A few days later, scouts return to tell me that the Imperials in the city of Derdriu have decided to surrender without putting up a fight. I can barely believe the words when they reach my ears. It's almost inconceivable that so much can be going right for me after all the disasters in the last year since Byleth's return. When I get the news, I rush over to Seiros.
"Your plan worked without a hitch," I say. "Did you know the Empire was going to surrender the rest of the Alliance when we took the bridge?"
"I didn't expect this." Seiros frowns. "In fact, I'm trying to figure out who gave that order."
"You think it's a trap?"
"Nothing like that. The military respects Edelgard and Hubert, and I was wondering if they realized the cause was lost and let us have the Alliance. Maybe shipped out some luxury goods beforehand."
It's hard for me to believe that someone like Edelgard wouldn't want her soldiers fighting until their last breath, but there's no point in getting into that argument now.
"You should head over there," Seiros says. "Assess the situation for yourself. You know Derdriu better than any of us here."
Not a bad idea. Seiros' millennium of knowledge and ability to turn into a dragon are continuing to edge me out in terms of what I can contribute to this war, so this is a good chance to leverage the one skillset I have above her.
"I'm sure Hilda's itching to head back to the Alliance as well so she doesn't have to deal with so many war preparations around here," I say. "Guess it's time to reunite with some familiar faces."
#
Hilda and I fly over to Derdriu that day. I spend a few hours assessing the situation and find it to be surprisingly stable. The Imperial forces have ceded control of the city under the agreement that we allow them safe passage back to the Empire. It must be terrifying for them, since there's nothing to force us to keep our word, and I wish there were some way to reassure them. But for now, I'll leave the logistics to the administrators and hope that we treat the Imperials with courtesy. Even on a practical level, if we want the Alliance to be friendly with us, we need to keep up our image.
After a couple of hours, a Pegasus knight messenger manages to find me and say that Lady Ordelia wants to meet. Hilda said the Imperials propped her up as the Alliance leader so I wonder if she's waiting to spring a trap, but I'm not important enough to take out and she'll be in hot water when I goes missing. I love being unimportant, at least in name.
Still, I keep my guard up and have Failnaught on me as I walk through the Alliance Capitol building into the meeting room. Lady Ordelia sits at the far end of the round table, and it looks like she's aged five years in the past few months since I've last seen her. She has a cup of tea in hand, and she blows some of the steam away.
"Funny how when everything changes, so much stays the same," she says. "Welcome back to Derdriu, Duke Riegan. It looks like you are about to be the Alliance leader yet again."
I take a seat across from her at the round table, clasping my hands together and resting my chin on my knuckles like a businessperson.
"We'll see about that," I say. "How have you been over these past few months?"
"It's been awful." She takes a sip of her tea. "I never envied your job, Claude, but Edelgard put me up to it. Well, I believe the idea came from that Vestra boy."
Yep, putting a weak leader who can easily be manipulated in charge of a regional state is definitely a Hubert move. Though I don't think Lady Ordelia is as incompetent as he believed, since most of the struggles House Ordelia faces were out of their control.
"Plus, I hear those dark mages are still scheming underground while we kill each other over who gets to rule Fódlan," she says. "It's madness."
"It is. I hate that we're forced to militarize or die, but if I let my guard down to chase the Slithers then we get run over."
"And doubtless Edelgard feels the same way in this stalemate," Lady Ordelia says. "You're planning on invading the Empire soon, aren't you?"
"Before we go into my plans," I say, "I want to know what yours are. Were. Did the surrender order come from you?"
"I was the one who told the Imperials to surrender," she says, "But you know what's going on here. If I act against Imperial wishes, they remove me and instate another Alliance Leader. I'm guessing it would have been that lout Acheron, too."
"Lorenz had me kill him."
"Ah, he did? Good on the boy. We all wanted to, you know. But we didn't want to face the Imperial wrath for being the one to do it."
I remind myself not to keep letting her change the topic. "So you had Imperial approval to surrender Derdriu?"
"So Lysithea tells me."
Right, I know she's in the city somewhere. The question is if she got Edelgard's permission to orchestrate the Alliance's liberation or if she's playing her own game here. Back at Garreg Mach we considered her a prodigy, and she excelled in all academic subjects. If I'm not careful, she could run metaphorical circles around me with this political business and leave me blindsided. But she does seem to genuinely care about me. One more puzzle to work through, I suppose.
"I know she wants to talk with me," I say. "Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"
She takes a long sip of tea before anwering. "Lysithea and I have come to the conclusion that my husband and I should not be in charge of any lands. And if you reinstate the nobility, I want no part of it."
I blink. "Is this an elaborate joke, or…?"
She wags a finger at me. "Not all of us are hungry for power, Claude. My daughter and I have decided it's best for us to retire to our estate and live out the rest of our lives in comfort at our estate. She's thrown her lot in with the Empire, and me rejoining an independent Alliance or the Kingdom could fray those bonds. We don't want to be used against each other."
Well, respect to her. Plus living out life as a regular rich person sounds better than being a noble and having to deal with all the other nobles and their scheming.
"Which means I'll back down from my round seat position," she says. "So whatever you want to do, you only need to convince Lorenz, Holst, and Margrave Edmund."
Holst will most likely be on board with whatever I have planned, and Lorenz proved that he can put the safety of his people and lands above personal squabbles. That only leaves Edmund, who has no military of his own to speak of. If I can get Lorenz and Holst to join the kingdom, I'm sure that Edmund will follow.
"This is assuming that we get a small stipend to ensure we have adequate resources to stay secure when we could be targets to be used against our daughter," Lady Ordelia says. "And that you promise we will be left alone from the Kingdom and Alliance end."
"You trust empty words?"
"Lysithea trusts your promises. So what about it, Claude? The small income you'll be paying us is miniscule compared to the costs of the Ordelia family standing against you."
She's right. Even if the only function of giving Lady Ordelia money is to placate Lysithea into not nuking our entire army, it's worth every copper piece and then some.
"We'll work out the details later," I say, "But that sounds like a mutually beneficial deal to me."
"Excellent." She flashes a thin smile. "That was all I needed to discuss with you. Though I am curious what your plans are for the Alliance."
"We can't stand on our own," I say. "Our only option for survival is to merge with the Kingdom. I can talk to Dimitri about ensuring that former Alliance territories are on equal footing with current Kingdom ones."
She snorts. "Good luck convincing Lorenz of that one."
"Lorenz will be the first to see an invasion once Edelgard deals with her noble uprisings. He will join us or he will be left on his own."
"That might be enough to do it. Good luck with all of this political nonsense, Claude. I hope you have a better mind for it than I did."
"It doesn't seem like you did half bad, considering that this city is standing and thriving."
"I do what I can." She sighs, and her hair looks even grayer in that moment. "I'll be looking forward to seeing what you can do. I hope there's a way for you and Lysithea to come to peace."
I hope so too, but I'm not holding my breath. I finish exchanging farewell pleasantries with Lady Ordelia and walk out of the meeting room.
Funny how quickly the Alliance can move when the lords are under an actual threat. I'll keep that in mind for the future.
#
Almost as soon as I'm out the door, I run into another familiar face. Holst.
"Hey, Claude." His voice booms across the hallway. He gives me an affectionate shoulder slap like no time has passed. "Good to see you again. Was worried those Imperial snakes finally got the best of you."
"They did get the best of me several times," I say. "Luck and mercy were the only reason I survived."
"Mercy from Edelgard? I can't-" He pauses. "Well, I can believe it, actually. We had a few new taxes placed on us to fund the war, but overall she did a good job of keeping the Alliance intact. Even helped us against an Almyran invasion. I would have dealt with it myself, of course, but I ate these mushrooms beforehand that did not agree with me."
"Nader-"
"Oh, don't worry about him. It will take more than a few spears and axes to take someone like him down. He has the real spirit of a warrior, you know. Whenever I see him, he looms larger than life."
I hide a smile. This bromance between Holst and Nader is one of the few bright spots of my time serving as leader of the Alliance. It's funny to think that the two were at each other's throats before I introduced them to each other, though I doubt their friendship will be hindered at this point by being on opposite sides of the battlefield. Hilda mentioned that men are weird for their ability to be trying to kill each other one minute and drinking together the next, and I'm inclined to agree.
"Speaking of which," I say. "Can you put me into contact with him? I'm too busy to find him myself, and I know he left you with methods of communication."
"Sure thing, kiddo."
Yeesh, he's going to start calling me that too? He's only a few years older than I am.
"And we're going to have an Alliance Round Table meeting soon, once I can track down Margrave Edmund and Lorenz. Lady Ordelia stepped down from her seat."
"Huh." Holst strokes his beard. "When did that happen?"
"A few minutes ago. I'll be a guest proposing terms rather than a lord myself, since I'm working for Dimitri at this point."
"I'll be interested to hear how you ended up fighting alongside the King of Faerghus. Any help against the Empire is good help, I'll say."
"Even though Edelgard treated these territories well?"
"My pride was wounded by losing the city defense to her. It was Nader's first defeat as well. We're looking for a little payback."
I force back a sigh. Honor is such a ridiculous reason to get people killed. In fact, it's even more useless than the egalitarian ideology Edelgard used as an excuse to start a war. At least Edelgard worried the nobles enough to turn against her, so the vision of Fódlan without nobility or crests determining birthright might not have been a total lie.
What a mess.
"I'll look forward to talking with you more," I say. "Hilda's also back in town, so you can catch up with fer for however long she's willing to talk with you."
Holst's face lights up. "Thank you for taking care of my sister, Claude. I know she appreciates having you around to keep her safe."
"It goes both ways. She's exceptional at what she does, and nobody gets that good without practice. I think she works harder than either of us realize."
"Well, I'm proud of her no matter what she does. Nice talking to you, kiddo."
As I walk off, I think back to the hints I got from Hilda. I've done the same thing as her in the past, where I try to set people's expectation of me so low that I can't possibly disappoint them. Does she know that she'll always be good enough for her brother?
I ask around for which important people are present in the building, and eventually I land on a name I want to talk with. I head over to the basement archives, which consist of stretching halls packed to the brim with documents and books. I head over to the section on crests and sure enough, I find him napping with a book in hand.
Linhardt.
"Rise and shine, sleepyhead," I say. "Morning was a few hours ago."
He grunts and blinks himself awake. He squints even in the dull red light of the flickering lantern set down next to him.
"Is this a dream?" he says. "I thought you were with the Kingdom now."
"The Imperial forces here surrendered." A pause. "Did they really not tell you about this?"
"I prefer when they don't. Not like it matters to me much. Now can I get back to napping?"
"Not so fast. I have questions I need to ask you."
Linhardt adjusts his sitting position against the wall. "Must I? Whenever people try to bombard me with their requests, my eyes glaze over. My research is quite important, you know."
"Yeah, that's the first question. What is your research?"
"So nosy." He lets out a yawn. "Fine. If you're going to be stubborn and stay here until you get what you want out of me, I won't be able to focus anyway. My current project focuses on the Crest of Flames. Not much is known about it."
"Does Edelgard think more knowledge about the crest will lead you to Byleth?"
"There is that."
Which implies there's more… wait.
"Seiros said that Edelgard has the Crest of Flames as well," I say. "The Slithers must have implanted it into her."
"That's right. She has a feeling that they know something about the crest's power that she doesn't, so she's trying to get me to catch her up to speed. It's quite boring to be taking research directions from other people, you know."
"And have you found anything?"
"Nothing important." He looks back down at his book. "Is this really the best use of your time, Claude? I thought you were a busy person."
"The sooner you answer my questions, the sooner I leave you in peace. Now, Edelgard told me you helped build the dream world she uses to contact people. What do you know about that?"
For once, he looks surprised. "How do you know-" Linhardt cuts himself off. "Don't say she contacted you."
"Trust me, I was as annoyed as you are to see her in that flower field. She wants me to work with the Empire."
"That makes sense. The two of you are similar to the point of it being exhausting, and Edelgard wants more people like her."
"What? No we're not." I realize my response makes me sound like a child and take a deep breath. "She's a brutal conqueror and I'm-"
"Planning to invade the Empire. We all know it." Linhardt rubs his eyes. "Not like it matters to me much so long as you keep me out of it."
"Stopping a totalitarian regime is different from trying to consume all of Fódlan. The fact that we're both fighting doesn't make us the same."
"If you say so."
Silence lingers between us. It's impressive how Linhardt can deflate any conversation.
"So," I say. "The dream world."
"I didn't create it. The place was already there. Lysithea, Hubert, and I came up with a protocol to enter and contact others to pull them in. So far, it only works for crested people."
"Does what happens in the dream world affect my physical body?"
Linhardt frowns. "There's no evidence to suggest it does."
Okay, so that's basically a scholar's way of saying no. Doesn't mean I'll accept Edelgard's tea and pastries next time, but at least I can be more confident she isn't trying to poison me.
"One last topic," I say. "The nucl-javelins of light that nearly ground Fhirdiad to dust. I'm sure you saw the explosions."
Lindardt shudders. "That was the day I learned that it isn't only the sight of blood that makes me knees go weak. Seeing such a powerful force used against a place where people were staying was…"
He averts his gaze, and his mouth twists in pain.
"I don't want to bring up bad memories," I say. "But anything you know about them is helpful."
"There's not much to say about the effects," he says. "Large explosion is all you need to know. The magic and technology are advanced enough that we can't hope to replicate it soon. Not that I would be willing to. Lysithea said the same."
But not Hubert. I wish I were surprised to hear that.
"We have been trying to track down the location the javelins of light were sent from," Linhardt says. "Based on our observations of which direction the javelins were headed, it was somewhere southeast of Fhirdiad. Distance was harder to gauge, but it seemed quite far based on the simple kinematics calculations we were able to perform with our imprecise measurements. Somewhere in southern Alliance or northern Empire territory, most likely."
"Do you think you'll make any more progress?"
Linhardt shrugs. "Hubert mentioned that the best way to narrow down the location is to see another one in action. If we get good measurements on the direction, we can draw lines from where the javelins of light came from and see where they intersect."
Let's hope it doesn't come to that. Though that's really all we can do at this point.
"Are you finished pestering me?" Linhardt says.
"Yeah. Thanks for your help."
As I turn to leave, he clears his throat.
"One thing that caught my interest in there," he says. "I heard the church's declaration that Seiros has returned. Is that true?"
"Yeah. Rhea was Saint Seiros all along."
I look over my shoulder to see Linhardt's eyes lighting up.
"Fascinating," he says. "I'll have to find some way to study her. There's so much valuable data I could get on such a strong crest."
Whoops. Sorry, Seiros.
"You may now leave me in peace," Linhardt says. "I hope you have a good rest of your day."
By the time I nod in reply, he's already absorbed in his book. Well, I got what I came here for. I head through the cramped hallways towards the exit. As I reach the doorway, I see a bar braced against the door at waist height, levitated by an invisible force. Wait. That's an odd shape for a bar. I squint in the light coming from outside and the "bar" forms into a shape I recognize. The staff Thyrsus.
I whirl around to see Lysithea leaning on a bookshelf nearby. Her pink eyes are more somber than I remembered.
"Is this where you want to talk?" I say.
"Edelgard expected you to be suspicious," she says. "Thought I could never get you into a room alone. You willing to tag along? There are plenty of rooms in here that nobody uses."
"What's your favorite food?"
"Huh?"
"Your answer is important."
Lysithea frowns. "You know the answer to that."
"Exactly."
After a moment, her eyes light up in understanding. "Cakes. Anything with sugar. And I'm offended you thought I was weak enough to be killed and replaced by one of the Slithers."
"Doesn't hurt to check when someone tries to lead me into a dark room alone. To a random, dusty study space it is."
#
Turns out "dusty" was more right than I realize. As soon as Lysithea opens the door, I start coughing. She doesn't wait for me to finish before going in, and in the light of the lantern already inside I can see dust particles swarming through the air like a horde of wasps. Though Lysithea uses a spell with that… aesthetic. Maybe it's comforting to her. When I see her sit down and stare off into space, I realize it's more likely is that she doesn't care. I follow suit and sit across from her.
"Edelgard's not going to believe me when I tell her you willingly followed me into here," Lysithea says.
"I'm perfectly trusting of people who deserve it."
"You're not nearly as clever as you think you are with your caution. Edelgard might kill you, sure, but she needs to crush you in public to soothe her own pride and cement her rule. She told Hubert not to lay a finger on you."
"I'm… flattered?"
"You should be. We both have high opinions of you." A pause. "Even if you are stubborn. But I think that's part of what she respects about you."
I rub my temples. "You're saying my undying hatred for her makes her think more highly of me?"
"Not the hatred itself, but the conviction. But you're not exactly staying true to your ideals, are you? You vowed to fight off all conquerors, but here you are planning to invade the Empire."
"I'm also not enough of a fool to ignore someone throwing down the gauntlet," I say. "We fight or we die. If I leave Edelgard alone, she'll turn to us after dealing with the nobles."
"I'm sure Edelgard will be happy to argue that point with you during your conversations in the dream world," Lysithea says. "I'm here to talk about another matter."
Right, the Hrym territory. I try to remember what I know about it. Most of the tidbits my memory brings up are about it being chaos. A good equivalent is Syria back on Earth. I'm not sure if they're the same, but the news here and there treats them only as locations torn apart by strife despite rich histories and cultures beneath. We have a decent number of refugees from the situation in Hrym who immigrated to the Alliance. I hope none of them got caught up in Edelgard's invasion.
"And as an act of goodwill, I come bearing multiple gifts," Lysithea says. "First is the city of Derdriu."
I keep quiet as to not give anything away. Her mother did mention that Lysithea was behind the surrender order.
"Hubert was difficult to convince," Lysithea says. "And even when we did agree to let you have the city, he wanted to keep a network of spies, ready to assassinate you at a moment's notice."
Charming. So much for not being a target now that I have no political power. I get that Seiros turns into a dragon when you try to kill her but why don't they go after Dimitri occasionally?
"But in the end we decided that it was best for the people of Fódlan to avoid another invasion, especially since we had little hope of stopping you after you secured the bridges." She pauses. "I hope you don't try to find some way to twist this into Edelgard's plans for conquest. From a purely practical standpoint, she had no reason to give the city up."
Or is that what she wants me to think? But the more I consider it, the more I have to admit that Lysithea is right. Edelgard and her army move with almost industrial efficiency, and would benefit from scorched earth warfare far more than the Kingdom or Alliance. She could send her own Sherman's march to the sea if she wanted and be successful. So why doesn't she? If she has the conviction to tear Fódlan apart to get her conquest, why isn't she going the full way and fighting us at every step until our resources run out while her imperial machine keeps on churning?
"Whatever the reason is, I'm glad that the people don't have to see more warfare," I say.
"You are paranoid about her. Is it really so hard for you to believe she did this out of the goodness of her heart?"
"Yes. Why conquer and subjugate the Alliance just to give it back?"
"Because she had a chance of keeping it then, and now she doesn't. She doesn't want to hurt the common people in this war."
"Who does she think is marching to the front lines and dying for her, then? Are they all nobles in disguise who magically agree with her that the nobility system is bad?"
"Talking to you about her is like talking to her about the church," Lysithea says. "I see why your arguments and negotiations get nowhere."
"She hates the fact that the church is restricting her power, and I hate this damn war that's been tearing us apart. Don't act like we're the same just because we're both capable of hating something."
"If that's what you think, then you don't know anything about Edelgard." Lysithea frowns. "But we're getting off topic. We yielded the rest of the Alliance to you as an act of goodwill, and we're essentially asking you to invade part of the Empire. Even if you hate Edelgard, you have to recognize that it benefits you."
"Unless it's a trap."
"Is that who you think I am, Claude? That I spared your life to lead you and Dimitri to your deaths?"
"From Edelgard's perspective, us dying could cut out a lot of the remaining conflict," I say. "I wouldn't even blame her for trying to dispose of us that way."
"Maybe talking to you is more like talking to Hubert," Lysithea says. "He also respects you. He was wondering how you managed to get the great Almyran general Nader on your side."
"Trade secret."
She smirks. "So you got lucky. I thought as much."
When did she learn to read me like a book? Most people say I'm inscrutable when I want to be.
"Although again, not the point here," Lysithea says. "I also wanted to see the Hrym territory myself. You know who used to rule it, right?"
"Yeah, Duke Aegir. Dude was pretty powerful before Edelgard threw him in prison from what I hear."
"See, this is why you should have studied harder in class," Lysithea says. "Duke Aegir was technically in charge, but the one ruling over the land for all intents and purposes was Volkhard von Arundel."
Arundel, Arundel… I remember that name from somewhere, and I know it's important.
"You do know Lord Arundel, right?" Lysithea says. "He's Edelgard's uncle."
That's when it clicks.
"Thales," I say.
"Edelgard and I agree with you on that one. We've heard that name thrown around, and Arundel is affiliated with Those Who Slither in the Dark."
"And based on the direction the javelins of light came from, you think their hideout could be in the Hrym area."
"I was wondering if Linhardt was going to blab about that. That's right. You're going to help me calm the situation in Hrym and we'll investigate together if Thales is there. And in return, you'll get this."
I feel an object fly past my side, and Lysithea catches Thyrsus in her hand. I guess she had it following behind me this whole time. She taps it on the ground like it's a wizard staff.
"I'm sure you could get a lot of leverage out of Lorenz by offering to return his family relic," Lysithea says. "Like making him agree to join the Kingdom so you have jurisdiction over the area that you need to keep us out of."
"That's worth a chance at finding the Slithers?" I say.
"Anything is worth it."
I cross my arms and lean back in my chair. "And why can't you deal with this on your own?"
"We were planning to after taking Fhirdiad," Lysithea says, "But the noble uprisings are considered more important. Still, I think that the Slithers are our number one enemy. Edelgard doesn't have troops to spare, but she did give me the okay to seek out your help. She was even fine ceding the territory to you since it's been nothing but trouble to her anyway."
"Thanks. Now I really want it."
Lysithea shrugs. "If you prefer for us to keep control of Hrym, that can be arranged as well."
Dimitri will want to keep the region if we do help Lysithea out. I don't think he has his mind bent on conquest, but we'll want to be able to have a secure path back to the Alliance if we need one, which means owning the land so we can march our soldiers across. If the region can be stabilized, it's an easily defensible position as well, being surrounded by mountains. The more I think about this proposal, the more enticing it seems.
"Is there any chance," I say, "That we could get you back on our side?"
She averts her gaze. "I'm surprised it took you this long to ask. I know the Empire is crumbling, Claude. But I do believe Edelgard and I can patch it up together. We understand each other in a way that nobody else does. And I know that she's not going to surrender to you and Dimitri. So if I can't fight her knowing that I'll have to kill the only ever person who really understands me."
I exhale, slumping back in my chair. Not surprising, and I do understand the feeling of finally fitting in with other people. Still never found someone with my combination of gender, sexual, and romantic orientation, but Dimitri's close enough to being the same that I feel like I'm home when I'm with him. Even when he's being all edgy and angsty.
"Was worth a shot," I say. "Try to stay alive out there, okay? I don't want to lose you too."
Lysithea hesitates. "Why do you still care about me? You talked about how much you hate Edelgard and Hubert. I'm no different from them."
"I've seen you protect the people you care about and avoid killing more people than necessary. I'm grateful that you decided to capture Sylvain instead of killing him. Actions speak louder than words, Lysithea."
"And what about those Faerghus knights that charged me?" she says. "How many lives do you think I took that day, Claude? I'm a hardened killer, same as you and her."
Maybe she's right. Hubert threw in his lot with Edelgard and is trying to end the war in an Imperial victory by any means necessary, and as much as I respect his drive and methods I do resent him for it. Should I see Lysithea the same? But she didn't look me in the eye and kill one of my friends to anger me into making a mistake. She doesn't see lives as toys to be played with. And then there's…
"I'll never stop caring about you," I say, "Because I'll always be the leader of the Golden Deer house at Garreg Mach."
Lysithea averts her gaze. "I wasn't expecting something so… sentimental. Your compassion is appreciated, Claude. But don't delude yourself. After we take care of business in Hrym, I'll be waiting for you in Enbarr. When you meet me, don't hesitate to take the shot. Because I won't think twice before ripping you apart." She looks me in the eye. "Understood?"
"Crystal clear."
I try not to smile when I think about how Lysithea is the one accusing me of having a bleeding heart. She could have killed me back at the Tailtean Plains, and she didn't have to pull strings to have Derdriu surrender. Plus, Thyrsus is quite a prize for her to be yielding.
"Then I believe we are done here," Lysithea says, standing up. "Don't die on me, Claude. You still mean something to me too, silly as it is. Maybe if we manage to avoid each other in battle and both survive the war, we can be friends for real."
"Let's plan for it." I stare off into the sea of dust between us. "Oh, does Edelgard want Linhardt back?"
"He's not helping with the war effort, and his research requires documents here in Derdriu. Don't harm him and whoever wins this war will have the burden of hunting down the Slithers using his knowledge. If you're not prepared to do that, turn away from the Empire."
"I'm not backing down," I say. "Thales and I have personal beef."
She offers a curt nod in response. "Then take care of yourself. I'll be disappointed if I hear some random bandit got to you before you could make it to Fort Merceus or Enbarr."
"Same to you. Let me know through the dream world when you want us to make a move on the Hrym territory."
Lysithea moves her hands in precise arcs to cast a spell, then vanishes. I should have learned how to pull off tricks like that instead of twirling arrows around. The ability to teleport would save me hours of time some days.
It will be nice to fight at her side one last time before one of us has to kill the other.
#
Over the course of the next few days, I realize I'm falling behind on keeping in touch with Dimitri in the real world, and I reach out to him and start some more video chats. The whole time my mind is spinning with plans and ideas for what to do about the political situation in Fódlan, but talking with him helps me relax. When I close my laptop to go to sleep, I'm able to drift off into a peaceful slumber instead of tossing and turning thinking of all the possibilities and dangers of the path I've chosen. Maybe I need this source of connection as much as he does. How did I survive five years as the Alliance leader with no real social outlets?
Being on Earth is also good for practical considerations. After a few hours of trying to find a time he isn't working or spending time with family, I decide to approach Robin outright and pick his mind.
"Hello, Claude." His rapid typing on his keyboard stops. "Something I can help you with?"
I do my best to summarize the political situation. How I want the Kingdom and the Alliance to join together under a central government with some republican systems and values. Robin takes it all in and is silent for a few minutes after.
"Sounds quite a bit more difficult than what Chrom and I had planned. Republics are fascinating to me because of how fragile they are. When I first arrived in America, I was assured that their democratic republic was stable and sturdy. I wondered if I was wrong for thinking that republics only take one shove to send into chaos. But look at our situation now. This country is at a turning point that could lead to political collapse if the fascists aren't dealt with. And because of your people's delusions that your country is the best in the world, they might not realize it in time to stop it."
"Some people realize how dire the situation is," I say. "But those people aren't listened to."
"That's how it always goes, isn't it? First of all, I think that during an active war you'll want any republican assembly to have limits in power. They shouldn't be able to control military affairs at all. That's just asking Edelgard to bribe them off with a peace deal."
I nod. "That's pretty standard for Earth republics as well, isn't it? The executive government handles military and treaty affairs."
"Right. And you'll want to limit the power of the lords as much as you can. They'll interfere with both your military efforts and the lives of the commoners. Ideally, they'd be reduced to policy advisors. They do know more about governance than commoners, and if you try to throw out everything about the old ways of policy you could end up with a situation like Maoist China or Stalinist Russia where you create power vacuums that the cruel are eager to fill."
"That's my long-term plan," I say.
"Good. Then we have the basics covered. Now comes the trickier part." Robin leans forward. "Do you think you can foster a nationalist spirit in the people of Fódlan?"
I frown. "Isn't nationalism harmful?"
"Yes. And it's the glue keeping this country together, as well as most democracies." Robin pauses. "So much as they are being kept together, anyway. Too much nationalism can be exploited, as we're seeing from places like Turkey, Hungary, and here. But no nationalism at all and there's no reason for people to care about policies that affect the country, because there is no country. Instead, you have people only looking out for themselves and no governmental stability to speak of. Understand?"
"So no hope of propping up a classical republic like Rome?"
"If you want your 'citizens' to only be the upper class, then that's a possibility," Robin says. "And those are even more unstable than our modern republics. If you do want to avoid nationalism, there is another option."
I have a feeling I know where this is going.
"Many governments justified their existence by a divine right to rule," Robin says, "And that seems to be the case in Fódlan, yes?"
I nod. Now to decide if I want to give Seiros even more power than she already has.
"If Seiros crowns Dimitri as the king of Fódlan," Robin says, "That gives him the authority to do more or less whatever he wants. That could be a way to start an assembly and hold back the nobles, but I'm guessing you could see what the problem is."
"Dimitri's dipshit kid could dissolve the assembly at any time they wanted and say that they're chosen by the goddess so they can do whatever they want."
"Right. And if your power comes from on high rather than the spirit of the people, that's more likely to happen and less likely to cause resistance."
God, I hate politics.
"My guess," Robin says, "Is that Fódlan is not ready for a unifying, national spirit. Right now you should derive your monarchy's and assembly's power from Seiros, but not enough to give her a chokehold over your politics. Then you can work on building the identity of a nation and transition the source of power from divine decrees to the heart of the people. It's a bumpy road, and we can help you along the way. Remember, you have the advantage of knowing how these attempts played out on Earth, so you can steal all of your people's best strategies."
"That sounds like a good idea," I say. "If we try to build up identities right now, the Kingdom and Alliance might develop separate ones."
"And then Fódlan breaks into more civil wars," Robin says. "I'm sure you know what colonizers on Earth did to the Middle East, Africa, and Asia."
Yep. In places like Iraq where different major groups historically got along okay, they were played against each other and forced to share a country. From what I've heard, a good deal of Saddam Hussein's aggression towards other countries like Iran where my dad is from was motivated by a desire to strengthen his Shi'a faction in order to further subjugate the Sunni minority. Then when Hussein got deposed, that Sunni minority spawned ISIS. It's a whole fucking mess that I need to avoid at all costs in Fódlan.
Though this is assuming we even win. It might end up becoming irrelevant if Edelgard manages to turn our momentum against us. Yet so many lives are at stake here that I can't ignore it.
"Looks like I'll have a lot of time to study politics if we win," I say. "Which means I'll be following your path."
"And I'm more than happy to help you along your journey. I paved this road for others to walk alongside me."
"Thanks, Robin. I'll get you something nice to show how much I appreciate it when I'm not so damn busy. So you think that having the church pressure the Alliance into rejoining the Kingdom is the best course of action?"
"With a focus on engaging commoners," Robin says. "If your church is wealthy, have them hand out food and sanitary supplies to everyone they can. Remind the people that the church and king care about them while their lords do not, and use that to keep the lords in check."
"Sounds good. And taking the Hrym territory will show the lords that we're serious. Looks like I should get back to work."
"The grind never stops." Robin stretches an arm behind his back. "No matter what, it sounds like you've saved thousands of lives by keeping casualties low in these fights. You deserve to be called a hero."
A hero… and coming from Robin himself, too. Over the time I've spent at their house, Morgan's told me stories about Robin fighting off entire armies and saving the world from the Dark Dragon Grima's resurrection and dominion. And I've never seen him give someone an empty compliment.
I don't think I'm a hero, but I can make a difference on and off the battlefield. That's enough to keep me going.
So many characters... so many scenes. This is more of a downtime chapter in terms of action, and it was nice for me to check in with characters we haven't seen in a while. Lady Ordelia is the closest thing there is to an OC in this fic since we really know nothing about her in canon, and I enjoy writing her even if she's a fairly minor character.
Notes:
-Edelgard helping the Alliance deal with the Almyrans while Holst ate a bad mushroom and couldn't participate is the plot of Edelgard's paralogue. I had it take place offscreen here. On a related note, the bit from Hilda about men being weird, using Holst and Nader as examples, is ripped from canon.
-Nader calls Claude "kiddo," which Holst has picked up.
-At the end of Silver Snow, Linhardt comments that it's a shame that it's a shame that Rhea has to be killed because her dragon form could be used for research. I play off this mindset a bit here.
