Chapter 38: On the Field of the Eagle and Lion
You've all been waiting for it, and here it is! We've finally reached the start of The Battle of the Eagle and Lion! The lead up to it has been going on for a while, so I'm as glad as you all probably are to finally get to it. So, without any ado, let's see how all of our favorite students are going to feel marching onto that field of glory!
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The night after arriving to the Gronder Field campgrounds hadn't been the greatest for Bernadetta. It was the culmination of a few days' worth of travel via wagon, and by the time that the caravan had arrived to the cliffs overlooking the destined battleground, the sun was already starting to make its journey downwards across the horizon in the later hours of the afternoon. That resulted in the Houses of the Officer's Academy scrambling to take their collective equipment off of their carts and set up camp, with primarily consisted of making stockpiles, corralling horses into wagon circles, and pitching up the tents for them all to sleep in.
Needless to say, that made for a rather tiring evening experience. Once Bernadetta's obligations in setting up her own tent and gathering up her own belongings had been satisfied, she immediately ducked into her canvas shelter and made herself scarce. The only time she came out was to grab a quick meal of hardtack and corned beef from the camp canteen before heading back into her tent. There was no way she felt comfortable in heading out of her tent to take care of her toilet business. That would have to wait for the night hours, when nobody would see her ducking behind a bush somewhere off to the side of the Black Eagles camp.
The entire experience had made Bernie begin to heavily resent the entire concept of camping. What was there to like about it? The walls of her tent were thin, there were bugs everywhere, and she was just plain far away from anything resembling civilization. Just about the only thing to like was that it was nice to see plants and trees in their natural habitats, but if she was to be honest, there were way more interesting plants in Garreg Mach's greenhouse. She didn't see any carnivorous plants on her way to Gronder Field. It was genuinely disappointing, and just made her feel even more soured towards the trip in general.
So, when the morning came for everyone to get ready for the battle that was taking place at midday, when the sun was highest in the sky, Bernie was hoping that if she stayed in her tent the entire time, people would just forget that she was there. The canvas of her lodgings and the cloth of her bedroll would be her camouflage. Perhaps the trip would be salvageable if she didn't have to go fight her classmates. It was a comforting thought as she buried her head under a pillow.
"Bernie! Are you still in there?" a feminine voice called from outside of Bernie's tent flap.
Oh well, it was a nice thought while it lasted.
"Uhhh… no?" Bernie said in response. She then immediately winced after the words left her lips. Her dumb mouth responded before she could choose to keep quiet. Working off of blind instinct was just plain unreliable.
"Come on, everyone's getting ready. That means you too, you know," the voice then lightly chided.
"No! I'm, uh, sick! Cough, cough!" was Bernadetta's next ploy.
"…Bernie, you're just saying the word 'cough'," pointed out the voice.
Damn, she should've tried harder with that one. The only option that was left was being direct. "Can I just not go? P-please?" the Varley girl sputtered out.
Bernadetta didn't bother to look in the direction of the sound of her tent flap opening up and the speaker walking in. Just from the voice, she could tell who it was. It was Dorothea, coming in to check up on her. Why did that diva care so much about her, anyway? What was she to her? For someone who came from a wildly different life from her, Dorothea certainly seemed to stick her neck out for Bernadetta at times. As nice as the concept sounded, to have someone look out for you despite the wide gulf of differences between one another, in practice it was much more anxiety inducing than believed.
Gently, the pillow was lifted off of Bernie's head, but she still refused to turn over to look at Dorothea. It wasn't out of malice, of course, but it was still sending the message that she didn't want to be seen. Regardless of that intention, Dorothea pressed onwards.
"Look, I know you're nervous, but you've got to get up," the former diva insisted.
"But why? I don't like fighting, so why am I being forced to?" Bernie rhetorically asked.
Dorothea scratched her head as she thought of an answer. "Student curriculum? Practical testing? One of those things. In any case, I can assure you that you're not the only one scared."
"Huh, right," was Bernadetta's disbelieving reply.
Along her blind side, Bernie heard Dorothea crouch down beside her bedroll. "If I'm being honest, I'm kinda nervous too," she admitted with a somewhat half-hearted chuckle.
Now that got Bernie's attention. "Y-you are?" she asked, turning around to face the hazelnut-haired beauty.
"Of course! There's a lot of stuff that's going to happen today that nobody can prepare for," replied Dorothea.
"But you were on the stage a lot, right? I thought you got over being scared of performing," Bernadetta pointed out.
"Sure, but that's different," Dorothea explained. "On the stage, you at least know what to expect. What lines to say, what bars to sing, and what moves to dance. But this time… well, we're fighting against a bunch of people we know. They're plenty different from the first time we fought. Who knows how things'll end up? It's kind of exciting, but also pretty scary for me too."
"Wow…" Bernie muttered. Then, a look of dawning horror spread across her face "B-but know you've gotten me more worried about the unknown too!"
Dorothea hummed lightly in thought. "Hmmmm… well, I guess I'll just have to protect you out there."
"Y-you will?" Bernie squeaked out.
"Naturally," Dorothea stated, elegance present in her voice. "You know, I've never played a shining knight protecting a fair maiden in my Mittlefrank days, but I guess now is as good of a time to do that as ever!"
"I, uh, don't want to be a burden or anything…" lowly uttered Bernadetta. She covered her face with her sheets. It hurt to just know that she was going to be useless, a person only to be protected.
"Bernie, I'm sure the rest of the Black Eagles would be glad to protect you too," reassured Dorothea. "We've all got to work together already, so it wouldn't be any extra burden or anything."
"Really?" asked Bernie.
Dorothea lightly smiled. "I wouldn't say it if I was lying."
Bernadetta nodded. Dorothea did make some good points… "O-okay, I'll get ready t-then… Just please look out for me out there!"
Placing a hand over her chest, Dorothea pledged, "I'll be your shining knight out there. You have my word."
"Thank you, Dorothea," came Bernadetta's genuine thanks. Perhaps the diva girl looking out for her well-being wasn't so bad after all.
Standing up, Dorothea continued to grin at Bernie. "Don't be late now! I'll see you before we all head out, okay?"
"Right," affirmed Bernie, nodding again.
At that, Dorothea made her way out of Bernadetta's tent, making sure to close the flaps behind her. Now that Bernie was left alone, she mulled over her agreeing to Dorothea's encouraging words. The songstress certainly did make the offer sound enticing. If all things went well, then they would win, and Bernie would never be under any kind of threat. Still though, the threat of the unknown was still pretty scary. On the other hand, Dorothea did pledge to protect her, and her words seemed utterly genuine. They gave off the sense that Dorothea would dive in the way of an arrow just to save Bernie the pain of being hit. There was no way that Bernie could deny that level of sincerity. The very fiber of Dorothea's being seemed to radiate trust. Perhaps she was just wrong for judging the former diva in general. It was something to consider as she got ready.
Crawling out of her mess of sheets atop her bedroll, Bernadetta stood up and started to put on her regular clothes. At the very least, she could show up not looking like a complete disaster, despite her otherwise unkempt looks. She at least owed showing up to the mustering grounds in the first to Dorothea. It was that feeling that she would need to carry into battle, alongside her bow and quiver of arrows.
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The sun hung high in the sky as trumpeters blared their instruments aloud. Along a cliff ridge overlooking Gronder Field, the Archbishop's retinue stood, anticipating the mock battle to come. Archbishop Rhea stood with her hands folded above her navel, a mildly appeased look on her face as she passively looked onward. She had seen this battle play out many times over her years in service to the Church of Seiros, and yet each outcome was wholly unique on their own. Even in the land watched over by the goddess Sothis, there were still unpredictable elements that made clashes of wills fascinating to witness. Such was the wisdom of the goddess that she gave humanity free will in the first place. As long as humanity remembered who they owed their existence in Fódlan to, there was nothing wrong with allowing the passions and actions of men to play out under her watch.
To her side, Seteth was watching the beginning of the Battle of the Eagle and Lion as well, his face stone-like and unmoved. He was more neutral on the matter, mainly being present due to obligation. While it was nice that the mock battle existed as a gauge of skill among the Officer's Academy students, Seteth felt that he had already seen his fair share of fighting in his years. After a certain point, it became almost like white noise, a presence that was easy to gloss over and compartmentalize within himself. There were no stakes aside from House honor, and although that was probably for the best, that also meant that one hadn't need to invest all of their emotions into the battle if they were merely watching. His attention would best be like the eagle soaring above, watching from the heavens but remaining distant.
A verdant wind blew down from the cliffside down to the field below, carrying the flying eagle along the breeze and sending a light cooling sensation down on the three armies gathered below. Among the rippling high grasses were student armies clad in crimson, gold, and aqua. They all stood staring down one another, waiting for the battle to commence.
It was Dimitri who broke the stalemate first, his noble frame striding through the sea of blue cloth and armor until he stopped at the head of his army. He paused for a moment, taking in the scenery. It was as if the entire world was waiting for him to speak, the gathered forces of the Golden Deer and Black Eagles eyeing him up through their helmets and masks. And so, he did.
"You all should know... I am not about to go easy on you today," the Faerghus prince loudly declared, brandishing his lance at the gathered armies. His language seemed polite, but his stance betrayed a powerful body, bristling to begin fighting as if he was Loog reborn.
Silence reigned over the gathered students, until Claude took up the challenge. He too made his way to the front his forces, his bow slung across a shoulder and wearing his trademark confident smile. His bright white teeth practically shone against his tanned skin as he smiled. "As long as we can pull off the win, it doesn't matter how," was his own boast.
The other two House Leaders having spoken, it was now Edelgard's turn. She looked just as confident as Claude and Dimitri, flicking her hair over her shoulder as she stepped up to face the other armies. Her confidence had a distinct flavor compared to Claude's. While his was radiating pure energy like a bright star, Edelgard's confidence was by contrast somewhat cold, as if the battle had been decided from the start already.
"Our victory must be absolute...no matter what it may take," she added to the preamble. From the way she sounded, she was talking just as much to her own soldiers as much as she was addressing her peers.
On her words, the Black Eagles all drew their weapons and brandished them, as if completely entranced by Edelgard's words. The Blue Lions and the Golden Deer forces did as well, prompted by the now-present threat. Even Professor Byleth, fighting for the Golden Deer, drew forth the Sword of the Creator and steeled himself, now ready for the clash of three armies.
Up on the cliffside, the gathered group noticed the commotion happening, with the three primary-colored armies taking their battle stances and starting to whoop battle cries and chants.
Seteth focused his gaze more intently on the unfolding action. "It is time," he noted.
To his side, a Knight of Seiros raised a banner, the signal to commence the battle. The beacon of war called down to the assembled Houses below, like a flame to moths.
Upon seeing the flag, Edelgard raised her hand in command. "Forward! now!" she cried.
Across from the Adrestian heiress, Prince Dimitri raised his own lance before pointing it forwards. "For honor!"
On the cues of their leaders, the armies of the Black Eagles and Blue Lions surged towards one another, their battle cries and screams raising in volume as they threw themselves into war. Flesh clad in metal and leather armor bounded forward, the adrenaline surging in the bodies of the soldiers as they began their clash.
With the other two Houses occupied with one another, Claude felt free to make his move. Without a sound, he simply raised his hand in the direction of the Black Eagles and Blue Lions, a mere gesture carrying just as much weight as words. On his face he wore a smile that could conquer nations. It was his fight to win, and he knew it. The feeling couldn't be any more apparent to him as his warriors all rushed into battle, their shouting matching the other two armies' in volume. It wouldn't be a Battle of the Eagle and Lion, it would only belong to the Golden Deer.
As swords and wills clashed on the field below, Archbishop Rhea and Seteth watched calmly from above. And above them, the same eagle glided on the winds, as impartial towards all below it as it looked downwards. Such was the nature of creatures born of the forces of nature.
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Let the battle begin! I'm honestly pretty happy with the way this chapter turned out. The cutscene at the start of The Battle of the Eagle and Lion has always been a favorite of mine, so I'm really glad that I was finally able to adapt it into writing in my own way. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it!
This is The Draigg, and I'm signing off on this chapter for now!