Way of the Knights

---

"It's nothing difficult, really." Raven chuckled and then said: "I just want all of you to join me in my travel back home."

There was an absolute silence after he said that. His words rang on their ears loud and clear but for some reason they couldn't get themselves to believe what they just heard. 

"B-Benefactor…what did you…"

"I meant what I said." Raven nodded towards Neman as he made his point clearer. "I want to take all of you back to the Kingdom. Let's get you out of this horrible place and I'll take you to a place where you will be safe."

"Not to sound unfaithful Benefactor, but could we really come along with your journey? There's way too many of us, and the road back might be dangerous." Nana's father commented on the side.

"No problems with that." Raven chuckled and waved his hand, "I'm not alone, remember? As we speak, my comrades are paving the way to make sure that our journey back would be smooth."

"To totally honest with you. The whole reason why we came here is to get you out of this place." Raven stated, much to the shock of everyone who's listening to him. "We saw your state, all the way from our home through some special means. Our King ordered us to come and save you from this dire state."

"King? Big Brother, what is a King?" Nana asked curiously.

"I told you earlier that the Kingdom, my home, is just a very large tribe right?" Raven said, to which Nana nodded. "Well, a King is basically our Tribe Leader. He is a very powerful man, more powerful than I am. He is also kind, gentle and protective. He won't hesitate to protect our home even at the cost of his own life. That is why we respect him and hail him as our King."

"I believe that he is watching us right now." Raven said much to the shock of people who turned around and started searching for the King. Raven laughed and explained: "He's watching us all the way from our home, he's not physically here so no need to be tensed or search for him. He's just observing you all since in his mind, he already considered you as one of his people. That is why he sent us here."

The members of the tribe were touched when they heard that. So it turns out that the King was already looking after them. 

"If no one is against the relocation, I'll send a message to my comrades so that we could move tomorrow morning." Raven added as he saw them pondering about their decision.

"It's but a shame Benefactor but, our tribe has nothing to offer towards your home. At worst, we might become dead weight into the Kingdom and I for sure wouldn't like to offend anyone in your home because of our uselessness." Neman said in a sad voice, his words somehow resonated with many tribesmen. 

It is true that they virtually had nothing to offer for the Kingdom. At best, they are just another volume of useless people that will move towards there and the tribe already owed them far too much. 

"Like I said, that's not gonna be a problem." Raven replied while smiling warmly, "We are not expecting anything from you. We just want you to be safe within our walls, and so long as you have no intentions of betraying our Kingdom, then we have no qualms of accepting you. In all honesty, even if refuse for now, in a few years, you will eventually end up in the Kingdom since we are expanding our territories slowly but surely."

"And don't you worry about being useless towards the Kingdom. We have many ways to solve that problem. Once you settle inside the Kingdom, we will teach you livelihood skills like farming, sewing, poultry or cattle raising and so on. And who knows, maybe your children will become Official Knights of the Kingdom one day." Raven stated.

"Big Brother, what is a Knight?" Nana asked once more.

"Technically, A Knight is a proper term to identify the people who are like me. In short, those who have special abilities that makes us different from the rest. But in truth, A Knight is a person who would take arms and protect our home in the times of need." Raven explained while ruffling her head, "If you want to know more, then once you're old enough, you can go to the Academy to learn more about Knights."

"Mama, Papa, everyone. Can we go with Big Brother please? I really want to see the Kingdom." 

Nana's request tugged at the heartstrings of her parents. If it were them, they would naturally go with them. However, at the end of the day it would be Neman who would decide whether the tribe would go or not.

Fortunately, that's not going to be a problem.

"Of course, Nana. We will go." Neman smiled and nodded, causing Nana to practically jump up in joy. Neman then turned to Raven and said: "Benefactor, on behalf of the tribe. I thank you for coming to out tribe's aid. Me and my people will be in your care from now on."

Raven smiled and held his hand, "Thank you for letting us take care of you. I'll make sure that you won't regret your decision."

He then faced the rest of the tribesmen, who were clearly excited on the idea of going to their new home, and said: "Well, please enjoy your rest everyone. Make sure you sleep well because tomorrow will be the start of our journey towards you new home."

He then looked toward Nana who was sitting on his lap and said: "You sleep now too, Nana. Make sure you wake up early tomorrow alright?"

"Mn!" Nana nodded vigorously, "If I can't them Mama would wake me up. Hehe." She said while grinning to her mother. She then jumped down to his lap and went towards her parents so that they could sleep in their tent.

***action

The morning after, everyone woke up to heavenly scent of Raven's cooking. Once they went out, they also witnessed that the rest of Raven's companions were also there and were up even earlier than they did.

The Lair Hunters and the Royal Guards came during midnight. Their initial estimations were a little off since they finished clearing the Lair earlier than they anticipated. Nevertheless, before the rested, Raven already filled them in with the current situation and so far the operation went smoothly.

And because these people were Knights at their own right, they don't need to rest as long as a normal people wood. In fact, their work at the Lair barely took them an effort to clear so none of them were severely exhausted. This is why their up earlier than the tribesmen were.

After sharing a scrumptious breakfast with everyone and taking care of their own needs. They then started the journey back to the Kingdom. 

Raven walked along with the tribe, the Royal Guards encircled them in a defensive formation as they move forward while the Lair Hunters scouted the path ahead. 

The elderly of the tribe along with the children are seated on a cart while the physically abled one's walked. It was some of the Royal Guards that were pulling the cart as they move along. Since they were travelling in a large group, the journey became slower. Nonetheless, it was still acceptable.

One day, the group camped out on top of a hill. Upon their arrival, the tribesmen almost had their eyes popped out from their sockets as they saw the Kingdom at a distance.

They didn't see much since the walls were too tall, but that was enough for some people to feel an endless excitement in their hearts. They never saw something so huge and modern, they couldn't even begin to think about how it is possible to build a wall that high. 

And the idea that, in a matter of few days, that place would become their home, gratified them to no end. In their opinion, there is no way that the walls could be destroyed by the beasts. Which means that their safety is already secured. Everyone couldn't wait to start a new chapter of their lives within this safety of this enormous walls.

The journey continued and as they got closer the walls, they more they think that it was getting bigger. Once they arrived and saw the large gates opening before them, the tribesmen shook with excitement.

Once the gate opened completely, they were welcomed by a group of people who appeared like gods in their eyes. 

They wore either fancy clothing, shining bulky armors. One specifically outshone them just by his presence alone. It was Alexander, who was garbed in his kingly attire that waited for them in front of the gates in order to welcome them personally.

The tribe was shocked as they saw Raven along with the rest of their escorts, kneel before him in salutations, saying: "We've returned, Your Majesty."

Alexander nodded and said: "Good work, everyone." 

He then looked at the members of the tribe and greeted them using the tribe's language: "Welcome to your new home, The Final Haven Kingdom.. My name is Alexander Lightshield, the current King of this land."