Knights of the New Order

[Corrobin]

This is a FE4 rewrite I've been working on. Hope you all like it!

 

Chapter 0: Relief

Two youths ride on horses, dashing through the rain and thunder. The brown-haired boy carries an orange-haired toddler, a black-haired boy, and two blue-haired toddlers. The black-haired young man holds a black-haired girl, and an orange-haired baby.

The black-haired youth says to his companion: "I'll drop these two off with you, then I'm going to Yied. We'll need the Balmung to beat Arvis, after all."

His companion responds: "Alright. But be careful!"       

The black-haired youth and his brown-haired companion slow their horses in front of an abandoned house in a forest. 

"Alright,", says the black haired youth as he gets off, carefully holding the swaddled newborn and passing it to his companion, "I'll head out to grab the Balmung. Definitely going to take a while, but I think I can handle it. You stay here and raise these kids. Keep mostly out of sight, don't go into town unless absolutely necessary."

"I can handle a few kids on my own, Shanan. Although food might be an issue. But I can handle at least a few months. Can you spare me some money to buy a good supply of food?"

"Sure, but spend it all now. Focus on preservable: salted meats, pickled anything, jams and jellies, a small amount of bread, you know, that kind of stuff. Make sure Lana has some milk or something like that, and try to get Larcei to eat her vegetables." After he helped down the black-haired girl, he handed his companion a small satchel of gold coins, then got back on his horse. "And most importantly, stay safe, Oifaye."

"I will. Good luck sneaking into the Yied Shrine to get the Balmung!" Oifaye waved as Shanan as the man rode out. "Okay, everyone, let's get settled into our new house!", Oifaye shouted as he carried Lana inside and the other toddlers walked behind him.

"This house smells dusty." Said the lanky blue-haired toddler named Lester.

"That's because it is, Lest." Oifaye nodded to Lester. "How about you and Ulster get some brooms and sweep the floors while Seliph and Larcei get the furniture out?"

"Ooooookaaaaaayyyyyyyy. But what about you and Del?" sighed the impatient toddler. 

"I'm going to lay your sister down and find us something to eat." Replied Oifaye patiently. "Delmud can go outside and look for tree branches to start a fire."

"Yaaaaaaayyyyy! I get to go outside!" The adorably enthusiastic boy ran out into the grass and got onto his knees, looking for sticks. The rest of the children got to their tasks: Lana was laid on a bed in the back of the house and Oifaye went hunting for a hog or deer to cook for dinner. Larcei and Seliph found chairs and a table and put it into the "front room" while Ulster and Lester swept the floors. Every so often Delmud would put an armful of sticks and small branches at the front door. After that was all said and done, the house was nicer and neater than when they had started. Oifaye soon arrived with a boar over his shoulder and a smile.

"Great job, kids! The house already looks much nicer! I'll go ahead and start dinner, you go and play outside where I can see you." The young man smiled as the five children ran out to start looking for bugs and playing tag, and he frowned slightly. ("If only they knew of the burden on their future..."). He started a fire in a ring of stones outside the house and soon the pig was roasting. The children ate their dinner and then they became tired. With three beds and seven people to sleep in them, Oifaye quickly offered to sleep on the floor, so that the beds could be split: Seliph/Ulster, Larcei/Lana and Delmud/Lester. With blankets pulled over their bodies and pillows beneath their heads, Oifaye slept easily for the first time in weeks. His body lain against a wall, his eyes closed and he dreamed pleasant dreams, instead of the nightmares of his failure he had had for months.