Fire Emblem Fan Fiction / Fire Emblem Fan Fiction ❯ Fire Emblem: The Bow of the Winds ❯ Prologue: The Silence Before the Tides ( Prologue )

Fire Emblem: The Bow of the Winds

A Fire Emblem Fan Fiction by Keiya Taiko

I do not own Fire Emblem, which is owned by Intelligent Systems. If I did, I should have made the wise decision to ship FE many years ago along with the Fat Italian Plumber and his Effeminate Italian Plumber Brother.

If you take any part of this fic and use it on your own fic, or your own website, without my permission, well, then, I should say… Imitation is the best form of flattery. Thanks.

Anyway, on with the story!

Prologue: Silence Before the Tides

“Are you sure this is the right way?” a young woman asked the young man she was riding with.

“Of course I'm sure. This is the way back to the Kutolah Tribe Village.” The man replied, giving a small hint of annoyance.

“You said that a while ago. And then the time before that… And before that… And the time before that…” the young woman sighed. “Dayan, why can't you just admit that we're lost?”

“Because we're NOT lost, Rika.” Dayan said, huffing a bit. “And if you didn't trust me, then why don't you get off my horse and walk home the way you think is right anyway?”

Dayan and Rika were both members of the Kutolah tribe, who were located at the northeastern of the plains, near the border of Sacae and Eturia. Dayan was the son of the tribe chief, Roku the Berserker Wolf, and Rika the daughter of the chief's best friend, Gyotan of the Thousand Eyes. The two were engaged to wed, and the whole reason why they left home was to complete their `Initiation Rite', which was to travel to a certain place to bring back a certain item. For them, it was to travel to the southern borders to bring back deer antlers, of which the ones of highest quality used in medicine can be found only in the forests surrounding the mountains that separate Lycia, Sacae and Bern. They have been traveling for almost a week, and now it is time to go home.

Dayan had dark brown hair, with emerald eyes and somewhat a slim physique for the youth of his age. He usually wore a dull green bandanna, which covered most of his hair, a lime green tunic that had the patterns of the Kutolah tribe, with a pair of trousers that are cut short a little below the knee, revealing his partly-bandaged legs, of which the feet are encased in boots made of bison hide and sheep wool. His hands have cloth wrist guards, and he also has a dark green scarf, which he wears around his neck. A green sash holds his trousers there securely, on which he tucked away a small hunting knife. He usually wears a dark green wool coat over everything, but as the day was quite hot, it today was part of his saddle.

Rika, on the other hand, has bluish-black hair that she allows to fly freely with the wind, dark blue eyes, and also a somewhat slim build, as well as a seemingly skin tone similar to porcelain. A few strands of her hair at the left side of her face is carefully braided and was held in place by a small rope laced with precious stones. She wore the traditional strip of white cloth around her chest, as the custom in her homeland for unmarried young women, a short, red and green vest decked with Kutolah patterns and had a single button that fastened it at the front; she wore a red skirt, which had the pattern of what looked like feathers and flames, that went all the way down to her ankles, but was slit all the way to her upper hips on both sides. She wore light wooden slippers, which allowed her easy movement in any terrain.

“Because the sun is going to set soon, and the roads are scary at night!” Rika said whacking Dayan at the head in a way of saying that he should know this. She was sitting behind him, atop his palomino steed named Fukien.

“Ow… Scary?” Dayan said rubbing the back of his head. “As if there's anything scarier than you. I'd bet a pack of gigantic bandits would cower in fear before you and your sword skills… maybe they think you'll eat them alive… and besides, the sun is still bright in the sky…”

At that moment, Rika pulled out her sheathed katana, and then whacked Dayan a few times over the head before she went WHAM! And knocked Dayan with a well-aimed sideward slash that sent him flying off his horse and landing headfirst into the grass below.

“Humph! Serves you right, moron!” Rika growled, jumping off Fukien and then stamping out away from him.

“Hey where are you going?”

“I'm going back to the village ALONE!” Rika spat off. “I can manage because I have sword skills and can eat bandits alive!”

“H-hey, Rika! I didn't mean that!” Dayan said, trying to get up, and miserable failing a bit, because his head was still seeing stars in Technicolorâ„¢.

“Well, it sounded like you mean it…” Rika was still walking away from him when she realized she stepped on something hidden in the tall, green grass. At first, she thought it was a dead pony, but then she noticed that the pony was wearing robes.

“D-Dayan!” Rika squealed a bit. “I-It's a person! I think it's…”

“Nah… IT is still breathing…”

Dayan had seemed to miraculously teleported beside Rika, and was now squatting beside the figure, poking at it with a stick.

Suddenly, the figure stirred up, and with a low ground got up, with a lot of ruffling sounds.

“Oooooohhhh…” the figure, who then grabbed Dayan by the shoulders, began to stare hungrily at him. “Foooooood…”

“WAAAAA!” Dayan screamed, trying to push the man off using his foot. “Get off me! You're a monster! RIKAAAAA! HE'S GONNA EAT MEEEEEE!”

“So… hungry…” the man moaned, not even bothered that Dayan's foot was trying to push his face away. “Food…”

“Relax, you bloke.” Rika said, grabbing the man (who was a bit taller than both of them) and tugged him away from Dayan. “He just wants food. Didn't we have some of the dried meat and bread in your bags?”

”Ah, yeah…” Dayan said, recovering from his shock.

“I'm terribly sorry that this is all we can offer you now, because we're almost home, but we can't exhaust everything before we get there.” Rika said, as they all gathered around a small fire.

The sun was setting in the sky, and the three (and Fukien) were all under a great tree, around a fire, and eating. It was then that Dayan and Rika got a better look at the man's features.

He look like a man in his teens, like them, and his face was quite rugged, though no moustache or beard was clearly seen, neck-length black hair and deep gray eyes. He seemed to be a cheerful man, wearing a woolen overcoat that was green at the arms and the shoulders, white at near the chest area going down to the ankles and beige at the remaining parts of the body, which concealed his bluish-white vest that was closed around his body, and was kept in place by his belt, where he seems to be keeping a bag of money. His trousers were a tainted white, and did not follow the width of his legs, but were straight of length, in such a way that he seemed to be wearing a skirt that reaches his ankles instead of a pair of trousers. He wore a pair of shoes made of wool, and had wooden soles. His right hand was also covered by a black glove, which he did not take off, even as he was devouring the meat that he was offered.

“Mmm… it's fine.” He replied. He had a somewhat distinct, cool, calm voice. “This is enough to keep me going for another week. I promise to pay you guys for this…”

“Well, that's good OW!” Dayan said before Rika whacked him over the head with her sheathed blade again.

”Don't mind him…” Rika said, averting his attention to the man after she shot a look of pure venom against Dayan, who was nursing two nasty bumps on his head. “Anyway, you don't have to pay us. I mean, it was from our hunt, and it'd be a shame for it to rot anyway…”

”Well, I could see that the two of you make quite a couple…” the man replied, making Rika blush a bit. “I bid you good luck in the future.”

”Oh, pardon me for asking, but…” Dayan then interrupted. “But, who are you anyway? We already told you about us, so it's your turn.”

Although Rika was poised to strike again, the man raised a hand to halt her, and then nodded. “Well, alright then, I'll tell you. My name is Kei, and I'm a trader. I came from Badon to meet with a chief of the Sacae people to talk about a trade route between Badon and Sacae. You see, the spices and the medical ingredients in Sacae are famous not only in Lycia or Elibe, but in the Island Nations, Magvel and the Mainland of the Great Continent as well.”

”Hm, a trader, you say?” Rika said, looking thoughtful.

“Unfortunately, my convoy was attacked by bandits…” Kei said calmly, taking another draft of water. “I escaped, but my wares were taken by the Taliver Bandits. I went roaming around the Sacae grasslands, until I passed out one day…”

“Hm, quite a tale…” Dayan said, listening eagerly as well before he went towards Fukien to pull out what looked like sleeping bags. “It's almost night. We'll continue this travel tomorrow morning. We're near the Kutolah Village anyway…”

“Kutolah Village?” Kei dropped his flask of water, but quickly picked it up. “Can you lead me to Kutolah Village?”

“Hm, why are you interested in it anyway…?” Rika asked him.

“Well, the chief I was going to talk to was a man named Roku, and they said you can find him in Kutolah Village…”

“Then you're in luck!” Rika said, grinning. “You're looking at the son of the chief and his future daughter-in-law.”

“Wow! Is that so?” Kei said, looking a bit happy. “Thanks goodness! At least something good might come out of this trip…”

“Well, we'll rest for now. The sun is setting, and…”

Dayan was cut short when they heard a scream and some laughing was heard nearby.

“Shhh… Keep down…” Kei said, crouching, and then slowly creeping towards where the scream came from, using the tall grass as camouflage. Dayan and Rika tried to imitate him, though sloppily, until they saw what the ruckus was about.

There was a white horse, and from the looks of it, the rider, a somewhat skinny-looking young man wearing light armor and had red hair was knocked off and sprawled on the ground. Tending to him was a woman dressed in white, and had somewhat of purple hair, using what they saw was Eturian magic to tend to his wounds. Around them were three large, burly men, who Kei easily recognized as the Taliver bandits.

”This could have been avoided if you just handed us the money in the first place!” the largest bandit, one who had missing teeth and fuzzy hair, proclaimed as he edged near the two, while the young man, though wounded, tried to shield the young woman.

“Take all my gold, and do what you want with me, but leave her alone…” the man pleaded, still in pain as his abdomen was slashed.

“Well, too bad…” the second bandit proclaimed. “Hmm… you seem to be of Lycian nobility. We'll fetch a fine price from your daddy about more than ten times the amount on your bag, so you're best alive… though I doubt in perfect condition…”

“Hmmm…” the last bandit said, sneering. “The woman is a fine jewel. Skin like milk, hair like the wind, and eyes like precious stones. I guess we'll keep her as our own.”

“No, Please!” The man said. “She's of Elimine clergy! You cannot defile her!”

“Elimine preaches garbage.” The largest bandit said. “All of your beliefs are lies made for you to be fooled by the Eturians. So much for the teachings of Elimine on being fair and equal…”

“N-no, p-please…” the woman pleaded, as the second bandit was dragging her off. The man cried and tried to stand up in protest, but an axe was against his throat, and his wounds were still open.

“What should we do…?” Dayan asked Kei.

“In cases like this, we should be careful…” Kei said, looking to be deep in thought. “Dayan, you seem skilled with a bow… and what about…”

“What the…!” Dayan jumped. “Where is Rika?”

”HYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Dayan and Kei were both surprised and bewildered to see Rika has already knocked one of the bandits out with a few swipes of her blades, even though she has not unsheathed it. She then turned her attention to the bandit who was carrying the now-unconscious woman over his left shoulder.

“Put her down.” Rika said with a hint of anger. “Or else things are gonna get messy.”

”And who are you to give us orders, missy?” the bandit said, giving her an angry stare. “Well, I' lucky today… once I knock you out, I'll have two wenches to play with…” he added, which made Rika give him a disgusted look. The bandit then lay the woman down on the grass, and then he pulled out his axe, and then rushed towards Rika.

Rika dodged the clumsy slash, and then hopped over the weapon, using it to launch herself higher to deliver two kicks to the bandit's head, followed by a somersault that sent the bandit flying and on its back, while Rika landed elegantly on her feet.

“Haha, piece of ca…”

Rika froze when she felt a presence behind her. It was the last and largest bandit, with his axe raised high into the air, his face contorted with fury.

“No one makes joke out of Krauser and his brothers, because they all die a horrible, painful death…” he said, grinning darkly over Rika's form. He then swung the axe down, hoping to crush Rika with one swing.

But, as the axe was flying down, an arrow flew out of nowhere and struck the axe's shaft, of which the force from the shot knocked the bandit's hand and axe away from Rika. Krauser looked around, and saw Dayan smiling as he began to take aim again.

“If I were you…” Dayan said with confidence. “I'd lower that axe, because from this distance… I can shoot just about any part of our body… arm, leg, stomach, head, heart… just take your pick.”

“Grr… fine…” Krauser then threw his axe away, and growled angrily.

“Well, then.” Dayan smiled. “I'd like you and your two mess of brothers to leave us all immediately. And if we see you doing this again in the future, you're all gonna end up with these pointed sticks sticking out of your backs, got it?”

Krauser then woke up his two brothers, and though still queasy, the three quickly disappeared into the mountains and the forest to the south.

“Whew…” Dayan then fell on his bottom. “I thought he was really going for it! My heart was about to leap from my throat!”

“So that was mock courage, after all?” Rika teased, walking over to him.

“H-hey…” Dayan complained, then looked over to the unconscious woman, and then to Kei, who was treating the man in light blue, who also fell unconscious. “So, how's he?”

“He'll be fine…” Kei said calmly. “I just need to patch him up with vulnerary and he will be fine. I'm lucky I brought some with me…”

“So, what do we do now…?”

“Well… Dayan, you and Rika take the lady back to the camp.” Kei answered. I will be following shortly after I treat this mean wounds.”

”Alright, then…” Rika said. She then helped Dayan raise the young woman up, and then Dayan carried her in his arms as they headed to the camp.

As soon as they had left, Kei then pulled out a few medicinal solutions, but it seems to be incapable of stopping the bleeding at the young man's abdomen. He then sighed, closed his eyes a bit, and then made sure no one was looking.

He then took off the black glove on his right hand, which revealed that his hand glowed a soft bluish light. He then laid the hand over the abdomen, and as the light dissipated, the cuts in the man's abdomen were gone, and only the traces of blood on his clothes and on the skin remained. Kei then took some bandages, wiped off some of the blood with it, while the others he used to wrap the man's abdomen.

He then raised the young man up(who was quite light for his age and size), and then made him mount his horse, which Kei then led towards the camp.

“Oh… mmm…”

The young man stirred up, and blinked a bit before completely opening his eyes. When he sat up, he felt his head hurt as if a nail was driving into it. He then took a look around, and found three unfamiliar figures, with the woman he knew sitting beside them.

“W-where am I…?” the young man asked, running a hand through his flaming red hair.

“Among friends.” Kei answered, handing the man some boar meat that was served on a thin wooden stick. “It's called a kebab. I think you would like it.”

Nodding, the man took the meat, and began to eat it with moderation. “Thanks…”

“Hmm… well, Eleanora here has told us about you.” Rika told the man, referring to the woman who was dressed in white, and had purple hair. “Your name is Elbert, right? And you seem to be looking for someone…?”

”Yes. That is correct.” Elbert replied. “We came from Pherae in Lycia. Eleanora and I came here to Sacae to look for a close friend of ours, who ran away about a week ago with a Sacaen man who was also our friend. Our best guess was, since they went north, they are somewhere in these plains.”

“Did you ever ask them why they ran away?” Dayan then asked calmly.

“No, not really…” Eleanora answered him. “Lord… I mean, Elbert and I came here not to bring them back, but to ask them why they ran away. You see, my friend loves her father very much, and it's not for her to run away like that…”

”I see…” Rika said, looking thoughtful.

“Anyway, we can't do anything about it now…” Kei said, drinking a bit of water. “If I may please ask Dayan and Rika, if Elbert and Eleanora can join our group for a bit, until we reach the village? They may be able to find valuable information there. Besides, they might get attacked by Taliver Bandits again…”

”You just had to ask, Kei.” Dayan said, standing up. “Well, as the leader and chief of this little party, I will allow…”

”Hey, who said you WERE the leader anyway?” Rika interjected, her arms on her waist and giving Dayan an angry look. “I was the one who beat up the bandits today. I should be the leader.”

”No way!” Dayan answered, giving her the same stare-down. “You're going to get us into more trouble if you're the on in the lead, just like that time when you attacked that poor man who was just giving your flowers…”

“It was an accident! I thought he was feeling me up!”

“Oh, brother…” Kei shook his head and rubbed his forehead using his right hand. “This is going to be a long way…”

”Do they fight and argue like that all the time…?” Eleanora asked, a bit surprised at Rika and Dayan.

“I don't know, I just joined them too…” Kei said, watching Rika twisting Dayan's arm and forcing him to submit.

“Well, I just hope it's not every time…” Elbert said, trying a lance head to a wooden shaft he made earlier.

“Don't you have any swords…?” Kei asked, eyeing the lance. “Most bandits here love axes, so swords are much wiser to use…”

“I know.” Elbert said, testing out his lance. “I have a sword back at my steed, but well… a lance looks much better, and more knightly, so to say…”

Kei could only crack a small smile at that statement.

“Well, just make sure that you don't think like that in the middle of battle…”

”C'mon, Dayan! Tell everyone that I'm the leader, and I'll let go of your arm!”

”No way! NO WAAAAAAAY! OW! OW! OOOOOOOOOOOOOOWW!”

"Hahahahahaha!"

Well, that's the end of the Prologue. Hope you all loved it. Read and Review, and pray that I won't get lay and write Chapter 1 quickly.