Author's Note:

Hello and welcome to another, very long chapter. This one sort of ended up bigger than intended but the discussion between students was quite long to write. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.

I own nothing.

Chapter 12

Garland Moon, Imperial Year 1180

They just got time to settle down in Byleth's office before she was immediately questioning them.

"What do you know about the mages you encountered?"

Raphael was the one to speak first, "Well, when I first met them, they were working with Lord Essar. They knew I was a summoner and kept me at an isolated manor, basically, they spent two and a half years building up my strength. I didn't know it at the time, but they were planning some sort of enhancement experiments. Dedue got me out before they reached that stage."

Byleth folded her arms and inclined her head in thoughtfully, "How did they know about you to begin with?"

The boy looked down, "I think my father told them, he handed me over to them."

"What!?" Dedue stared at him in surprise, "I thought you'd been kidnapped, I never knew that your own father handed you over to them."

Raphael rubbed the back of his neck, clearly uneasy, "I mean, I think they told him that they were going to 'cure' me. Though Grandpa flat out told him that wasn't what they actually wanted." He glanced up at Byleth, "Do you think my father might know more?"

She shook her head, "Unlikely, they either told him little, or straight out lied about who they were."

"Oh."

She looked to Dedue, "Is that all you know?"

"Pretty much." The older boy frowned, "After I rescued Raphael, we never saw them again, until now. Diablos, said that their magic felt warped and twisted, more so than a normal dark mage's, that's how the other ones we encountered seemed, and one of them even referred to Raphael as 'wayward summoner'."

Raphael continued, "We thought the mages that took me were working for Lord Essar, but maybe they were part of their own group that was only working with him."

"But what interest does a group have in both experimenting on a summoner for an Empire noble and also assisting a Kingdom noble to revolt against the church?" Dedue asked, "Perhaps they are a larger organization than they seem."

"For now, we can only remain alert." Byleth leaned forward, "I am now certain that the assassination plan we found on Lord Lonato is merely a distraction, and I do not doubt that the church thinks the same. I don't know how they plan to proceed, but I think Claude is already planning to look into alternative targets for intruders during the Rite of Rebirth next month. I'm sure he and the other house leaders are planning to look into this themselves, perhaps we should help as well."

"Professor, we could keep our senses open for more traces of their magic. Unless they know how to conceal it, we should sense their strange magical presence easily enough."

"That is a good idea." Byleth stood, "I'll meet with Claude and the other leaders." She gave them a meaningful look, "Keep an eye out for each other."

Blue Sea Moon, Imperial Year 1180

"Raphael, if you keep feeding him like that then he's going to get fat."

"He's a growing rat! Carbuncle needs lots of food."

"The only way he's growing is outwards."

Ignoring Dedue's arguments, Raphael continued giving his rat titbits from the plate of food he'd brought from the dining hall, Carbuncle eagerly snapping the morsels up. With a sigh and a shake of his head, the older boy gave up and returned to the book he was reading over. It was all about Charon, the original holder of the crest of Charon and one of the Ten Elites. Ever since their conversation with Catherine, he'd been looking into the elite, trying to work out if there was a link between them and the Aeon, Charon.

So far, he'd only found the information that the church gave out to everyone, that Charon was a hero that fought alongside Saint Seiros, but there was something suspicious about the information, mainly the lack of information. For a great hero, there was very little to be found, even the book elaborated more on the crest and its bearers after Charon, than Charon himself. It seemed odd that there was only basic details to be found on the hero, especially since entire noble lines were considered as such because of the crest he'd had.

"It does seem very strange, why say so little about their supposed 'great heroes'?"

Diablos had become only more cynical about the information they could find, in fact, it wasn't just Charon, there was little to be found on any of the original crest bearers, barring the four saints and Seiros herself, only what was common knowledge because of the church.

Dedue shut the book resignedly, "I don't think we're going to get much of use out this one."

"Not just that one." Raphael pointed out.

He wasn't wrong, though they'd searched for anything more about the church's reason for hating Scions, the library, for all its books, held little information on the subjects they were after. Beyond the church's declaration that summoning was 'evil', there was little saying why. Even looking beyond the library books had only produced stories and tales, each one seemingly vastly different. Some claimed that summoning was blood magic, others said it was forming contracts with demons, yet more claimed it came from child sacrifice, or corrupt mages, a couple of the kingdom students said summoning came from Duscur, and was a form of strange curse magic, some Alliance students said it was Almyran tribal magic, while a few from the Empire claimed it came from Dagda or beyond. Even talking to Petra, who hailed from Brigid, only produced more horror stories.

"Summonings are dark spirits." She claimed when Dedue brought the topic up, "They lead people astray, promising much power to those who bind themselves to them, but they only spread chaos, and suffering."

So even in Brigid, summoners were considered evil, it was strange how seemingly every country reviled summoners, and they could find no solid information as to why.

"Knew I'd find you two here."

Claude sauntered up, sitting himself beside Raphael, "So, since it's a day off an all, are you going to join us in our little investigation?"

"You mean try to work out what the enemy's true target during the Rite of Rebirth is?" Dedue asked.

"Exactly." Lysithea plonked herself down beside him, and soon, many more students, including Edelgard and Dimitri piled into the Golden Deer classroom (that had previously only held Raphael and Dedue), pulling around chairs and tables to form a rough gathering around the two of them and the house leaders.

Edelgard opened the discussion, "I'm assuming, since we're all here, that we believe that the note detailing the assassination plot is nothing but a distraction."

"Of course." Hubert smiled sinisterly from his position behind her, "The ruse is laughably transparent, I doubt anyone wouldn't be able to see right through it."

"Unless they've deliberately made it that way." Lysithea pointed out.

"Ooh, like a double-bluff!" Annette bounced excitedly, "Like, make a fake note to be found, so we think they're trying to distract us from something else, but actually be after the Archbishop the entire time!"

Marianne spoke up quietly, "But why would anyone want to harm the church?"

"There are many who disagree with the church and its methods." Edelgard stated, "You can't deny that they can be very harsh with anyone they deem heretical or threatening towards them."

"Anyway." Claude interrupted, "The question isn't about the church and its methods, but rather what would be the enemy's target if the note found is to distract us from what they're actually planning."

"Well, the church must have a lot of artefacts and relics." Ashe spoke up, "Maybe they intend to steal them."

"I can't help but feel that that isn't the case." Dimitri folded his arms, "If they wanted to steal such things, then hiring a good thief would be a far simpler and more efficient way of achieving that. They wouldn't need to incite Lord Lonato into a revolt and plant a fake note."

"Firstly, I think we need a little more information." Claude smiled, at Dedue and Raphael, "Now, after the battle, I noticed that some of the mages didn't seem to be a part of Lonato's forces, I assume these were the ones that were creating the fog to hinder us. Now, since you two were the ones to fight them, I thought you might have picked up some more information about them."

All eyes fell upon them, Dimitri and Edelgard looking particularly interested by Claude's words, and the boys briefly froze. Just about to bite into some meat, Raphael quickly did so, leaving Dedue with the job of answering.

"Not really." The older boy looked thoughtful, carefully considering his words, "Though they seemed to be allied, I do not think that they were under Lord Lonato's command, and their garb marked them out as another group."

Edelgard, leaned forward in interest, "In what way?"

"Firstly, their robes weren't normal mage uniform, and they all wore strange beaked masks, along with pointed hoods."

"Masks and hoods?" Lysithea fixed him with an intense gaze.

"Yes."

She fell into silence, her brow creased in troubled thought, but said nothing else.

"Dedue." Diablos spoke gently, "Giving them a little more information might help us get some more back."

He could see the Aeon's point, but the boy hesitated, these people weren't stupid, and he didn't want to inadvertently give them enough information to work out what they were.

"Actually, me and Dedue have encountered them once before."

Raphael took the decision out of his hand, his voice quieter and softer than its usual, jolly tone, and Dedue glanced at him in surprise. The younger boy returned the gaze, his eyes relaying his intention.

Obviously, Alexander had made the same suggestion as Diablos.

At his words, everyone became noticeably far more interested, with Dimitri prompting further explanation.

"What do you mean?"

"Years ago, I was…kidnapped by mages like them." The boy carefully answered, "At the time, I thought they served Lord Essar, but now I think they were just working with him."

Several of the Empire students raised eyebrows or made noises of surprise at this, but didn't interrupt, as Raphael continued.

"I was held captive by them for two and a half years, they were planning some sort of 'enhancements' but never actually got to performing them, they'd used the time they had me to build up my physical body to improve their chances of success. Dedue rescued me before they did anything else."

By now, he held the attention of everyone in the room, Lysithea regarding him as if in a whole new light, and even Hubert displaying a glimmer of surprise.

"Intriguing, I was not aware that Lord Essar had been involved in such things, while he was found to be far from suitable for the Empire, that particular piece of information seemed to slip by those that investigated him."

The dark mage's tone suggested that he found his lack of knowledge of Essar's role as a personal failing, and Dedue made a note to keep a close eye on Hubert, certain that the other boy would be doing the same towards them.

Mercedes, unsurprisingly, was more concerned with Raphael himself, "That must have been horrible for you, being held captive like that."

Raphael shifted uncomfortably, "Well, it wasn't as bad as it sounds, it's not like I was being beaten and starved. I got three meals a day and as long as I behaved, I wasn't mistreated."

"Still, being taken from your family and being kept prisoner shouldn't be taken lightly."

"Wait!" Hilda, who'd largely appeared uninterested in the discussion, suddenly cut in, "What if Raphael is their goal, and their using the fake note to distract us so they can kidnap him again?"

"That is a possibility." Claude narrowed his eyes slightly, his mind clearly turning, "If the mages working with Lord Lonato are from the same group as the ones that kidnapped Raphael, then they have been active in at least two territories, both the Empire and the Kingdom."

"They've been in the Alliance as well." Lysithea amended quietly, "Going by their description, they sound like they are the same group that my family have encountered as well."

"So, they have, or have had, a presence in all three countries." Claude continued, "That means its likely they know that Raphael is here, if they've spent two and a half years already, preparing him for their 'enhancements', then they're unlikely to let go of a chance to finish what they started."

"Not necessarily." Edelgard countered, "Goading Lord Lonato into attacking the church and planting a fake note would be a lot of unneeded effort just for a simple kidnapping, they likely have a far bigger goal in mind, likely something that would affect the church as a whole."

"That as it may be, they may certainly try a kidnapping while pursuing their main goal." Lorenz put in, "At least we shouldn't dismiss the possibility entirely. I suggest we formulate a strategy to have people around him as much as possible for added protection."

"Wait, what…!?"

Hilda halted Raphael's exclamation at this, "Now Raphael, we know that you and Dedue are basically joined at the hip and you have Fenrir around all the time as a watchdog, but it wouldn't hurt to have an extra person or two about just in case."

"Agreed." Claude added, "Though I don't envy anyone trying to get past that wolf of yours."

"Squeak!"

As if indignant at being forgotten, Carbuncle let out a squeak from where he was polishing off the last of the crumbs from Raphael's now empty plate.

The leader of the Golden Deer grinned, "Oh, you as well Carbuncle, woe betide anyone trying to hurt your master while you're around."

"Squeak!"

"Oh, I've just had an idea!" All eyes turned on Caspar as he scratched his head after his loud exclamation, "There's this place in the monastery where something happens this month, now where was it…Oh I know!"

Lindhart was sleeping beside him, and the blue-haired boy rudely jabbed his snoozing friend in the side, "Hey Lindhart! What was that place you told me about, the one where something happens this month?"

The green-haired boy blearily opened his eyes and answered with a yawn, "The Holy Mausoleum, it's usually sealed off to the public except during the day of the Rite of Rebirth. Apparently, the tomb of Saint Seiros is found there, and is always heavily guarded."

"Unless the knights are potentially redirected elsewhere for other reasons." Claude added.

"Like a suspected assassination attempt on the Archbishop!" Hilda finished.

Edelgard nodded in agreement, "Assuming the church is their current target, the Holy Mausoleum is a likely place to find evidence or some such thing that might tarnish or even damage the church."

Dimitri followed their train of thought, "And with the knights occupied with keeping an eye out for assassins, they could slip into the Mausoleum during the height of the festivities and search it at their leisure."

Claude smirked, "That does seem the most likely plan. Though if we've figured it out, then the church certainly has."

Leonie frowned, "But this month's mission is to patrol areas of the monastery during the Rite of Rebirth."

"Areas which all happen to be near the entrance to the Holy Mausoleum." The Golden Deer leader explained, "I think the church is counting on us working this out and doing something about it."

"Wait, isn't it dangerous to leave something like this to students like us?" Annette asked.

"That's exactly why they're doing it." Felix stated, "The enemy will likely underestimate us because we're students, and we're here to learn battle techniques and strategy. The church is using us to blindside them."

Hubert seemed impressed, "A risky gamble on their part, but will prove to be quite effective."

"I see you've worked it out then."

Everyone jumped as a new voice joined the discussion, and Byleth strode forward from where she'd been hanging around behind the group, listening in.

Raphael stared at her, "Professor, how long have you been there?"

"For most of the discussion." She answered bluntly, "I thought it best to let you all come to the conclusion yourselves before I stepped in. You are here to learn after all."

Claude shook his head, "I'm guessing you're now going to discuss your strategy for the actual day with us."

"Of course."

After the long strategy meeting with Byleth and the other students, they had a plan in place for the Rite of Rebirth, and Raphael had his own rotation of bodyguards.

They hadn't dismissed the possibility of a kidnapping and several of the students were now taking turns to hang around him during the day and accompany him most places. Unfortunately, Byleth had included this bodyguard rotation in her strategies for the coming month, so he couldn't even really protest, and Jeralt was also behind the idea as well, and Raphael knew it was no accident that the battalion chosen for his training in combat leadership just happened to be Jeralt's own mercenary group.

The problem with this was that it was hard to look further into the church's condemnation of summoners when he had other students with him all the time, leaving Dedue to attempt further research on his own since he could break away from the entourage, but he was at least learning a lot more about his fellow students.

For all her trying to act like an adult, Lysithea really still liked childlike things, like dolls and sweets, and Raphael had been slightly pushing to see how much he could get away with treating her like a little sister. He thinks he got further than most, probably because she'd started treating him more warmly since learning about his time kidnapped, and while she vocally said it wasn't necessary or 'adult' to do so, she never failed to take him up on his offer of giving her a piggyback.

Mercedes seemed to have added him to her large list of fellow students to mother and spoil. Hanging around with her always resulted in a baking session and she never failed to let him lick the spoon or the mixing bowl once she was done with them, as well as sample the finished product, though finishing up the left-over cake icing remained an exclusive Annette right.

Lorenz and Ferdinand had taken it upon themselves to work on his tea-making skills. They seemed to it consider it their 'duty as nobles' to refine his manners and etiquette, and he'd been forced to sit through several meals using more cutlery than he really thought he needed to and perfecting the proper way to hold a teacup. Personally, having become used to eating whenever he felt like it and not worrying about 'proper' form, Raphael didn't see the point, but they were at least nicer about teaching him 'proper manners' than Ingrid was.

Having Hilda around usually turned into an accessory making session, though they disagreed on what made a good accessory. She always wanted them to look dainty or pretty, whereas he saw no issues with decorating it with things like bear claws and wolf fangs. She insisted that women wanted pretty things, not 'tough-looking' ones, but he knew Byleth often wore the bear claw necklace he'd made her for her birthday a couple of years ago, so he was sure she wasn't completely right.

Dorothea pulled him into singing lessons. He and Dedue had once been singing a comic ditty they'd learned from one of Jeralt's mercenaries together during their kitchen duty, and she'd heard them. She then announced that their voices were too nice to go to waste and proceeded to give them singing lessons using the things she'd learned at the opera. Occasionally, Professor Manuela joined them, showing how she could be incredibly hard to please when it came to song.

Caspar kept wanting to spar and get bigger muscles, Ashe wanted stories about their travels, Sylvain kept trying to drag him along to pick up girls, Annette helped him with some of his written work, Petra told him about Brigid, and asked him questions about what Fόdlan was like amongst the villages and towns beyond the cities and even Marianne would talk to him and show him good ways to care for horses and some of the other animals around the monastery.

All in all, while it seemed unnecessary to have people hanging about him for his protection, he wasn't disliking their company.

Dedue sighed as he ran his finger along the shelves of the library, none of the available books looking like they would be of any use to him.

The room was largely empty, Lindhart was in his usual corner pouring over some tome about crests while Lysithea was leafing through a huge volume of what looked like complicated magic at another desk. There were also two monks, on duty to lend a hand and sign books out if required, but they hailed from the Kingdom initially and only really tolerated his presence (with near continuous scrutiny as if expecting him to start setting the place on fire or something), they weren't going help him out.

Settling on a book of church history, Dedue took it from its position and headed over to a free desk. While it wouldn't give him any explicit answers, it might have hints and clues if he looked between the lines a little. He slowly worked his way through the pages, only looking up when Fenrir gave a short, low growl from his position at his feet, to see Ingrid standing nearby staring at him.

Her staring wasn't anything new, she often watched him with suspicion whenever they were in the same area, and he wasn't surprised to learn that she considered him and anyone from Duscur to be the enemy. Picking up on her dislike of his master, Fenrir always took the opportunity to growl and bare his teeth at her when he could, and when she'd muttered some racist remarks about him, he was sure Fenrir was the one to rip up some of her uniforms when she wasn't looking. There was no evidence, but the wolf had looked just a little too innocent when it was brought up.

Regardless, seeking him out was different, and she wasn't here for the books since she was obviously staring at him.

"Do you need something?"

She glowered slightly, but responded curtly, "There have been reports of people disappearing in Lord Kleiman's territory."

"Kleiman? Isn't that the lord who now rules over Duscur?"

Dedue didn't respond, but knew that Diablos was right, and he had a suspicion of what Ingrid was considering.

"And you think I might know something about it?"

"Well, the area is what was once Duscur."

Dedue sighed, "Contary to popular belief, being from Duscur originally does not mean I have full knowledge of what happens there, especially since I had left the country long before the tragedy occurred."

She snorted, "And why should I believe your word alone?"

The boy shook his head, "Considering that I have been with my class or within the confines of the monastery during my whole time here, I do not see how I could be a part of, nor orchestrate anything within Lord Kleiman's territory, which is what you seem to be implying."

"Yet these disappearances occur after someone from Duscur enrols at the academy, at the same time as his Highness. The timing is suspicious."

"Only because you wish to make it that way." Dedue folded his arms, "Have you ever considered the fact that the majority of Duscur's people had neither knowledge nor connection to the death of your king? Unless you truly believe that every person in an entire nation was aware of and knowingly complicit in the murder of the king, his family, and a dozen knights."

Her eyes narrowed, "Say what you will, I know you people have no honour." With those parting words, she walked out, but Dedue resigned himself to increased scrutiny from her.

"Seriously, how can anyone with a semblance of a brain not see the hypocrisy and foolishness of the Kingdom? Bigotry towards what is different is truly a powerful force."

Dedue frowned but didn't answer Diablos, what Ingrid told him playing on his mind.

He couldn't help but feel uneasy about people disappearing in Kleiman's territory. While he felt no desire to avenge his people (frankly, he'd have to kill nearly every kingdom knight to achieve that) others would. If a survivor of Duscur was behind the disappearances, then it could lead to another purge of whatever other survivors were left, including him.

That and he couldn't shake the feeling that it was bigger than a few disappearances.

PS- So I hope the student interactions were reasonably good, to be honest, it's a lot of characters to juggle. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.