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It all started with a question.
“Don’t you think you’re too young to be fighting?”
Alfonse sighed as if it was a question he’d heard often, even though he knew Kiran had good intentions.
“Perhaps, but if we don’t fight, who will?”
Kiran sat back in their plush armchair, the one piece of furniture out of place in the strategy room. They looked at Alfonse, then at the ceiling, and finally at their divine weapon.
“It’s strange that you’re the age of a child but you’re fighting on the front lines. If it’s a lack of numbers, then we should just summon more heroes!”
“Summoner, I’m hardly a child and I plan to keep fighting with the Order even if you summon more heroes.” Alfonse was resolute, looking Kiran in the eyes to get his point across.
“Alfonse, you’re not even old enough to drink alcohol in THIS world. Don’t you think you’re missing out on something by spending these years fighting?”
“Please, Summoner, I have my responsibilities as a prince. I must ask you to drop this concern. I am not changing my mind.”
Kiran frowned, but didn’t dissuade him any further. “All right. But I’m still going to summon more heroes. At the very least it’s extra protection for you and Sharena out there.”
They scribbled down a quick notice for a summoning session and went outside to pin it on the notice board. Kiran liked having the Order around when they summoned simply on the chance that hero might be someone recognizable by another hero. It made the transition to Askr easier for everyone, and some heroes were hoping for loved ones or comrades.
By the next day, the summoning stone was surrounded by a small audience. Sharena was excited as always and Anna was annoyed at the notice having been posted before she was told. The commander preferred to summon when news was brought back about a particularly strong hero, but it wasn’t always wise to wait so long when Embla could invade at anytime.
The Order was still small, with only one or no summoned hero from each of known worlds for the most part. Cain, Selena, and Finn were just some of the heroes who waited patiently for someone they might know. Raven, Raigh, and Clarine were apparently from the same world, but didn’t know each other, though Raven reminded Clarine of someone she knew.
No one knew how exactly summoning worked aside from Kiran, so heroes generally participated in small talk or stood in silence until the general area lit up, signaling an arriving hero. Kiran sat before the summoning stone and discussed with the Askrians.
“Sorry for not warning you beforehand, commander, but I felt this was necessary.” Kiran didn’t mention their earlier talk with Alfonse. “We could really use the extra numbers around here, right Sharena?”
Sharena nodded absentmindedly, focused on the orbs that had appeared.
Kiran picked up the green orb, moving the rest to the side as they planned on pulling a full circle. After the light and smoke, they saw a small silhouette, indicating someone even smaller than their youngest hero Raigh. When the smoke cleared, a young girl with green hair holding a tome stood before them.
They heard a small voice speak out.
“I'm Nino, a member of the Black Fang! Oh, well...I guess these days I'm just a regular ol' mage.”
“Welcome to Askr, Nino!” Sharena began her usual introductions, but Kiran frowned. Another child?
“Er, could you take this to the side? I’ve got more to summon.”
Nino appeared a little confused, but Kiran reassured her before picking up the next orb. This one was red.
After the smoke and light, a young boy with red hair appeared, stating his name as Roy from House Pherae.
What the hell? Since when the Order of Heroes become a daycare?!
“Alfonse, why are all the people I summon children?”
He looked a little taken back, but replied, “Being a hero doesn’t depend on age. For example, Roy is very accomplished despite his youth.” Alfonse introduced himself to Roy, who was acting modest about his “accomplishments.”
Kiran didn’t really want to give the spiel on Embla invading to a child, so they sent Alfonse off to do it for them. Kiran decided against doing the full circle now, but gave it one more chance, picking up the other red orb.
After the ritual, a smiling mage introduced himself as Morgan, the son of Robin, a genius tactician. He also happened to be a child. With none of their Askran companions around to do the spiel, Kiran reluctantly smiled and introduced themselves.
“Welcome to Askr! My name is Kiran, and you have been summoned to the Order of Heroes. We need your help defending the kingdom of Askr against Embla, who invades other worlds and binds heroes to fight for them.”
“Whoa, Askr? Order of Heroes? Am I not in Ylisse anymore?”
“Sorry, your home is a world away, but I can send you back if you want.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary. This place is so cool! Say, you said this is the Order of Heroes? That means my mother must be here!”
Kiran sighed internally. Morgan was so... childlike. They couldn’t possibly send him to war without ruining their conscience. But the Order was also very much in need of Heroes.
“You said your mother’s name was Robin, correct? Unfortunately there’s no one here by that name. We don’t get to decide who gets summoned. You’re welcome to stay here until she is summoned but you might be waiting a while. It might be better to send you home so you can be with her.”
Morgan looked disappointed. “I actually lost my memory, and all I have is the name of my mother, and that she was a great tactician. And my world isn’t the best place to go back to, so do you mind if I just stay here? Please?”
Kiran couldn’t deny his request after hearing that ominous description. They looked around for Alfonse or Sharena, but not seeing either of them, decided to give Morgan the tour themselves.
As they left the summoning stone, they saw the rest of the heroes waiting patiently outside.
“Anyone here recognize Morgan?” Seeing that no one spoke up, they apologized for not summoning their companions and dismissed them. Strangely enough, Kiran noticed both Raigh and Clarine were not present. Maybe they knew the other two summoned heroes?
Kiran met up with the other new heroes later and saw that Roy, Nino, and Morgan were becoming fast friends. Despite all that the strength that Alfonse attested to, Kiran couldn’t see them as anything other than children thrown into a war unfairly. If children were fighting a war, then they were being failed by the adults who were supposed to protect them. How could Kiran call themselves a grand hero if these were their soldiers?
They started walking away before the trio could see them, but was soon approached by Alfonse.
“Summoner, we have received a report of Embla invading the World of Awakening! We have to leave soon, so please prepare quickly. Sharena has already informed many of the others.”
Alfonse then ran off towards the armory while Kiran went to grab Breidablik from their room.
They met at the front of the castle with the rest of the Order, but just as the army started leaving, Alfonse stopped them to talk to Kiran.
“Kiran, why do I notice some of our heroes missing?”
Sharena added, “Oh you’re right! Where are our recent heroes? And Raigh and Clarine are missing too! I’ll go get them!”
Kiran bolted forward to block Sharena, “That’s not necessary, they’re not coming with us!”
“Huh, why not?”
“Because we don’t need them.” Alfonse was giving the summoner a disapproving look, but Kiran wouldn’t budge.
“Look, it’s just Chrom and his small militia right? We can handl-”
A voice from the back interrupted her. “What’s all this? Where is everyone going?”
Another voice, clearly a young girl’s, said “They’re going on a mission! Without me, no less! How rude of them not to summon me.”
Despite Alfonse’s stern glare, he could not do much to help the situation. They had to leave right away and the young heroes were clearly not prepared for battle at the moment. Kiran reassured them of the army’s quick return and that it was only a small skirmish before setting off, leaving an indignant Clarine and four upset and confused children.
After freeing Chrom and his allies, Kiran returned to Askr and made a beeline to their room for some much-needed rest. The next morning, they were greeted by a pounding at the door. Kiran had barely made it out of the bed before the door burst down, revealing a very angry Clarine.
“Summoner, you must explain yourself for your actions yesterday! I demand-”
Roy stepped out from the side. “Clarine, please! I’m so sorry about the door, Kiran. Clarine is... I mean, we are a little upset from being left out of the mission yesterday. I’m sure you have a reason, but we would like to know what it was.”
Kiran then saw Nino and Morgan in the back, nodding with Roy. Surprisingly, Raigh was not with them, as he usually complained about not being able to get stronger if he didn’t fight.
Clarine continued despite Roy’s interruption. “We are more than a little upset. I did not believe you capable of such horrendous etiquette. Did you not think us able to help?” She had begun sniffling and tearing up in her anger. “Or that we are weak?”
“No, of course not!” Kiran grabbed a tissue and began wiping her tears. She did not have the strength to push them away though she was embarrassed at crying in front of the others.
Kiran faced all of them now. “I didn’t tell you about the mission because I think you are too young to be fighting. You are all so young. You should be thinking about what games you want to play today or how late past your bedtime you’ll stay up. Not how best to kill another person or if your next battle will be your last!”
None of them said anything for a good half-minute until Morgan broke the silence. “I- er, we, know you’re concerned, but I speak for all of us when I say that we want to fight. Because it means protecting people we care about.”
He added, “And this is just me, but I never got to think as carefree until I came here. My world was dark and dangerous, and I didn’t know anything but fighting. So please let us help!”
Nino patted his shoulder. “I think the same! I was raised by assassins and I didn’t get to meet people like me very often until I got summoned here. And I want to help the only way I know how! We’ll show everyone we’re not burdens!”
Shocked by their unusually mature responses, Kiran replied, “I guess I have no choice... but I say when you have to retreat. I won’t let any of you die on my watch!”
“Yay, we’ll do our best!”
“Thank you, we won’t fail you.”
“I’m glad you can still see reason.”
“Yes! Time to give my all!”
Kiran couldn’t help but smile at their renewed happiness, but dearly hoped they weren’t making the wrong decision...