Wyvern Wars: Terror at High Noon! I'm sure you could learn a thing or two about politics from the Wyvern Wars, eh?"

Arthur was fairly sure that the Wyvern Wars were a fictional historical event, but the shopkeep was very friendly and he didn't want to offend him by saying anything. "Oh…alright, I'll take that then. Maps, though? Do you have any?"

The shopkeep stroked his beard for a moment as though deep in thought. "I think I have one just right for you in the back. Give me a moment." He scurried into the back room and began rifling around noisily. Meanwhile, Arthur took a moment to look more closely at the interior of the bookstore, and his eyes caught on a dusty scarlet book resting high on one of the shelves. Arthur pulled it down and dusted off the cover to reveal a flame insignia.

The shopkeep shouted from the back. "Found it!" He bustled back out into the main room of the shop and saw the book in Arthur's hands. "Like that, do you? Do you know what it is?"

Arthur looked down at the book, confused. He opened it and saw that the text was not written in Ylissean characters but rather in some sort of runic script. "I can't say I do. What is it?"

"That there is a fire tome. Not something you'll find in your average bookstore, eh? I acquired it a few years ago in an estate sale and… well I don't really need to get into the details, but I got it for much less than it's worth. Tomes are very valuable, you know, but that's practically been a curse in a small town like this. I can't sell the damn thing! There are precious few mages in Southport, and those that are here already know basic spells like this one."

Arthur considered the tome for a moment. He had always been fascinated by the concept of magic, but it was yet another thing from the wider world that his island home had lacked. Very little magic was done on Pyrath - theres' were a peaceful people, and even when they did fight they preferred steel to sorcery. He remembered his father had called magic 'a coward's weapon' and discouraged him from using it. But now that he was on the mainland, why not learn? After all, he had come to this bookstore to get information to assist in his quest - what information could be more valuable than magic? Controlling the very elements themselves? Arthur was getting excited at the thought. "How much for the tome?" he asked the shopkeep.

"Well lad, it might be a tad out of your price range. Something like this can run 500 gold pieces in mint condition! I figure I'd sell this one for 150, old as it is and seeing as I don't have much demand for it."

Arthur mulled this over for a moment. He had brought 200 gold pieces with him; he had enough money, but 150 gold pieces was not the sort of sum a normal person could shill out on a whim. He worried for a moment that the purchase would be too conspicuous, marking him as a noble, but finally decided to buy the tome. It's not like I'm supposed to be hiding my nobility, I suppose. Just my quest. And this will help, right? He had convinced himself.

"I'll take it" he said, smiling at the shopkeep's shocked expression.

"You have enough coin?" Asked the shopkeep, clearly skeptical.

Arthur answered by pouring out his gold pouch onto the counter. Combined, the fire tome and the map ran him 155 gold pieces, leaving him with only 40 left to maintain himself (he had spent 5 in the market). It will be enough, I'm sure. Once I'm with the Shepherds I probably won't have much to spend it on anyways. He said goodbye to the shopkeeper and left the bookstore, stowing his newly acquired tome and map in his pack. To Southtown we go. Consulting his map briefly to get his bearing, he began walking north from Southport.

— One Day Later —

In retrospect, Arthur decided that a sleeping bag would have been a much better purchase than a fire tome which he could not read. After a very uncomfortable night trying to sleep on a bed of pine needles, Arthur was once again up and moving, marching north towards Southtown. By his calculations (and the road signs which appeared periodically) the town was very close now.

He saw smoke rising in the distance. Is the town under attack? Gee, thanks for the heads up Dialga. No need to give your champion anything beyond minimal information. He cut off his resentful thoughts and broke into a run towards the town.

The village itself came into sight as Arthur ran. Many of its buildings were aflame, and brigands were running rampant through the streets. He heard the screams of villagers in the distance and increased his pace further, drawing Rust from its scabbard as he did so. He ran into the streets of the town and leveled his sword at one of the bandits. He shouted in what he hoped was an intimidating tone. "Stop right there, brigand!"

The brigand in question did not seem particularly intimidated. He was a gaunt looking man, and he carried a chipped iron blade. He looked Arthur up and down, seemingly weighing him as a fighter. He seemed to decide that Arthur was not particularly threatening, and began circling to Arthur's right. "Oy, look Manfred!" shouted the bandit to his nearby compatriot, a bulkier man carrying an axe. "We've got a hero here to stop us! I suppose we had better lay down our arms and turn from our wicked ways."

"You might be right, Weasel" answered the other brigand, stalking towards Arthur and circling to his left as he spoke. "After all, what can bandits like us do against such a mighty hero?" The bandit's hand tightened around his axe. With one brigand moving to his left and the other to his right, Arthur knew he would be surrounded in the next few moments, and decided to take the initiative. He remembered one of James' lessons - never face multiple opponents if you can help it, but if you have no alternative try and quickly remove as many as possible from the fight. This was fine – Arthur could do quick.

Arthur feinted to his right at the sword-wielding bandit (Weasel?) before whirling into the quickest lunge he could manage at the axe-wielding bandit. Unprepared for such a lightning-fast blow, the axe-wielding bandit could not block the stab in time, and Rust slipped past his defenses and into his torso. The bandit (Manfred, Arthur remembered) screamed as the blade pierced his skin, face contorting in pain. Arthur withdrew Rust quickly and turned to face the other bandit as the one he had stabbed sank to the ground.

Having seen his companion defeated in such a short time, the sword-wielding bandit seemed to have lost some of his previous nonchalance. "You bastard! I'll kill you for that!" He directed a sloppy slash at Arthur which was easily deflected, and Arthur's quick riposte caught the bandit in the neck. Pressurized blood spat forth, splattering Arthur's face. The bandit grasped at his throat desperately, in disbelief as his lifeblood spilled out. He cast Arthur one last desperate glance before sinking to the ground alongside his companion.

The bandit had hardly touched the ground before Arthur was vomiting into the nearby bushes. So much for romantic notions of war. Wiping his mouth, he cast a glance at the two bodies. Manfred and Weasel. The first two people I've killed – probably not the last, if this quest is to succeed. I don't know how I'll get used to this. Arthur didn't regret killing them - it had been kill or be killed, after all. Still, the quickness with which their two lives had ended was unnerving - people one moment, dead the next. Not particularly good people, but people nonetheless.

Weasel's sword caught his attention where it lay on the ground - it had been nicked before their battle, but he could see now that the blade was rusted at the point where it had made contact with Arthur's own sword. Arthur looked down at his weapon and saw that the blood that had stained the blade moments before had already dried into a fine brown-red dust and was crumbling off of the sword's surface onto the ground. "I guess that's why it's called Rust," he said to himself, examining the sword with fascination. Suddenly he heard another of the villager's screams and he was shaken from his reverie.

Right – village to save. He looked around for more bandits and saw that they were engaged in a battle in the town square. About a half-dozen bandits were engaged facing off in the center of town with a group of fighters Arthur could not identify. Across the canal which supplied the town with water were another half-dozen bandits gesturing and shouting towards the town square as though engaged in an argument about what to do. Arthur looked more closely at the people fighting the bandits and saw that there were only four of them. The most fearsome-looking was an armored knight, mounted on a massive destrier. As Arthur watched as the brown-haired knight drove his lance powerfully into the one bandit unfortunate enough to have come within his reach. Next in the group was a muscular blue-haired swordsman with a white cape flapping over his shoulder - he was currently engaged in a duel with one of the bandit swordsmen. Behind him, a blonde girl in a yellow dress was kneeling over an incapacitated villager, seemingly healing them with the staff she carried. The last member of this group was a white-haired woman in a black coat. She carried a bronze sword in one hand and a yellow tome in the other – as he watched, she raised her hand and sent a bolt of lightning arcing through the air into a bandit's chest.

Those must be the Shepherds – time to make my grand entrance. Arthur raised his sword and charged forward into square, yelling incoherently at the top of his lungs. This in fact proved to be quite an effective strategy, as it briefly distracted the swordsman that the blue-haired man was fighting, allowing Blue-Hair (as Arthur affectionately referred to him in his mind) to slip a blow past the bandit's guard. Only two bandits remained in the main square - one very close to Arthur, the other across the square engaged with the knight. Arthur and the bandit went back and forth for a few blows before a bolt of lightning struck the bandit from behind. The man fell, revealing the white-haired woman a few steps away, hand crackling with electricity.

"Uh…thanks" said Arthur, unsure of the protocol for mid-battle conversation. Are you supposed to thank people for killing someone you're fighting?

She looked at him strangely, and suddenly he felt as though that had been the wrong thing to say. "Don't mention it," she responded, turning towards the other three members of her party. They had finished the final bandit in this area and were now approaching the two of them.

Blue-Hair shoved his sword into the ground and leaned against it, breathing heavily. "Well that went well" he said, wiping some sweat from his brow. "I appreciate the help, friend. What brings you to town?"

"Me? Same thing as you, I imagine. I saw smoke in the distance and came to help." Arthur shrugged – it was true, mostly. He extended a hand to Blue-Hair. "I'm Arthur."

"Chrom," responded Blue-Hair. So this was the Prince Chrom that Dialga had spoken of. Arthur spotted the Brand of the Exalt on Chrom's shoulder. The prince gestured to the other members of his party. "This is my sister, Lissa," he said, gesturing to the blonde girl. "This is our retainer, Frederick," he said, pointing to the brown-haired knight. He finally pointed at the white-haired woman: "And this is Robin. We actually just met recently."

"Nice to meet you all," said Arthur casually. He gestured with his sword to the cluster of bandits who were still arguing on the other side of the canal. "Shall we finish this, then?"

"We shall" said Chrom.

Although Chrom seemed to be the leader of the party and he had mentioned only meeting Robin recently, she seemed to already be giving tactical advice. "There's no reason for us to go to them, really. We have ranged weapons, and they're across the canal. Frederick, you and I can just bombard them with my thunder and your javelins, and then we'll have Arthur and Chrom hold the bridge. They'll be fish in a barrel."

It seemed like a good plan to Arthur. Everyone nodded in agreement, and Chrom and Arthur took up positions on the bridge. The huddle of arguing bandits was abruptly interrupted by a bolt of lightning and a powerfully thrown javelin floored two of the men. The bandits scattered, frantically searching for cover on the other side of the canal, but there was very little to be found. As they ran, another two were dropped by Robin and Frederick's ranged attacks. One of the bandits, likely the leader, shouted an order to the others. "There's only five of them, lads, and we can't kill 'em cowering on this side of the river! Let's go get 'em!" Rallying due to his words, the remaining six bandits made a break for the bridge, where Arthur and Chrom were waiting, swords out.

Robin seemed to have had a change of heart on their tactics, and shouted out a new order. "Frederick, countercharge!" Frederick seemed to get the gist, and kicked his heels into the side of his destrier to charge into the mass of bandits. Despite their numbers, the bandits were understandably intimidated as Frederick charged at them, a royal knight with a gleaming silver lance, both his body and his horses' body heavily armored. Frederick and his horse were effectively a thousand pound cannonball, and the bandits scattered by instinct as he charged at their ranks. As they scattered, Chrom, Arthur and Robin swept upon them with their swords out, cutting them down while they were distracted. All told, the maneuver took probably 10 seconds, and by the time Frederick had turned around for another charge the three of them had cut down every bandit but the leader.

The bandit leader brandished his axe as the four of them surrounded him. "Lay down your weapon," said Chrom, "and we will spare your life."

"Spare my life?" The bandit spat on the ground disdainfully. "I know better than to trust the mercy of an Ylissean." He lunged at Chrom, but Frederick was faster, thrusting his lance powerfully into the bandit's heart in a shocking display of speed and accuracy.

The bandit leader slumped to the ground almost immediately, and Frederick began to wipe the blood off his lance nonchalantly. "Remind me not to get on your bad side," said Arthur with a nervous laugh.

Frederick's tone was deadly serious. "Don't get on my bad side. Do anything to endanger my charges, and I will show the same lack of hesitation." He seemed to be speaking to both Arthur and Robin.

"Uhhh…" No one had ever made such a direct threat to his life before. Arthur did not quite know how to respond to it, but Chrom had already started speaking.

"Oh Frederick, please! These two just helped us defend this town, and now you're making threats!" Chrom smiled sheepishly at the two of them, rubbing the back of his head with one hand. "Sorry about him – he takes his duty very seriously."

"Milord, perhaps we can resume the discussion we were having before we came to defend the village – on whether Robin can be trusted? She seems much more talented in swords, magic, and tactics than the average amnesiac." Frederick looked at Robin suspiciously as he spoke.

"Robin fought to save Ylissean lives, Frederick. My heart says that's enough."

"And your mind milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?"

"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We've brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil. Would you really have us lose such an able tactician? Besides, I believe her story, odd as it might be."

"Th-thank you, Chrom," said Robin, rubbing her hands together nervously. She was clearly made uncomfortable by the doubts Frederick had expressed towards her character. Arthur, for his part, tried to piece together her backstory via their conversation. So they had just met, and she was an amnesiac? He decided he would have to ask her more about that in the future - he was sure it would be an interesting story.

"So how about it?" asked Chrom. "Will you join us, Robin?"

"I would be honored," she responded, smiling.

"And you, Arthur?" said Chrom, turning to Arthur. "You're talented with that blade of yours, and your first instinct was to help the town. Would you be interested in joining the Shepherds? We can always use skilled fighters."

Arthur feigned hesitation for a moment. "Well… I was planning on exploring the Halidom. I suppose I could do that pretty well in the Shepherds, actually. I would love to join, Chrom."

Chrom seemed pleased by his answers. "Great! We'll make for Ylisstol, then. We can introduce you two to the others there."

The group declined the villagers' offers of reward (much to Lissa's chagrin) and set out on the north on the Southroad. Frederick rode his horse and after much complaining allowed Lissa to ride with him. Chrom, Robin, and Arthur walked. As they traveled, Frederick provided some analysis of the incident. Apparently the bandits had spoken in a Plegian accent – Arthur hadn't been able to tell by the accent, but it had been obvious from the bandit leader's disdain of Ylisseans that he was Plegian.

Chrom cursed upon hearing this. "Of course they were Plegians. Why have they been raiding us so heavily in recent months?"

"Isn't it obvious?" asked Arthur. It might be a breach of etiquette to ask rhetorical questions to the prince, but from his brief time with Chrom Arthur had deduced he was not one who stood on ceremony. "Raiding Ylisse so obviously is risking a war – the Plegians wouldn't be doing it if war with Ylisse was something they feared. From everything I've heard of Gangrel, he probably wants a war and hopes that this anonymous banditry will provoke Ylisse into attacking him. Then he'll be able to frame the war as defensive to his people."

"That is… a very astute analysis, Arthur" said Frederick, his tone suddenly suspicious. "What did you say your background was? You seem quite well versed in the politics of the realm for a commoner."

"Oh" said Arthur, feeling embarrassed at having exposed his nobility so early. "Well, I'm actually the son of the Duke of Pyrath. Like I said, I'm here to explore the mainland of Ylisse, get to know it better, that sort of thing. But I've been reading about history and politics since I was a child, so I guess I know them fairly well in theory."

"Child of a Duke, you say? Well, I suppose it's unlikely you are a spy then." Frederick seemed satisfied by his answer.

"I hope it's okay I joined the Shepherds without disclosing that. I haven't spent much time on the mainland, and I was a bit worried there might be some rule against it." Arthur rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"No worries on that account, Arthur," responded Frederick. "In fact, we have a number of Duke's children already in the shepherds. Maribelle, one of our group's healers, is the firstborn daughter of the Duke of Themis. One of our newer members, Sumia, is seventhborn daughter of the Duke of Talys. There are others of noble birth as well – one of our mages is son of a Count,and one of our knights comes from a long and prestigious line of knights . A person of your status should fit right in. We are an organization of nobles and commoners alike."

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief – his nobility would not be an issue for membership in the Shepherds, and if anyone knew that the Dukes of Pyrathihad Dialga blood they had not voiced the observation. Thinking of his brand, Arthur rubbed his together in their gloves. He noticed that Robin was also wearing gloves, despite the temperature not particularly warranting it. Could she also have a brand? Probably not. Holy blood was exceedingly rare, after all, almost exclusively carried by the nobility. Although he supposed none of them really knew her background. Maybe-

"We can camp here for the night," said Frederick, breaking Arthur from his train of thought. He gestured to a clearing in the woods on one side of the road. The knight dismounted and started unpacking his camping materials. "Robin, Arthur, it seems neither of you have anything in the way of camping supplies. Lucky for one of you, I packed an extra blanket for just such an occasion." He tossed a well-folded blanket into Arthur's arms."Divide it amongst yourselves."

Arthur turned to Robin, unfolding the blanket. "It's a little small for share," he said idly. He blushed as he realized the implication of his words – he hoped it would not be visible in the low light of dusk. "Not that we…uh…you know what, how about you just take it? I overheat when I sleep anyway."

Robin smiled bashfully but didn't seem to take any offense. "Really? Well, okay. My coat is pretty thick, though – let me know if you get cold during the night, if so we can just take the blanket in shifts." She took the blanket from his hands and started to prepare a sleeping area.

After a meal of bear (Arthur didn't mind the taste) the group settled down for the night. Arthur lay with his back against a tree, pulling his cloak around him as the night turned cold. After such an eventful day, though, it was not long before he fell into a deep sleep.

(Note: It's probably pretty obvious by now, but I just thought I would explicitly say that this is not Fates Arthur or Genealogy Arthur. I've never been a big fan of Fates Arthur or Genealogy Arthur and I kind of forgot they existed while making this character name. Just wanted to say. Also, sorry if anyone got baited thinking this was an M!Robin x Lucina fanfic, it's actually an Arthur x F!Robin x Lucina love triangle fic - there's no option to specify the Avatar gender in the description

Also, on the matter of Sumia being nobility – I just wanted to. I thought it would be a cool bit of backstory since Talys was supposedly integrated into Ylisse but we never see it mentioned. Plus, I have some stuff I want to do with Sumia which requires her to be noble. If you have a problem with it then sorry I guess – I have altered the canon…pray I do not alter it further.)