Prologue (Part 2)
A couple of hours ago, Robin was founded by three members of the Shepherds: Chrom, his little sister Lissa, and their Great Knight Frederick. All Robin can remember as of this moment is her own name, Chrom's name, and knowledge of using magic and swords. The last one being useful in this situation as the four ended up running into a town that's full of bandits, attacking the villagers and stealing valuable stuff such as gold and food.
And speaking of food, Robin kept staring at the fruit Frederick's horse knocked down earlier, along with the group of bandits that kept falling down due to tripping on the figs and apples. The remaining group of bandits, with at least four members, took note of it and started to aid with their members, only to have two of them falling as well due to the fruit.
This sight is amusing to Robin. These are the same bandits who terrorized the citizens of this town, yet they're getting their arses kicked by Chrom and Frederick... and a couple of bruised fruit.
After getting a good look at the bandits' struggle with the fruit, Robin looked at the three Shepherds, prepared to explain her plan to them.
"Alright, here's what's going to happen," Robin started explaining. "Frederick and Lissa will distract the bandits by using these fruit on the ground," she pointed to some of the apples and figs on the floor, "While the bandits are distracted, Chrom and I will attack the leader of the bandits, along with the others who are with the leader."
Robin is referring to the only bandit wearing nothing but brown pants and a brown furred collar or scarf (she honestly can't tell the difference), wielding an iron Hand Axe, ready to slice or throw at anyone who dares to attack him. Guarding the leader were two mages with Fire Tomes and one myrmidon wielding an Iron Sword.
"Sounds good enough to me!" Lissa agreed with Robin. "At least I'll have something to defend myself with besides my staff."
"Indeed, Robin. This is one plan that these bandits will never expect," Frederick added, already picking up his Silver Lance, ready to take on the bandits. "And if either of us gets injured, especially milord, then Lissa will us her staff to heal us."
"Right. Just, keep her out of danger as the bandits will most likely target her first."
Lissa nodded in agreement with Robin as her statement is true. She doesn't have any offensive weapons to defend herself with, and even with the figs and apples that she'll throw, a few of the bandits might have a chance to attack Lissa if there happens to be no fruit lying down on the floor or on any crates.
"Milord, is this plan to your liking?" Frederick asked the blue-haired Lord.
"Yeah, it is," Chrom answered, gripping Falchion tightly, eager to take down the bandits like everyone is. "We'll go on my mark. Is that alright, Robin?"
"Yes." Robin nodded her head, the ball of electricity ready to let loose on her hands.
"Ready..."
Frederick is about ready to whistle to his horse whenever Chrom signals them to move out, Lissa eyes on the fruit on the ground, while Chrom and Robin were looking at the leader, along with the three bandits that were with the leader, currently tossing one villager to the river after he stole that man's money.
"STRIKE!"
In a matter of seconds, Frederick whistled to his horse to something he trained it to pick up on whenever the two are far away or needs to hit something or someone if necessary. On cue, Frederick's horse came to him (the horse can't hide near the crates that Frederick and the others were hiding), and Frederick hopped on the horse, ready to aid Lissa if she can't handle the other bandits even with the fruit, which is most likely.
Chrom and Robin, meanwhile, were rushing out to the leader of the bandits, weapons at hand and ready to take them on. One of the bandits that wasn't with the leader ended up noticing the two and is preparing to stab either Chrom or Robin with his sword. However, Robin noticed this even if the two were decently far, and in response to the myrmidon's attack, Robin attacked him by using the ball of electricity that's still in her hands, hoping it would slow him down by the time Chrom struck him with his sword.
Just as she pictured it in her head, the myrmidon was indeed hit by Robin's thunder magic in the knees, forcing him to kneel to the ground. As the swordsman is waiting for the pain to go away, he failed to see Chrom striking him in his right leg, making him scream in agony as this sword is nothing like any other one.
Especially if Chrom's sword has been passed down by his father and so on for generations. Falchion is unlike any other sword in the entire world as this sword has been used to take down the evil forces that try to disturb the peace of the world, the most recent evil being the fell-dragon who once tried to destroy the world. His ancestors were the only ones able to wield Falchion as the sword can only be wielded by those who were deemed worthy by the divine God, Naga. However, with each passing time, Falchion's power has been weakened and its true power has been sealed ever since. Despite this, Falchion is still powerful and unbreakable unlike most weapons.
"Nicely done, Chrom," Robin replied to the blue haired warrior.
"Yeah," Chrom nodded as he noticed the two mages were coming towards them, ready to cast their magic at them both. "Be careful of those guys."
"Don't worry. I have magic at my side."
"Are you sure you can control it?"
"Uh... I think so...?" Robin answered. She did only practiced magic for a few minutes and used it on some of the bandits at least twice. That's better than nothing, right?
"You think so?" Chrom thought he should be worried as magic is a bit difficult to master unless one has the patience to do so such as two members of the Shepherds. "Do you have a back-up weapon in case you can't control your magic?"
"I have a sword," Robin pointed to her bluish sword on her waist. "Though I think I can handle my magic well."
"Well, even so, I should give you some space."
"Right. Don't want anything to happen to you," Robin stated, charging up the thunder in her hands, aiming for the two mages ready to send their attacks to both Robin and Chrom. "After I hit the one with fire at their hands, finish him off."
"Alright." Chrom nodded his head. "And if the wind mage attacks you while you're charging your next attack?"
"Actually, I'll fake it and use my sword."
"Huh?"
"It'll be risky since I have little practice with it, but it's better than no practice."
Robin was suppose to do another Thunder attack after taking out of the mage with the fire tome, but she thought the other mage would catch on as she used magic more than her sword. Besides, Robin hasn't used her sword other than practicing it by slashing a half damaged crate.
"I'll watch your back then," Chrom stated, gripping Falchion tight.
With that, Robin let loose her Thunder attack towards the fire mage, striking him in the chest. The mage was suppose to retaliate back with his Fire attack, though while he was chanting to let the flames be on his hands, the mage didn't see Chrom striking him in the chest by kicking him, along with Falchion knocking the Fire Tome out of the mage's hands, sending the book flying to the river. Without any tomes on him, the mage is left defenseless when it comes to defending himself from Chrom, let alone attacking him.
"Your end has come!" Chrom shouted to the mage as he slashed the mage's left elbow, causing blood to ooze out from it, staining his robe.
"Ooh, gods! Please... spare me..." the fire mage cried out in pain, holding onto his wound.
Chrom would like to finish him off as this mage caused a lot of damage to the village, but he decided not to as the mage is hopeless without any tomes by his side.
Like Robin mentioned to Chrom, the brunette is charging up another Thunder attack on her left hand, while on her right hand, she's getting her Bronze Sword, preparing to strike at the Wind mage. Chrom spotted the Wind mage, ready to strike at Robin while she's preparing to attack. Not wanting to let Robin get injured as the Wind mage let loose his attack, Chrom rushed towards Robin, protecting her. Unfortunately for the blue-haired warrior, this means he took a hit right at his uncovered arm from the Wind attack.
"G-gods..." Chrom muttered in pain.
"Chrom!" Robin yelled with worry that he got injured.
"Don't worry about me. Take care of that mage."
"Oh..." Robin didn't know what to say as he's injured, though looking at Chrom, he doesn't appear to be bleeding at all, which is a good thing. An open wound can mean a lot in the battlefield and if one wound is untreated, then victory would be nothing but far for whoever has it. "Alright, Chrom. I trust you."
"Good, and stay sharp. That mage is ready to fire again."
Robin quickly spotted the green wind from the mage's hand, hoping it would hit Chrom once more, and if possible, finish him off. Just like she explained to Chrom, Robin rushed towards the mage with the Thunder still in her hands, and tossed it to the left, missing the wind mage and the attack landed on the ground, parts of it staining black. Said mage looked at the attack and ended up being confused on what happened. He thought Robin had horrible aim with her magic, but that's not possible as she attacked the bandits with magic just fine. While looking at the ground where the Thunder landed, the mage failed to noticed Robin rushing towards him, sword at her hand.
"Oh, gods!" the mage exclaimed in shock, preparing for the next attack.
Unfortunately for him, he didn't finish the spell as Robin's sword knocked it out of his hands. Without anything to defend himself, Robin proceeds to stab the mage in the shoulder. She's surprised that this sword made of weak metal would be able to do something like this. Heck, the sword is still on the mage!
Eventually, Robin quickly pulled out her sword from the mage, currently yelling in pain as he felt like there were needles stabbing him all over his body. Once the sword was out of his body, Robin used the sleeves of her coat to wipe away the blood that stained her sword.
"Chrom, are you-" Robin attempted to ask him that question again.
"I'm alright, Robin," Chrom reassured the brunette.
"Still, you should have Lissa heal you before you get more pain later on."
"Alright. Let's go over to where Frederick and Lissa are."
Currently, Lissa and Frederick were fighting off a few Barbarians; Lissa flinging the figs to the Barbarians, hitting them in the face and even one on the groin. Frederick, meanwhile, was using the end of his Silver Lance to take down the myrmidons after disarming their Iron Swords. These two were handling this with no problem, along with the fact that they weren't getting damaged at all. Even then, a little help would be fine just in case.
Chrom and Robin soon joined in, aiding Frederick and Lissa with taking care of the remaining bandits. Robin quickly casted another Thunder spell in her hands, sending them towards the two Barbarians that Lissa was taking care of, which allowed Lissa to simply whack both of them in the head just by using the end of her staff. Meanwhile, Frederick and Chrom swiftly took care of the two unarmed myrmidons with Frederick simply throwing a fig at the myrmidon's head while Chrom just kicked one of the myrmidon's stomach before slashing him in the chest, bleeding.
With the majority of the bandits taken care of, Frederick checks to see if Chrom is alright as protecting him is his number one priority.
"Milord, are you alright?" Frederick asked Chrom.
"I took a hit from one of the mages, but I'm alright for the most part," Chrom replied to the Great Knight before he turned to Lissa. "Lissa, do you mind if you heal me?"
"No problem, Chrom. I don't want you to get yourself hurt even more," Lissa answered to her brother as she's preparing to heal him. In a few seconds, Lissa's staff glowed a bright blue aura as she muttered a spell that made a blue aura surrounding Chrom's uncovered arm. Eventually, the aura slowly faded and Chrom smiled to his sister, signaling her that the pain is gone.
"Thanks. My arm feels better."
"Great!"
Chrom then looked at the leader of the attack, in which he heard one of his followers state his name: Garrick. Currently, Garrick is being guarded by a myrmidon with an Iron Sword and a barbarian with an Iron Axe. Getting through the those two along with fighting off Garrick is going to be a challenge as those two minions will probably wore the four out (three since Lissa lacks a proper weapon), even if Lissa can whack them with her staff or use the figs to distract them. Still, Lissa shouldn't use her staff as a weapon as it's valuable when it comes to healing others. With the figs, there's only a limited supply of them and she can only carry at least six at a time at best.
"Any way we can get past them?" Chrom asked Robin.
"Well, Frederick can go ahead and take those two easily," Robin suggested. "That can give us the chance to attack the leader."
"Alright. This shall be no problem," Frederick stated as he quickly rode to where the two minions were; standing near the bridge. Underneath it is the river where he spotted some of the villagers cowering in fear, hoping this chaos would soon end. Frederick will make sure their days of terrorizing are over. Heck, it'll be over before those two minions and their leader can even do more major damage.
As if on cue, the myrmidon and the barbarian noticed Frederick's presence and was about to draw their weapons, but for some reason, they didn't. In fact, Frederick pointed his Silver Lance near their necks, ready to stab them if necessary.
"Attack me if you dare. If you fail to do so before I strike, I suggest that you pick a god and pray!" Frederick warned the two bandits, glaring at them.
The myrmidon ended up screaming for his dear life, dropping his sword and jumping into the river as he witnessed Frederick taking care of his fellow myrmidons like they were just pillows. The barbarian, however, only quivered in fear a bit as he drew out his weapon, attempting to hit Frederick with it. While the barbarian's axe hit Frederick, it failed to damage his armor!
"Aw, crap..." the barbarian cursed underneath his breath.
"Better pray," Frederick suggested to the barbarian as he slashed the barbarian's chest, causing him to bleed, but not enough for him to get him killed.
"Way to go Frederick! That was amazing!" Lissa cheered for her Great Knight. "Now that those guys have been taken care of, let's-"
Lissa didn't get a chance to finish her sentence when she spotted Garrick flinging his Hand Axe towards Frederick. Normally, he would notice it with no problems, but Garrick threw the axe right when Frederick finished off the barbarian.
"Oh, gods," Robin muttered, seeing the potential danger that Frederick might be in. "Lissa, block the attack with your staff!"
"Wha-?!" Lissa can only respond in shock, seeing that she has never done something to her staff like that before. Well... expect healing and bonking it on others. Objects, more specifically weapons, that's out of the question!
"Trust me! As long as you use the end of your staff, it won't break and you'll save Frederick from getting injured!"
At first, Lissa was unsure if she's able to do this, but after thinking how she's able to defend herself with nothing but a staff and a pile of figs, then she can easily protect her Great Knight as well. With that, Lissa hurried to the bridge where Frederick is and right as Frederick noticed the Hand Axe coming towards him, Lissa jumped as high as she can and using the end of her staff like Robin stated, she swung her staff at the incoming axe, sending the axe to the river.
"I got you, Frederick!" Lissa exclaimed to the Great Knight.
"Thank you, milady," Frederick replied, with some shock in his voice as he couldn't believe that Lissa would end up saving him. The Great Knight then turned to Robin, asking her, "So, what's next?"
"Hmm..." Robin took a look at Garrick from a distance and if her eye sight is correct, she spotted him wielding an Iron Axe! Guess Garrick is a bit prepared if something happens to his Hand Axe, like if it breaks or it ends up being thrown away into the river like now. Wonder if she can possibly do something like that with his Iron Axe... "I got it! Lissa, do you still have those figs with you?"
"Um... yeah," Lissa answered, showing the brunette the handful of figs she has. "Let me guess, we're going to hurl them to the leader?"
"On track. Frederick and Chrom, go ahead and finish him off while Lissa and I distract him since he has no ranged weapon. If he somehow doesn't want to give up, I'll give him a taste of my Thunder Tome."
"Sounds like a fine plan," Frederick stated, preparing for another attack.
"And we'll finish off this dastard before things get too ugly," Chrom added, gripping onto Falchion.
"Hope so. Now, let's do this!"
Quickly, the four started Robin's plan as both Lissa and Robin were hurling figs at Garrick like there's no tomorrow. Garrick thought he could easily slice the purple fruit, but he couldn't handle multiple figs being thrown at him. However, one fig thrown by Robin ended up hitting Garrick in the groin, forcing him down on his knees and dropping his Iron Axe. Well, he ended up dropping the axe earlier than Robin thought.
"This will be quick," Chrom commented as he let out a battle roar, ready to end Garrick and his destruction he caused in this town.
But before Chrom can even land a hit on Garrick, the Barbarian suddenly punched Chrom in the stomach before he punched him again, only in the groin. Chrom screamed in pain, letting go of Falchion and started going down on his knees.
"Milord!" Frederick called, rushing to Chrom to see if he's alright.
"Gods damn it. That dastard is... going to... pay..." Chrom muttered. "He isn't going to... get away with... this..."
"Not while I draw breath!" Frederick exclaimed, raising his Silver Lance up high, ready to punish Garrick for what he did to Chrom.
Frederick whistled to his horse and pointed to Garrick, laughing as he slowly got back up, using the sides of the bridges to help himself back up. The horse, knowing what Fredrick meant, let out a loud 'neigh' before rushing towards the Barbarian, ramming him before Garrick can fully get up.
"Hey, what the hell?!" Garrick exclaimed angrily.
"Your last breath approaches, vile fiend!" Frederick replied to Garrick as he quickly stabbed him in the right shoulder.
"OWWWW! GODS DAMN YOU!" Garrick yelled, using his left hand to prevent the blood from flowing. "I'm going to crush you, you motherf-"
"Robin! Now!" Frederick commanded Robin, who's currently charging up a Thunder attack in her hands after she saw what happened to Chrom.
"Alright. Here's how it's done!" Robin exclaimed before releasing the Thunder ball in her hands, hitting Garrick's bare chest.
"GAH!" Garrick screamed as he felt multiple pains all over his body, ranging from the multiple shocks from his heart, along with the untreated wound from his shoulder. "You'll... regret..." Garrick didn't finish his sentence as he felt everything around him turning black, with the last thing he saw was Robin's glare from her brown eyes.
"Well, that's the end of that," Robin sighed as she went up to Chrom, giving her hand for Chrom to take. "You alright? That guy did a number to you."
"Y...yeah... Sort of..." Chrom replied, still feeling pain, mainly from the groin. "I didn't expect him to fight me bare handed after losing his weapons."
"Well, it's a last resort to him, and being someone who wants to bring chaos wherever he goes, I doubt he would fight fair."
"I agree," Lissa popped into the conversation as she healed her brother, using her staff. As soon as she's done healing him, Lissa turned to Robin and asked the brunette, "You feel any pain? Even if it's minor?"
"A little bit..." Robin answered to Lissa. "I couldn't believe that taking out all of those enemies would exhaust me so badly... Especially to my arms..."
"Don't worry about that. My staff will take care of that!" Lissa proudly stated as she started healing Robin's arms. "But I gotta say Robin, you were incredible! Swords, sorcery, AND tactics! Is there anything you can't do?!"
"Um... Fighting with my bare hands...?" Robin awkwardly answered Lissa's question.
"Even so, you're no helpless victim, that's for sure," Chrom added.
"Indeed," Frederick agreed with Chrom. "Perhaps you might even be capable of an explanation for how you came here?"
"I understand your skepticism, Frederick. And I cannot explain why only some knowledge has returned to me," Robin answered to Frederick right as Lissa finished healing the brunette. "But please, believe me. I have shared all that I know."
"You fought to save Ylissean lives. My heart says that's enough," Chrom said as he looked at the town.
"And your mind, milord? Will you not heed its counsel as well?" Frederick asked Chrom.
"Frederick, the Shepherds could use someone with Robin's talents. We have brigands and unruly neighbors, all looking to bloody our soil," Chrom replied back to the Great Knight. "Would you really want us to lose such an able tactician?"
"N...No, milord," Frederick replied. The Great Knight knows better as he thinks the Shepherds would really benefit from having a tactician like Robin, even if she does have amnesia. Besides, the closest thing the Shepherds has to a tactician is a mage that has an extensive vocabulary that more than half of the army couldn't understand.
"Besides, I believe Robin's story, as odd as it might be."
"T-thank you, Chrom," Robin could only say, surprised that Chrom would say these words to someone he met like a couple of minutes, or hours, ago.
"So, will you join us, Robin?"
Robin thought about Chrom's offer for a minute. She doesn't know a lot of stuff except her own name and her knowledge of tactics. And with literally no place she can call a home, taking Chrom's offer would be the most ideal thing to do at this point.
"I would be honored, Chrom," Robin answered to Chrom with a smile on her face.
"Great," Chrom said happily, glad that Robin is an official member of the Shepherds. "Before we leave though, lets help the people in this town."
~A couple of hours later~
True to Chrom's word, the four Shepherds helped out the villagers in restoring peace to it. Chrom and Frederick helped the other villagers who were hiding under the bridge while Robin helped out with putting out the fires from some homes and churches. Meanwhile, Lissa aided with healing some of the villager's wounds, and it ended up going faster than usual thanks to a few Priests and Clerics being nearby with some stronger staffs than Lissa's. With that, the four Shepherds were finished restoring the village, along with the people before it turned into night. They thought it would take until late night to finish this task, but the aid from the other villagers speed up the process.
"Phew! I'm exhausted!" Lissa groaned, leaning close to a box of figs.
"We all are, but at least we finished," Chrom replied with his sister. "Hopefully, this town will be free from those bandits."
"Yes, but about those bandits, they spoke with a Plegian accent," Frederick pointed out, off of his horse.
"Plegian? What's that?" Robin questioned the three, being unfamiliar with the term.
"Plegia is Ylisse's westerly neighbor," Chrom answered for Robin. "They send in small bands of bandits like the one we fought, hoping to instigate a war with us."
"And it's the poor townsfolk who suffer!" Lissa added. "Totally innocent and totally helpless!"
"They do have us, milady. Shepherds who protect the sheep. Please, do not be swept up in your anger. It will cloud your judgment," Frederick advised Lissa.
Oh, now it makes more sense to Robin as to why they're called the Shepherds. They're the warriors (shepherds) who help those who are powerless and injured (the sheep). For a while, Robin thought they tend the animals that resemble clouds.
"I know, I know... Don't worry, Frederick. I'll get used to this," Lissa replied to the Great Knight. Even if it has been a month since Lissa joined her brother's group.
Shortly after the conversation has ended, a villager came up to the four and said, "Milord, please! You must stay the night! We are simple folks of simple means, but we would be glad to throw a feast for you!"
"A most generous offer, sir, and no doubt that your hospitality would be grand, but I'm afraid we must hurry back to Ylisstol," Frederick refused the villager's offer. Chrom understood Frederick's motives, and Robin surprisingly agrees with him as well. As for Lissa...
"Dark meat for me, medium well, and no salt- Wait a minute... we're not staying?!" Lissa exclaimed in shock as she looked at the blue sky slowly turning orange. "But Frederick, its nearly dark!"
"When night falls, we'll camp out. Eat off the land, make our bed off of twigs... I believe you mentioned that you'll 'get used to this'?"
"EH?! Frederick, sometimes I hate you," Lissa stated, puffing her cheeks in anger.
"Well, you got quite the stern lieutenant there," Robin commented to Lissa.
"Yeah, well 'stern' is one name for it. I could think up a thousand other names for Freddy-bear!"
"F-Freddy-bear?!" Frederick stuttered at the embarrassing nickname Lissa gave him when she was just six years old. And dear Naga, he doesn't love it when she, or anyone else, uses that dumb nickname. "I told you not to call me that, milady!"
"Well too bad! I'm calling you Freddy-bear until we get to the capital!"
"Can I call him that nickname too?" Robin requested the blond.
"Oh yeah, sure. And it'll be better if my brother calls him that too!"
"Uh... I would?" Chrom said, not sure if he really should call Frederick that embarrassing nickname.
While Frederick shook his head no and crossed his arms to form an 'x' to heavily disapprove Lissa's idea, Lissa glared at her brother. And whenever she does that, Chrom has to do or agree on what Lissa stated, or else... things get painful. And by painful, getting bonked by Lissa's staff.
"Uh... I mean...Why not, Lissa. I mean, it'll be funny to call him that name as he defeats his foes with his lance," Chrom agreed with Lissa's idea, much to the displeasure of Frederick.
"Oh, milord remains as amusing as ever." Frederick sighed as he has to deal with this embarrassing nickname until they get to Ylisstol. "Now then, shall we get going?"
"Not until I get more figs!" Lissa announced, grabbing some figs off of the ground. Yes, the same figs that Frederick's horse knocked down hours ago. "There's no way I'm eating wild whatever again! I'd be happy to eat something I'm more familiar with than eating a squirrel or deer, or help me Naga, a huge bear!"
"Alright, let's get going. You can put the figs on the sack."
By that, he means the sack that's attached to the horse where it carries some maps and a small knife in case Frederick doesn't have any access to weapons.
"Okay, Freddy-bear," Lissa replied, sticking her tongue to the Great Knight.
Oh, this is going to be a long trip back to Ylisstol... Frederick groaned in his thoughts as he has to bear that nickname Chrom, Lissa, and Robin are going to call him for the rest of the trip.
Author's Note: And this ends the Prologue! Next time, we'll get to be on Chapter 1 where the four are going back to Ylisstol.
God, the fight scenes were a bit tough to do in my head, but I'll get better as I go through the story. And yes, there's still changes to the script, and this will be a recurring thing in this story. Like for example, Frederick has to bear through everyone calling him Freddy-bear throughout the next chapter!
Anyway, like this chapter? Leave a review if you like!
Later! (P.S. Happy birthday, Owain!)