Chapter 12: A Changing World.


"Shambhala." Spite barked as he reached the assembled forces, a cold certainty in his walk. "Your lord calls on your service."

Some three hundred men and women stood rigid as Spite opened a manila folder.

"Herald squad. Report." Spite barked.

A man from the third row marched forward. "Herald One. Ready to serve."

"How many men do you have at your disposal?" Spite asked.

"My full battalion is standing by."

"Bring half. We are only hunting a handful of traitors, not a full battlegroup."

The man nodded and snapped his fingers at a group of marksmen, all of whom saluted in reply.

"Lord Spite!" A voice shouted from the large machine bay that lead to the outside world. "Summon Lord Spite! We captured a deserter!"

A ripple shifted through the crowd as two women dragged a ragged soldier through the cavity, their captive struggling to escape, though both of his legs were bent at impossible angles.

"Lord-oh. Everyone is already here." The first woman said as she looked up from her prisoner.

"At ease corporal." Spite replied as he pulled a dagger from within his coat, the infamous Athame glittering in the lights of the machine hall. "Now, report."

The two women flinched as he approached them with the blade, exchanging a nervous glance as one took a step back.

"Corporal. What is it that you have brought us?" Spite asked as he reached the two sentries and their prisoner.

"A group of deserters attempted to flee under our watch. We managed to take this one alive." The second sentry blurted out.

"Where is the rest of your patrol?" Spite asked. "You should have one more soldier."

"He stayed behind. He gave chase to the traitors. We took this one back." The woman said quickly.

Spite nodded as he gestured for the cook to come forward. "Is this one of the deserters you once worked with?" Spite asked as he pressed his Athame into the man's throat, forcing his battered face into the light.

The woman flinched at the sight of the blade drawing blood, but nodded. "Yes. He's one of the others."

"Their team consisted of five people." Odesse offered helpfully from the side. "So that means three more to hunt down."

"Is Odesse correct?" Spite asked the two sentries, planting a hard kick into the injured man as he pulled his dagger away.

"Yes. Three others made their escape past our post."

"And the three of you only managed to stop one?" Odesse asked as he glared at the two sentries.

"Odesse, have you ever tried to hit fleeing targets with a bow?" Spite asked, his tone a mixture of annoyance and amusement.

The younger mage blinked. "Pardon?"

Herald One facepalmed, the stoic unity of the other Shambhalans broken as they exchanged glances and disguised laughs as coughing.

"When was the last time you had used a bow?" Spite asked as he turned his eyes to the younger man, his face a mask of exasperation.

Odesse took a small step back, but failed to respond.

"I asked you a question. Not answering to a superior officer is a crime."

"Back in Shangri-la. I last used a bow in Shangri-la." Odesse managed.

"Odesse, when was the last time you had even used or maintained a physical weapon?"

"I polished your staff."

"It's a staff of office. It doesn't actually do anything." Spite said with a roll of his eyes. "The only use I would ever have for it is as a bludgeon."

Someone in the mass of soldiers laughed openly at the comment.

Spite sighed as he looked away from Odesse. "I hope you know what the word bludgeon means."

The blank look on Odesse's face spoke volumes, as did the scornful murmurs of the gathered soldiers.

Spite let out a low hiss before he turned over to the two sentries, seemingly having remembered that there was a prisoner. "One of you, take this miserable worm to a holding cell. Once the others deserters are neutralized, I will return to make an example of him. Maim him however you wish, but he will only die at my hand."

One of the women nodded and dragged the man forward, a half dozen soldiers breaking their formation to assist the woman.

Spite turned away from the crowd an focused on the distant sky. When he turned back to the crowd, a hunting party of archers had joined Herald One.

"As much as I hate the idea, Odesse will take over the base until I return. This hunt should take two days at most." Spite said as he gestured for the archers to move out.

The humiliated mage nodded as the rest of the assembled archers gave him dirty looks as they passed, the hunting party slipping away into the night.

Spite was the last to leave, pausing only to face the remaining ranks of soldiers who still remained in formation.

"You are all dismissed." Spite barked before he turned and hurried after the half dozen archers waiting outside Shambhala.


Macuil woke up about a third of the way into the night, a particularly strong breeze having spat hot, humid air into his face.

He stood up and put his back to the hot, unbearable air, taking in a long, deep breath in the process.

The air was foul, the stench of the Agarthans overpowering his senses.

Macuil glanced over to where his prisoner had laid hours prior, finding only a thin blood trail that disappeared into the woods, the path of his enemies defined by broken branches and fallen leaves.

Macuil took three gingerly steps to the place he had dumped the hellspawn of the Elites, finding little but bloodstains that had sunk into and corrupted the earth around where the wounded girl had lain.

"Agartha." Macuil growled as he tested his sore body, yawning again as he stretched his limbs. Perhaps he should have deployed his followers after all.

He smiled ruefully as he remembered the dying screams of the Agarthan warband that had tried to kill him.

If he slaughtered the last of their leaders, perhaps he could sleep some more in peace.


It was close to dawn when a dozen archers forced Ashe to sit down, the men and women of his personal retinue glaring him down as he was slowly separated from his horse.

"Boss. We know you are worried." One archer said as she approached him, her steps in lockstep with the others, shrinking the space where he could escape. "But throwing yourself in a vague direction is not going to help us."

"But-" Ashe protested feebly.

"No buts. You will take a rest. You have been awake for much longer than what is healthy." The senior archer in his brigade replied coldly.

"We will wake you when the sun is up, but make no mistake, all of our mounts are exhausted. There is no going further until we rest." The first archer to speak said sternly.

Ashe sunk quietly into his bedroll as he let out a deep sigh, the image of Ingrid's dented armour plate burning into his mind.

Something inside him clicked, but the haze of exhaustion had dulled his senses, and his mind failed to connect the dots, right up until sleep claimed him.


Daybreak had hit before Felix and Sylvain finally were able to meet up with their two colleagues within the city.

"Ferdinand, Caspar." Sylvain greeted as they approached the north of the city. "What did we find?"

Both men were grim, their faces stony as they exchanged a wary glance.

"Multiple dead." Ferdinand said grimly. "Most of the victims have been torn to ribbons."

"We didn't have any forces here." Felix replied. "Where are these dead coming from?"

"We don't know." Ferdinand said as he wiped away a sheen of sweat from his forehead, his features hard. "They aren't our forces."

"Refugees? Looters?" Felix asked.

"Neither. They were very heavily armed. Looters would not carry heavy weapons and all the kingdom soldiers left are either dead or have surrendered."

"What about Gilbert?" Felix asked.

"He's gone into the wind." Ferdinand admitted quietly. "We haven't seen or heard of him for some time."

"Have we made contact with Baron Dominic?" Felix asked.

"No. That front of the war was under the command of Jeritza." Ferdinand replied. "We have made no contact of note with church or kingdom forces for the time being."

"Then who the hell were these people?" Sylvain asked.

"Bandits wouldn't come here." Ferdinand replied. "Nothing to pillage, especially with so much of the army being so close by."

The four men paused for a moment before Caspar broke the silence. "I wonder what Ingrid and Ashe are doing?"

"What do you mean by that?" Felix scoffed. "The two of them are off doing knight things. As usual."

"I just wonder what the other two were thinking, running off without supplies." Caspar observed.

"He's right." Sylvain interjected. "Ashe went back to camp to rally his personal battalion. Why didn't Ingrid?"

The four men exchanged glances until Felix finally broke off the contest, his eyes wandering as he walked away from the other three men.

"You need to take a look at this." Felix called from a distance away.

"What's wrong?" Ferdinand asked. "You sound concerned."

"This armour plate. It belongs to Ingrid."


Dorothea arrived at the palace at the same time as Monica, the two women sharing a knowing smile as their footmen hauled heavy trunks out of their carriages, clearly not used to carrying such heavy trunks so early in the day.

"Shall we leave our trunks by the door?" Monica asked as she nodded in Dorothea's direction in greeting.

"No." Dorothea replied. "Someone will probably trip on it. Hubie has terrible luck these days."

Monica nodded as her footman put the heavy trunk down by the door.

"That's fine." Both Dorothea and Monica said at the same time, both of their drivers staring blankly at them for a moment before turning away, back to their carriages.

"So where are we?" Monica asked, glancing around at the room around them as she hauled her luggage into the beautiful hall.

"Private wing of the imperial palace." Hubert replied from behind them.

Monica nearly tripped over her feet as she scrambled up, her hand on her chest as Dorothea frowned.

"Hubie, why are you here alone?"

"Lady Edelgard has yet to wake." Hubert replied with a frown. "The professor too. It seems like they came back last night very late."

"Did you?" Dorothea shot back.

"You watched me leave the lodge with Bernadetta." Hubert replied. "Still, I did go to sleep after she did."

"Where did she sleep anyways? It's not like she has a place in Enbarr."

"She slept in my bed." Hubert replied.

"And where did you sleep Hubie?" Dorothea asked.

"In my chair, which is much less comfortable than my bed, I assure you."

"Hubie. That's very sweet of you." Dorothea replied.

"Whatever the case, we are only waiting on Lady Edelgard and the professor." Hubert said as he glanced in the vague direction of the royal bedroom. "The others have already made it here."

"Where do we leave our luggage?" Monica asked.

"It will be fine to leave it here. I will see to it that it is added to your carriage."

"We are going by carriage?" Dorothea asked.

"In part." Hubert replied. "Shamir has stated that she will ride ahead of the main train. Bernadetta and I will see to it that the back of our convoy enjoys the same level of protection."

"Anything for Edie." Dorothea commented.

"Naturally" Hubert replied. "Now, hurry along. There still may be breakfast that has yet to be served."

"Helpful today aren't we Hubie?" Dorothea laughed as she gestured for Monica to follow, the red haired girl only giving Hubert a glance before hurrying after Dorothea.


Edelgard knew she was dreaming. The empty imperial palace was enough proof of that.

But the palace was different from what she remembered. For one, it was damaged, badly no less.

She passed the central foyer, the walls splattered with blood.

She hastened her pace, the walls of the palace breaking and failing as she walked.

The throne room called to her. It had been of course, where she had been torn away from her father.

It was also where he was said to have died. Ten years to the day when his children were torn from his arms.

None of them had been there.

Edelgard threw the doors to the throne room open, her eyes taking a slow moment to understand the abomination that blocked out the sun.

It was tall humanoid, though its height and mass made it horrifically obvious that it wasn't human. Sickly pale-brown muscle was interwoven with dead grey skin.

And the face that stared back was her own.

Edelgard screamed.


"El!" Byleth shouted as he desperately clung to Edelgard, his grip tightening as he was tossed about like a rag doll.

Despite Edelgard's short, slender frame, she was still impossibly strong, even when desperately fighting off her fever dreams.

"Your majesty!" Hubert shouted a moment after the doors to the bedroom were thrown open.

An awkward turn later, Byleth hit the ground with a wince, Hubert hastily rushed toward the bed, also desperate to stop Edelgard from hurting herself in her nightmare.

A moment after Hubert had managed to get hold of Edelgard, Hubert was also tossed off the bed, his fall broken by Byleth.

Both men winced as Hubert climbed hastily off Byleth, their collective vision on the thrashing Edelgard.

Hubert and Byleth shared a glance as Monica and Dorothea rushed in, their faces concerned as they froze at the doorway.

"Hubie! Edie!" Dorothea shouted as they rushed to the bed, Edelgard whispering names that none of them understood.

Monica grabbed a pitcher of water from the nightstand.

"No!" Hubert cried as he circled the bed, careful to avoid Edelgard, his voice and the murderous glare on his face freezing Monica in place.

On the other side of the bed, Byleth snatched Edelgard's hand, his grip firm but gentle as Edelgard fought desperately to free her trapped hand, to no avail.

"El." Byleth whispered as Edelgard turned her full body toward him, subjecting his head to flailing hit after flailing hit.

To his surprise, Edelgard's eyes flew open, her violet against his blue.

To his horror, he saw a moment of pure terror in her eyes before she recognized him.

"El." Byleth replied.

Edelgard replied by pulling him forward, breathing heavily as she pressed herself to him.

"I- I had a nightmare."

"Monica. Get her a glass of water." Hubert ordered.

Edelgard tensed in Byleth's arms at the sound of Hubert's voice, and Byleth glared at the three intruders.

Hubert seemed to suddenly realize that he was intruding on a private moment, as he hastily grabbed Dorothea and Monica and fled for the door, the latter still clinging to the jug of water.

"He's gone now." Byleth said as he gingerly inched himself on the bed next to Edelgard.

"I'm better now." Edelgard offered. "Let's-"

"We both know that isn't true." Byleth retorted. "Tell me about it."

Edelgard loosened as if she was a slowly deflating balloon, slowly rolling back to the centre of their bed, her eyes wandering over the high ceiling.

"I was in the palace." Edelgard said softly after a long minute. "The throne room."

"Shambhala?" Byleth asked.

"No. It wasn't them. The palace wasn't what it is today."

"What happened?" Byleth asked as he reached over, gently wiping a sheen of sweat from Edelgard's brow.

"I saw I-" Edelgard started, her hand seizing Byleth's hand as she spoke.

"Go on." Byleth said quietly.

"I saw a monster," Edelgard said as a shiver ran down her back.

"A dragon? The Immaculate One? A beast?"

"No. It-it had my face."

"What?" Byleth asked, stunned, his face confused.

"I saw myself but I-" Edelgard whispered, her breathing laboured as she broke off her sentence.

Byleth rubbed Edelgard's palm, the two of them silent for a moment.

"I saw a monster with my face." Edelgard whispered. "It just- was there."

"El. Tell me everything."

Edelgard paused for a moment as she squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to summon the foul memory.

"I can't remember." Edelgard whispered. "But it had my face."


"Lord Spite!" A voice shouted as the warhost reached a ledge that overlooked one of the main overpasses that lead to Shambhala.

Spite nodded as he saluted the soldier, who saluted back.

"Walk me through what happened." Spite ordered as he glanced at the poorly maintained pathway below.

"We encountered four individuals who were attempting to sneak out without us noticing." The male sentry offered.

"We tried to fire warning shots at them, but we couldn't hit much in the dark."

"You managed to get one of them." Spite replied.

"Yes sir. The others left him behind."

Spite nodded. "How did the three of you get down there?"

"We scaled some of the less steep paths down. But it was too late to catch them."

"Yes. I can imagine a hasty retreat if someone believed their cover was blown." Spite replied as the other archers glanced at the steep slope that lead to the main path below. "The three of you did well, considering the situation."

The two sentries exchanged a glance before Spite glanced down the path. "I was told that you had chased down the other deserters."

"They broke off into multiple directions." The man offered weakly.

"I did not expect that you would catch any. Their head start and your lack of close quarters weapons means that it would have been a foolish prospect to risk engaging all of them in combat at once. You did as your duty called for."

The man looked away from their overlord, clearly embarrassed over his failure regardless.

"You sentries have had a long night. Head back out and rest. Dismissed."

Both sentries saluted and hurried back to Shambhala.

"What do we do now?" The lone woman amongst the kill team asked as she squatted down.

"Tell me about the other three." Spite ordered the only unarmed member of the party.

"Three?"

"We took one alive. You saw that. What do you have to say about the other three traitors?"

"They aren't very good at fighting." The woman offered. "None of us were."

"Perhaps that was too general of a question." Spite said quickly. "I want to know if they are familiar with the mountain and surrounding villages."

The woman shook her head. "None of us have ever left Shambhala for any more than a few minutes."

Spite nodded. "These mountains hold many dead ends and pitfalls for the unwary. It is possible some of them may have fallen victim to one of these already."

One of the other archers raised a hand. "Boss, what if we find one dead?"

"Tell me if such a thing happens. We can recover the body at a later date. Our priority is to eliminate ones who may still pose a threat to Shambhala. A traitor with a broken neck is of very little threat to us."

"Of course." The archer offered. "And what if by some stroke of dumb luck they did make it to a nearby town?"

"Then tell them the truth. We are a unit located in the mountains hunting for deserters from our ranks."

The warband leader chuckled at that. "The boss man isn't wrong about that part."

"Just don't mention that we live in a fortress under the mountain." Spite added as he rose to his feet.

"Naturally." The only female archer chuckled as she hopped to her feet.

"Let's move out." Spite said as the group jogged down the path of the outcropping. "There is much ground to cover."


The air was cool in the early hours of the morning when Yurius finally got tired of Lorenz snoring.

He left his bed with a sigh, tossing his hair back as he got dressed.

When he tossed back his shirt, he found the barely open eyes of Ignatz staring at him, the man wincing in pain as he crawled out of his bed.

"You sleep well?" Yurius whispered.

Ignatz shook his head and closed his eyes.

"Light is bad isn't it?" Yurius asked.

"Terrible." Ignatz groaned. "Never going drinking like that again."

"Let's get some food. Maybe a bath too."

Ignatz chuckled weakly as he inched out of the bed. "How do you think the girls slept?"

"I don't need to know that." Yurius grumbled. "Let me get changed first."

Ignatz nodded as he too changed hastily, giving a murderous glance at Lorenz as he left the room.

The surprise in the lobby was the mildly annoyed form of Mortis, still asleep on a large chair in the centre of the room.

Ignatz raised a slow finger to his lips before Mortis broke the silence.

"I'm awake already." Mortis sighed as she rose from her seat. "Sleep is difficult when your roommates snore."

Ignatz laughed weakly. "I'm sorry for that."

Mortis shrugged in reply. "It's not your problem. You weren't the one snoring."

"Leonie usually doesn't drink so much." Ignatz explained. "She was upset about captain Jeralt though."

"The one with the drinking bill?" Mortis asked.

Ignatz laughed weakly. ""That's the one. She drinks a lot when he gets brought up. He was an idol to her."

"He's been dead for a while now." Mortis said with a frown.

"We know. Sorry about Leonie's boasting. Avenging Jeralt should have been left to his son, not her."

"Avenging?" Yurius asked.

"Yes. About a month after Jeralt's death, we confronted his killer at Garreg Mach. Leonie just happened to get the last strike in."

Yurius glanced at Mortis, and flinched at the taut shape of her body.

"Hey Mortis, want to grab some food?"

Mortis turned to him with a slow sigh, tension still visible in her body, but no longer glaringly obvious.

"That's a good idea." Ignatz chuckled. "We should be on the road once Leonie wakes up. She'll be immensely hungover, but I suppose we could keep her inside the carriage."

"Let's talk over some food." Yurius said, gently nudging Mortis.

To his surprise, his partner nodded. "So be it."

"Are you not hungry?" Ignatz asked Mortis. "If you aren't, we could wait."

Mortis shook her head. "No. I just have a lot on my mind. Nothing more."

"I suppose we all do." Ignatz laughed weakly as he gestured for the two of them to follow him.


It took some time before Edelgard could leave Byleth's protective grip, the two of them entangled on their shared bed.

"I'm better now." Edelgard whispered softly, her arms still firm around Byleth's neck.

"I won't let them hurt you." Byleth replied as he let go, the two of them quiet as they relaxed back into their bed, side by side.

"Thank you professor." Edelgard replied.

Byleth frowned in reply. "El. I'd like to show you something before we leave Enbarr."

Edelgard blinked in response. "I'm fine. Really."

"El, please. Trust me." Byleth said.

Edelgard paused before she nodded. "Alright then."


"I thought you might try it." Felix said coldly as he stepped in the way of Sylvain.

Sylvain tensed at the sight of his friend, the Lance of Ruin still clutched in his hand.

"What you are doing is a suicide mission." Felix snarled as he took another step forward into Sylvain's path, his posture uncompromising as they stared each other down.

"What kind of knight will I be if I don't do this?"

"A knight who is capable of avenging his comrades." Felix snarled. "Ashe took with him a warband of the best marksmen in the entire empire to avenge Ingrid. What did you bring?"

Sylvain tightened his grip on the Lance of Ruin, Miklan's sneering face flashing through his thoughts.

"You are a coward." Sylvain hissed. "You would leave Ingrid and Ashe to die."

"And what tells you that Ingrid hasn't been torn to ribbons? What tells you that Ashe isn't already dead?"

"What's going on?" Caspar asked as he hurried over to the scene, his face concerned as he warily glanced between the two feuding friends.

"Yes, indeed. Why are the two of you fighting at a time like this?" Ferdinand asked as he stepped in between Sylvain and Felix. "It's true that Ashe has put us in a difficult spot, but that's no excuse to be fighting."

Sylvain and Felix changed wary glances, but otherwise remained silent.

Ferdinand paused for a moment before he turned to Sylvain.

"Sylvain. Get off your horse. Let us talk as equals."

Sylvain paused for a moment before he complied, hopping off his horse and standing before the other three.

"That's better." Ferdinand said as he glanced warily at the Lance of Ruin. "I wish to talk about the dead bodies we found in the capital."

The other three men turned their attention to the orange haired noble.

"What did you find?"

"One of the bodies had a symbol that I recognized." Ferdinand explained.

"So who were they?" Felix asked. "Looters? Renegade Kingdom forces?"

Ferdinand held up a small strip of cloth in turn, a white insignia of an eye visible against the black cloth,

"I don't get it." Sylvain said.

"During the Insurrection of the Seven, a group of soldiers were present in Enbarr wearing this symbol. After the coup was over, they disappeared."

Caspar grabbed the cloth from Ferdinand and studied it for a moment. "Nope. Don't recognize it. Sorry."

Felix shook his head after taking it from Caspar. "Don't believe I ever saw it before."

Sylvain glanced at the symbol. "Wait. I've seen it before."

"Where?" Ferdinand asked.

"Don't remember. It was before I came to Garreg Mach."

"How does this have to do with Ingrid?" Felix asked.

"It might not have been the dragon that took Ingrid." Ferdinand reasoned. "With so many heavy weapons, it is certainly possible that there were more of these mysterious soldiers fighting the dragon."

"So this mystery faction is going to do what with Ingrid again?" Felix asked.

"Wait!" Sylvain shouted, slamming his lance into the ground beside him. "I remember now."

"What is it?" Ferdinand asked.

"Cornelia had a hot bodyguard."

Caspar, Ferdinand, and Felix collectively facepalmed.

"This is not the time." Felix hissed, his hand reaching for his sword.

"She had that symbol on her uniform." Sylvain explained. "She had this symbol on a sleeve."

"Cornelia is dead." Ferdinand said. "And why didn't we see this bodyguard?"

Felix caught on. "You mean you met Cornelia before we fought her in Arianrhod?"

Sylvain nodded. "This was before the war. I remember seeing them in the capital."

Felix sighed. "Was this season the season after you chased after Lord Gwendal's daughter?"

"It was." Sylvain confirmed. "Both of them caught me staring at them though."

"Alright. So what does this have to do with our current case?" Felix asked.

"The fact that Cornelia was part of this secret cult would give them motive to strike at us, particularly while we were divided and vulnerable." Ferdinand reasoned. "They could have been watching us, waiting to strike."

"So it's possible that these guys just had beef with us?" Casper wondered out loud.

"And they grabbed Ingrid, possibly as a crime of opportunity, possibly out of a need to avenge Cornelia." Ferdinand muttered. "But where does the dragon fit in?"

All four men glanced at the ruined capital city.

"The bodies were found leading away from the Immaculate One." Felix said.

"A fighting retreat then." Ferdinand muttered. "What if this dragon arrived to reinforce the Immaculate One?"

"It's late." Felix replied. "By several weeks no less."

"Another dragon fighting for the church? The professor and Edelgard need to know about this." Caspar announced.

"It is possible that the dragon assumed that the other soldiers were the party that slew the Immaculate One." Ferdinand stated. "Which would explain why it attacked them rather than attack the army camp."

"This is just getting all kinds of weird." Caspar declared.

"Sylvain, could you confirm that Cornelia's bodyguard had this very same insignia?" Ferdinand asked Sylvain.

Sylvain took the small cloth and studied it quietly. "Yes. I can." He said after a long moment.

"What did this bodyguard look like?" Ferdinand asked.

"Tall, dark hair. Lightly dressed. On horseback. A real babe."

Ferdinand sighed. "I will ride down to Enbarr. Edelgard and the professor must know about this development."

"What about us?" Felix asked as Ferdinand made to move away.

"The question of Ashe is bugging me." Sylvain said.

"What do you mean?" Ferdinand asked, turning back to face the other three.

"His actions almost seem logical to me." Sylvain replied. "Had he been driven mad by a need for revenge, why would he take the time to round up his battalion to go with him?"

Ferdinand nodded. "Good point. He would have wasted precious time if his sole purpose was revenge."

"Maybe he thought that he could still save Ingrid?" Caspar asked.

"Whatever the case is, we don't know." Sylvain said grimly. "I still want to chase him down and get answers."

Felix gave Sylvain's mount a dirty look as Ferdinand nodded. "That may be our only choice. There are too many questions without answers."

Felix glared at Sylvain before he nodded. "Fine. Even if I stopped you now, you would still chase after Ashe in the middle of the night."

Ferdinand put a hand on Sylvain's shoulder before he turned away. "Be safe."

Sylvain nodded as he mounted his horse.

"Come back alive." Felix said grimly. "If you get hurt, you answer to me."

Sylvain nodded as he reared up his horse and began a strong gallop.


"Oh hello Marianne." Linhardt said as he entered the chapel of Garreg Mach. "Still praying?"

"I'm asking the goddess for forgiveness." Marianne replied without even turning around.

Linhardt frowned, but remained in place anyhow, watching silently as Marianne prayed.

It took a few more minutes before Marianne finished, finally facing Linhardt.

"Why are you here Linhardt?"

Linhardt paused as he sat down in one of the few pews that were still standing. "Well. I came to pray."

Marianne nodded as she sat next to him, the two of them silent for a long moment.

"I fear some days that I won't be able to finish my research in time." Linhardt said finally, breaking the mutual silence. "What use would this all be if I can't help Lysithea or Edelgard?"

Marianne sat silently as Linhardt buried his face in his hands.

"Do you think the goddess will forgive me?" Marianne asked.

"What for?" Linhardt replied, his face turned into a frown.

"My actions in Derdriu." Marianne replied. "With Hilda."

Linhardt shook his head. "I don't know."

"I regret it." Marianne said. "I regret hurting her."

Linhardt nodded quietly.

"I had a nightmare last night." Marianne said softly. "I was in Derdriu again and- and Hilda died in my arms."

Linhardt shook his head. "You didn't kill Hilda, Marianne."

"I remember calling on her, begging the goddess to bring her back." Marianne choked out.

"The war is over." Linhardt said softly. "We aren't enemies with Claude anymore. And you didn't kill Hilda."

Marianne nodded quietly as she sank back into the pew. "When do you think Manuela will get back?"

"Three, possibly four days. Enbarr isn't that far away."

Marianne nodded as she rose to her feet. "I'll be going now. There's much to do."

Linhardt nodded as he turned to watch Marianne leave, quietly turning back to the empty cathedral


"How are we going to pay the bill?" Lorenz asked his dining companions as the four of them sat in the dining area of a local diner, exchanging wary glances with Ignatz.

"That inn owner is scarier than Hubert." Ignatz laughed.

"Are you able to help us pay down the bill?" Lorenz asked the two other travellers, concern written over his face.

Mortis and Yurius exchanged a glance, but Mortis replied with a short shake of the head.

"We don't have that much money."

"But you helped us with the dress." Ignatz protested weakly.

"Because your friend already ruined it for the shopkeeper." Mortis shot back. "There was mud all in the frills."

Ignatz sighed. "Right. I forgot about that."

Lorenz shook his head as he sighed. "We are one night away from Myrddin. There we can gather up the funds to erm, solve our debts."

"I'd hate to see Jeralt's bill there." Yurius laughed.

"What are you saying about Jeralt huh?" Leonie snarled as she entered the dining hall.

"Leonie, he's talking about Jeralt's bar bill." Ignatz started.

Leonie replied by drunkenly throwing a fist in the general direction of Yurius, comically missing.

"How deep into the night did she drink?" Mortis asked as Yurius dodged the drunken attack.

"Far too deep it seems." Lorenz muttered.

"Nobody talks badly about captain Jeralt." Leonie spat.

Mortis frowned. "Why not? His drinking problem got us into this mess to begin with."

Leonie snarled as she turned to Mortis, her eyes glittering dangerously.

"Mortis-" Ignatz said nervously as he and Lorenz backed off, Yurius taking the hint as well.

"Why is he blameless?" Mortis shot back as she stood up, her head turned slowly as she sized up Leonie.

"Mortis, Leonie." Lorenz warned. "Let's talk about something else."

"Not until she apologizes." Leonie shot back. "Nobody insults captain Jeralt."

"No." Mortis replied. "He got us into this mess, and you certainly aren't helping."

"What's going on?" Maya asked as she popped into the diner, Evi nervously glancing at the scene before them.

"No fighting in my restaurant." The owner of the restaurant snarled as he entered the dining hall. "If you want to fight, do it outside."

"Let's sit down and finish breakfast first." Ignatz pleaded.

"Mortis, let's finish our food first." Yurius said quickly, pushing his partner back.

"But of course." Mortis replied, pulling her chair back as she sank back into her seat. "Let's finish our food."

A half dozen pairs of eyes slowly turned to Leonie.

"Come along now Maya. I'll order you some cake." Mortis said with a disarming smile.

Maya's face lit up as she dashed past Leonie. "Yes please!"

"What cake would you recommend?" Mortis asked the owner of the shop.

"Carrot cake is all that we have in store."

"Then we'll have two slices. My treat." Mortis said with a slight smile.


Byleth stood silently behind Edelgard in the throne room as they watched the sun shine through the beautiful mural behind the throne.

Edelgard let out a slow sigh as she turned to Byleth.

Byleth replied by embracing her, the two of them silent as they stood in the room.

"It was here." Edelgard whispered.

"I believe you." Byleth replied. "I always will."

Edelgard nodded as a foreign sensation built up in her chest. "I'm sorry. We should be on our way already, but here I am, worrying over a non-existent monster."

Byleth didn't say a word in turn, simply tightening his arms around Edelgard.

"We should get going soon." Edelgard said, breaking away from Byleth's embrace to take a final look at the throne.

"I want you to sit on the throne." Byleth replied.

"Huh?" Edelgard asked, clearly stunned by the sudden request. "The throne?"

"Just a request. Nothing more."

Edelgard frowned before she turned toward the throne, shielding her eyes from the rays of light as she ascended the golden steps.

"So I just sit down?" Edelgard asked.

"That's right."

Edelgard glanced at the empty throne before sliding into it, her skirts shifting as she settled into the red and gold throne.

For a moment Edelgard sat silent, her breath stolen by the view that the throne offered her.

"El." Byleth said as his face grew serious. "Never forget your oath when you took the crown."

Edelgard flinched at the words. "You remembered that?"

Byleth nodded. "In accordance with the ancient covenant."

"And in keeping with the Hresvelg legacy." Edelgard finished the line, her eyes closed as she remembered the day.

"I swear-" Byleth started the following line.

"I swear that upon this throne, I shall use my reign to lead Fodlan to a new dawn and achieve peace for all." Edelgard finished.

For a moment in her mind's eye, Edelgard saw her monsterous doppelganger again, standing at where she sat.

"In accordance to the ancient covenant, and in keeping with the Hraesvelg legacy. I swear that upon this throne, I shall use my reign to lead Fodlan to a new dawn and achieve peace for all." Edelgard repeated, in full.

The monster in her mind cracked and faltered, the corrupted strands of evil power crackling and fading.

"In accordance to the ancient covenant, and in keeping with the Hraesvelg legacy." Edelgard repeated, the last of the monster turning to dust as she repeated the words. "I swear that upon this throne, I shall use my reign to lead Fodlan to a new dawn and achieve peace for all."

Edelgard opened her eyes as she finished the last line, her eyes taking a moment to meet the eyes of Byleth.

"Thank you professor." Edelgard said as she stepped down from the throne. "For reminding us of why we fight."

"A new dawn and peace for all." Byleth said approvingly.

"A new dawn and peace for all." Edelgard replied as the two turned their backs on the throne.

Just as she left the palace, Edelgard turned one final time to look upon the central throne.

Her father stared back at her.

Edelgard blinked for a moment.

But her father smiled. For a moment, Ionius IX seemed to beam at his daughter.

And then he was gone.

"Something wrong?" Byleth asked, pausing as he turned to stare at Edelgard.

"No." Edelgard replied. "But we still have a war to win."


AN: Chapter 12 is finished. Next chapter things will start moving again.

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