Part One: Serdian War

Dart followed an old, overgrown path through the woods, both eager and anxious to reach his destination. A week ago, he had decided to return home, and the possibilities of what awaited him had him swinging wildly between joy and angst. After all, he'd been gone for five years.

He considered the day that he had left Seles, now a vague memory of his past. He had been barely a man, much like a child in his own regard. The future had been a terrifying, if enticing, prospect. He had left with only a dagger and a hunting knife, intent on vanquishing the demons of his past with naught but his own valor. But his valor had not proven sufficient. He returned home empty-handed, having nothing to show for his travels except red mercenary armor, a matching sword, and a small pouch of gold.

He tried to convince himself that this was better than nothing.

Now, as morning birds chirped, heralding the onset of early spring, he wondered what the townsfolk would think of him. He had skipped breakfast this morning thanks to his gnawing anxiety, and even now nausea and hunger were at war with one another. Whenever he was sufficiently distracted, his stomach would growl. Whenever he considered hunting and eating a rabbit or squirrel, he felt a need to vomit.

He tried to assuage his fears with assurances that he still had a day or two before he found Seles. This path was the same one he had walked over five years ago, but it hadn't been used much, if at all, in that time. If he wasn't careful, he knew he could find himself wandering in the wrong direction. Luckily, this path followed a forested valley that crept from Seles into the eastern mountains of Serdio; were he to stray too far in either direction, he would soon find himself on a steep slope that would redirect him. The narrow nature of the valley was the very thing that had kept Serdio so separate from the eastern wilds, and now it served as a funnel of his footsteps, guiding him west.

He had entered the eastern tip of the valley the previous morning, and he was certain he would reach Seles by the next night. He might be able to make it before nightfall if he hurried, but his trepidation was getting the better of him. His footsteps were slow. His pace was short.

For most of the day, he continued like this. The forest was peaceful, if a bit noisy, and every now and then he was pleased to find his mind wandering into nature. Once, he thought that he heard a bear in the distance, and his head perked up. When nothing appeared from the underbrush, he continued on his way.

When night began to fall, he fell to a standstill. Rather than push on, he decided to make camp, and a few minutes later, he had a meager fire going while he forced himself to hunt game. Soon enough, a rabbit was roasting, and in the resulting peace and quiet, he pulled out a small leather pouch hiding under his tunic. He withdrew a tiny scrap of parchment and poured out a clear, colorless gemstone an inch in diameter.

"Miss you," he whispered to the stone before putting it back in place. Then he unfolded the parchment.

The bulletin had been pinned up in a village, a trivial notice posted underneath the other, more important news. But Dart had ripped it down all the same. Dated several weeks, Dart had been appalled to see news of what had transpired in his country since he had been gone.

In big, bold letters, the top read, "WAR RETURNS TO SERDIO." Despite having read over it several times, Dart's eyes scanned the sheet again, hoping that he would find some hidden information that had eluded him until now.

"For twenty years, Serdio has lived in a tense and deceptive peace. The death of King Carlo and subsequent uncertainty of succession led to the severance of the nation two decades ago, and now King Albert leads the state of Basil to the north, and Emperor Doel the state of Sandora in the south. Tensions have been high for years, but it appears that this pressure is ready to explode into war.

"Despite attempts from both sides to quell the tales, rumors have erupted across the broken nation that Sandora has attacked several Basilian knighthoods over the past few weeks. Basilians are growing worried that their security is at an end and are looking to their king for guidance and protection. We spoke to several civilians near the Basil-Sandora border that have expressed their intentions to flee north, closer to the Basilian capital of Bale. Meanwhile, Sandorans claim that it was Basil who broke the truce, and they are demanding retribution from their emperor in the southern capital of Kazas.

"The identity of the inciter has not been confirmed at this time, but there is no doubt that war in Serdio would spell terror and death across the nation."

Dart sighed. This piece of paper was what had spurred him to return home. He only hoped that if there was a war, he would be able to help in some way, although he had no inkling as to what side he would want to support. Politics had never quite reached the small town of Seles, and Dart had liked it that way. His place was in the wilds, not with knights and kings.

His eyes read over that last line once more.

"'Terror and death,'" he quoted.

He hoped that it was fake. He hoped that the rumors were no more than rumors. He hoped that he would come home to Seles just as it had been when he'd left.

That night, he slept uneasily. It felt like every few minutes, just as he was about to drift off, something rustled the leaves around him. He was unsure whether he dreamed the crash of falling trees off to the south.

Just after dawn, he woke and readied himself to travel one more day. The stiffness in his shoulders and hips had him longing for a proper bed before long, and that was enough to push him forward into a regular pace. As he meandered along, he tried to recall those people that he had not seen for five years.

There was Tasman, the old smith who had taught him the basics of swordsmanship when he'd turned sixteen. His adoptive parents Hikari and Agnea were sure to have missed him, although he felt little obligation to them now that he had reached maturity. Kind as they had been to him, he had never forgotten his real parents. The mayor named Plos had been his friend, a guide for his moral predicaments, widower and father to two children.

Try as he might, Dart could not remember their names.

Dart had grown up with many children in Seles, and many he had called his friends. But as he ran through the list of names, he settled on one that he had nearly forgotten in his five years of distance. The young girl Shana had been his best friend for many years, until he had begun working as a teenager. Distance had come between them while Shana had taken time to grow up, and right before they might have been able to spend their days together again, Dart had left.

What did she look like now? Had she missed him?

He blushed as he realized that she would now be grown, an adult in her own right. He could imagine nothing more than the thirteen-year-old that had silently begged him to stay.

Dart's reverie was interrupted when he heard the crash of a falling tree to his south. He paused, scanning among the trees, but he saw nothing.

Heart racing, he proceeded, once again coming to a halt when he heard the roar of a large creature.

"What was that?" he muttered, bewildered. It had not sounded like a bear, but maybe a mountain lion. And yet, that didn't seem fearsome enough.

Checking his position relative to the sun, he shook his head and delved into the forest, leaving the safety of the path in search of this new threat. While he would not engage the beast, his curiosity had gotten the better of him. He wanted to see it.

He pressed through the underbrush, doing his best to remain silent and avoid snapping any twigs. After only a minute, he caught sight of movement through the branches, and he knelt behind a low bush. Then he paused, searching for the source.

Something light green appeared in the distance, and Dart gasped to see the size of the beast. This was no mountain lion. It was scaly, glittering almost yellow in the sunlight, and its shoulder was nearly thirty feet high. Even as he watched, the beast shook itself like a cat, digging mighty talons into the dirt while a thick tail whipped back and forth. It took several steps forward, and Dart stood to watch its reptilian head twist around and glance through the trees. Then it paused, sniffed twice, and swung its head until its eyes stared directly at Dart.

Fear seized him, and he took a faltering step backward.

"Kill him!" called a distant voice, and Dart looked around in terror, but there was no one to be seen.

In response to the command, the creature snorted and moved toward Dart, snaking through the trees and bumping against them as it fought its way through the dense forest.

Dart turned and ran, yelping as something crushed the bush that had served as his cover. As the footfalls crashed through the forest, he feared that he would be overtaken, and he sprinted as quickly as the terrain allowed. Heart thudding, he ran, until his foot caught a root and he tumbled, rolling twice before coming to rest on the leafy earth.

He gasped as he felt the twinge of thorns in his arm, but he had no time to recover. The beast had nearly overtaken him, and it raised its clawed foot to swipe at him.

Quickly, Dart rolled to the side, and he heard roots snapping as the talons dug through the ground. Then he hopped to his feet and continued running.

The world around him suddenly became pitch black, as if the sun had blinked from existence. He stopped in his tracks. As dread settled into his stomach, he turned toward the sound of the beast flailing about, surely no more than thirty feet from him. It cried out in fear or frustration – Dart wasn't sure which – and a tree fell just to the left of Dart. He jumped as the crash resounded, and then again as a hand grabbed his arm and dragged him away.

Despite his fear of tripping, he followed this person for several paces until he was yanked to the right and thrown onto the ground. He grunted as he struck the forest floor, and then the sun returned. He blinked at its bright light and nearly screamed to see a woman with dark hair and purple armor sitting beside him, and he quickly scrambled to his feet. But she snatched his wrist and pulled him down again, hiding him behind a boulder.

"What—" began Dart.

"Shh," she spat, slapping her hand over his mouth.

He glanced around as she slowly removed her hand; she had taken him to a tiny alcove tucked into a rocky ridge, and she now peered out into the woods.

Dart craned his neck to see past her, and his breathing quickened again when he saw the green creature looking around in a near panic, searching for them. He may have been going crazy, but he thought that the sun was dimmer than it should have been, almost as if shadows were hiding them from the beast's gaze. Then all at once, it roared.

Dart thought he heard that same voice again, but this time it was distant enough that he couldn't make out the words. A moment later, the beast turned and lumbered away, moving back toward its original path.

For several long moments, Dart and the woman waited. When at last the creature's footfalls were just distant thumps, she stood and turned to him. The sun grew bright once again, and Dart eyed her with fearful curiosity. Her eyes were sharp, boring into him, and he got the distinct impression that she was searching for something.

"Thanks, I suppose," he said awkwardly.

"You're welcome," she replied flatly. "It's not every day you come across a dragon. You're lucky to make it out alive."

Dart started. "Dragon?" he repeated. "They're not… real. I thought…"

"They are most assuredly real. Nearly extinct, yes. But real."

"Then what is it… doing here?" he asked, turning toward the brazen path the dragon had forged.

"That's a good question. I have some ideas, but I'm not sure yet."

There was a pause, and then she asked, "What's your name?"

"Oh, sorry," he mumbled. "I'm Dart. Nice to meet you." He stuck his hand out, but she ignored it, preferring to stare at him. "Uh, what's yours?"

"Nobody important," she dismissed, turning toward the trees. "I should be on my way."

As she began to walk away, movement caught Dart's eye again, and he looked up into the canopy of the trees. There, beyond the leaves, was a gray haze that hadn't been there the day before, pushed along by the high winds.

"Is that smoke?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, not bothering to turn around. "It's been like that since yesterday morning."

"That long?" he breathed, working to form a map of the land in his mind. A sinking feeling came over his heart. "That's… that's Seles, isn't it?"

"I believe a nearby town was attacked recently, yes," said the woman. "I'm surprised you didn't see the smoke before."

Images of fire and ash flashed across his mind, and panic rose within him.

"I have to go," he said, pushing past the woman as he began to sprint eastward.

He never thought that it would happen again. An odd heat bubbled in his heart, and he heard the woman shout after him, but he paid it no mind. He could not stop running. He could not lose his home again.

Author Note: Hikari and Agnea are named after the characters from Octopath Traveler 2.