IMPORTANT: You WILL need context before reading this. So in this story, Robin did not sacrifice herself to rid the world of Grima. Craven, I know. Anyways, you don't get Yen'fay until way too late in the game. So realistically, there just isn't enough time for the Avatar and him to get all lovey-dovey. So in my story, they don't get together until after the final battle with the fell beast. And then they find Morgan, when they leave together. You may pair Morgan with whoever you wish. That's it. Enjoy.
The Clouds With The Wind
It was a cold evening in Tokaido. Morgan had never minded his father's silence, not when they were like this. But today he had made up his mind to speak to him about something, and dusk approached fast. He needed to make haste, or else he wouldn't have the courage to ask later, at the dinner table, where the neighbors would be today too.
Momentarily, he wrenched his eyes away from his newly polished blade; something slim and almost weightless. He glanced askance at his father, sitting by his side. If he had moved, Morgan could never tell. He really could pass for a monk of the temple if only he shave his head. Well, that and...
"Father?"
The softening of Yen'fay's microscopical frown told Morgan he was listening.
"I've been meaning to ask you... How did you know you wanted to marry my mother?"
A breath left Yen'fay evenly.
"For how long have you wanted to ask me this?"
Morgan looked away, down at the small houses strewn almost carelessly down at the very bottom of the steep side of the hill. Soon, the sun would fall and it would be harder to make out the stone steps that led down from the Yūgure Temple toward the village.
"...Does it matter?"
Yen'fay sighed disapprovingly. "Avoiding my question won't make it go away."
"You ignored my question first," Morgan countered. "How did you know you wanted to marry my mother?"
The Swordmaster smiled absentmindedly.
"Alright. This is not an easy thing you ask... I require time to arrange my thoughts."
Morgan scowled uncertainly. He'd thought he would get an easy answer. "I married her because she's beautiful... because she's kind... because she's a genius... because she cooks well..." - Something like that. If his father needed time to think why he married his mother... was that a good or a bad thing?
"Fine... I guess."
He felt Yen'fay's large hand land on the top of his head and ruffle his hair.
"Patience is virtue."
Morgan huffed. He considered being smart enough not to break his neck for going down a flight of stairs in the dark a virtue. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself though. He contented himself with pulling blades of grass, one by one, to count the seconds. He was meticulous like that.
279 blades of grass later, Yen'fay stirred from yet more meditation.
"You know..."
Morgan jumped in his seat. "Huh?"
"You know how I come from a different place, do you not?"
"Uh," Morgan tossed the grass to the wind. "Yeah. Some Outrealm, right?"
Yen'fay nodded. "And how your mother was found unconscious on a field, with no memory of herself or her past?"
"Yes."
"And you yourself hail from a different place."
"Uh-huh."
"What does this tell you about our family?"
Morgan scoured inside his head. "Ehhhhhhhhh... we're a weird bunch?"
Yen'fay laughed. "Yes. That is one thing."
"What does it tell you?"
Yen'fay remained in silence for a while longer, then...
"Sometimes, Morgan, a man is required to make certain decisions that demand a degree of heartlessness. Sometimes, a sacrifice must be made. The sacrifice is dependent on the character of that man."
Morgan's face soured. "You're avoiding my question again father."
"All in due time." Yen'fay reminded him. "This is a complicated story. See, sometimes decisions and sacrifices are so painful that the man who has made them looks down on his blade and has to consider sheathing it within himself. 'Twould be less torment than to live with himself... And the sacrifice he has made."
Morgan sobered. He looked down at the glossy black sheath resting across his lap.
"However, these are not honorable thoughts. 'Tis simply cowardice, and cowardice is never rewarded. It simply grows, and it grows heavy - so heavy. 'Tis a burden present even with the blade at your stomach. Remember this Morgan..." he turned to look directly at Morgan. "If you are a good man, you will never take the coward's path. Your conscience and your honor won't let you. If you know you have done something that merits more torment than any hell could ever grant, you will make sure to impart it unto yourself."
Morgan sat like a stone. His expression was one of utter concentration. He nodded.
"You are talking about your sister... your... real sister?"
"Yes." Yen'fay said. "My Say'ri."
The way his father said that - 'My Say'ri' - made his heart clench. There was a tenderness to his voice that he hadn't heard him direct to anyone but his mother.
"For the longest time, I believed peace to be something Say'ri never found in the afterlife. So I wandered the lands, from realm to realm, like I imagined Say'ri herself must have wandered without respite. And then I arrived in the world where your mother was found. And I met Yen'fay's sister. She would not have me regret my decision and torment myself over it anymore."
"She wished you to live happily." Morgan provided.
"A wish I hoped was shared by my own sister. Seeing her again... Her smile. 'Twas a sweet thing. Sweeter than I ever deserved. But I took it, regardless. I was a coward once more."
Morgan seemed ready to protest.
"I forgot about my sister, son. I wanted to. It was a grave disservice to her, to our memories, and to our country. Though the memories of that Say'ri which isn't mine matched my own, and that fact blinded me, I knew I was only seeking to alleviate my pain. If only I could believe I did the right thing... If only I could have been another Yen'fay... The one who really deserved to be by his sister's side once more..."
"Father..." Morgan murmured lightheartedly.
"What king was I to try and masquerade myself as that Yen'fay? What did that say about myself? I am no divine monarch, not a faultless man. I would not have anyone believe otherwise. I want you to know, and anyone else who will listen; I am not fit for the throne of Chon'sin. I have wronged her with my weakness, and I must not forget. I am not fit for being anyone else's brother; I have betrayed my own, and I must not forget."
Morgan didn't know what to think of this.
"So?!" he exploded. "You'd keep torturing yourself! Is that it! To atone?!"
"'Tis not torture my son. 'Tis the right thing."
"How?! How is it fair?!"
"Fairness and justice have nothing to do with it. I wish to remember, but without the regret. There is nothing of this world that can bring my sister back, nothing that can make my pain less, except owning it."
Morgan tore his gaze away and rubbed at his eyes furtively.
"I don't get it..." he fumed.
"Pain is a thing to master as well. Painful lessons are those which resonate the most within a person's soul, after all. Among many things, your pain is a thing no one can take away. You have to cherish it, as you do your happiness, and learn from it. Learn Morgan. That is what life is all about."
"How," Morgan asked. "did we get to this? I only asked you how you knew..."
"It all connects. Trust me."
"How?"
"Well, there needs to be something more than just pain to life. I was astray. And every day I wondered what could fill my life once again. I was only a warrior among many others. I did not wish to be a warmonger however, living as a ghost blade. I knew I had to leave Say'ri's side. I could not cuddle to her side anymore knowing it would be sweet and make me forget again."
"By the time you decided to leave Yllistol... were you in love with my mother then?"
Yen'fay pondered over this.
"I do not know. Perhaps. She has a way for making people grow extremely fond of her, but I never envisioned myself being anyone's. So it may be the case that she had already made me hers and I failed to notice. That may be the reason she followed me and why I didn't protest; she knew, but she expected me to find out on my own."
Morgan actually reddened at the kind of language his father was using.
"S-so... when-"
"I believe there is an order to things son, regardless of worldly boundaries such as distance, or whatever fate may dictate. Even for a wandering ghost, there must be something which he belongs to. The gods command things to be a way. As they command the clouds with the wind, the flower in the prairie, the bird to its nest... sea by sand... ice and cold... So do I belong with her. With your mother, I mean. No matter where, as long as I'm with her... I believe this could be a life worth effort."
A tremulous smile appeared on Morgan's face.
"And you say you're not a master of romance."
"'Tis only the way I see things."
"Well... you helped me. A lot actually."
"So what does the story of our family tell you?"
"Dunno... no one is constricted to a fixed location?"
"And?"
"Order, huh?" Morgan hummed.
"If you know something is right..." Yen'fay prodded for Morgan to finish.
"As the sea by sand... ice and cold..."
"You know what you must do." Yen'fay said, and added, "You ended up here, with us, because it is right. We are your home, until you find your own order."
"Huh... so," Morgan searched in his pockets. He pulled a silver ring. "Do you think mom will make a fuss? 'Cause I think I found it."
Yen'fay smiled.