The Dawn of Silver Snow.
Story Summary: Byleth, a girl with no heartbeat and Daughter of Jeralt, a mercenary, finds that Sothis has Awakened inside of her. Soon changes begin to occur to Byleth while Sothis, the Spirit who guides Byleth, remembers everything of her Past life. Will the World be Ready for the Goddess to walk with the living once again? Who are the mysterious Argathians? This is a Rewritten Silver Snow route with a couple of significant twists.
Chapter Summary: After a conversation with Sothis, Byleth runs to talk with Seteth, who is forced to take her Zanado after a noticeable change occurs to Byleth.
Chapter 5: To Zanado
Day 1 Harpstring Moon
In honour of the saints whose births or deaths took place under this moon, the people perform music once beloved by those divine beings. Whether by harp, by flute, or by voice alone, joyous melodies are shared between farmers as they sew their seeds across the vast plains of Tailtean and Gronder.
Early Morning; Byleth's room
It was the early morning hours of the day; it was the time of the morning when the sun had not risen yet, but the morning star was beginning to rise in the sky. Everyone in the monastery was still asleep except the night patrol. However, Byleth was in her bed, eyes wide open and didn't sleep all night. Mostly because Byleth has been scratching her arms, tossing and turning in bed. Eventually, Byleth got up, covering her eyes with her hands to cover her tears and started to cry."
'My Little Dragon, what's wrong?' asked Sothis while looking at Byleth and rubbing her back.
'Sothis a lot is happening, I don't know what to impose on anyone, but I am confused. I keep on seeing that same vision every night about That that battle every single day. It is making me curious about what is the red canyon.' responded Byleth
'Well, to fully understand what happened there, you need to understand that we are the same. I am the Goddess Sothis; we are both connected because I am you, and you are me. Well, you are more like a reincarnation of me, and when the time comes, we will merge but not yet. But that does mean because I am the progenitor goddess, so are you. are you following so far?' said Sothis
'Kind of. Does that mean we share memories and power, and why do you call me little dragon?' asked Byleth
'Yes, that vision you constantly see in your sleep is a past event of mine. See, long I descended from the heavens, I was given this realm and created a race of dragons called Nabateans. They peacefully coexisted with the human nations of the time, and I shared as much knowledge to help them further their technology and magic. But one of the nations known as Agarthia became jealous of the Nabateans. By this point, Between the Nabatean cities of Zanado, Abyss, and Aiell had around five million inhabitants. And there was a bit of a Nobility forming in each city Zanado was one further along than Abyss, and Abyss was further along than Aiell. Eventually, A great war happened, and Agarthia united the continent under them but Jealously proved too much. They declared war to wipe out the Nabateans from their Capitol City of Shamballa; they assembled a massive army and attacked Aiell, a massive walled city. And they began to use my gifts for war against my children. Aiell was destroyed. Its inhabitants were massacred by a dark kind of magic where they fired Javelins of light at Aiell. At This point, I was furious and used my Dragon form to punish the Argathians. For several years from that point, the sun barely showed its face, it was a never-ending winter, and then I restored the broken land. however, due to the draining of my power, a small valley in Aiell was not able to be restored, and till this day, it is a valley of heat, fire, and brimstone.' Replied Sothis
'So that is why Grandma Serios wants me to hide my ears,' said Byleth.
'Byleth, my little dragon, there will be a point where that is going to be impossible.' responded Sothis
'What do you mean?' asked Byleth
'Simple, your ears will be as pointed as mine,' Replied Sothis.
'Now, back to the story, after that restoration, I had to rest to restore my power, but that was going to be my downfall. See, to restore my power, I needed to sleep for an extended period of time. So, from Shambala, the Argathians convinced a bandit called Nemesis and his eleven followers to kill me. In the hours of the night, they killed me and used my spine to make the Sword of the creator, and he proceeded to drink my blood and eat my remains. He then used the Sword to Kill every Nabatean in Zanado; it is for this very reason that it is called the Red Canyon. The only Survivors of the genocide and the only survivors were Indech, Macuil, Cichol, Cethlean, Serios, Noa, Timotheos, Chevalier, Aubin, Anna, and Sitri. Some were turned into weapons called heroes relics. Many were killed and eaten; they turned into demonic beasts, a fate worse than death. Nobody but us knows that these weapons are cursed. Anyone who uses a weapon made from my children's bones will suffer greatly reduced lifespans. Those who don't have the crest will turn into demonic beasts.' said Sothis 'there may be others who survived. However, I am not fully aware that they did.'
'Is there a way to bring the race back from the brink' asked Byleth as her eyes turned into a reptilian like slits.
'Only those who were turned into the so heroes' relics can be restored to life with are powered long as the crest stone which is their heart is intact. Now, little dragon, it is time to wake up and talk to Cichol. Your eyes have some well-defined slits in them. He will take you to Zanado.' said Sothis. 'This is your first step in your transformation to Nabataean adulthood, my little dragon; this is your first shift cycle. Be calm and let the others help you.'
Garg Mach 3rd floor Seteth's room
The half-crescent moon was now starting to set over the horizon, and the sun's rays were beginning to appear over the horizon. In between, they were the morning star inside Seteth and Flayn's room on the third floor of the monastery. Like most at the monastery, they were still sleeping. Inside the room was a hallway that had tree doors connecting them. The door at the far end was labelled as a bathroom, the first door to the right was labelled Flayns room, and the middle door was labelled Seteth's room. Outside the front door was Byleth at this point. While scratching her right arm, ivory and pink coloured scales were forming underneath her skin. Byleth put her right hand in a fist and knocked on the door repeatedly and loudly so she could be sure she woke someone up. Flayn, who was a light sleeper, came running to the door and opened it.
"Byleth, what i..." started Flayn, but she stopped mid-sentence when she saw Byleth's eyes and then muttered under her breath, "…Sothis help us."
Flayn then rushed Byleth inside and slammed the door, locking it "wait here," she instructed Byleth as she ran over to her father's room while yelling, "DAD! WAKE UP! We have a Serious problem here!"
"Cethlean, this better be import..." Seteth yelled, yawning, half-asleep and walking toward the entrance but was stopped mid-sentence when he looked directly at Byleth's face.
"Byleth, I need to take you to a place called Zanado; Cethlean will be with us during the trip. Your father will need to take over teaching your classes until you get back. I will explain when we are there." said Seteth. "But first, we need to Serios quarters and get Jeralt and explain the situation."
Zanado
a few days earlier,
Earlier in the Red Canyon, there are two people; one is the son of the bandit leader from a few moons ago. His name is Oscar; the other was a female in thick red and black Armour with silver reinforcement along the shoulder and waist. And a mask with a long feather-length tail coming out of the top of the mask, covering her face. She is known as the Flame Empress.
"What is this nonsense?! All we were told was to kill as many noble pipsqueaks as possible! No one said anything about the Knights of damned Seiros being on our Damn trail!" yelled Oscar at the Flame Empress.
"You have proven yourself worthless and distracted by something so trivial. I had hoped you would achieve your goal despite the setback. But now, a child of the Knights' former captain is in play. How interesting." replied the Flame Empress
"Hey, this isn't what we agreed to!" yelled Oscar
"Hiring a mercenary as a professor. What was that woman thinking?" said the Flame Empress.
"Are you listening to me?! How do we finish this?!" asked Oscar
"You die, just like your father." replied the Flame Empress
"Wh– What?" asked Oscar, very confused
"Underestimating the Knights was an amateur mistake. One you will all pay for. The road to eternal torment awaits for you all. Now I must locate your replacements..." said the Flame Empress, who now disappeared in a blinding flash of red light
"Wait! Get back here! Damn you!" yelled Oscar
Garg Mach Monastery
Present Day, Rhea's Quarters
In Rhea's Quarters, Flayn, Rhea, and Byleth were all seated on a chair in around a circular table. At this point, Byleth was scratching her right arm heavily. Her skin on her right arm was beginning to become translucent, allowing her ivory and pink-coloured scales to shine through her skin. Then all of a sudden, the front door slams open, and Jeralt comes running in and looks directly at Byleth.
"Byleth, what happened to your eyes?" asked Jeralt kneeling down and putting his hand on her shoulder.
"I am sorry, dad," replied Byleth crying.
"That is not our only concern right now, Jeralt. In parts of her skin, there are Ivory and Pink coloured Scales forming. She came to my room earlier when I was still asleep with slits in her eyes and scales starting to form when I went to get Jeralt; all of her skin was still dominant; now, in parts of her arm, her scales are starting to shine through." said Seteth, who sighed and looked down onto the ground. "Cethlean was not that different, and no offence Serios I know you had a child, but I should have known better has than only one with a young Nabatean child."
"Cichol, don't beat yourself up about it; we have to adapt and overcome. Proceed with your plan, take Cethlean and Byleth to Zanado, and while you are there, introduce Byleth to Noa, Timotheos, Chevalier, Aubin, and Anna. That is the safest place for Byleth right now, and Jeralt will teach Byleth's class for the time being. The excuse will be that Byleth has a contagious illness, and we are sending her off to get better. Get to Zanado as soon as possible." said Rhea.
"Will Byleth be okay, like what the hell is going on, Rhea!" demanded Jeralt
"Jeralt as a parent, I fully understand your concern, however, do not be alarmed as this is natural for all Nabateans. Byleth is going through her first shift cycle," replied Rhea. "So, for Nabateans, there are phases when growing up where our dragon form begins to take shape. These occur in several cycles called shift cycles. Nothing bad or dangerous is happening. It is she is on her journey to obtain her dragon form."
"Dad, don't be mad. I am okay. I know you are trying to protect me, but other than you, they have been the only ones who have been nice to me. They are my family too. They have shown me that I no longer have to be the Ashen Demon, a mercenary living under your shadow, but my own person with my path. I know you don't trust them, but can you calm down for my sake," stated Byleth.
"Okay, Byleth, I will," replied Jeralt. "You know, Lady Rhea, this would have been better if you would have told me in our last conversation. And how long do these shift cycles last? and how many are there?"
"They can last anywhere from a few days to a few moons, Cethlean had two, but each lasted three moons," answered Seteth, "but what is the most important thing now is that we get Byleth to safety. We must be off before anyone wakes up. Cethlean, get my Wyvern and your Pegasus ready; I will get Byleth ready so nobody sees her like this."
Officers Academy, Black Eagles Class
Later that day
Jeralt was in the front of the class, waiting for the walk-in. The first to walk in was Edelgard and Hubert. Then Caspar, Petra, and Bernadetta. Next, Dorothea, Lindhart, and Ferdinand walked into the class.
"Everyone, listen up! I am Instructor Jeralt," yelled Jeralt. "Byleth is very sick right now and has gone to see a doctor with Seteth and Flayn; in the meantime, I am going to be teaching your class. Don't worry, and I know exactly where Byleth sat yall, so don't play games with me, and word of warning, Byleth is lenient compared to me."
"Let the lesson begin; Today's lesson is about dodging and how to combat cavalry correctly. you will figure out what I mean by dodging later." Jeralt, surveying the classroom, said, "Okay, everyone, grab your quills and ink and take notes."
back in Zanado
Byleth, Flayn, and Seteth were flying over what once was Zanado, a very large city that was mostly in ruins. Large buildings were toppled on its side. What was once bridges were now a large pile of stone. Small houses were left to only their foundations and a pile of brick. Statues were either partially destroyed or left to their foundations. Flayn was on her Pegasus and Seteth, and Byleth was the same Wyvern. Byleth was enjoying the flight. She felt a sense of power coming from flying and wondered what flying would be like. Flayn, at this point, looked down and saw a horde of bandits near the entrance to the former city.
'Ah, so my little dragon is feeling a sense of power and wants to fly. It's only natural, of course, it draconic instincts after all' giggled Sothis.
"dad," shouted Flayn, pointing towards a large group of bandits they were flying well over "bandits near the entrance and by Sothis there, sure is a lot of them, let us land somewhere that can only be reached by flying; that way, that way we can make sure Byleth is the safest she as can be."
"Good plan. I believe Anna may be in one of those places as well with her children, of course," replied Seteth. "I keep on forgetting how vast this city is; unfortunately, it is largely abandoned.
'Unfortunately, I know why,' thought Byleth.
'Don't worry; soon, you will be powerful enough to restore something like this. With each passing day, you are getting stronger, and your magical abilities are growing exponentially. Just word of warning, don't use too much, or you will end up sleeping to recover,' said Sothis
"There," shouted Flayn, pointing to the ground where there were three humanoid-shaped beings from but complicated to make out a good description from as high up as they were in the air, "there is Anna and is that Uncle Indech with Aubin? What has got."
"I wonder what has got Indech out of his lake. Is he still looking for Demeter after all these years" replied Seteth.
When the trio landed, the three beings appeared more clearly first being had dark spikey forest green hair, light leather armour that was brown and covered his left shoulder, elbow pads on both his elbows. His breastplate was black and had various pockets clipped into it. Protecting his bottom were black boots, and over the boots were armoured trousers that were tucked into the breastplate. The man has a thick bushy beard and visible pointed ears nearly at the halfway point between Byleths ears and Sothis ears. He had an impressive golden bow on his back with the Crest of Indech, the sign of the water dragon on the handle, and more arrows than anyone could physically count for the bow. His name is Indech.
The person was standing across from Indech, and he had smooth forest green hair that was long enough to cover his ears completely; he was wearing purple Armour with a single white stripe. The breastplate was reinforced with straps to make it lighter, and while the material is more robust. On the shoulders were purple pauldrons with a thin white strap going through them. He was wearing baggy trousers tucked into purple shin guards that went up past his knee. On his arms were purple gauntlets with a shield bearing the crest of Aubin. The sign of the ice dragon in his left hand. He had a bright shining sword on his belt that had the range of Aubin on the handle. His name was Aubin.
Then next was a woman with long hair that reached her lower back. It was tied up in a ponytail, which clearly showed her pointed ears. It was not as sharp outwards as Byleth's or Indech's but still noticeably pointed; she was wearing pink shin guards with a thick vertical yellow stripe on the centre of both shin guards. In addition, she was wearing a brown leather belt to reinforce the armour breastplate, which was made from steel, with the same features as her shin guards. Finally, leather gauntlets were reinforced with steel strips on her arm. Her name was Anna.
"Well, Well, well...look who we have here," said Indech with a laugh "how are you, little brother."
"Uncle Indech!" yelled Flayn as she rushed towards Indech
"Cethlean, your awake it's good to see you again; the last time I saw you was during your restorative slumber," replied Indech as he hugged Flayn, "but who is this? I never thought you would have another child and another one at that. She smells more of serios than of you."
"Everyone, this is Byleth; she is the daughter of Sitri, but unfortunately, Sitri is no longer with us. I brought her here for the simple reason that she is currently going through a shift cycle. I brought her here because at the current moment. She is not entirely safe at the monastery in her current state," Said Seteth.
"That explains the blue hair and slits in her eyes as well as the premature scales, first shift cycle, I take it," said Indech.
Byleth, at this point, began to scratch herself. Only to have her hands pulled out of that motion by Seteth.
"Byleth last thing you want to do is scratch yourself. It will make you hurt more and make the itchiness get worse. Trust me, let us all help you get through this." said Anna.
"Byleth, remember when you told me the other day that I was the first to show you kindness other than your father and that you could not communicate with other kids your age? Well, this is a chance to help you and share with others of your kind and maybe make some new friends while you are at it. So, allow us to help you, but you will have to try." said Flayn
"My other kids should be here soon. Let me introduce you to them. I am Anna, by the way," said Anna
"And I am Indech. I will not be here for long because I need to get Macuil for him to help you. He is great with this kind of stuff." said Indech
"Names Aubin, a pleasure to meet you," said Aubin
"It's nice to meet you all," said Byleth bowing her head down.
Black Eagles Classroom
"Ferdinand, if you have a battalion of lancers and is facing a battalion of cavaliers, how do you fight the mounted units and why?" asked Jeralt
"You call for other cavalry units to help you," replied Ferdinand
"Wrong!" yelled Jeralt as he Through a ball at Ferdinand with all of his strength
"Ouch, that hurt," complained Ferdinand
"Well, if you knew how to dodge, then it wouldn't hurt much, now would it? In fact, I am almost certain that it will not hurt at all." Replied Jeralt. "Edelgard, you answer the question I just asked Ferdinand."
"Well, you hold the line and have the Lancers stick their lances pointed towards the Calvary charge. The reason for this is because Horses will not charge into a line of lances."
"Correct," said Jeralt as he proceeded to do the same, but this time with a smaller ball, and it just hit Edelgard.
"Instructor, this is absurd. You hurt Lady Edelgard." Yelled Hubert standing up with both arms on the table.
"Hubert von Vestra, one, you are interrupting my class; two, this is an officer's academy; you are here to learn how to fight if you can't take a hit from a ball, then you have no business being here, three you all have it lucky I used rocks with Byleth, and I started her with dodging exercises at five then I moved to bricks at six then daggers at seven. I am only using rubber which does not hurt now, sit down, and you're going to write a seven-thousand-page essay on why you should not interrupt my class starting now," yelled Jeralt. "That means everyone! NOW! I will continue throwing these balls randomly as you, and your job is to pay attention and dodge."
back in Zanado
Byleth was now in a house with Seteth, Flayn, Indech, Anna, Aubin, Timotheos, Noa, and Chevalier. They were eating some Red wolf. Byleth, both arms at this point, were completely covered in ivory and pink coloured scales of various sizes, yet they still were premature and hadn't exactly formed a distinct pattern, and they were shining through her skin on both arms. Byleth was beginning to enjoy being around others who actually understood her. However, the urge to itch was starting to bug her and eventually, she couldn't ignore it anymore and started scratching again.
"Byleth, if you don't stop now, I will do to you what I did to Cethlean and tie your hands together so you can't scratch yourself again!" yelled Seteth.
Timotheos is a Female with dark skin and lime green hair that went down to her shoulders and was messy; her ears were completely covered. She was wearing a skirt and a crop top that showed her belly button. Noa is Anna's youngest daughter wearing a long skirt, short lime green hair with a purple headband around, keeping her hair in place, her ears were pointed and stuck out of her hair. Chevalier was Anna's firstborn son. He was wearing an unzipped jacket with no shirt underneath, making his muscles visible to everyone, his long Crocodile green hair covering his ears.
"So, Byleth want to train later? I heard you are really good with a sword?" asked Aubin.
"Sure, I don't see why not. After all, I am stuck here with you all, although that is turning out to be a good thing." Responded Byleth
"Hey, maybe I can teach you some spells." Said, Noa
"Coco, must you always think about showing off your magic to everyone we meet," said Timotheos
"Byleth, your transformation is going a bit faster than Cethlean's, but I am going to let you know that you still have a long way to go, so enjoy your time with the others. Cethlean and I will be here to help you make you as comfortable as possible we are not here to hurt you but to help you," said Seteth
"Thank you, Uncle; this is my first time without my father, and I am scared. This is the first time that I am communicating with others and enjoying it, but above all, I am terrified of this process. This is very new to me," said Byleth
"For me, it was a terrifying experience, and I understand how you feel, but you at least have others around you who have experienced the same thing that you're going through. Now we understand how terrifying and painful it can be," said Flayn
To be Continued
A/N: This chapter is an essential chapter for the rest of the story.
A/N #2: This chapter is late because of a recent move I did
A/N #3: More cannon divergence in this chapter
A/N #4 Chapter 5 Rewrite complete
A/N #5 join the fanfiction treehouse discord where we can talk about this fic and others talk with other authors, improve your writing with the writing resources there or just over all just hang out. The link is here /9XG3U7a