Hello guys and gals. Now, I know what I said, that I would be away for some time and would be unable to post a chapter, but one review caused me to speedily type this shite up. As in, I confined myself in my room on Christmas (except at some parts of the day, cause it's Christmas) and started to type this chapter, and then I was lazy and stopped writing. I also got into playing Path of Radiance, since I want to play Radiant Dawn, and I've found something important... Titania is OP. Also, Ilyana. That skirt. Really short. I swear, she wears black underwear. N-not like I pay EXTRA close attention when she is fighting or anything... ... ... I also started playing New Mystery of the Emblem. So, uh, on to the reviews?

Kasuyorai - Well, I can straight up say that I will not be completely following the game script, as I want to do my own thing. I also do realize that I made Malina a tad bit Cliche, but, like you said, Fire Emblem Awakening is full of them (Except Nowi and I am definitely not prejudice to her about this as she is the best waifu in Awakening), so I thought I should make a bit cliche character at the start, and then work my way up. I'm pretty sure Charles is super cliche... As for the big group, I do plan on Charles getting a group, though it will be small, and will be changing (with deaths and them leaving, or whatever. I haven't decided everything yet.) Well, thank you for the review, and I hope to read more from you again. Probably.

Nightshade 0-1 - Absolutely fucking yes. I will sign you the hell up. XD

KuudereMan(Guest) - I have typos cause I don't check over my work. Wait, I shouldn't say that... Oh well, I'm too lazy to change it :P And, I am not that good at making jokes, so yo-you shouldn't worry about the horrible jokes... And if you or someone else wants to beta, then just PM me, though I don't promise anything...

Ilat-2 - THOUGH I ALREADY REPLIED TO YOU EARLIER, LET ME ADD SOMETHING ELSE. SINCE WE ARE ON THE TOPIC OF YELLING, ALLOW ME TO YELL SOME MORE! GO ON! YOU YELL TOO! IT IS ACTUALLY PRETTY FUN! LET'S ALL YELL! IT IS AMAZING!

Well, with that, there are no more reviews!

Because I forgot to put this last chapter, here it is!

Level: 4 - He went up two levels since the last time I put this - One from the training before the bandit attack, and the other from beating the leader.
EXP: 10
Stats: Rating: 54
Str – 11
Mag – 1 + 1 = 2
Skill – 8 + 2 = 10
Spd - 8
Lck - 10 + 1 = 11
Def – 7
Res - 4 + 1 = 5
Sword Proficiency: D

As he didn't gain a new skill, I decided to not include them. And now, let's start this!

(I am only adding this at the end of the chapter when Charles gains a level. If you want to see something similar from other OCs or the other characters in Fire Emblem, such as Robin, Chrom, etc., then just ask and I might put it in when I feel like it.)

Chapter 5 - Going North, going South

I was currently standing at the village entrance, the same one where we had that fateful battle a few days ago. It was the same day that I awoke, that I decided to leave. Malina was against me leaving so soon, but I had persuaded her to let me go.

"But I don't want you to leave!" The small girl said, rubbing her face on my chest as she hugged me.

"I have to go." I said, with as much of a soothing voice that I could muster.

"No!" I was her only friend. I was the one who ended the prejudice against her. I basically saved her life, like she saved mine when she threw that rock at the bandit leader, before he impaled me with the pointy part of his sword.

"Listen." I said, bringing myself down so that we were eye-to-eye. She stared intently into my eyes, tears glistening in her iris and threatening to spill. "I must go. I must walk my own path. However, I will make a promise with you. In around two years, I will return. Though it might only be briefly, I will return. Okay? Until that day comes, please wait for me. Can you do that?"

She sniffed loudly, and a few tears fell from her eyes. Her mouth was quivering, but I could tell her mind was made up.

"O-okay! I'll promise, so you better come back!" She held onto me tighter, but with a gently smile, I, once again, promised her.

"Then, I'll swear it. I, Charles, traveler extraordinaire, hereby promises to return to this village, in around two years time from now. If I do not come, then pronounce me dead and buried." With a light smile, and a joking tone, I ended the promise by patting her head. "Okay?"

"Mhm! B-but don't die..." She was worried, but with my knowledge, and skill, and my ability to run away, I knew that I wouldn't die.

"Don't worry; I won't die." And, with one last smile and pat, Juliet brought Malina back home.

Afterwards, I was approached by the village blacksmith. He gave me an iron sword, to replace the bronze one which had broken at the end. I thanked him, and he left.

And, at the end, I was left alone at the village entrance, a small brown pack slung across my right shoulder, carrying supplies, and a new black sheathe at my left side, containing my dark gray iron sword. I also now wore black boots, which was a nearly perfect fit. Walking also feels much better now.

I looked up at the clear sky. It was time to go. Shrugging my shoulders to adjust the weight of the pack, I took my first step outside of the village.

"Bye-bye!" I heard, from behind me. Turning my head around, I saw the children waving goodbye, with their parents, relatives, and neighbors - so basically everyone from the village - watching me go, waving goodbye, wearing smiles, and, genuinely, being happy.

I smiled in return, and flung my arm up into the air.

"Bye!" I shouted in return!

I turned away from them, and walked away, even as a silent tear slid down my face.

But, why, oh why, could this have happened?

It was only a few days later, as I advanced north. I was nearing the border! I mean, I was getting pretty cold, and Regna Ferox is in the tundra or something, right? So the colder I get, the closer I am! Or something like that.

But why must bad things happen to me?

And why in the form of bandits? Is this some kind of Fire Emblem welcoming? Must all main characters start out fighting bandits? But... this is a bit of an odd situation, if I may say so myself. I guess I'll start at the beginning.

Hello, my name is Charles. Just a simple traveler. Well, a traveler who has some knowledge in swordplay, who is a brilliant tactician of zero renown, and Outrealmer who was summoned into this world for some random and unknown purpose.

When I found myself in this world, I was in a forest. It was soon coated in flame. Zombies, known as Risen, came out of nowhere, and wanted to have some fun eating my brains. So I ran. I managed to beat some, and jumped off a cliff to save my life. Of course, a normal guy would've hesitated and had his brains slashed apart by the broadside of an axe, but I, who watched a certain anime that starts with Re and ends in Zero, knew all about how-to cliff. This, surprisingly enough, led to my survival. I had honestly thought I would've died, but instead, I ended up with a broken leg.

I met up with this cute little girl, who turned out to be a bit of a Manakete, called Malina. I ended the hate against her by using words inspired by anime and that were totally not stolen, and I then trained the villagers of her village to fight a group of bandits who came to destroy them and take their gold!

And so, I soon left, traveling north to Regna Ferox, to meet the Shepherds, and become stronger! Of course, I'm not going to join them; I'm not suicidal! I plan on having the amazingly awesome Lon'qu train me with the sword! Of course, that is only if he hasn't joined the Shepherds and is willing to train someone of my talent. As in, horrid talent.

I mean, the first time I swung a real sword, it hit the ground! I did not start off that good. The only reason I managed to stay alive, in my opinion, is by ripping off anime moves, being intelligent, and knowing how to dodge (Kind of). Luck also played a major factor in it, as well as plot armor, but, then again, this is real life, and I'd rather not test the chances of me getting skewered on the next lance I see, and whether or not someone saves me at the last moment.

But, even after rescuing a village from certain destruction, I ended up in a bad state. Yes, the state I was currently in! I was... currently enjoying my time with some nice girls in a hot spring.

If you couldn't sense my sarcasm, then I shall commence a face palming.

In reality, I ran into some bandits, and surrendered. I mean, I didn't want to die... It was a good ten or so against one; what'd you want me to do? The surprising part, was that they didn't immediately kill me. So perhaps they were going to sell me into some sort of slavery? There have been slaves in Fire Emblem, or used to be... something like that. To be honest, I have a pretty bad memory for this kind of stuff.

So, they took my totally rad iron sword and sheathe, but they let me keep my armor. It was certainly reasonable, as I liked my black-totally-not-emo armor.

Huh? What happened after that? Well, I was tied up, of course! Arms bound, legs bound, my pack taken from me, my food and water ate and drank, and, pretty much thereafter, I was dragged around by the bandits.

After trying to strike up a deal with them, they found out about my talent of the mind, as in, my awesome tactician prowess. I gave them advice, and helped them develop a few strategies about attacking those on the road, or bridges, and villages, in return for my sword, sheathe, some food and water, and my meager amount of gold back, which I was given with the pack from the village elder.

Instead, they forced me, at axe-point, to become the strategist of their group.

I, of course, accepted their offer.

When you're at axe-point, you tend to accept anything asked of you. And I mean anything. Good thing that was the only thing axed of me...

But, come to think of it, for some reason, I didn't feel that much fear. It was as if something was removing the fear from my mind. I felt the fear, but it quickly extinguished itself. It was like a small fire trying to build up into a bigger fire, but more firefighters arrived at the scene and start, well, extinguishing the fire.

It has been exactly one week since I left that village.

It took three days to be captured, in which I was traveling northward for Regna Ferox. One day to become the strategist, in which I was bound and tried to strike up a deal. And three days to gain the complete trust of them, in which I helped them hit travelers on the road, and the such, until they all trusted me to the point where I wasn't guarded at all times.

I was given my pack back (though there was nothing left inside) and my sword and sheathe back. I was told that I was now the second-in-command of the bandit group - the Red Reapers - and the official strategist.

Today is technically my first day of me living the bandit life, as I was guarded the last couple of days and was not trusted for the rabble.

I must say... it isn't exactly the best life, but it sure beats being dead, if ya know what I mean!

Including me, there were a total of twelve bandits. One was, of course, the bandit chief, the leader, Garuda. He was a tall man with rippling muscles who usually doesn't wear a shirt of any kind, and large baggy pants. He always carries an axe with him, is bald, and has a bushy beard. Scars decorated his shiny head, arms, and chest. He was a muscle-head. As in, his brain cells were actually muscles in disguise.

After him, was his third-in-command, a cute young girl at the ripe age of fifteen. She wore a dark cloak with red highlights running up and down the sleeves, and around the collar, with the front of the cloak unzipped. Underneath, was a black and white Gothic Lolita dress and black boots. In all honestly, I was surprised at seeing this kind of outfit, as I didn't remember any Fire Emblem character wearing an outfit similar to this one, at least, from the games that I played. She has long, flowing onyx black hair that fell down to the middle of her back, with the bangs brushed away from her eyes, and two white ribbons tying the hair into twintails that lie over her shoulders. She also has silver eyes to contrast with her hair and pale skin.

The reason why she was third-in-command, was due to her being a Dark Mage. She used to be the second-in-command, but she wasn't the best strategist. It wasn't because she was stupid; far from it. She was more intelligent than me, and that's simply incredible! I have an extremely high IQ, mind you...

W-well, enough with the exaggeration. I was still pretty smart, but she was more so. She was just... terrible at conversation and socialization, and anything to do with other people. To put it in simpler terms, she was the very definition of anti-social.

Though she was cute, so it made it up.

Oh, I should say this now: She has a height of four feet eleven inches.

So I, being five feet five inches, have to constantly look down at her when we converse... which isn't that much to start with, as she rarely talks to me. It was basically just a simple exchange of "hello" and "good night" between us. But her voice was cute, so it was okay.

Her name is Vedis, by the way.

The rest of the bandits, a total of nine, were basically just random normal guys who resorted to being a bandit to survive.

Six wielded axes, one had a sword, and the last two had bows.

And I, as the strategist, was put in charge of using them to plunder - attacking travelers, villages, caravans, and the like. Honestly, I didn't like it, but, if I had to give one good thing that came about from joining the Red Reapers, besides dying, getting free food and water, and being able to sleep safely at night, is the fact that I can use them to train my sword skills. At first, they didn't want to help me train, but once I gained their trust, and friendship, when I asked for help training, at least three would volunteer to help me.

It was pretty great. With my skill in the sword increasing, my "level" also increased. Probably.

But now, it was the morning of the eighth day since I left my village.

The two archers reported to Garuda, and me, that they had found a merchant caravan with few guards, which consisted of a single horse-drawn carriage. They told me that there was seven people who carried weapons - four with lances, and two with swords, while the seventh rode on top a horse and had both lance and sword equipped.

From the information that they told me, I concluded that they had: Four soldiers, two mercenaries/myrmidons and the leader being a cavalier. Along with them, they reported that the merchant was a fat man. At that, I felt relief. If the merchant was an Anna...

Well, let's ignore that.

Four soldiers, two sword wielders, a cavalier, and a fat merchant. This is doable, especially with our numbers. It will be twelve versus eight, or rather, seven. They have four/five less than us, but remember: axes trumps lances, so beating the four soldiers will be easier. But, with them having two with swords, either mercenaries, or myrmidons, then it will be a bit more difficult, but we should still be able to take them out.

The problem is, the cavalier's range. Riding a horse, he was certainly dangerous, as he could rush past the bandits and hit me or Vedis, who is a glass-cannon mage. I'd rather get through this battle without losing anyone, and if someone had to die, then it would be one of the other bandits. I mean, they are less useful compared to me, who wishes to live through this no matter what, and Vedis, who is a freaking dark mage.

The two archers led us to where they found the small merchant caravan, and then we followed the tracks it left behind. Once we were caught up with it, I confirmed the classes of who we were fighting.

Four soldiers, two mercenaries, and one cavalier. I couldn't see the fat merchant from where I was, but he was probably in the horse-drawn carriage that the units were protecting. They walked with the two mercenaries at the back, two soldiers on either side of the carriage, and the single cavalier at the front of the carriage.

I took a moment to think about the situation, and how we could fight them, but I instead decided to gather more information. I ordered the archers to check the route the carriage was on, and to see what was up ahead. The archers quickly left with a quick "yes".

The reason why we were using the archers for recon, is because they were the best at being silent. I would've went on my own, to check it out for myself, but, though I was trusted, and second-in-command, I still wasn't trusted enough to go out so far on my own, as I could run away without them realizing. They want me here, and they want me to become "sinful" so that I wouldn't be able to leave them. The reasoning, is that if I committed enough "sins" I wouldn't be able to go back and live a normal life. But jokes on them, my morals are already messed up from watching anime kill characters in horrific ways, and playing games where your "objective" is to kill. What Grand Theft Auto has taught me, is that death is but a phase. One lives. One dies. Two phases. And so, I didn't suffer much from killing... though it was still mush worse to kill in reality. I was sick with my first kill, but less at my second, and from there, it will simply go down. Though, joining this bandit group, my plans and ideas have resulted in the deaths of others, so I was more used to dead guys now... Also when I was at the village, tons of people died, so...

I guess death doesn't affect me that much anymore? I expected to still be queasy at this point, but I strangely did not even feel a little nausea, once I think about it... Even when I saw the corpses of the bandit victims, I didn't feel anything. Was it because they were already dead? I mean, they kind of did smell, ever so slightly, but I didn't mind it...

It was weird. Something in me must've changed. But, with a shake of my head, I ignored such thoughts. They wouldn't help me in what was happening right now, so I didn't need them.

Nearly an hour later, they came back and reported that there was a bridge up ahead. Of course, we were moving with the carriage, but it was still around an hour, even as we came closer to the so-called bridge.

A bridge... Cupping my chin, I thought about it. How could we use the bridge to our advantage? I confirmed with the archers that the carriage was heading towards the bridge, and that there was no other path for it to take. They told me that there was a smaller path, but it wasn't wide enough for the carriage to go through. With this, I smiled. I was able to start formulating a plan with the bridge in the center.

I had them take us to where the bridge was located, so I could get a better picture of my little idea.

It was a wooden bridge, large enough for about four or five adult men to walk across shoulder-to-shoulder. Though the bridge seemed to be old, and there were cracks in some of the wooden planks, it was still sturdy enough to have a carriage cross. The bridge was a suspension bridge, I think was the name for it, using ropes as supports, as in, at the sides of the bridge. They were tied into the ground using small blocks of wood that was around the height of the average man, or a little bit taller. A total of four of them.

As I was thinking, one of the bandits with an axe approached me.

"Strategis', the carriage is approachin'." He told me. I looked back down the path. I couldn't see the carriage, but it must be coming. Then, I'll just have to use what I have already.

I gathered everyone and told them what I had in mind.

First, we'll cut a few ropes from the bridge, so that it will be weakened. We'll have it so that it can be easily taken down, especially at the middle. We'll have the two archers hide on the sides in the bush or in the tress, hidden before the bridge. When the cavalier gets on the bridge, they'll loose an arrow each at the bridge, and cutting two of the ropes, which should, and hopefully, take down the bridge. Without enough supports, the bridge should go down with the cavalier, thanks to the horse and the man's weight. The carriage will obviously stop before going right off the cliff, and the remaining soldiers will be confused. We'll basically be ripping the bridge apart, causing it the break apart and fall down, taking whoever on it to the death.

"What happened?" Will probably be their question, especially the mercenaries in the back, who couldn't see anything. The archers will then switch their gazes to the mercenaries, and start attacking along with the other bandits. The ones using axes will come in from the sides, and hit the soldiers, who wield lances, and take them out. Soldiers are basically ordinary people, and they aren't the best unit out there, so it should be relatively easy for them to be taken out, with three versus two on each side. Garuda, the bandit chief, or leader, and the single myrmidon we have, including the archers, will face the mercenaries. With that, me and Vedis will hit the front of the carriage, and take out the merchant, and secure the carriage for ourselves. Once the battle is over, we'll inspect the "goods" and then use the carriage to carry it all back to our base, which was just a small fort in the middle of the forest. It was hardly a defensible location, but it was still a good place.

Either way, much of this plan required surprise. If they see the attack coming, we might be forced into a larger battle with some casualties.

The others agreed to the plan, and they set off onto the bridge to cut some of the supports. Before the carriage came into view, everyone hid in the bushes at either side of the bridge. The archers climbed up onto the trees and hid themselves.

At last, the cavalier came into view, and right behind him, was the carriage. I saw the soldiers walking next to the carriage next, but I didn't see the mercenaries, as they were in the back. They were slowly approaching the bridge. The cavalier was calmly looking left and right, inspecting his surroundings. However, he didn't notice the trap. And so, they continued marching along the rough and beaten path. And, finally, the cavalier's horse took its first step onto the bridge. I could just barely hear the bridge strain against the weight of the horse and man. If we just let them go on, without doing anything, the bridge will probably give in when the carriage gets on it, and it will fall down. However, we couldn't let that happen, and so...

Two arrows were released, and they flew through the air. The one fired to the left of the bridge, cut the rope halfway, and ended up hitting the horse's flank. The other arrow, coming from the other direction, perfectly hit one of the bridge's supports, and flew past the cavalier, narrowly missing the horse's legs.

With the lost of two supports, and a horse that went crazy from being hit, the ropes holding up the bridge started to rip, due to the weight. And then, before the cavalier could get off the bridge, the bridge snapped and he was sent falling down into the dark abyss below. Where there was a small river, which he definitely did not hit. And was perfectly visible up above. So it wasn't really dark, nor was it an abyss... In fact, it was just a matter of speech! I should really stop thinking to myself...

The carriage managed to stop right at the edge, nearly falling down with the cavalier. I heard shouting from the carriage, and saw that the soldiers were confused as to what had just happened.

With the carriage stopped, it signaled for the attack to begin. The bandits rushed forward and out of their cover and attacked from the sides. However, I gave them but a glance as I broke out in a sprint for the front of the carriage. I saw Vedis, who was positioned on the other side of the path, run forward as well, though she was a second or two after me. The soldiers shouted as they spotted the bandits, but they could barely offer much of a resistance as the bandits closed the distance between them. At the back, I could vaguely hear shouting. The bandit chief, Garuda, probably started his own attack now. He was devastating with his axe...

I came to a stop in the front of the carriage first. I climbed up, and looked inside. I could plainly see the fat merchant, who was shaking in fright, but, there was somebody else in there. Vedis arrived barely a moment later and climbed on up after me. She saw the merchant first, and then stared at the other occupant of the carriage.

My eyes widened in realization, and I shouted. "Get down!" I threw myself at Vedis, and covered her.

Flames exploded against my back from the mage's attack. The tome, Fire, was used.

So there was another unit on the battlefield! After the attack ended, I slid my iron sword free, and lunged for the mage, who couldn't react in time. My back might've been burning and stung from the attack, and I might've felt a lot of pain, but I still had enough sense to take out the enemy in front of me!

But then a question passed through my head as my blade stabbed into the mage's shoulder.

"Why was it so easy to attack the mage?"

Was it because I was attacked first? Though, even if I was attacked first, I think I would hesitate to kill... But, why did I automatically attack, with no thought that I could kill him? It was... weird. I didn't understand why I was able to try to kill someone, as if it was perfectly normal. It was easier to understand why being around dead people didn't affect me that much anymore, but actually actively killing someone with my own blade? I haven't killed someone straight up before. Sure, I led to a lot of people dying, but I never, personally, slayed them. They either died at another's hand, or bled out with me doing nothing, and I didn't really count the later as someone I killed. I slid the sword free from his shoulder, and then slashed. The blade cut through his neck, and he fell back, coughing up blood, with a fountain of blood shooting out of his neck. A few seconds later, he stopped breathing.

I felt absolutely nothing from killing him.

I shook my head. I'll think about it all later, but right now, I have to finish this mission. I stared at the merchant with dead eyes, and he shivered in fear. His lips were quivering, his limbs were quivering, his entire body was quivering. He was scared out of his wits end. I did not attack, I did not approach him, but the simple act of staring at him with blood covering my form scared him so much, piss was released and the liquid dripped down his legs, staining his legs, and was, frankly, disgusting.

Vedis got up and pulled out her Nosferatu tome. She flicked it open, and muttered a few lines. Three dark circles appeared around her horizontally comprised of glyphs that I couldn't read. Three additional circles appeared in front of her, in different sizes, as her hand pointed towards her target. When she finished the spell, with a cute sounding "Nosferatu" at the end, a dark light appeared right above the man's head, and a dark shadow appeared around that light. Then, the man exploded at his chest with darkness, as the dark light disappeared. Red blood exploded out of him, but before it hit the ground, some of it froze in midair. The droplets then raced towards Vedis, and a green light appeared around her as she "absorbed" the blood.

I could tell from her expression that she was invigorated, but she hardly showed a change. Nosferatu, in game, was a tome that can only be used by dark mages and their promotions, as well as anyone with the unique skill "Shadowgift". Nosferatu then had some bad accuracy, but when it hit, it did quite a bit of damage, not much, but not too little. The best part about the tome, was that it heals the user for half of the damage dealt to their enemy with the tome. So, if the merchant had twenty HP and Vedis did twenty, she would gain ten HP back. However, if she did extra damage to the twenty, she would not gain more than ten, however.

So that was what Magic looks like. I wonder if I could use Magic, even though I probably wasn't the correct class? Well, I'll ask her about it later, if I remember.

It was now the night of the eighth day. It was time.

Of course, I wasn't just going to sit back idly and be a bandit forever. Eventually, I will have to fight the Shepherds, and I would, unfortunately, die. Obviously, as they fight much more than me, and much tougher battles, they would gain more experience in battle. Which means, by the time I get used to the sword, they would've mastered it. That is why I wanted to do what I was going to do.

I was going to sneak away into the night. However, I realize that it would be a bad idea to just simply pack up and go. I needed a plan, something to keep them busy as I make myself scarce. Something... but what?

It was the fifth day that I heard a certain conversation that I wasn't supposed to hear.

It was between three of the axe wielding bandits and the myrmidon. They were planning a revolt, an uprising. They wanted to take down Garuda, and have Lidous, the Myrmidon, become the next leader. Of course, I happened to overhear what he was going to do.

One, he was going to kill me, as he didn't much like me. Even now, I could tell he didn't like me. And two, he was going to do a specific dirty act to Vedis. I call it rape, but apparently he calls it just desserts. So apparently, the one protecting Vedis is Garuda, but some of the others don't like her. Yes, they see her as useful since she can use Magic, but past that?

Bandits lead whatever kind of lives they wish. If they see a pretty girl, their thoughts immediately go dirty. While I much preferred not dying, I did not agree on the concept of rape, so I had to include Vedis into the plan. The only problem? She actually liked being there. No, I did not mean she liked being a bandit, killing and stealing, and hearing stories about rape at the campfire, but I mean she saw them as family, which is why she puts up with it. She practically killed her emotions years ago, and that is just sad!

And so, I wanted to save her from her fate. Which was actually happening today.

Which was why I planned on escaping today.

Which was why I was approaching Vedis to talk to her about something. That something being what was about to happen this night. I didn't know when it would happen. I just knew it would. After much searching, I found Vedis sitting on a log, staring up at the night sky. At her side, was her Nosferatu tome and her spare one. She was holding something within her hands, but I ignored that as I called out to her.

"Hey." I greeted with a hand raised. She turned her head slightly and stared at me. She returned the greeting with a small nod, before she looked away and back up at the sky. Just like always, it was difficult to talk to her. What do I say next? Anime and games have prepared you for this moment, Charles! So don't back off now! I sat down on the log to her left, which got her attention again. She quickly hid what she held in her cloak pocket. Ignoring her suspicious behavior, I adopted a certain look. If I had to describe it, it would be a handsome look with sparkles appearing around my face. "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?" With a smile on my face showing off my pearly white teeth, and a cool glint in my eyes, I waited for her response.

However, within my mind, I was going crazy. 'Why in the seven Hells did you say that, ya retard!?' 'I don't know! I panicked!' 'You damn idiot! Restart, restart!'

I cleared my throat, and took down the handsome look. I was never a big fan of it anyway.

"Uh, what I meant to say, is that, uh..." She tilted her head in confusion, but a small change in her expression caused me to pause. She smiled. While it wasn't big, in fact it was incredibly small, it was just the ends of her mouth lifting up, and it could be confused for a frown, or a poker face if one didn't look too hard at it, but as I was a master at watching her expressions - not because I really liked her face - I was able to pick out the slight difference in it. Which is why I paused.

"Yes." She responded, a few seconds later, looking away from me, and back up at the night sky. The moon lazily traveled higher into the sky. "It is." Her voice was small, so cute. I felt my heart strings tug at her words, and it was as if my hearing multiplies so that I could hear her even a little bit better.

No, no, no! I was not in love! I don't believe in love at first sight anyway! And besides, I'm eighteen! She's fifteen! But, then again, I think Ricken is about fifteen when we meet him, so...

No! What am I thinking about? I have something I have to tell her! Ah! Should I just tell it to her bluntly? Or go about it with a series of thought provoking words and phrases?

Oh screw that; I can't properly think up lines such as those!

"Vedis." I said her name. My face might have turned a bit red as she looked back at me, but I was probably just imagining it. "I overheard a conversation a few days ago... It was between Lidous and three others. They were... planning to fight Garuda... tonight." At my words, she reacted by... doing nothing. She just stared at me. She was probably just processing the information, but to not even get a reaction...

Then, suddenly as if her still image was just an illusion, she jumped up from the log she sat on with her tome in hand. She spun around, and ran off, back towards where we set up our camp for the night. We were still in the midst of transporting the carriage back to our base, so we had built a camp for the night.

I tried to stop her, but something fell out her pocket and my concentration was lost. My eyes followed the shiny object as it hit the ground. When I looked back up, Vedis was just a speck in the distance. More so, since it was too dark for me to see that much.

I hurriedly got up and searched the area where the object fell. My search proved fruitful, and I picked up a small white medallion. There was a short silver chain hanging out from a hook in it. The hook, which probably had the end connected to the medallion, was broken, which must be why she wasn't wearing it, as it would be easy for it to fall off. I opened the medallion, and stared at the picture that was in it. It depicted a younger version of Vedis, as seen by her hair and eyes, but her expression was much more joyful. She looked to be five years old. Right next to her on the right, was a man sharing her hair, but different eyes. The woman on the other side of Vedis shared her eyes, but not her hair.

It was obvious at who they were. Her parents. But then, why was she with these bandits? Perhaps her parents died and she was taken in by them? Or was it something else? Who knows. The only way to know, would be to ask Vedis, but I wasn't so inconsiderate to ask her something like that. After stashing the medallion into my pants pocket, I took off after her. It was obvious as to where she was going; to Garuda. To warn him of the attack, or if it already started while we were away, then to help him. Of course, I'd rather not go back there... but I already made up my mind to protect her.

I grumbled inside my heart, at why this had to happen.

I had started my journey going north, but now I was going south... Shaking my head, I focused on what I had to do.

To save Vedis. To kill Lidous and anyone involved in this. I sighed. It all started from me wanting to get away. Then it evolved into wanting to take Vedis with me. And now I was going to help Vedis help Garuda not die. This was just not going my way...

When I finally arrived at where we camped at, I found the place ablaze. Though it didn't surprise me, as I could see a lot of light, specifically red colored in the distance from the flames. I looked left and right, and saw them over at the left, towards a particularly large tent set up for Garuda.

Though they were bandits, it wasn't like they just slept on the grass when they camped out.

I ran over as fast as I could, to find Garuda slashing someone's head off. It was one of the generic bandits with an axe. It seemed like... everyone was against Garuda, except me, and, of course, Vedis. She was behind him, with her Nosferatu tome opened. Either she arrived just before the attack happened, arrived and told him, which then resulted in the attack, or she got there as the fight was happening. She wasn't injured yet, so that was good. Garuda, on the other hand, suffered from more injuries. There were cuts on his arms, and on his chest. An arrow was lodged in his left shoulder. There were three already dead, including one archer. Lidous was still alive, and keeping his distance from the big man. His sword was in his hand, and there was a small cut on his cheek.

Well, I guess here goes nothing!

Drawing my own blade, I ran forward and towards the group of men and one girl. Though I wasn't noticed right away, I was quickly noticed as I stabbed the last archer in the back, before he could shoot an arrow at Garuda. The sound it caused, made eyes turn towards me. I gave an awkward laugh at that, as I suddenly became the enemy of the remaining five who were part of the uprising. With the odds against them, they were becoming nervous. Lidous must've been infuriated judging by his expression. And then, he started to smile.

"Lisen up 'ere, you bastards!" He shouted up at the heavens. All pairs of eyes turned towards him. "That guy there?" He pointed his sword at me, causing everyone to look at me. "He was the on' who overheard us! Without 'im, Garuda would be dead!" The pawns - I mean - other bandits nodded at his words. "An' so... Get 'im!" With his words, the four remaining bandits wielding axes rushed at me. Lidous, however, didn't move, and instead, turned towards Garuda, who started to chase after the bandits who ran towards me.

I, of course, didn't notice the action, as I was suddenly being attacked by four different guys! I was seriously in trouble! But the one who did notice, was none other than Vedis. She saw him move towards Garuda, and preparing to attack, and so, she reacted quickly. She activated her tome, and recited a few words, and at the end, she finished the spell and attacked.

"Nosferatu!" A dark light appeared above Lidous, surrounded by a dark shadow. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, but Lidous noticed. He jumped to his side to dodge, but was too late. His left shoulder exploded from darkness, and blood shot out. Just like before, most of it hit the grass, turning it red, but the remaining droplets were absorbed by Vedis. As Vedis protected Garuda from Lidous, I fought the four bandits, with Garuda attacking them from behind, which kind of turned it into a pincer attack.

I was strangely not too worried. I felt a bit scared at the situation, but my mind worked perfectly well. In fact, it seemed to be better because of the situation. However, now was not the time to think about that, and so, I focused on defending and attacking.

I sidestepped the first axe, and then lightly jumped back from the follow-up attack. The second bandit came into range and swung his own axe down at me diagonally. I jumped down to the side with a small roll, and, from the ground with one knee on it, I jumped forward and lunged my sword at the bandit. He tried to get out of the way, but his axe was stuck in the ground! Lucky me!

Though I was confused at why I called myself lucky because he couldn't dodge, I still stabbed him in the chest, before violently slashing the sword up and through his neck. Shrugging my shoulders, I turned to face my next victim - I mean - opponent. There was seriously something screwy with my mind. Did it break, or something? Though I had a frown on, I was ready to fight.

The next bandit stepped forward and slashed his axe horizontally at me. I stepped back, and it just barely missed my armor. He then pulled it back and tried to get me with a step before and another horizontal slash. However, I simply took a larger step back. He tried again, and again, and again. And then- He stepped into a hole I knew was there, and he tripped forward. As he fell, I slashed my sword down at cut off his right hand, which held his axe. The axe fell down and hit the ground, just as he hit the ground screaming. I pulled the sword up, and aimed it down. I slowly moved it downward, until the tip was pressed against his head, next to his right ear. Then, with a sadistic smirk which was not my own, I stabbed the blade into his head. He cried out in pain, but it quickly stopped as his brain was pierced.

With that, three out of the four were dead. When I looked back up, I discovered that Garuda was next to me, though he was looking away. The fourth bandit was on the ground, dead, his head missing. Garuda is sure living up to the name the bandits sometimes call him - Garuda the Decapitator.

I looked pat him and at Vedis battling Lidous. It was then, that I realized why I was here in the first place. I ran forward, but an arm stopped me.

"Wh-" I started to ask, as I looked up to the giant next to me. His expression made me stop. He looked angry. Not at me, or the bandits that tried to kill him, nor was he angry at Vedis, or Lidous, who started this. He was mad at himself. I quickly concluded that he was mad because he let this happen.

"Charles." Unlike the other bandits, he didn't speak broken English, or whatever we spoke, as I didn't know if this world speaks a different language, and I just learned it when I appeared here, and am unconsciously saying it as if I grew up learning it.

Then again, it could be just English.

Vedis also speaks like this, though she rarely speaks. And is cuter.

"In a moment, I am going to go and kill Lidous. However, I wanted to ask you: why are you here?" I was surprised at his words. "When I was attacked, and saw that you were nowhere, including Vedis, I thought you had run away, and Vedis went with you. When I saw Vedis appear from the forest, I was certainly surprised."

Vedis dodged a thrust from Lidous and shot another Nosferatu at him, but he dodged it with a roll. He quickly counter attacked with a slash, which cut off some of Vedis's hair.

"And then when you appeared, I was even more surprised. So, can you please tell me, why are you here?"

The fight continued on, but neither one was injured. Though Lidous was getting closer to hitting Vedis, she was also getting closer to hitting him.

"At first, I wanted to run away." I replied. Garuda didn't even look at me. "But, then I wanted Vedis to leave with me. And finally... when I saw Vedis run back here, when I told her that you were going to be attacked, I felt like... I had to help too. I don't know why."

Garuda stayed silent for a few seconds before he replied. "When you fight, you become bloodthirsty. It is as if you were possessed. Keep this in mind when you fight." He gave me the advice, and then left, running towards the fight.

Just as he started to run forward, Vedis was flung to the ground, as she was punched in the face was a surprise attack. Garuda yelled back to me, loud enough to get Lidous's attention.

"I'll leave Vedis to you! I want you to take her away, now go!" He yelled for me to leave, to take Vedis with me. I was surprised at his words, but if you think about it, you'll arrive at the conclusion he made: The Red Reapers were over. Nearly all of its members were dead, so what was the point? Either he was planning on dying here with Lidous, or he was going to leave and form a new bandit group. However, he wanted the two of us to leave. I certainly understood that point, however, I didn't know why he came to this conclusion like he did. Certainly, from a logical standpoint, his group was over. But after he kills Lidous, he still had two others with him. He could definitely build up a new group. However, he chose to let the two others go. Why was that? Why wouldn't he want us with him?

Then again, it was also surprising he came to that conclusion as fast as he did: He definitely did not have many brain cells as most of them were actually muscles. Like I said earlier, he was a muscle-head.

Lidous stopped going after Vedis, and instead faced Garuda, who raised his huge steel axe. He slammed it downward at Lidous, but he slammed his sword into the side of the axe, knocking it to his left, as he stepped to the right. However, the axe, did not crash against the ground like he was expecting, and get stuck. Instead, Garuda flipped it over, ninety degrees, so that the blade was facing Lidous, who was surprised at his.

"Surprise." Garuda muttered with dark eyes and a large smile showing off his crooked teeth. He then slashed the axe at Lidous, who was unable to react in time due to his surprise. The blade cut through his legs, and he fell to the ground with a shout. He yelled even as the blood pumped out of his legs. Garuda stood up. Standing as tall as a mountain, Garuda threw down iron judgement at Lidous. "For starting this revolt... I will kill you." Garuda smiled, and raised his axe. Lidous screamed and tried to crawl away, but a Nosferatu from Vedis stopped him, as it basically blew up his right arm. Garuda sucked in some breath, and exhaled through his nose. "Goodbye... friend." He slammed his axe down to the ground, and Lidous's head was removed from his body. That was when I reached Vedis. Yes, the fight didn't started and ended before I even got to Vedis. I had started my run just before Garuda attacked, but he ended the fight right before I got to Vedis. It was impressive.

Vedis approached Garuda, who was covered in the blood of those he killed. Kind of like me, though he was more injured, and more covered in it. Before Vedis could get to him, he pointed his axe at her, stopping her in her tracks.

"Go." He said with a raspy voice. "Go and be free. Go with Charles." He then turned around, and placed the long pole of the axe on the back of his shoulders. The blades of his axe was dangerously close to his head, but he seemed used to it as he walked away.

"B-but..." Vedis said, as she reached out a hand towards Garuda. Her mouth was slightly open, but she did not take a single step towards Garuda. I walked towards her, and raised a hand, as if to put it on her shoulder. But, before contact, I stopped. After a few seconds of thinking, I dropped the hand and reached into my pocket instead. I took out the medallion and dangled it in front of her face. She blinked at seeing it.

"Here." I said, looking away. "You dropped this earlier, so I... came to give it back." She reached a hand into her cloak pocket, but she didn't find the medallion she know she put in there. Realizing that I was correct and that that medallion was hers, she grabbed it slowly. She knew it was hers, but she didn't believe she dropped it. But after finding that there was nothing in her cloak pockets, she realized that she had, in fact, dropped it somewhere. Her pale fingers slightly touched my fingers, and she accepted the medallion from me. She held it close to her chest.

"Y-you don't have to come with me, or anything." I said, looking even more away. I even turned away from her! "If you want to, then that's fine!" I then started to walk away. I approached where I had dropped my pack before I entered the fight, and picked it up. I placed it around my shoulder and, looking up at the, I looked for the direction that was north.

Okay, if the sun rises in the east, and sets in the west, then the moon rises in the east, and sets in the west, so north is-

"What... direction are you... looking for?" A small and cute voice, almost like a mouse, spoke from right next to me.

Though I do not wish to say this, I was frightened from the voice right next to me. I mean, it came out of nowhere! I didn't even notice that Vedis had followed me! I looked over my left shoulder, a bit too slowly. My heart was thumping against my chest, not completely because of our close proximity, but because I was frightened as if something horrifying just happened!

It was like when you enter a haunted mansion, and then a scream comes out of nowhere right next to you.

I mean, her voice was cute, and was hard to hear, unless she was close, which we were, but I did not expect it in the slightest!

After shaking loose these thoughts of being frightened so easily, and after calming my heart, I responded to her question, though with a slight crack in my voice.

"N-north." I said. Immediately she pointed northward. She didn't say anything else, but just watch me with her finger pointing towards the north. I looked up. I found where East was, which was the opposite direction the moon was going, and then I traced it down to her finger which was... actually pointing north. I was surprised that she was able to figure out where north was so quickly, but... I was still more surprised when her voice came out of nowhere.

"Then, le-let's go." I offered her a gentle smile, and she returned it with a slight nod of her head, and she followed after me. As in, she waited for me to lead the way. She she was somehow a compass, I was kind of hoping for her to show me the way, but whatever... As long as I go this direction, I'll eventually arrive at Regna Ferox... somewhere.

Well, no one said that it was easy. I guess I'll see if we can find a village to buy winter clothes along the way. Do the sell winter clothes? I'm hoping for a jacket of some sort. I do not think armor is that great for the cold.

"Um..." I wanted to start a conversation, but I didn't really know how, not with this awkward situation...

As if reading my thoughts, Vedis, uncharacteristically, started the conversation with a question. "Where are we traveling to?"

I happily answered her. "To Regna Ferox."

"Were you going there before?" Before, as in, before I was captured. Though her questions were short and to the point, with her voice being hard to hear, but really cute, I continued to happily respond to her.

"Yep! Do you know how long it will take before we get there?" I asked her.

"One day if we hurry from now, to night, two if we do not."

"Great!"

And then there was silence.

A little bit about Garuda's and Lidous's past

The two actually share roughly the same age, with Garuda only being three years older at forty-five. The two met at an orphanage when they were children. They became friends, due to being similar in age. Though Garuda was bigger and liked to fight, Lidous was smaller and disliked fighting; he much preferred to read books. The two, though they contradicted what the other was like, were the best of friends. When they were older, the orphanage was attacked and burned down by bandits. The militia of the town they were in tried to protect the orphanage, but for those who didn't run away, only death awaited them. That was the first time the two friends touched a weapon. Garuda, being the bigger and stronger boy, picked up an axe that was once used by one of the dead bandits. Lidous, picked up a sword of one of the militia, but he was too scared to really use it. Garuda, on the other hand, was psyched.

He attacked the bandits when they were setting flames to the inside of the orphanage, and killed some of them. Against all odds, he managed to kill adults as a twelve year old. However, he was soon knocked down and defeated. He had blood all over his body, hiding wounds that would surely bring scars to him, which they did. Before he was killed, with a sword through the neck, Lidous, getting over his fear in order to protect his friend, stabbed the bandit towering over Garuda from behind.

After that, the two fought the bandits and nearly died. However, as the building started to fall down, the bandits made their exit. The two were left inside to die. But they did not die. They were rescued the next day and adopted into a family of a neighboring village. The two trained everyday, in case bandits attacked again. Later on in their life, they went to war. They fought on Plegia's side, as that was where they were born and raised. However, their country lost the war and they nearly lost their life several times in the war. After the war ended, they did nothing for several years. They were simply... trying to live as thieves. But, Garuda was sick of their way of life. He understood, more than anybody, that he and Lidous had potential and talent. He talked to Lidous about what they should do in their life with the skills that have.

So, instead of living on the streets, the two became mercenaries. However, work was scarce. The two, taking a few friends they made in the mercenary group they were in, became bandits.

Though they hated being bandits, they had to do what they had to do in order to survive.

A couple of years ago, the two found a small child, who was nine years old. Though the other members of the Red Reapers wanted to just kill the child and be done with it, Garuda and Lidous accepted her into their group when she told them what happened to her.

Her orphanage was attacked and it burned down. She was the only survivor. She clutched a dark tome to her chest, one that she was given before the orphanage went down from the flames, as well as a medallion, which she had when she was five. Her name was Vedis.

The girl aged and became much cuter. She became what can be said to be the mascot of their group. However, a few years ago, before Charles joined, Garuda and Lidous fought. Because of this, Lidous was no longer the second-in-command, and Vedis took over this role. Lidous was infuriated. Their fight was one typical of friends, but the two took it too far. The argument resulted in a fight to the death. Luckily enough, neither died, but they were injured due to the battle. After that, Lidous stopped practicing, and his skills began to rust over time, which was why he wasn't as strong as before.

When Charles joined, it tipped Lidous over the edge. He talked to the other bandits, and planned an uprising to kill Garuda. What convinced the others to join him? Whoever survives, can get Vedis to themselves for an entire day. Since there was a total of nine of them, including Lidous, then Vedis would be constantly raped for nine days by them. Of course, that was only if they all lived. Lidous was, of course, conflicted with this snap decision he made with no planning. He liked Lidous, but he hated Charles, and he wanted Garuda dead for what he did to him. So, he pushed his own guilt down, and carried out the plan. It ended in failure. He picked the night, because Vedis would always go out into the woods to watch the night sky. So Lidous planned to have Garuda killed and the evidence hidden before she gets back. Then she would get her tome taken away and forced down. They would use the carriage, which was obtained earlier that same day, to get back to the fort.

The plan was to originally begin at their base, but Lidous made a snap decision to do it then. He had a feeling that if he waited until they got back to the base, then it was over for him. He had a feeling that something was going to go wrong.

When Vedis randomly appeared from the forest, he knew that his plan had derailed. When Charles appeared killing the last archer, he knew what had gone wrong.

In desperation, he had the remaining bandits attack Charles to kill him, and then he went to kill Vedis. He hated it, but he had no choice. He knew that Garuda would never forgive himself if Vedis died, so he knew that by killing her, he would thus destroy Garuda. He would then die, but he was ready for that. What he wasn't ready for, was for Vedis to dodge his attacks, and that made in mad and careless. He didn't notice Garuda coming towards him, until he had yelled. And then, he was forced to confront his friend.

He knew he would not live. The reason, was because ever since they first picked up a weapon, and started to train, Garuda never stopped training everyday, while Lidous stopped a few years ago. Garuda destroyed Lidous.

Lidous tried to run away, but he had no legs, so it only resulted in him crawling away. But the fight was already over. He was decapitated and died at the hands of his best friend, Garuda.

After that battle, Garuda told Vedis to go with Charles, while he himself left on a journey.

However, that would not be the last seen of Garuda.

Level: 5
EXP: 25 - The mage he killed gave him 30 exp, but he didn't get a bonus from Quick Learner, as Vedis was next to him. The three guys he killed, each gave him 20 exp, and an additional 10. The last one, gave him a bit less, as he leveled up, so he ended up have 25/100 to the next level. Yeah, something like that.
Stats: Rating: 56
Str – 11 + 1 = 12
Mag – 2
Skill – 10
Spd - 8 + 1 = 9
Lck - 11
Def – 7
Res - 5
Sword Proficiency: D

Ah, and there we have it folks! I gave a bit of a background on the three musketeers, as in, GaRUda, Lidous, and Vedis. Also, he joined a bandit group, however short it was! Didn't expect that, huh? Well, neither did I! I had planned for him to just arrive at Regna Ferox, but I thought it would be boring to just cut straight to it, so I wanted to add something to it in the middle, and what came... came. Was it good, or was it bad? Who knows! I... certainly think it could use a bit more work.

So, he now gains a new companion, by the lovely name of Vedis! She certainly seems to be the cute one as Charles is experiencing the feelings of love~

Charles: I do not!

Do not deny it, my lovely creation!

Charles: Fuck you!

Well, putting the idiot on mute, let's talk about him behind his back! Now, I'm sure he can hear me, but we can't hear him! Or, rather, read... It's weird and confusing. Anyway, something is happening to Charles, I wonder what it is? Will it be revealed next chapter? Probably not. I'm planning on sharing the love on what it is... probably... around Plegia. Yeah, Plegia seems about right. A lot of fucked up things happen in Plegia, so it's perfect! :D

So, with that said, please drop the almighty follow down upon me, if you so enjoyed, and leave a superior favorite, if you so wish to, and also leave a graceful review depicting my badass and amazing (lol) self down below.

Thank you, thank you. I don't work out.