Chapter 4:
Garreg Mach Monastery Part II
The sun rose high above Garreg Mach Monastery as the next day arrived. Byleth, who had just woken up, was walking towards a huge lake to partake in some fishing. One of the few hobbies Byleth enjoyed was indeed fishing, especially when it was with her father and brother.
As she approached the lake, she pulled her fishing rod from off her shoulder, placed an earthworm on the hook, and cast her line into the water. Byleth sat down on the grass and breathed in the air as she quietly enjoyed the peace and quiet. That silence was quickly ended as she heard footsteps approaching her.
Byleth turned around to find it was one of the mysterious Guardians approaching her. Most notably, it was the Warlock named Cade-1. Cade-1 sat down next to Byleth and silently looked onward towards the lake, clearly lost in his thoughts. Byleth turned to look at the Guardian before looking back towards the lake.
After a while, Byleth spoke up and said, "So…uh, Cade, was it? Did you have a good sleep?" Cade-1 turned to Byleth and said, "Well, I guess you can say that. But Exo don't really sleep per say." Byleth replied, "Huh…that's interesting." She then returned to her fishing before a thought popped in her head and she turned to Cade-1 and said, "Actually Cade, I have to ask, how exactly do you…well…exist?" Cade-1 raised an eye at her question before realizing what she meant and said, "Well, you see, as far as I'm aware, Exos are pretty much Human brains placed into these robotic bodies….at least that's what all we know about how they work based on some recovered texts out there in my world."
Byleth looked at Cade-1 with a sense of wonder at his explanation, until she felt her fishing rod tug, indicating she had got a good bite. She then got up and pulled with all her might, eventually pulling out a large looking fish from the lake. Byleth smiled as she held out her prize before her and said, "Well, looks like were having a great breakfast today!" Cade-1 stared at Byleth as she wrapped up the fish in a net that she brought with her.
Byleth then said, "Well, might as well wake up my folks for breakfast. Thanks for hanging out with me Cade." Cade-1 staired at Byleth and gave her a smile (or something resembling one) and said, "No prob kid. I need to head back to my fireteam anyway." Both of them nodded and walk back to their respective parties.
"I can't believe it!" Jeralt said in a grumpy voice, "Forced back into the Knights of Seiros." It turned out that after hearing out the other knights, and mostly of Alois' tales of Jeralt's exploits as the "Blade Breaker," Jeralt rejoined the Knights of Seiros, although begrudgingly. He then turned to his children and said, "Sorry I had to drag the two of you into all this, but it looks like we'll be stuck here for a while." The twins both gave a shrug of indifference as Berith spoke up and said, "Well, I guess we can consider this a break from all the mercenary jobs for a while, right?" Jeralt then said, "Well…I'm afraid that both of your services are required here as well." Both Byleth and Berith were taken back by what Jeralt said, with Byleth responding, "Wait, so…the church wants us to work here? Like what, as servants or mercenaries?" "Well, nothing like that. They want Berith to be…my squire." Jeralt said as he put his palm to his face, groining in embarrassment. Berith had a look of shock on his face, while Byleth merely chuckled at the statement her father made. "Look out everyone," said Byleth in a joking tone, "it's Jeralt, the 'Blade Breaker,' and his young squire, Berith."
After Byleth finished laughing, Jeralt continued. "As for you kiddo, they want you to teach, from the sound of it." Byleth stood their agape at Jeralt's statement. "You both heard those brats talking about the Officers Academy earlier, right. Well, turns out the Academy is short a professor, and that damned Alois went and recommended you to Lady Rhea."
Suddenly the door behind them opened and in walked in Cade-1, Richard, and Amora, who were currently wandering about the monastery, only to stumble upon the Eisners in the Audience Chamber. "Oh, didn't expect you three to be here," said Richard enthusiastically. "Well, good morning you guys," replied Jeralt, "did you three have a good night's rest." "Well, it was different without the sound of gunfire and explosions, but we did." Richard said in return. "So, what are you three doing in here?" Questioned Amora. "Well, I'm back in the Knights of Seiros, my son is going to be working with me, and my daughter is going to teach at the Officer's Academy." Jeralt explained.
All three Guardians stood there, processing the information given to them, until Cade-1 spoke up and said, "Huh, well that's interesting to hear." Just then, the doors opened again and in walked in two more people, a man and a woman, but they appeared to be quite a bit older than the others, sans Jeralt and technically the Guardians. The woman turned to Jeralt and said, "So, you're the new professor. My, how stern and strong you are!" Jeralt shook his head and replied, "Er, no. I'm the not the one you're looking for." He then turned to Byleth and said, "You can handle things from here. Me and your bother are needed anyway. Good luck kiddo."
However, before he and Berith left, Jeralt moved closer to Byleth and whispered in her ear and said, "And...watch out for Lady Rhea. I don't know what she's thinking, making you a professor and your brother a guard for the knights. She might be up to something. Stay on your guard." He then nodded towards the Guardians, who nodded back. As Jeralt was leaving, Berith walked up to his sister, ruffled her hair and said, "Well, good luck sis." Byleth smiled as both her brother and father left, leaving her and the Guardians with the other teachers.
The older female then turned to Byleth and said, "Oh, so it's you then. So young…" The other teacher turned to his colleague and said, "Competence and age are not necessarily correlated." He then turned to Byleth and said, "My apologies, I am Hanneman, a Crest scholar and professor at the Officer's Academy. I wonder if you bear a Crest of your own. When you next have a moment to spare, I insist that you visit my office so we can delve into the subject further."
Byleth smiled awkwardly, but nodded to Hanneman in agreement. The woman was the next to speak up as she said, "I'm Manuela. I'm a professor, a physician, a songstress…and available. Nice to meet you." Byleth once again smiled, though not as awkwardly, until a thought popped in her head. She turned towards Manuela and said, "Wait, you were a songstress?" Manuela smiled and said, "Of course. Before I came here, I belonged to a well renowned opera company. Perhaps you've of heard of me?" Manuela then struck a pose and said, "The Mittelfrank Opera Company's beautiful, peerless- ""Spare our colleague the needless chatter Manuela." Hanneman said, interrupting Manuela as she looked to Hanneman in annoyance.
As the two professors were speaking to Byleth, Cade-1 and his fireteam were watching in silence. Cade-1 then spoke up, "Man, those two seem to act like an old married couple." Amora looked at Cade-1 and said, "What do you mean? They don't look like they're married." Cade-1 and Richard both looked at their Hunter companion with a confused look on their faces.
Suddenly, Hanneman turned his gaze and noticed the Guardians standing a few meters away from where Byleth was standing. "Oh! I guess we didn't see you three from behind our young professor," said Hanneman. Manuela turned to where Hanneman was looking at and said, "Well well, you three must be our mysterious visitors from the other world. You three are the talk of the entire monastery, so to speak." The Guardians all blushed (or somewhat blushed as an Exo could) from what Manuela said. She then looked at both Cade-1 and Richard and said, "I might also add that you two gentlemen look very handsome indeed." Both Richard and Cade-1 gave embarrassed looks to her, until Hanneman put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Manuela, act more professional please!" Manuela gave Hanneman a sour expression and rolled her eyes at him.
"I'm sorry about that you three." Hanneman said apologetically. "Hey, no problem," said Cade-1, "it's not every day a beautiful woman gives a nice complement to us." Manuela blushed from Cade-1's response, but then regain her composure. "Speaking of which," Hanneman said as he continued his conversation with the Guardians, "I wonder if you three have Crests of your own." Cade-1 then spoke up and said, "I hate to be rude but, what exactly are Crests anyway?" Hanneman's face then lit up, but just before he could explain what Crests were, Manuela loudly cleared her throat, and Hanneman calmed back down saying, "Well, if you wish to know more, come by my office when you three have spare time." The Guardians all nodded in agreement.
"Now, back to you professor," said Hanneman as he and Manuela turned their attention back to Byleth. "It seems you'll be taking charge of one of the academy's three houses. I expect you haven't yet been briefed on the nature of each, have you?" Byleth then rubbed the back of her head and gave a slight chuckle, signifying she didn't know what Hanneman was talking about.
"Do you really not know?" said Manuela concerningly. Byleth shook her head saying she didn't, to which Manuela responded, "Well, I'll do you all a favor and explain." Manuela and Hanneman then explained who the three houses were, that being the Black Eagles, led by Edelgard, the Blue Lions, led by Dimitri, and the Golden Deer, led by Claude. "To think that the next emperor, king, and sovereign duke are all here. It will certainly be a promisingly year for the academy," Hanneman said with a tone of interest. Cade-1, however, raised an eyebrow and said to himself, "More like an odd coincidence…or some form of fate."
"I'll say," said Manuela, "I just hope none of those little treasures cause any trouble." "Hm, quite," Hanneman replied, "For now, I suggest taking a stroll around the academy to get your bearings. And when you have a moment, please stop by my research laboratory when you have the time." "The old man has a point," said Manuela, "Oh, before you go, I should let you know that I've only notified the House leaders that you're the new professor." Byleth raised an eyebrow in confusion, only for Manuela to respond, "Well, I think it's more fun that way, also so that you'd have some time to interact and spend time with the other students."
Hanneman then pulled out a pocket watch and said, "Oh goodness, look at the time! Looks like we'll have to cut our meeting short Miss Eisner." Manuela responded, "He's got a point. I guess we will see you tomorrow." Byleth nodded and shook both of their hands, but before they both left, Manuela turned around and said, "Just so you know, some of those kids are odd ducks, but they're all good. I'm sure Lady Rhea will have more information for you tomorrow."
After both Hanneman and Manuela left the Audience Chamber, Byleth turned to the Guardians, who were observing the rest of the conversation, and said, "Well…that was certainly interesting." "Agreed," said Cade-1, "but still, I find it odd that Lady Rhea wants you to be a professor. I mean, have you ever instructed anyone before Byleth?" Byleth pondered for a sec, before remembering that she did teach a few sword technics to some her father's younger mercenaries. The Guardians all shrugged and Cade-1 said, "Well, I guess that's something and a start." Byleth chuckled and said, "Don't worry Cade, I'm sure I'll do good." "Now, I must introduce myself to all of the students. Please excuse me guys." The Guardians all nodded and Byleth left the room, leaving the three Guardians in a state of pondering, mostly Cade-1, who was very suspicious of what Lady Rhea's plans were for the Eisner twins.
"Have you no intention of changing your mind, Rhea? Appointing a stranger–a child no less!–as a professor at our esteemed academy is–"
We find both Rhea and Seteth in the Advisory Room, where Seteth was chewing out Rhea over her decision of having Byleth become a professor of the Officer's Academy. Rhea interrupted Seteth and said, "I have made my decision Seteth. I know worrying comes naturally to you, but there is no need of that. That 'stranger' is Jeralt's flesh and blood after all."
Seteth then interjected, saying, "I can't say that's all too comforting. How trustworthy is this Jeralt character? Is he not that man who went missing following the great fire 21 years ago? As for the other child, making him a knight in the Knights of Seiros is just too risky." Rhea turned away from Seteth, getting very agitated over his worries. Seteth sighed and said, "May I remind you that Flayn is now here with us as well. I beg of you...please consider whether or not these are unnecessary risks."
Rhea sighed and walked up to Seteth, placing her hand on his shoulder, and replied, "Seteth. They have my trust. Let that be enough for you." Seteth sighed and said, "Of course Rhea. However, what do you make of those 'Guardians' that were hanging around Jeralt and his kin. I dare say that their presence could disrupt our very li- "Enough, Seteth." Rhea said as she put a hand up in the air, which cause Seteth to stay silent and hear Rhea out. "While I do find our mysterious friends to be surprising, especially of Sir Cade-1's tale of their world, I have no doubt that they will mean no harm to any of us."
Seteth sighed in defeat, only for Rhea to say, "More importantly. I received a report from Shamir. I am increasingly concerned about a matter regarding our...'suspicious individual.' We cannot ignore those who harbor ill will towards the church, especially if they are frequenting Garreg Mach."
Seteth then replied, "Yes, that matter is of great importance as well. I shall continue my investigation." Before leaving, he turned to Rhea and said, "Rhea… for now, I will have faith that you are placing your trust with the utmost care. I pray that nothing occurs to shake that confidence." As Seteth left the room, Rhea looked out the window and said softly "Mother…soon, I will ensure that your return will be a joyous celebration. You just have to wait a bit longer."
As the sun rose to another day at Garreg Mach, we find Bereth walking the monastery grounds, still getting use to his new surroundings. "Damn," Bereth thought, "I can't believe how expansive this place is." He was enjoying the sights of the monastery, when suddenly, he accidently walked into someone, causing them both to fall to the ground. Bereth rubbed his back, until he said, "Oh shoot! I'm really sorry about that." He then noticed the person he bumped into dropped some of their books. Bereth got back up and said, "Here, let me help y-"
As he was picking up the books, he felt the hand of the other person touch his hand. He looked up, only to see the person he bumped into was a very beautiful girl. She had long blond hair, with some of it wrapped up in a bow and was wearing what looked like a shawl covering her upper shirt.
Bereth immediately got back up and said, "Oh, I'm really sorry about that. I guess I wasn't really looking at where I was going." The girl looked at Bereth, then smiled sweetly and said, "Don't worry about that, I'm also a bit clumsy too." Bereth blushed a bit and rubbed the back of his head, chuckling to himself, before regaining his composure and said, "So…I noticed that you must be a student here at the Officer's Academy, judging by your uniform." The girl smiled and said, "Why yes I am. My name is Mercedes, and who might you be?" "My name is Bereth, Bereth Eisner."
The girl, named Mercedes, smiled and said, "Well, it's nice to me you Mr. Bereth." Mercedes then looked at Bereth and said, "Hmm…I just realized that I've never seen you before. Do you work here at the Monastery?" Bereth then replied, "Technically yes. In actuality, me, my father and little sister just arrived at the Monastery a few days ago. We were a band of mercenaries before the Church asked me and my father to join-"
"MERCIE!" Both Mercedes and Bereth immediately turned to the sound of the shouting, only to see a young girl running towards the two. Once reaching them, the girl had to catch her breath before continuing saying, "I'm sorry about that Mercedes, but I noticed you were talking to this guy and wanted to know what was up." Mercedes turned to the girl and said, "It's fine Annette, I accidently bumped into him and we just started talking." The girl named Annette looked up at Bereth and said, "Hey, are you the mercenary people have been talking about?"
Bereth nodded his head in response to Annette's question, leading Annette to say, "I knew it! Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. My name Annette. I'm Mercie's best friend!" Mercedes giggled at Annette's introduction to Bereth, only for the Monastery's bell to ring out. "Oh," said Mercedes, "I'm so sorry Mr. Eisner, but me and Annette have to go to our classes, but I hope we can talk again soon." Bereth smiled and said, "Hey, it's fine. I'll be around, so stop by and say hey if you want." Mercedes smiled back at Bereth and her and Annette walked away to their classroom.
Bereth smiled as both girls walked away, only for the silence to be broken by a voice saying, "So…something caught your eye, brother?" Bereth immediately blushed and turned around to find his little sister, Byleth, slouching on a pillar, clearly listening on Bereth's conversation with the two girls. "H-how much did you hear!?" Bereth said nervously. Byleth pondered for a second and replied, "Only enough." Bereth's face then got even redder as Byleth laughed at how embarrassed she made her brother.
Byleth then remembered that she needed to speak with Lady Rhea, as she had walked about the monastery and met with all of the students and staff that worked at the monastery. Byleth said her goodbyes to her brother, but before leaving, turned back around and said, "Don't worry brother, I'll keep your admiration a secret…for now." Winking and sticking out her tongue in a silly fashion, she made her way back to the Audience Chamber, leaving her brother to be dumbfounded. He rolled his eyes and continued his walk around the monastery.
We find Byleth standing in front of Lady Rhea and Seteth following her walkabout of the Monastery. Joining her were Manuela and Hanneman, who were awaiting to which houses the three would teach. "How are you enjoying your time at the academy thus far?" said Lady Rhea, "I hope you have found our halls brimming with the vitality of well-intentioned souls." Byleth nodded to Lady Rhea's question, when Seteth spoke up and said, "I suppose it is time for you to take charge of one of our three houses of students." "I must note that I am personally against entrusting someone as lacking in trackable history as yourself with such a task, but it is as the archbishop desires."
"The Black Eagles, the Blue Lions, and the Golden Deer… All so different." Said Manuela, "I hope you've made it a point to get to know each of them." Byleth smiled at Manuela's statement, as she did have a good time interacting with all the students of the Officer's Academy, but remembered that she could only teach one of the three houses. Hanneman then spoke up, saying, "Since you are new here, we have decided to allow you first pick. Manuela and I will take charge of the remaining two houses."
Byleth stood their silently, pondering which of the three houses she wanted to teach. "Well, there is the Golden Deer house." Byleth thought to herself, "Those kids do have a noticeable tactician in Claude. But of course, there is the Blue Lions. The house does seem to almost made of all noble's kids, which could help me understand how nobility works a bit better than me and my bro do already." Byleth continued to ponder to herself, until she remembered: "Although, for some odd reason, I find the kids in the Black Eagles house to be more of a mix of all walks of life. They also were really kind to me, especially the Edelgard girl…."
Byleth then smiled and said to Rhea, "I wish to teach the Black Eagles house Lady Rhea." Rhea smiled and asked, "So, you have chosen the Black Eagles, led by Edelgard, correct?" Byleth nodded, leading Rhea to say, "Your heart has made its choice, then. All I ask is that you guide these open minds with virtue, care, and sincerity." "I promise to do so Lady Rhea." Said Byleth.
Just then, the doors to the Audience Chamber opened up and everyone turned to see a girl with bright green hair walk up to them. "Brother? Oh! I am so sincerely sorry! I did not mean to interrupt," the girl said to Seteth. "I'm in the middle of something, Flayn. Is it urgent?" "No, no, it's nothing." The girl named Flayn then turned to Byleth and said, "More importantly... Who is this?" Byleth smiled and said, "Oh, my name is Byleth. I'm the new professor of the Officer's Academy." Flayn's eye lit up and she responded, "Oh my! A new addition to the Officers Academy! I am so very pleased to meet you, Professor." Flayn clasped her hands together and said, "I am Seteth's little sister, Flayn. I am so happy to make your acquaintance."
Seteth then stepped in and said, "Let us focus on the topic at hand now." Byleth then turned her attention to Seteth, to which Seteth continued, "There is something you should be aware of. In a few days' time, there will be a mock battle between the three houses, intended to gauge the current progress of the students." Byleth nodded in understanding as Seteth continued. "We will be using this battle as an opportunity to ascertain your own abilities as well. Please do not disappoint the archbishop. That is all." Byleth nodded and left the Audience Chamber and was planning to head towards the Black Eagles' classroom, but then came into contact with the three Guardians, who were once again wandering about the Monastery, but just so happened to bump into Byleth.
"Oh, hey you guys!" said Byleth to the three otherworlders, "I'm starting to think that you three always happen to show up when big news happens around here now." Cade-1 smiled and said, "Guess you can say that. So, what brings you back up here Byleth?" Byleth then explained to the Guardians about how she chose to teach the Black Eagles house and that she was on her way to introduce herself to her new students. "Say," said Byleth, "why don't you three join me and introduce yourselves to the students." The Guardians didn't really have much to do anyway, so they all agreed to join Byleth down to the Black Eagles classroom.
"Well then," said Byleth, "we best be on our way." As Byleth was leading the Guardians down to the Black Eagles classroom, Cade-1 turned to his fireteam and said, "Well, well, well. I'm starting to think that entering that Vex portal was a great idea after all." His fireteam agreed with Richard saying, "Everyone here is pretty friendly so to speak. I bet for the kids of the Academy; it will be an interesting year for them." All three Guardians agreed with each other as they followed Byleth, all excited for the new adventure they so desperately wanted awaited them.
WHEW! FINALLY! Sorry about the nearly yearlong absence you guys, but a combination of writer's block, real life stuff, and me playing Destiny 2 and other games kind of slowed the process down a lot. Of notice though, Nintendo had a Nintendo Direct back in February revealing a sequel to Fire Emblem Warriors titled Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes coming out in about two months. Also around that time, Destiny 2's latest expansion, The Witch Queen came out, so I've been busting my butt off trying to beat it. Hopefully I can get back to making more Chapters with Three Hopes being motivation to continue this fanfic, as I keep having ideas and scenes playing out in my head.
Next chapter however, we see the Black Eagles officially meeting Byleth and the Guardians, as well as skipping some of the gameplay sections to get to the first real mission of the Black Eagles, that being the journey to Zanado, the Red Canyon, and to face the bandits from early once more. I will be having the Guardians engaging more in combat with their guns this time around. Hopefully I'm not rushing through things, especially since I'm going to have the house leaders, the Eisners, Rhea and Seteth go with the Guardians to the world of Destiny and do some stuff there before I…oh, oops! I almost spoiled some stuff coming up afterword.
In any case, hope to see you guys later. Oh, and thank you for coming to my TED talk!
