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"I fight for my friends!" - Normal Speech
'What the crap?' - Thoughts
/Lady Ashunera./ - Old Speech
Tales of the Walkers, Book 1: Tellius
by demonhelper007
Chapter 1: Maiden of Miracles
(Nevassa, Daein, Three days later...)
"Traveler's Log: June 7, 648. From what I can remember of the history books of this time, the Kingdom of Daein lost a bloody war with the neighboring Kingdom of Crimea three years ago. However, due to lack of funds, soldiers and the damage done in the war, Crimea abdicated its right to rule Daein and passed sovereignty of its former enemy to the powerful Begnion Empire. For that reason, Daein's future is now subject to the whims of the empire.
The Begnion Occupation Army have already rounded up all Daein men of fighting age, including all surviving Daein soldiers and POWs of the war, and sent them to work in the labor camps. The work camps, designed to break the fighting spirit of Daein, reminded me of the Nazi concentration camps used during the Second World War without the Nazis and the gas chambers involved. The rest of the population faces poverty, starvation and the fear of being captured by bandits and sold as slaves or prostitutes.
For that reason, among other things, Tyrone and I have teamed up with a group of young freedom fighters who've became known to both the Occupation Army and the people of Daein as the Dawn Brigade. Fighting for a free Daein, we alone have shouldered the hopes of the country. Among us is a young woman named Micaiah, who, after learning of her past as a Branded, possesses the gift of forsight as well as the ability to heal people at the cost of getting tired. It's thanks to her that we've been able to outsmart the occupation forces since we've joined up.
The people of Daein have come to call her "The Silver-Haired Maiden". Tell you the truth, I've been having a crush on her since we've met. Hope that Sothe doesn't notice it. I don't want to be on the receiving end of that knife of his.
Lee (wearing the clothes of the hero from Dragon Quest VIII minus the bandanna) was sitting on a bench writing in his journal while Micaiah and a light brown haired swordsman were waiting on the others. So far, they were taking awhile to arrive. The swordsman sighed and said, "Something must've happened to them." Lee looked up. "You're right, It's not like those two to be late.", said Lee. "Don't worry. They'll be here.", said Micaiah. "Hey, I know! Micaiah, why don't you use your forsight to see when Leonardo and Lee's brother will arrive?", asked the swordsman.
Micaiah sighed and said, "Edward, you know that's not how it works. I foresee some thing, but I don't get to choose what I see." "I was just teasing! Still, Leonardo and Tyrone's never late. Something must have-", said Edward, but was cut off by a cry for help. "H-help! Someone, please help us!", said male's voice. They turned and saw a woman and a child running up to them.
"Bandits! Bandits are attacking the town! Run away! Who knows what the brutes will do if they catch you!", warned the woman. "Where is the Imperial Occupation Army this time? How can they keep the peace if they're not around?", asked Lee. "Who, the Begnion soldiers? Hah! They don't give a damn about us! We've lost the war and they won. We're nothing but trash to them. They're only interested in chasing down the Dawn Brigade. They let the real scoundrels run wild and brutalize us.", said the woman.
"They're worse than useless! We'll be glad to help you. Just find someplace to hide, and leave those bandits to us.", said Micaiah. "And don't worry about it. The three of us are also members of the same Dawn Brigade the Begnion soldiers are interested in!", said Edward. "What! Really? You guys are in the Dawn Brigade? Wow, my friends and I talk about you all the time!", exclaimed the boy.
"You? But you're so young! Oh, how Daein has fallen... Ones so young forced to fight and steal for the good of the poor. But we can't fight the rogues, so we'll take you up on your offer. Please be careful. They'll slice clean through you if they can.", said the woman.
(Later...)
The three warriors stood on a ledge overlooking a market area swarming with bandits. They overheard one of them, probably the leader, talking to them. "Listen up, you louts! This town is filled with nothing but idiot kids and drooling graybeards. Steal everything you can!", said the leader. Immediately, they began grabbing everything they can. Micaiah looked to her pet bird and said, "Yune, it's dangerous here. Go find someplace safe for now." Yune responded by flapping her wings and flying to the west.
"Okay, here's the plan, Micaiah and I will hit them from afar. Once they're weak, Edward will take them out. It may be simple, but remember this. 'No plan survives first contact with the enemy, even when the enemy is small small in numbers.' Keep that in mind, and you'll live through this.", said Lee, taking out a silenced M14 and loading it. The two nodded and took their positions.
As soon as Micaiah got close to one of them, the bandit noticed her and said, "Heh heh heh! A pretty girl like you'll fetch me a pretty penny for me! Now, be a good girl and come to papa." When she said something in the old language, he said, "What did you say? That had better not been an insult, you... Huh?" Before he could do anything, Micaiah disabled him with a Light attack.
Taking that as the signal, Edward struck the bandit down while Lee hit them from afar. One by one they fell, until only the leader was left. "You give proper thieves a bad name. Hah! You like charity? Come closer! I'll show you charity!", said the leader. "These people work hard to feed their families mere scraps. Then you come along and steal what little they earned.", said Micaiah.
"Shut up, kid! I work hard, too! You want honest? Once I've sold you, I'll have earned an honest penny!", said the leader, lunging at her. But before he could harm her, an arrow came out of nowhere and nailed the bandit on the head. Turning their heads, they saw Tyrone (also wearing the same clothes, but colored black and red with shorter sleeves along with black fingerless gloves) and a blond haired archer coming down the stairs. "Micaiah!", said the archer. "Leonardo! Tyrone! How did you two find us?", said Micaiah.
"A little bird told us. Yours, in fact.", said Tyrone, holding up Yune. The bird then flapped over to Micaiah's shoulder while she healed Edward of a shoulder wound he got from one of the bandits. Then, the woman and her child ran up to them. "You did it!", yelled the boy. "Thank you so much! We owe you our lives.", said the woman. The happy atmosphere was then shattered with the arrival of three Begnion soldiers from a ledge overlooking the market. "You there! What are you doing? Stop immediately!", ordered one of the soldiers.
Well, well, well. Look who decided to show up... Begnion soldiers. They certainly took their time, didn't they?", said Tyrone. "We mustn't be caught. Micaiah! Lee! Everyone make a break for it! Run!", yelled Leonardo. Micaiah looked back at the woman and child and said, "I'm sorry. We have to leave."
"I know. Thank you again for all you've done. Now, go! Run!", said the woman. "Hey, lady! My name's Nico. When I grow up, I want to be just like you guys! Come back sometime!", said Nico. Nodding her head, Micaiah and the others made a break for it while the soldiers were yelling at them to stop.
(The next day... Dawn Brigade Camp)
"How can we explain what happened yesterday to Sothe and Nolan?", asked Micaiah. "It's like you said. We didn't have choice. We had to save Nico and the townsfolk.", said Edward. "But I admit, getting spotted by those Begnion was unfortunate. Still, I'd do it all over again.", said Tyrone. "The bottom line is, they know we're nearby and patrols are increasing by the minute. Once Sothe and Nolan returns, we'll have to close up shop and evac.", said Lee.
"I just don't get it. This is our country... Why do we have to live in hiding, like prisoners in our own country?", asked Edward. "Come on, you know why. We lost the war... and Crimea won. It's not 'our' country anymore. End of story.", said Leonardo. "Except that Crimea walked away after winning, leaving those heartless Begnion dogs to rule over our country for the last three years! The occupying soldiers march around like they own the place, doing whatever they want, and no one dares to stop them!", yelled Edward.
Then another voice broke in. "To be fair, Crimea didn't have the resources to rule another country.", said a male's voice. They all turned to see Sothe and a older brown haired warrior walking in. "Sothe! And Nolan, too! Welcome back. I'm glad you made it in one piece.", said Micaiah. "At last, the Dawn Brigade is all present and accounted for. But you guys were late. What kept ya?", said Lee.
"I think our fame's catching up to us. Patrols are everywhere. It took us awhile to shake them before coming here.", said Sothe. "I've never seen so much activity in one area before. Is there... something we should know?", asked Nolan. Lee scratched his head sheepishly and said, "Well, you see..."
(One explanation later...)
"Ah, that's what did it. You guys had a run-in with bandits?", asked Nolan. "Yes, and Begnion soldiers spotted us when we made our escape. We got careless on our part.", said Micaiah. "We'll worry about that later. More importantly, Micaiah, were you seen healing anyone with Sacrifice?", asked Sothe. "I'm afraid so.", said Micaiah. That got Sothe upset. "You can't allow anyone to know what you can do. Healing without Tomes or Staves is a rare gift... Almost unheard of. If anyone saw you do it, you'd be given away immediately, and I don't know if I can keep you safe.", said Sothe.
Lee sighed and said, "Sothe, you and I both know that even though Micaiah can keep this secret, two things will spoil it. A) Micaiah's caring nature, and B) It's only a matter of time before everyone knows what she can do. You can't protect her forever, the way you are. The only way to protect her is to train yourself to your limits, and beyond that."
"I know that. I care for her like a brother would. That's why I can't stand to see her being used like a weapon.", said Sothe. "Listen, we better discuss this later. Right now, we better evac immediately before the Occupation Forces wise up and find this place.", said Tyrone, packing his things.
(Later...)
"It's no good over here. They got the eastern alleyways blocked.", said Edward, out of breath. "Looks like the northern alleyway is our best bet, but it's also swarming with Begnion troops.", said Nolan. "Looks like we'll have to fight our out of here. You guys stay here, Tyrone and I will handle this.", said Lee, pulling out twin H&K MP5s and extending the stock. "Are you crazy? They outnumber you 4 to 1!", exclaimed Edward. "Then it is an even fight.", assured Tyrone, pulling out a USP Tactical and a K-Bar knife.
Both Lee and Tyrone rushed out guns ablaze, killing a few mercenaries and wounding more. While Lee sprayed lead on the mercs further down the alleyway, Tyrone shot the leader's sword out of his hand and slit his throat, killing him instantly. "Lee, heads up!", warned Tyrone. Lee flipped around and shot a three-round burst into a soldier's head, killing him instantly. And as a final insult, he lobbed a live grenade towards the surviving mercs, showering them with shrapnel.
"Alright. Let's get out of here! They're bound to hear that explosion!", yelled Tyrone, leading the way. Suddenly, a squad of Begnion soldiers spotted them. "There they are! They're running to the center of town! After them!", ordered the squad leader. They ran through several more alleys before coming to the marketplace, where they blended in with the crowd. Lee looked back and saw Begnion soldiers stopping at the entrance to the market to search for them.
"Alright, we got them confused. Now we can slip out of the city and-", began Lee, but was interrupted by a young boy's voice. Lee and Micaiah both turned to see Nico and his mother waving them down. "They're after you again, aren't they?", asked the mother. "Are you and your friends alright?", asked Nico. Then, a old man came up to them and said, "Leave the soldiers to us. Go on, now. Get yourselves to safety."
"Quickly... Don't just stand there. You must escape. You're our only hope.", said the mother. The others nodded and ran, with Micaiah, Sothe and Lee trailing behind. As they neared the gates, Micaiah suddenly stopped and clutched her head. "Micaiah, what's wrong?", asked Lee. She was silent for a few seconds. Before frantically saying, "No! We have to go back! Something terrible is about to happen!" The three ran back to the marketplace just in time to see Nico struck down by an arrow.
Micaiah pushed through the crowd, she knelt down and placed her left hand on the wounded boy. A light green aura surrounded her and in a flash the boy was healed. Afterwards, she collasped, only to be picked up by Lee. Quickly, they left the area and out the gates.
(later... Nevassa Outskirts)
As soon as the group got as far from Nevassa as they can, they took a break and waited for Micaiah to wake up. And not long after that, she started to stir. "Mmm... Where am I?", asked Micaiah. "Are you okay, Micaiah?", asked Lee. She nodded. "We sure showed them in Nevassa, huh? I guess we can't go back there... not for a while anyway.", said Edward. "I'm so fond of Nevassa. It's where we all met.", said Micaiah.
As they began moving out, Lee looked back at Nevassa. 'I give you this vow. We came through with your help. And we shall return. As liberators. Count on it.', thought Lee.
To Be Continued...
A/N: How was the story so far? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Sorry if you see less action. I don't know how to write a good battle scene. If you have any advice, you know where to find me.
So, until then
Peace