All paths led to bloodshed. It was something that Byleth had come to accept over time as she began to realize just how broken each of the 'key players' in this war was. Sure Claude wasn't a human mess, but Dimitri and Edelgard were and Rhea was on an entirely different level of mess. She'd spent hours upon hours contemplating how to prevent the war.
Sothis had once proposed that the only way to prevent the war was to kill all three noble brats and then Rhea. That was safe to say the stupidest idea that Byleth had ever heard. Anyone who thought that could stop a war obviously didn't know much about war to begin with. Sure, perhaps it was always Edelgard turning against the church which started the fire, but that wasn't what the tinder was made of. There was gunpowder packed beneath the straw, and Edelgard was little more than an match.
The thing about matches, they're entirely disposable.
Byleth knew that getting rid of the three leaders wasn't a smart idea. Not when those who slunk around in the darkness growling and hissing had their fangs so deeply into the country. Matches could be found easily. Hell, killing important figureheads for a country was as good a match as any, depending on the tactics her enemies wanted to try and employ. Not to mention the absolute power vacuum such a choice of actions could cause.
Her idiots were just that. Well intentioned idiots who weren't aware of how the world at large worked. They pretended to have some semblance of control. Understanding. But once again, if she was being honest with herself, none of them quite understood their actions or the repercussions that went along with them, not on a regional let alone global scale. They didn't know how easily something could come back to bite them in the hind quarters if they weren't careful. Those Who Slither in the Dark had already developed a taste for blood.
Claude and Rhea were smart in their own routes, taking them down without hesitation. This was where Dimitri and Edelgard usually made their mistakes, by either completely ignoring them or having the terrible sense to try and work with them.
Edelgard in particular frustrated Byleth at times because she was impatient. Byleth would understand if Edelgard was working against a clock much like Lysithea, but that simply wasn't the case. Lysithea's body responded negatively to two Crests because beforehand she didn't even have one. While the bodily stress was easily apparent on Edelgard's form, it wasn't at a level of lethality where her lifespan was significantly shortened. Meaning that Edelgard shouldn't of ever had any problems with playing the long game. Other than her own impatience to try and immediately tear down deeply ingrained social structures which could have dangerous and far reaching consequences if an improper course of actions was taken.
She almost acted like she would get some kind of 'fairytale ending' after she 'beat the bad guy' because that's how story books worked. That wasn't the case though. Backlash against change is a natural state for society as a whole. Change could not be made without the strength to weather the backlash and larger changes often caused larger backlash.
Yes. Looking at the situation, it was dire. There were only two options really. Give up and try to work with the 'best' ending of the four or try to rectify the mistakes of the past using intelligence, subversion, subterfuge, and sabotage. You know, that thing her students for some reason kept forgetting existed. Unbeknownst to most, Byleth had quite a history behind her that actually made these topics familiar ones to her. This wasn't the first war she'd been forced to win while trying not to get the key players killed. It was just that this time she was working on her own as opposed to helping a disowned crown princess.
Which brought up an interesting point. She did her best work when she was given freedom and a voice. Which might have been exactly why she spent so much time struggling with the lordlings.
Following one of the four designated leaders simply wouldn't do for Byleth to achieve what she wanted to achieve. Which meant she needed to stand on her own and carve out a path her students and friends would be forced to follow. She would build up her own forces on a foundation of concrete instead of corpses, decorating herself in words instead of blood. She refused to allow her students, her children, to so foolishly decorate themselves in their own blood let alone one another's. This path she's decided to walk was far from easy, but it was familiar and there was molten steel and fire in her veins where her blood ought to be.
It wasn't going to be easy by any means. But Byleth had a lot more tricks up her sleeve than she'd actually been using up till this point. Call it foolishness on her part, but she was always partial to following order when she considered herself 'on the job'. Meaning she didn't offer input or do things her own way unless she'd been asked to achieve a very specific outcome. She'd work by herself this time, using every trick in her book.
Of course, to achieve any of this she'd first have to get through one of her most terrifying challenges yet. Rhea.
Byleth liked to think she was a fairly unshakeable person, but Rhea hit her in a way she couldn't possibly hope to explain to anyone aside from her father who shared a similar terror.
Rhea slowly becomes easier to deal with as any one reset progresses, but the start of a reset was always the worst. There was just something about Rhea that made Byleth's blood confused as to if it wanted to boil or freeze. She knew that Rhea would become easier to deal with. Rhea would either gain back her sanity the more Byleth started to look like an actual person instead of some husk like host for Rhea's mother. Or alternatively Rhea would go even more insane, which made it even easier to deal with her. At least when that happened Rhea stopped looking human. She looked more and more like the snarling beasts born from the curses of those who perished in Zanado.
Monsters were easy to fight. People were much harder. Rhea was even harder to face off against, because at the start of each reset she felt neither like person nor monster. Almost like some kind of demented creature who was desperately trying to wear a person's face. She'd either figure out how to wear the face of an actual person or she'd go feral, depending on the actions of Byleth. She was easy enough to deal with once she'd been pushed one direction or the other, and even dipped into pleasant after her sanity had made a startling return, but prior to either of these happening she had this aura about her that just filled Byleth with a sickly dread.
She recognized the look in Rhea's eyes now more than ever when she and her father entered that damn reception room, her limbs feeling like they'd been made from led instead of flesh. She peered at the Archbishop from her father's side. Rhea was beautiful, but she was deeply disturbed. For all the godly grace and elegance she held herself with, for all the beautiful clothes and adornments on her figure, she peered at Byleth and Jeralt with the calculating eyes of a fire breathing beast.
Byleth felt that gaze, hot against her skin. She felt like a science project with one simple purpose. The revival of a long dead Goddess. One Rhea would ultimately deem a failure even though she was technically the closest Rhea could ever get to a success without altering the flow of time or waiting for a 'true' reincarnation.
The powers of a Progenitor God crackled and boiled under Byleth's skin, the strings of time and fate strung taut and at her whims. The constant presence of her other half help to stabilize her under that gaze. "She isn't going to hurt you. She can't. I won't let her," the voice of Sothis was gentle. A reminder that she wasn't alone. And she never would be. It was enough to relax the muscles in Byleth's shoulders as she strode forward, allowing her to look more confident than she actually was. The strings of fate and time hummed under Sothis' fingers as though they were ready to be re-tuned and reset at any time, a silent reminder that Sothis wasn't going to let anything happen to them. To her. She was grateful to her twin half. That being said, it couldn't completely banish the dread from the pit of her stomach when Rhea came into view, regarding her and her father with that ever placid faked expression of warmth and kindness expected of someone like herself.
Rhea's eyes narrowed slightly as they grazed over Byleth's figure, piercing and prodding as though looking for something. Did she detect something strange? Did she only see Byleth? Or did she see Byleth as the half of a single whole she'd become. The mortal incarnation of this world's God. She couldn't help but wonder if Rhea could tell. If she could peer past the veil. But she never had before and seemingly never would.
Rhea's smile turned gentle, if not undermined with what seemed to be anticipation.
As much as it upset Byleth, it was hard to throw away the fact she still cared. Rhea was Serios. Sothis' daughter. Her daughter. The technical grandmother of this form the twin halves currently shared. Sothis and Byleth often agreed when it came to emotions. While they had their own ranges of thoughts and feelings such as Sothis getting frustrated by Byleth's students faster than Byleth herself, they were similar enough in disposition and thought process that they rarely differed. Their thoughts on Rhea were no exception.
Disgruntled, exasperated, but still protective and warm in a familial kind of sense. Miffed agitation, but the kind you'd feel regarding a child who'd made a particularly bad mess.
"You'd think that logic would dictate she'd hate Crests considering what they were made from. But no, she goes ahead and founds an entire society based around praising those with Crests," Sothis sighed in irritation as Rhea's full attention jumped to Byleth's father.
"Jeralt. It's been far too long, my old friend," Rhea said with that ever gentle smile. Byleth already felt herself starting to bristle. Not nearly long enough. Her father had a very similar reaction, but he didn't mask it as well as Byleth. While Jeralt had a very practiced stoic mask, Byleth had grown used to looking like she perpetually lacked emotions which made for a fairly decent poker face. Jeralt wasn't as fortunate and the grimace at the corner of his lips made itself known.
Known enough that Rhea picked up on it, but not distinct enough that Seteth who was quickly at her side was able to notice as well. Byleth knew that Rhea'd take that as having the upper hand over her father. What Rhea was currently unaware of, was just how much she was already playing to the tune Byleth had expected of her. Which meant even though Rhea held power, Byleth still had the upper hand. It was going to be an interesting battle of wills, but Byleth was never one to back down from a challenge.
"Always a pleasure to see you again, Lady Rhea," Jeralt lied directly through his teeth. Jeralt probably would have enjoyed the 'blame Rhea' joke that started going around the Black Eagle Strikeforce after Hubert realized Byleth's more quirky actions were a direct result of the Creststone the Archbishop had shoved in her chest as a child. "Unfortunately we won't be able to visit for all too long. My company and I don't often stay in Fódlan since a lot of our business is off shore. I just had some errands to deal with and sadly we're already behind schedule so we'll be departing shortly. My daughter and I have a lot of work we need to get done so..."
Her father had never once liked the idea of staying in Fódlan for too long. Not when Rhea could figure out so easily that the fire hadn't actually killed baby Byleth all those years ago. He hated staying in Fódlan, he hated bringing Byleth there even moreso. Byleth had only ever been to Fódlan once or twice prior to this whole mess, and that was only because he was pressed to find a temporary caretaker. After tricking Rhea into thinking that Byleth had died, Jeralt had turned his gaze across the seas, starting up a mercenary company on foreign shores and building its reputation whenever possible. Old customers were often more than willing to care for child Byleth when it was absolutely necessary, but for the most part she'd never left her father's side until she was old enough to be leading missions by herself.
She'd been to more continents and witnessed more stories unfold than she could truly account for on a single hand. Which begged the question. Why didn't she ever ask for help from those old mercenary friends? The mercenaries they'd brought to Fódlan, while containing some very old and powerful friends, weren't all they had. If anything she had older and even more loyal friends she could call upon. Friends who would have torn the lordlings to pieces if they thought her father and her had actually been killed due to their stupidity, as opposed to scattering uselessly. Certainly, calling in a couple old favors brought up an interesting way to... tip the scales.
"Your daughter," Rhea parrotted the words while her father tried not to sweat bullets.
"Yes, my daughter. Unfortunately her mother isn't here. We lost her to disease a great many years ago." Jeralt kept his voice even, but it was painfully apparent this wasn't a second child like he was trying to imply. Byleth had seen pictures of her mother courtesy of Rhea. Before inheriting the power of Sothis and coming to look more like A Child of the Goddess, Byleth was the spitting image of her mother. Deep blue eyes and beautiful teal hair. The only difference was that her mother's hair started teal and tapered into a green that was similar to Sothis'. Even their figure's were similar if the paintings were to be believed.
Rhea looked at her with a gaze that almost made Byleth shiver. Expectant. Hopeful. She could feel Sothis retreat deeper into their joint being under that kind of gaze. Byleth couldn't blame her. "I'm glad you were able to repair your wounded heart enough to be blessed by fatherhood. She's quite the beautiful one." The compliments almost managed to break Byleth's composure but she forced herself not to shift around awkwardly under that gaze.
"Unfortunately, I must make a request of you, old friend. Recently there have been some odd happenings, as you might have noticed with the awful creature that attacked you as well as our students. I was wondering if perhaps you and your child would be willing to stay here and offer your aid. It would only be for a year while the current batch of students finish up their schooling. And of course you'd be compensated for your time. You see, the three you saved are destined to eventually rule over the three major power structures here in Fódlan. It would be terrible if anything happened to them."
Blackmail. Real cute Rhea.
Jeralt almost flinched at the request, glancing at Byleth pathetically. Byleth had always run that side of the business. The side that came to dealing with clients, arguing contracts, telling people no. For all of her quirks she was a shockingly good people person, and it showed in her control over the business half of things. Her father was the one who swung a sword and kept the battles won. She knew her father wouldn't be able to say no. There was just too much of a power disadvantage. And right now, she wouldn't be able to help him.
"I suppose if it's only for a year it wouldn't do any harm... I have, well, enough commanders one might say to keep the company going..." Byleth watched his brows furrow as he spoke. It was true that the company had grown quite large under Byleth and her father, requiring them to station commanders in a sense. Some of those commanders stayed on the foreign shores and kept doing jobs for the countries within the area they resided. Reports were something that arrived weekly, often by unconventional means.
In reality 'quite large' wasn't the most accurate word. Giant would be a bit more fitting and those 'commanders' were closer to generals. They typically stayed in the region where Byleth and her father had first discovered them. It allowed them to stay closer to home and for the pair of build up a base of operations on multiple continents. That being said, it was quite easy for the various commanders to mobilize as they all had access to ships and sea.
The 'business model' that allowed them to get that large was a simple one. Jeralt and Byleth would travel to a new region with a very small group of mercenaries that weren't opposed to travel. Old friends who usually went everywhere with their 'King' and 'Princess' as the two leaders of the company had once been called. It had originally been a joke based on the fact her father resembled closely an old god on one continent who'd been hailed the 'Warrior King' and the title stuck for some branches of the company while others decided to give the leading pair different monikers.
On each new continent they'd do jobs. Usually small jobs at first. Over time Byleth's personality and procedures would draw new people into the company until they were doing bigger jobs and could establish an actual base with these commanders. Eventually that branch or section of the company would be able to stand entirely on its own so Byleth and Jeralt would take their original group. Rinse and repeat.
While each branch was separate and self sufficient there was a kind of loyalty there that kept them answering to Byleth and Jeralt regardless of where the two went. That again went back to Byleth's business model. She offered mercy, second chances, and aid to those who asked for it while cutting down those who acted in ways that were counterproductive to put it kindly. They made sure they left each company branch powerful enough to hold its own. And when they all mobilized? Well, that was a sight to see, truly.
The group that had been accompanying Byleth and her father to Fódlan was not their usual expedition group since Fódlan had never been a continent they intended to establish a branch on. It was an unspoken rule that for a long time they just didn't talk about it, hence why Byleth didn't even know the language for a long time. Should they have brought their usual party the small company probably wouldn't have fallen apart and gone into hiding after the supposed death of herself and her father. They would have raised absolute hell. Knowing some of the members of their company, specifically those who would have been left in charge if both Byleth and Jeralt were to die, she would have just ended up having to deal with an extra faction in the war by the time she got back from her 5 year nap.
Knowing now the total lack of repercussions any of her actions held, maybe it was time to get experimental.
Rhea's eyes lit up when Jeralt agreed, a small smile of victory playing across her features.
"Wonderful. And, there is one more matter I'd like to address. Obviously, you will be taking up the position of a knight again. As for your child... well, I was thinking perhaps they could be a teacher," Rhea said. The reactions from both her father and Seteth were instant and palpable. Shock mixed with confusion and slight outrage. Laughable if the position they were in wasn't so terrible. Though it was a bit odd for Rhea to be raising this topic right in front of Byleth. Usually it was spoken about behind Byleth's back, which typically gave her no quarter to reject. Interesting indeed. "You see, the new professor ran off at the first sign of danger, while your dear one repelled such an awful monster. I feel the safety of the students would best be put into her hands."
"I strongly disagree with this idea." It wasn't Jeralt who said it. It wasn't Seteth. It was Byleth, before she even knew exactly what she was saying. Unfiltered and completely unexpected.
The weren't her words. They belonged to Sothis. With joint control of their single soul, it became apparent that Sothis and Byleth also shared their body. While Sothis was usually pretty good about not using it however she deemed fit, on occasion Byleth would find herself doing and saying things she really hadn't intended. If the effect of those actions was bad it was usually fine anyway since it could be repaired with a quick Divine Pulse. It still didn't change the way that Byleth's heart shot into her throat when she felt her body moving and speaking at the discretion of her other half who was in a far more combative mode than she was.
Call it Divine Intervention, the voice in the back of her mind tried to explain while Byleth tried not to actually panic.
The look Rhea gave her next took her a moment to properly dissect. It started as disappointment mixed with the barest hint of anger at Byleth's blatant rejection. But in the moments after she watched that expression shift into confusion. Then curiosity. Then amazement. Byleth didn't want to know what was going through that head of hers.
"And why is that, dear child?" Rhea asked with a tilt of her head. Her voice was measured but Byleth could see the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions swirling around Rhea's skull. In spite of that whirlwind, her voice was sweet, almost too sweet. Sothis tried to retract her control over their form to let Byleth flounder over the question. There was no way Sothis was going to shove the rest of this mess onto Byleth's shoulders. She started it, she was going to end it.
So Sothis continued speaking under the scrutinizing gaze of Rhea. "While I am the daughter of Jeralt, with all due respect, you just met me. I don't feel it would be wise to be trusting students this important to a woman you just met, regardless of circumstance," Sothis tried not to put emphasis on those words as she stared fearlessly at Rhea through Byleth's eyes. "While I wouldn't be opposed to the position of Teacher's Assistant or secondary professor, I am neither qualified or familiar enough with circumstances to lead a house as their primary instructor. I barely learned Fódlan's language a year ago considering how little time I've spent here."
That last part was a very bold faced lie all things considered. It had once been true, but Byleth was quick to learn languages. Not to mention a language that Sothis knew Byleth also seemed to instinctively know. Another part of the reason she handled the business end of things for her father. She was usually fluent by the time he knew 10 words. There were downsides, like the time she nearly started screaming at Rhea in a language that hadn't been used on this continent since Sothis was alive.
The moment Sothis was done speaking she jumped away from the controls, forcing Byleth to once again take over the conversation and sit there under the gaze of Rhea. She contemplated this for a moment before actually seeming to relent, her expression unusually soft for having just been told no. "Very well, you aren't wrong. Jeralt, I apologize but you will have to step up as the teacher for one of the 3 Houses. Your daughter can be a Teacher's Assistant for all three so that she can take over at a moment's notice should anything else happen to the current faculty," the Archbishop said.
That worked? It worked better than Byleth had even been hoping for? She couldn't help feeling the smallest sense of fear in the back of her mind like at any minute everything could go horribly wrong. It wasn't a misplaced fear by any means, but it was... stronger than it necessarily needed to be.
Rhea got over the slight fast. Almost too fast. It almost worried Byleth as she watched Rhea's intensity turn on her father who was trying not to shoot a glare at Byleth. Suffer old man, this was exactly what he usually did to her. Suddenly throwing a new profession on her at a moment's notice without any warning and just expecting her to roll with it.
"All things considered, you'll probably end up working the most with Jeralt. So the two of you should go around the school and meet the students for him to better decide which House he'd best like to teach," Rhea continued. Byleth became sharply aware of her father's annoyance which came off him in a physical wave.
He glanced at Byleth in something akin to a glare. "Yes ma'am," he said. After that the two were dismissed by a... seemingly vexed Rhea who instantly went about thinking on thoughts unknown.
Byleth, as always, tailed her father out of the Archbishop's reception room and down the stairs. If there was one thing she was grateful for regarding the man, it was how quickly he got over slights. His expression went from mildly irritated to contemplative. "So I'm going to be stuck babysitting for an entire year. I suppose it's fitting. All those times you got stuck babysitting merchant and noble brats. Not to mention how often I dropped you on other people when you were outstandingly young." This brought another sigh to the man's lips.
The corners of Byleth's quirk upwards ever so slightly. "I really don't mind, considering the alternative was you taking me to a battle field. Being babysat by what amounted to a foreign priestess wasn't really a bad thing considering I got some found family out of it."
"You end up with new adoptive cousins and aunts and uncles and family anywhere we go. I'm pretty sure you've even adopted children to whatever hodgepodge you've created. All while having the emotional variability of a boiled carrot," the man shook his head dismissively. If only he knew. "But I'm glad to know you aren't spiteful. I'm not really good with this whole teaching thing. I'm probably going to be worse than you would have been, but I don't blame you for throwing yourself out of the way of that dagger. What was Rhea thinking? Trying to make us teach."
"Control?" Byleth offered up the single word because she wasn't sure elaborating with ears in the walls was a good thing for her health. The one smart thing Edelgard did was make sure her true intentions never showed. Most of the time. Seriously, Flame Emperor? Byleth had run out of fingers to list all of her problems with Edelgard's naming conventions.
"Nah. I don't know. We'll talk about it later. Right now she wants us to pick a house. One that'll agree with us both since while I don't doubt you'll be getting well acquainted with all of the houses you'll probably end up getting shoved with me the most. Any ideas on who we should pick?" Her father usually turned to her for judgement on especially important issues. Now was no different. She'd actually been thinking about this for quite a while.
"I'm not sure. The Golden Deer sound like a handful but their personalities match ours when it comes to a fight. Plans and sneaky sneaking to keep as many people possible alive. The Blue Lions seem like they're the honorable type which means tactical variability is limited but they also seem the easiest to teach combat skills to. The Black Eagles would be the most difficult since they're mostly magic users, but a strict hand might do them so good. Some of them seem like they might be going down a... dark path," Byleth still wasn't sure exactly what house would be the best fit.
There were too many variables regarding how making her father the teacher instead could change class dynamics. She was deeply torn.
He nodded along quietly, taking all of Byleth's words into account. "Perhaps it might do us some good to meet these house leaders? Properly anyways." Her father offered up.
Byleth nodded enthusiastically. Or, at least what counted as enthusiastic for her. "My own thoughts exactly." She could feel a small bubble of excitement in her chest for her favorite part of resetting. Getting to see her students again. Getting to see them happy and enjoying life with one another. It made her feel less alone standing in a land that, while she was very much born here, it didn't feel like home. She'd spent the majority of her life on foreign shores and she'd come to call a good deal of them home, but only because she had what loosely could be referred to as family who she could return to.
Being here in Fódlan admittedly quite often found her feeling home sick. A feeling that could only ever really be eased by Sothis whose own emotions made the place feel more binding. Made her feel more present, making the continent feel more like home. She supposed the reason this was the one place that felt the least like home was because the family she'd claimed kept forgetting that she'd claimed them. As opposed to the many other places she could send letters to and actually manage to get responses. Which reminded her. She'd never actually tried sending any letter across the seas, alerting her found family as to where she and her father had wandered off to this time.
Perhaps she'd try doing that. Certainly, the eyes of her found family couldn't made Fódlan a bigger mess. She did a good enough job of that by herself that it would be impossible for her companions to help her. Oh, but that would be an awful lot of letters... eh, there were times when she had nothing better to do. And if she sent the letters quickly she could get a reply as quickly as the Garland Moon.
She'd go with her father to meet her, and his, future students. Then she'd think about letters.
(-)(-)(-)(-)
I had to rewrite this chapter multiple times because improper tenses and then my apparent lack of remembering to properly save my work. All very fun completely necessary steps of the writing process. Absolutely not exceptionally annoying mistakes. As a side note, opinions on what House Jeralt should pick? I haven't completely settled on it myself.