Disclaimer: Still don't own Fire emblem.

Chapter 1

A year had passed since the girl awoke to being in that strange place. When she arrived at Port Badon an elderly woman who felt for the girl's plight took her in. The elderly woman, Ygraine, gave the girl the name of Cori since the girl was empty of life experiences. Ygraine quickly noticed that Cori had a fond love of reading and did whatever she could to give the quiet young girl books. Cori seemed to lean towards books on military strategies and tactics, which baffled Ygraine to no end. The year passed quickly and Cori learned as much as she could. Unfortunately that all changed one day.

"Cori, dear?"

Emerald eyes glanced up from the book in Cori's lap towards her grandmother. "Yes Grandma," came the soft-spoken reply. Ygraine frowned. It had been a year since she had found the young girl, and though she had come a long way since, she was still very soft-spoken and stoic. Besides Ygraine, Cori hadn't really bonded with anybody else in Port Badon. A girl of Cori's age should be out with friends, giggling over boys, not reading tactical manuals,

"I'm going to the market. Would you," Bang! Bang! "Now who on Elibe could that be?" Ygraine opened the door to be greeted by a hooded man with odd gold colored eyes. The man looked like he was about to speak but froze and looked past Ygraine towards Cori. "I'm sorry for disturbing but I'm looking a young woman and a small boy. They are brother and sister with teal hair and red eyes. They have gone missing and their father is worried." The young man didn't sound sorry at all. Ygraine didn't like the way his eyes kept going over to where her adopted granddaughter was sitting. "No I haven't seen anyone like that. I hope you find them." She quickly closed the door and pulled her granddaughter into Cori's room.

Cori stood by confused as Ygraine packed a satchel of her clothes and favorite books. "Grandma what's going on? Why are you packing my things?" Was she being sent away for doing something wrong? Ygraine was quick to notice the slight distress in the girl's voice. "My dear, please do not be so upset. I'm doing this for your own safety. Now, I'm not a fortuneteller, but even I can see that man's interest in you is in no way safe. You must get to safety." Ygraine dug through drawers looking for something. She pulled out a thick parchment. "Here is a map. Head to Ilia." Ilia was on the other side of the continent and though Etruria had the knowledge where the young girl could learn more about her beloved tactics, Ilia is where she could put the knowledge to use.

"Okay Grandma." Cori took her things and as soon as dusk fell, stole away into the night. However shortly after she left Port Badon, she noticed that she was being shadowed. Weeks passed and Cori finally made it into the Sacean Plains finally getting away from her pursuers. However she had been unable to go to any major cities for supplies and was dangerously low on food and water.

The Sacaen Plains were truly a sight to behold. Grasslands as far as the eye can see, an open field stretching out into the horizon, however in this part there were very few trees so there was no shade from the blazing sun baring down on the land. Cori could feel it too. The fuzziness in her eyes, how she seemed to have trouble catching her breath, and the sluggishness of her mind all seemed to come from this blasted heat. Thankfully the grass was soft on her bare feet. She stumbled a few more feet before finally collapsing onto the soft grass. The darkness that followed was so welcoming.

It seemed she had fallen asleep mere seconds ago, when the rattling of what could only be pots and pans disturbed her. She didn't want to wake up. This cloud was comfy. The last time she had been so well rested was with Grandma Ygraine and that had been weeks ago. Her rustling must have caught the attention to whoever owned this cloud.

"Are you awake?" The voice was feminine, but held a rare strength that only those who experienced tragedy but rose above it held. Of course Cori did not recognize this at the moment, as her brain was sleep addled. Emerald met teal and unknown to the young women, a bond was formed.

"I found you unconscious on the plains." Oh so that's what happened. Cori thought herself to be lucky. First she had been found and given a name and a home by Grandma Ygraine and now on the plains a girl who seemed to be around her age had found her. Thank goodness she wasn't a bandit. "I am Lyn of the Lorca tribe. You are safe now, can you tell me your name?"

"My name is Cori." The emerald-eyed girl said softly. For some reason the girl's voice never went higher than a loud whisper. She didn't think about it too much. Everyone spoke differently, with some being extremely louder than others.

"So your name is Cori, huh? What an odd-sounding name. But it's a good name nonetheless." A pout made its way onto her face. Did Grandma give her a weird name? "I can see by the look of your attire that you are a traveler. What brings you here to the Sacean Plains?"

"I'm on route to Ilia." Or was anyway. A loud noise interrupted the two. "What was that? Stay here while I go check." Lyn ran out of the tent as Cori pulled herself out of the bed. As Cori searched for her boots, because who gets put into bed with their boots, Lyn raced back in frantic.

"Oh no! Its bandits! They must have come down from the Bern Mountains to go after the nearby villages!" Cori could barely keep up with how fast Lyn was talking in her frantic state. "I..I have to stop them! There's only a few so I should be able to handle them myself." Cori finished slipping her boots as Lyn finished speaking.

"I'll go help too." Lyn blinked in surprise. She was sure that the young girl she had found had no weapons on her, so how was Cori to help? "You want to help? Can you use a weapon?" Lyn had some spare swords for training but they were old and brittle and would break against iron weapons.

"Well no. I'm a tactician. I can help make sure that the bandits lose with no one getting hurt." Besides the bandits of course, but that didn't need to be said. Lyn looked impressed. Lyn really didn't need to know that she was completely self-taught. "So you're a tactician by trade? An odd profession, but very well, let's go together!" Cori was beginning to believe Lyn thought her odd. The two young girls raced out of the tent.

Lyn had been right. There were only three bandits. The bandits must have been confident in their ability and the weakness of the villages' defenses. "We need to get closer without the enemy noticing us." This was easier to say than to do, as there was a reason the Sacean Plains was called that. Lyn and Cori slowly and quietly made there way to the closest bandit. "Oh no, he spotted us!" What Lyn said was right as the bandit was making his way to the two girls. Calloused fingers gently pushed Cori back so the bandit would reach Lyn first. A heavy swing of the axe was no match for Lyn's speed. Everything about Lyn was built for speed, from her lithe body to her almost unnatural grace, so the bandit had a hard time connecting with Lyn. However Lyn misjudged the distance of the swing and was nicked across the stomach. Lyn didn't seem to be bothered, and quickly dispatched the bandit.

That didn't last for very long as the adrenaline wore down. It didn't help when blood started to seep through the fabric of Lyn's clothes. Cori rushed from where she was standing to inspect the injury. "Lyn, you're injured." "Sorry it was slight error of his reach." The brunette sighed as she dug around her pack for a vulnerary. "Here is a Vulnerary. Drink it, it will stop the bleeding and start the healing process. You should be more careful, yes swords best axes, but generally men have a greater reach then women so you need to take that into mind when fighting axe users. Yes your sword helps with your reach but your height and build kind of balance it when battling axe users due to their height and build." Lyn took the offered vulnerary, grimacing at the taste as the potion went down her throat. "That tastes never gets any better."

The second bandit was easy enough to dispatch since the girls had surprise on their side. Pride cometh before the fall, and most bandits were somewhat smart enough to attack areas where they would meet little resistant and that led arrogance. The second bandit didn't take Lyn as a serious threat and met his end because of it.

Lyn glanced around for the final bandit they had spotted earlier. "There." Cori had spotted him standing at round huts. "Those are called Gers. Nomads use them as homes due to how easy they are to transport. Now let's finish these bandits once and for all."

The two made their way to the blond bandit. He sneered hatefully at the girls, "Who the hell do you think you are to challenge me, Batta the Beast." Beast was right, his smell was potent enough to kill the grass underneath his feet. Lyn took the first strike, once again making sure Cori was a safe distance away. Lyn was able to dodge Batta's return strike and took a few steps back to ready for the next strike. Remember don't underestimate his swing distance, Lyn thought. "Cori!" Lyn called suddenly. The emerald eye girl blinked in surprise having focused on Batta to see if she could see any weakness for Lyn to exploit. "If I fall here, run! You must escape!" Lyn continued on. "You won't fall here. Batta swings high, keep your stance low and aim for his lower body!" Though the words were said in a soft voice, the confidence in them was steel. Lyn nodded. Just as Cori had said Batta swung high, the move would have worked had he been fighting a full grown man or someone on a horse. However he was fighting a young woman who only had to duck a few inches to miss the swing. This worked well in Lyn's favor as her footing and ducked stance put her in position to land a critical hit.

"What how did you?" The shock on Batta's face was soon frozen forever as the man fell backwards, dead. "Whew that was close. Thank you for your advice. Let's go home." The two girls smiled at each other and made their way back to Lyn's ger. As Lyn prepared dinner for the two, a strange tension settled itself in the ger. Cori was writing in her journal about what had happened while looking at her map. The two ate and quickly fell asleep from the eventful day.

The next morning Cori awoke to a delicious smell in the air. The tension that seemed to be in the ger from the night before had all but vanished in the new morning. "Good morning, Cori. Are you awake?" Lyn was definitely a morning person, Cori, however, was not. The emerald eye girl stared tiredly at Lyn. "The fight yesterday must have warn you out." Cori hadn't even fought so that probably wasn't it. She had never really had handle mornings well for as long as she could remember. "There is something I do want to talk to you about? We made an excellent team yesterday. That is…would you let me travel with you?" If Cori wasn't aware before she was now. "Wouldn't your mother and father miss you and you them?" If Cori had a choice, she would have stayed with Grandma.

Cori didn't miss the sadness reenter Lyn's teal eyes. "My mother and father passed away six months ago. The Lorca, my tribe, was one of the largest and I'm the last. Bandit came from the Bern Mountains and killed so many. The survivors including me counted less than ten. I'm a young and a woman, and even though my father was the chieftain, nobody wanted to follow me and sought refuge from the other tribes." Tears were falling at this point, and Cori could feel a bond of loneliness forged between the two. "It will be alright Lyn." "I'm sorry, I've been alone for so long." Lyn dried her eyes and smiled. "Thank you. I'm better now. I want to become stronger so so I can avenge my family and tribe." "Lyn becoming strong is one thing, but vengeance is never a good thing." Cori warned. Many wanted justice and those who sought it rarely came out whole. "However I would be more than happy if you would join me. It's been a lonely journey so far." Lyn all but tackled the petite girl in glee. "Oh this will be wonderful! You'll be my master strategist and I you're peerless warrior. We can do it, right?" Cori nodded in agreement and the two fell into giggles as the planned their trip.