Do you remember Zanado, Nemesis?
The shock in the old man's face was evident moments before he was stabbed to death by a warrior with green hair and emerald eyes.
With an acute pain in the chest Byleth opened his eyes. It was the same dream that always tormented him. It was always accompanied by the same distant feelings: hatred, sadness and longing. However these feelings were not correlated with the blank expression on his face.
"Did you have the same dream again?"
Next to him was standing his father, Jeralt, the famous sword breaker. His tone was harsh but Byleth knew that it was his way of taking care of him.
"Yes, I saw that battle again".
"There hasn't been a battle of that magnitude in centuries. Anyway, don't worry too much about it. We have to prepare ourselves to depart from here. The Remire village has been a good place but we need gold and they don't need us anymore".
That was the life of a mercenary. His father was the leader of a mercenary group that had travelled around Fódland gaining quite a reputation. Byleth had learned everything from his father and he had followed him in battles since he was a young boy. He was named as the ashen demon as a consequence of his battle style and his blank expression even in the fiercest battles.
"Understood".
"You know that everyone is already waiting for you right?" Jeralt grinned.
Suddenly one of the mercenaries entered the small cabin where they were.
"Jeralt! A group of children has arrived. They say that they are running away from a group of bandits".
"That sounds strange, come with me Byleth".
At the gates of the village they were waiting. It was a group of three youngsters with clothes resembling a uniform. Byleth had never seen a group so different. A girl with amethyst eyes and white hair, holding an axe. A young blonde man with indigo eyes with a lance and a relaxed green eyed man with brown curly hair and a relaxed smile carrying a bow.
"Excuse me sir, we were assaulted by a group of bandits and decided to run away from them. Regrettably, some of them have decided to chase us down. I beg for your help" said the blue eyed man.
"Bandits near Remire?"
"Yes, they attacked at night while we were preparing for the last part of our trip" said the young woman.
"They are quite the group, a part of them could arrive in any moment" said the green eyed man, although his tone was carefree.
"Oh I see…That uniform…it's been a while" said Jeralt with a brief glimpse to Byleth. "We have to prepare ourselves I will tell the rest of the group, Byleth protect them while I gather our forces".
"Ok"
Byleth came near the group of three. "I see that everyone has a different weapon. We will take advantage of that." He directed his gaze to the browned haired man. "You will be behind us, use the trees to your advantage" Then he directed his gaze to the blue eyed man. "You will keep the laterals, use your lance to keep a safe distance between you and the attackers" and finally directed himself to the young girl "You will fight alongside me. Oh, by the way, my name is Byleth".
"You gave quite the speech" said the browned haired man. Name is Claude.
"I am Dimitri, I can't thank you enough for assisting us in this dire circumstances." Said the other young man.
"My name is Edelgard" said the young woman staring directly at his eyes while saying so. "You have an intense aura around you; now let me see the strength of your arms".
Nodding at them Byleth took his mercenary sword. The enemy came in a sudden, surprised at the sight of Byleth and the students. In the blink of an eye they were welcomed by Claude´s arrows. Byleth could hear faint sounds in the forest. "It looks like father is already fighting" he thought.
Quick as the lightning he rushed to the position of two of the thieves. He parried the dash of one of them and cut off the arm of the other. The scream that followed allowed him a glimpse to finish the other one. The dying one murmured "mercy" before been swiftly killed by him. "No hesitation" he thought.
The others were keeping their own quite well. The accuracy of Claude was something to take into account and the strength of Dimitri was impressive. However, his attention was attracted to the young girl called Edelgard, despite her height she was making a quick job of her enemies.
"They don't fight like mercenaries but they are used to fighting" he thought.
"Curse these mercenaries. This was not included in the contract". Said a muscled man who looked like the leader of the thieves. Catching his sight he started charging at him while shouting. Byleth blocked the attack and sent him flying. He started charging again but in the last second he changed his course to the young woman who was only holding a knife, her axe broken by the combat. Despite his instincts telling otherwise he rushed to the position of the girl, preparing to block the might of the attack with his body, closing his eyes.
"Are you a fool?"
Byleth was confused by those words. When he opened his eyes he wasn't in the forest but in a place that looked like a temple. At the top of a long set of stairs he was stared by a tiny girl with green hair and brilliant green eyes.
"Are you a fool? What are you doing trying to block an axe with your body?"
"Who are you?"
"I am Sothis, if I remember correctly and you should be more grateful that I stopped the time for you!"
"Can you stop the time?"
"If I couldn't we wouldn't been having this conversation child. Why did you rush to help the girl? That move was risky at best and stupid at worst".
"I can't understand why but I did it"
"What kind of answer is that? Anyway you know what is going to happen when the time reassumes its course? You will find your death".
Shocked by the revelation Byleth was wondering if he was already death and the situation was just the product of his imagination.
"Can you return back in time?" If the girl called Sothis could stop the course of time if may be able to return to the past.
"Good question. I may be able to return back in time but my power is not unlimited. Don't make a fool of yourself this time. Your death might mean my own."
A brilliant light appeared around him and suddenly he was back in the outskirts of Remire. The thief leader was charging but this time his feint was quickly repelled by Byleth.
"Are you ok?" he asked to the girl behind him.
"Yes, thank you. Words cannot express my gratitude for assisting me".
"Nice move!" shouted Claude, who was running at them alongside Dimitri.
Suddenly the air was filled by the sound of horns.
"The knight of Seiros?!" muttered the leader of the bandits before retreating with the rest of his gang.
Byleth was preparing himself when his father voice interrupted him. "Don't worry, they are not our foes".
The apparent leader of the knights came to them to express his gratitude, when he suddenly stopped.
"I can´t believe my eyes. Is that you Jeralt!?"
Jeralt sighted. "Of all people you were the one to find me Alois?"
The man called Alois laughed in delight to his father´s answer. "Then you remember me! It´s been a while old man! You haven´t changed a bit! Wow you really look the same…"
"Enough of the small talk, your lost students are here".
"I´m very thankful for that, but I´m sure I´m not the only one who would be happy about hearing from you again. Why don't you come to the Monastery? By the way, is this young man your son?"
"I´m a member of the bandits" answered Byleth.
Alois laughed loudly while his father grinned briefly.
"Oh, so you have a sense of humor, interesting" said a voice inside his head.
Despite his surprise the voice continued. "Did you already forget about me? How cruel you are! Look, the puppies are waiting for you."
Understanding the meaning of her words Byleth excused himself and he went to the place where the three students were waiting. The man called Dimitri started to talk.
"Words cannot express my gratitude. Your show of strength was magnificent. I feel that your help would be crucial for the Holy Kingdom of…"
"Indeed it was impressive. You could be an important asset for the empire. By the way I shall tell you that I am the em…"
"Excuse me Edelgard, but I was the first talking to him".
"Look at them, fighting for you" grinned Claude. "I was going to take my time to persuade you but I guess I shall ask straightforward. Which country is the one you prefer the most?"
"Oh a difficult question murmured Sothis, but I think that the puppies are waiting for your response".
Byleth wasn't really interested in countries. In fact, they were all the same to him. As his father said, home is the place where you can sleep and eat with ease and that wasn't a fixed place in the life of a mercenary. But if he had to choose…
"The Adrestian Empire" said directing his sight to the girl called Edelgard.
"A wise choice indeed, the Empire, despite its weakened state it's a force to reckon compared to its offspring" said Edelgard, seemingly satisfied and maintaining his gaze.
"That's not a fair game Princess. I bet you were in front of the bandits just to call the attention of our savior" teased Claude.
"How dare you to assume such an inappropriate behavior" she replied to him, the lightest blush appearing on her cheeks. "It was only a coincidence that the son of Jeralt the blade breaker and former captain of the Knights of Seiros were here.
"The knight of Seiros uh? Quite a fearsome name" said Sothis.
"What are the knights of Seiros?" inquired Byleth.
"I am surprised that you haven't heard from them; despite your father been their leader. They are one of the mightiest forces in Fódlan" answered a surprised Edelgard.
"Anyway I hope that you can travel with us for the time being" said Dimitri, which had stayed silent until now.
"There you are son" said Jeralt while he approached them with Alois at his side. "Change of plans, we will be heading to Garreg Mach Monastery for the time being.
…
It only took a few days to arrive to the monastery. Byleth spent most of his time observing his companions. Claude was the most talkative of them, though his smile never reached his eyes. Dimitri talked from time to time in an exquisite manner, but Byleth felt that there was a tragic air around him. Meanwhile Edelgard spent most of her time silent, talking only when she was asked to. He sensed he was sometimes observed by her, with eyes that looked like they were trying to seek every possible information from him.
"Quite a company you have here" said Sothis, he was getting used to her sudden remarks. "Everyone is hiding something, but I guess that everyone has their own secrets".
Finally the forest gave way to a hill and in the distance he was able to see a monstrous building that he assumed it was the monastery.
"Garreg Mach at least" said aloud Alois.
The sun was still high when they arrived at the entrance. His father suddenly stood still, looking at a young woman just above them.
"Rhea", he mustered.
The woman had a wide smile and when her eyes met him they glowed brighter. He felt a strange sensation, a feeling of familiarity, yet that was impossible.
"Listen son" his father interrupted his thoughts. "I know you have a lot to ask about. It is true that I was once part of the knights of Seiros, but that is a story of the past and it wasn't that important. Anyway, it seems that we are going to have and audience with Lady Rhea."
"Must I go too?"
"Yeah, I´m sure she will want to thank you personally for helping the students of the monastery. Anyway be careful around her"
Noting the change in his voice, Byleth went with his father to the audience room, guarded by the famous knights of Seiros".
"Welcome home Jeralt" said Rhea, her green eyes contemplating the figure of his father. Alongside her there was a man with green serious eyes and green hair. "It is a great honor to meet a legend like yours mister Jeralt. My name is Seteth and I am the chief aide of Rhea".
"Nice to meet you"
"As you shall know I am not only here to thank you for your aide but to offer you again a leading position within the church. I have no doubts that the Goddess wishes to join our paths once again".
"I thought you would say something like that. Resisting makes no sense right?" sighted Jeralt.
"Of course. It seems that you have embraced fatherhood outside the monastery. What is your name, dear?"
"My name is Byleth" he answered, feeling the intense gaze of Rhea.
"A beautiful name indeed" Rhea smiled. "Perhaps your wife is here?"
Jeralt´s face darkened. "She died when she gave birth to him"
"I am sorry for my intromission. May she rest in peace. Anyway, I am confident that your son will feel this place like his new home for the time being. In fact, I would be honored if he could lend his services as a professor for the academy since we have a vacant due to the thief attack"
"Lady Rhea, is that decision wise?" asked Seteth seemingly surprised by her proposal.
"I agree with him. What are you going to teach? How to kill people?" said Sothis in his head.
Meanwhile Jeralt was sighting.
"If there is no other option we shall accept your offer" he said.
"Then it is done" said Rhea, seemingly pleased. "You will start from tomorrow. I will let you time to meet the rest of professors. You should also meet your future students since you will be tutoring them for a year. You will be charged with one of the three groups studying at the academy. I hope for the best".
"Wait a moment! Is this a kind of twisted joke?! How can you entrust a position of responsibility to a person who you have just met? You must have quite the charm… Anyway, good luck" said Sothis.
"Thanks for your support…" Byleth thought.