“Good morning world!” Corrin exclaimed when he awoke. He got up quickly, throwing his covers to the side as he stood and got dressed in a light tunic with loose sleeves he could roll up if he got hot. His pack lay on the ground by the door—half packed from the night before—but he’d come back for it later. There were a few errands he had to run, Wyn had already done his share of the work, but Corrin had put his own off until the last day, so he’d have to be quick.
He strolled out into the main room, thankfully having not woke the youngest of his siblings with his earlier exclamation, and slunk through the door leading to the kitchen. He was apparently up early enough that his siblings were still eating, and Ezra waved at him as he entered.
“Wow it smells great today,” Corrin grinned. “What’s the occasion?”
Fenfreth laughed over by the stove. “Well, I just had some extra food set aside and I figured why not? We don’t always need a special day, right?”
“Damn geezer.”
“Watch your language, Corrin.” Ezra said sagely. “There are children here.”
“You’re twelve, idiot.” Corrin chopped his younger brother’s head lightly.
“Ow!”
Fenfreth laughed harder, walking towards the two of them. “Oh, don’t fight, you’re both idiots. Here Corrin, I made you a plate.”
He slid the plate across the table, and Corrin’s eyes grew wider as it came closer. Eggs, toast, and bacon, all piled high. The rich, savory smell was intoxicating, and before he knew it, the plate had been joined by a bowl of hot porridge, a cup of cold milk, and a jar of jam. It was the kind of breakfast they’d eat maybe once a year.
A drop of water fell onto the plate, and Corrin wiped his face before he could ruin the food.
“What the hell?” He chuckled, looking up at the older man. “It’s really not that big of a—”
Corrin cut off when he saw Fenfreth’s face. His smile was one of smug satisfaction, clearly having gotten the reaction he wanted, but his eyes were filled with pride.
He placed a hand on Corrin’s shoulder, “You’re going to be on the road for a while Corrin, so we figured the least we could do was to send you off right. Everybody here wanted to chip in and make sure you knew how proud we all are of you.”
Sarah smiled from across the table, “I made the toast!”
“I helped with the porridge!” Ezra said.
“I went and bought the jam!”
One by one, his siblings all chimed in with the various ways they’d helped apparently make it happen, no matter how small. They all looked at him expectedly, like they wanted him to say something, but he could hardly get his mouth to work, his lips parted in shock.
Finally, he settled on a wide smile, blinking more tears from his eyes. “Thanks everyone, it looks delicious. I’m really going to miss you guys.”
“He’s crying!” Ezra teased, face sporting a grin of his own.
“No, I’m not!”
“You totally are,” Sarah laughed, high fiving the other children.
“It’s just because the food smells so good,” He countered.
Fenfreth shouted over the arguing, “Alright everybody lets make sure to eat it before it gets cold!”
In the brief silence that followed, Corrin shoveled the meal into his mouth, making him too busy to respond to anymore taunts, and too focused on enjoying the taste to worry about any other emotions. But each time he came up for air and saw his family around him, all eating at the same table, joking, laughing, and fighting, he couldn’t help but smile.
***
After stuffing their faces, Corrin left to go spar with Wyn, who would no doubt be at the Spearwood this time of day.
As expected, his friend was atop the hill, eyes closed as he went through his forms. Wyn was nothing if not meticulous in his training. Corrin only practiced such basic forms as a warmup, or just to stave off boredom some days, but Wyn drilled them every single day, wind, rain, or shine, to the point that they had become as natural as breathing. It should’ve made him a predictable and boring opponent, but each swing of his had been practiced tens of thousands of times, eliminating any wasted energy, movement, or power.
“Hey!” Corrin called out as he approached, “Let’s finish this off right!”
Wyn’s eyes opened, and he turned to face Corrin. “What, dissatisfied after yesterday? You really don’t want to end on a loss huh?”
Corrin had begun to win more of their daily duels since learning to channel. While it seemed as though Wyn’s skill had somehow grown even more with his new spirit blessing, there was only so much skill could do in the face of extra speed and power, so while the fights were still close, the gap in their score had begun to close.
And yet he’d still lost the previous day.
“Are you going to turn it down?” Corrin taunted.
Wyn smirked, holding his sword out in front of him, “Of course not, I’m going to extend my lead.”
The fight began and ended, and eventually, after a series of minor blows and non-lethal hits left them arguing too much about who would be able to keep fighting after all the damage they’d taken, they had to agree to declare it a draw for the day.
It seemed fitting in a way, but that didn’t mean Corrin was happy about it.
Wyn took a swig from his waterskin as they sit in the grass, resting for a moment. “I think we’ve got an hour or two left. You about ready?”
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“I’m picking up our coats and then I’m good. You?”
“I’ve got one last thing to do as well,” He looked up at the sky thoughtfully. “Can’t believe it’s really here.”
“Can I get a drink of that? I didn’t bring my own.” Corrin asked.
Wyn handed him the waterskin and he took a long sip, quenching his thirst.
“Yeah, it still doesn’t quite feel real. But last night was the last time I’m going to sleep in my bed huh?”
Wyn groaned, taking the water back. “Don’t remind me of that.”
“What, not looking forward to roughing it?” Corrin chuckled.
“See how happy you are about it when it starts raining on us.”
Corrin pushed himself to his feet, “We’ll make a lean-to or something. Gonna go get our coats, I’ll see you later.”
Wyn waved him off. “See you in a little while.”
***
The door to the tailor’s shop opened with the gentle ring of a bell. The building had survived the flood, but the owner had apparently decided to take the opportunity to repair and clean much of the structure. Its squeaky hinges had been replaced with brand new ones, and a large window had been installed in the front. It helped a lot, as the building was quite small, and the interior felt even more so. It was cluttered with clothing and fabric hanging or displayed all over the room. It didn’t seem to Corrin that there was any real order to it, but the seamstress always seemed to know where things were.
The door to the back room opened and the seamstress, a middle-aged woman named Edith walked out. “Ah, Corrin I was wondering if you’d forgotten!”
“How could I?” He asked, “So how did they turn out?”
She smiled, “I think you’ll be quite happy with the results. You were right not to take this to Kern; he would’ve almost certainly butchered them.” She pulled two coats out from a rack behind her. They were long and gray, giving a distinct impression of warmth. The upper section was secured with several silver buttons, and just as requested, they had hoods hanging off the back. Hoods weren’t traditional, especially for the style of coat she’d made, but it was certainly practical if they had to travel in cold weather or snow.
“This wool was perhaps the best I’ve ever seen,” Edith said, “I was originally going to model the coats after gambeson, but thanks to how durable the wool already was, I was able to make it much lighter and warmer instead. And they'll be inconspicuous while you're wearing them for travel. They should stop most knives and will keep you two plenty warm in the winter. Try this one on, it was fitted for you.”
He took the coat and put it on, and it fit perfectly.
Wow, this really is warm. I’d die if I wore it in the summer, but once it gets cold this will be amazing.
Edith took a step back, admiring her work with a small smile on her face. Only then did he notice the bags around her eyes. It probably wasn’t as easy as he’d thought to complete a custom work like this in such a short amount of time.
“Thank you for completing them so quickly Eldress, I’m sure it couldn’t have been easy.” Corrin bowed, “They’re perfect.”
“It’s ok Corrin, I made Claire do plenty of the work on them, and I was happy to put in the extra time necessary. My husband always spoke so highly of you two, he loved to talk about the two prodigal tomb guardians he got to work with. I’m just glad I was able to be of help after everything you two did for the town.”
Corrin’s fist clenched tightly at the mention of her husband, and he couldn’t bring his head up to face her. “About Orm… I—”
“Don’t hang your head Corrin, my husband has joined the spirits a little sooner than we thought… But someday I’ll see him again.”
Corrin looked up at Edith, who was staring wistfully out the window of the shop, her eyes seemed wet, but he didn’t comment. Instead, he shoved his own guilt down and bowed again. He didn’t have the right to be upset on her behalf.
“Now hurry on out of here,” the older woman said, “I’m sure there are plenty of people more important than me you have to talk to. And you already paid me for them. Have a safe journey Corrin, and if anyone asks you where you got such a nice coat, you tell them I made it. Even if they never show up, I think having my name spread to the capital would be funny indeed.”
***
Corrin was finishing packing when someone knocked on his door.
“Come on in.”
The door opened and Ezra walked inside, a serious look on his face. The younger boy usually couldn’t stay this quiet for very long. In that way, Corrin thought they were similar.
“Hey what’s up? Is something wrong?”
Ezra closed the door, looking back at it a moment later as if to make sure nobody was watching. Then, he ran over and threw his arms around Corrin, hugging him tightly.
“What’s this about?” Corrin chuckled. “Are you embarrassed to do this in front of other people?”
Ezra didn’t respond, but Corrin heard him sniffle softly, and his grip tightened. Corrin hugged him back, ruffling his hair as he let him get it out of his system. “Love you too man. I’m gonna miss you while I’m away.”
After a while, his younger brother finally spoke, “Corrin… when you become a spirit knight, you’re not going to forget all about us right? You’re going to come back?”
That’s what he was worried about? After acting all smug at breakfast? Corrin's first instinct was to tease him about it, but if Ezra was being serious for once, then Corrin would be too.
“Obviously,” Corrin smiled. “You’re not going to forget about me either, right? If I send a letter, you’ll write back?”
Ezra nodded vigorously, wiping his tears on Corrin’s shirt. “I’ll write back, and you’ll hear about how I won the summer tournament! I’m going to do it!”
“Of course you will. You’re my little brother after all.” Corrin bent down to eye-level and placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “Listen, once I leave, you and Sarah are going to be the oldest kids here. So, you’ll be in charge while I’m gone alright? Take good care of everybody for me, the old man included. He’s getting older so he’s going to need some help if I’m not here.”
Ezra drew himself up, wiping more tears from his eyes as he stopped crying. “I will! I promise.”
“I know I can count on you,” Corrin smirked, “And don’t worry, I won’t tell anybody about this. So you can act as cool as you want when I’m saying bye to everyone else ok?”
With that Ezra’s face turned bright red and he started walking to the door. He paused, and ran back to give Corrin one last hug, before truly leaving.
His siblings were all idiots, just like he was. He was pretty sure it had to do with them being raised by Fenfreth.
But they were a good kind of idiot, so things would be just fine.
***
The meeting place for him and Wyn was just outside town, on the road that headed towards Taravast. With the church being on the southeast, it was coincidentally only a short walk away. They’d gathered there so that everyone could say bye to the two of them, but Corrin had apparently arrived early, as Wyn was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Fenfreth and the other children were all present to see him off, and he gave more hugs than he could count.
Shockingly, even some of Corrin’s older siblings were present. Several of them had moved out further into the countryside, working on the farms, and he hadn’t seen them since the advancement ceremony, but they’d shown up for this. Being on the receiving end of their teasing was different from his younger siblings, and they were old enough to bring up some of the more embarrassing things he’d done when he was younger, but it was all too familiar, and each one was happy to congratulate him. He couldn’t have asked for a better send-off.
Amidst it all, Fenfreth approached him holding a small leather bag. “Consider this a final present.”
Corrin took it and opened it up. Inside was a collection of magic stones—cores from monsters slain, and from the looks of them, several were a higher grade than those found on the first floor.
“I couldn’t convince the rest of the elders to part with the core from the leviathan,” Fenfreth apologized. “It’ll be needed to help pay for the construction efforts and keep the things stable while we set up mining operations in the tomb, but I was able to gather these at least. Hopefully they’ll be able to help with expenses. I’m sure you’ll still have to sleep on the ground at some point, but maybe it’ll be a little less with these.”
Corrin closed the bag, giving Fenfreth a one-armed hug, “Are you sure? I know the church could use the extra money.”
“Consider it an investment, when you’re a big important spirit knight you can pay me back yeah?”
Corrin chuckled, “I’ll bring you a core from something bigger than the Leviathan, so try not to croak while I’m gone.”
Fenfreth broke the hug, looking at him dryly, “Seriously, just how old do you think I am?”