A/N: Warning: this chapter does have some pretty dark parts... I'm actually kinda concerned I wrote this...
Notes can be found on my livejournal account... maybe.
Enjoy!
Chapter 2
Izuka had taken so long to arrive with Prince Pelleas that Jill had to leave us to feed her wyvern, leaving Zihark and I to continue waiting in silence. Maybe two hours or slightly less had gone by after Jill and Zihark arrived to keep me company. I do not know if Lord Izuka enjoys making people wait for him like some of the most arrogant nobles in Begnion do, but if I continued to just stand and force small talk with Zihark I would be forced to simply leave. There were several things that needed my attention, like getting acquainted with any other forces Izuka gathered. A lot of work needed to be done if Daein is to be free from the grubby hands of those vile corrupted worms the people of Begnion call senators.
Part of me wanted to start unifying our men and women under the Daein banner to fight the enemy of all Daeins, and another side of me simply wanted to take to the field regardless of how large or small our forces turned out to be. I stood idly for three years watching Daein rot until it reached the sad state it finds itself at the moment. I desired to plunge my lance right into the hearts of my enemies, but that can't be done if Izuka insisted that everyone else's time is dirt when compared to his own schedule. To think that my country was once feared by even the powerful empire of Begnion, only to be reduced to a shadow of its former self. And to add insult to injury, only that madman seemed to be the only one with the capacity and resources to restore Daein's lost dignity.
Thinking of my desire to free Daein made me realize that I wasn't the only one that wanted to fight. Zihark and Jill were already serving Prince Pelleas way before I offered my lance. I could understand Jill's reason for serving under the prince of Daein without actually asking her. Her father dedicated twenty years to this country and died for it. Wanting to protect something that was precious to one's father is something I used to be able to relate to... But Zihark's presence puzzled me. I believed he was a mercenary during the time I served with him, and a man that despised racism towards laguz. I'm not sure what convinced him to join a group that wanted to liberate a country that was well known for its mistreatment of laguz.
I glanced at him. Zihark was leaning against the wall farthest from me, he head low and eyes closed. To be honest, he doesn't appear to be much just by looking at him. Skinny fellow without a whole lot of upper body strength, but what I have seen him do in the battlefield speak volumes about his skill with the blade. It's also hard to tell that he's a talented swordsman when he's always wearing ragged clothes of a common sellsword... he's actually a lot like Gawain's son.
"Zihark," I called my companion.
He opened his eyes and straightened up. "Yes?"
"I want to ask you a personal question, may I?" I asked hoping to not sound intrusive.
"Of course, but my answer will depend on just how personal your question is," he replied. He's a smart man.
"Why are you here?" I asked. "I may not know much about you, but I doubt coin would purchase your services if you had a moral problem about working for the Daein Royal Family."
He chuckled lightly. "Poor Jill had originally hired me. She wanted to pay me the amount of money it would take to hire a professional team."
"I guess you refused payment," I concluded.
"Yes," he confirmed. "She said that she had plenty of money from her father's fortune." He raised an eyebrow. "I saw through that lie."
"Governor Numida," I spat, "impounded everything."
"Exactly. She eventually told me what the job was, and I told her I would work for free," he paused, "provided I'm supplied with swords. Sadly, I don't have the luxury of buying weapons with my own gold."
"I'm getting off-topic," he continued. "I joined up to help Daein because Daein is where I was born and raised. Besides, I have the ability to do something, and that alone is reason enough for me to get involve with this – even if it sounds far-fetched that we'll defeat the Occupation Army with what we have now."
"What about the mistreatment of laguz?" I asked.
"That is all Ashnard's fault. The people of Daein were led think ill of the laguz." He sighed. "At one point, I was like that as well, until a... a laguz changed my life." He sounded hesitant about that last part. There was no need for me to hear more about why he was with us. I knew enough. He's a good man and a talented swordsman. Men and women like him will be needed to wash away the lingering poison Ashanrd left in the hearts and minds of my countrymen.
"What about you, General Tauroneo, why are you here?" He asked. "I never heard you say 'sub-human' and from your action three years ago, I doubt you're a big admirer of our people's conduct on a few matters."
"You got a good head on your shoulders," I complimented him. That was a good question that even I hadn't asked myself. I could be somewhere else. A few senators had sent me letters asking me to join their personal armies, and the commander of Begnion's Central Army had offered me the position of his second-in-command. I was offered several chances to lead great and vast armies, yet I turned them all down... "I truly don't know why I'm here, Zihark," I finally answered. "I do know that it's not about blind patriotism, I have outgrown that."
Zihark said something, but I didn't listen. I was too consumed in my on thoughts about my purpose to continue listening. I once found the thrill of battle reason enough to gamble my life at every opportunity, but not anymore. I used to believe that protecting the Daein Royal Family was my purpose in life, yet Ashnard proved me wrong. And protecting the citizenry seemed like a worthy cause for me to continue on as a man of the military, simply to ignore their pleas for help for years until everything got out of hand. I did not seek battle, I fight for no king, and I have lost touch with my fellow countrymen.
What exactly do I seek?
Some of the men that came with me wanted to regain their status as knights, while others wanted revenge. I-I... Bah! Perhaps my father was right, knights are not supposed to think, just act upon the orders given to us by our sovereign lord.
The sound of clanking armour in the halls broke me away from my thoughts. The sound was far too loud to come from Jill's light armour, and none of the ex-imperial guards had any knowledge of this room. Whoever this person was, it must be someone I've not met since arriving here. Maybe Prince Pelleas wears armour everywhere he goes like King Ashnard did.
A moment later, the tall armoured man entered where Zihark and I had been waiting for more than two hours. The first thing about thing about this person that caught my eye was the banged up ebon armour he wore. It had a few small holes in its shoulder and breastplates, and claw marks like the ones cat laguz leave on their prey. Under the armour, the man wore a gray long-sleeved undershirt that had large spots of dried blood and black trousers. A crossbow hung on his left hip and was equipped with several knifes – both combat and surgical – around his belt. The bottom half of his face was concealed by a black and white striped muffler that hung around his neck, the upper half of his face revealed a pale skinned man with jet coloured eyes and hair that was combed backwards. From what I could see of the man's face, he wasn't well – or at least, someone in good health doesn't look like him. Although most of his being was covered up by armour and that muffler, the man still looked strong and battle hardened.
"Well, well, well," the stranger spoke with a deep and almost... liquid sounding voice, "the last of the Steadfast Riders comes to help Daein in its hour of need."
"You have me at a disadvantage, stranger. You seem to know who I am, but I do not know who you are," I said cautiously. Something about him seemed unnatural. Actually, a lot of things seemed unnatural just by looking at him.
"You wound me, General Tauroneo." He placed his hand on his chest, and spoke with a mocking tone. "Do you not remember me? Your faithful deputy that slaved under you for four years until King Ashnard replaced you with Bertram."
I was shocked when he said that. Zihark was also surprised; I saw his eyes widened as soon as the man revealed to have been one of my soldiers.
"Soldat?" I asked. That was the name of my last lieutenant as a Rider of Daein.
"You do remember me!" he said with mock delight.
I was having trouble believing him. Soldat... he was supposed to be dead. The army I commanded had been given to Bertram when he became on of the Four Riders, but Soldat became Bryce's lieutenant when that happened. I saw him fight in the last battle of the war. I saw him being cut down by Ike himself.
"What's the matter, General Tauroneo?" he asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
I scoffed. "Not a ghost, but I think I'm looking at a corpse." I started to see the resemblance, although he looked much paler than before.
"I see you have developed a sense of humour. I guess you need it to live with yourself after plunging your lance straight into the heart of your old friend and comrade, am I right?" I could almost see him smirk under that muffler.
"You are way out of line, Soldat!" Zihark fumed.
Soldat was right about one thing: it is hard living with the fact that I killed one of my closest friends.
"Zihark, do not get angry," I said. "What's done is done, and I don't regret my actions."
"You know what's interesting?" Soldat asked, apparently still looking to pick a fight with me. "How people like the two of you who brought Daein down, now stick together and want to rebuild it."
"Ah, yes, Zihark," Soldat continued. "I remembered the other day seeing you fight against the country you want help right now. Quite frankly, I'm worried about surrounding Prince Pelleas with traitors like you and Shiraham's daughter."
"What are you doing here?" I asked impatiently. First Izuka doesn't show up, and then one of my former soldiers decides to make an appearance and throw vague insults at me and Zihark.
"Me? What I have always done, my duty," he said proudly.
"You know damn well what I meant, and where is Izuka?" I almost shouted.
"You mean Lord Izuka. He will eventually come, don't fret. Apologies for our tardiness, there are some sub-human pests around this desert, and I made sure that they wouldn't be a threat to our prized Prince Pelleas. Lord Izuka was making sure that I had done my job properly."
I looked at Zihark, only to see him with his jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. "They are called laguz," he said through his teeth, "and who are you and Izuka as well to go around killing laguz as you please."
"You have misunderstood me, Zihark. I haven't killed any sub-hum-I mean Laguz," Soldat said. "Lord Izuka would be furious with me if he found out I started hunting laguz as if they were beast. He believes that all of them have purpose, and that killing them like our beorc brothers have been doing for centuries would be a waste."
"So what exactly did you do?" Zihark inquired with a more passive tone.
"As I've said, I made sure that they wouldn't be a threat to Prince Pelleas," Soldat repeated.
Judging by Zihark's expression, it looked like he thought Soldat simply scouted the area to make sure the Laguz weren't hostile, but I read between the lines of what he said. What Soldat did to those laguz is far crueler than death.
I wanted to tell Zihark that he shouldn't believe what he said, but that would only bring tension – and possibly violence – between them. Besides, I cannot judge what Soldat and Izuka have done, for I have also hunted laguz for Izuka's experiments in the past.
"You seem awfully fond of Izuka, care to explain why?" I asked. This person wasn't the Soldat that had served with me. He always had that damn sharp tongue of his, but he was never so dark.
"He is my saviour!" he answered. "It is thanks to him that I stand before you. That and the fact that the enemy general wasn't competent enough to kill me when he had the chance."
"He is the son of the greatest general Daein has ever seen!" I exclaimed.
"No. He is the son of the biggest traitor in Daein history," Soldat countered. "But what can you expect? Not only did Gawain abandon us, he spawned the bane of our existence."
"Begnion is our enemy," I said.
"We were in good terms with them until he came along." I could see that arguing with him was as pointless as arguing with Izuka.
"Believe what you want. Where is Izuka?"
"He cannot join us at the moment. He is preoccupied with important business. This of course means that you will not be meeting Prince Pelleas until Lord Izuka has the time."
I was about to demand him to take me to see Ashnard's son when I heard a female voice from Behind Soldat.
"Nonsense!" she said. "If this man is to become my son's protector, he will meet him now."
Behind Soldat stood a beautiful woman dressed in a long black dress. She had the darkest green hair I've seen in my life, piercing red eyes, and tanned skin. I recognized Ashnard's concubine instantly, how could I not? She looked just as she did twenty-five years ago. Physically, she had not aged a single day, meaning this was a near identical impostor or she was not a Beorc as I once believed her to be.
"Lady Almedha! I did not hear you..."
"Your voice irritates me," Almedha interrupted. "Go and cry to your master if you are not going to help me."
"Lord Izuka must be present if..."
"Are you deficient?" Almedha asked with a straight face. "Go to your master, I will introduce Sir Tauroneo to my son."
Soldat's forehead wrinkled and he left without saying another word.
Zihark chuckled. "I wanted to do that since he got here. Thank you, Lady Almedha."
His gratitude fell on deaf ears, for Lady Almedha ignored him and locked eyes with me.
"Is that you, General Tauroneo?" she asked. She must have been expecting me with dark hair, stronger build, and shaven face - after all, that is how she must remember me.
"It has been a long time, and age does deal a heavy blow on all of us," I said. "Or perhaps not all."
She ignored my last statement. "I'll be back shortly with my son. I simply wanted that man gone before he came to meet you." She left as quickly as she came.
I raised an eyebrow. "The prince uses his mother to drive out unpleasant people?"
"She's far more intimidating than him," Zihark said.
"This is the only woman in Tellius that had the courage to be with Ashnard, of course she is intimidating, but I thought their son would be twice as scary," I said.
"He is a nice person. I guess he skipped that trait." We both shared a laugh before Lady Almedha returned with a young man next to her.
The boy whom I assumed was the person I had been waiting for quite a while was a slim young lad dressed in extravagant clothing – a blue silk tunic, along with a white silk cloak and matching trousers, and dark boots. He had a full set of unkempt curly blue hair that looked an awful lot like Ashnard's. I noticed a thin mask of makeup on his face, probably an attempt to hide what was beneath it - a pale face that revealed lots of hardships, both from hunger and beatings. The boy's appearance and clothing completely contradicted each other.
He did something I truly did not expect him to do.
He smiled.
"You are General Tauroneo!" he exclaimed happily. "The last living Rider of Daein. I have heard so many stories about you." He closed the distance between us with a couple of steps, and took my right hand with both of his hands and shook it. "It is truly an honour to meet you."
I was appalled at how the boy reacted. What was truly odd was that he sounded so genuine. This was the type of praise I constantly received whenever I walked the streets of Nevassa, but never did I expect to be greeted like a hero from a blue blood.
"My dear Pelleas, General Tauroneo is here to serve you, it is he who should be grateful to meet you," said Almedha in a much softer tone than the one she had used to address Soldat.
Prince Pelleas scratched the back of his head and laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, mother, but I'm meeting a living piece of Daein's history, how could I not be excited."
I couldn't help but smile. Although I was greatly flattered by his admiration, what truly made me glad about his personality was how humble he appeared to be. If he had turned out to be another typical, my servitude might have felt hollow, but at the moment, fighting for this boy that might bring Daein a fresh new start should be a worthy cause for me to return to the battlefield until I know what I truly wanted for myself.
XXXX
If he had any regrets or doubts about what he was planning on doing, they would have surely disappeared the moment he entered the room where the madman he was meeting with conducted his sick and twisted experiments. Surely something had gone horribly wrong during the course of laguz and beorc existence if this... this thing had been allowed to live for as long as it has. Izuka was more than enough proof for him to continue on with his plans – not that he had any doubts. And how ironic that the very man whose very existence sickened him to the core would happened to be a vital part for his schemes to succeed in the long run.
No window of any kind could be found on the madman's laboratory, only a few candles on top of tables with the corpses of shifted beast laguz and empty beakers brought about some very unwanted visibility. What was truly awful were not the remains of laguz located on tables, hanging from the ceiling, or even the ones in a corner that had been dissected and later thrown away like trash, but the still untransformed laguz that were being held prisoners – the ones that could see what was coming to them – were the real eyesore. Their eyes were full of fear, something that was simply not seen in any of the proud laguz races. And of course they were afraid; Izuka had robbed them of their strength with his vile torture. They were so helpless to the madman's experiments that they weren't even trapped in cages. They were chained to the wall as sign of mockery because they couldn't shift since the transformation process required strength they all lacked.
The fact that there was only one Izuka brought about some relief, but Izuka found himself that inhuman crony of his. What if Izuka wasn't just a freak of nature? What if he's actually a sign of worse things to come? That he's only the first of many like him that will eventually come? It had to stop, all of it. Everything had just gone wrong, and what better monument to humanity's downfall than the room he was standing in. Good traits and good people could be found, but the bad outweighed the good by just too much.
It pained him, but he did not look at the prisoners. If he had taken a good look at their sad starving state, he might have helped them. After all, he did have a heart, unlike the man he was going to meet with.
Where is Izuka? I cannot bear being here much longer, he thought with a feeling of dizziness starting to take over.
A few minutes passed before he heard Izuka and his crony approach. He was disturbingly grateful to know he was near, because he would demand to go somewhere else once they met up.
"What?" Izuka wheezed. "How could you allow that insane wench to walk all over you?" Izuka slammed his laboratory's door open. "Why did I let you keep your sense of self? You're as useless as one of my feral ones when it comes to dealing with simple tasks like this!" Izuka grabbed an empty beaker and threw it at his follower, which shattered upon impact with his breastplate.
Izuka realized that he was there and had watched the entire display once he turned around.
"You're here!" Izuka exclaimed.
"Did you forget? We agreed that we would meet today so that I may inspect your progress," he said. "It looks like you've made no progress, maybe if you stopped playing with your pets you could get something done." It took a lot out of him to say that last part.
"Who do you think you are?" Izuka's crony unclipped his crossbow from his belt and aimed it at him. He wasn't scared because it wouldn't hurt him, very few things in this world could harm him, and Izuka's crony had no way of knowing how and what to use to even try to scratch him.
"Put that thing down, you brute." Izuka tried to slap the weapon out of his hands. "This is my guest, and an important part to the revolution."
"Him? He doesn't look like much." Izuka's crony pointed at him. "Lord Izuka, with your information network..."
"He is my information network!" Izuka shouted. "Now shut up before I sow your lips together." He knew Izuka was more than capable for said task.
Izuka clasped his bony hands together. "Would you like to meet Pelleas? You will be delighted with my pick. Almedha doesn't even have a clue, and there is no way either one will suspect that their relationship is a fraud."
It also pained him that Almedha was part of this. She's the daughter of his oldest friend – if he could still be called that. Maybe if her father had been more like her, all of this could've been prevented. Her father did what he thought was the right thing to do, and I am doing what I know is right for the entire world.
"I am not interested in meeting your latest puppet, just in the fruits of your results," he said sternly. "What is taking you so long?" Although he had all the time in the world, he really was impatient about setting things in motion around Daein. All the pieces were set, all except the country of the deceased Mad King Ashnard.
"You must understand, milord, that I need someone to inspire our troops, someone to be the very image of liberation," Izuka said. "And even if I am a genius, I lack that thing... Soldat, what's it called again?"
"Charisma," Izuka's crony answered.
"Exactly!"
"You've had more than enough time," he said with slight traces of anger in his voice.
"I did find someone, milord," Izuka said.
"Nevertheless, there is a problem with him," Izuka's crony said.
"He was the Rider that defected to Crimea's side during the war. Many call him a traitor," Izuka explained.
"And others believe that he is just as responsible for Daein's demise as Crimea's queen and her mercenary toy," Izuka's crony continued.
"I am being cautious here. If the people reject Tauroneo as their saviour, we might not have the necessary support to even retake a duchy."
"Then find another one," he said deadpanned.
"There is no one else!" Izuka shouted. Izuka quickly realized to whom he had screamed at, and tried to compose himself again. "My apologies, milord. What I meant to say is that Tauroneo is the last living Rider." He knew that Tauroneo was not the last Rider to still be alive. One more Rider still lived, but it was too premature for him to make an appearance.
"Very well, I shall lend a hand to boost the people's trust in Tauroneo. I shall arrange for this place to be attacked in a few weeks, that way you can spread the news of how bravely he defeated a platoon of Begnion soldiers," he informed.
"Thank you! You will see that..." before Izuka had a chance to finish his sentence, the deserts ruins shook violently for a split moment. He and Izuka's crony did not fall, but Izuka fell on his hunched back, which brought some degree of pleasure in witnessing that.
He sensed what caused the tremor. Sometimes he couldn't sense others of his kin, but this one was so powerful that even his almost dead sense were able to pick up on what caused the tremor. What's black dragon doing here?
"Our meeting ends here." With the help of his staff, he warped out of that dreadful room.
XXXX
It was almost nightfall, and the merciless heat of the desert's day was being replaced by the unforgiving cold of the desert's night. Instead of warping to his castle like he wanted to do, he warped outside the desert ruins in order to investigate the reason why a black dragon of Goldoa came to the Desert of Death. From a safe distance, he was able to spot the black dragon in his human form. He had the stature of a young beorc boy, but he wasn't able to get a good look at the dragon's face on account of his entire body being covered up by a yellow cloak. But he was able to see that the boy was holding in his arms a bloodied armoured woman with green hair.
Something about that girl seemed familiar to him.
The boy fainted before he could even take one step forward. The woman must've been unconscious as well, for she did not move once she hit the ground.
He warped closer to them now that there was no way they could see him.
The young dragon boy was fine. He must have fainted due to fatigue or something else, but the woman was in critical state. She was pale from the blood loss, she had blood everywhere – he noticed that it was not all hers – and her armour was shattered.
He leaned down and took off her helmet. He was able to recognize her after he looked at her face, although he couldn't recall her name – it's hard to remember the names of people once you've met as many as he's met.
I guess I'll save you a second time. He did feel like doing some good after ignoring the laguz that desperately needed the help from someone – anyone.
He did not bring any healing staves, but he didn't need one. He touched her forehead and transferred some of his magical powers to her so that her wounds would mend themselves. Once he was done healing her, he looked at the boy.
What an interesting turn of events.
A/N: Ok, I'm *think* I left more than enough clues for people to realize who that guy was. If not, let me know and I'll gladly say who it was in the next chapter. And yes, I will be jumping from first to third person every once in a while. I can't rewrite Radiant Dawn on only first person! It doesn't work! First person is just a gimmick for Neph and Manstache
*Gasp* I created an OC. Soldat is... a douchebag. He's *supposed* to symbolize the remnant of Ashnard's Daein. I just found it odd how we only got to see all the nice and good people in Daein during RD. What happened to the jerks? He'll have some importance, but I'll mainly use him to fill plot holes and stuff. I really didn't want to create him because RD has a huge cast that I have to work with (RAGE!). But I kind of wanted to have one last evil Daein walking around (Izuka doesn't count), and besides, poor Izuka needed an Igor and I was happy to give him one. His importance will vary depending of how people (reviewers) react to him. For now, he's just there.
Soldat is French for soldier, 'cause I'm creative and stuff. And he will be the only OC in this story, just because I'm way to cool and pretty to be thinking so much.