Alm gets his first POV. For reference, this Alm has already lived through Acts 1-5 of Shadows of Valentia.

Chapter 7: Unity

Garreg Mach Monastery, The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, Fódlan

Imperial Year 1187

Alm felt uneasy without a sword at his side.

Ever since the day he had left Ram Village, he had always made sure to keep one within arm's reach. The weight of a weapon on his belt had become a comfort, a physical manifestation of all the lessons his grandfather had taught him as a boy. It gave him the strength he needed to face even the most difficult of situations, to live up to the destiny bestowed upon him by the gods.

All of that felt like it was being stripped away the moment he handed Falchion to the archer in green.

"Sorry, but if the Archbishop doesn't trust ya, I don't either," the man said, fastening its scabbard to his own belt. "Can't have ya trying anything during the meeting."

Another soldier, a tall man wearing heavy armor, stepped forward and placed a hand on the archer's shoulder. "What Cyril here means to say is that we appreciate your help on the battlefield, but it's also our job to make sure anyone who steps foot into the monastery does so with the best intentions."

Alm sighed. Ever since Byleth's "interrogation," all the knights had been incredibly cautious of him. At least three soldiers had followed him wherever he went until this Cyril and his enthusiastic comrade had come to collect him. The two had taken him to one of the upper floors of the monastery before forcing him to surrender all his weapons. He had complied, of course, lest the knights think him more suspicious than they already did, but giving up his sword felt like he was giving up a piece of himself.

"It's all right. I understand, er…Captain Alois, was it?" The man nodded, wearing a warm smile. "I know from experience that it's not always easy to trust a stranger, especially during dangerous times like these."

"As far as I'm concerned, if you're not purple or see-through, you're on our side." Alois rubbed the back of his neck. "But you'll need to be cleared by the Archbishop first. I'm sure once he's had a chance to clear his head, though, he'll see you as an ally."

"Thanks, Captain…"

Alois beamed at him, then gestured for both Alm and Cyril to follow him down a long corridor. Their silhouettes danced on the walls against the candlelight, the only sound in the hall the soft taps of their boots on the stone beneath them. The atmosphere reminded Alm of the ancient shrines he had explored with the Deliverance back in Valentia. His hand moved to his belt on instinct, as though expecting brigands or monsters to leap from the shadows, but his fingers touched nothing but air.

A thin line formed across his lips. No sword, no allies guarding his back, but also no brigands or monsters. All that awaited him was a room of people whose trust he needed to earn. A simple task, compared to everything else he had gone through during his life.

"Here we are!" Alois stopped in front of a pair of iron-bound doors. As the captain reached out to push them open, Alm took a deep breath and put on the most convincing air of confidence he could muster.

The council room was impressive, much like the rest of the monastery. Blue banners bearing the image of a griffin rider lined the walls—the coat of arms for the Kingdom of Faerghus, if Alm remembered correctly. Two golden chandeliers illuminated the room, hanging over a long wooden table that could sit at least twenty people. Most of the room's occupants, though, were scattered around the chamber and chatting amongst themselves, leaving the seats empty.

Cyril left Alm's side to join a group of people clustered around a short woman with snow-white hair and a thick bandage tied around her midsection. A smile grew on her face as he approached.

"Cyril!" The woman threw her arms around the archer. The movement made her wince, but her bright smile remained. "You're okay! I was so worried."

"I should be telling you that," Cyril said, frowning at the wound on her side. "Are ya feeling okay? That looks pretty serious. Maybe you should be resting—"

"I'm fine. Professor Manuela healed most of it." She placed a hand against the bandage. "Besides, I need to be here. Not just for the strategy meeting, but…to get answers from her."

Her smile disappeared as she looked across the council room with a scowl. Alm followed her gaze to…

Marianne, standing in a corner by herself. Her eyes bore into the ground, avoiding the glare the white-haired woman was sending her way, while her trembling fingers curled tightly around the fabric of her dress. She was gnawing at her bottom lip, hard enough to draw a spot of blood.

Alm felt his heart drop at the sight. He had hoped that reuniting Marianne with her classmates would improve her state of mind, but they seemed to be worsening her anxiety instead. What was their problem—this woman's problem? They should have been happy to see their friend again, not ostracizing her and sending her dirty looks.

He clenched his fists. As much as he wanted to march over to that woman and confront her about her attitude, he couldn't. For the sake of both Fódlan and Valentia, he needed to be cordial and civil. Starting an argument as soon as he walked in the door would only make it more difficult for him to earn their trust.

But that didn't mean Marianne had to stand there alone.

Alm took a few steps towards her. The least he could do was be by her side during—

"And who is this handsome fellow?"

A short-haired woman with a mischievous grin sauntered into his path. "I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting yet. I'm Manuela, a professor and physician here at Garreg Mach." She leaned forward to inspect him, her low-cut dress revealing more than what was probably appropriate for a religious setting. Alm averted his gaze; he had eyes only for his wife.

"My name is Alm, milady." He stepped around her to continue towards Marianne, but Manuela was not deterred in the slightest. She moved in front of him again, brushing her fingers against his bicep. His nose caught a whiff of floral perfume as she began to close in, too close for his comfort.

"Oh my, handsome and polite? It must be my lucky day."

"Leave the man alone, Manuela," an older man said, adjusting his monocle. "Forgive my colleague's salacious behavior, Alm. Manuela has a tendency to forget herself when the situation calls for tact."

Manuela gave him an indignant snort. "Salacious? Oh please, Hanneman, why must you exaggerate every little—"

Her retort was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. Alm glanced over his shoulder. Byleth stood a few paces away from them, arms crossed. His expression was blank, but there was a clear warning in his eyes as he stared them down.

Manuela pursed her lips, annoyance etched across her face as she looked between the three men. Hanneman returned her glare with a scowl of his own. Alm just stood there awkwardly, unsure of how to ease the tense air between them.

A few beats of silence passed. Thankfully, Manuela finally relented. "Fine, fine. I apologize if I came on a little strong. A woman has to take her chances when they're presented to her, you know." The mischievous grin returned, and her voice became a soft purr. "But we can talk later, if you're interested."

"I'm, uh, flattered, but I'm actually—"

"Follow me."

Byleth grabbed Alm's arm and pulled him to the center of the room before he could finish his sentence. A sigh escaped him. He was certainly grateful to be free of that strange interaction, but…

He glanced back to Marianne. Her hands were clasped in front of her, her face full of concern. Alm sent her a reassuring smile. It was all he could offer at the moment, but hopefully it would be enough to help her feel at least a little more at ease until he could return to her side.

"I'm sorry about that," Byleth said. "It's not fun being stuck between one of Hanneman and Manuela's arguments."

"It's fine. I'm used to being around some strong personalities back home. I'm honestly just happy you allowed me to be part of this meeting." Alm put a hand on his hip, where his sword would usually rest. He still felt off-balance without it. "Is there something in particular you needed from me?"

"I'd like to ask you something."

"Sure."

"Why didn't you mention that you're a king?"

Alm's eyes shot open. "How—"

"Marianne told me," Byleth said before he could finish the question. "I spoke with her earlier to get more information about you."

Alm rubbed the back of his neck. "It wasn't my intention to hide it from you, if that's what you think. I just figured that title wouldn't mean much to you since Valentia doesn't exist here." It was also difficult for the humble farm boy in him to present himself in such a formal manner, but he decided to keep that to himself. "What else did she tell you?"

"Beyond repeating what you said about the invisible soldiers invading your homeland, not too much." Byleth gestured to an empty seat near the head of the table. As Alm settled into the chair, he continued, "Though she did talk more about her family history, and about how you helped her escape when the empire attacked Garreg Mach six years ago."

"I see." Alm fidgeted with a ring on his finger—the one his cousin had given to him with his dying breath—through the cloth of his glove. "It's all a big, complicated story. I hope it didn't take up too much of your time."

"Not at all." Byleth tapped his fingers against the table, studying him. Alm's back stiffened but he didn't look away. "It's good that I heard it."

"Yeah?"

"It proved to me that you're a good man."

Alm blinked. He hadn't expected those words out of the Archbishop, at least not so soon.

"Marianne was one of my students here. She might not have been in my house, but she was my student all the same," Byleth continued, passing over Alm's shock, "and even though she's been gone for a while, I trust her. She said you're a kind ruler, a brave soldier, and above all else, someone who always tries to do the right thing."

Alm opened his mouth, but he struggled to form a coherent response. "That's…"

"She told me she's proud to be your niece. She trusts you with her life, so we will too, for now."

"I…" The enormous weight from earlier lifted itself from his chest, freeing him from doubt. "Thank you, Pro—I mean, Archbishop."

"Byleth is fine."

Alm cracked a smile. "Thank you, Byleth." His eyes flicked over to the group he had taken note of earlier, and the smile faltered a bit. The white-haired woman was still wearing her sour expression. "But will everyone be all right with that? Some of the others seem…put off by us."

Byleth looked up, lips thinning slightly. "Don't worry about Lysithea. She and Marianne were in the same house, along with some friends who lost their lives fighting against the empire. Seeing Marianne again probably just reminds her of them."

Alm nodded. His gut told him there was more to it than that, but it was best to leave it alone for now.

"She won't let it get in the way of the meeting. Speaking of which…"

Byleth signaled to two soldiers stationed at the entrance of the council room. They bowed at the waist then marched into the hallway, closing the heavy iron doors behind them. The room grew quiet as everyone began to make their way to the table, heeding Byleth's silent command.

Marianne hurried from her corner to fill a chair next to Alm. She raised her head to whisper to him but didn't quite look him in the eyes. "Did it…go well?"

"It went a lot better than I thought it would, thanks to your kind words," he whispered back with a heartfelt grin.

"Good…I'm glad I was able to do something useful."

She exhaled a long breath and managed a slight smile of her own. It seemed a bit forced—Alm knew it was difficult for her to do sometimes—but the effort made him the happiest uncle in the world.

Once everyone had settled into their seats, Byleth took his place at the head of the table.

"As you are all aware, Fódlan has been experiencing a series of unprecedented attacks. I've called everyone here to discuss this morning's battle and plan our next course of action." He motioned to Alm. "I've also invited King Alm of Valentia to help us strategize. He came to fight for us from another world, like Kana and Sophie, and has encountered these invisible soldiers before."

"I'll do what I can to help," Alm said, smiling at the faces around the table. "Please, just call me Alm. No formalities necessary."

Byleth nodded. "With that out of the way…we're ready for your report, Captain."

Alois saluted and stood from his chair, his armor clanking with the movement. "The defense of Garreg Mach was successful, for the most part. We destroyed a significant portion of the invading army and were able to force the rest to retreat, with minimal casualties among our own forces." The captain's gauntleted fist clenched. "However, while we were focused on the enemy in the field, a smaller group of invaders managed to sneak into the monastery undetected, then ambushed the cathedral."

"What? How?" a man with a sharp face and blue ponytail said. "We were blocking the only entrance to the monastery. No one got past us during the battle."

"The details of that are unclear," Alois admitted. "No gates or walls were destroyed around the perimeter, so it's likely they didn't use force to break in."

"It was like they appeared out of thin air," Lysithea said. She touched her bandaged midsection. "One minute the cathedral was empty, and the next it was overrun by those ghastly creatures. They—" her voice caught "—they killed everyone on the bridge, then killed nearly everyone else guarding the building."

A heavy silence hung over them. Alm felt his gut twist at the pain in Lysithea's voice, and had to push away the images of his own people back in Valentia who had suffered similar fates.

"Is there a reason they chose to attack the cathedral in particular?" he asked.

"It was almost certainly because Kana was there." Byleth gestured to a boy a few chairs down from Alm. The boy shrank back into his seat as all the attention in the room turned to him, a flush spreading from his cheeks to his ears. His…pointedears?

"Kana seems to be their primary target. They tried capturing him yesterday after raiding his village, failed, then came looking for him again this morning."

Odd, Alm thought, they never bothered taking prisoners in Valentia. "Do you have any idea why?"

"We're not sure, but it's probably because of his…unique abilities." After Alm raised a questioning eyebrow, Byleth added, "He can turn into a dragon."

"A dragon?" Memories of Duma's degenerated body looming over him flashed across his mind. His shoulders tensed, but he forced himself to relax. "What kind of dragon?"

Byleth tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

"Well, there's several different types of dragons, right? Fire, Ice, Earth, Divine…" Alm trailed off. The entire room was staring at him in confusion except for Hanneman, who instead was feverishly writing on a long piece of parchment. "Never mind, I guess it's not that important—"

"No, we need all the information we can get." Hanneman flipped to a new page to write on. "Kana's appearance doesn't fit the records we have on the dragons that once existed in Fódlan, as he comes from a different realm entirely." The man glanced up from his notes to look between Alm and Kana. "Perhaps he comes from the same world you do. Does the name Nohr ring a bell?"

When Alm shook his head, Hanneman followed up with, "Does he at least look like any of the dragons you mentioned?"

"I can't really say, I've never met a dragon in human form before. There were only two known dragons in Valentia and they're—" dead, one by my father's hand and one by my own "—er, gone. Most of what I know about dragons comes from stories from across the sea, from a land known as Archanea. The dragons ruled there once, but their great power eventually began to drive them mad."

Kana sucked in a sharp breath, eyes wide with fear. Alm quickly added, "But most of them turned out just fine! The stories say they sealed their powers away into stones to keep themselves from degenerating, and now they live their lives as humans. The stones allow them to switch between human and dragon form at will, and it protects their minds, too."

"I-I don't have anything like that." The boy gulped. "And I can't control the…dragon…when I'm scared or angry. Does that mean I'm gonna…gonna…"

"What about your pendant?" Byleth asked. "It seems like that helps you calm down."

Kana bit his lip and stared at his lap. "Only after I've lost control and done bad things."

"Then perhaps we need to find you one of these stones." Hanneman stroked his chin. "There's no guarantee it would work on you—we still don't know if you have any relation to these dragons of Alm's world—but it's the only lead we have right now regarding your predicament."

"Is this really what we should be discussing?" the blue-haired man cut in, arms crossed. "The enemy could return at any moment, and we're talking about rocks."

"If it's any consolation…" Alm started, "in my world, there were always periods of respite after we defeated a wave of the invisible soldiers. I'm not sure if there's a set limit to their magic, but from what I've seen they aren't able to send in new soldiers immediately after an initial attack. The larger the invading force, the longer we had time to recuperate."

The man scoffed. "Well, regardless of whether we have a few hours or a few days, we need to focus on our strategy to defeat them before we do anything else."

Another man a few chairs down gave an exaggerated sigh, running a hand through thick red hair. "Sure, Felix, but where do we even begin? All we know about them is that they want Kana and they're fine killing the rest of us to get to him. We know pretty much nothing about who's been sending them—"

"Actually," a freckled man said, voice so quiet that Alm nearly missed it. "I might have an idea."

The red head raised an eyebrow at him. "Ashe?"

"When I was trying to escape from the cathedral with Kana and Sophie, one of the invisible soldiers spoke to us." Ashe's fingers curled into a fist atop the table, clenched so tightly that the fabric of his gloves strained over his knuckles. "It was…it was Lord Lonato."

Several gasps echoed throughout the room. The name sounded only vaguely familiar to Alm. He had heard about many lords and ladies in passing while working undercover at the monastery, but he didn't need to know much about the man to guess why his name had elicited such a reaction.

After all, if this Lord Lonato had appeared among the ranks of the invisible army, that could only mean one thing.

"L-Lord Lonato? Are you sure, Ashe?" a woman with an orange shawl asked. Ashe squeezed his eyes shut and nodded. "But he's been dead for years! How…how did they get him too?"

"I don't know how, but it was him. I saw him too," Lysithea said. Her hand trembled for a moment before she hid it under the table. "He looked just like he did all those years ago, after I helped the Blue Lions put down the rebellion in Gaspard for the church. Even down to the arrow—"

Ashe flinched. She sighed, shoulders sagging, and left the sentence unfinished.

"M-maybe it wasn't actually him?" the shawled woman suggested. "Maybe all these soldiers are just illusions made to look like dead people from our world, to try to trick us or something."

Byleth shook his head. "I don't think that's the case, Annette. I had a similar encounter during the battle in the field." His brows furrowed and face tightened; it was the most emotion Alm had ever seen on the Archbishop's face. "I was attacked by Edelgard and some of the former Black Eagles students. The way they looked, the way they fought…it was the same as when they were alive. Edelgard was even spewing her usual rhetoric about creating a world without gods."

"We experienced the same in my world," Alm said quietly, gripping the edge of his armrest. A world without gods, huh?

Murmurs of disbelief traveled around the table. A woman sitting next to Ashe clasped a hand over her mouth. Despite the tawny color of her skin, her face was nearly pallid, as though she had suddenly become very ill. "I-I am not having understanding. How…why would Edelgard and the other Adrestians be attacking us now?"

"Maybe they want revenge?" The red head suggested with a shrug. "It's not like we left off on the best of terms with the emperor and her friends because, you know, we were pretty much responsible for their deaths."

"I don't think they're acting on their own free will," Ashe said. "At least, I didn't get that impression with Lonato. It was definitely him, but it felt like he was being controlled or directed in some way."

"But by who?" Annette asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but…Lonato kept saying something about a 'silent dragon' waiting for his 'kin'. Maybe that's what created that mist and brought them here?"

"C-can a dragon do that? Bring back the dead?" Annette turned to Alm, eyes wide.

"It's not impossible. I've seen a religious cult use dark magic to warp the souls of people and raise the dead before." He resisted the urge to look at Marianne, afraid that he might see her mother's burning face, corrupted by Duma's power, instead of her own. Gods, she looked so much like Rinea. "They drew their power from a dragon they worshiped, so I wouldn't be surprised if another dragon had similar abilities."

"Do you think these so-called 'silent dragons' might have that kind of power as well?" Hanneman asked, his quill refusing to slow in its notetaking.

"I don't know, I've never heard of a silent dragon before," Alm said. "I'd have to ask my wife. She knows a lot more about dragons and gods than I do."

"Wife?" Manuela muttered, just loud enough for Alm and likely a few others to hear. "Damn it, why are the good ones always taken?"

He fought back a blush. Hanneman glared at her and cleared his throat. "It is imperative that we learn more about these creatures. If Ashe's guess is correct about one of them being the source of the enemy's magic, then figuring out the full extent of its powers and where it originates from may be our key to victory."

He pointed the quill at Kana. "Doing so might also help us learn more about you, young Kana. I think we can all assume that Lord Lonato was referring to you when he said the dragon was waiting for his 'kin,' so it's likely you may be one of these silent dragons yourself."

"And how do you suggest we go about this?" Byleth asked.

"I could look through the library to see if there are references in our texts, or we could track down Lady Rhea. There is likely a lot of information she knows that has never been officially recorded." Hanneman finally set down the quill. "But I think the most successful approach would be to have Alm search for information in his home world, since they seem to have a greater familiarity with dragons in general."

Alm nodded. "I can do that. Besides my wife, there are some priests I can talk to who know a lot about dragons and their history."

"But what use will that information be if those soldiers come back before we can learn anything useful?" Felix asked, face turned into a frown. "Time isn't on our side. I don't know if the monastery can withstand another siege like the one we faced this morning, even if we were to get reinforcements from Dimitri or Hilda or whoever we have left to call on."

"What if…" Byleth began to muse, his knuckles tapping softly against the polished mahogany. "What if we were to remove their reason for attacking the monastery?"

Felix regarded him with a questioning glance. "Remove?"

"As far as we know, their only reason for attacking Garreg Mach is because Kana is here. If we hide him somewhere else, it's likely they'll focus on finding him again rather than launching another full-scale assault on the monastery."

"Does it really matter where we put him? They've been able to find him pretty easily the last two times they've shown up."

"We think that may have been because of this." Byleth placed a golden necklace onto the table. Light glinted off a blue crystalline stone held in the centerpiece of the jewelry.

"Mama's pendant?" Kana asked. "What about it?"

"I had Hanneman and a few other scholars in the monastery take a look at it before our meeting," Byleth said. "It seems to contain a powerful water-based magic, one that's similar to the magical energy emanating off the invisible soldiers."

"And because the magic between the two is so similar," Hanneman added, "it's likely the enemy is able to sense when the pendant is in use, using it as a beacon of sorts to Kana's location. That's the working theory, anyway."

"Then why the hell do we still have it?" Felix glared at the object. "If we get rid of it—"

"No!" Kana clutched the edge of the table, causing the wood to crack under his fingers. A few chairs down, Alm swore he could see a vein pulse on Cyril's forehead at the damage being done to the furniture. "I-it's really important to my mother! And it's the only thing that's been able to help me, even if it's just a little bit. I can't just throw it away…"

"You won't have to." Byleth slid the pendant across the table to the boy. "We used a spell of our own to mask the magic contained within it. No one should be able to track it now if you ever need to use it again."

Kana's face relaxed into a grateful smile, his grip on the table loosening.

"But it's not a foolproof solution, so we'll get you something else to help keep your powers at bay more easily. And we'll find you a good place to hide at the same time."

"R-really?" The boy leaned forward in his seat. "How?"

"We'll take you to Alm's world."

Alm's head snapped to the Archbishop. "What? My world?"

"That might be the best course of action." Hanneman hummed. "We're already sending you, Alm, back home to find information on this silent dragon. Why not also bring Kana to test out one of those dragon stones you talked about earlier?"

"And the invisible soldiers probably won't think to look for him there, since their last encounter with him was here in Fódlan." Byleth counted on three fingers. "We'll help you gather information, hide Kana away from the enemy, and find something that will allow him to control his transformations. One, two, three birds with one stone."

"… 'We'?"

"I don't expect you to do this all on your own. A handful of us will go with you, while the rest will work with King Dimitri to strengthen Fódlan's defenses." The Archbishop's pale eyes narrowed ever so slightly. "Will that be a problem?"

Alm hesitated. Of course he wanted to help in any way he could, but he also had to consider the safety of his people. If their assumption about how the enemy was tracking Kana was wrong, or if Kana were to do something that attracted their attention to him, they would be putting all of Valentia at risk. One invasion had already damaged his homeland enough.

But one look at Kana made his resistance to the idea fade away. The boy had balled his hands into his pants, staring at him with large, hopeful eyes. He was clearly desperate for help, and Alm had never been one to ignore someone in need.

Besides, Byleth and the others had chosen to put their trust in him. It was only right for him to return the gesture.

"No problems here," he finally said. Kana grinned at him, his relief so contagious that it made Alm's lips form a smile of their own.

"Great," Byleth said, standing up from his chair. "We'll set off at first light tomorrow morning. In the meantime…Captain, how long would it take the Knights to relocate our supplies and people to Fort Merceus?"

"Fort Merceus?" Alois asked. "Are you thinking about abandoning Garreg Mach?"

"Temporarily." Byleth clasped his arms behind his back. "Our theory suggests the enemy will return to the monastery for Kana, since it's the last place they will have sensed him and his pendant. It's better for no one to be here when they arrive."

"And Merceus's security measures are top notch, both on the outer walls and within the fortress itself," Sylvain said, "so it'll be easier for us to defend ourselves if and when they decide to come knocking. They don't call it the 'Impregnable Fortress' for nothing." He chuckled to himself. "Except for the time we got in, that is."

"I can't argue with that logic." Alois scratched his chin. "It shouldn't take us too long to move to Fort Merceus. We should be able to leave by the morning, too."

"Then we have our plan. The bulk of our forces will travel to Fort Merceus, Hanneman will go through the library and try to locate Rhea, and Alm will take Kana and a small team to Valentia. I'll write to Dimitri to let him know he should meet us with reinforcements at Merceus." Byleth scanned the faces occupying the table. "Are there any objections?"

Some people still seemed uncertain about the situation and the plan, but if they had any objections, they decided not to voice them.

"Then we'll adjourn for the day. If you're interested in traveling with Alm and Kana, let me know by nightfall." Byleth stepped back from the table, his golden collar glimmering beneath the chandeliers' candlelight.

"Make sure to get plenty of rest today. Tomorrow, we get to work."

Character Bios:

Nothing to report.

Next chapter: Alm takes his new allies to Valentia.