Child of the Brave
3. Unsung Heroes of The Lion War

"Get up Aster! Hurry up!"

Aster picked himself up grumpily. "If you'd help some more, I wouldn't be half dead right now. I demand to know who you are!"

"Aster…" There seemed to be a flash of sympathy in the stranger's bright eyes. He pulled down his hood revealing a bearded face, which seemed to be torn between vigor and fatigue. His face was clear of the usual signs of age, but still something in his eyes told a different story. "I will tell you if you follow me."

"I don't even know you, why would I be so stupid enough to follow you? For all I know, you could be one of the King's men."

"It would be wise if you take my advice. Let us finish this conversation inside. As we speak, our enemies may be lurking about. Do you really want them to catch us?" The stranger held out his hand like a token of trust. "Please, Aster. You know I'm not going to leave you behind. If anything, I will have to stay with you when Ivalice's army presents itself to us."

"Where are we going?"

"Into the heart of Araguay. That is where everyone is waiting for us."

The stranger took the lead again. He moved so fast just walking, Aster had to jog to keep up behind him. "Who is waiting for us?"

The man turned his face to him, a smile twitching behind his bushy, blonde beard. "My comrades. Judging by what Father Samuel says about you, you will be excited to meet them."

Aster huffed. He could barely see the man's outline a few meters away for the night already cloaked them in complete darkness. His eyes turned into suspicious slits. He had every right to be suspicious of this unbelievably amiable character. "Who are you?" Aster demanded.

The man paused in his trudging steps. He slowly turned around to face Aster. His hand was in his breast pocket and it held there for a moment. "I'm Sam's friend." His hand withdrew from his breast and he brandished a wooden cross. "I'm sure you remember me now, Young Aster." He beamed at him, his white teeth flashing in the dark.

"It's you!" Aster gasped in incredulity. Aster rushed to stand next to him.

"We can talk while we walk." His broad hands rested on Aster's slim shoulders.

"Who are you?" Aster asked again.

One hand still on Aster's shoulder as he led him through the dark he talked on. "Father Samuel has raised you well while I was away. Ever curious about what I've been doing all these years?"

"I would rather know your name first," the boy said bluntly.

"So much like your mother! Persistence at length. I'll tell you my name after you tell me what you know about the King of Ivalice and the writings of Father Samuel on The Lion War."

"What's there to know? The King is crooked in every aspect. He was not the true hero of Ivalice during the war."

"If anyone in Ivalice heard you now, you'd be burn at the stake," the stranger said with a grim shake of his head.

Aster frowned at him as he spoke. "That's why Father taught me never to speak of the true hero of Ivalice or deny the treacherous King's claims to being the hero of the war." Aster spat at mentioning the King.

"If you looked at it from Delita's point of view you would feel differently. I wish to show you both sides of the story. There are some things that Father Sam did not write about and he couldn't unless he knew me well like Delita does."

"You speak of the King as if you were brothers! Whose side are you on?"

"Why yours, Aster. You are right, I was once like a brother to your King, but in some point in my life things changed. Sometimes, something changes a man's mind and heart."

"Evil?" Aster asked suddenly fascinated with everything that was being spoken about. It was like one of Father Sam's stories.

"Evil… I feel, 'til this day, any evil in him was not why Delita turned against me. When we were young and going to the same academy, Delita and I were closer to each other, then I was to my own blood brothers. I suppose it might have stayed that way if men weren't evil enough to change Delita."

"You have to live through The Lion War to understand that much."

"Oh I lived through it alright. I was in it until the very end."

"That's why you're a master ninja!"

"I've mastered many jobs, but I feel that I am the best at being a squire since that is what I trained to be since the very beginning."

"You were first a squire and the King was your close friend who betrayed you. You fought in The Lion War until it ended. That sounds just like someone from Father's work."

The stranger nodded. "I am Ramza Beoulve."

Aster's jaw dropped. "Ramza is dead! You can't be him! He was killed in the war!"

"By what, Aster? By whom? Do you know?"

"Do you!"

Crunching footsteps alerted them. They twirled around and glared into the night behind them. A shadowy figure emerged from the shadows of the trees and came towards them. Aster's hand was immediately at his boot, but then a hand rested on his shoulder, reassuring him that it was alright. Aster's hand slipped and he stared back at the man who claimed to be the dead hero.

"Hey there Ramza… What was all the shouting about?" The shadowy figure came up to the two.

Close up, the man looked old, his beard grey with wisdom. He had a sword belted on and his boots looked too big for him. One wrinkled hand was on the hilt of his sword and the other was raised in a gesture of greeting.

"Back so soon, Orlandu? How is the good Father?"

Aster was blinking quickly, straining to see the old man in front of him.

"The priest is fine. The towns people are seeing to him right this minute."

"And Delita's men?"

"Long gone… I tried to trace their tracks, but it seemed they had people cover them up. They did a good job this time. It was like he didn't want anyone to know that he attacked the town."

"I think that was his goal; to burn the church, and then hide all evidence of his doing." Ramza sighed, sounding defeated.

"You're Cidolfas Orlandu! No way!" Aster shouted.

Orlandu blinked and for the first time acknowledged the boy standing next to Ramza. "And you must be the Great Aster that Ramza so fondly talks about," Orlandu smiled, running a hand through his gray curls. "You look just like your uncle when he was young."

"Please, Orlandu. Don't pleasure the boy in his heritage. He'll be shouting with glee even before we reach camp and we need to keep a low profile."

"Oh, but he's got more Beoulve fairness. Probably from his mother more than his father," Orlandu spoke, nodding his head thoughtfully. "The blonde hair, the light golden tan… Definitely takes after his mother…"

"I'm related to a Beoulve! Who was my mother?" Aster whispered urgently.

Ramza rolled his eyes in the dark. "Old Friend, this has to stop."

"It does not matter. We will be there soon, Ramza," Orlandu expelled, smiling from ear to ear.

They were so deep in their conversation; Aster had not even noticed that he almost jogged his whole way to keep up with the two men. They moved so quickly, Aster was too out of breath to talk by the time they broke through the heavily wooded area. Now, they were in a circle sparse of trees. In this circle, there were tents pitched up, but there was no camp fire. It might have meant that everyone was asleep or it could be that everyone was away.

At the sound of the footsteps, someone emerged from one of the tents.

"Who goes there?" Demanded a voice.

"Hey, Tensberger. It is only us."

Tensberger lowered his sword and gave a long sigh. "Ramza! What took you so long?"

"Where are Lavian and Alicia? I thought I told them to keep watch as well."

Tensberger shook his head. "They went right after Agrias followed Orlandu."

"Who is right now with Aster's friends," Orlandu finished.

"The Agrias Oaks!" Aster exclaimed.

"Aster," Ramza spoke in a warning tone. "Let the adults speak."

Aster crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently. He hated being treated like a child. Father Samuel used to treat him the same way when he could not keep his mouth shut when the priest was talking to another 'adult.'

"—I guess Beowulf and Reis are still watching over the northern parts of the woods. Am I right?"

"Yes. And Rafa and Malak are watching the eastern parts, while Meliadoul is covering the western parts. None of them have gotten back, yet. It's a wonder you came back so soon. Are you sure you weren't being followed?"

Ramza frowned at this. "Tensberger, do I look like one to be so incautious? Of course I made sure we weren't being followed! And the others haven't gotten back yet because Delita's men probably haven't reached around their bend yet."

"Well, excuse me." Tensberger spoke in an annoyed tone. "It's not my fault I want to be extra careful about these things. I never thought you were one to throw precaution out the window. You did leave charge to me when you left a few hours ago."

Ramza laughed heartily, a deep chuckle rising from his throat. "You couldn't even keep Lavian and Alicia in line. Very well charged, Tens."

"Everyone is either here or near except Mustadio," Aster burst out. "You haven't mentioned Mustadio at all! Is he…"

Ramza ruffled the boy's hair. "Mustadio is our spy. He's somewhere near the castle. He's the one who tipped us off on the burning of the church. He's safe, don't worry about him."

"How would you know?" Tensberger asked loudly. "It's not like you're spying, Ramza."

"You're name was never in the writings," Aster murmured, eyes directed at Tensberger.

"What! I've known Ramza since the cradle! How could I be left out? I'm his right-hand man. We went to school together!" Tensberger was outraged as he rambled on.

"What's all the hullabaloo about?" Asked a gentle female figure, emerging from the tent Tensberger was in. "You're voices will bring the whole Ivalice army to us if you keep it up, especially you Tens. You're the loudest."

She wrapped a red shawl around her slim figure and stepped closer to the group.

"Aster," Ramza spoke to the young man beside him. Suddenly, the woman froze in mid step and glanced over at the young man beside Ramza. "Is it really him, Brother Ramza?"

"Yes, Alma. And by the looks of him, it will mean that sixteen years have passed," Ramza spoke gently to his sister. "It's so hard to believe that I have watched over him for sixteen years. I guess time just flies for us."

Alma giggled quietly, now standing in front of Aster.

"You people have been around for sixteen years? Not dead! My own mother is not dead. You never came to see me?" Aster's pain was directed towards his mother.

"Oh, Aster…" Alma took his face in between her hands. "How I wanted to watch you grow, but circumstances wouldn't allow it."

Aster pulled away from her furiously. "You left me alone." He accused her.

"But you were happy, Aster. If only you knew what would have happened if we brought you with us," Ramza pleaded.

"You hovered around for sixteen years unsighted!" He pointed a reproving finger at his uncle, ignoring his plea. "I only saw you once in my life!"

"Aster," Ramza's face was as stern as Father Samuel's. "You have to listen to your mother. Let her explain her actions." Alma was now whimpering into her palms, tears springing out of her closed eyelids.

"I don't need to. I won't!" Aster ran off in the direction that they had come from.

"Aster, stay put! There is no place for you to go to now! Come back!"

"Ramza!"

Ramza stopped shouting and spun around on his quick feet, squinting into the dark night. Lavian appeared before him, panting. "Meliadoul… She… West side… knights… Wizards… Delita's… Alicia…"

Ramza gripped her shoulders.

Lavian tried again to articulate. "Meliadoul was keeping watch on the western parts when Alicia and I found her. We spotted the troops heading west. They failed to cover some of their tracks, so I have Alicia watching over them for now. Meliadoul went after the troops."

"Good she has the moonlight to hide her." Ramza turned to Tensberger. "I think I still see Aster. Go after him, Tens."

Tensberger stepped forward. "Fine, I'll volunteer to baby-sit."

Alma's hand gripped his shoulder. "It's alright, Brother. I'll go after him."

Ramza stared at her for just a second and nodded. "Alright, good luck." Then, he and Orlandu followed Lavian eastward.

"Tensberger keep watch…" Ramza's command faded into the night.

End Chapter 3