Episode 0: Premonition

MORGAN

It was a cold morning in northern Ylisse. Morgan got ready to see his father behead a traitor for the first time in his life. His brother Robin thought he was a Plegian, one of those from Phila's stories. The ones that stole children to make them slaves and ransacked towns for fun. Morgan tried his best to remain calm atop his pony, who stood between his brother's horses.

Chrom, the lord of house Ylisse, signaled his men to bring the traitor His loyal friend and deputy Frederick hastily lowered the prisoner and, with the help of Gauis, chained him to a wood stump. The breeze gently shook his blue hair as he unsheathed Falchion, the legendary sword of house Ylisse.

"In the name of Harkinian of the House Hyrule, the First of his Name, King of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, by the word of Chrom of the House Ylisse, Exalt of the Haildom and Warden of the North, I sentence you to die."

Morgan could feel the tension rising between the party. Morgan's bastard brother, Shulk moved closer to him. "Hold the pony, and do not close your eyes. Father will know."

His father took off the man's head with a single strike. It was clean, fast and painless. Several of the horses panicked, but Morgan stood firm. He looked at Shulk, who smiled at him."You did well," he said with a gentle smile.

The way back to the Haildom was colder. Morgan rode with his brothers ahead of the party, taking the previous scene in. He had never seen so much blood, nor a man being killed.

"The traitor died bravely, at least..." Robin said. He was a strong man with fair skin, snowy white hair and a broad mind. An adept at anything he desired. "He had courage."

"Not quite... he was afraid," Shulk said quietly. He was a well built young man who specialized in engineering and research. "I could see it in his eyes."

Robin was not impressed. "The Risen take his eyes," he swore. "he died well... Say, race you to the bridge?"

"Ok. Let's do this!" Shulk kicked his horse, with Robin following close behind. They vanished from Morgan's sight in a fit of laughter.

Morgan knew better than to try and keep up. His horse was too small, and Robin was an avid horse rider. After a while, the sounds of the young men vanished. The woods grew silent again as Morgan thought about the man's eyes.

"Are you well, Morgan?" Chrom asked, with that smile that could cheer anyone up.

"Yes, father. I was just thinking about that man... Robin says the man died bravely, but Shulk insisted that he was afraid.

"What do you think, son?" his father asked, fixing his clothing.

Morgan thought for a while. "Can you be brave if he is afraid?"

"My sister used to tell me that it was the only time you could be brave. Morgan, did you understand why I did it? Why I had to kill the man?"

"He was a wildling," Morgan said. "They do bad stuff and hurt others."

His exalted father smiled. "You have been listening to Phila's stories, haven't you? The truth is that the man was a deserter of the Dawn Brigade. He was an oath-breaker. There is no man more dangerous. They know they had forfeited their lives the moment they break their oaths. But I did not ask why he deserved to die, but why I had to do it."

After Morgan couldn't find a reasonable answer, Chrom smiled and touched his shoulder.

"My sister used to say that if you must take someone's life, you have to do it yourself. You must look at his eyes and listen to his final words. You owe him that much... but enough serious talk. Boy, I can't wait to eat Sumia's pies."

Morgan let out a small, friendly laugh. "Yes, dad!" He exclaimed, galloping along him towards his brothers. That instant, Morgan noticed Shulk waving at them.

"Father! Morgan! You have to see what Robin found!" Shulk said. He then raced towards his older brother.

They found Robin at the riverside, holding what seemed to be a blue creature. "Their mother's done for," he said, moving the baby in his arms.

Morgan's eyes were full of curiosity by then. He rushed towards brothers, ignoring his fathers warnings. The late summer snow had hidden a root from simple view, and Morgan tripped on it. Poff! He landed face first in the half melted snow. After quickly recovering and punching his brother's arms for laughing, he noticed the big blue fox lying in front of Robin. It was the mother, who had apparently died protecting her cubs.

"These Riolu..." Robin said.

"We have to take them, dad!" Morgan exclaimed, tugging his father's clothes.

Chrom frowned at him, but after seeing his beloved son's teary eyes, he had to smile. "Morgan, these creatures require too much care!"

Frederick took a good look at the beasts, glaring at them. "Milord, these creatures have not been seen south of the Wall for many years. I suggest disposing of them swiftly and with mercy."

Shulk stepped forward after dismounting. "Lord Chrom. Frederick. There are five ones. Three males and two female, just like your sons and daughters." Chrom tilted his head, thinking.

Morgan had noticed that Shulk omitted himself. He counted the girls and the baby, but not the bastard, foreign son. "Son, do you not want one?" Chrom asked softly.

"These creatures are the banner of House Ylisse, father. I am not one of you."

"Alright, then," Chrom said and turned to Morgan. "Promise me that you will take care of them, no, swear it to me."

"YES, father!" Morgan said as he hugged his dear lord father. He grabbed one of the babies and hugged it tightly. "I'll take care of you, I promise!"

The party mounted their horses and left for the Haildom. Morgan savored his small victory and thanked his brother Shulk for his help. He looked at him and noticed he had stopped. "Shulk? What's wrong?"

Shulk dismounted his horse and ran towards the riverbank, where a small white pup lied. He gently took him up and hugged it. "Father, I found mine."

LINK

The streets of Castle Town were as busy as ever. Hundreds of plebeians and nobles alike these days. They were preparing for the biggest festival: the appointment of a new Hand of the King. Link carefully made his way into the bazaar's back alley, where a group of hooded figures waited for him.

"Took you long enough," a voice, belonging to a young lady, said. Link nodded and followed them inside a tavern.

It was a place bursting with personality, from the colorful decorations to the wide variety of meats and liquor on display. Link sat at the counter and undid his ponytail, letting his hair flow. He remover his green cloak and placed it aside. "One Chateau Romani," he said. He was avoiding direct eye contact with the hooded figures.

"Link, we need you," the hooded lady said, placing her hand on his shoulder. "You are the realm's only hope."

After taking a sip of the cold milk, Link shook his head. "I'm just a traveling knight with no destination. I thank you for the invitation, but I am not anyone's hope. Now, if you will excuse me-"

Link was interrupted when a guard slammed the door open. He warily eyed the knight who entered the tavern. It was a tall man, dressed in dark robes and armor. The man had a dangerous smile and a poisonous look, he noted. When the man noticed Link, he grinned. "Blue shirt, blonde hair and short. Found ya', fairy boy!"

The tavern went silent as Link jumped from his chair and did his hair. He gulped down the milk and drew a short sword from his back. It was very simple and the edge was barely sharpened. The man drew a longsword, decorated with gold, silver and bronze. With a grunt, he swung the heavy sword at Link, who jumped sideways. The swift hit cleanly destroyed the stool where Link sat. With another grunt, the man slashed at Link, who back-flipped away from danger. Link then jumped towards the man's head, shattering the man's helmet. While his enemy was dazed, Link knocked his sword out and tackled him. Link fell on top of him and pressed his sword on the man's throat.

"Mercy," the man said, barely breathing. The dull edge was still enough to pierce his throat.

"My friends. My family. Your people had no mercy on them. You are all monsters... you Plegian scum." Link said, as he slowly pushed the tip of his sword into the man's neck, listening to his dying breaths. "Forgive me, goddesses..." Link said as he wiped his sword on the man's robes. He sheathed his sword, paid for the drink, and left the tavern.

Link rushed towards the town exit, where his faithful horse, Epona, waited. He patted her mane and climbed on, galloping towards the nearby woods, not noticing the pair of eyes that spied on him...