Author's Notes: Thanks to everyone's support, the first chapter of this is going up! It's going to be long running, but I'm hoping to post twice weekly because there's somewhere between 80-100 chapters. I'm not positive on the number just yet because I haven't finished editing. Thank you for reading, and I hope that you enjoy. (Now with minor edits!)

Tales of Vesperia is the property of Namco Bandai.

Fourteen years ago, I made a comment in passing to one of the captains of Zaphias' Imperial Knights which began a chain of events that changed the history of this world.

The Lower Quarter didn't look much different than he remembered. Rows of cramped, dilapidated buildings, homes and shops with dirty windows, and the ever-flowing fountain in the center of it all that provided water for the whole of the citizens. The inn was still where he remembered, packed with people for dinner and drinks after a hard day's work.

Yuri Lowell didn't miss this place. There wasn't a single moment of time that he wasn't glad to not live in the slums of the city of Zaphias, the supposed jewel of the Empire.

The purple and white dog beside him barked, reminding him that he was here on a mission.

"Sorry, Repede. Guess we're off to the Royal Quarter? Old man said that's where the guy we're looking for lives." He pulled a torn bit of clothing out of his pocket and let the dog take a good sniff.

Repede put his nose to the ground, looking for the scent. Yuri's nose wasn't strong enough to pick up on it, but the scent of the thief could not have been a pleasant one. He imagined sweat and cheap, overpowering cologne, maybe a hint of salt air from sea travel. With a flick of his tail, the dog signaled that he had found the scent and glanced back to Yuri with his one good, green eye.

"Got it?"

He received a short, brisk woof as a reply. He followed his partner up the hill and through the wooden gateway that cordoned off the Lower Quarter from the Public Quarter. The brown and olive uniformed city guards eyed him suspiciously but they made no movements against him. He wasn't afraid of imperial guards. They were pompous and ill trained at best, but he wasn't in a position to start a fight like he would have liked to. He kept a leisurely pace along the main thoroughfare, in spite of Repede's constant looking back over his shoulder to urge him along. His mission may have been one of urgency but he wanted to raise as little suspicion as possible. After all, his kind was far from welcome here, and if these city guards knew that he was from Zaphias's enemy, the city-state of Dahngrest, home of the guilds and the Union, they would not hesitate to arrest him. Execution was not out of the picture either.

Many of the merchants were closing up shop for the day, but he still poked around a few of the stalls to make himself blend in a little to the dying crowds. He made a few small purchases. They weren't even things he really needed, but a few extra gels and a few poison bottles couldn't hurt.

As people were passing into the Royal Quarter, he followed quietly next to a Krityan woman. He amazingly looked less out of place there with a dog than he did beside some of the lavishly dressed and ridiculous looking nobles. She smiled at him briefly, but said nothing to him and didn't seem to mind his proximity. This was a blessing.

A long garden stretched up the hill, separating the Royal Quarter from the Public Quarter. It was prettier than the wall or gates that the nobles would have liked to have erected, but still served the purpose of putting that much distance between them and the common folk. He ducked into the garden just before the final steps leading up the long road in front of the castle. He listened to the guards talking about the citizens of the Lower Quarter in such a way that made even him angry.

Yuri stooped and picked up a couple of rocks. They were the size of his palm, flat, round and heavy. He had to get in past the knights somehow, and a little use of force was never outside of his capabilities. In fact, force was his forte. He angled the first rock up over the uselessly flowery bushes and pegged the first of the guards in the head. He crashed to the ground in a heap of armor, and as the other approached to see what had happened, he threw the second rock. The second guard fell as easily as the first, and Repede rushed up the stairs, his nose absorbing every little trace of scent from the decorated cobblestone road that he could. He also sniffed the fallen guards, and, using his front paws, mimed scratching dirt over them.

He mounted the steps behind the dog, keeping an eye out for any other guards that his display may have alerted. There were two red uniformed guards at the entrance to the palace, Royal Guards, but neither appeared to have noticed. He knelt beside Repede

"Which way?"

The dog did a circle around the guards and picked up the scent down the east end of the road. He trotted along toward the first stately manor that lined the road in front of the palace, and looked back at Yuri to signal him. He followed, slipping through the gate of the manor. With luck, it would be at least a few minutes before the knocked out guards were discovered. That would give them plenty of time to complete their mission.

The mansion appeared abandoned, but a carriage drawn by two horses stood outside. It also appeared empty. He sneaked around it, hugging close to the bushes as he walked. He moved up the front steps, and immediately went for the front door. It didn't give as he pulled.

"Locked huh?" He wasn't going to be deterred by something minor like that. He walked around to one of the side walls of the manor, where several glass windows were set into the wall. When he looked in, the inside of the mansion seemed mostly void of decoration and completely lacked any human presence. He pulled the window open easily. "Lock the door but not the windows. What an idiot." He climbed in and Repede jumped in behind him.

It was dark and quiet, but they still moved through house. Up a set of stairs and through a few rooms, they followed the scent. It was very empty here, which confirmed what the old man had told him. This was a front for whatever this person was doing on the side. And he knew exactly what that was. This person was a blastia thief. The blastia from all across Dahngrest had recently gone missing and in his investigation, it all led back to this person whom he only knew as Mordio. From his contact's information, Zaphias was experiencing a similar problem and it was probably the result of the same thief.

As he and Repede exited one of the rooms on the upper floor, they heard the click of a latch and looked over the railing to the foyer below. A cloaked man had his hand on the door ready to make his exit.

"So you must be Mordio."

The man stopped cold, turning slowly and trembling. "W-Who are you?"

"That's not really important, now is it?" Yuri jumped off the railing into the foyer with very little effort and Repede followed, growling.

"What do you want from me?"

"First off, all that stolen blastia. We'll go from there."

Mordio made a small movement and, as the air filled with smoke, Yuri felt like an idiot. He should have seen a crooked trick like that coming. He thrust the scabbard of his sword through the smoke and only hit the wood door. He pushed it open and rushed out, Repede barking behind him.

Mordio was already pulling himself into the carriage by the time they made it out the door. Just as they were about to continue their pursuit, the loud clanking of armor stopped them. Approaching was a large group of knights. He swore. They had to continue after Mordio, but now they risked being captured. A few knights he could have easily fought, but this was enough to make him reconsider the worth of running away.

Repede rushed ahead, scurrying to get at the carriage that was pulling away. Yuri came in behind, but as he reached to take hold of the wood, the knights blocked his path and allowed the carriage to drive off.

"Damn it."

"Halt! Who are you?!"

"Who? Me? I'm just passing through."

"You're under arrest. Surrender at once."

As long as Repede could stay on the trail of the blastia thief, he would be able to catch up later. For right now, surrendering was his best option.

Yuri laid down his sword. The Imperial Knights didn't spare him a single blow before slapping him in irons and dragging him to the palace prison.

It had been a week, one horrible, lonely, dark week. It was all the grieving time he was allowed as a Knight in the imperial ranks. He was lucky to be allowed even that during these times of war. Everyone he knew, everyone who had served with or under his father came to give him their condolences. That did nothing to ease the pain that came from losing his only parent.

Finath Scifo had been a great man. He had been in the knighthood since before Flynn was born, and over the years of his hard work and dedication, had risen steadily through the ranks to become a captain, one of the highest places of honor that could be held by an Imperial Knight. His hard work had built a comfortable life for himself and his son. Where they had been citizens of the Lower Quarter when Flynn was very young, a promotion had allowed them to live in the Public Quarter, in a house that had been much larger and much nicer than any Flynn could have remembered seeing before. Even as a captain, they had remained in that house, and that house was now Flynn's. He didn't like it anymore. It was full of happy memories that only proved to haunt him late at night when he tried to sleep.

Many had attended the funeral, placing lovely white flowers atop his father's casket. The casket seemed pointless, since all that had been brought back of his father were his sword and shield, and his tattered uniform. His death at the hands of Union soldiers had gratefully been on the battlefield and not the shaming death afforded to prisoners of war. He had lived and died a hero. But with his death, Flynn was alone, with only his father's blastia left on his wrist. It had been a gift for Flynn's promotion into the Royal Guard, but it felt so cold on his wrist now.

Even that knowledge did not stop the ache in his chest. As he dressed for work, the red uniform he donned felt unnatural after only a week of leave. It seemed so heavy, like a burden he was being forced to bear. Flynn had not asked to be a Royal Guard in the Imperial Knights. He had worked hard for his position, but he still felt like he had gotten where he was because of his father, and he resented him a little for that. If his father had not been a captain, he knew that, even with his apparent skill level, he would have been a standard foot soldier serving under any of the other captains. It took a great deal of work to be accepted into the Royal Guard. Commandant Alexei was incredibly particular, and with good reason, about who would be allowed to be his personal guard and among the guards of the Royal family. Right now, all Flynn wanted to do was mourn. He still had his duty to do, however.

Flynn walked briskly to the palace to report for duty. The people of the Public Quarter greeted him in their regular friendly manner, but that also did little to put his mind at ease. He still put on a brave front and walked to the palace like nothing at all was wrong, like he hadn't lost his father only a week before.

It was still a little while before his shift began so he took to strolling through the palace gardens. It was a quiet, warm summer day and it got him to thinking. He had only once before seen the world beyond the Sword Stair barrier that protected the imperial capital of Zaphias. Since his father's death, he had been thinking much more seriously about a transfer to the field. He knew that he was needed here, but he felt so useless. He wasn't helping anyone here. He stood by, day by day, as his comrades on the battlefield suffered where he might be able to help. The likelihood that Commandant Alexei would approve such a thing was very small. The Royal Guard were hand picked, and their talents were not to be wasted fighting the enemy far from here, but instead the enemy on the home front, where many innocent civilians were at stake. But at the same time, he couldn't help but feel like he was not giving his all to the Empire like he should have been.

"Flynn." A voice from behind him broke his thoughts and he turned quickly and saluted the pink haired girl who had walked up.

"Lady Estellise." He bowed low and respectful.

She pulled away a little from the two guards following her and then spoke to him in a whisper. "May I speak with you in private?"

"Certainly."

The two guards moved back and allowed them to walk a little further into the garden, toward a stately fountain. This put enough distance between them and the other guards that they would not be able to overhear them and could not read lips.

The princess had been an acquaintance of his for years now, but she rarely asked to speak with him privately. Something must have been bothering her a great deal to provoke such a thing. If she felt like it was something that she needed him for, no matter what it was, it was his duty to obey as a servant of the Empire.

"I'm very worried about Ioder. I haven't seen him in two days."

"Have you spoken with his guard?" He was acquainted with the young prince also, and had served many days on his guard as well.

"They say that he is sick, but they have not called on me to heal him, and I have seen no other doctor come through the palace. His room has been guarded day and night and no one will let me in to see him."

It was no surprise that his room was constantly guarded. As a candidate for the imperial throne, he would be a target for their enemy in Dahngrest. With the throne currently empty and only Commandant Alexei in a seat of power, Zaphias, once a bedrock of peace throughout the Empire, felt vulnerable. Flynn believed, though, that the Commandant was succeeding in doing his best for the sake of their country.

"I will check in on him today myself. I'm sure they just don't want you getting sick as well. Once I learn of his condition, I will let you know."

"Thank you so much, Flynn." She took a few steps back and her guards joined her once more. She waved a goodbye with her small, gloved hand and went back to taking her daily walk around the garden.

Flynn went to the barracks and reported to his supervisor. While receiving his assignment, he asked about Ioder as well, and was given the same reply Estellise had been given. He was reported to be ill and was recovering in the privacy of his royal suite. He didn't ask further questions and still planned on stopping in to see him on his dinner hour. For the time being though, he was ordered to take up guard duty in the prison. Apparently one of the prisoners there was a spy from Dahngrest and the Commandant didn't want the regular Knights being on guard over someone with potentially deadly skills. His supervisor said that the man had attacked an imperial noble without provocation and was being held as a war criminal.

With that, he headed down into the basement and to the palace prison where the prisoner of war was being held. This was going to be a boring evening.