Chapter 4

Day 22 of the Blue Sea Moon, Imperial Year 1180

Prince Dimitri walked alongside his classmate Ashe on the way to the dining hall after a hard two-hour training season. Perhaps they should have cleaned off before going to a public space, but it was already quite late at night, so it was unlikely to be too crowded.

Ashe breathed laboriously as he tried to keep up with his companion. "I can't thank you enough for being willing to train with me, Your Highn... Dimitri... No, wait-."

"Ashe..." the prince sighed. "We've already discussed this. I prefer being called 'Dimitri', but if you feel it is important to show respect, 'Your Highness' is still acceptable."

"Right, of course. I promise that will be the last time! Anyways, Your Highness, I apologize for taking up your time for this. I know being leader of our house keeps you busy."

"Please, I did not agree to this out of any sense of obligation. I need my training too, Ashe. And this has been a most productive experience."

Ashe shook his head. "There's no need for pity. Perhaps if you were training against Felix or Sylvain, but I'm a sorry opponent. My skills with the blade are quite limited, which is why I am trying so hard to work on them."

Dimitri thought back with amusement on a similar memory where Felix actually filled the same role Ashe now played. "You underestimate yourself, Ashe. You fought very well. Besides, my power is only the result of my Crest. Yours comes through determination and valor. And that isn't even going into all the ways that your mental fortitude is far superior."

"What do you mean by that, Your Highness? You have always been the very example of courage."

"I..." Dimitri stopped himself short. The less he dwelt on his darker impulses, the better. "Never mind. It is nothing. But the evidence of your stronger will is quite clear. You were able to convince Dedue to afford me a moment of reprieve from his presence. That is an accomplishment I've rarely had success with."

"Perhaps so," Ashe said with chuckle.

"Now enough of this talking so we can eat. I care little about what is on the menu, but I'm absolutely famished. Aren't you?"

This was said just as they entered the dining hall. However, they were halted by someone sitting at a nearby table before they could approach the main counter.

"Your Highness! Perfect timing!" Sylvain announced.

Dimitri quickly surveyed the situation. Felix, Ingrid, and Sylvain sat together in a group. Felix's arms were crossed, while Ingrid's face was flushed red with frustration.

"We've been discussing the role of a knight," Ingrid explained. "Is a knight bound by honor to die for a lord or that lord's cause, even in a fight that will inevitably end in death and failure for both the knight and the lord? I say yes, but Felix disagrees."

Felix grumbled, "It's all nonsense. The knight has every right to call the lord out on his foolishness. If the lord won't listen, he can go fight the battle himself."

"It would seem that Sylvain will already be the deciding vote," Dimitri pointed out.

"Me? Are you kidding?" Sylvain balked. "Whoever I side against is going to kill me. But they'll be nice to you. Or at least Felix won't be any worse than usual."

"Well, if I must answer... it seems likely that you imagine a situation where I am the lord. In which case, no. It is the duty of the knight to serve the lord's interests as best as possible. If I give a reckless command, averting the failure would be the best outcome for me, not the knight blindly following the order."

Sylvain seemed tickled by the answer. "Would you look at that. It must feel good to have Faerghus's future king on your side, Felix."

"Hmph. It doesn't," Felix grumbled.

Ingrid shook her head. "Of course, I would also advise that the knight first try to convince the lord of the mistake before following the command. Though I must disagree with your current response, Your Highness, I speak more generally. Would you say there is never a time when such a course is appropriate?"

Dimitri raised a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Well... I suppose I would not go so far with that interpretation. I don't know if I would use the words 'honor' or 'causes' to describe it, though... perhaps a 'debt'? Or 'responsibility'? Yes... responsibility. I would never ask it of someone else, but there may come a moment when someone owes another their life. And that responsibility demands action, even if it goes against this person's wishes or beliefs and will led to their destruction. At least, that is what I believe."

"And there's the answer I've been waiting on," Felix mocked. "You shouldn't have kept us waiting with your fake theatrics."

Sylvain muttered, "Now I'm just confused what your answer is. Oh, Ashe, maybe you can help?" It was only then that Sylvain noticed the distant look that had overcome Ashe's pale face. "Actually, forget I said anything... You don't have to answer that."

The discussion had likely reminded Ashe of his adopted father Lonato. Only three weeks earlier, Lonato had led a doomed uprising against the Church of Seiros. He had been embittered against the church ever since the execution of his son Christophe for his alleged role in the Tragedy of Duscur on evidence that was not made public. In a strange twist of fate, the Black Eagles were personally responsible for killing Lonato after he launched a surprise attack on the class, which had only planned to assist the Knights of Seiros in a supporting capacity. Like the knight is the parable, Lonato's rebellion had no chance of success. Dimitri did not know for certain what prompted his friends' conversation, but it likely started on the topic of Lonato.

"No, it's alright..." Ashe said, though he visibly struggled. "I'm not sure if I'll ever fully understand what caused Lonato to make the decisions he chose, but I know he lived true to his beliefs. I still want to do the same. Even now. Even if it hurts..."

Sensing Ashe's anguish, Ingrid stood from her chair and grabbed his hand. "I'll stand with you."

Dimitri nodded his support. "Yes. We cannot replace your father, but I still hope we can be a family to you… if you do not find the comparison offensive."

Ashe shook his head, wiping a tear away with his free hand. "It's not offensive at all, Your Highness. I am actually grateful to hear it. I know we'll all go our separate ways when we graduate… but can we promise to keep in touch? I hope we can all continue to look out for each other."

"That sounds like a great plan," Sylvain agreed. "What do you think, Felix?"

Felix objected to being called out, but even he knew not to offend Ashe at his time of greatest need. "Sure. I will."

Dimitri emphatically put a hand on his chest. "You have my solemn word, Ashe. And a Prince of Faerghus never goes back on his word."

Requiem for the Lost - Day 1 of the Harpstring Moon, Imperial Year 1186

The setting of the dining hall had blurred away, but Dimitri remained with Felix, Sylvain, and Ingrid. Ashe was no longer to be found.

"And now you've finally done it," Felix snarled. "You're not just a boar- you're a blind one. You've slaughtered all of your friends and left the emperor alive."

"He's right," Ingrid added. "I pledged my service to you because I believed that even after everything, you still had the heart of the prince I grew up with. The one who told me not to throw my life away for a noble end. I suppose you were right… in a way. My end was far from noble."

Dimitri shook his head vehemently. "No, it's not like that! We had to fight, don't you see? For our king, for Glenn, and everyone else that woman trampled on!"

"What of my people? You swore to protect us. To restore us."

Dimitri turned to face Dedue in surprise, unaware of his presence. Though he feverishly defended himself against Ingrid and Felix, the prince's face fell under the weight of his guilt for Duscur. "Dedue... I'm sorry. But to do that, we first needed peace. And there could be none as long as she lived."

Felix snorted harshly. "The same could be said for you. What champion of peace murders chil-"

"Soldiers, they were sol-"

"Children!" Felix insisted. "Those who wanted nothing of war! And even the Alliance army! If you had cooperated with them, we could have soundly crushed Edelgard."

Sylvain finally spoke up. "That's true. Or even if you showed a little patience, we could have seen the professor again and teamed up with her. Remember how beautiful she was, Dimitri?"

"Sylvain..."

"Oh, sorry your Highness!" Sylvain laughed. His smile then vanished. "Though I guess it doesn't really matter, does it? We're all dead now. Thanks to you, that is. We all suffered because of the Empire, but you made the whole conflict about you and your vendetta. You're an entitled brat and deserve whatever is coming to you."

Ingrid nodded solemnly. "I agree. Not only have you abdicated your responsibility as heir to our kingdom, but you have surrendered your own humanity. No punishment could ever match the severity of your sins."

Dimitri had curled up and buried his face behind his arms by this point. "Stop it, please! Leave me be! I did it all for them! How can I keep fighting when-"

"Dimitri, calm down, please! Can you even hear me?"

This voice was a new one, one that Dimitri had nearly forgotten. He gazed up to see Claude crouched before him. The former leader of the Golden Deer then shook him by the shoulders.

"Of course I can," Dimitri muttered in response. It was not the custom of the ghosts to physically assault him, so he was forced to question his current experience. After blinking, the environment around him took on more form. After another blink, the other figures disappeared, while Claude remained. This man still remained a specter, with his face just barely discernible against the moonlight. "... So, you're alive, aren't you?"

"Yes," Claude exhaled with relief. "We both are. But please, that might all change if you don't keep your voice down."

Dimitri groaned as he pulled himself into a more comfortable position with his back leaning against what felt like a wall of dirt. A pain dug into the back of his right shoulder, but he ignored it. Instead, he took the time to survey his surroundings. Nighttime obscured his vision, but it was clear that he and Claude were resting in a forest much like the one the Kingdom army had encamped in prior to the battle. A rickety cart with a broken wheel was positioned nearby. Above his head was a tangled umbrella of roots that protruded from the side of a slope. Based off a bubbling sound, he inferred that they were resting on the bank of a brook. Its noise had likely amplified the turmoil of his mind.

Given the secluded setting and Claude's warning, it was clear that the Alliance's leader feared being found. Other than that, however, Dimitri was quite confused about how he arrived in his current situation. "Where are we?" he asked.

"Still in Bergliez Territory, just northeast of Gronder. Getting you here wasn't the easiest, despite having help part of the way. Let's just say that I'm glad you're awake now."

"Is Edelgard dead?"

"No, I don't think so. We lost, Dimitri. I doubt the imperial army will ever be the same after the beating it took, but they still came out ahead of us. I was lucky enough to find you unconscious on the battlefield before her soldiers got to you. I don't know if it was that shoulder injury or just pure exhaustion that put you down."

Dimitri's memory of his final stand was hazy at best. He recalled watching Edelgard walk away in the distance, with a horde of her mindless supporters blocking his path there. He cut many of them down, and then… Nothing. He would have to rely on Claude's account for the rest.

"And where do you plan on taking me?" Dimitri asked perfunctorily.

"Listen. My first priority was getting you out of harm's way. I would be happy for you to join me on my next path, but the decision of what you do next is yours alone."

"Where are you going?"

For some reason, Claude hesitated with this answer. "... Home. It's a long journey, and if I'm being honest, I'm not sure what's going to greet me there."

"I won't be joining you."

"So you know what you intend to do?"

"Nothing has changed. I must have Edelgard's head. I will regroup with what remains of my army."

Claude's face fell. "That will be easier said than done. What little remained of both of our armies was sent scattering when the emperor set a pack of demonic beasts on us. I think most of those who did survive were from the Alliance."

"... So, they are all dead then? I saw Felix. What of Ingrid? Sylvain?"

"Dead. Ingrid requested that I tell you she fought bravely."

"Gustave? Rodrigue?"

"Gilbert fell. Gustave is Gilbert's real name, right? I can't officially confirm Rodrigue's fate, but I doubt he survived."

His friends. His instructor. The last father figure in his life. One name remained that Dimitri had been too afraid to utter up until that point, but there was no delaying the matter any longer. "Dedu-"

"Dimitri, asking these questions will only continue to bring you more pain. All of your friends... they're dead. So are mine. I had to watch as each died... Ignatz, Hilda, Raphael, Lysithea, Leonie, Judith... But lingering on it won't solve anything."

Claude's weak ploy at equating his defeat with Dimitri's grief had little effect. Dimitri was unsure why he even asked Claude what had happened- his friends had already revealed their fates to him. "If my army is gone, I'll find another. Professor Byleth still has her forces at Garreg Mach, correct?"

"As far as I know, yes."

"Then that's where I'll go."

The answer came quickly, but it was not painless. It meant delaying his revenge for even longer. But any illusion of Dimitri's ability to kill the Flame Emperor alone was shattered. Another reckless charge would once again end in failure. The dead would not allow that. The newly dead would not allow that…

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Claude sighed when Dimitri did not answer. "... Well, I can understand your desire to defeat the Empire. If that's what you want, I'll accompany you on the way to the monastery."

"Don't bother."

"Sorry friend, but I think you might need some help getting there. You'll have to travel through hostile territory, and you're not exactly the most subtle person. Besides, it's only a slight detour from my path."

"... Fine. Just get me there."

"Getting across the Airmid undetected could be difficult. If we were among the first waves of Kingdom and Alliance troops retreating, we might have made it across without much attention in all of the chaos. By the time we make it to any of the bridges, though, the situation will likely have stabilized."

"Then figure something out on the way."

"Right." Claude jumped up and reached out a hand to assist Dimitri. The prince ignored this gesture as he stood without aid. Claude bit his lip at the snub but did not comment. Instead, he hurried over to a nearby pile of small pouches. He consolidated the contents into two of the larger sacks and scooped them into his arms. "These hold some supplies I was able to scavenge from the battlefield. Taking from the dead... I know it's unpleasant, but we're in too desperate of a situation to ask those questions."

"Give me one of those to carry," Dimitri ordered. Claude complied, clearly unwilling to challenge the much stronger man. "Now... which way towards the monastery?"

Claude pointed in a direction and said, "This way. But you took a pretty nasty injury to your shoulder. Is it going to-"

"Stop talking and walk."

"A-alright. I guess you're feeling up to it. Let's go, then."

The injury did actually hurt. In fact, the pain only grew the farther Dimitri walked. There was no use complaining about it, however. He deserved far worse, and the affliction would serve as a constant reminder of the task still ahead.

The two silently hiked alongside the stream for some time in the darkness. When the sun finally rose, another half-hour passed before the light significantly penetrated the forest's canopy. Shortly after this happened, the pair came across a grass path that cut through the trees running perpendicular to their previous course. Claude followed it to the left and waved for Dimitri to follow.

"We'll be spotted walking on the road like this," Dimitri noted. He was not concerned, as he would be all too glad to kill any imperial soldiers that pursued them, but he was surprised to see Claude choose such a course.

"Maybe, but if the Empire was really capable of pursuing stragglers with significant force, they would head towards the Great Bridge of Myrddin. I have us on a direction farther upstream. I don't want to take unnecessary risks, but I think the speed advantage the road will offer is worth the gamble. The sooner we get across the Airmid, the better."

"And do you have your plan for that yet?"

"Still working on that detail. The Airmid should be just out of sight to our right. We should eventually come across something that will give us more possibilities for crossing, like a village." Dimitri had no more questions to ask, but Claude took advantage of the break in silence to ask a few of his own. "While we walk... do you mind explaining just what happened to you during the past five years? I rather recently heard some tales, but I still don't understand how you escaped from Fhirdiad. I assume you did not kill your uncle Rufus?"

"Of course not. That witch Cornelia must have ordered his death to stage her coup. As for what happened after, Dedue broke me out with the assistance of several men from Duscur. He sent me on, and I thought he died in my place. Not so, though it doesn't matter now. I spent the rest of the five years on the run until Gustave finally found me. The others followed shortly."

"I don't understand... How did you evade the Dukedom and Empire forces? Where did you go? What was your strategy after regrou-"

Dimitri hissed, "I told you all you need to know."

"Alright, I'll let you be for now," Claude assented with reluctance. "We can talk more later."

"Now you answer me a question. How is it you survived the battle?"

"Lysithea warped me out of harm's way when those demonic beasts I mentioned showed up, and my army was wiped out before I could rejoin them."

"And you did not keep on fighting?"

"Why would I? There was no turning the tides at that point."

Dimitri manufactured a twisted smile. "Coward."

Claude stopped in his tracks. For whatever reason, that accusation had gotten under his skin. "How does deciding to not pointlessly throw my life away make me a coward? If anything, choosing to live is a way of declaring that I'm not giving up."

This amused the Boar Prince even more. "I don't care what you think. It doesn't matter. For me, there is no option besides victory or death. That is my fate."

"That doesn't sound like the Dimitri I remember at all. That Dimitri believed that conflict should be worked out by compassion and mutual understanding, not senseless slaughter."

Any sense of mirth quickly evaporated as Dimitri's face contorted. "The Dimitri you knew is dead. And even he knew that some monsters are beyond reason. Those that would cause the likes of Duscur and Remire... there could be no more obvious example than the emperor."

"Wait," Claude uttered as his face contorted. "You can't seriously mean you hold Edelgard responsible for Duscur. How old would she have been? Thirteen, fourteen?"

"It was obvious that the Flame Emperor and their cohorts were behind all of the misfortune brought on this land before the mask was ever removed. And..." Dimitri paused. He had never spoken of this particular incident to anyone before. "I overheard them. A meeting outside of Garreg Mach. The Flame Emperor was with Monica, as well as another pale man."

The Flame Emperor. The masked figure that appeared to have engineered many of the tragedies during their academy days. The attack during the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth, when the Sword of the Creator was rediscovered. Flayn's kidnapping. The horrible outbreak in Remire Village. The blood experimentation on students that ended with Monica's assassination of Byleth's father. And when they discovered that the mysterious fiend was none other than Edelgard…

"Overheard? How did you manage that?"

"Persistence. Their group clearly still had rats inside the monastery walls, so any communication had to occur nearby. It was only a matter of time before I found them. The pale man didn't care if they were overheard, anyways."

"Fair enough. Alright, go on."

"The man said that Duscur was committed to enable the Flame Emperor's rise. Even if the Flame Emperor wasn't personally responsible, she was complicit. Don't let the girl under the mask fool you. I... I wasn't ready to believe it, either."

"That's something," Claude said with obvious surprise, as well as interest in receiving new intel. "But we still don't know why Edelgard worked with that group, and nothing about what you said confirms she had a choice in what happened."

Indeed, El had spoken critically with her allies about what happened at Duscur during that meeting. But in light of her other sins, it was a moot point. At best, the last shred of her conscience had forced her into denial of her guilt. "She chose to cooperate with them all the same rather than aid us in their downfall. No other choice matters."

Claude frowned but began to walk again, likely looking to end the conversation after hearing what he needed. "I don't entirely disagree, but I still think there's value in trying to unravel the entire story. It's a shame that doing so will be difficult where I'm going."

The two did not speak again for some time, other than when Claude offered a handful of nuts from his sack that the two ate while they continued to hike. Claude would occasionally stop, walk into the forest in the direction of the Airmid, and return with a disappointed frown. He had not found their way across.

Their luck finally improved when they came across another creek that flowed into the Airmid. This body of water was wider, deeper, and less turbulent than the brook they had camped alongside overnight. As they crossed the arched stone bridge that linked the trails on either side of the creek, Claude glanced upstream and smiled widely upon a certain discovery. A small decaying pier was situated on the opposite bank that was accessible via an offshoot of the main trail. A small wooden fishing boat was tangled up in the roots that protruded from the surface of the shallow water.

"You want to steal it?" Dimitri asked with an accusatory sting.

"The area is completely overgrown, and it doesn't look like the boat has been used recently. This place has been abandoned," Claude justified as he jogged across the bridge and then dodged the thorn bushes that were threatening the side path.

Dimitri followed behind him but moved at a slower clip. When he arrived, Claude was already drawing a long piece of rope out of a bucket that rested on a pier.

"Now this is a great turn of fortune," Claude said gleefully as he worked.

"I've never seen someone so excited about old rope."

"The boat is critical, sure, but will be difficult to get across without the current carrying us into any of the rapids that line the Airmid. There's a reason I haven't seen any piers on the actual main river. If we can use something like this rope to keep us anchored on a certain course, however, we should be able to get across in a more controlled manner."

Claude seemed to be overcomplicating the plan, but Dimitri did not have the energy to argue. "Fine. I'll carry the boat to the Airmid. You take the rope if you must."

"Before you do, Dimitri, we might want to look for more rope. I'm not sure this will be enough to reach the across the river. Besides, I want to investigate some more. If there's a boat, there's got to be a house or a village nearby, right? I want to know what happened here."

Dimitri followed behind Claude without invitation. Though they currently stood among trees, there appeared to be a clearing on the top of a slope on their side of the bank. After summiting the hill, they were greeted by a field of grain in utter disarray. Weeds grew waist-high among the crops, and produce was left rotting on the stalks. Seeing a roof stick out from among the mess, the two princes continued in its direction. They soon spotted additional houses that together comprised a small hamlet. There was no sign of life. The thatched roofs of the homesteads were left in tatters, and cheap furniture lay toppled and scattered about.

"I would say they may have left when they heard of the approaching armies, but this place looks like it hasn't been inhabited for years," Claude determined.

"No surprise. Most of the inhabitants have probably already died in her war."

"I fear you might be right. Count Bergliez is still around, but order in the eastern part of the empire likely collapsed with the attainders on Aegir and Varley. Not that they were exactly champions of the people, but when Edelgard replaced them with the likes of Lord Arundel… well, they look like saints in comparison." Claude frowned with obvious frustration. "I don't get it... It feels like we're missing part of the picture. For all of her talk of progress, the emperor has spent a lot more time waging war on us than helping her people. But I suppose there's no avoiding it sometimes."

How could this have been necessary? What could have compelled El to think it was the only path? Why not simply enact the changes she wanted in her own land without starting such a costly war? What if she had confided her hopes and dreams with him? Together, they could have found a way...

No. There was no use asking these questions. Such thoughts were too rational for the logic of a savage monster like the emperor.

"Nonsense," Dimitri finally muttered lowly.

Claude had already moved on, however. Of the houses, one was somewhat larger than the others, likely once belonging to a merchant or local official. The interior had been stripped of most belongings, but Claude quickly found what he was looking for. Though it no longer bore a mattress, an empty bed frame remained strung together with crosshatched ropes.

"Looks like we're in luck," Claude cheered. "This should give us a bit more leeway. You have a knife on you, right?"

Claude must have seen El's dagger whenever he moved Dimitri from the battlefield, which was attached to a sheath underneath his cloak. He had retrieved it when the Flame Emperor threw it in his direction during that same conversation with Monica and the pale man five years prior when they thought they heard someone listening in. It was possible that El planned to recover it later, if she did not think it was too risky to be seen with it, but Dimitri kept it with him after their assembly broke up.

For a moment, Dimitri hesitated giving the dagger to Claude out of sentiment. It was not his gift. But when Dimitri reminded himself of El's transgressions, he hastily handed it away in disgust.

Claude did not seem to notice any of this as he cut each piece of rope off the frame and then gathered them in a bundle.

"Can you help me tie these together?" he asked of Dimitri. "We'll add it to the main piece of rope when we get back."

Dimitri leaned away from the offering apprehensively. "... That's a bad idea. I'm... not much for delicate handiwork."

Claude blinked awkwardly. "Ah. Yeah, that would be a problem. There was that time you accidentally ripped a tree out of its roots, dead or not. Alright, I'll take care of it."

While Claude sat down and began to knot the pieces together, Dimitri walked about the abandoned house and examined what remained. A wooden doll lay face down in the corner of the room. It was missing its right arm. Dimitri pondered the owner's fate. Perhaps the child had grown up and was conscripted into the imperial army. What if Dimitri had personally slaughtered its owner at some point during the previous five years? Another unnecessary casualty in that woman's war. Or perhaps the child was still alive, continuing to serve those that would subjugate Fódlan and incense the dead.

"Dimitri!" Claude suddenly called out. "What are you looking at? I've got everything ready to go over here."

The Boar Prince tensed from surprise, which was accompanied by a snapping sound. When he unclenched his grip, several fragments of the former doll fell to the floor. Two more limbs were lost, and a crack formed through its right eye. Dimitri shuddered before he gently set what remained on a nearby counter.

"Nothing. Let's go," he responded uneasily.

Claude returned the dagger to Dimitri, which he reluctantly accepted, and the two set off back to the pier. Dimitri had to briefly wait again while Claude attached the original length of rope to his conglomerate from the bedframe.

Upon finishing, Claude began, "Alright, let's move the boat. I'll grab this end if yo-."

Ignoring Claude's recommendation, Dimitri lifted the boat with one hand and slung it over his shoulder.

"I'll just, uhh... help keep it balanced," Claude tried.

Claude's assistance was useless, but convincing him to go away would probably be even more of a nuisance. He did at least help free Dimitri's cloak when it caught on briers on two occasions.

Once they reached the banks of the Airmid, Dimitri set the boat down while Claude tightly knotted their rope to thickest arrow in his quiver. He asked Dimitri to hold the free end while he aimed Failnaught towards a tree on the opposite bank.

"Will this work?" Dimitri questioned. "The rope will interfere with the trajectory, and it will need to be a-"

Rather than answer verbally, Claude released the bowstring and held his pose as the arrow launched directly towards the tree he aimed at and buried itself deeply into the trunk.

"It's a Hero's Relic," Claude said dryly.

Dimitri grunted to express his annoyance with his companion's smugness as he handed his end of the rope to Claude. "Hurry up," he said as he placed the boat into the water while Claude tied the free end of the rope to a nearby tree.

Once they stepped onto the boat, Dimitri pushed them away from the bank as Claude grabbed onto the rope overhead. Reaching an arm's length at a time, the two slowly pulled themselves towards Alliance territory. The current grew stronger in the center of the river, straining their grip on the rope, but it held strong.

When they made it three-quarters of the way across the river, Dimitri felt a pool of water beginning to form at his feet. There were no visible gaping holes, but the integrity of the boat was clearly compromised as water seeped between the planks.

"You're right, Claude. This boat hasn't been used recently."

"Gah!" Claude exclaimed in astonishment when he saw the dilemma. The bow of the boat where he was positioned remained dry due to the craft's weight distribution on the surface of the river. "How did I not notice that? I've been so busy trying to deal with- Never mind. We need to do something. Shedding your armor would help. We probably wouldn't have started to take on so much water otherwise."

"This armor has kept me alive for five years. I'm not going to leave it now when I'm most vulnerable."

"Well, what would you recommend then?" Claude said with visible frustration as the water seeping into the boat accelerated in volume. It would not take even twenty seconds before the boat would be lost. "Should we just try climbing on the rope the rest of the way?"

Dimitri glanced at the rope above their head. "How much weight do you think this will hold?"

"Well, it's made decently, but it's also been left outside for some ti-."

"Is it enough to hold the weight of us and the boat?" Dimitri asked impatiently.

"Yes, though I don't know if the knot on the arrow wi-"

As soon as he heard the words, Dimitri wrapped one hand under his seat while he grasped the rope overhead firmly with the other. He then lifted by flexing his outstretched arm.

Claude held the side of the boat uncomfortably as Dimitri lifted the entire craft and all of its contents until they were suspended a few inches in the air. The taut rope strained some under the immense weight, but it held. There was a loud rumble as the water that had filled the boat drained out from the gaps that were originally used as means of entrance.

Once the water vacated, Dimitri allowed the boat to drop back to the surface. His muscles ached a little from the effort. He did not often test his body that much. The shoulder injury did not help.

"Move faster so I don't have to do that again," he groaned.

"Yeah, absolutely," Claude said as he picked up his tempo.

Water continued to seep into the boat, but with the new pace, they were due to reach the Alliance before it would have presented a serious issue. However, the hurried pace also made them more complacent of their surroundings. Both were caught by surprise when they pummeled a rock that lied just below the surface, violently rupturing the bottom of the hull.

They were close enough to the bank that Claude was able to swing onto land using the rope, but Dimitri was cast into the water when the boat quickly flooded with water and capsized, only having time to toss his belongings into the Alliance.

Due to the weight his armor, Dimitri quickly floundered. His vision was clouded in the brown hues of the water, stirred dirty after his body impacted the riverbed.

The Boar Prince was nearly tempted to accept this fate. It would be a fitting end for a monster like him. Dying alone and stupidly, just as he would have on that field.

And yet, solid land was just a few strides away. Even if he himself had no reason to live, there were those who still had need of him…

Dimitri kicked off riverbed and propelled into the slope leading up to the bank. As he began to lift his body to the surface, a hand grabbed his arm to assist.

"Are you alright, Dimitri?" Claude asked after Dimitri was pulled onto the shore and coughing up water.

"I'll survive," Dimitri said when he finally had enough air to expel the words. "Thanks…" he added when Claude handed him his lance.

"That was... something." Claude released a deep breath, obviously having feared they would meet an inglorious end by drowning after bypassing more heroic deaths in battle. He continued, "Come on, let's keep moving. If we hurry, we might make it to the Oghma Mountains before turning in for the night."

Claude began to walk away but stopped when he realized that he was not being followed. "Dimitri... What is it?"

"The boat can still be salvaged," Dimitri said as he stared at the wreckage of the craft below the surface of the Airmid. He had to blink away several droplets of water that fell from his soaked hair.

"I doubt it. But even if we could, it's a waste of time. The owner isn't coming back."

"Still. We had no right to claim it for ourselves. The same goes for the supplies," he said bitterly.

Rather than open up another quarrel, Claude gave his companion some time to process his frustration. "Come on, Dimitri. We're running out of daylight," he finally said gently.

Dimitri clenched Areadbhar tightly until his hand turned red, which was the only form of release he could afford. He then turned to follow Claude into the forest after using his lance to slice the rope linking the Alliance and the Empire.