Act 0 Chapter 1
Departure (Mycen)

In the full moon, two silhouettes moved quickly through Ram Village. One of them, the figure of an aged man, was in the front. Both of them carried heavy bags. Strong winds helped conceal the indignant voice of the young girl he dragged behind himself. The village watch were more drunk than usual. It was the perfect departure for a long journey.

"No! Let me go, you crypt!" The young girl whined. She tried to fight the man's grasp.

The old man paused. "Celica, we have no choice. The knaves who tried setting foot in this village know you are here. It will only be a matter of time before they come hunting for you."

"I know that grandpapa!" Celica held back her tears. "Why did you have to lie to Alm and the others? You told them I wasn't going to leave…"

Sir Mycen shook his head. It was unusually cruel to send little Celica off to a foreign land without telling another soul, but he needed to do so quietly. The stubborn lad who grew attached to her would protest to the entire Ram Ranch. The knight knew nobody must know about the little girl's past.

"I will come back for him, after delivering you elsewhere." Mycen kneeled down to Celica's height. "This is the will of the Mother. I have a feeling you'll see him again someday."

"If it's Her will…" The girl sniffed. "…Then. I'll go. I don't know what I'll do if I see Alm cry."

"This was not a light decision, princess." The man shook his wary head. "Despite all my years serving the people of Zofia, I have failed to provide you with a simple childhood. Please forgive a senile fool for your troubles."

Mycen led the girl to the stable and found his horse. His mare had provided many years of loyal service to him. To live inside a half torn-down stable house, with horses several fortnights younger than her, had taken a toll on the dejected creature. In a way, it reminded the knight of his later days.

"Don't say that grandpapa!" Celicia argued. "I'll never forget the friends and memories I made here. They mean the entire world to me."

"Of course." Mycen sighed. "I have unfinished business here in Ram, so I cannot accompany you. However I have an old friend at the priory who can take you in. You will be safe there, I promise it."

"Can I at least leave behind a letter?" The girl piped up as the knight began loading the horse's side-bags. "I want to leave him something to remember me by."

"I've already left something behind for you. I'm afraid we do not have time to spare."

Celica smiled. "You're right! Tobin and the others won't be lonely with you around!"

The horse neighed in complaint of being woken up so late, but the other mares were too tired to bother. Sir Mycen helped the girl up his steed, and sat right behind her. In the darkness he found the reins and held them tight. As they exited the stable, Celica looked around at her old home one last time.

"I'm proud of you, Celica." Mycen said. "Shall we leave?"

"Mhm." The girl nodded. "Grandp-, um, Sir Mycen. Do you think I'll see Alm again?"

"That's not a promise I can make, but I'll do everything I can to make that a reality." The man gulped. "Let's go, little princess."

It was only a few days before Mycen reached the Zofian Harbor, and an even shorter while for him to cross the seas. His friend received Celica with open arms and vowed she would be kept safe. The knight, however, was not eased by his words. Rumors had it pirate activity was increasing along the coastlines. The girl gave her protector a kiss on the cheek before leaving.

He rode his horse down the familiar route from Zofia Castle. On his way there, he had to wear a hood to conceal his identity. King Lima IV did not take his presence kindly next to the royal residences.

Not that Mycen really cared – he just wanted to enjoy some mead and mutton in peace. The man did not get to travel often. Just as luck had it, he was returning to the village at dusk. The guards would be surprised, but probably relieved to see the old man come home.

"Huh? That's odd…" He said to himself.

Mycen suddenly pulled on his horse's reins, causing it to halt abruptly. He heard movement on the other side of the brush. The forest was filled with green but the abundance of evergreens and oak made echoes easy to hear.

"I hear someone, over there!"

"Yes sir, moving."

However he was too late. The strangers in the forest heard the knight as well. Slowly they emerged from behind the bushes. Two patrol's worth of cavaliers started assembling in front of Mycen, whose mare stood vexingly.

"Hold!" One of the men said. He was wearing royal armor. "Under the orders of the Zofian Army!"

"I think you have the wrong person." Mycen replied calmly.

"Do we? I'll be damned if we were."

A familiar voice sounded from the back of the force. The cavaliers made way for their captain to reveal himself. The purple-haired warrior smirked as he saw Sir Mycen. The brief silence afterwards was only filled by the sound of crickets.

"Slayde." The knight narrowed his eyes.

"And Sir Mycen!" The captain bellowed, stroking his short beard. "I must thank you for the fine wounds you've dealt me our first encounter! A humble welcome indeed."

"You were threatening young children, foul vagrant." Mycen spat. "Don't think I have forgotten what transpired that evening."

Slayde prodded the back of his steed. "Fond memories. I'm simply visiting this settlement, and will soon be off. Too bad I haven't enough time to deal with you."

As he spoke, the rest of the cavaliers began turning their backs to Mycen. The knight unsheathed a silver lance. It had been years since he had let trespassers trouble innocent villagers. He had no intention of having that impressive streak die.

"Wait." He exclaimed. "You're way too late. She's not here anymore."

The Zofian captain blinked. "I had a feeling that was the case. Spit it out, geezer. Where is the girl?"

"I dropped her off somewhere." Mycen said. "Far away with another guardian."

"Then you shall tell us where she is." Slayde retorted.

"Even if you do manage to capture me, I won't yield. Nothing you do will work, for even I do not know where she is at this point"

The cavaliers behind Slayde started discussing among themselves in livid concern. Their captain folded his arms and thought for a brief moment. He then yelled at his troops to keep order, and turned back to the old man.

"A shame then. You are of no use to us." Slayde shrugged. "General Desaix will be pleased to hear about your demise. I hope the Mother has grand plans for you in the afterlife"

"Bring it on, rat." Sir Mycen said. He was pleased the Zofian captain took his lie. Slayde unsheathed his own lance. "Your repulsive lives end here, once and for all."

Slayde's steed rushed forth. The captain lowered his weapon and stabbed forwards. Mycen easily dodged to the side and returned with a slash. The attack was quickly parried.

The two were on opposite sides of each other. Mycen gripped his weapon harder and panted. His adversary had improved much when they first fought.

"Come at me, dastard." Slayde taunted. "I learned from my past mistakes. Too bad you don't have half a dozen kids to fight beside."

"Quit talking and battle." The knight retorted.

As he spoke, the twenty-or-so cavaliers began forming a long wall behind Mycen. There were no more avenues of escape, he was trapped. Adrenaline capable of fueling an entire army ran through his body.

"Very well." The Zofian captain said, "Since you inquired, I must keep to my tight schedule. Soldiers, charge the man!"

"For Zofia!"

The patrol charged forth, brandishing an assortment of lances and swords. With Slayde in front of him and his henchmen approaching from behind, Mycen had no choice but to turn around. The predator locked onto its prey, and leapt forth.

"Hrah!"

The first two cavaliers came from both sides in a predictable fashion. The knight kicked up speed, making the Zofians' attack deflect off his horse's armor. He then brought the blade on his lance down, knocking both of them off their steeds with ease.

The next three quickly formed a triangle around Mycen. One accidentally charged in prematurely. Her attack was repelled and the knight landed a blow through her chest armor. The other two looked at each other and backed off.

The rest of the patrol surrounded Sir Mycen. There were simply too many to handle. A few jumped in from the rear, landing quick strikes on Mycen's ride. The horse neighed in pain and kicked backwards. The knight was caught off-guard by the cavaliers' speed.

"Knaves! You will pay for this!"

He shouted in rage as he swung his lane forward, knocking a young Zofian off his horse. The remaining soldiers trotted towards the old knight. Mycen shook his head in exasperation and prepared to strike forth.

A young man slashed downward with his sword. The knight raised his lance to block.

Then a sharp pain began spreading through his lower torso.

"You-"

One by one the cavaliers lowered their arms. Some maintained blank expressions on their face, while the others widened their eyes in disbelief.

Sir Mycen looked down. The end of a lance protruded from his stomach. His armor had failed.

"Heh." Slayde was behind him, triumphant.

The knight's mare would have easily dodged such a lackluster attack, but the wounds on her back legs stopped her. In the end there were simply too many brigands.

"Hnng." The knight clutched his chest. With a mighty effort, the Zofian captain pulled his weapon out from his body. Mycen fell onto the ground, crawling up to his knees. "Impossible. I..."

"How very disappointing." Slayde scoffed. "After all the trouble you caused us, it appears your age has finally caught up."

Mycen's body convulsed in defiance but he felt his energy drain fast. A small puddle of blood began forming on the ground underneath him. He coughed violently into the ground. Even the smell of nature felt strange to the knight, as his senses started fading.

"It wasn't… supposed to end like this." He grunted. "Alm… Celica. I'm sorry. I won't be seeing you after all..."

Mycen's body collapsed lamely onto the ground as the last ounce of strength left him. The last thing he heard as everlasting darkness overtook his vision, was Sir Slayde yelling at his soldiers to bury the body.

A/N: Hey Everyone! Welcome to Fire Emblem Echoes: Hearts of Iron.

In this semi-novelization, one small change to how Mycen sends off Celica snowballs into a completely different story, and a completely different Alm! Please consider reading the first 3 chapters of this story before deciding whether or not to continue. I need time to show you my ideas and writing style!

I expect this story to have a long run, so I hope you tag along for the ride. I don't have any set pairings right now for any of the main characters, so I'll have to think more about that. Please leave reviews if you have the time! Any feedback will be used to improve the quality of subsequent chapters.

See you next Chapter!