Though I love the idea of not knowing what happened to Ike, of it adding to his legend, I've also wanted to write what I think may or may not have happened since.

People also seemed to respond well to the piece I did about Priam and Ragnell, which kind of prompted me to get started on this. I do not know how often this will be updated, but I will work on it as much as I can.

Chapter 1

When you defeat a goddess and save everyone on the continent, you're a hero. Especially if you had saved the continent before. But Soren knew Ike was a humble person and did not appreciate all the fanfare. But much of it had died off, with celebrations winding down and groups going their own ways.

The queen of Crimea, Elincia, seemed to want Ike to stay around. The same could be said of the Bengion Empress, Sanaki. Maybe not exactly of the new Queen of Daein, Micaiah. Even the kings of the laguz tribe, perhaps with the exception of King Tibarn, who was having to get used to life in Serenes Forest, wanted Ike around.

That was why Soren was not surprised to come upon Ike packing one evening.

"Running away?" he asked.

Ike, startled by Soren's presence, stopped as he folded a tunic. He grinned sheepishly and said, "Well, it sounds kind of bad when you put it that way."

"Why?"

Ike was quiet for a moment before he exhaled loudly and said, "I'm burnt out."

"Burnt out? What, from the hero worship?"

Ike chuckled. "Kind of."

Soren folded his arms over his chest. He was trying not to sound accusatory, but it was, unfortunately, his way. "You are basically welcome at any inn, castle, keep, anywhere in Tellius. You have people begging for your service. You'll always have work here."

Ike sat down on the cot and nodded slowly. He understood what Soren was saying. "But that's the problem. In the past three years, I've trained hard. I've answered every call that came our way. I helped to take care of the Mad King. I joined Elincia's counsels. I avenged my father. I helped save Tellius again after Ashera's Judgement. Aren't you tired of it?"

Soren understood what Ike was saying. People had been shouting Ike's name over and over again in just three short years, and Ike, being the goodhearted person he was, always answered and tired his best to help.

"What about the Griel Mercenaries?"

With a sigh, Ike said, "That's what I really feel bad about. I think my father would understand. Mist is no leader, but she can carry on with the group."

"What about Mist?"

"She's not leaving Boyd. And I don't want to carry the whole group away." Ike narrowed his eyes. "Are you trying to talk me out of leaving?"

Soren chuckled and shook his head. "Oh no, far from it. Just trying to understand, that's all." He turned to leave, but at the door, he paused. "Wait for me, OK? I'm going to pack."

"You can't mean to come as well?"

Soren glared at him. Again, it was not something he meant so cruelly. "I can't let my one friend walk off into the sunset, can I?"

Ike laughed as he rose to his feet. He was nearly done packing and almost ready to leave. "You have plenty of friends now, Soren. I'm sure anyone would be willing to have you as their tactician."

Soren rolled his eyes. "I can't be burnt as well? I'm only going to work with you, Ike."

Ike crossed the room and put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "You seem to be trying to talk me into staying. What about you, hmm? Don't you want to know about yourself?"

Soren looked Ike dead in the eye, and, with a tone that was dead serious, said, "Don't leave me with these people."

Ike tried to stifle it, but he could not hold back his laughter. Even Soren managed to crack a faint smile before going back to his usual scowl.

"Go pack," Ike told him. He shook his head as Soren left.

Soren crossed the hall to his own room. The keep was quiet, which he was thankful for. And sure this was why Ike chose to leave when he did. He grabbed a bag from a nearby chest and began to shove a few important things inside. To him, important was his small amount of money, his books, and a few changes of clothes. But the books were the problem. They were heavy, and there were so many.

It took several moments of deep consideration, but he finally narrowed it down to the rare books he owned. He wrapped them carefully in cloth and stuffed them to the bottom of his bag. He hefted it into his arms and left just as Ike left his own room.

"I left a note," he whispered. "Its probably not going to go over well, but..." he trailed off and ended with a shrug. When he saw Soren's heavy bag, he asked, "Did you pack a library?"

"The beginnings of one," Soren whispered back.

Ike grinned and the two made their way to the door. The only person they encountered was Shinon, who was fast asleep. Even if he was awake, Ike was certain he would make no move to stop them.

They walked in silence for quite some time, guided only by the moonlight. The moon was nearly full, and the night sky was cloudless. Soren shifted his bag from one arm to the other. Occasionally, he wondered what time it was. Once, he thought if anyone had noticed them missing yet. That was an odd thing for him, to think that someone would notice him missing.

"Do you want me to carry that?"

"I've got it, but I do have a question. Where exactly are we going?"

Ike stopped, and for a second, Soren feared that Ike was just wondering aimlessly. His fear was unfounded as Ike pulled a bag of coins from inside his tunic. "We're going to find a ship."

Soren was surprised. "So you plan to leave entirely."

"Well, yes..." Ike began to toss the bag from one hand to the other. "I've been thinking... we were lied to about Yune, about her being the dark goddess when she was nothing more than a child and had little grasp on her emotions."

Soren nodded, "So you want to know if there was more out there? If the great flood did not destroy everything."

"Exactly." Ike stopped playing with the bag and tucked it away again. Before they could go further, he had to ask something. "Are you sure you want to go?"

"What's keeping me here? Let's find that port, and a captain mad enough to sail to who knows where."

They traveled most of the night. Neither of them seemed to want to stop and rest. The idea of travel and adventure seemed to be pushing them forward. Tellius was going to grow and change, but it would have to do so without them.