As much as the experiments Constance and Lysithea persuaded me into taking part in, they have proven to be an invaluable foundation for our current teamwork and spell crafting. It may have been rocky to start with, but the Ashen Wolves have proven to be some of my most dependable allies and friends. It's been a wild ride so far, but I wouldn't say it's over quite yet. We still have the big one coming.


Once I agreed to tutor Lysithea in Abyss after she chewed me out thoroughly for 'abandoning my duty' things worked out. With Byleth leading some of the students and Ashen Wolves around to deal with the extra bandits it left me ample time to focus on the clinic and to study the old dusty tome I received from Aelfric, whom I still don't trust.

From some of the guards that I've been tending to in the passing days since the Ashen Wolves have been working with the other students, I've surmised that increased bandit attacks on the Abyss have been happening from a bunch of different entryways. It's only been a week since the other students arrived yet I can't help but feel that things progressed since then as I've been able to train a couple of former herbalists and medicine people from Almyra to tend to my patients. With more hands-on-deck, I'm finally ready to have my first day of not being completely slammed and can observe and study more of the magical tome I got from the Shadow Library.

After giving some instructions to the two middle-aged Almyran men under my command, though it does feel weird in how they begged to pay back their debt to me for me originally patching them up. Recently I haven't been charging people that can't reasonably give back anything, which is what I offered to them but they were insistent in offering their services. So I took the only logical option and accepted their help.

With making a few rounds on my more intense patients, the day could be described as one of the first truly relaxing days I've had in Abyss with answering a few questions here and there, but for the most part, kicking back in my clinic while sipping some coffee and deciphering the meaning of the tome called Detraxi.

After several hours of scholarly indulgence with very little headway in trying to figure out what the cryptic spells mean, I decided to give myself a break by taking another round the clinic to clear my mind. Keeping my mind busy with productive distractions has become my go-to coping mechanism when I'm stressed. Considering whoever was in charge of the rules writing ancient texts, they make Earth textbooks seem like nursery rhymes when comparing their straightforwardness.

As I'm about to get up from my ramshackle chair I managed to scrounge from the Scrap Heap I hear someone bolt into the room sounding slightly out of breath. I look towards the source of breathing and see Byleth at the door with her hair a bit disheveled. I look on curiously as she quickly walks into the room and asks me, "Santos, have you noticed anything strange today?"

Besides you walking into my clinic like you're on fire? Nothing of the sort. I dismiss my callous thoughts and reply, "None. It's been relatively quiet on my end of things."

"Aelfric has been kidnapped. Was hoping you might have some information on what's happened in Abyss today?"

"Today? I've stayed at my clinic. What's going on?" I ask with a bit of worry. Abyss is already a dangerous enough place, and for the monotone Byleth to be running around worried than something is definitely up.

"Aelfric has been captured by bandits. They are after the Holy Chalice," Byleth explains to which I raise an eyebrow replying, "The fable you and the students have been chasing around for the past week?"

Byleth pulls a golden goblet from her side satchel, "This one."

"I was not expecting this," I dumbly reply as I inspect the slightly tarnished chalice before adding, "You sure this wasn't something you picked up at a pawn shop?"

Byleth doesn't even blink or smirk as she replies, "The students and I found this after completing many interesting and somewhat fun trials topped by an exhilarating escape back to Abyss."

Byleth having no emotion as she describes something as 'fun' or 'exhilarating' doesn't necessarily ease my worries as I'm starting to think she may be a weirdly unemotional adrenaline junkie. Before I can respond I see Edelgard walk into the clinic and exclaim, "Oh, professor. I didn't see you come this way, but I see you've found Santos."

Byleth turns around to reply to the Adrestian princess, "Yes, but it seems he's been here all day working."

Edelgard brings one of her black-gloved hands to her chin commenting, "Hmm, I was hoping for more. Santos, do you think you can aid us in retrieving Aelfric?"

Byleth nods and concurs, "That was also why I came to see you. The bandits are quite skilled and we could stand better odds with an experienced healer than yourself."

While Aelfric isn't my favorite person by any stretch of the imagination, he is my meal ticket out of the Abyss. I look between the two women and nod, "I'll help considering the clinic is under control. When are you departing?"

"Once the Ashen Wolves finish checking in with the civilians and guards we were going to give chase and meet for the exchange. They want the chalice for Aelfric," Byleth explains as she pockets the chalice and makes her way to the doorway.

I follow behind Byleth as I give the clinic one last cursory glance. With my only patients being 3 guards with minor injuries I don't feel bad about letting my new aides take the initiative. With one last nod to each of the older men, I depart from the clinic, but seemingly in my slight distraction, it would appear that Byleth had already bulldozed ahead leaving me with Edelgard in the hallway.

"Have you spoken with Rhea at all?" Edelgard whispers to me as she peers down both directions of the hallway.

I shake my head, "Not exactly, but I'm working on it. It's not exactly the easiest task."

"Indeed. I'm not downplaying the fact of the difficulty, all I'm suggesting is that the one person to perhaps pull off a political maneuver of the sort would be yourself."

I begin to walk with Edelgard down the hall and reply, "I've survived because of allies, timely thinking, and dumb luck. You may be putting a bit too much faith in my coincidences."

Edelgard smirks as we round the corner of the hallway, "Don't discount yourself too much, doctor. Whether the results come from luck or skill, it matters very little in the end."

I chew on that tidbit of information for a bit until we reach the entrance to the Abyss with most of the other students waiting around. Edelgard and I join the group and the first person to pipe up is Claude commenting, "Ah, it seems we've got a bit of backup. Those bandits won't know what hit 'em."

"I concur Claude. Though, where is Professor Eisner and Yuri?" Dimitri questions as the rest of us look around and shrug.

Most of the students resume their side conversations from before as I look back to Edelgard and ask, "So what's your take on this situation?"

Edelgard grimaces a bit and cracks her knuckles, "It's not good. Whoever is coordinating the bandits is well informed, and most likely has a few spies in Abyss. The capture and leaving the ransom note was done too cleanly not to alert anyone. It's been premeditated heavily, but the question remains of who it could be."

I contemplate her logic for a moment before replying, "Is it possible the bandits bought of the guards, or at least the person who organizes the rotations?"

"Perhaps, but the Ashen Wolves have assured us they are loyal. It would have to be someone who has access but with no direct influence from my estimations."

I scratch my chin, "Doesn't really narrow it down. I'm still learning the ins and outs of Abyss. Odds are though it's someone the Ashen Wolves trust, which doesn't bode well. I sense a betrayal."

Edelgard nods and replies, "It would seem so. I suspect there may be-" Edelgard clams up immediately as Claude approaches the two of us proclaiming, "I didn't know Your Royal Highness and Doc here were so chummy considering the political history. You two have been chatting away like old friends."

"Claude, is there a point to your baseless speculations? Santos has been in Abyss longer than us and I've been looking for possible links-"

"Yes yes, I get that. I just find it strange that you were the first person to suggest we recruit him to our little cause; which I wholeheartedly support. I just think it's funny about how quickly and determined you were about it, that's all. Not hiding any unrequited feelings Princess?"

Edelgard groans as I sigh to Claude's speculations, and as Edelgard seems quite flustered and red-faced I interject, "Thank you, Claude, for showing concern, but we were just discussing the strategy of how to identify potential traitors in Abyss."

Claude waves off my response with a retort of his own, "Ah, no matter. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit. I will say though Edelgard, this is an upgrade over tall dark and brooding following you around."

Edelgard now back to her fully composed self tersely replies, "Noted Claude. Now, perhaps you could make yourself useful and find where professor Eisner and Yuri are at."

Claude chuckles and points behind us, to which I peek behind me to see Yuri and Byleth coming up the stairs to us. Edelgard and I return our attention to Claude who teases, "Any other requests? I know a few party tricks as well."

I shake my head in amusement, but while glancing at Edelgard I swear I can feel the steam coming off the Adrestian Princess. Yuri is the first person to crest the top of the stairs and announce, "Alright everybody, it's time to go get Aelfric back and deal with these thieves once and for all. Are we ready?"

With one big cheer from the students and a confident look from Byleth, we march out following the blase professor to the rendezvous point. As we march on with Edelgard and Lindhardt beside me and Constance and Lysithea chatting away not too far behind me, a feeling of unease begins to form in the pit of my stomach.


"Hapi, why didn't you say when you sigh that literal monsters appear!" I shout as the flying beast trails off with Balthus into the distance. I can't believe that this laid back girl has such a weird and terrifying ability. I look between the remaining Ashen Wolves with bewilderment, and all that I get is a shrug from Hapi and Yuri, though Constance replies, " My sincerest apologies for not informing you prior doctor. If we had more considerate foresight of potential outcomes than perhaps we may not have burdened the group with such a travesty."

I look over to Lysithea with a raised eyebrow and ask, "Okay, what's going on?"

"Explanations later Santos, first we have to deal with the enemy!" Lysithea replies hastily as I can see more bandits assuming positions around the ruins.

The whole trade-off went fairly decent all things considered. We managed to snag Aelfric back in the confusion caused by Hapi's monster summoning, but it also planted us in the middle of an ambush with several bloodthirsty thieves and mercenaries. This ruin is a few hours outside of Garreg Mach's main territory so we won't be able to lean on any possible support from the knights of Seiros.

"Alright, spread out! Edelgard and Dimitri, you take up the front lines with support from Lindhardt! Yuri, Hapi, and Ashe I need you to get that ballista offline! Hilde and Claude, go clean up the bandits fighting the beast to our SouthWest. Yuri, you are on duty to guard Aelfric! Lysithea and Santos! You're with me to carve a path to their leader on the Northwestern front through the pillars! Move out!" Byleth commands with a raw intensity I would never have expected from the awkward and reserved mercenary that I've usually encountered. Not sure if I like this sudden change in personality yet, but it's certainly refreshing.

"What about Balthus?" I ask to Byleth as I begin to jog after her with Lysithea hot on my heels. We take cover behind some broken stonework from an immediate barrage of arrows as Byleth shouts back, "He'll be fine. Right now we need a way to get out of the firing lanes of those archers. Lysithea, are we in range for any spells?"

"Not yet, professor. They are about 15 meters too far," Lysithea comments as an arrow zips just a few inches above her head.

I brainstorm to think of a way to neutralize the bandit archers and reply, "Byleth, do you get motion sickness?"

Byleth briefly reverts to her awkward and strange persona replying, "No, why?"

"Cause I can Warp you up there right behind the archers. It should create an opening for Lysithea and me to get closer if you can handle them for a bit," I offer which Byleth immediately responds, "Do it."

I cast my Warp spell on Byleth sending her about 40 meters to the NorthWest and right behind the Archers on the slight high ground. I watch as Byeth reappears and begins to cut down her foes with frightening efficiency with the Sword of the Creator. As Lysithea and I are running to get into range for more accurate spell casting, Byleth manages to decapitate the final archer in a smooth horizontal slice followed by immediately sheathing her weapon.

I glance over to Lysithea and whisper, "Does she even need our help?"

"Sometimes I wonder about that too. Professor Eisner is quite formidable," My pupil admits with an exhale as we finally trot over to the slightly bloodied, but certainly not injured Byleth.

Lysithea and I finally catch up to Byleth who seems to just finish flourishing her blade to flick off the blood. Byleth approaches us commenting, "Another step forward. Stay focused now, we still have more bandits to fight. Follow me."

Byleth immediately breaks into a fast jog in which Lysithea and I exchange slightly annoyed glances before chasing after our battlefield commander. We circle back around to where Dimitri and Edelgard engaged the bulk of the melee forces, and just as I round a bunch of ruined stones I see Dimitri impaling the last of a half dozen men with Edelgard close by with a bloodied ax. I can sense and see Lindhardt in the distance using Physic spell, and by the looks of it on Dimitri from a glancing sword blow to his left bicep and a deep tear into his pants that must have hit bone by the stained blood around there.

"How are things?" Edelgard inquires as she rests the bloodied ax on her shoulder.

"Covered. Any news from the others?" Byleth responds as her inquisitive eyes scan the battlefield for more potential foes.

Dimitri grunts as he kicks off the corpse stuck on the end of his lance before replying, "Fine from what I understand. Balthus ran by a minute ago to go support Hapi's group since we had this lot handled."

Byleth nods to the crown prince's assessment and replies, "Very well. Dimitri, go with Lindhardt to check on Aelfric and Yuri and then find Claude. Do a full sweep of the South end for any bandits that may be hiding."

Dimitri rushes off with a slightly exhausted-looking Lindhardt to our original start point in the ruins with decent speed. From my quick observation of Lindhardt, I'd say he cast a decent amount of healing magic on Dimitri which leads me to believe he may have been fighting a bit recklessly considering his inherent skills.

"What's next Byleth? Preferably less cardio," I joke with the intensified Byleth who doesn't acknowledge my joke, "We find their captain. We know he left in the NorthWest direction, anybody see anything?"

"I know very little than what you stated professor. He left his men here to fight Dimitri and me," Edelgard explains to which Byleth nods as she processes the information.

"Can you sense where he might be?" Lysithea suggests to me but I shrug, "No. He is either not a magic caster or a very weak one at that. I've had my senses up, but other than some random pulses from a few bandits, I'd say he's either out of my sensory range or concealing himself."

"Then we must track him. Perhaps if we capture a bandit alive…" Byleth ponders aloud as she paces around and scratches at her chin.

Edelgard steps forward and clears her throat before proposing, "While that may be effective, we are lacking in any live bandits thanks to Dimitri," Edelgard emphasizes by gesturing to the large pile of bodies nearby.

We all think silently for a moment before Byleth snaps her fingers with a look of epiphany, "I've got it. Santos, I'll need your help."

"What do you need me to do? I already said I can't sense him," I reply to the former mercenary puzzled.

Byleth shakes her head and stares at me with a vacant yet serious look, "No, we just need to have a better view of the battlefield. Use warp on me."

I look around the relatively flat area littered with broken stone and sparse trees, "Uh, not sure if you haven't noticed, but there isn't really a high ground I can teleport you to."

Byleth smiles, "Exactly, so we make our own. Use your Warp spell me up into the sky, and then use Rescue to snatch me out of the air before I plummet. As you said, the terrain around here is relatively flat and lacking cover, so in theory, I should be able to spot the enemy."

"That should work. The leader had about 3 others with him that looked like personal guards. Shouldn't be hard to miss a group like that," Edelgard confirms to which Byleth nods to her before looking back to me asking, "Well, are you up for that?"

Absolutely absurd strategy, but considering my skill set that Byleth probably remembers from the mock battle when I cast Rescue about a dozen times I'm not surprised. It's a maneuver that needs to be precise and have good timing on my part. If I cast Rescue too late than Byleth is going to suffer the effects of suddenly being on the ground with a lot of gravitational force. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure a play like this is right in my wheelhouse.

I nod back to Byleth, "I'm ready when you are."

"Do it," Byleth commands and I cast my Warp spell on her aiming for about 50 meters up in the sky. Byleth blinks from our views as I look up to see the professor hovering in the air. Byleth stays aloft for about 2 seconds before starting to lose altitude and me casting my Rescue spell to bring her back down to the ground.

Byleth stumbles a bit as she reappears on the ground next to us, but Lysithea and Edelgard manage to steady the blue-haired professor. Byleth once steadied looks up to our group and elicits, "Directly NorthEast of us, looks like they are trying to sneak around towards Hapi, Constance, and Ashe. Let's go cut them off."

We all agree with Byleth's insight and begin to run through the ruins once more to ambush the nasty thieves. It takes us about two minutes of running to reach our destination before Byleth signals for us to slow down and be quiet as we post up behind a large broken column.

Byleth peeks her head around the corner before whispering, "They are about to pass. On my mark, we strike."

We wait for Byleth's hand signal as the sound of the enemy troops' footsteps begin to be heard, and with a single hand motion, Byleth springs into action with Edelgard close behind. Lysithea and I cautiously follow our melee fighters into the fray as I hear the bandit captain shout, "Argh! It's an ambush! How did you find us? Heh, no matter. I'll make quick work of you!"

With the bandit captain and his four guards, three of which seem to be big burly fighter types and the last one dressed as a mage, I suggest to Lysithea, "Target the mage with me."

"On it," Lysithea confirms as we both begin to funnel volatile spells at the enemy caster. Byleth and Edelgard are locked in combat with the four others initially and held on the defensive due to being outnumbered 2:1 but considering their skill I'm not worried at the moment.

Lysithea unleashes a torrent of Dark Spikes while I follow up with Cutting Gale, which land without fail on the mage who has his attention on the other bandits, and from my guess, to buff his companions. With our powers combined, the enemy mage is vaulted into the air several feet before landing awkwardly with a yelp, and it seems he lost concentration on his cloaking spell since I can now sense all of the other fighter's magical auras.

Byleth and Edelgard continue to work together, but haven't landed any definite blows on any of the bandits as they are a bit more coordinated than I would have thought for common thugs. Just as I'm about to cast a spell on one of the thugs I hear a voice in the sky shout, "Please accept my humble aid."

I look up to see Constance on her Pegasus rain down her Bolting spell on a very unlucky thug near Byleth as he falls to the ground with smoke coming off him and Constance comment, "I mourn your ignoble death."

"Not too late are we?" I hear Hapi say out to me as she rides up on her horse with latent magic held in her hands and I comment, "Not at all. Ready to finish these guys off?"

"Yup," Hapu replies in a bored tone as Lysithea and I begin to ready our next barrage of offensive magic.

With Constance's magic raining down from above and the three of us on the ground blasting at the group with threadwork like precision, we manage to land a few hits staggering a few of the bandits which Byleth and Edelgard clean up pretty quickly due to their dazed or injured state. The bandit leader is looking much more nervous now as he declares, "Well it's been fun and I don't mind a bit of pain, but-ah!"

The bandit leader yelps as an arrow from behind my had just landed in his thigh. I turn around and see Ashe with his bow about 20 meters behind me looking pretty proud of the long-distance shot he landed on the enemy.

"This isn't worth it, my employer is paying more than this stupid trinket is worth," The bandit leader brusquely comments as he throws down a smoke bomb in a panic to retreat.

I close my eyes to get see if I can sense where the bandit captain may have scampered off to, and luckily I can feel a frenetic pulse coming from the ruins to our West. He's not so hard to find when his composure is broken and he has no mage to cover for him. Smirking, I call out to Byleth, "Ready for another Warp?"

Byleth looks to me with a determined face and nods as I cast my Warp spell on her with a location right in front of the bandit leader in mind. I motion for the other students to follow me, "This way everybody!"

We rally and head in the direction of my Warp spell, and as we go around some broken structures we catch up with Byleth who is already cleaning off her blade with the decapitated bandit leader at her feet. Byleth looks up to us and shyly comments, "Should I have held back?"

"Perhaps just a little. We can't really get information out of a dead guy," I dryly comment to which Edelgard adds in, "Yes, we already had him on the run, professor…"

"What's done is done. Let's go find Aelfric." Hapi proposes to which we all nod in agreeance.

Devolving back into her emotionless state, Byleth replies, "Of course. Santos, take Lysithea, Edelgard, and Ashe to round up the others and tend to the injured. I'll take the Ashen Wolves back to Aelfric once we find Balthus."

"If I may be so bold, but I do recall observing Balthus fighting a large bird to the South of our current location," Constance meekly speculates to which Byleth responds, "Good. Let's move out."

Byleth and the Ashen Wolves depart quickly to the South end of the ruins leaving me with a few people at my disposal. I look between the students and declare, "Alright. Let's go find Claude and Hilde. If they found more action I'm sure Dimitri and Lindhardt aren't too far behind."

"Excellent suggestion, doctor," Edelgard claims as we begin making our way through the western part of the ruins. We travel for a few minutes at a light jog keeping our wits about us and as we round a corner I have a deep feeling of unease which causes me to pause and I hear Edelgard behind me ask, "You okay, Santos?"

"Yeah, but real quick. Lysithea, did you feel anything?"

"I did. It was like the air became more saturated…"Lysithea trails off as I interject, "Okay, then it wasn't just me. That was a spike in magical energy. We should be-"

I blink for a moment and hear Edelgard behind me ask, "You okay, Santos?"

I curiously turn around and quickly ask, "Lysithea, you feel that?"

"I did. It was like the air became more saturated…"Lysithea trails off and I curse under my breath.

"What's wrong, doctor?" Ashe asks with genuine concern as I'm looking around like a madman for anything off in the vicinity. Time just skipped along with the same magical spike I felt before. This quickly just became very bad.

"Huge magical spike. We need to hurry and find the others." I caution as a shiver works it's way down my spine.

We double-time it to the other students which we find about a minute later as I see Lindhardt half-heartedly tending to Hilde's arm with Claude nearby watching with amusement and Dimitri standing off to the side observing the ruins with his lance at the ready. Dimitri notices us first and grips his lance tighter, but doesn't move it and lets out a breath of relief, "Ah, good to see you're all safe."

"Same to you. Anything else to report?" I ask the group to which Claude replies, "Nah, Hilde managed to take a nasty burn from a mage, but with his royal highness's intervention we managed to beat them back into a full retreat."

"I'm just glad everyone is alive. Say, where are the others?" Lindhardt asks mostly directed at me tow which I reply, "Byleth was going to gather the Ashen Wolves to check on Yuri and Aelfric."

"Well, no time like the present. Let's go regroup." Claude declares and we all agree and most of us begin moving, though I do hear Hilde ask to Lindhardt, "Would you be a dear and carry this fragile maiden? I'm not sure all my injuries have been healed, and I've been working really hard."

Lindhardt frowns at the pink-haired girl's request and retorts, "That sounds like effort. I'll pass."

Hilde's jaw drops in astonishment and I silently chuckle to myself as Lindhardt walks off leaving her on the ground with her bandaged arm. She quickly calls out to Ashe who is nearby, "What about you, Ashe? Mind carrying me? I'm pretty sore from my injury."

Ashe looks quite caught off-guard by the request, "Uh, wasn't your arm not your legs that got injured?"

"I'm pretty sure I twisted my ankle back when I was fighting that scary-looking monster. You wouldn't force me to hobble would you?" Hilde pleads with the most dramatic puppy dog eyes I've seen her bring out. Unfortunately, Ashe doesn't see through the facade like Lindhardt and nervously replies, "Well I don't want you to be in more pain…"

"Thanks, Ashe! I knew you'd understand. Now let's get moving, I don't want to be left behind!" Hilde triumphantly cheers as she practically leaps in his arms to be carried bridal style.

Ashe awkwardly trudges forward while receiving exaggerated praise from Hilde, and as we march I sense Lysithea come up next to me and comments, "This is just pitiful."

I look over to Lysithea's scowling face and beam, "Ashe will learn...eventually. Just let it happen."

"If you say so. Their both pitiful if you ask me." Lysithea sharply responds as we hustle a bit more to catch up to Dimitri who is leading the group with a light jog.

We manage to reach our destination weaving through more large stone columns and broken structures to the point where we left Yuri to guard Aelfric, though we see a sight that we did not expect to see. Hunched over on one knee is Byleth clutching her stomach with her sword dug into the ground beside her for support.

Dimitri rushes ahead shouting, "Professor, are you injured!"

The rest of us manage to run and catch up to hear Byleth hiss out, "It's nothing too concerning."

"Impossible, surely you've suffered a wound," Rebuttals Edelgard as we finally stop before the seemingly wounded professor.

"Let me take a look," I comment as Byleth stands up fully and I look her over. There is a very shallow cut across her abdomen where her attire becomes a crop top. I look to the professor and scold, "Perhaps you shouldn't wear armor with exposed part into battle? Otherwise, it's a very shallow cut, akin to scratch. I'll heal you anyway just to be sure no poison was used on you."

"Seems like it was a ploy and our professor played her part, but was that the best decision here?" Claude comments and the students begin to debate the possibilities of our current situation as I finish casting a subtle Heal spell on Byleth.

As the students continue their debate, I feel a strong magical aura enter my perceptive field as I'm still looking for possible enemies in the area for a second ambush, though the person I see rushing towards us surprises me a bit as I quietly state, "Hey, we've got company."

Rhea with a few of her knights in tow join up with our group as Rhea looks at me with thinly concealed surprise and curiosity before asking the group, "Are we too late?"

"Lady Rhea? Why have you come?" Edelgard defensively inquires and Rhea elaborates, "After sending all of you off, I began to investigate the lineage of the Ashen Wolves. And in doing so I was able to confirm that the information about their Crests was falsified. And now with this new information, I know that their Crests are the very same of the four apostles of long ago that were involved in the Rite of Rising. Once the blood of the four is poured into the chalice, it's power can be harnessed. I believe that we have enough evidence to presume the Ashen Wolves will suffice for this ritual."

"So he plans to carry out the ritual...at the expense of the students…"Dimitri glumly considers to which I add, "It would seem so. I encountered Aelfric a few weeks ago prowling in the Shadow Library for ancient texts relating to the Rite of Rising. It seemed suspicious, though I wouldn't have guessed it to this end."

"Lady Rhea, what is the purpose of this ritual?" Dimitri asks the archbishop to which Claude adds his thoughts, "We've heard it can resurrect life, but that can't be right? Right?"

"The chalice is a holy artifact created by the goddess herself. It serves to restore physical form that has been lost," Rhea explains to which I tremble as my mind drifts to Sothal. Did they know of such an artifact's existence? I'd have to assume not, as while Sothal proved to be very knowledgeable and deep within my mind, I wouldn't consider them omniscient. Still, to think that some weird form of resurrection magic exists is unnerving, and there must be a good reason why such a wonderous artifact was hidden from the world in the first place.

I break from my daze thanks to a nudge from Lysithea as I hear Rhea tell our group, "let us return to the monastery. There is much to discuss."

I lean over and whisper to Lysithea, "Thanks, I was just thinking. What's the plan?"

Lysithea leans into my ear and whispers back, "Discussing where to find the ritual. Pay attention more, Santos!"

I nod as I watch Alois now join our merry band and talk with Rhea about bandits breaching the village at the base of the monastery. I look at Rhea's expression and she looks legitimately pissed off and commands Alois to take the knights to deal with the insurrection. Rhea with Alois and the other knights bid farewell to Byleth and the students before rushing off back towards the monastery.

I look back to Byleth who seems to be in thought, though before I can ask what's on her mind, Claude interjects, "Teach, what's on your mind? You look like you have something to say."

"Yuri told me to meet him at the Holy Mausoleum right after midnight."

"It seems you never run out of secrets, do you Teach?" Claude replies as he holds his head in his left hand.

Dimitri nods, "I'm certain there must be a reason for this. Yuri took time to speak with you privately after all."

"I wonder why the delay though? Wouldn't it be better to rush to their aid?" Edelgard wonders aloud, and I reply, "It's probably not to tip his hand just yet. He's looking for the perfect time to betray them from my guess. We should follow the script he's written for us...for now."

"Well said, Doc. Let's get to scheming then, shall we?"


It took us all about three hours to get back to Garreg Mach, leaving us with only a few more hours until midnight. Most of us took ample time to gear up and rest, though some like Dimitri immediately went to the training yard to 'warm-up' for the battle.

The other students and professors had all been dispatched to help the knight and Rhea in the town leaving the monastery feelings quite empty. After nearly a month in Abyss being back on the surface felt a bit weird, though not unwelcome as I managed to check on the clinic and make my rounds with some of the clerics I had trained. Though while I wanted to relax, there was one person I needed to talk to and clear some things up with while I had the chance.

With it only about an hour to midnight, I step into the dark library of Garreg Mach and cast a Light spell to help illuminate my path. From my previous conversation with Edelgard at Gronder Field, I have my suspicions about Tomas's allegiances and origins. For him to know about soul magic, as well as Edelgard, being surprised by his intervention I haven't forgotten about the strangeness of it all. Edelgard has aligned herself with Argarthans which is a dangerous game. I faced one in Sevihn and barely escaped with my life, and I doubt any of Sothal's children are pushovers.

Another tidbit about Tomas is I can't sense his magical presence at all, which leads me to two options. Option one; Tomas isn't a caster of any sort, which would explain why he could only explain the magic to me when he did. Option 2; he's a very skilled mage and is concealing his abilities for some reason.

I walk towards Tomas's small study in the back of the library, dispel my Light spell, and I peer around the corner to see the old man quietly reading some large book by candlelight. I wait a moment before I knock on the open door which grabs his attention quickly as he grabs the candle to have the light shine towards the door as he asks, "Who- Ah, Santos. This is quite unexpected. I heard you were sent to Abyss."

"I did, but I'm back for some other business. Mind if we chat for a moment?" I offer in a serious tone, and Tomas smiles and replies, "Of course. Please, pull up a chair," Tomas gestures to a few wooden chairs stacked next to several piles of unsorted books.

I nod and grab a chair for myself and take a seat. As I settle into my chair Tomas asks, "So, tell me, Santos, what brings you to the library on such a strange night?"

I didn't comment about anything being strange. I narrow my eyes and remark, "I didn't think anything was strange tonight, besides maybe my arrival."

"The knights and students have left in a frenzy a few hours ago, and with most the knights occupied, I find you in my quarters. Quite odd don't you think?"

"Makes sense, but not why I'm here. I just came to ask some questions and chat for a bit."

"Good, I've been missing our conversations. So, what do you wish to discuss?"

"Soul magic," I state with authority and I can see Tomas's wrinkled face light up with interest and joy as he replies, "Oh? What about it can I help you understand?"

I take a second to collect my thoughts and begin, "I want to know more. It's completely different than faith or reason magic. Its power source is weirdly both and neither logic and emotion at the same time. Just looking to understand what it is more."

"Ah. Have you used it more since that night with Edelgard?"

"Once, though it wasn't intentional."

Tomas closes his eyes for a moment and sighs before relenting, "That is probably for the best. It's a lost art in today's modern world. From what I've read, the mages of old had a multitude of extraordinary abilities that they could perform. The rules for magic were very different thousands of years ago, and with that comes unknown consequences of using such magic today."

"How so?" I curiously ask the aging scholar to which he leans back in his chair and elaborates, "Well, when you deal with matters of the soul itself, the results can be dangerous if the caster isn't prepared. Tell me, what happens when you fail a faith or reason spell?"

"It fizzles. Nothing happens and you lose a bit of your mana. At worst you may cast an errant firebolt or spark of lightning. Most people have an innate resistance to their magic."

"Exactly! This is why you don't see people casting Heal on themselves often or burning themselves alive when they cast Fire incorrectly. Soul Magic is inherently different in that the consequence of a failed spell can result in death, catatonia, and other mental maledictions. It's meant only for those who are masters of themselves through and through," Tomas elates to which I nod and reply, "Makes sense. So in using it, you use your soul as a catalyst of sorts?"

"Precisely. Any magical feedback from a failed attempt will rip and tear at your very core."

"Could a dead person use soul magic?" I ask with uncertainty and Tomas seems to ponder the question a bit longer than I'd like before responding, "...In theory. It would have to be an incredibly powerful soul matched with an insurmountable desire. Without flesh to act as an anchor, it would be exceedingly difficult. I don't believe a person would be capable of such a feat."

A person wouldn't, but would a deranged god be capable of something similar? Sothal managed to create an illusion world and nearly possess me. He may be expelled from my body, but I'm not counting him out just yet, and Tomas's insight doesn't make me feel any better.

Amid my brainstorming, I hear Tomas continue, "Soul magic is powerful, but comes with risk. When you open up your soul limits of normal magic disappear and the possibilities become grander, though at your peak of creative power you are at your most vulnerable magically and spiritually. Error or defeat can mean a fate worse than death, so please take caution if you decide to dabble."

"Noted. How were the spells developed?"

"By the first children of the goddess. Passed down from them to us humans, though much has been lost. I knew of only the one spell that I told you, which goes to show how rare they are."

I stand up and bow to Tomas stating, "Thank you for your time. I'm afraid I must be going, but I wish to speak with you again sometime."

Tomas smiles warmly at me, "Anytime Santos. And do keep yourself safe out there, enemies may be lurking where you least expect them."

"I'll remember that. Farewell," I reply to the scholar, and as I reach the doorframe I hear Tomas call out, "One last thing, Santos. Abyss has many secrets hidden, and in unraveling them you may yet learn more about Soul magic that the church has tried to bury."

I look back to the wrinkled old man, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

"Farewell...and good luck."


I regrouped with the other students and Byleth after my little talk with Tomas near the gardens to the Holy Mausoleum with everybody. Byleth having changed into more suitable lightweight swordfighters armor in a dark blue looked much more ready for a fight that before, as did most the other students who are now decked out in various chainmail, hardened leather, and studded armor.

"Alright, are we all ready?" Byleth's smooth and soothing voice calls out to the group, which is met with a unanimous cheer of eagerness and determination which Byleth waits to settle down before explaining, "Good. Once we are in there I will assign groups to locations depending on the enemy placement. We will work together and rescue the Ashen Wolves and stop Aelfric!"

With that last inspirational pep talk, we charge into the holy mausoleum with Byleth dispatching the two thugs guarding the inner sanctum door with a swift slice from the segmented blade she wields. After the quick action, we burst forth into the room and stand before a terrible sight.

At the end of the room, I see a large bubble of blood-forming above the alter that's radiating magical energy, and under it, I can make out Aelfric conducting a ritual. Well, that answers my concerns about the guy to which I feel vindicated in not trusting the man. At four different segments of the room, I can see one of the Ashen Wolves each tied up with blood slowly siphoning from them into the air towards the large blood bubble above Aelfric.

"This definitely doesn't look good," Hilde remarks as Lindhardt tries not to lose his lunch at the sight of so much blood.

"Shape up and focus kids, we need to stop the ritual," I calmly assert to the students which seems to help a little bit to calm their nerves.

I look over across the room and see Constance waving around and shout, "Could you step on the magical vertices to obstruct the flow of blood? Quickly, now!"

Byleth scans the room and adopts her confident commander mentality declaring, "Alright. There are a lot of heavily armed thugs in the mausoleum, so this is how we will split up. Santos, take Edelgard, Dimitri, Ashe, and Lysithea up the left side towards Hapi and Constance. I'll take Claude, Hilde, and Lindhardt to secure Balthus and Yuri. We will convene on Aelfric once we've freed the Ashen Wolves. Move out!"

We all move without another word to our respective locations and begin to enter the messy fighting of hiding behind pillars to dodge magic and arrows that rain down from the bandits. Edelgard and Dimitri take the lead forward towards Hapi's position with Lysithea using Edelgard to be her shield while she calls forth powerful reason magic, Me standing back with Ashe to provide ranged support, and Dimitri acting as our vanguard to rush down enemy casters with his polearm.

We engage the first wave in a bloody mess as Lysithea shreds a sword-wielding man with Dark Spikes, and Edelgard shield bashes the archer that was hiding behind him. Dimitri runs off to engage the two mages posted around the tied up and gagged Hapi and begins to take damage from their fire spells. I keep a steady focus on Dimitri with my Physic spell with Rescue in my mind at the ready to be cast. Ashe begins plucking away at the bandits coming from the center to aid their friends, thus keeping them at bay and forced to find cover.

"I've got you now mongrel!" Dimitri angrily roars as he cleaves the last mage by Hapi right in half. Blood splatters everywhere around Dimitri and Hapi, to which Dimitri runs over and ungags Hapi, to which she insists to Dimitri, "That's great and all, but can you free me and step on the vertex?"

Dimitri regains his composure and replies, "Oh, uh yes. Of course."

As Dimitri steps on the vertex, the blood flowing from Hapi ceases. Dimitri cuts Hapi's ropes and shouts to me, "What now?"

I look back to see how Edelgard and Lysithea are doing against three more bandits and send a Physic spell to Edelgard and reply, "Stay put for now. We need you blocking the flow until all four are clogged to halt the ritual."

Dimitri seems apprehensive about my suggestion but sighs and concedes, "Very well, Santos. I leave the rest to you. I shall guard this spot with my life."

I nod to Dimitri and call out to the others, "Let's move down to Constance! Ashe, stay back and cover Dimitri if more reinforcements come!"

"You got it, doctor!" Ashe responds as he launches another arrow and nails a would-be enemy right through the eye slit of their helmet. That's the kind of shot I would expect out of Shamir and not one of the students, but regardless it was impressive.

I run forward while casting Fortify on Edelgard shouting, "Lysithea, keep your eyes on anybody coming from the middle area! I'll handle the mages near Constance."

My apprentice nods as she launches several dark magic spells at rushing bandits with Edelgard acting as the barrier once again and cleaving down anybody that made it past the small mage. With the white-haired duo handling things on their end I run up to approach Constance, but one of the bandit guards has taken her hostage with a knife to her throat and shouts, "No funny business mage!"

I roll my eyes and cast Rescue on Constance to instantly teleport her to my side and she unleashes a huge bolt of lightning at the hostage-taker. He barely has time to open his mouth to respond as he's reduced to smoke and ash by Constance's powerful spell. This is a prime example of someone with hardly any magical resistance against a very powerful caster, which sickens me a bit, but I push that thought out of my mind as there are more pressing things to worry about.

"Thanks for the timely rescue, Santos. I do enjoy being on the other end of the results of your teleportation magic," Constance remarks as she dusts herself off a bit.

"Hey, figured it would be nice. Now, go support Lysithea and Edelgard. We need to wait for a signal from Byleth to know the others are free. I'll go clog up the vortex," I command to the Ashen Wolf who smiles and takes off jogging towards the destructive duo that helped escort me this far in the mausoleum.

I walk over to the blood vertex and step onto it feeling a bit tingly, but nothing too odd. The stream of blood coming off of Constance ceases from my view, and I look over to the central altar and see Aelfric looking quite flustered. I don't see any other bloodstreams going towards the center as well, so I wait patiently for the signal which doesn't take long.

"All clear, the professor says to converge so we can claim victory!" Constance shouts to me from the stairs that lead up to the central area and I step off the vertex of blood magic. I double-check the ground and air above it and I don't see any signs of activation so I turn around to rejoin my allies.

I run-up to the central area, and through the sounds of clashing steel and magical spells being unleashed I hear Aelfric wail, "Stop them! I'm too close now!"

Barely through the fighting, I can see Yuri and Byleth fighting side by side working together to slice enemies in almost a very deadly dance, with Lindhardt hiding several meters back. Claude is using his arrows to keep the enemy mages off-balance as Hilde and Balthus are pummeling their way through people to the south along with Dimitri and Ashe coming up to support them. I rejoin the magical 'deathball' of Edelgard, Constance, and Lysithea and begin to spread out my healing spells to anybody I can see.

As we fight I try to cast Rescue on Aelfric to maybe end the conflict early, but my spell fizzles to no avail as I can feel him fully resist my attempt to unseat him from the altar. I narrow my eyes and send a Thoron spell at another soldier of his, finally dropping his goons into the single digits.

"It doesn't matter whose blood it is at the point, I will complete the ritual!" Aelfric screams from his station as he unleashes a huge Meteor spell at Edelgard. The spell hits with it's fast and ferocious power sending the armored princess flying back into a pillar hard enough to crack the stone.

"Shit. You two try to pave a way to Byleth, I'm going to help Edelgard," I announce to my two fellow mages as I bolt from our once solidified position. I can see a bandit running over to finish the dazed and injured Edelgard off, so in response, I channel forth a large amount of magic to cast Warp and Rescue simultaneously.

My warp spell goes off cleanly, but to my dismay when I reappear it would seem my Rescue spell was resisted by the bandit who is now right in my face with a blade and shouting, "Die!"

This was not what I had in mind as I backup hastily to avoid the large slices from the decently sized fellow. I cast Thoron at the man as he rushes me, and while it seems to cause him great pain it doesn't stop him from stabbing me in the leg. I hiss in pain from the strike which is quickly followed up by a slice to my head, which I narrowly dodge. I look to cast another spell to kill the enraged bandit bit he skewers me through the upper shoulder of my arm that is missing.

"Just die already!" The bandit cries out as he drives me backward into the adjacent pillar next to the downed Edelgard who barely looks conscious.

The bandit draws a knife with his free hand and goes to impale my face with the blade, but only meets stone and air with his strike as I used Warp to place myself behind him with a follow up of casting Cutting Gale aimed at the man's knees which has the desired effect. With a sharp crack and snap, I hear the bandit's legs give out and even manage to blow off his left leg completely as I channel my anger and focus on that spell.

I take a deep breath as the adrenaline in my body is numbing my pain and limp my way over to Edelgard to assess the damage. I channel forth my Restore spell to heal her up. Her breastplate is dented from the high tier magic she took head-on, and I can hear the gross sounds of her ribs restitching themselves back in place from my Restore spell. Edelgard's shallow breathing improves as her eyes open in a panic.

"What happened?" Edelgard coughs out as she wipes some blood from her mouth.

"Meteor. High-level fire spell hit you right in the chest. Thanks to your natural resistance and durability you managed to survive."

"Not to mention your healing. I fear that may have been fatal without an experienced healer nearby."

I smirk as I pull Edelgard to her feet, "All part of the job."

I look back over to see the rest of the bandits are nearly defeated by the students with Dimitri, Byleth and Yuri all facing off against Aelfric. I can see Balthus and Ashe on the side getting healing treatment from Lindhardt as it seems Ashe took a nasty magical attack to his leg and Balthus has a nice slash across his beefy abs that will probably leave a light scar after healing.

Edelgard and I rush to the front lines where Aelfric seems to be finally cornered with Byleth and Yuri holding a blade to the cardinal's throat. Dimitri seemed to take the brunt of the last magical spell from Aelfric and is currently receiving healing from Lysithea due to a hand-wound by the looks of it. Surrounding the angry and fearful looking Aelfric is Yuri, Byleth, Hilde, Claude, Hapi, Constance, Edelgard and myself with all of us ready to end the deranged cardinal's life.

Edelgard and I join in the final conversation by hearing Aelfric say,"...It's been 10 years since I found her frozen in time, deep underground. I have worked tirelessly to solve the riddle of her death and bring her back to life."

"Halt, Aelfric."

I look to the source of the new voice and see Rhea approaching with Alois right behind, and she looks incredibly angry.

"Rhea! You are the cause of this! You killed her when she gave birth! Tell me why her spirit is no more and why the body remains!" Aelfric hysterically pleads to the archbishop who replies, "I owe you no words, but it was her choice to die. To save the child..."

I step away from the scene to check on Lindhardt and the other injured as it seems they've got things under control. I come up behind Lindhardt and ask, "How's the healing? Nothing bad?"

"Takes more than a measly sword to take down the King of Grappling!" Balthus bellows with laughter but quickly holds his abdomen as the laughter turns into a coughing fit.

Lindhardt looks at the exuberant brawler and chastises, "And this is why I told you to take it easy. Anyways, Balthus should be fine once the rest of the healing magic settles for a few minutes. Ashe took a large thunder spell to his thigh, so he should be sore and may see mobility problems for a day, but he is fine. How is Edelgard?"

"Thanks for the update, I appreciate it. She's fine but will be sore tomorrow. Fixing broken ribs on the fly with strong magic isn't a long term solution."

Lindhardt nods, "I agree. I do wish some would be more careful when fighting."

I put my hand on Lindhardt's shoulder to give him a pat, and as I lift my hand I feel a magical pulse nearby. I whip my head around and I see Aelfric has disappeared and the group is discussing something intensely.

"Hey, it looks like break time is over. Let's go see what happened," I propose to the group who don't need any more prompting as they spring into action, except Ashe who hobbles over the best he can.

I look at the group, and then to Rhea and Alois. Rhea looks over to me with a warm smile which I return and make my way to them as they distance themselves from the students who are debating their next course of action.

I walk over to Rhea as she dismisses Alois to leave the tunnel, and by the looks of it; it's something urgent. I finally reach the archbishop and declare, "I know this isn't where I'm supposed to be, but-"

"Shhh, Santos. It's alright, I understand. I'm actually quite grateful you are here," Rhea informs me with her soothing voice that eases my worries and allows me to relax my shoulders which I didn't realize were tensed up before.

"Ah, well that's good. I presume we should chase after Aelfric?"

"Yes, that would be most wise. I fear that he will conduct the ritual and we will need everyone to stop what is to come."

"What's to come exactly? How botched is this ritual for a resurrection?" I ask with mild curiosity as Rhea begins to lead me to the students who are going to the sub-level of the mausoleum.

Rhea glances at me with a grim expression uttering, "I fear we may be repeating a dark chapter of history that was shredded from the annals of time...for good reason."


A/N: Did you expect this? double update! I went on a writing frenzy a few days ago so here is the result. Whew! That was a lot of combat, and we still have the big bad beastie to go! Wonder how that will go over? Santos is digging in more to the nature of soul magic, discovering alliances, and seeing Byleth in her full fighting form! Quite the combination of events as we draw towards the close of the DLC. The Poll is going quite interesting and thanks to those who have submitted your thoughts so far! I won't spill results but there is nearly a three-way tie for the top spot, so vote if you haven't yet! Now, onto your thoughts from the last chapter in the reviews.

In other news, I can be found on Narwhal Lord's Fanfiction Treehouse discord Stormtide_Leviathan on discord . gg / 9XG3U7a so stop by and say hi to all the talented folks over there! Lots of other great stories to pick up and read from what I've found if more FE fanfiction is your things.

Review Response:

Sukaleska: More new stuff and tangled conflicts to come, glad you are enjoying it! As for happy endings...we shall see as the jury is still out on that one (currently debating it with myself in my notes haha) but thank you for the feedback!

VGBlackwing: Now that would be a cool fight idea! I won't lie to say I haven't thought of something similar, but I spitball a lot of different ideas and this has come into my brain before. Now, will it happen? I honestly have no clue at this point myself (or I'm just being coy hehe) but I will say that traditional good and evil isn't my biggest cup of tea. I like murkier conflicts where each side has the potential to be justifiable. Makes for a more morally challenging premise, wouldn't you say? Anyways, thanks for the feedback. You are a review warrior!

Flitterflux: In my opinion, Shamir is top tier waifu along with my liking of Hilde as another close contender. Only second to Alois because he is the best xD And Byleth might sneak in for that S-support, but right now we shall see what happens. Santos certainly got to see another side of Byleth in this chapter!

Alright, Alright. I'll see you next weekend for another chapter (estimating Saturday but we shall see) so thanks for reading and until next time!

Next Chapter: 3/13-3/15