My start with the Ashen Wolves after The Crisis of the Chalice was a great turning point for me at Garreg Mach. I began to pave a path to end the hostilities that plagued Fodlan during that time, though I did fail to anticipate and uncover a few key things during that time. While my knowledge of soul magic flourished and the students under my supervision taught me if not more than what I gave back to them. We were all so confident back then, some bordering on the line of arrogance. Bravery is just a half step away from foolhardiness, and the line certainly blurred as everyone rushed to witness the horror in the Holy Tomb. I still can smell the blood and hear the screams today.


"Alright wolves, welcome to your first lesson. We won't waste time on introductions, so let's get right into things," I announce as I begin to pace back and forth at the head of the class. Seated in the front are Lysithea and Constance looking ready to take notes. In the middle is Balthus looking mildly curious with Yuri next to him watching me less with curiosity but with a more analytical look in his eyes. Finally, I spot Hapi at the back of the classroom eating her lunch, and not trying to be subtle or quiet about eating her plate of meat and vegetables.

I cough roughly and continue, "Anyways, this morning Lady Rhea dispatched her first mission to us. We leave in two days for the Continent of Morfis to catch a heretic of the church. The person is Alphonse Solari, the former bishop of the Western Church. We have received a report that he's fled Fodlan for asylum in Morfis, and it's our job to bring him back to be judged. Questions so far?"

Constance and Lysithea's hands both rocket up immediately while Balthus puts his hand up a little slower while eyeing the two competitive mages. I sigh and relent, "Yes, Balthus?"

"So, uh, we going to pass by Bergliez territory? I kinda owe a lot of money to a guy over there," Balthus reluctantly admits to which Yuri elaborates, "Balthus has a bounty of nearly 20,000 gold for fraud and racketeering from the local duke."

"No, we won't go through there. I was thinking of a more direct route to House Ordelia. Lysithea, does your family have ships that the church can use?" I reason as I look to Lysithea and nod for her to proceed to which she gleefully gushes, "Certainly professor, though we'd have to talk with my father to organize the specifics."

I smile and take a drink from my glass of water. Lysithea really went overboard the other day and got me a huge pitcher of water which she managed to enchant with ice magic to stay cool, which is better than anything I would have come up with. She has much more attention to detail when it comes to the subtlety of spells than I'll ever have.

"Professor, if I may be so bold to ask, but why did the church assign us on a bounty hunting mission and not the relief effort that's going on over in Oche territory. I hear the raiders have been especially vile and the citizens could use our medical and skulduggery expertise," Constance questions to which I consider for a moment before sharply responding, "Because I'm the only person in the church fluent in Morfese. I understand your rationale, but considering I'm the only one who can talk with the locals, we automatically are the best choice for this mission. Manuela and the Black Eagles should be more than well equipped for Oche, which is Empire territory anyways."

Constance nods in acknowledgment of my reason and puts her hand down. I only got the news of the mission this morning from an acolyte messenger of the church. The former bishop stole some highly sensitive documents while making his daring escape, making this a very interesting mission that we are chasing the guy halfway around the world. We need to capture him and make sure the documents are recovered, or at the very least destroyed.

I glance once more across the room and query, "So, any questions about Morfis?"

"Mhmm, yeah. Weather," Hapi responds with her mouth full of food which manages to draw out a frown from me and most of her other classmates as she throws up her arms and retorts, "What?"

"Can't you have a little decency and not eat during our instruction time? I've been waiting to have proper classes once again and I'd rather not listen to you digesting food," Constance berates at our red-haired wild child, to which Hapi smirks, "Then don't listen, pay attention to Bleeder."

"You need to stop being disrespectful!"

"You need to just turn around and listen to the professor!"

Balthus stands up in an attempt to play peacemaker saying, "Hey, why don't we listen to the rest of the mission-"

"You're not part of this, take a seat Balthus."

"Baltie, not now. Coco doesn't understand hunger."

Balthus sheepishly sits down as Yuri pats his back while chuckling a bit as he seems to be reveling in the chaos. Hapi and Constance are staring daggers at each other, though Hapi is a bit harder to take seriously with a piece of beef jerky hanging out of her mouth. I look to Lysithea who seems ready to pull her hair out from the interruption, so I take the initiative and command, "Alright, everyone shut up. Constance, stop being so sensitive," Hapi pumps her fist in the air as Constance looks at a loss for words as I continue, "And Hapi, no eating in class. You can finish this time, but no more food from here on out. And eat with your mouth closed. Can we move on now? I believe it was about the weather?"

The students turn their attention back to me and I use my hand to massage my temples. I hope every class like this isn't pulling teeth. I put my hand down and compose my face once more explaining, "Alright, so Morfis. It's a desert. Many nomadic tribes roam the desert, and then there is the City of Illusion, which will be our destination. It's their only organized form of government and our best spot for a secondary lead. Any further questions before we tackle today's lesson?"

I see the class all shake their head before I further elaborate, "Good, now today we are going to talk about ambush tactics...and cultural etiquette."

Most students seem rather enthused, though I do spot Hapi visibly groan and set her head down on the desk. I look to my two overachiever students at the front of the room looking at me with barely restrained eagerness to note every word I say. This is certainly going to be an interesting gig in teaching this year.


Loading the Ashen Wolves and prepping for our first team venture went by smoothly. The church provided transportation to Ordelia territory with no qualms and our passage through the Leicester alliance took about a week to reach the port town of Oriel. With access to messenger hawks and Lysithea's penmanship, we managed to secure a vessel to get to Morfis with the church paying for all the costs.

The students themselves have behaved for the most part as long as I keep an eye on them, which has proven to be a bit stressful to be the only 'adult' of the group. Balthus is nearly my age but runs off like a kid on the playground the moment he hears people rolling dice in the street, which has forced me to institute the buddy system for everyone. Lysithea is with Balthus, Yuri is with Constance and I'm with Hapi. Balthus needs constant supervision in urban areas, Constance and Yuri work well enough together in that they don't annoy each other and I have Hapi since she's a social terror and has no remorse for her unintentional impoliteness or faux paux's. Granted, I'm not much better but at least I have the decency to apologize to merchants and ask before sampling foods.

The trip would take us nearly a month to get to the shores of Morfis, arriving at the port town of Thodavidroop. I'd be on the ship for about 2 and a half weeks with the Ashen Wolves, giving us ample time to plot our voyage through Morfis to find Bishop Solari. We managed to leave the shore around 10 pm, so I gave the students the night off and decided we would reconvene in the morning. Luckily since I'm the professor I don't have to share a bunk with the boys, leaving me a bit more room to enjoy and most importantly, peace and quiet.

The first thing to stir me awake is the rocking of the ship as I nearly slide out of bed and onto the floor. Thankfully I'm able to brace myself to the small bed frame to prevent myself from being tipped as the sloshing motion dies down. The beds here are certainly built for function over comfort as my back is feeling a bit tight as I sit up and rotate my body to stretch a bit.

"Kids are probably going to be in the kitchen area…" I muse to myself as I don my robes, double-check my travel sack for my books, spare clothes, and journal. I can't risk someone being a little too curious about soul magic, even though I'm probably just being a bit paranoid.

I take a couple more minutes to get my bearings as I open my cabin door and depart into the narrow hallway. The church managed to get us a medium-sized caravel for the Ashen Wolves and me, which is much nicer than what we could actually afford. I have close to zero money still as anything I earned I dumped right back into the Crystal Clinic for supplies back in Abyss, and the church certainly wasn't paying me for my medical services. Getting bailed from the chopping block in Fhirdiad is a price of its own.

I round the corner into the small kitchen quarters and spot Yuri already busy frying up some fish on a small skillet. Yuri cranes his head looking backward and greets me, "Morning, Santos. Figured I'd get a start on breakfast for us and the crew."

Whatever Yuri is cooking up it smells seasoned perfectly. I can smell hints of lemongrass and rosemary waft through the air as I take a seat on a stool on the small island table in the middle of the kitchen and comment, "I'm ready whenever food is finished, then we can get everyone together for talking about our plans."

"Haven't we already talked about our plans on our way here?" Yuri suggests as he slices up some lemon wedges to pair with the fish.

I shake my head as I look around for anything to drink, "Yes, but we need to talk about training while on the ship. We have a lot of time on our hands and I don't want it to got to waste. Also, is there any coffee or tea?"

"Top shelf, 3rd cabinet to my right," Yuri tells me as he motions with his head to a cabinet behind him before sprinkling some salt on the fish fillets and asking, "So, what are we going to be working on then?"

I move over to the cabinet and begin looking through an assortment of old tea boxes for a kind I can stomach, "Well, it's a good time for us to work on areas where we are weak, myself included. So I've got an assignment for everyone."

"Well, I'm pretty decent at a lot of stuff, so I wonder what you cooked up for me," Yuri chuckles as he takes out the fillet and begins plating up meals for people, and right as he does I hear Balthus's voice from the doorway comment, "Whoa, something smells delicious."

Balthus enters the room looking relatively refreshed and chipper so I ask, "You look refreshed. How are you doing?"

Balthus shrugs, "Could be better. Wrestled some of the sailors last night, which was fun, but could have been better if you didn't ban me from gambling before we boarded."

"Hmmm, how come I wasn't aware of this? How'd you convince him, professor?" Yuri asks as he finishes making plates for everyone while taking his own to the table.

I feel a smirk beginning to form on my face as I reply, "It was easy. Don't gamble and he can stay on board-"

"Yeah, we get the idea, boss. Just, please don't teleport me again. I get motion sick from that, ya know?" Balthus pleads as he scoops up his plate and joins Yuri at the table.

The two male members of the Ashen Wolves chit chat as I scrounge for the desired tea I want for a few more minutes until I give up and settle for one of the many containers labeled 'Black Tea' and begin brewing it in the old iron kettle on the makeshift stove. With a little fire magic, I'm able to produce some clean black tea, which is leagues above the scummy water the sailors drink or vodka.

As I finish brewing my tea and grab my plate of deliciously seasoned fish and pickled veggies I see the rest of my students bumble into the kitchen. Hapi is leading the pack with extremely messy hair, but a relatively pleasant expression on her face that lights up even more when she spots the grub on the counter and mouths out the words 'food'.

Constance and Lysithea look much less awake in that both their hair looks quite disheveled and their body language and slow movement immediately show that they are not fans of seafaring. Lysithea seems more awake than Constance as they trudge over to the counter to retrieve their breakfast wordlessly and take their seats at the table where the rest of us are devouring our fishy meals.

I wipe my mouth with my robe sleeve announcing, "Alright, since we are all here and relatively awake, "I cast a knowing glance towards Lysithea and Constance, "I have some assignments to dish out. I've looked over everyone's records, academics, and tests and think it's best we use this time on the boat to brush up on some of our weaknesses."

"Oh this outta be good," Hapi mumbles out in between shoveling fish into her gullet.

All the other students look ready to add their own comments but I raise my hand and motion for people to remain quiet as I explain, "Look, before everyone gets all excited I'll list them out. I even gave myself an assignment. First, Balthus."

Balthus raises an eyebrow, "Yeah?"

"You have Faith magic training with me in the morning. Same to you Yuri. If you fight on the front lines you need more training in the healing arts. It can save your life or someone else's. That's your assignment."

I move my gaze over to the ladies of the Ashen Wolves, "Alright, for you three. Lysithea and Constance, you are being given a workout regiment ran by Balthus. I'll be partaking as well since I need some help in the physical department as well. Just cause we're casters doesn't mean we should only focus on exercising our mind, our bodies are important as well. Plus, Constance, your cardio is worse than mine, and that's saying something."

Constance looks appalled but restrains herself from commenting as I move onto Hapi, "Now for you. You get to train with Yuri and me in strategy. I've looked through records and some offhand accounts, and I've found very little support for any leadership qualities. You have a well-rounded combat base physically and magically, now we just need to work on your authority in commanding others. This is the officer's academy, not an arena to test your pure martial prowess so you are going to learn how to lead others effectively. Now, any questions?"

"Uh, yeah, why?" Hapi questions as she swallows another chunk of fish, which thankfully Yuri interjects on my behalf, "Hapi, he's got a point. Have you ever taken charge while in Abyss?"

Hapi considers Yuri's words before shrugging and conceding, "Fair point Yuri-bird."

"Well, I'm still aghast that you would insinuate that I'm out of shape!" Constance barks as she grips her fork tightly. I sigh and respond, "Look, if I can beat you in a foot race, then we've got a problem. I know too well what happens when you spend all your time indoors reading books and practicing magic. Your muscles atrophy eventually if you don't use them often enough, so we are going to get some training from our resident 'King of Grappling'," I command to my team of students who nod in compliance with my order. I'm glad they are taking their new assignment as well as they are; I imagined a bit more dragging of the feet, but I'll take silent compliance.

"Alright, so after breakfast, we break for Faith training and then later we will do physical training in the afternoon. The deck of the ship should work as long as it isn't stormy. Nighttime I want us studying magic, doing workouts in your room, or if your Hapi," I hear a dull groan come from the red-haired girl, "You'll be working on strategy. If you aren't actively training during a portion of the day, use that time wisely. So no napping in your quarters-" I pause as I hear another groan from Hapi as her head is down on the table with Balthus rubbing her back with a sympathetic look on his face as I finish, 'So don't dally. I'll see Yuri and Balthus my quarters after breakfast gets cleaned up. We don't want to leave a mess for the crew."

I stand up from the table with my empty plate as the students begin to murmur amongst themselves. I deposit the used dish near the washing bowl and head towards my room to prepare for Yuri and Balthus's magic lesson. Yuri already has decent magical control and perhaps is the most well-rounded fighter out of all the Ashen Wolves, but I would say magic is his weakest point as he hasn't had any formal training on record. Balthus shows aptitude from his old records...but he's going to need some work. Earning the title 'King of Grappling' didn't include many healing spells as he was on the receiving end of them, not dishing them out.


Yuri and Balthus show up in my quarters for their lesson soon after breakfast, which set the pace for the next two weeks on the boat. I ended up using a knife to make shallow cuts on my calf and having each of them focus their mana on healing it. Yuri quickly proved to be advanced enough that I had to place him at the far end of the room so it would be a Physic spell, which seemed much more his speed for practice. Over the two weeks at sea Balthus made the biggest jumps in improvement in actually getting down the Heal spell, while Yuri made marginal progress.

As for physical training, I loathe to admit that I'm worse off then I thought. Balthus proved to be the right choice for results, but certainly not pacing considering he gave us his workout regiment and subjected all of us sans Yuri and Hapi who would work on strategy in the meantime. The sailors definitely got a kick out of watching little ole Lysithea hip toss me to the deck. I can still feel the ghost pains in my hip and my pride.

Over the two weeks all the mages, myself included, felt the results. The biggest improvement across the board was our mutual endurance for strenuous activity. When I'd struggle through a 15-minute battle before, now I feel as if I had doubled my time. Balthus never got mad when we couldn't do something or when our bodies failed, but Constance certainly pushed his limits of patience with her apologies and reluctance due to being out in the sunlight.

I tried to diagnose Constance's condition but after a few fruitless nights I gave up. I'm a doctor, not a psychologist and her being more subdued in the sunlight is a bit refreshing. Now I'm just trying to figure out how to bottle sunlight for when I need her to calm down in a pinch.

Lastly, and perhaps the most frustrating training done was with Hapi. The girl is extremely averse to making level headed decisions and highly impulse-driven. While Yuri and I did manage to make some progress in terms of her tactical skills, I'm pretty sure I lost a permanent sliver of my restraint over the two weeks that I'll never be able to reclaim. She's easily one of the most talented students at Garreg Mach, yet held back by her attitude and whims.

Getting off the caravel and onto the solid ground once again felt good. Thodavidroop at a first glance is a small port town with mainly Morfese people running around and going about their trade at the docks. The city certainly isn't lacking for wealth though as nearly every person I've seen is well dressed with a decent amount of jewelry, which only made my students and I stick out more. Stepping into the city makes me think of the city of Mumbai back on Earth as far as architecture and the design of some of the buildings, but with perhaps a more antiquated look to them.

I look to my students as we walk off the last ramp and instruct, "Alright Wolves, here's the plan. I'm going to find the closest thing to a service center to find us a guide to take us to the City of Illusion so we can a lead on Bishop Solari. Yuri, you take everyone and find some lodging for us tonight. I want us to leave by first light tomorrow morning."

"Right on it, professor. I'll find somewhere cozy for us to hole up," Yuri coyly replies and I shake my head as I turn to Constance and assert, "Make sure Yuri doesn't land us 'cheap rent' in a brothel. I'll find you in an hour or two. Also, don't go exploring the town by yourself. Once you get to the inn, stay put or use the buddy system, understood?"

Constance beams as I give her some authority over our lodging and the rest of the Ashen Wolves respond in compliance. I watch my students chat with each other as they disappear into the crowded street before I turn my attention back to the city and mumble to myself, "Well, when in doubt...look for the biggest and most boring building."

I begin to make my way through the streets of Thodavidroop and I'm already drawing strange glances from citizens. I'm wearing lightweight grey and black robes in the mild heat compared to many other people's looser fitting garments that give their bodies more room to breathe. Also, hats seem to be a big fashion trend here as many men and women I pass by are wearing somewhat decorative large hats, almost as if a sombrero had a love child with a ten-gallon hat. They look a bit odd, but they certainly seem to keep the sun off the tall people of this land as I'm quickly realizing I'm on the short side being around 5'10" where most people are easily 6' tall or more.

I wander by some of the food stands and I'm brought to a halt as one of the stands has a large assortment of what look to be white grapes. I double-check my surroundings before I approach the young teen merchant and ask, "Excuse me, how much for a serving?"

"3 gold. Here," The teenager states as we trade currency for food and I pop a grape into my mouth. It has a bit more bitter flavor then I remember grapes having, but the juiciness is still there. I gobble a few more down and comment, "Not bad. I remembered liking these."

"You have been to Morfis before? You don't look like a trader," The boy skeptically comments. I shrug, "You'd be right. Tell me, could you tell me where I could find a guide? I need passage to the City of Illusions."

"Bhramka Shahar? Yes, there are guides, but it is dangerous. They are on the outskirts of the city."

I lean in a bit closer to the teen asking, "And why is that? Duststorms? Raiders?"

"Bandits. Most don't like foreigners as do many of us Morfese," The teenager states as he crosses his arms defensively. I pop another grape into my mouth and ask, "Why would that be?"

"Most don't learn the language, unlike you. Usually, we see warlords come by boat or bandits from your lands. Only the traders are tolerated."

Interesting. It would seem Fodlan's not popular here probably due to the Adrestian Empire trying to expand its grasp to new lands and then people like Bishop Solari who run and hide her for refuge. I eat another grape and reply, "Thanks kid, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the food."

I integrate myself back into the somewhat busy street of the city with my small bag of grapes in hand. While it's only about 5 pm, it seems busier than when I docked here since it already feels a bit cooler out. If I had to guess the temperature is somewhere in the mid 80's Fahrenheit right now.

I wander around for another half hour until I reach the city limits and I notice a few camel stables and goat herders. I browse around a bit with a few men keeping an eye on me until I find a small building that has a sign with 'Guide' written on it. I take one last look over my shoulder and notice a city guard watching me maybe about 15 meters back with a glaive in hand and lightweight chain and leather armor. I dismiss him from my mind as I approach the small one-story building and peel back the thick leather curtain that is in place of a door.

As I duck through the opening I'm immediately hit by the strong aroma of lavender incense as I enter a small den that has a few miniature goats inside and two older gents that appear to be sharing a few drinks. Both of their attention turns to me immediately as the one with a long greying beard inquires, "What do you want, foreigner?"

"Looking for safe passage to... Bhramka Shahar," I explain as I believe using the localized name for the city would suit my needs a bit better.

The other younger man takes a drink from his cup and whispers something to the older man before the older man asks, "When do you wish to leave?"

"Tomorrow at dawn. It will give me time to provision."

The older man closes his eyes and nods, " Hmmm. Okay, my son will guide you," The old man points to the younger man who seems a bit offended and forcefully replies, "As you wish, father."

"I will have more with me, will that change the cost?" I ask the two morfese Shepards to which the younger man retorts, "Yes, more camels will be needed. You have gold, yes?"

Considering I have what the church provided me for the mission and the very meager amount I have leftover from the clinic, and hopefully, they don't break the bank. I swallow and ask the younger man, "How much for 6 in total?"

The older man scratches his chin in thought before mumbling out in his coarse voice, "Hmmm….let's say 100 gold total, yes?"

Well, there goes most of my gold, but I don't really have any other choice. I nod to the two men and reply, "I can do that. I shall be back tomorrow morning."

"Yes, farewell traveler," The older man states as he and his son take their seat back on the floor near the incense and drink form their mugs once again. I give them a slight bow and retreat from their quarters. I pass back through the threshold to the warm outside and focus my mana to sense out where the auras of my students are. If I walk around the town enough I'll be able to pick up a ping from one of the mages to get an idea where they have gone in the time I managed to get us transport. I hope that Balthus didn't find the local gambling ring already.


After only about 2 wrong turns and 15 minutes later I manage to find the correct inn thanks to Constance and Lystihea having their magical auras flare up occasionally. Hopefully, that means magic practice and not other...happenings. I step into the sandstone building that says 'Inn & Bar' on it and I'm first greeted with the smell of pungent tobacco. I look around to see a small bar area and a lounge on the left that is a few steps down with a few guys smoking hookah. Looks like Yuri picked a hookah lounge as our place of respite.

I walk up to the bartender, a scraggly looking older guy around my height and a wild beard and I ask," Hey, looking for people dressed like me. They check-in?"

"Mhmmm. Yah, they pay. Rooms 4 & 5 down the hall, mhmmm," he mumbles out as he points down to a hallway adjacent to the edge of the bar to my right.

I wave to the strange man, "Thanks for the information."

I head down the hallway until I can see the faded wooden door of room 4. I put my ear against the door and hear voices from inside, but the thick wood prevents me from discerning who may be speaking. I knock on the door stating, "It's Santos, I'm checking in."

After a few moments, I hear locks moving and the door swing open to reveal the girls of the Ashen Wolves. Hapi is perched on the window sill reading a book, Lysithea appears to be in the middle of getting knots out of her hair and Constance is at the door greeting me, "Welcome back, professor! Should we assume that you have acquired suitable transportation across the desert for us?"

I nod, "Yeah, we should be fine. Where are Balthus and Yuri?"

Lysithea looks up from her hair debacle, "Hopefully they listened to me and stayed put. But I doubt it. Balthus and Yuri were talking quietly amongst each other when we arrived at the inn."

Well, shit. Looks like those two idiots are out on the town looking for trouble, and if I had to wager a guess I'd say gambling. I don't need Balthus to get all of us persecuted in a foreign country due to debts. We've only been here for about 2 hours!

I massage my temples with my hand and exhale deeply, "Alright. I'll go check their room. When I get back from the empty room, Hapi you are coming with me to get those idiots."

"Why me? Not that I'm complaining or anything," Hapi replies as she jumps off the window sill and closes her book.

"Because the locals don't like Fodlan folks, and we don't look native to Fodlan. We can pass for Almyran and avoid more trouble from the locals that way. I suspect the nightlife here is dangerous for strangers," I elaborate and then point to my two other students, "And you two hold down the fort. Be on guard. Morfis may be a bit more dangerous than what is to be believed."

"I shall defend our location with-" Constance starts but I tersely interject, "Just say 'okay Santos' and that will suffice. I get the gist, Constance."

Constance frowns but nods to my reasoning as Hapi asks, "You seem on edge. Everything okay, Bleeder?"

I run my hand through my hair to help alleviate a bit of my stress and insist, "I am. First mission outside of Fodlan for the church and I don't want things to go badly. And knowing those two I'm fully ready for trouble. I'd rather not have to fight all of Morfis's underground to get to our objective. Let's go."

"Take care professor-Urgh, this stupid knot!" Lysithea snaps as she is running her fingers through her tangled hair. I smile at both of the other mages and salute them goodbye as I leave and hear Hapi follow close behind me and shut the door.

Hapi and I traipse into the smoky main room of the hookah lounge and I cough a bit due to the smoke. As I clear my sinuses I turn to Hapi asking, "Any idea where to start? Did you get any inklings of where they might have been planning to go?"

"Sorry, but Yuri was pretty cryptic with Balthus. I'd guess wherever there are cheap booze and money to be made," Hapi states matter of factly as we exit the inn and embrace the cool evening air. I look out towards the sun and notice it's nearly sundown, which means whatever nightlife that lurks in this city is probably already starting.

I look around and see much fewer people on the street than there were an hour ago, to the point that it almost seems abandoned. I do a double-take both ways and comment under my breath, "Now that's weird…"

"I see it too. It's empty."

"Yeah, which means a few things. One, safety. Two, something is happening."

Hapi strolls around looking at some of the abandoned and taken down stalls, "How do you know this? We've only been here for a few hours."

"I lived in sketchy cities most of my life. I know a thing or two about these kinds of things," I listlessly comment as I focus my mana to expand my senses. If I'm lucky I can find Yuri and Balthus near the strongest concentration of magic in the city. I close my eyes and extend my sensory reach and feel nothing around the nearby blocks.

I open my eyes and command, "They aren't here. Let's rotate south and then do a loop around the city. It's not too much ground to cover, and it'll take 15 minutes at most for me to detect a strong magical source that isn't trying to hide its presence."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?" Hapi questions and I reply, "You have your knife?"

"Never leave home without it," Hapi replies to which I instruct, "Good, 'cause you're my bodyguard. I can't effectively lookout for potential thugs while focusing on magical signatures. You're going to be leading me around making sure we don't get jumped or I don't run into any walls as I'll have my eyes closed."

"Sounds good. Let's go find 'em."

Hapi and I begin to scour the streets for any signs of Yuri and Balthus with me focused on magical anomalies and Hapi dipping her head into various bars, taverns, and gambling circles. We search for nearly 10 minutes to no avail or leads as worry begins to set into the pit of my stomach until I stagger at the sudden maelstrom of magical energy that eclipses the edges of my senses. I stumble backward and nearly fall over if it weren't for Hapi grabbing my by the wrist and inquiring, "What was that?"

Considering I just the strongest magical presence ever? Not great, almost nauseous due to the sheer mental weight it seems to exert on the atmosphere around it, but it seems...stagnant. Almost as if sleeping or in stasis. Like bottled lightning.

I open my eyes and look around the area and notice we are in a long alleyway with not too many doors. I look towards where I felt the wave of magical energy and respond to Hapi, "Magic. Lots of it. I have a feeling it may be where Yuri and Balthus are. That, or we just found a whole lot of bad shit."

"How bad?"

"Remember that thing at the chapel? Double the magical presence. Maybe triple it."

"Shit," Hapi replies as she looks down both ways of the alley before whispering to me, "We've been followed."

I look down at both ends of the alley and notice cloaked figures have boxed us in and are approaching our position. I look up to the rooftops and notice two more figures in white-clothed robes have emerged from the darkness and are watching us, though they don't have their weapons drawn, though I do notice their hands are hovering on their scimitars.

Hapi leans into me where we are back to back and whispers, "Do we fight them?"

"Not yet. They haven't drawn any weapons, so let's see what happens first. I have Warp readied for us if things get nasty," I mutter back as the figures continue to approach our location.

The tall ebony-skinned warriors finally surround us, and the one near me steps a few feet closer before saying, "Come with us."

"And why should we do that?" I snap back at the man who casually replies, "You have been invited. Come with us, if you want to see your friends."

I exchange a glance with Hapi before conceding, "Very well, lead the way."


The Morfese warriors led me and Hapi to an abandoned house near that alley that had a false bottom leading to a large staircase into the earth. We followed with their close supervision into the underground. With torches lighting the way through sandy corridors we eventually were led into a large underground den. A large area filled with people smoking hookah, drinking, and casually having sex on padded mats on the far edges of the underground room. We are led past all the vices by the warriors to the end of the room and through a large stone door into a vast atrium that gives me some ominous vibes.

The room is a wide bridge that seems to have a chasm on each side that goes down who knows how far, torches adorning all the walls and at the end of the room a large stone wall that has a face carved into it with stone arms outstretched from it. Seated on the hard rocky floor in front of the statue is an older Morfese man with a hookah pipe and basic white robes that only cover his lower body. His face is wrinkled and weathered with age accompanied by a few strange fractal-like tattoos on his arms and face.

Hapi and I approach the elderly man cautiously as I can feel the pressure from the men behind us to go forward. I managed to stop focusing on the magical signature early as it was nearly discombobulating, but even now I can feel the power in the air while actively not trying to sense it, and it's located in the stone face of all things.

"Welcome travelers. I am Arjun. And you are?" Arjun announces in a thick Morfese accent which is somewhere in between a Hindi accent and Haitian from what I remember from Earth.

"Hello. I'm Santos, and this is Hapi. Where are we?" I inquire while trying to remain impassive yet polite to the strange old man.

Arjun puts down his pipe and exhales a great plume of smoke before explaining, "Ah, you are in my home. Where the sun doesn't touch in the city, that is mine."

I look around the room and notices the guards have backed up to the entryway, which seems to be the only entrance into this sanctum. I return my attention to Arjun and reply, "Very well, so you're in charge. I'm looking for two of my students that may have wandered off. You wouldn't just so happen to know where they are?"

The man looks down and nods, "I know where they are. They came here, not too long ago. Gambled like there was no tomorrow, but couldn't pay the bill. So, they paid in another way."

I narrow my eyes and growl, "Did you kill them?"

Arjun chuckles as he holds his sides, "No, of course not. But debts must be collected, no? I've felt you since you entered the city, and I knew you would come looking for them. I know the feel of a strong mage."

If this guy felt my presence since we entered he must be highly refined and sensitive to magical signatures, especially with being so far underground. Though, strangely, the rock face itself has a much stronger presence than Arjun himself who seems ordinary.

"So, where are they?" Hapi asks as I'm still thinking on the matter and Arjun smiles a toothy grin and claps his hands twice. The ground begins to shake a bit while the mouth of the large stone face begins to open up to reveal a passageway. I squint my eyes into the darkroom inside the stone face, but I can't make anything out.

Arjun hops to his feet with surprising spryness and beckons us to follow with a wave of his hand. Hapi looks at me for guidance with a confused look, but I shrug and follow the old sage into the hole. He's very clearly a skilled mage and an unusual one like that, so I'll just have to play along, for now, to figure out what he wants and to see if this can be ended diplomatically.

We enter the long room and I notice that each side of the room is lined with humanoid statues. I begin to get an eerie feeling about this whole place as I extend my magical sense to confirm my suspicions, and it appears I'm right. The statues are alive as they are still giving off signs of magical activity, which is why the signature from earlier was so strong and felt stagnant. These people are trapped.

Arjun takes us about halfway into the dimly lit hall before turning around, extending his arms, and explaining, "This...is my collection. Your friends are here, as they could not pay their debt in money, so now they do in power to protect the city."

I stroll forward with Hapi until we get to the end and see stone forms of Balthus and Yuri, along with someone in robes of the Church of Seiros next to them. That just might be Bishop Solari. A stroke of luck combined with a terrible situation. I can hear Hapi cursing under her breath next to me, which I would like to do as well, but I focus on keeping a cool head and ask, "I want them back. How do we do that?"

Arjun rubs his chin as he looks up ponderously musing, "Hmmm, a good question. And I have a good answer for you. You must rouse them from their slumbering subconscious and wake them from their dream. You will have one hour to rescue your friends."

"What happens after an hour?" Hapi asks angrily to the odd mage who chuckles, "If you take more than an hour or fail, I get you," he points to me and continues, "Do we have a deal?"

I look to the Fodlan priest statue and ask, "What's his name?" and Arjun closes his eyes for a moment and touches the statue replying, "He is called Alphonse Solari. You know him?"

"No, but I need him. I'd like to wager for his freedom too," I urge to the wizened sage who takes a moment to consider my option before breathing out, "Very well. I give you one hour to free all three, or else I get both of you."

Hapi backs away a few steps, "Whoa whoa whoa," and I put my hand on Hapi's shoulder to try and calm her. I lean in and whisper, "It's the only way. We can't finish the mission and get our friends back otherwise."

Hapi solemnly nods and replies, "I hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to end up a statue for the rest of my life."

"I don't think anybody does. But, I'm the best shot we have. And I have a plan."

Arjun steps forward towards us with a smile, "So? We are decided then? Time shall start once you choose the first person's dream to go into. I will assist if needed to send you into the dreamscape. Now, who will you choose?"

I look between the statues of Yuri, Balthus, and Solari and ponder for a moment. When I used the Wander spell my sense of time was thrown all out of wack once I entered a dream. It took most of the night to talk with Sothis, so I know an hour for waking 3 people is suicide. My gaze drifts back to the smiling old sage, Arjun and a lightbulb in my brain goes off. I think I just found the root of the issue with this diagnosis.

"I'm ready. I choose you," I declare as I point at Arjun who seems a bit surprised, but manages to keep a smirk on his face as he asks, "Me? I'm curious why don't save your friends."

"I am. You're the spell caster, so if I can figure out how to break your concentration on the spell, I can probably convince you to undo it on all the statues."

Arjun tilts his head from side to side playfully before replying, "Clever. Very clever. You aren't like the usual lot I get from Fodlan. I shall allow this, as it is not against the rules. I shall let you enter my mind, but do not expect this old man to roll over."

My face becomes much more serious as I see the joyous old man have a fire in his eyes as he awaits my spell. I walk up to the man who is just a bit taller than me hunched over and I hear him say, "Are you ready?"

I place my palm upon his forehead and reply, "More than you know. Prepare yourself."


A/N: So here we are post DLC and technically chapter 5-6 timeline area with the Ashen Wolves hunting down an official from the Western Church, only to find something else dangerous waiting for them in Morfis. What will happen? Tune in next week for your answer to see if the Ashen Wolves get out unscathed. We inch closer to the vaunted time skip and the capitulation of Fodlan with every chapter, especially with this one jumping quite a few weeks due to travel from our current party.

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. Also, a decent place if you want to shout at me or have questions.

Review Response:

Sakura108645: So far Santos and Sothis are on neutral terms and can agree that Sothal is a menace. As for how helpful and trusting they are between each other? Not so much. Lysithea has joined the Ashen Wolves basically making this a magic heavy house, but she may not be the last one to join...and we shall see on how Ingrid and Santos do in the future as things build in the coming months. Stay tuned and thanks for reading and supporting!

Greyjedi449t: Thanks for the support! :D

SyncroX: Yeah, Ashe is dead due to just sheer difficulty of life. Poor little fella. And yeah, I have plans for Rhea and Santos! It shall be interesting, lest I hope haha. Thanks for reading and reviewing. Cheers.

Warlord of Chaos: Good to see another review from you! Glad to see another Rhea fan, as I too like those with a bit of grey morality myself. Plus, I think she is a bit one-note in the game and deserves a bit more breadth than just 'Ancient archbishop that hates those who don't like the church'. She's got a lot of potential so you'll be getting your fill haha. Thanks for reading!

Guest #1: Yeah, COVID-19 is a bit more feisty in my parts. I might need a bazooka or something. Thanks for the pro tip.

InterestedUser: Ashen Wolves get a magical boost! Lysithea is one of the more interesting characters in the game considering her background with crests, and I felt with her pursuit of knowledge it was a no-brainer to study under Santos due to seeking further magical training from him anyways. With Fire Emblem having death around almost every corner, it was something that felt right to do and would hold significance for Santos's relationship with the Blue Lions. Thanks!

Raychii521: Yeah, Byleth didn't make the box. How else would you get those sweet support points? Gotta go bother everyone in person rather than be efficient O_o also cheers to another Rhea fan!

Guest #2: In my humble opinion, magic should mutable and complex in practice, but simple in theory. You are correct that Santos being from Earth has a very different perspective on magic due to external influences that the people of Fodlan will never understand, but also not feeling chained by the established rules on magic. Your imagination can be a huge help or hindrance to how you perform and interact with the arcane. I may have some info in later chapters about advanced applications with anima magic and dark magic, but there will be an expansion on soul magic as I've charted out the system and you've only seen a fragment of it so far. Thanks for the support and for the unique perspective. It makes me want to review my physics book lol.

Hyperlink: Yes.

Anyways, that is it for this week! A milestone I don't think I touched on last week, but this story has now hit 50k views! That's wild to me. Glad to see people out there are digging it as much as I am writing it.

Last bit of news is hope you are staying safe, washing your hands, and avoiding the global pandemic :)

Next Chapter: 3/27-3/29

See ya later!