Rigel Castle, 384 VC

'Emperor Rudolf, sir!'
Rudolf, fearsome emperor of Rigel, turned around when he heard a soldier running towards him.

'Good, or bad?' he asks, his deep voice echoeing through the hallway of his castle. The soldier, tired from his run, wipes away the sweat on his forehead and sighs:
'Both. The baby has been born, sir. It's a boy, all healthy and well.'
Rudolf releases the breath he's been holding for so long due to the stress:
'I have a son...' he exclaims, laughing, but the smile quickly fades away when he realised he's only been told the good news.
'And the bad news?' He asks, but he already knew what was about to come.
'It's your wife, sir... she... passed away after giving birth.'
Feeling a tear welling up in his eye, the emperor of Rigel nods:
'... Very well.' He says, turns around, and heads off to see his newborn son.

Rudolf's most trusted generals and some archanists of Duma, the feared god of Rigel, were already there. A man, who almost a looked like a monster, called Jedah was their leader. The man once sacrificed his two daughters to Duma, and gained incredible magic powers in return. He was notorious throughout the land, and even Rudolf both respected and feared him.

'My lord, welcome.' Jedah said in his snake-like voice. Rudolf nodded and walked towards his child, but his best friend and most trusted advisor, general Mycen, stopped him, and unnoticeably whispered something in his ear.

Rudolf's eyes grow wide, but quickly change back to normal again, nods and softly takes the baby in his arms. Turning towards the others, he calmly shouts:
'His name will be Albein!'
Under grand applause, Rudolf leaves the great hall, and heads to his chambers with the baby, accompanied by Mycen.

'Are you sure about this, Your Majesty?'
'I'm sure, Mycen. This is the best I can do for the baby. I'll do whatever I can to help his fate. The rest is up to him.'
Mycen nodded, understanding this was the best possible way. Rudolf continued:
'Take him to the safest place you can think of. What else you do for him is your decision.'
'Understood.'
With a bow, Mycen left the room, Albein in his arms.

Rudolf sighed, and sat down, overwhelmed by everything that just happened:
'First my wife gets taken away from me, now my son... how much longer must I suffer?!'
A knock on the door interrupted his rage, and in front of him stood Jedah.
Rudolf frowned his eyebrows at the sight of the terrifying servant of Duma:
'What do you want, Jedah?'
Jadah smirked:
'Nothing at all, my lord, I just wanted to check on your son-'
'He's not here.'
Jedah's face seemed to turn darker for a second, but quickly turned back to normal again, and a smile appeared, though his eyes didn't share it:
'Very well. I'll come back some other time.'
With those words, Jedah immediately left. Rudolf slammed the door shut and laid down on his soft bed:
'Forgive me... Albein...'

Zofian Royal Villa, 377 VC

Anthiese, princess of Zofia, woke up, her skin burning, and the smell of smoke in her nostrils.

The princess, heiress to the Zofian throne, was 7 years old. Her father, King Lima IV, had gone to Goddess Mila's temple for the traditional celebrations, and only left a small garrison of guards stationed at the villa to ensure her safety, and her half-brother Conrad's safety as well. The only other people present at the villa were part of Lima's seraglio of brides.

'Till this day, Anthiese had always been safe, bonded with Conrad, and never had any trouble. Until today.

Anthiese got up fast, looked around her, and saw the wall being on fire. She frantically looked for an escape, but found the door blocked my a wooden pillar, being too heavy for her to lift. The only other option she knew to survive soon came into play:
'HEEEEEEELP! SOMEBODY?! SOMEONE HELP ME!'
This was all she could shout, as her the smoke started filling her lungs.

Suddenly, the doors of the bedroom flew open, and in came an old knight. He had grey hair and moustache, and wore shining armour.

Anthiese screamed, but the man smiled:
'Calm, princess. I'm here to help you. I'm general Mycen. I am a Knight of Zofia, and serve your father.'

The princess started walking towards him, but a sudden scream of a woman made her scare up:
'What was that?!'
Mycen's face grimaced:
'Desaix, you dastard... things might get bloody here, princess. Don't worry though, I'll be here by your side all the way. Follow me now, quickly!' He exclaimed, grabbed Anthiese's arm, held her skinny body in his arms and jumped out of the window, right as a shady knight entered the room, sword in his hand.

'Blast it! Damn you, Mycen,' He shouted, cutting off an edge of the princess' bed, 'though chancellor Desaix will be most happy when I tell him everyone has been killed.'
Laughing, he left the room.

Mycen whistled to his horse, which had been waiting for him in the forest near the villa. He helped Anthiese climb on first before mounting it himself, and sighed:
'I'm so sorry for all of this, princess... I should have seen this coming.'
The young girl had a tear in her eye:
'And Conrad? We need to find Conrad!'
The old general sighed once more and turned his horse:
'I searched through every room before arriving at yours, milady. I saw no survivors.'

The princess started crying, so Mycen put an arm around her protectively:
'Don't worry, princess. You're okay now. And maybe I didn't search well enough. I'm sure Conrad is safe.'
Not really believing in what he just said, the knight looked at the dark sky. The morning hadn't come yet, and the roads were pretty unsafe as of now.
'I'll take you somewhere safe, princess. A small village, unnoticeable for bad people, in the south of Zofia. The road will be risky, but we'll make it. I promise.'

'I promise, Lima', he thought, riding off to the safest place he could think of.

Hey! Golf420 here. If you didn't know already, I always add a writer's note at the end of a chapter, usually with a question.

This prologue was merely something for me to try out, but I really liked writing it! It was a bit tricky since this is a prologue, and not the actual story, but I hope you liked it as well. If you've played Fire Emblem Gaiden/Echoes and you know the characters, then I'd like you to tell me which characters you'd want to see being shipped, or which ones you'd like to see in general! I can't wait to write the first chapter with my beloved characters!

Either way, please have a good day, and take care! See you in the next chapter!
~Golf