"Wow…" Claude leaned against the rampart, staring out into the forest. "That fire is really raging, huh?"
"Yeah." Hilda scratched her chin. "It's kind of pretty, in a strange way."
Lorenz huffed. "Hardly. There are countless peasants whose crops will be ruined by this inferno."
"No doubt." Claude shrugged his shoulders. "But there isn't much we can do about that right now. Let's just be thankful that it won't take any lives."
The blaze was going strong by the time the smoke had begun wafting through Garreg Mach. That combined with the general chaos of the fire brigades rushing through the halls and stables was enough to wake most of the students. Curiosity and morbid fascination brought most of them up one of the castle walls to watch the knights escorting the local townspeople inside Garreg Mach's walls. Dimitri was talking to Sylvain and Caspar about what they might contribute. Petra and Annette were propping up Linhardt, who said something about smoke ruining his sleep. Raphael had Flayn on his shoulders, giving the short girl a proper view of the burning forest.
Down at the entrance gate, Seteth and Jeralt were speaking in hushed tones. It had been a good ten minutes since their conversation had started and they didn't pay much attention to the hectic surroundings, but both men would stop to look whenever a group of peasants came through the gate, before returning to their conversation, expressions all the more dour.
"Hey Claude!" Claude looked up. Dorothea had pushed her way through the crowd. "Have you seen Edelgard or Hubie around? I thought they would be just as interested in the fire as we all are."
Claude glanced over both shoulders. "No, I'm afraid not." That was a good question. Most of the students had grouped together during the initial chaos. "Maybe they're taking in the view somewhere else? Or they just decided to stay in bed?"
Dorothea was already frowning, and Claude's vague guesses didn't help. "I already checked their rooms. Empty."
"Huh." Claude scratched his chin. "Hilda, Lorenz, have you seen her imperial highness and the walking talking shadow?"
"I'm afraid not."
"Sorry, nope." Hilda sniffed. "Is Edelgard still in a funk?"
Dorothea glanced at the blaze. "She's…"
"Princess Edelgard is simply elsewhere." Lorenz said. "Despite her recent morose behavior, I am sure she is perfectly safe, and is bound to show herself soon enough-"
It started small, just another burst of fire in a new section of the trees. But time seemed to slow around the newest plume. This gout of flame did not rise and spread across the treetops, but reached up to the heavens, stretching up like a pillar to touch the sky. Even at this distance, the blast thundered and cracked, deafening all other sound. And clearest of all was that this explosion was not the muted reds and harsh oranges that were consuming the forest, but a hot, pure white, erupting skyward, illuminating the dark clouds hiding the stars from the world, ripping through them like the wind cut across the sky.
And then in the next instant, the explosion of light faded, disappearing into the night.
Dimitri broke the silence first with a fervent whisper. "What in the goddess' name was that?"
Claude looked around, gauging everyone's reaction, to see if they saw what he had. Most of the assembled students were staring in shock and awe. And Flayn…
…There was something wrong with her expression. It wasn't the confusion on everyone else's face. Claude struggled to place it-
"Knights! Assemble!" Seteth was running up the ramparts, shouting at the top of his lungs. "Jeralt, lead them out to that blast!"
Jeralt stayed where he was, squinting. "What was that? Seteth, I don't-"
Seteth whipped around. "NOW!" He bellowed, breath quick and desperate. Claude could see the man trembling with an awful trepidation. The same unreadable look Flayn was giving.
Oh. Now he remembered. The kind of look only seen on innocent men at the gallows.
Jeralt seemed to see it too. "…I…" He turned back to the gathered knights and mercenaries. "…Ride. You heard him. Ride!" He jumped onto his steed. "Ride!"
"Catherine!" Seteth shouted down to the woman, who was standing around a few other knights. "You and Thunderbrand need to be there. Now!"
The relic burned bright in the night as it left its bindings and was lifted aloft by the woman's arm. A rallying cry thundered out of Catherine as she mounted a horse Shamir was preparing. The rest of the knights responded with a shout of their own, and soon the beat of hooves matched the fury of a crack of lightning.
Seteth whipped about, staring down the assembled students. "Return to your quarters, all of you. You must keep safe."
"What was that?" Claude shouted over the cacophony of horses and armor. "What's going on? Was that light-"
"Is it magic-"
"Shouldn't we-"
"Can we help-"
"SILENCE!" Seteth roared. Everyone stopped.
Flayn stepped forward. "Brother, please. We both need to-"
"Absolutely not." Seteth hissed. He looked up to Claude, then Dimitri. "You are to lead these students back to their rooms and remain there." He turned back to Flayn. "And you are to go nowhere near this. Under any circumstances." His eyes shifted to address everyone. "Am I clear?"
No one said anything. Seteth stepped forward, and everyone else took a step back. Dimitri was the first to turn. Dedue followed him. Claude looked down at Flayn, who was staring up at her brother with a mix of defiance and desperation. Seteth was like a mountain, unmoved. A few knights began shepherding the students away from the castle walls.
Claude bit his lip and took Flayn by the shoulder. "He isn't taking no for an answer." She gave Seteth one more look, unreadable and saying everything it needed to.
After a few minutes, the knights that had been herding the students back had returned to their posts along the wall. There was only a small distance until the group passed the greenhouse and into the dormitories. Flayn had been walking quietly with her eyes locked onto her shoes.
So she clearly knew something about…whatever that was. The question was what? And how could he get the answers out of her? Claude could probably wait until everyone had filed into their rooms and then confront the girl. Give her a bit more time to cool off, appear as a concerned peer trying to help her. Maybe bring Hilda along to alternate between the two-
Actually, looking at Hilda, Claude noticed she was eyeing Flayn. Looking further, so were a good number of other students.
Maybe that could be used to his advantage. Peer pressure was such a wonderful thing. Plus Claude might have to explain it to someone else, and he did hate having to repeat conversations.
"So," Claude schooled his expression into something friendly yet determined, open yet stern. He stepped in front of Flayn to block her path. The girl very nearly bumped into him. A few other students stopped to watch. "What was that?"
"W-what was what?" Flayn stammered.
"That explosion in the forest." Claude folded his arms. "It had your brother pretty riled."
"How would I know?" Flayn's fists were clenched. That might be a good sign. Or bad. Still…
"You told Seteth that you both needed to go ride out and to that…" Fight? Battle? Crusade, given the army Seteth had thrown at it? "...Whatever it was."
"That's right!" Ignatz said. "And then Seteth made sure to tell you to stay far away."
Flayn shifted. "…My brother is protective of me."
"That is Seteth to both the T's." Sylvain rubbed his shoulder.
"I think there's more to it than that." Claude looked up at the sky. The faint smell of smoke was still wafting through the air. "Seteth mobilized the knights for a fight as quickly as he could." He walked around slowly in a small circle, letting the ring of students grow around him. "I think he knows what made that blast. I think he knows what, or who, is out in that forest." All of his classmates' expressions were concerned. Calculating. Following the thread of his needle. Claude stopped back in front of Flayn. "And I think you do too."
The girl's expression wavered. "I-I don't-"
"Look. Flayn." Claude softened his voice, and pointed up to where the blast had been. "I just want to know if whatever lit up the sky," His finger circled around the group. "Is going to be pointed at the walls anytime soon. Because I don't think hiding under our beds will save us if that comes knocking."
The silence hanging between everyone changed from a curious worry to a nervous trepidation. Without breaking eye contact, Claude could see Petra, Ashe, and Lysithia all looking like they wanted to try and push an answer out of Flayn, but were thinking better of it.
"I am…" Flayn's eyes darted to and fro across everyone's feet.
She was close to cracking. Claude leaned closer. "I know you're worried about Seteth finding out, but I can promise you, none of us will say a word about this. Not me, not Hilda, not anyone." He peered over his shoulder. "Right, guys?" A chorus of affirmatives sounded back. "All we want to know is-"
Flayn's head shook. "No." Her eyes flared. "My brother will not stop me from saving-" She cut herself off, and her voice rose to a harsh whisper. A determination, or perhaps desperation, was breaking free. "If I am to tell you anything, I must know how many of you are willing to escape Garreg Mach to aid the knights. Save the knights." Her voice quivered. "Save my family."
All the students looked at her and each other. "Help the knights?"
"Against whatever that-"
"But we might-"
"Who cares? They need-"
"We shouldn't-"
Crashing stone brought all conversation to a halt. Dimitri removed his fist from the wall and stepped forward. "Lady Flayn. You believe your brother and the knights to be in peril? By whatever created that blast of light?"
"It's-" Flayn bit her lip. "No. Not by who created that white fire." Claude couldn't see her knuckles, but he knew they were chalk white. "Lady Rhea…the fire was Lady Rhea's."
Anette gasped. Lorenz sputtered. Lysithea's jaw was millimeters from dropping.
"That. Is. Impossible!" Linhardt shouted, more animated than Claude had ever seen Caspar. "The amount of magical energy required to create a blast of that size, that strength, with that much raw power, It's, It's-" He threw up his hands. "Are you seriously suggesting the archbishop has enough energy to pull off something a dozen magical Crest wielders couldn't? What possible spell could she have cast-"
"I promise you," Flayn cut in. "That was Lady Rhea. And if she is in enough danger to-" She swallowed. "- Cast that spell, then I need to be there." her fists surged up, shaking with something angry and desperate. All the students fell into a hushed silence. "I need to go save my family." Her eyes were pleading and unyielding. "Help me."
"We will aid you." Dimitri answered Flayn's resolve with his own steely voice. "The knights are in peril. The Archbishop is in danger. Your family-" He hissed. "The Blue Lions will not sit idly by while another tragedy unfolds."
Dedue bowed, his expression matching Dimitri's. "I am prepared."
"We will follow his highness." Ingrid said.
"If our friends are going, we can't abandon them!" Anette exclaimed.
Ashe bowed to Flayn. "We'll protect you. Like any knight should."
"The forest...that's where…" Mercedes muttered louder then she seemed to realize. She shook her head. "Nevermind that, we have to do what we can to keep people safe!"
Felix huffed, and marched towards the training hall armory. Dimitri followed. "Sylvain!"
"Yes, Dim-" Ingrid elbowed him. "Your highness?"
Dimitri reached the armory door, found it locked, and then ripped it off its hinges with a loud, metallic screech. "Prepare the Lance of Ruin."
Sylvain shifted on his feet, before running up the stairs to his room.
"Let's hope that all the guards that should have come running from that racket are riding out now, or else we might be in trouble." Claude deadpanned.
Flayn turned to him. "And you Claude? What of your house?"
"Welllll…" Claude raised his eyebrow. "What do you guys think? Want to rush into the fight of our lives? Ride into a forest fire to battle something strong enough to spirit her holiness away and make Seteth call down every knight he can muster? No pressure."
"The archbishop's life is at stake." Lorenz said as he ran his fingers through his hair. "House Gloucester answers the call."
"It's the right thing to do." Ignatz said. Raphael gave a sharp nod, a dour look on his face.
"We can't give up just because the odds seem stacked against us!" Leonie shouted as she ran to the armory. Lysithea was returning from the dormitories, dragging a quickly waking Cyril into the fray.
"For the archbishop...and the goddess…" Marianne murmured.
Hilda shrugged. "Well, I guess I'll come to make sure you put in your fair share, fearless leader."
"My inner sloth quakes under your watchful eye." Claude shrugged as he caught a bow and full quiver Leone threw. He turned to the Black Eagles. "What about you guys?"
"We're going." Caspar smashed his fists together.
"I should investigate whatever caused that blast." added Lindhardt.
Petra was returning with a small collection of arms. "You will be having my help. I am a friend to us all."
Dorothea smiled. "It seems like everyone is going. I have no excuse."
"D-do…we still not know where Edelgard and Hubert are?" Bernadetta asked quietly.
"That's right…" Ferdinand muttered as his eyes swept across the courtyard. "Where could they be?"
"I think…" Claude paused. Flayn said that Rhea was in distress, and Seteth agreed enough to command an army into a burning forest. Edelgard wanted to destroy the church, cutting off the head was an excellent way to start, and had been missing well before Rhea's signal. "...Maybe we'll find them with the knights."
Dorothea shot a glance his way. "Why do you say that?"
Because she had a motive, might have an opportunity, and as for the method… "Just a feeling. I don't know." Wouldn't do much good to jump to conclusions. Claude cleared his throat. "Anyway, does anyone have any suggestions on how to get out of Garreg Mach for our rescue mission? The sentries are still watching the entrance. They're not going to just let us walk out the gate, no matter how much Dimitri and I throw our titles around."
Ingrid frowned. "It's also a long march from the gate to the forest. We need a way to cut down our time."
"Well we could…" Ignatz chewed his lip. "Maybe our magic users could teleport us? I know it would take a lot of magic…"
"Too much magic." Lindhardt and Lysithea answered.
Caspar growled. "Then how do we-"
"Perhaps," A new voice entered the conversation. Claude swiveled to see a young man with lavender hair and a gray uniform leaning against a barrel. On his finger, a ring glowed with the burning bright orange of a Relic. "My friends and I can be of some assistance."
Thales coughed. His barrier spell was holding, barely. Smoke and dust clouded everything.
"Report!" He shouted. "Where is the Fell Star?"
"She is untouched, Lord Thales." Odesse called back. The haze of dust was lifting, pushed by gentle wind spells. The Fell Star had nary a scratch on her, and the other mages' shields had proven effective enough to withstand Seiros' attack. The ritual could still be performed to maximum efficiency. "As for Seiros…"
The last of the dust was pushed away from the clearing. The archbishop had collapsed on the ground. A mage named Ganidus reached out to check her pulse. "Alive. Barely."
"The brute-king has been defeated, Lord Thales." One of the mages said as everyone lowered their barriers. "His plot is of no use to us. How should we procee-"
A burning red blade burst out of the darkness, ripping through the offending mage's chest. In another jerked motion, the blade was ripped out of the woman's chest.
Thales peered into the darkness. The sign of The Crest of Flames was burning, swelling. Thales sent a simple illumination spell towards the sigil.
Nemesis stood, or perhaps refused to fall. Burns covered his body, blasts of soot framing what remained of his clothing. But the Crest of Flames burnt bright. His wounds were closing. Fading. As if they had never been. The machines told of the Crest's power to steal other's time of life, but to see it in person…
The man was drawing deep ragged breaths, his lungs choking, strangling the air he took from the world. The brute was too stubborn to die, it seemed. But it wasn't enough. The Crest was fading. The king would soon be dead. Moving his body could prove fatal in the state he was in, and teleporting a thrall into this would take precious time they might not have.
"Ganidus." Thales shouted.
The man, along with all of the other mages, had thrown up their shields again. "Y-yes, L-lord Thales, what-"
Thales snapped his fingers, and Ganidus' barrier faded. "Thank you for your sacrifice."
The man didn't have time to scream before Nemesis' blade extended through the air and cut off his head. More wounds receded. Enough for the king to take a step forward. A gurgling cough dropped from his throat.
"That should be enough." Thales sniffed. "Myson. Odesse. Finish the job."
The two men's fright was obvious even behind the masks.
"With magic." Thales raised his hand. "Or do you want me to?"
They rushed to obey. Healing spells danced across Nemesis' skin, repairing what they could. Nemesis coughed, and stood straighter.
"We must retreat, King Nemesis. The knights will have seen the archbishop's display, and should be along shortly. We have our prizes, and-"
"No."
Thales paused. Nemesis was recovering quickly. Astonishingly so. "I beg your pardon?"
"We're staying." Nemesis growled out.
The other mages looked amongst each other. Thales cleared his throat. "Why?"
"Because, " Nemesis coughed. " If you can teleport us away, that means you can teleport your army. " He rolled his neck back. " It means we can fight the knights when they're desperate and stupid. " He flexed his hand, slowly. "Cichol will be leading the charge. Cethleann won't be far behind. We can cut off the head of the snake here."
Thales' chewed on his lip. "And your wounds?"
"I heal quickly. The knight's corpses will take care of any aches and pains."
The blood of the two Agarthans was wafting through the air. Thales sniffed. "The losses my army will suffer?"
"Let's end this back and forth right here." Nemesis cracked his neck. "You've plotted. Schemed. Greased palms just to get them in stabbing range. Just like your ancestors did. Back then, I took one shot, one risk, and delivered everything your forefathers ever wanted." His fist beat against his chest. "I took another and brought the Nabataen's civilization tumbling down."
Thales' eyes narrowed. He could sense a hunger beginning to form in the minds of his mages. In his own. Blindly rushing to the king's position could prove risky. Not to mention-
"-amn you! Damn you all" Someone was shouting? Pounding on a barrier. Who could still be-
Thales blinked. "Ah. Edelgard." His spell was still intact. The girl's face was twisted into that furious visage he'd last seen in his laboratory those years ago. He might as well shut her up. "What do you want? The adults are talking."
"This wasn't what you promised! What either of you promised!" She screamed. "You said that you were going to send my teacher into a prison, not carve her body like a slaughtered pig!"
Thales opened his mouth. Nemesis stepped in front of him. "Plans change."
Thales bit his tongue and Edelgard's expression smoldered. "You lied to me. You used me. You only cared about power, not about changing the world!"
"On the contrary. I am more than happy start your war. " Nemesis chortled. " I welcome it. I'll even let you lead your empire."
Edelgard's lip curled. "As your footstool."
Nemesis stretched out his arm. "Get my fingers. The nerves are singed. " He told Myson. His red eyes darted back to Edelgard. " If I give you what you want, what does it matter what I call you?"
"You haven't given me anything." Edelgard hissed. "You used me to get to Byleth."
"I gave you a choice. Side with us, or not. Kill Byleth where she slept, or bring her here. " Nemesis leaned down to look Edelgard in the eye. " And you chose wisely. " His gave a snort of laughter. " I must commend you on bringing Seiros along with you. I'm not sure how you managed that, but now we both have what we want."
Edelgard's brow furrowed. "I didn't bring Rhea here." Her eyes widened. "You've lived through Byleth's lifetimes. That must mean you were able to manipulate her into following me, you must have had mages call down the lightning-"
"Oh? " Nemesis began to chuckle. " You didn't? Seiros just came here on her own? Thales, you didn't…"
"No, King Nemesis."
His guffaw expanded into peeling, deafening laughter. Edelgard flinched back. "All like that, and everything just falls into place! " Nemesis clutched his knees, weezing. " No, little princess. I didn't plan any of this. Just as I told Seiros, throughout all my lifetimes, I have been confined to an agonizing waking nightmare inside an infernal metal cage."
The laughter stopped, and Nemesis looked at Edelgard coldly. "This isn't the first time I've tried to ask you for help. Nor the first time i've gotten you to attack Byleth. " A grin slowly split his face. " But it is the first time it's worked. " He raised his fingers, one at a time. " Through the years, I've attacked Garreg Mach. I've overthrown your father. Sent bandits on warpaths across the land. Poisoned your wells. And so much more. " He looked towards Byleth. " They all end with her cutting me down."
"But…" Thales' stroked his beard. Nemesis was describing a move of desperation. He couldn't possibly… "This worked? Hoping that Edelgard would deliver us to victory?"
Nemesis' voice was giddy. "I meant what I said, princess. I didn't expect you to deliver Byleth to me so quickly, if at all. I didn't expect Seiros to arrive. But when it did…"
Edelgard was sputtering. "You-All this…the forest fire…It was just-"
"When you can keep reliving the same events over and over, fortune has to smile on you once." Nemesis giggled. "I am a man of my word. You will be richly rewarded for this. Just as I told you. I will start your war and overthrow the church of Seiros. Just as I told you. And afterwards, I will let you build the world you want to see, just as I told you." Nemesis' pale teeth gleamed. "For however many years you have left."
He turned to Thales. "Run away now, content with your prizes. Cichol will make himself and Cethleann disappear, but not before destroying this shrine. We won't be able to harvest their bones at full power without it. Seiros we can keep weakend for years as you rebild, but Byleth will have to be killed. " His fingers rapt against his red blade. " Two Nabateans will disappear, ready to attack us from the shadows. Three sets of fully powered bones, gone. And all because you were too afraid to commit."
Nemesis' eyes swept over Thales and the other Agarthans. "Fate has been on our side this night, and it will not abandon us yet. All we need to do is keep pushing. Keep reaching. And everything you ever wanted will be ours."
All eyes were on Thales. The want, the desperation, the avarice was tangible. Any questions of how ephemeral their lives were to Nemesis had vanished. But hoofbeats were echoing through the forest, above the crackle of flames. It wouldn't be long until the knights arrived. "...Seiros' forces approach. Our barriers are strong, but If the rite is interrupted-"
"Cichol will already be trying to destroy the altar. The visual will make him stupid with desperation." Nemesis scoffed. "If things do go wrong, we can just teleport away."
"Yes…yes, you are right." Thales held his breath. Nemesis did know how to sell to his audience. "Mages of Agartha! Prepare yourselves! The ritual will be completed tonight!"
"One more thing. " Nemesis pointed to Edelgard and Seiros. " Put those two away. We only need one target for Cichol. No need to put our other prizes in harm's way."
Thales nodded. "Narios. Teleport them."
The barrier spell was almost erected around the altar. Once completed, it would take a score of mages' undivided attention to break. The Titanus were being teleported in and taking position, ready to cut through the knight's ranks. Edelgard sat in her cage, defeated. Narios' incantation was prepared to teleport both their prisoners far away, where the knights would never reach. This moment was the happiest in Thales' long life.
In the next, a thunderous gallup burst into the clearing, and Narios' head had fallen from her shoulders. a pale scythe gleaming.
The Death Knight had arrived.
As always, thanks to Dox for beta reading!
Thanks for waiting a bit longer than usual, everyone. Teleportation is tricky to write around.
The battle of Garreg Mach is starting a few months early, and the players are a bit different, but I'll work to make it just as exciting. Until next time, please share your thoughts!
