A Short Lesson in Geography…

Ylisse is a land to the east on the continent sharing the same name. Its summer's are not too warm, and its winters are not too cold. It has the ideal weather to grow many crops that comprise the core of much of Ylisse's diets.

To the North of this plentiful halidom is Regna Ferox, a warrior nation ruled by it's two Khans, the Khan of the East and the Khan of the West. The region is extremely cold, especially during its long, harsh winters. As a result, it relies heavily on its good relations with Ylisse in order to purchase sufficient amounts of grain, as well as other consumable items that cannot be grown in their frigid environment. After the war with Valm and the ordeal involving Grima, the two nations have grown even closer, with thriving trade routes intertwining between them.

To the south of Ylisse is Plegia. It has a dry, arid environment, with long, hot summers. Many skilled magic users often find refuge in this country due to its long history of magic research. Although it used to be ruled by a Mad King followed quickly by a Grimlean zealot, Plegia found peace after Grima's defeat when the power of the throne was passed to a female ruler. She maintained good relations with Ylisse, and together, the three nations brought the continent of Ylisse into a period of great prosperity.

To the west of the continent of Ylisse, is the continent of Valm. The continent comprises the Valmese empire, Chon'sin, and Rosanne. Although the Valmese empire had conquered the entire continent at one point, the Ylisseans helped Rosanne and Chon'sin reclaim their lost territories. Currently, all three nations possess friendly ties with Ylisse, making the halidom extremely important in keeping the peace between the two continents.

Across the sea from the east of Ylisse lies the continent of Elibe. This massive continent is split up into the following nations, many of which were founded by the eight legends of their history: Bern, a militant nation founded by Hartmut, Etruria, a spiritual nation founded by St. Elimine, the Western Isles, where the Berserker Durban settled, Ilia, founded by the Hero Barigan, Lycia, a group of many smaller regions ruled separately by many marquesses, and Sacae, the plains inhabited by Hanon's ancestors.

Although the continent has been at peace for quite some time, unbeknownst to its inhabitants, something evil is beginning its plot to engulf the entire continent in death and destruction…

Plains of Sacae…

Robin got up and splashed some water onto his face. From the reflection in the barrel, Robin could tell that he looked… just as he did before. Nothing had really changed… except for the vertical scar running down the middle of his chest. It was probably no more than half a foot long, and was in the exact location where he had struck Grima-Robin. Robin couldn't see it, but he'd wager that there was a smaller scar on his back as well, where his scythe would have exited the body.

Finally, he got dressed and got out of the ger. The girl who had found him when he was unconscious was outside, pouring water into a basin for her horse. Lyn turned around when she heard the sound of someone leaving the Ger.

"Oh, Robin! Good to see you up!" she waved at him with a smile.

Robin chuckled. He recalled when he had first introduced himself.

'Robin? What an odd-sounding name…' Lyn had replied. 'But pay no mind… it is a good name. The creatures created by mother Earth and father Sky should be admired, after all.'

"Yeah, it's good to finally be up." Robin chuckled.

"You would think that after sleeping for three days straight, you'd be a little more energetic…" Lyn jested. "I don't know what you could have possibly gone through in order for you to pass out that long, but whatever it was, it must've been tough."

Internally, Robin rolled his eyes and thought 'If only you knew', but on the outside, he merely shrugged and gave an exasperated sigh. "I'm just glad I woke up, to be honest."

"So what were you doing?" Lyn asked as she managed to finish her task at hand. "Based on your clothing, I could tell you've probably been traveling a lot. Would you tell me your story?"

"Er…" Robin struggled to come up with something to say. After all, he wasn't even sure he should be telling this girl everything, and even if he did, they would be here for a long, long time.

'Tell her you're a traveling scholar.' A voice in his head told him. Robin, who had a mild recognition of the voice, decided to trust the information being given to him.

"I'm… a traveling scholar." Robin eventually said, with a slight confused expression on his face.

"Oh, is that so?" Lyn asked. "What were you trying to learn about?"

'You're trying to learn more about magic.' The voice of Grima advised him.

"Uh… I'm trying to get a better understanding about different types of magic." Robin explained. "It's impossible to learn everything there is to know, even within just one element, and so there's always more for me to learn."

"Oh…." Lyn looked deep in thought. "It sounds like you'll probably keep travelling a lot then? Does this mean you're in a hurry to leave?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Robin chuckled. "But I think it's best if I helped pay off the kindness you have shown me first somehow."

"Well," Lyn smiled. "You can start by telling me about some of the interesting things you've encountered in your previous travels. I'm sure you have a few stories to share."

'Shit, now what?' Robin thought to himself.

'This girl sure is persistent.' Grima sighed. 'I really don't want to sit here and relive the story of how you murdered me, if I will be honest.'

"Well…" Robin laughed nervously while trying to buy himself some time.

Fortunately for him, at this very moment, some men were noisily making their way towards their ger. Lyn seemed to realize that there was something wrong, and quickly disregarded their conversation. She picked up her sword, and walked towards the direction of the noise.

"Not good. Why now of all times?" Lyn whispered. "Robin… I think you should probably go somewhere safe… Bandits are coming."

Robin, who had nothing to fear, disregarded her advice and waited for a few moments before tailing her. When he circled around the ger, Robin immediately noticed six figures closing in on them. All of them were axe wielding bandits, and based on their posture and movement, he could tell that they've had next to zero combat training. HIs interest piqued, Robin decided to calmly wait and see what would happen.

When the bandits saw the lone figure of Lyn moving towards them, they began to clamor even more excitedly. One of them immediately lunged in an attempt to grab her, failing to notice the blade at her hip.

Lyndis drew her sword, leaving a large gash across her assailant's chest. The injured brigande, finally realizing his target was armed, desperately chopped down with his axe, but both his reaction and movement was slow, causing his strike to hit nothing but air. After Lyn dodged the chop of the axe, she immediately darted back in and stabbed the man in the chest, finally killing him.

'Not bad.' The voice of Grima said. 'Not anything too extraordinary, but she's got the fundamentals down. With some proper training, she could be just as deadly as your friends.'

'I am of the same opinion.' Robin nodded. 'And yet… I'm probably going to have to clean things up for her.'

'She definitely wins against any one of them, but against all five… probably not very likely.' Grima conceded.

'Well, I'd better get ready then…' Robin sighed as he reached into the astral plane and pulled out a tome.

With Lyn…

On the inside, Lyn was shaking from terror, but she did everything she could not to show it on the outside. Normally, against just two or three brigandes, she could hold her ground and probably beat them, but against this many, she knew her odds were slim.

"Bah… that oaf got what he deserved." The one that seemed to be the ringleader stepped forward. "Swinging a weapon at such a…" he gave her a blatantly lecherous once over. "...a fine young lady such as yourself… serves him right. Tell you what, why don't you set down your sword, and we don't harm a single hair on your pretty head, how about that?"

"I'd rather die." Lyn readied her sword.

"Ah… what a shame." The lead brigande sighed. "All right boys… I guess you just have to convince her. Then we'll go kill her family and make her watch!"

That statement brought Lyn over the edge, as she swung her sword at her opponents. Unlike the first brigande she killed, the remaining ones wisely backed out of the range of her sword.

Because the remaining brigandes displayed an acceptable amount of intelligence, Lyn quickly found herself at an overwhelming disadvantage. She found herself on the defensive, dodging strike after strike from her opponent's axes. Although she was fast enough to avoid most of their swings, a single brigande managed to leave a cut on her left cheek. A second slower and the swing might have proven fatal.

Lyn backed up even further. 'If I can't beat these bandits, then everything is over. Then they'll go and kill Robin.'

Although Robin was still a stranger for the most part, Lyn had found herself growing slightly attached to him, possibly from taking care of him in his unconscious state for the last few days, or possibly because she had been feeling lonely for far too long. The thought of these brigandes defiling her and killing Robin was as repulsive as it got.

As she was beginning to feel backed into a corner, Lyn decided to make a last ditch attempt. Maybe she could hope for a miracle. She slashed at her opponents, landing a decisive blow to one brigandes throat. Blood sprayed out of his neck, and he couldn't even scream before he hit the ground, dead.

However, it was still too early for her to celebrate. One of the three remaining lackeys grabbed her extended wrist, prying her sword from her grip. A second brigande sucker punched her in the stomach, knocking the air out of her. A third one kicked the back of her leg, forcing her down onto one knee.

"That's enough." An authoritative voice behind her said. Although she couldn't turn her head to look, Lyn recognized it as Robin's voice. Before she could yell for him to run, three dark masses no larger than the size of her palm flew through the air faster than her eyes could follow. They easily flew through the bodies of the three brigandes that had surrounded her.

The ground behind them was instantly stained red. Two of them instantly died. The third only had a moment to gaze at the hole in his gut before passing out, and fell to the ground like a limp ragdoll.

"What the-" The leader of the group had bulging eyes as an overwhelmingly favorable situation had just turned on him. Lyn was equally shocked, and slowly turned her head.

What she saw was Robin casually walking over to them. His expression looked extremely calm, almost as if he were bored. However, he seemed to be surrounded by an almost malefic aura. Though she could not detect magic, Lyn could still feel the pressure emanating from Robin.

Robin slowly made his way over to Lyn. As he picked up the sword, a sense of familiarity flooded into his brain, as if he had been using that sword all his life.

'Huh… this feeling…' Robin furrowed his brows. He had intended to give the weapon back to Lyn, but his surprise made him not do so immediately.

"You… you dare stand up to Batta the Beast!?" The final bandit roared. He brandished his axe and charged at Robin.

Robin dodged his initial swing and began to push the brigande back with strikes faster and more precisely than what he should have been able to accomplish given his weapon experience. The decisive moment in the fight was when Batta missed a strike, and lodged his axe into the ground. Robin instantly took advantage of the situation and stepped on the back of the axe head, preventing Batta from pulling the axe out of the ground. He then lifted his other foot off the ground and kneed his opponent under the chin. Before Batta could recover, Robin killed him by slashing his exposed neck.

"I despise people like you." Robin told the corpse before the magical energy surrounding him dissipated. 'Still… my fight with you makes me have a question or two…'

'That would be my doing.' the voice of Grima spoke in his head. 'Throughout my lifetime, I have inhabited a vast range of hosts, and accumulated a massive amount of experience. After all, war is nothing new to someone like me. However, most of them are useless to you. For example, my experience in the form of a dragon is not useful to you as you are.'

'I see… so when I picked up the sword, I gained your previous experience with the sword, which was why I could demonstrate some swordplay that would make even Chrom impressed.' Robin worked out in his head.

With the threat nullified, Robin made his way back to Lyn, who had just about recovered from her nearly one sided beating.

"Thank you…" Lyn let out a sigh of relief. "Wh-what are you staring at?"

"You're… cheek." Robin furrowed his brow.

"Oh… yeah." Lyn had been so much in shock that she had not registered the stinging pain in her cheek from her battle.

Robin held his hand up to her cheek, and Lyn immediately felt the stinging pain begin to gradually fade away. She gingerly touched her cheek, and found that the gash that had been there just a moment before had been healed already.

"You… aren't a regular scholar, are you?" Lyn half asked, half stated. "No ordinary scholar could fight like that."

"I guess you've found me out." Robin sighed. "You're right."

"You seem to be fairly experienced in war." Lyn continued. "If it's not too much of a burden, could you take me with you on your travels?"

'Is this what Naga sent me here for?' Robin asked himself internally.

'Who knows? I cannot comprehend her thought process. I never could.' Grima replied.

"Well, I don't really mind." Robin shrugged. "However, you should probably let your family know before you make that decision, no?"

Robin could see Lyn's face tense up. "My mother and my father… died six months ago. My people… the Lorca… they don't… I'm the last of my tribe. Bandits attacked and… they killed so many people. The tribe was scattered. My father was our chieftain, and I wanted to protect our people, but I was so young, and our people were old-fashioned. They wouldn't follow a woman. No one would follow me. And so they all scattered."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Robin could see that Lyn was clearly trying to hold back tears.

"I've been lonely for so long…" Lyn continued. "But no more. I won't shed anymore tears."

"Well… in that case, I have no problems with you tagging along. But if I may ask, what is your reason for coming with me? Is it because you don't want to stay lonely?"

"I want… no, I must become stronger." Lyn clenched her fists. "Today's battle taught me something. I won't get any stronger living here alone. And I saw how skilled you are with a sword. Will you please train me and let me travel with you?"

'We did think she has very high potential.' Grima's voice reasoned.

'Since she has no family to return to, maybe we can invite her to settle down in Ylisse after this is over… it would be beneficial for her, and strengthen Ylisse even more.' Robin thought.

'Slow down a little.' Grima chuckled. 'You don't need to think that far ahead.'

"All right." Robin chuckled. "I'll allow you to travel with me. As for training you with a sword, we'll have to see what I can do about that."

"You will?" Lyn looked somewhat surprised. "That's wonderful! Thank you! Oh, thank you! We'll be better off working together, I know it!"

"You should pack what you need then." Robin suggested. "Also, do you have a map of the general area?"

"I'll pack right away!" Lyn exclaimed enthusiastically. "There's not much to pack anyways. As for the map, I'm sorry but I don't. I do know the area pretty well though, and we can probably purchase a map in Bulgar."

"I'm sorry, I don't know the area at all." Robin scratched his head sheepishly. "But where is Bulgar?"

"It's the largest city in all of Sacae! We can also purchase some supplies there for our journey." Lyn cheerfully replied. "I still have my family's savings. That can count as my contribution to our travels."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Robin mumbled. 'Does my money even have value here?'

True to Lyn's word, they really didn't need to pack very much. Although Robin felt uncomfortable leaving the ger, Lyn didn't seem to have any problem with it, even if it gets destroyed during their absence. Less than an hour later, Lyn had packed up what she needed, and had everything strapped to her horse. She actually didn't have a large amount of personal items to bring; most of their baggage was food and water. Shortly after, the pair began their journey to Bulgar.

"We'll probably get there by midday tomorrow." Lyn estimated. "It's a little slower than usual, but considering that we're walking, it shouldn't be too surprising."

As they walked, Robin asked Lyn many questions about the land, and mostly let her talk. At this point, Lyn was certain that Robin was not from Elibe, but didn't ask too much about his homeland. She was more than happy to divulge the information about Elibe, and about Sacae. Robin found himself increasingly interested in the history of Elibe, and the eight legends described in them.

As the sun began to set, they decided it would be best to begin setting up camp. They set up the traveling tent that was commonplace across most of Elibe. It was suitable for one or two people, and could be carried by a single horse. Seeing as Lyn didn't seem to have any problems with the arrangement, possibly due to her outgoing personality and maybe her cultural upbringing, Robin kept his mouth shut.

The majority of their dinner consisted of dried and preserved horse jerky, goat cheese, and a small variety of berries, which they ate around a campfire that Robin had started.

"Sorry if you aren't used to it." Lyn apologized sheepishly. "From what I understand, horse meat isn't popular anywhere outside of Sacae."

"Don't worry about it." Robin replied sincerely. "After all, I've eaten my own share of various animals. In fact, eating this jerky actually makes me pretty nostalgic."

"About your past?" Lyn asked. "If you don't mind, I would love to hear about your homeland."

"My homeland huh…" Robin looked off into the distance and let out a sigh. "Well I come from a land called Ylisse…"

"Ylisse?" Lyn furrowed her brow. "I think I've heard some traveling merchants briefly mention it. If I recall correctly, I think that's the continent to our west. Apparently a handful of merchants from the Western Isles do business with them, but as the journey to and from takes several weeks by boat, there is not too much interaction between us and them."

"To the west, huh?" Robin muttered. 'That's actually pretty useful information. At least I have a lead on how to get home after I finish whatever it is that Naga asked me to do.'

"So did you flee here?" Lyn asked cautiously. "I mean, I get the feeling that you've had your own share of live combat… was there a war or something?"

"Yeah…" Robin sighed. "There was a very long war…"

"I'm sorry…" Lyn knew exactly what it felt like to lose all her loved ones, which she assumed was what had happened to Robin.

"Don't apologize." Robin chuckled. "I might be somewhat somber, but my country and the allies were the victors of the war. In fact, at some point I'll return home to my family and friends, who are probably waiting for me."

"Oh… I see." Lyn nodded. "I guess I just assumed the worst."

"But yes, you could say I've had a lot of experience in the ways of war." Robin smirked. "It's quite unfortunate, but someone has to be the expert. Unless, of course, everyone could peacefully coexist together."

"Yeah… wouldn't that be nice?" Lyn sighed. "No bandits… no brigandes… no wars either…"

"Exactly." Robin nodded. "That's the type of world I would love to help create."

"Well, if that's the case, then I would love to help you create such a world too." Lyn offered.

"I greatly appreciate the offer." Robin chuckled.

Later that evening…

"Shall I take the first watch?" Robin offered.

"Well… we're on a well traveled road… I don't think there will be brigandes or anything." Lyn replied. "They usually stick to areas that are not as commonplace. After all, there are warrants for many of them."

"Is that so?" Robin looked deep in thought. "Still… I think I would feel more comfortable keeping watch. It's… habit."

"I… understand." Lyn didn't want to say too much. After all, she now knows that Robin is the veteran of some war from his homeland. "Do you want to wake me up halfway through the night for my shift then?"

"If you're not that used to it, then there's no need." Robin waved his hand dismissively. "I'll just stay up until a few hours before sunrise, then sleep for a little bit."

"But that's not enough-" Lyn protested.

"It's enough for me." Robin promised. "Believe it or not, I usually don't sleep too much. Just a few hours for me is equivalent to the entire night for most people. Trust me on this one."

Lyn still had an apprehensive look on her face, but didn't argue any further. "All right then… I'll see you tomorrow morning?"

"Yeah." Robin nodded. "Sleep well."

As Lyn retreated into the tent, Robin finally had some time alone to gather his thoughts. It had been the first time since waking up that he'd had the opportunity.

"I wonder how everyone is doing back at home…" Robin muttered to himself. "They're all waiting for me. Lucina's waiting for me… I hope I can finish all of this soon…"

'Well if there's someone still waiting on you back home, then I'd have to advise that you be careful…' Grima warned.

"And why is that?" Robin asked.

'You possess the blood of a god.' Grima replied. 'You'll find that among the people that get to know you, most of the males will respect you, while many females will become infatuated with you.'

"Are you serious…" Robin deadpanned.

'Well, just take a look at your friend… the Ylissean prince. Although somewhat diluted, he has the blood of Naga flowing through him. There's a reason why he garners so much trust and respect among your friends.' Grima pointed out. 'Also, the wench of Nag… I mean, the voice of Naga. Sorry… habit. The reason why she garners so much respect and affection is due to the consciousness of Naga residing within her. You already see what happens with them, so you can only expect even more yourself, as you possess both Grima's soul and power.'

"Quite convenient, isn't it…" Robin muttered. 'Is there anything else that I need to be aware of?"

'Let's see…' Grima muttered something incomprehensible for a few moments. 'Ah yes, do remember to restrain yourself, at least somewhat. You had Grima's blood before your death, so much of what you used to be able to do has become enhanced significantly… Obviously, there's also information and skills you've gained through the process as well. But do remember that most of the people in this world are frail and fragile mortals. If you overdo it, you can cause serious harm to your allies, as well as your enemies. I wouldn't be surprised if you could flatten this city of Bulgar to the ground with one spell.'

"Duly noted." Robin nodded in agreement. "That is some very important advice."

Robin talked with Grima for most of the night, trying to absorb as much information from him as humanly possible. True to his word, he went to bed when he began to feel fatigued, being careful not to disrupt the peaceful slumber of Lyn. In the morning, the two travelers awoke, packed everything up, and continued on their trip to the city of Bulgar…

Author's Notes: I'll admit, the reason this chapter is out so soon was because I had a sudden urge to keep writing after finishing the last story. And this chapter was fairly short as well, which was why it could get done so soon. Obviously, in the future I will not be able to post as fast once the chapters begin to be longer, but think of this one as compensation for taking more than four months to make my last post.

A side note, single quotations '' I will use to denote thoughts or telepathy, whereas double quotes "" will be used to denote words spoken out loud.

As this is a new story, any support would be greatly appreciated. If you have the time, feel free to follow and leave a review.