My first actual taste of bear meat was the next day. Chrom and Vaike woke up early and went hunting.

The smell of it cooking woke me up. From what I understand with the minimal research of game I've done, bear is rather grisly to butcher. Pardon the pun. I've never had bear, nor have I prepared one for cooking. Now I've skinned deer, coyote, and even a raccoon, but there aren't an abundance of bear where I live.

From what I've apparently read, and I don't remember reading, bear meat is similar to venison when prepared properly. My memory on this is, like most other things, fuzzy at best. I only I assume I've read about the bear meat. I know for fact I've never eaten it.

Let's just suffice to say that the meat was a bit over-cooked. Actually let's go into detail. I'll use a phrase Robin had said as he told me of his early memories. It was like eating a hot old boot. The texture was that of leather. It was tough to chew, and very fatty.

I don't think I like fatty food too much. I nearly puked when I bit into a large piece of fat. The stuff is disgusting, and I spat it out fast. I then had to swallow my own vomit down. It all left a really horrible taste in my mouth. I have nothing against the flavor of fat, but the way it feels to chew… I can't handle that at all.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one who dislikes the bear. I'm a big eater. I'll pat my round stomach and tell anyone that, but I have my preferences.

I don't even have to be sure though. The disdain on several faces as they eat is evident. What surprises me the most, is that Sumia and Miriel are positively destroying their share of the meat.

Thinking about my round stomach makes me a little worried. The culture here seems to be much older than what I can recall from my experiences. I fear that I will be mistaken for some noble. I can't deny my rather soft disposition though. Being the only drastically over-weight person here is a bit disheartening.

I'm sure it will be solved with time, so I don't worry too much over my appearance and health. I did some sort of cardio based sport. I can't remember what it is though. I have confidence in my stamina when it comes to the long walks I am likely to be getting myself into.

Yeah I'll slim down soon enough. Until then I will be hungry. This portion of breakfast is pitifully small compared to the quantity of food I am used to eating. I know that this little group I'm in can't eat a whole bear at once.

In fact, Vaike is busy preserving the meat.

Isn't salt supposed to be hard to come by? Well, I guess Chrom is the prince of the kingdom I am in currently. He likely has the money and resources to afford such commodities.

It's cold out. Robin sits next to me and completely ravishes his bear meat. I'd give him mine but I need to eat and we're going to walking all day again. I feel that the soreness in my feet will not disappear for a while yet, but at least I can have the energy for it.

Whatever I had been doing before coming to this land, it was had been cold. Chrom had to supply me with a coat and gloves, though I had yet to put on the gloves. I will have to ask him for some woolen socks if it starts to snow. It makes me feel bad to take so much without repaying him.

I think that, but then I have to tell myself that I am repaying him. He gave me weapons for a reason. That reason is to fight. He says they're for defending myself, but if we get into a combat situation, which is apparently likely, I'll not stand by.

As we are almost done eating, Chrom stands up on a log he has positioned.

"Alright shepherds we'll be to the wall by noon today. I don't know how likely it is for a skirmish to happen, but prepare yourselves anyway," He says, "Once we're all done here, we'll pack, load up and get going. It's only going to get colder from here, and I would prefer the warmth of the Longfort for the night."

Chrom is definitely busy, and I would ask Robin, but he runs off with Chrom to who knows where. I understand that I seem to have befriended an important person in the shepherds, but maybe he is just relating to our similar situations.

Instead of asking those two, I find Lissa. She's friendly, easy to approach, and I must confess, while I don't think I've ever succeeded romantically, I have- or had- quite a few female friends. Approaching her felt comfortable.

"Say, Lissa, Chrom mentioned fighting, but I understand that this is a diplomatic mission."

"Well, uh, I think Regna Ferox are a bit antsy when it comes to outsiders. They like a good tussle. There's a reason we're coming so heavily armed." She responded, before smiling.

She changed the subject, "So what do you think of bear?"

"Robin told me you aren't fond of bear meat."

Lissa made a face, "No I'm not, and Robin's opinion on the matter is a bit skewed. It was literally the first thing he can remember eating. Chrom on the other hand… well he has no excuse."

I glanced up, and saw Frederick watching me. I was an unknown man talking with his charge after all. I chose to ignore it as best I could. Instead, I laughed at her joke on Chrom. It really hurts to laugh, and Lissa notices.

"How are you feeling?" she asks me.

No shame in telling the truth.

"Tense," I say, "and really sore, I don't know what happened to me before, but I don't think I've ever been injured this badly before. Shouldn't have practiced archery last night. Only made it worse."

Now I don't have much problem when it comes to stiff and sore body parts. It hurts. It aches. But it isn't a big deal, and practicing the archery wasn't bad at the time. I regret it now though. It took a lot of energy just to pull the bowstring enough to fire the arrows, and now I don't think I could lift a whole lot of heavy weight.

Even after a good, if a little bit stiff sleep I was still more than a little weak.

"Don't push yourself Gavin. I can't fix your exhaustion or bruises with a staff."

"I just fear that I'm not going to be able to do much in the event that something happens," I say.

"Oh don't worry yourself about that. Worry about getting better. Let Robin worry about that battles." Lissa pats me on the back, or shoulder. Shoulder blade? Yeah that's the one.

"I guess."

As it turned out, the people guarding the border did not believe in Chrom's identity.

This led the a situation I'd prefer to never have to see again, but I feel like many more situations like this one will be happening to me as I continue to live in this world.

Chrom nearly became the pin cushion for a dozen spears thrown at him from the top of the Longfort. He was only saved thanks to the speedy action of Sumia on her Pegasus. I'm still unable to quite accurately comprehend a winged horse. It seems magical to me, because I know for a fact that Sumia's is the first I've ever seen.

Regardless of my own surprise at seeing a Pegasus in action, I feel like I should be much more relieved that Sumia got to Chrom in time. It is the closest I've yet to ever see a person come close to death through some injury. Not a stranger to disease though. Chrom didn't seemed too terribly fazed by the attack though. He fell off of Sumia's Pegasus as they landed, and was cursing the whole while.

"Shepherds to arms!" he called, "Try to avoid killing, but do what you must. This is a showing."

Chrom stood back up, and drew Falchion. This was a signal for everyone else, who formed groups, and charged forward. It seems Robin had already discussed a strategy with them before I came along. This was my queue to stand back, and I ended up falling in beside Virion. A fellow archer.

"Ah, Sir Robin has not told you the plan, no?" the archer said.

"I'm afraid not," I responded.

"Well then. I suppose it will be good for you to stick with me. Better than to stay behind. One of these Feroxi soldiers might take aim at you. Better to be in the group when that happens."

"Makes sense to me," I say.

As a good attempt to show my confidence, I nock and arrow. I'll try and at least be prepared to fire, though my confidence is not in my aim. I can just aim up, and shoot over the shepherds, but I don't think it's very safe for an inexperienced combatant to just shoot through them.

That doesn't stop Virion though. His confidence in his aim is amazing to me. His arrows seem to whiz by the shepherds with just hairs worth of distance to spare. And they all struck true. Every shot of his meant a disabled opponent. If his arrow itself did not disable the soldier, someone landed a cracking head blow. Likely to cause some trauma to the brain. I shuttered to be in their places as the shepherds mowed these men down.

It also made me glad. I was in combat, and nobody was dying. Well, mostly not dying. I think I saw one person die, but it was hard to tell from the back when everyone was falling to the ground anyway.

Things went easy until we hit the doors. They weren't the main gate. They were side passages, but they were no less fortified. If anything the fact they the space was so small meant these little doors were far more durable against an assault. I lined up behind Virion in single file. The narrow staircase forced Frederick, Stahl, and Sully to dismount. Frederick was at the lead, and once he made it to the door he was beating on it. Hard. I could hear the hinges rattle.

It made me glad, once again, that I was on the side of the shepherds. Thinking about it was a reminder to be careful with the knight's trust. Shattering whatever I actually had would be bad. I don't think I would last long against him at all.

Watching Frederick take down the door gave me no doubt that he was far more muscular than Vaike. Frederick jammed his lance into a crack in the door frame, and began to literally pry the door open. It was like using a hammer to pull a nail out of a wall.

He was tearing the door from its hinges, and as soon as Stahl grabbed the end of the lance and started pushing it was all over. Metal pieces flew off, and the door fell sideways. A lucky instance, as the man attempting to hold the door on the other side would have been crushed.

"What is that lance made of?" I ask. I am mostly just talking to myself, but Virion gives me an answer anyway.

"I do believe it is enchanted silver." The noble archer says.

I don't know what enchanted silver is, but I can gather that it is quite valuable and sturdy. Is it literally enchanted, or does it just have properties that made people think it was enchanted when they first found it?

That said, despite the apparent destructibility of Frederick's lance, I was perhaps more surprised with the physical strength of the man. (Alas I do believe I have told you all, dear readers, enough about the apparent musculature of Frederick "The Wary.")

As I was saying, Frederic busted the door aside and charged through. Just inside the door, he dropped his massive lance, much more suited for mounted combat, and pulled the axe from his hip. I still don't know how Vaike and Him managed the whole fight without killing anyone using such deadly weapons.

It speaks to me of their training, whatever my opinions on their personalities. Even now, as I do not have any attachments to people outside of these shepherds, it makes me plan to have combat lessons with the two of them, if only to learn how the lance and axe work.

As I write this, I am still using the bow, but I have found an aptitude with some kind of magic, and personally I would prefer to learn how to swing a sword over an axe or spear. Especially as a side-arm.

As soon as we all flood through the gateway, things slow down to a stop when Chrom challenges the leader of the enemy force to a duel. Chrom really knows how to put on a show, and I mean that in the most sincere of ways.

I can tell that he's probably had tutoring in public dueling. The kind of duels for show. Even as he outperforms the commander (Who's name escapes me as I write this.), he also outshows her. Chrom is impressive, to say the least. Flashy, fast, strong. He is a veritable genius of the battlefield as far as I am concerned.

Chrom ends the, no doubt, humiliating display by tripping the commander and pointing his sword at her throat. I feel like this is a somewhat dangerous move to pull when you aren't trying to kill someone. With a sharp sword it would only take a small jerk of the head to end it all, and the Feroxi commander seems to know this, as she freezes completely.

Chrom holds it there, as if waiting for her to say something, before she drops her spear, and points at his sword at her throat. Chrom lifts his sword, and she speaks.

"It seems that I owe the crown prince of Ylisse an apology. I have shamed my men in honorable combat and assaulted royalty of another Kingdom. Punish me as you see fit," She says.

Chrom responds as if he is surprised by her words, "There will be no punishment for today, and none from me at all. If you seek your death so earnestly, then have it delivered to you by you superiors. I have qualms with those defending their borders from an enemy."

Chrom helped the commander stand up, and she grimaced out a smile at him.

"Very well Prince Chrom. Yet I must atone for my mistake. Will you allow me to escort your company to my Khan? She is something like a week's journey west-northwest."

"I would appreciate it," Chrom says, frowning.

Frederick takes this opportunity to act, and jogs over to check Chrom for wounds.

The commander starts throwing out orders to her soldiers. They all scramble about to do her bidding. I'd say she is in a fearsome mood.

Chrom, even as he lifts his arms for Frederick to check is sides, begins to issue his own orders.

"Shepherds! Fall back and gather your things. We will be spending the night in the Longfort. Afterwards, we will make out way to meet with the Khan," he says.

Now I would talk about what happens in the week between going to sleep in the Longfort and arriving at the colosseum, where I presently reside, but not much of not happened. Vaike got drunk and brawled with a few Feroxi soldiers. I had my first legal sip of alcohol, though I barely drank anything. I quickly decided that whatever is was they were drinking was in bad taste.

I asked Virion and he agreed. The man offered to share a bottle of wine with me once we got to our destination. The talks would probably go for several days and most of the shepherds would be free until they left.

We arrive at the city, which is not the capital, but rather where the Khans do most of their business during this time of year.

Robin mentions to me that there are two Khans, and each has their own capital, but this city is much more central for delegation to their large country, and boasts a large colosseum for fighting, which I hear that both of the Khans do love. Apparently they only meet here a couple of times a year to make talk of big decisions, but most laws are separated as per Khan's personal territory.

Robin, Lissa, Chrom, and Frederick all take off with the Feroxi Commander to meet the Khan at the stadium. Chrom hands me a pouch with some gold coins in it as a stipend to hold me off and pay for the recent battle. While I did little to participate, I suppose my life was technically at risk.

I must say, Virion is fast becoming a reliable person in my confused life. With his assistance, I am able to gain a small understanding of the value of the money. How much will buy me some cheap bread. How much will buy me some simple clothing. How much money it would cost for a good pair of boots. Etcetera etcetera….

I quickly find out that Chrom pays his shepherds quite well. Like seriously well. Working for the royal family as personal soldiers seems like an excellent source of income.

As Virion points out; I am in dire need of new clothing. Whatever I have been wearing for the last few days is positively disgusting, and doesn't seem to fit in with those around me. I believe the pants I am wearing are called jeans. They're made from sturdy denim, but my pair is about done for, and my shirt is no worse for wear.

The first thing on my list is two sets of clothing, at the recommendation of Virion. It seems clothing is worn a little bit longer here between washes. Perhaps after a few more payments from Chrom I'll be able to afford more clothing, but for now, I don't have much space in my traveling pack. Maybe once I can secure a stable place to live.

Anyways, the next thing on my list is to acquire a few vanity style items. In first place is an ink well, pen, and a blank book. The book is the second most expensive thing I buy. The most expensive thing that I by is a magician's tome. The cover is a dark purple, and the cover writing is red.

Virion mentions that magic tomes do not come cheap, and it was an excellent deal. Chrom doesn't apparently supply his mages with their own tomes, but Miriel and Robin are the only ones, and as far as I know they both write their own tomes. With all of my shopping done, and a fresh pair of boots on my feet, I meet up with the rest of the shepherds. Well most of the other shepherds.

The leaders are still in talks with the Khan, but Stahl shows Virion and I to our rooms in the colosseum. It genuinely surprised me that we all got our own personal rooms. The hospitality of the Khans is extreme at times, I am told.

My room has a small desk in it, and once I am alone for the evening I set about writing in my new journal.

This is the time when I started writing my own storied autobiography after my loss of memory.

Writing by candle light is somewhat tedious, and my questionable handwriting does not help. It strains my eyes, and soon I have a headache, but I'm nothing if not stubborn when it comes to the one pastime I used to have that I'm sure I can still do.

At least you don't need to explicitly see in order to write, but it does help me keep some semblance of a line as I write. My handwriting tends to droop down anyway, and in the end there is a bit of space at the bottom of the page that I can't use to write a full line.

I soon grow frustrated with my writing, despite how simple writing about events happening in your life is. I started my journal as chronologically as I could, meaning, I started from my very first memory in this world, but attempting to accurately recall events from nearly two weeks ago is challenging at best.

Anyway.

Once I put the journal down for the night, I switch over to the magic tome. It has a bit of an eerie feel to it. While something tells me I probably shouldn't open it, especially without some instructor, I can't resist the temptation to at least look at the contents. And I do.

I light another candle to better see. I'm sure eventually I'll adjust to the flickering light but I'm getting a headache. Now with light on either side, I open the tome to its first page. The content of the book surprises me. It's not the images, and circles that surprise me, but the script that the tome is written in.

It is a language that I cannot speak fluently or properly, but I still recognize it. The words are written in Greek. Or whatever the language is called in this place. Now this is the real kicker you see.

I just said that I can't read or speak Greek right? But that's the problem, because what I am reading in this tome makes perfect sense to me. Now this is when I know for sure that I shouldn't be trying this on my own. I should go get Miriel. She's a mage, so she could help with this.

But I don't. I don't seek her help.

Instead, something compels me to say the words I am reading out loud. And I do. It terrifies me, and my voice comes out in a whisper. But that whisper is all I need.

The feeling starts in my fingertips. It travels up both my arms and spreads warmth through my chest. The one word I can use to describe this feeling to those who haven't experienced it is pleasure. It is a pleasing feeling.

The shadows bend around me. The fire burning on my candles goes out, but the wax melts anyway, and it does so quickly. The room chills to an extreme low, perhaps colder than the air outside. I don't know how long I sat at my desk chanting the magic, shivering with every word, but it all ended too soon.

It ended suddenly. It ended when I was tackled out of my chair, and a sword was underneath my chin. The sharp metal point forces into my skin, and I can feel the sting of the cut it makes.

"Speak dark mage, what foul curse were you uttering?"

It was Frederick. The frown he had been giving me all week, discreetly, had been replaced with a glare. It was a hard cold glare. This man is going to kill me.

"What?" I ask him.

"Do not utter your foul language in my presence." Frederick shouts. He drives the sword in with more force.

At this point I can barely speak, but I know if I remain silent, he will kill me right now. I realize that I was still speaking in Greek. Noticing my error, I try again.

"What… are you talking about?"

"Do you take me for a fool Plegian?" I am at his utter mercy, "It is of some luck that it was I that went to retrieve you, for now no harm shall come to my comrades and I can be rid of one more black stain upon this earth. Now speak. What was the curse you were uttering?"

The warm and pleasurable feeling I'd had just a moment ago is but an afterglow now. Whatever magic I had been trying to cast is apparently illegal, or at the very least, frowned upon in this country. It is my understanding that Plegia neighbors Ylisse and Regna Ferox on the west.

Thankfully at this moment, I am saved, not by any intention of the person walking by, but Sully walks by the room.

"What the hell are you doing to the new recruit Frederick?" she practically shouts.

Sully begins to wrestle the sword away from Frederick, but before he can even attempt to explain himself more help arrives.

If Frederick's shouting hadn't brought people's attention to my room, then Sully's would definitely do the trick, and soon Chrom arrives. Thank the lord. He's probably the only man who can stop Frederick.

"Frederick what are you doing?" Chrom asks.

Frederick freezes up, before immediately getting off of me.

As soon as the pressure is relieved from my throat, and I no longer have the weight of an armored man on me, I stand back up. Before I can say anything though, Frederick grapples me with one hand, and covers my mouth with another. He pushes on my jaw hard enough that it's hard to breathe. It doesn't help that my nose is half covered.

"What's going on?" Chrom repeats himself.

"I was coming to retrieve Gavin, as you ordered, but when I knocked on his door and waited- and I did this several times mind you- and received no response I took it upon myself to enter his room. What did I see, my lord, when I entered? I got an eyeful of this Plegian casting some dark curse, though I know not what curse."

Chrom raised a hand at Frederick, "Peace Frederick. Allow Gavin to speak for himself."

Frederick begrudgingly removed his hand from my mouth, though his grip around my body only tightened further.

I took a deep breathe, and took a moment to gather myself. No better time for honesty. I dislike lying anyway. Better to say that lying is completely against my morals, though I'm not sure how I feel about radical honesty.

"I went shopping with Virion earlier today, and he was helping me to understand the value of coin. We bought some clothing, and a few other things, including a magic tome. Virion told me that he is not an expert, but that he was certain that the tome was incredibly cheap. Going on his advice I bought it, almost on impulse. Like I couldn't not buy it," I say, before taking a deep breathe.

My breathing is restricted again as Frederick re-secures his grip over my mouth.

Chrom nods, "I see. Well if you are interested in magic then we can have Miriel observe you. Despite your lack of prior knowledge, you seem to have at least been casting, which means you have the talent. Pay no mind to Frederick here. He earned his title for a reason."

"My lord! Please you must reconsider this matter. You were not here to see it with your own eyes, but he was casting true dark magic, not some fire spell."

"I am aware that your eyes did not deceive you Frederick. They rarely do. For now Gavin has not done anything to warrant such treatment from you," Chrom reasoned.

"But-"

"I'm ordering you Frederick. Until he points his arrow on us with intention to kill I'll not see harm done to him."

Frederick seemed to visibly deflate, and he let go of both my mouth, and body. Once he let go, Frederick stalked to the back of my room, near the door, and silently glared at me. The enmity he had previously kept hidden was now plain to see.

The crowd of shepherds dispersed, and soon the room only held Chrom, Lissa, and surprise surprise- Frederick.

"That wound's a little small to waste a healing staff on, but I can clean and bandage it for you," Lissa says.

"Thank you Lissa." I hadn't been aware of my own fear until just now, but my voice shakes, and every instinct in my body tells me to get out of the room and away from Chrom's knight.

"Contrary to what Frederick seems to think, dark magic is not illegal in Ylisse. Though most people, by blood, are unable to cast it. On the other hand many in Plegia have an aptitude for it. Magic of any kind is powerful, but it comes with a cost," Chrom puts a hand on my shoulder, "I would ask that you not attempt to practice magic again until you have some understanding of it."

"I'll promise to wait," I say. Though this promise irks me. Something tells me I don't need to understand it use it. Because I already understand it.

I can read the language written in the tome perfectly well, despite its foreign nature. My ability to read Greek makes me think that my own memories may be false. That scares me. I have precious few memories that give me any great detail about my previous life, but I can't help but wonder if I should trust them.

"I'll hold you to that then," Chrom says, "When Lissa is done with patching you up I'll have her send you to me. Originally Frederick was supposed to do the job, but I doubt he's in the mood now."

The man in question grunts from across the room. He crosses his arms, and, if it's even possible, glares even harder.

I doubt that I'll ever realistically be able to earn his trust. Especially after doing something he deems to be so questionable. I shudder at the thought. He was going to kill me.

Chrom stalks out, grabbing Frederick by the arm as he goes. Frederick definitely doesn't want to leave me alone with Lissa, but in the face of the crown prince's orders he can do nothing.

As soon as they left, Chrom closing the door to his room, Lissa gets to work.

"You shouldn't worry about Frederick. He warms to people slowly. Robin got nearly the exact same treatment when he joined up."

"Do you always carry medical supplies with you?" I ask her.

"Don't talk while I'm dealing with a throat wound. You might aggravate it. To answer your question; I was in the middle of cleaning up a wound Vaike took in training when I heard the shouting. Tilt your head up."

I stop talking, and tilt my head to expose my throat to her. She rubs a wet rag, dipped in alcohol, over my throat. With it she cleans my small wound, and around the cut. Afterwards she takes and wraps a bandage around it. I can't help but think that she is going a little bit overboard on the bandaging.

"Alright all done. I'll walk you to Chrom's temporary office. He wants to talk to you about the tournament," Lissa says.

"Tournament?" I ask.

Lissa seems to realize something, "Oh yeah. I forgot you weren't there. So it seems that with the two Khans, only one has full access to all of the executive military decisions. Every few years, not sure how long, they hold a tournament to see which of the two will get full power. The next tournament happens to be about a week away, and Flavia wants Chrom to champion for her. If he wins, then we can go back home and tell Emmeryn about our success."

"Sounds like a lot riding on his shoulders," I say.

Talking with the bandages wrapped around my throat feels weird. I don't like wearing things that stick to my skin. Especially with cloth like this. It feels scratchy.

"He'll be fine. Chrom's probably the best fighter we have in terms of skill. Sure Frederick and Vaike are stronger, but Chrom's got his own style going. He's like the perfect balance of fighting," Lissa says.

"I don't know about perfect," I respond, "But from what I've seen he is certainly very skilled, though I suppose I have a limited pool of knowledge and zero training in the matter."

"To each his own I suppose. Sumia would probably call him perfect," Lissa snickers.

I'm curious about the relationship between those two, but I'm no gossip. I'd prefer not to talk potential falsehoods outside of the presence of the people involved. Besides that it's none of my business. Chrom doesn't need my permission to grow close to someone, and I fully expect him to give me the same treatment. -(HAH!)

Not that I've ever had any success with romance. I'm pretty sure every attempt I've ever made was shot down or avoided. Plus to that- a man without his memories, who has no skills with which to provide for a woman in this time, is unlikely to be an appetizing catch. I'm not worried though. I see no shame in celibacy.

My future prospects aside.

Lissa led me to Chrom's temporary study. She entered without knocking, and then left me there. Frederick awaited outside the door.

"So…" Chrom says, "Are you feeling much better at all?"

"I am doing fine… commander," I say.

"Ah. Well while I can appreciate you stepping into the thought process, this is not a formal meeting," Chrom says.

"Of course."

"Anyway. Down to business. I know that you are fairly new. Fairly being an understatement here, but I was wondering if you had come to a decision. I know I told you that I would give you until Ylisstol to decide, but with the khan's help I managed to secure you a potential job up here in Regna Ferox. Do it long enough and she will grant you citizenship," The prince says.

I had indeed been thinking on my decision to join the shepherds. Weighing the options back and forth for hours at a time. I'd had about a week to think on it.

"If you'll have me…" Chrom's expression lights up. His excitement is palpable and most assuredly somewhat childish, "Though. I'm not sure what I can offer you that isn't already been given. Your's is a combat troupe, and I have negligible experience in the ways of killing. My memory is lacking in many vital areas, so I have no information to give you. On top of that, I seem to have fallen from grace with your vice-captain."

I must remind myself of the honor and dignity this man holds. It is hard to think of him as much more than a young man of little maturity when he gets as excited as he does over simple things like a nobody joining his shepherds.

"Your apparent lack of combative talent is just that, Gavin. Only apparent. Virion tells me you have potential. You are receiving high praises from perhaps one of the most skilled archers in the world." Before I can tell him about Virion's reputation for honeyed words, Chrom continues, "Not only that, but you were caught casting magic, or at least attempting to. Frederick recognized the dark magic, and not by the chanting, but by the feel of the environment. In both cases we are lacking."

"How so?" I ask. Apparently it is obvious.

"Well, as far as ranged combat goes we have Robin, Miriel, Virion, and now You. Compared to the numbers of melee fighters we have we are in dire need of some fire power. Perhaps literally if your skill with magic deems it.

"Enough! I've heard plenty. I never said that I wasn't going to join, but you sing praises far too lightly. Before you continue, and cause me to blush, allow me to prove myself first," I say.

I am already embarrassed. Chrom's continued monologue is only making it worse.

"Very well. Welcome to the shepherds Gavin," Chrom shakes my hand, "Now then. We can get down to business."

I relax back into my chair, "What else did you bring me here for," I rub at the bandage around my neck.

"To talk about the tournament. The Khans are hosting a tournament. I'm sure you've been told very little about it, but suffice to say that many of the shepherds will be participating on the auxiliary matches. There will be wrestling, archery, magic, flying, and combat. I know you have very little experience in the world now, and what little you do have seems to be iffy. My proposition was originally for you to act as Virion's second. You would have accompanied him into the arena when he goes to show off."

"Uh huh."

I could see where Chrom was going with this. It was a sound idea to me.

Chrom took a breath and continued, "This would have been an opportunity to watch him up close, and gain some more knowledge on archery from the others participating in the contest. Though, now that you have an interest in magic, I am willing to let you go along with Miriel. If you so wish."

"Why not Robin," I ask, "Is he not participating?"

"Well not in the magic competition," Chrom chuckles and shifts around in his seat, "Robin elected to participate in the wrestling. There's nothing against doing multiple events, but he decided to leave it to Miriel."

"Robin wrestling?"

"Indeed. The man is nothing if not studious. Much like you, he has no knowledge outside of these last few months. He's never seen wrestling before and would like to give it a try," Chrom says.

I respond in turn, "Isn't there a lot riding on this tournament?"

"Well the only thing that actually matters to us is the result of the tournament's culmination. So when I go on to battle the other Khan's champion we will decide things. The other matches in the tournament are simply for prestige and gold. People attempt to curry favor with the Khans by showing off their skills."

"I see. Thank you for calling me here for this," I say.

"Of course. I want to do anything reasonable I can to help my shepherds. That speaking, is it possible to get your answer right now? On whether you would prefer to shadow Miriel or Virion for their tournament matches," Chrom says, bringing the topic back 'round.

This is a question I don't need much thought for. I got my first taste of magic tonight, and I can't say I didn't like it. Quite the opposite in fact. I loved it. Casting was a rush. Even though I wasn't actually casting anything. Whatever I had been doing was mostly harmless I think.

"I would like to shadow Miriel for the tournament. I feel like I'll be able to learn a lot from her knowledge of magic. I can already fire a bow after all. That's just a matter of perfecting."

"Excellent," Chrom says, "Would you like to go talk to Miriel about it, or should I inform her?"

"I'll do it tomorrow, I'd like to get some sleep first. Maybe sleep of the aches from earlier."

Chrom winced at my comment.

"He means well…"

I stop him there, "Don't. I've already had this conversation with Lissa. I'm not one to hold grudges for too long. I would just really, really appreciate not dying in my sleep tonight."

Chrom gave me a small smirk, "I'll keep that in mind. Get some rest. If you're going to be learning magic tomorrow, and the rest of the week, you'll need to be in a good state of mind."

"I'll do that then," I say.

Frederick followed me all the way back to my room. I didn't check, but I'm willing to bet he stood outside my door all night to make sure I didn't do anything I wasn't supposed to.

A/N: Yo! I think this is probably the longest think I'll have every published. Sorry if the ending is abrupt. I simply could not find a spot to stop, but this thing was getting a little long.