Part One: Concepts of A New Dawn
Lone Moon
Chapter One: First Encounters
Byleth was sitting over his desk. His pale green hair was even paler now, almost white. He was stressed, this mission had to go well.
"You have a lot riding on this don't you?" the voice of Sothis returned to him.
Byleth was in shock.
"Don't be so surprised. It is time for a new age. You sired twins in my absence. What are their names?"
Byleth responded, "Wynne and Maira."
"Human names really are strange. I want to help your children but, alas, I can not be in the hearts and minds of both." Sothis sighed. "Which child shall I bless with my presence?"
After some thinking Byleth responded, "Maira."
"Very well, I will miss you old friend."
And then there was quiet.
"How is it that a bunch of kids that have elite warriors as parents get captured so easily." Wynne whined while the two of them were sneaking around in some ruins of where Garreg Mach was on the border of Abyssal territory.
Maira looked at Wynne and shrugged.
"I forget every now and again that you are just so silent. I guess that's why you were always better at stealth than I was. You got a lot from Dad and Grandpa didn't you, the hair and the stoicism." Wynne joked. It was true. Maira had inherited her fathers original hair color and eyes. She had a slender but muscular build. Her armor was also reminiscent of Byleth's old armor, but without the coat. Wynne had inherited Jeralt's hair, which was cut short, and Jeralt's brown eyes. He was also thin, but he still was muscular. He wore one of his grandfather's old battle armors but had to modify it to fit his build better. His black pants were lightweight armor, they provided good defense while also allowing him good mobility.
Maira stopped suddenly when she heard someone talking not too far away. It was a band of bandits laughing around a fire, the heirs of each region were all tied up behind the bandits. "We can't take all of the bandits on by ourselves." Wynne sighed. "We need to cut those kids free and see what they can do. Luckily Dad thought about that and gave me this." He opened up a bag with weapons for each of the heirs. "They were smart enough not to put all six of them next to each other. I will cut the Alliance, Kingdom, and Naval kid free. You take the other three." Wynne handed the weapons that Maira needed to her. The two split up and cut each group free.
"Hey, what do you think you are doing?" the bandit leader shouted when he spotted Wynne.
"Crap." Wynne said as he cut the three boys free. "Hey guys, I really would appreciate it if you would help when we are fighting for our lives right now."
The boy in a green cloak with a ragged shirt and tan pants stood up. He moved some of his jet black hair out of his tan face and said, "Absolutely, you got anything for me to fight with?" Wynne threw a training staff at him.
"Awesome." the boy grinned. "I am Finn de Costor, the Naval Meritocracy appreciates this.
"As does the Kingdom of Faerghus." The curly haired blonde boy said. "The royal family appreciates your work." He stood at attention after he grabbed his lance, his tight blue shirt rippled. His black pants were already scuffed up.
"There will be time for thanks after this fight. I hope you got a plan." A thinner kid with darker skin and yellow garb readied his bow.
"I was simply being polite Leon."
"Johann, does it seem like the time to be polite." Leon said with extra sarcasm.
"What did I expect from a bunch of kids? We all need to work together right now, I hope Maira is having an easier time." Wynne readied himself for combat.
Maira was not having an easier time.
"I will never cooperate with the spawn of the woman who took everything from the Church! The goddess will have to smite me first." the girl with light green hair said. Her white clothes were dirty with mud and ash.
"Demeter, this isn't the time. You can hate me and my family after this fight." The girl in red tried to reason with Demeter. Her short blonde hair kept blowing in her face making her less convincing. "Akemi, don't you agree." She looked at a girl in indigo clothes with lavender hair.
"Demeter, Eliana is right. You can't exactly hate her if you are dead, can you?" Akemi explained.
"Fine." Demeter grunted.
Maira gave each heir their weapons and they all readied for battle against the bandits. Maira led the charge against the bandits on her side. She was as ruthless with a sword as her father was. She rushed the first bandit and led with an opening lunge that put the bandit off balance. She followed that up immediately with a kick to the stomach. From there it was easy for Maira to secure the finishing blow. Demeter was also ruthless, but was also less refined. Her brute force with her gauntlets was staggering. Each punch was devastating, but was also easy to dodge. It took a while but eventually she took down a bandit. Eliana covered her, there was a bandit that would have taken Demeter from behind but Eliana blocked it with an axe. She used the weight of the axe as a benefit and disarmed the bandit before finishing him off. Akemi was fast, and she knew it. She let the bandit that she engaged strike first so she could parry and hit him in the face with the butt of her sword. He stumbled backwards and Akemi used that to push the offensive. The bandit had no way to counter her and fell after a few moments. Akemi then slashed at another bandit inflicting some damage and Demeter came in and finished him off while Maira and Eliana teamed up to defeat the other bandit. Then the four of them advanced on the bandit leader.
While all of this was happening Wynne's side had similar success. Wynne was just as skilled as Maira and used that to make short work of two enemy bandits. Johann also fought admirably, he used the length of his lance to keep his opponents at bay until he could finally finish them off. Leon also kept his distance, he sniped a bandit but another was able to dodge an arrow and get right in Leon's face. Leon got a little hurt but Finn swept the bandit off his feet with his staff and then put him down with one use of Wai, basic water magic. Finn helped Leon to his feet and Leon used a vulnerary to restore some health. Wynne and Johann were both engaged in fierce combat, Leon aimed his bow and Finn readied his magic and they both fired at once. The arrow hit the bandit attacking Wynne in the leg allowing Wynne to finish him off. Finn's magic knocked the weapon out of the bandit attacking Johann's hand and Johann also killed the bandit. Wynne and Maira's troops all converged on the lead bandit. Wynne confronted him first but the lead bandit was skilled. The bandit was about to land a fatal blow when Maira stood in front to take the hit. Then everything stopped.
"You are much like your father. He was in a similar situation once and I helped him out. I am Sothis, time bends to my will, and now it bends to yours. I will always be by your side. Now I am going to rewind the hands of time, don't get us killed." Sothis said to a very confused Maira.
It was mere seconds ago, but it mattered. Instead of stepping in front of the axe Maira used the sword and slashed at the bandit's foot. The bandit was distracted enough for Maira and Wynne to take her down.
"Thanks Mai, I owe you one." Wynne panted.
"And we all owe the two of you a great debt." Eliana said.
"Eliana is right, surely you know who we are, but more importantly what our lineage is. Whatever you desire, we would love to grant your wishes." Johann agreed.
"As it happens, there is one thing that you kids can do." Wynne smiled. "We are not just mercenaries or bounty hunters, we were trained by our father, Byleth."
"I see where this is going." Leon smirked. "Your old man has been begging to reinstate the Officer's Academy, and you want us to speak on its behalf."
"Well, I think they have earned it." Akemi said.
"Look at how the two of them turned out. It was amazing to watch you fight. I am going to talk to our current leader, though I feel she needs little convincing." Finn chimed in.
"I agree. I also have always wanted to visit the monastery. I will convince my mother, though I do have my reservations about being around certain individuals." Demeter admitted.
"We are going to bring back the houses, so besides from the occasional battle against one another and seeing each other in the halls you don't need to interact much, though it is encouraged. We will also be changing the name of the Black Eagles, that name has negative connotations, and the Ashen Wolves will be changed as well, seeing as they are an official house. The Holy Church State and Naval Meritocracy will also be receiving houses. We ask that your leaders only have eight other students join you, we want to keep the initial class size small and grow from there." Wynne said.
"Well then, I will honor my word." Johann said proudly.
"Our father will accompany you all back to your regions while Maira and I go back to the monastery to discuss with the other professors."