When Mark woke up, the campsite was all tidied up and organized. The horses were waiting patiently as their owners were in the middle of an argument about who Lyn should ride with. Lyn sat on a rock, observing it all, gazing out at the now distant plains. Mark stretched, hearing a few cracks in his arms and back from the hard place he slept. He yawned, scratched his shoulder, and felt around his coat for a book.

"Where are we heading today?" He said sleepily, lazily turning some pages, trying to find where he stopped.

"Further south." Lyn said as Kent and Sain seemed to finally reach an agreement. They walked over.

"Well, shall we press on?" Kent said, holding out an arm for Lyn to take so he could lead her to his horse. Lyn giggled and took it.

"So you won the argument did you?" She joked as the moved towards the mounts. Sain looked pained at Mark. Mark faked a scoff.

"And here I thought we bonded last night, and now you won't even ride with me." Mark said sadly, letting his head hang low and shuffling rather than walking. Sain jogged up to him concerned.

"We did bond! It was a wonderful conversation! But have you SEEN Lady Lyndis?" Mark ignored him and hopped onto his horse. He smiled to himself as he turned the pages of his book, pretending to ignore his friend. Sain whimpered and reluctantly hopped onto his steed, gazing longingly at Lyn as she and Kent started to gallop away.

"Well I'll just have to deal with it I suppose." Sain said sadly and together they all took off.

"So, do we have any idea when we will stop next?" Mark said over the wind now rushing past their ears. Sain thought for a moment but shook his head.

"I remember Kent saying something about a village down the line but for the life of me I have no idea which one. Either way, we need to get through this mountain range, and that will probably take up most of the day." Mark nodded at this and continued with his studies. This time it was a book of war strategies. The current situation was if you found yourself stuck in the middle of an attack from both sides. With no long ranged infantry, and no escape route, how can you minimize casualties? From there it offers details as to the surrounding area, yours and your enemies supplies, etc. Mark thought hard about it, but there didn't seem to be any good option. If he decided to hole up and defend his position, it was more than likely he would be overwhelmed. If he decided to rush one of the groups early so that the attack could only come from one side, it was plausible, but would take too long. The other army would approach them from the back before they could deal with the first.


As Mark continued to ponder this hypothetical situation, the group continued on for a large portion of the day until they came upon a ruined village. Mark looked up from his book in time to see broken houses, fencing, and a few bodies of men strewn around. There were no women or children to be seen. Likely taken back by the bandits who raided the village in the first place.

"This is awful…" Sain said, gazing over the ruined landscape as the group slowly trotted through. "To think this is what happened to Lady Lyndis mere months ago…" His expression turned a surprisingly serious tone. "I cannot stand this sort of behavior. It shall never affect milady again." He left it at that. Mark pondered for a moment. I suppose cities have their perks… he thought, thinking of his own childhood. He happened to glance at Lyn. She had a steely expression that Mark had only seen on her when she described the attack that ripped her world apart. It clearly bothered her to be in this place. For her sake, Mark hoped they got through the area quickly. They continued in silence for a few more minutes before they heard a high pitched shriek.

"What was that?" Sain said, looking around and stopping his horse. Mark dismounted and closed his eyes, listening carefully. He heard a quiet argument towards the town center.

"There's a lot of yelling coming from the center of town. Should we investigate?" He asked the other three.

"Of course." Lyn said. "If there are survivors of this act we need to help them!" She hopped off Kent's horse as the other knights nodded in agreement. "How shall we approach them Mark?" She asked him. Mark surveyed the area briefly.

"Kent, Sain, you two circle around toward the scene from the way we came. It should take you roughly five minutes or so if you start now, so go." The knights agreed and started a gallop in the direction the group had come from. "Lyn." Mark said turning to her. She stood at the ready. "You will follow behind me in the same direction, keeping a distance. I am the least threatening looking of our group, so if I approach first they should let down they guard. When that happens, I'll give one of two signals." He lit his hand on fire. "This means attack." He put out the fire and crossed his fingers. "This means come out, everything is fine." Lyn nodded.

"Be careful. If you feel in danger I'll be there as soon as you give the signal, but I trust your judgement." Mark nodded at this and started running towards the center. They were there within two minutes. Lyn hid behind a wall as Mark approached the situation.

"Hell no!" A gruff looking man yelled as a rather innocent looking girl. Two of his buddies held her by the wrist and the forearm. She was a somewhat frail looking thing with light purple hair and light armor. A pegasus in matching armor was standing with its wings bent and it's head down, looking ashamed. All the rider's weapons and items were still with the pegasus, meaning she was unarmed.

"Hello gentleman." Mark said, hands in the air. The brigands turned and sized him up.

"...The hell are you?" They asked.

Mark shrugged. "Just a normal person, all things considered. What about you?" He eyed them all carefully. The two holding the girl didn't seem so bad but the big bad boss seemed like a real warrior.

"Just normal guys, all things considered." He said, mocking Mark's mannerisms and speech. Mark restrained himself from immediately giving the signal to attack. Rudeness doesn't constitute potential murder.

"Alright…" Mark said cautiously. "Maybe you could just let the girl go then?"

"Not a chance kid. Not until she apologizes for the shiner on me pal's face." He gestured to one of the goons holding the frail girl, who was developing a black eye.

Mark turned to the girl. "Did you apologize?" He asked. Before he got an answer, he saw a blur race past him and stab one of the people holding the girl. Mark blinked a few times in surprise. Lyn stood up and pointed a sword at the other captor, who promptly dropped the girl and ran towards his boss.

"Lyyyyyyyyynnnnnnn" The girl sobbed from the ground, rubbing tears from her eyes. "I-I thought you were d-d-dead!" She rose up and hugged Lyn, but Lyn retained a steely gaze at the two remaining men.

"Let her go." Lyn said. Mark slumped over a little at how rapidly the situation was already out of his control. He'd talk to her about it later. For now he just leaned against the nearest wall, crossed his arms, and witnessed the scene in front of him.

"I think not." The bigger one said, pulling out a wicked looking axe. Rust covered half of it. Mark shuddered at the possibilities of the diseases one could get from a slight cut. "Do you know how much a pegasus can sell for? We're tryna run a business here you know."

"Thievery isn't a business, fiend!" Sain yelled as he and Kent entered the scene behind the brigands. The two looked back and forth between them and then the smaller one turned to Mark.

"Can I kill that one?" He asked, wide eyed holding an axe. "He pisses me off with how he's just standin' there. I bet he's the one who's behind all of this." The boss gave a grin. He also gave a whistle.
"Eh, knock yourself out." The boss said. The grunt charged Mark. "Alright boys, "Have at em. Don't kill the girls, but the knights and the pretty boy are fair game."

Insults are not just reason for murder, insults are not just reason for murder… Mark repeated to himself over and over again as he pulled out his fire tome for his oncoming attacker. But damn it's tempting. Mark chanted a spell and created a giant pillar of flame in front of him. When he extinguished it, he stared down the bandit. He was on his back, scurrying away. He finally got to his feet and ran off, leaving his weapon, and perhaps his dignity, behind. When Mark looked back at the scene, the boss was nowhere to be seen, but several grunts were attacking his friends, who were winning easily. Kent and Sain fought in great coordinance, meanwhile Lyn was dueling three separate guys like it was a absolutely nothing. However, the purple haired girl was trying to fight another grunt while using a very thin lance. He was overpowering her and her back was too the wall. The obvious choice of what to do next was right in front of Mark. He ran up to the scene and kicked the brigand in the side. He stumbled and swung blindly behind him. Mark set a hand on fire and grabbed the man's collar with the other hand. He held him up, since it was one of the smaller bandits, and held his flaming hand near his face.

"I'd leave." Mark said simply, maintaining eye contact. The bandit whimpered and nodded quickly. For good measure, Mark threw him back a few inches and let him scurry away. He turned to the girl, who was sitting against the wall with her knees against her chest. Mark smiled at her and offered a hand. "I'm sorry about all of this. Here, let me help you up and we can-" The girl shied away as his hand approached her. He retracted his hand. "Uh… sorry did I…?" He slowly offered his hand again. Again, the girl slowly moved away at the same pace. "Alright then." Mark said straightening up. He stepped back a few feet. "Is this better…?" He said.

The girl stood up and dusted herself off. She looked at him for a second, immediately looked away, and ran towards her pegasus. Mark sighed. He had no luck with these sorts of things huh? Did I really just think that? He thought. Maybe my conversation with Sain rubbed off on me more than I thought. He'd never thought about who he'd spend his life with until Sain's impassioned speech the night before. WHY AM I THINKING ABOUT THIS? He yelled internally. He watched as the girl mounted her pegasus, shot him one last look, and flew over head. You're not travelling to find love Mark. Relax. He let out a breath and jogged up to the others.

"There you are." Lyn said, jogging up to him. "Thank's for saving Florina. The village is overrun with bandits, their boss ran North. Tell us what to do."

"Uhm…" a small voice said behind Mark. He turned. There was the girl. "Uhm… m-me too please. Direct me." She said. Mark blinked once or twice, but soon snapped out of it.

"Ok, right!" Mark said, holding up a hand. "Lyn, Kent, go and start to clear a path to their boss. Sain, you're gonna duel him. You have the largest reach with your lance, and his axe looks like it could give you something really bad should it cut you."

"I also use a lance sometimes." Kent offered, hand on chest. "Please, allow me."

"Sain is better with a lance Kent. I already told you what to do." Mark said flatly turning to Florina. Kent tried his best not to look disheartened as Sain smiled smugly.

"Florina?" Mark said. She flinched but nodded meekly. Her cheeks were a light crimson. Her hairband looked really nice on her, and her hair fell in such a way that- MARK. STOP. He thought. He shook his head and looked back up. "Fly overhead and see if anyone in this village is still here. We don't want them caught up in the fighting, ok? Get them to safety." She nodded and flew up.

"What are you going to do, Mark?" Sain asked him. Mark thought about it.

"For now I'm going to check nearby houses in case people are here. Once I've established there's no one here, I'll provide a backline for Lyn and Kent in case bandits start surrounding them. Remember, we don't know just how many of them there are, and they seem organized. The small one's shouldn't be a problem, but their leader…" Mark shook his head. "Be careful Sain. Don't get cut, at any cost."

"Of course." Sain said. "After all, I am a knight among knights, even the slightest cut would be-"

"Sain." Mark said. "Im serious." Sain stopped his speech and gave Mark a knowing look.

"I promise, I'll be fine." He said. Mark nodded. They all rode off and Mark began to check nearby houses. I wonder why she shied away from me like that. Do I look that bad? Maybe I just scared her with the way I scared off her attacker. Yes that must be it and GODS WHAT AM I DOING. He stopped and slapped himself. This is a FIGHT. He thought. Focus. He took a breath or two, or several, or over a hundred until his heart stopped beating like a drum.

"Um…" He heard a voice behind him. He turned, lighting his hand on fire. Before him stood a man with a bow strapped over his shoulder, both hands in the air in a non threatening manner. He had brown hair, and was wearing simple clothing native to Lycia.

Mark extinguished his hand. "Hello. Sorry. Was in thought. You surprised me."

"I didn't mean to startle you…"

"No no no, really, i-it's my fault. Do you need something?"

The man put his arms at his side and bowed slightly. "My name is Wil. I saw you were fighting the bandits here, and I wanted to offer my help." They stood there in silence for a moment. "Er… May I? Help, that is?"

"Sure, sure, sorry, I spaced out again." Mark turned towards a nearby window. There were several buildings in the surrounding area. "Ok, follow me." He ran out of the building running into the streets towards his friends. He quickly surveyed and pointed to a nearby building. "Here." He said to Wil, out of breath. "Climb. Rain hell."

Wil smiled. "Hey, alright. I can do that. What are your guys like so I don't shoot them."

"Two knights, one red one green, a woman of Sacaen decent and one pegasus knight. She should be the only one in the sky. Everyone else is fair game."

"Alright. I didn't catch your name."

Mark extended a hand. "Mark, travelling tactician and general oddity. A pleasure."

Wil took the hand in his own and shook it. Without another word he started climbing up the nearby building.


Mark finally caught up with Lyn and Kent, who had just finished up their fighting. Mark jogged up completely out of breath as Florina landed nearby. Everyone with the exception of Wil and Sain was assembled.

"We think that's all of them." Lyn said, also out of breath. "What's the plan?"

Mark gasped a breath. "Help… Sain. Where is he?"

Kent shook his head. "He hasn't returned. He went Northward when the leader ran away."

"Why… did you let him…" Mark said pantingly.

"I couldn't stop him, we were still fighting our own enemies." Kent continued. He held a sword up and against his chest in salute. "Let us go after him and offer support." Mark nodded.

"Let us on the mounts, we'll get there faster." Mark said, getting onto Kent's horse. Lyn ran onto Florina's pegasus, which made Mark slightly jealous, but he also guess he wouldn't be allowed on it. Florina seemed to have an aversion to him. He dwelled on it in the moment in order to sober up for the coming fight. He had a deep pit in his stomach. If Sain was in trouble, it would be all his fault. Maybe he should've accepted Kent's offer.

Together they rode until they finally came into a clearing where a dismounted Sain was going head to head against the leader with a lance.

"You just won't quit will ya?" The man said, swinging his axe down with deadly speed. Sain, just as quick, dodged swiftly and thrusted at the man. It struck his arm, but he merely shrugged it off. Mark pulled out his tome and made a quick fireball in his hand.

"Sain, duck!" he yelled, sending it right at Sain's head. Sain didn't even look behind and obliged. The fire hit the bandit's leg, setting his pant leg on fire. Without even reacting, the bandit ripped the pants at the knee and threw the flaming scraps aside.

"You need backup eh you filthy knight?" He said, staring Sain down. "How chivalrous." He said, sarcasm dripping from his words. This clearly bothered Sain. He grinned, but there was a hint of rage in him.

"You're Taliver bandits right?" Sain said.

"Maybe we is." The leader said mockingly. "You ain't gonna live long enough to find out." They charged eachother again.

"Sain!" Kent yelled, his usual calm demeanor gone. "Stop, fall back and let us help!"

"Never!" Sain said determined. "This is them Kent! These are the ones! They killed our lady's parents and friends! They're the ones who left her all alone in this world! As a knight of Caelin, I will not let them get away with it!" He charged the warrior.

"Sain, stop!" Mark yelled. Sain dodged another axe strike and swung his lance again to no avail. "SAIN, I AM YOUR TACTICIAN, FALL BACK!" Mark shouted, more desperate this time. He panted heavily in the stress. Sain was at a clear disadvantage now that he was off his mount. His biggest advantage was how he would out range the boss. It would be trouble if he even took a small scratch from that horrid looking weapon. Mark hopped off the horse and started running towards the scene, just as the axe entered Sain's side with a sickening "thunk". Sain cried out in pain, but grabbed the axe by the handle. He smiled as sweat dropped down his brow. He grit his teeth.

"You are everything… I despise…" Sain said. The leader stared, wide eyed and slack jawed that Sain was still standing with an axe in his side. "And… Because of that… as a knight… as a man… I cannot allow you to live!" With these words, Sain raised his free arm, lance in hand, and brought it straight through the man's heart. Mark stared, dumbfounded, no longer able to move.

The man ripped the axe from Sain's side, which caused the latter to fall backwards. The bandit stumbled, but eventually found his footing and raised his axe. "You… scum…" He said. Mark couldn't move still. Everyone watched in shock as the bandit readied the axe. "I may die here… but the Ganelon bandits… will never forget this…!" He raised the axe.

"NO!" Kent shouted. "SAIN!" He said, showing more emotion in his face than Mark had ever seen. But he still couldn't move. Sain is about to die. Mark thought, as time seemed to slow. And it's entirely my fault. The axe began to fall, and just as it was about to sever Sain's face, an arrow settled into the forehead of the bandit. His motion stopped. He twitched, and fell backwards, dead. This snapped Mark to attention, and he turned to see Wil, in position, a little ways behind the rest. His expression was grim.

"Go, see how he is!" Wil shouted to Mark. Mark nodded and ran to Sain. His breath was shallow.

"Sain…" Mark said, hardly able to speak. Sain cracked his eyes open and looked at Mark.

"I thought… he was Taliver… I thought… he was why Lady… Lyndis… suffers."

"What are you talking about? What Taliver?"

"That is the name… of the bandits… who killed the Lorca…" Sain coughed a few times. Mark felt around his thick coat and pulled out a vulnerary.

"Here, drink up. It will seal the wound. You're not going to die." Mark said, putting the potion to Sain's mouth. Sain nodded and took it. Immediately his wound began to seal.

"That feels so much better." He said, his breath slowly getting better. Mark's heart beat slower, now that it was clear Sain was going to live. By now the rest had caught up.

"Sain, you're a damn fool!" Kent yelled at him, dismounting his horse. Sain rolled his eyes.

"Maybe, but fools at least make people laugh. Is that so bad?"

"No one is laughing." Wil said. "You seriously took a hit there. Will you be alright?" Sain nodded.

"Thanks to you. What is your name, new friend?"

"It's Wil. I've gathered your name is Sain. Well met." The exchanged hands.

"Sain, I know you're a loyal and sworn knight to me, but this is too much! Never endanger yourself like this again! At least let us help." Lyn knelt by him and clasped a hand into his.

"And yet, with a reward such as this!" Sain said, gesturing to their intertwined hands. "How could I not do so again in a heartbeat." Sain laughed at his own joke, and Lyn cracked a smile.

"Good to see you're already recovering." She said. Sain nodded and then frowned, looking at Lyn intently.

"Lady Lyndis. You plan to destroy the Taliver one day. You said as much last night." Lyn nodded.

"One day. I will wipe them off the face of this earth."

"When that day comes, please." Sain sat up, but immediately fell again. "Take me with you." Lyn remained silent. Kent knelt to her as well.

"Please, milady, take me as well." Lyn looked up, tears starting to form in her eyes.

"I know you're loyal knights, I know that, but…" She shook her head. "I could never ask something so dangerous."

"You can refuse all you want." Sain said. "But we will still come. You cannot stop us."

Kent nodded at this. "It's true milady. I would do anything you say, but there are some things I simply cannot abide by. I would follow you to the ends of the earth and back again." Florina came up behind Lyn and tapped her shoulder.

"I'll come too!" She said, wearing a serious expression that was uncommon to her. "If they hurt you Lyn, I'll never forgive them! You're my best friend in the world. I can't stand to see you sad." Lyn looked at the three of them.

"You… I…" She closed her eyes and gripped Sain's hand harder.

"...Lyn." Mark said. She turned to him. "I…" suddenly, Florina wasn't on his mind. In fact, she was blasted away. As Mark saw the tears starting to form in Lyn's eyes, all words left him. He felt only anger, anger at the people who hurt the most honest, brave, and kind person he had ever met. He'd only known her for a few weeks now, but this little band of heroes was feeling more and more like a home than that shame of a mansion he grew up in ever felt like. Kneeling down, he pulled Lyn into a tight hug.

"Mark…?" Lyn said, choked up. He felt his shoulder start to get a little wet.

"Lyn." He said quietly to her. He debated what to say before he decided to ditch thought and speak his mind. "We say all of this because we believe in you. We trust you. But most importantly we do it because we want what would make you happiest. You've suffered enough for a lifetime, I'd say." He pulled her outward by the shoulders and smiled at her. She was smiling too, even though her face was red from crying. "So. We're gonna get you to Caelin, make you Marquess, and then whatever you need, you've got us." He gestured around to the others. "Lyndis's Legion will forever be at your beck and call."

Lyn was silent, and the began to laugh. "Lyndis's Legion?" She giggled. "Sounds… like fun." She said. Mark nodded and turned to Wil, who stood a little ways away.

"So how about it Wil. Want to join up?" Wil shifted standing and thought about it, twirling an arrow in his hand as he thought.

"Well… You guys are the only reason I was able to clear out these bandits for the people here. They were really nice to me when I was travelling, so to have avenged them is a huge weight off my shoulders. I don't have anywhere else to go so…" He smiled and bowed. "Consider my services to be added to Lyndis's Legion!" Mark smiled. Two new friends. He thought happily. Who knew travelling would be this much of an adventure?

AN: This is a long one, I think. Idk honestly. Felt long as I made it. To say I have time to make this is untrue. I'm taking on the most time consuming schedule I possibly could this semester. That being said… I don't like working sooooooo….. Yeah heres another chapter. I'd say there will be a few more before the year is out. I have no idea how many, or when, but it's gonna happen. I've got most of the major plot points I want plotted out already, and we're only just begun, so uh, strap in I guess. Should be fun. PS: Mark has leveled up, but I really don't feel like going back and editing his stats here so… if you care at all just give him plus 1 in: HP, Skill, Res. Cool? Cool. Till next time :D