A few days after Maurice's death, the response from the Empire was finally received. An agreement to a ceasefire and a summit had been made. The leaders of the three countries would meet in Fort Merceus to discuss what to do about the Agarthan machine god threat.
Ashton wasn't exactly thrilled at the prospect of meeting Emperor Edelgard. He didn't know the woman personally, of course, so he had no idea what she would do; whether she would use the summit as an excuse to get the leaders of all who opposed her in one place to finally win the war once and for all, or whether she would keep to her word was unknown to Ashton. It wasn't his place to know the minds of emperors and kings, though. After all, he was a simple man. Or at least, he wanted to be one.
That may have just been wishful thinking on his part. There was nothing 'simple' about his life.
Thankfully, once news spread around of the summit, the tension in the air finally died down. It would only be a few weeks at most until the war that had haunted everyone's lives would be put on hold. It would be a brief respite, though, Ashton knew. There was a far more dangerous enemy lurking in the shadows.
"Ashton, will you help me with this strap?" Seiros asked, snapping Ashton out of his thoughts.
"Mhm," Ashton hummed.
Arawn had not been lying when he said Seiros was preparing to rejoin the coming battles in full. The armor he spoke of arrived only a few days before the summit. Why Seiros didn't tell him, Ashton didn't know. Perhaps she wanted it to be a surprise.
In some ways, the armor resembled what she wore when she was Saint Seiros, with golden plate and white robes beneath. However, there were plenty of differences. The plate covered most of her chest, with full pauldrons and leggings instead of the armored sandals and barely-covered legs she had before. Her armor from before was made for religious purposes while also being maneuverable in battle, and the armor she wore in the present gave the airs of a holy warrior rather than a prophet. The gold, silver, and white shined in the torchlight, and Ashton found himself spellbound looking at her. The only thing that remained the same was the dragon-winged circlet around her head. Complete with her shield, Ashton almost fell while trying to take a seat, causing Seiros to giggle.
"Am I really so stunning in this?" Seiros asked, a smug grin on her face. "If I did not know any better, I would say you have feelings for me!"
"Oh? What gave that away?" Ashton asked, "was it the stumble or the fact we were in each other's arms only a few hours ago?"
"Mm. Perhaps a bit of both," Seiros said, twirling a small lock of green hair around her finger. "My, but your cheeks are so red! Careful that you don't find yourself distracted in the coming battle, my dear Ashton."
"I think I'll be too busy avoiding getting skewered by those bird things to really admire you," Ashton admitted.
"Are you sure?" Seiros replied with a raised brow, stepping forward. "Are you well and truly certain?"
Ashton grumbled. "Okay, maybe you have a point. Can you really blame me, though?"
"Of course not. It's really quite flattering. Hmm, but perhaps we should have armor made for you as well. It would not do to have the captain of the Knights of Seiros to wear nothing but ordinary platemail."
Ashton shrugged. "I don't see the need, really. So long as it keeps me alive. You're the one who's a figurehead, remember? I'm not going to take away your thunder."
"Would you not rather be in a suit of armor that is expected of your station?" Seiros asked.
"Like I said, so long as this keeps me alive," Ashton replied, tapping a fist against his chest. "Besides, I have the Aurora Hammer now. That will be enough to keep me alive."
"Ah, yes, I had forgotten you named it," Seiros hummed, folding her hands together in front of her legs. "It is a wonderful name for a wonderful weapon."
"I would be the last to call a brutal warhammer 'wonderful', but hey, you said it, not me," Ashton replied, smiling.
Seiros scoffed. "I'll have you know I had to deal with Macuil for longer than a minute to have this hammer forged. It served you well during the war, Arawn used it for well over a thousand years, and now it is back in your possession. Is that not wonderful? It has survived far longer than its intended purpose."
Ashton pursed his lips and nodded. "See, when you put it that way, yes, it certainly has a storied history, huh? This weapon has seen more places than most people have in their entire lifetime."
"Indeed," Seiros said, "Now, if I can only retrieve my sword from Edelgard, we will be unstoppable."
"As opposed to now, where your magical power and martial skills render you completely stoppable?"
"Of course not, but I feel… strange, without it by my side," Seiros said quietly. "It has been my weapon of choice for a thousand years, much like Arawn and your hammer. Even when I did not have it, it has always been within reach."
Ashton nodded. "I get it, yeah. I felt the same way without a relic with me, too. You can always make that a part of the negotiations, right?"
"I could, yes, although I am unsure if I will attend. But perhaps I can leverage it. We will see," Seiros replied, taking a deep breath. "The summit will be in a few days, and yet I feel as if we have almost no time to prepare for it. Edelgard does not seem to be of the treacherous sort, but we must be prepared. Even if she is not, there may be a general in her army who will take matters into their own hands, or maybe the Agarthans will launch an attack."
"I'd bet for the latter," Ashton said, "and I understand that sort of paranoia you have; it's good, in all honesty. Anything can happen. Just know that I'll stand by you through it, should you want me to."
Seiros' voice became quiet. "I would appreciate that very much, Ashton."
Ashton blinked as Ingrid's words washed over him.
"Er, are you okay?" she asked, narrowing her eyes and tilting her head. "You're acting like Sylvain when I give him a compliment."
"Say their names again," Ashton said.
"Liz and Corrin," Ingrid repeated. "They were looking for you a couple weeks ago. I would have told you sooner but, eh, there has been a lot going on."
Ashton didn't know who 'Corrin' was, but Liz - she was in Fódlan somewhere, somehow.
Ingrid had come up to him in the early hours of the evening, with the sun dipping below the sky. Ashton had been busy coordinating the formations the knights would be approaching Fort Merceus in; just in case Edelgard was not nearly as trustworthy as she seemed. There was always a chance that something bad would happen just based on their positioning, but it was a risk Ashton was willing to take. The blonde knight had asked for him just after they finished.
Ashton began pacing mere seconds after being told. Liz had been only a mile away at most and he had no idea.
"Did she say anything? Talk about where she was going?" Ashton asked quickly, his mind feeling as if it was traveling at a million miles per second.
Ingrid shook her head. "Nothing. I heard vaguely about where they had been: Albinea, where they faced… molemen, I think? It was a strange conversation."
"And her companion?" Ashton asked, "What was she like?"
"I couldn't get a good look at her. She wore a light cloak that shadowed her face," Ingrid explained, "She had odd red eyes, though, and her hair was at least platinum colored, I believe, and longer than her cloak would be able to reasonably cover up."
Ashton went silent at that, thinking about who it could have been. No one he knew, for certain, but perhaps Seiros had been mistaken in her belief that all the Nabateans that remained were by her side during the War of Heroes. It'd come as a surprise, for sure, but a pleasant one. Or perhaps the woman was an Agarthan who defected. Either way, she was an unknown quantity.
"I…" Ashton began before sighing and rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Better late than never, I suppose. Thank you for telling me this. At least I know one of them is out there, somewhere."
Ingrid lightly bowed her head. "I apologize, sir. I would have told you sooner, but times are tough."
"I understand," Ashton said, crossing his arms and halting his pacing. "Better to know, at least. You may return to your duties, Lady Ingrid."
Bowing once again, Ingrid left. Ashton took a deep breath once he could no longer see her.
There were so many unanswered questions. It was clear that time held no meaning to whatever means of teleportation took them from their homeworld, but at the same time, Ashton had a hard time wrapping his head around the whole thing. He wondered where she had been, whether she had found a way to weather the last thousand years or whether she had only recently arrived, and who the woman who was with her was.
Ultimately, however, she was gone, and Ashton had to live with that until she was either relocated, or she found him. Until then, he would dedicate himself to stopping the Agarthan machine god.
"Ah, there you are."
It was a mere few hours before the summit was to begin. Fort Merceus was a towering fortress, easily dwarfing any demonic beast Ashton had the displeasure of going up against. He was glad they would not have to lay siege to it; the only way anyone would be able to penetrate the fort would be through trickery or overwhelming force, which really only meant the former since any force that could plow through Fort Merceus was better off moving past it and straight to Enbarr.
In those last few hours, Ashton was alone, doing menial tasks around the surrounding camps, when an unexpected visitor revealed himself. It was hard to mistake Claude for anyone else; even the other Almyran that ran around who Ashton didn't know the name of did not come close to his complexion or face. How anyone was able to mistake Ashton for an 'Easterling' when he first came to the continent was beyond him. Besides Claude's smug grin, though, he wore ornamental and luxurious clothes, though clearly they were meant for limited battle; they seemed like a general's or a tactician's clothes.
"Here I am," Ashton confirmed, nodding. "Can I help you with something?"
Claude hummed. "Hmm. Not really. I just recalled that I wanted to talk to you at some point. Things have been moving pretty fast since Derdriu was saved, so I didn't have the chance 'til now."
Snorting, Ashton said, "Fair enough. There anything in particular you wanted to know about me? I'm not exactly the most interesting knight out there."
"I beg to differ. Not just anyone can make it as the captain of the biggest knightly order in Fódlan," Claude said, "I should know. I met the last person who was in that position, and, well, he certainly earned his title!"
"The Blade Breaker. Yes, I have heard of Jeralt," Ashton said, "and a lot can happen in five years, Duke Claude. And besides, I have not exactly made my origins a secret."
"And yet everyone I've spoken to has been so tight-lipped, you would think it the best kept secret of them all," Claude continued, walking around Ashton. Ashton winced as light reflected off the metal of Claude's suit. "I know who people used to claim you to be, but we both know who really holds that title, so I won't repeat that here."
"Aren't you just the nicest?" Ashton grumbled.
"Aren't I just? Yeah, I know, I'm nosey, but can you blame me?" Claude asked, "Someone who I have never heard of, who wasn't there five years ago, suddenly becomes very intimate with the archbishop of the biggest religious organization on the continent? C'mon, that doesn't just happen. Interested in spinning some gossip with me?"
"Not really, no," Ashton replied, crossing his arms. "Besides, it sounds like you already know everything. I am not the 'Champion', I never have been, and you're better off finding Arawn or something if you want real answers."
"Not gonna loosen up, huh? Guess it would've been a bit difficult to forge a strong friendship with so little time left before the summit," Claude acquiesced, nodding. "I am still curious, though. What did you do to get so close to Rhea?"
"Maybe I'll write a book one day," Ashton replied, "and you'll be able to read it. But until then, that's remaining private, Claude."
"Fair enough, I'll stop prying, then," Claude said, "see you at the summit, then. Hopefully it'll go better than other attempts, eh?"
Ashton's brow furrowed. "There've been other attempts?'
"Oh yeah, plenty. Mostly from me, you know. Would rather keep the Alliance from being invaded, yeah? That'd be a shame," Claude said, "Always was rejected, though. Until now."
Ashton grunted. "Well, hopefully this one goes smoothly."
When the day finally came, Ashton could feel a different tension in the air. It was unlike the previous feeling in that it held a finality to it. Whereas before it had been a general teetering toward the next back, Ashton felt as if whatever battles were to come would be the last ones. The day was young, and the sun was out in full force with the final waves of summer giving way to the coolness of autumn, and Ashton wondered if it would be his last.
Even if an agreement was made, there would be more battles against inhuman monsters. At least the fights of man against fellow man would be over until the machine god was dealt with.
It wasn't until that moment that Ashton remembered that he didn't even know the machine god's name, or if it even had a name. He wondered if Arawn knew, and just didn't feel like telling them.
Through the intimidating gates of Fort Merceus, the procession was led through the courtyard and towards the building that would see the birth of a temporarily unified continent. Ashton couldn't even remember a time when Fódlan was united; apparently, long after his 'death', Adrestia succeeded in bringing a majority of it into its Empire, and for several centuries the Empire flourished. Ashton wished he could have seen that.
There were only a handful of people who were going to be attending the summit. Of course, King Dimitri and Duke Claude were going to be there, as the sovereign leaders of the Holy Kingdom and Alliance respectively. Meanwhile, representing the Church would be Byleth, Seteth, and Seiros. No doubt there would be a considerable crowd nearby, listening in on the negotiations. Emperor Edelgard was already within the building; all that remained was beginning the negotiations.
Ashton remembered how it felt entering the Imperial palace the first time, and the debates that raged within until the late hours of the evening. He had been a simple knight back then, listening in on the goings on of the Empire as one of Saint Seiros' chosen few. Others of his kind with their shining white armor alongside the darker plate of the Empire's own knights nearby, he pined for those olden days.
Everything was quiet, painfully quiet as they were led through halls. It was only a few moments, but Ashton felt as if they lasted well over another thousand years.
When at last they made it to the meeting room, Ashton laid his eyes on Edelgard for the first time. Considering the woman's reputation, he expected someone standing several heads above him, with the horns of a devil and glowing, horrible eyes. Instead, he beheld a person who could almost be described as petite. Pale hair and skin accentuated by her red armored robes, alongside the horns that adorned the crown on her head, she almost seemed like the monster some people in the Kingdom army believed her to be. With piercing light violet eyes, while she was not exactly what he was expecting, Ashton could definitely see her as the Emperor of Adrestia.
By Edelgard's side stood a tall and gaunt man with dark hair and shadowed eyes. If Ashton didn't know any better, who would have assumed he was an assassin. Which may have been the case, but the clothes the man wore did not suit an assassin at all.
The instant they entered the room, Ashton felt the tension increase tenfold. He was tempted to begin speaking, babbling, anything just to cut through it. He was able to keep himself under control, however, and soon enough, the table was set, and the case would be made.
"Allow me to get to the point," Edelgard said, "I have heard your pleas, and it is only because of outside factors that I am here today. The Agarthans are gone, my uncle is gone, with not a trace, and with your explanation, it all makes sense. There is only one price that I will accept for my cooperation."
"Wow, jeez, couldn't wait two seconds, huh, Your Imperial Majesty?" Claude said, rubbing his forehead with a sheepish smile. "I guess I admire that directness of yours. It won you half the Kingdom after all."
"Claude," Dimitri said, before turning to Edelgard. "Tell us what you want, then. So long as it's not the complete and immediate surrender of all the territory is Leicester and Faerghus."
"Even at this point in the war, I am neither that desperate nor demanding," Edelgard scoffed. "No, what I want is for Archbishop Rhea to step down from her position permanently."
Ashton may have been in the small entourage nearby, but even he could feel the temperature in the room fall a few degrees.
"You have no reason to demand such a thing, Edelgard," Seteth spoke for Seiros. "Lady Rhea has already ceded her position to the former professor, Byleth."
"Is that so? Fascinating," Edelgard noted, "Had I known such a thing, I would have demanded something more tangible."
"You could," Byleth pointed out, "It is obvious to everyone here that you have more leverage. You could demand anything you want and I have little doubt that Dimitri or Claude would be willing to grant it, but this is more than just a summit for a truce. This is about what is at our doorstep."
Edelgard rolled her hand around. "Indeed. I can scarcely believe what I read in that letter you sent. These machines - are they anything like the golems the Church employs?"
"Worse," Dimitri said, his voice low. "It is like an unholy chimera of man, demonic beast, and golem. A thing of red metal and flaming anger. I haven't seen anything like it."
"You are hardly the authority on strange constructions, Dimitri," Edelgard replied.
Claude chuckled. "I didn't know you were the foremost expert on weird stuff, Edelgard."
Edelgard crossed her arms. "When your 'uncle' is a part of a race of people who have spent the better part of the past millennia underground, you become used to seeing such oddities. Though I admit, this is a threat to us all, regardless of its outlandishness."
"So, do we have an accord?" Byleth asked.
"These negotiations haven't gone at all as I would have liked," Edelgard admitted, "First, I make myself look like a fool by asking for something that has already happened, and then I… yes, fine, we have an agreement. There is only one issue."
"And what is that?" Dimitri said.
"I do not know where they came from," Edelgard admitted. "The location of the Agarthans' base has always been kept a secret from me. We have ways of figuring out where they are, but," she glanced at Hubert briefly before continuing, "it would involve a great deal of destruction that I am reluctant to provoke."
"You value buildings more than the lives of your soldiers and commanders?" Dimitri asked pointedly.
"Ignoring that many of my soldiers and commanders were killed by your hand," Edelgard snapped back, "I want to conquer the continent, not destroy it. And this would bring about a great amount of destruction."
"Any more than what has already been done?" Seiros asked, "If this machine god of the Agarthans is allowed to continue, then it will not rest until all that can walk under the sun is destroyed. That was their plan, was it not?"
"Hmph. I do not claim to know their full motivation," Edelgard replied. "But I do know they wanted you dead most of all. I suggest you leave Fódlan while you still can, Rhea."
Seiros shook her head. "I am afraid that is not possible at the moment. I will see this threat vanquished. Perhaps then you shall be granted your wish. I can hardly be in Fódlan if I am dead."
Ashton clenched his fists.
"So, you shall be on the front lines, then? I always knew you had great martial prowess," Dimitri said.
"I shall, but there is something I must reclaim first," Seiros replied.
Edelgard's eyes widened only by a little bit before she let out a sigh.
"'Reclaim'? I can only think of one thing you might want that you don't currently have. The Sword of Seiros, then? Is that what you want?"
"Yes," Seiros confirmed. "Would it be terribly troubling for you if it was in my hands again?"
Edelgard narrowed her eyes. "I have hardly used the blade since I claimed it. And I have little patience for war trophies. Do with it what you will, then."
Standing up, Edelgard placed the sword in question on the table. It had been so long since Ashton had last seen it, he almost didn't recognize it. But there was no mistaking that hilt and that guard for anything else. It was the Sword of Seiros, and it was back in its proper owner's hands. Seiros picked up the blade, but did not unsheathe it; a wise move, considering who else was in the room. In a swift motion, the blade was at her side.
"Well, now that we are in agreement," Byleth began, "let us discuss-"
Byleth wasn't able to finish his sentence, as it felt like the entire world was flipped upside down. The entire structure they were in shook as if it had been struck by a bomb. Ashton was on the ground before he could even react, and a second later, a sound like a grenade going off in his eardrum nearly made him deaf. He didn't even hear the glass shatter or the sounds of screaming from outside. When Ashton pushed himself to his feet, he looked around and saw those closest to the door with blood coming from their ears and eyes.
Thankfully, Ashton's ears were fine after a moment. And mere seconds after the blast, there was an unnatural stillness in the air, as if everything had simply frozen in time. He looked to where the summit was being held and saw Seiros hoist herself up, blinking as she wiped at her forehead. Dimitri, Claude, and Byleth were already on their feet, while Edelgard joined them a moment later.
"What the hell was that?" Ashton said, moving toward the window and looking outside. "There's… there's nothing out there. What?"
Seiros was by his side a moment later, green eyes narrowed.
"Anyone able to see anything out there? Or see nothing?" Claude asked, "'Cause if that was an explosion, it wasn't a very dusty one."
Ashton disregarded what Claude said and made his way outside, looking for any sign of an explosion. The only thing that even implied such a thing was the shattered glass windows and the toppled and dazed soldiers. Looking to his right, Ashton saw Arawn run out from a formation, breathing heavily.
Just as Ashton was beginning to suspect some kind of magical attack, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking to his left, Seteth was there, his face paler than a sheet of paper and eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He was pointing toward the closest section of wall, and Ashton followed his gesture until he saw what had spooked Seteth.
A hand had laid itself against the top of the wall, grasping it and causing the stone to chip and break apart under its weight. It stood still for a few moments, as if letting everyone gaze at it, and when the first screams began-
Ashton had no words for what he saw before him. It was like looking at a torn page, or the ripples on some unfathomably large body of water.. Reality seemed to shift and contort around it even as it revealed itself fully, its blazing eyes bearing down on all of them with a fury he had not felt in his life. A beaked mouth, with fiery trails following its every small movement, and Ashton knew what the metallic monsters from before were based on.
Wings that spread across universes unfurled before him, their flame-like silhouettes nearly outshining the sun itself. And when the being spoke, it wasn't through the air that its voice was carried; Ashton could hear it in his mind.
"GREETINGS, PEOPLE OF FÓDLAN," the machine god stated. "I AM PROMETHEUS. WE HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS."
You know, every single time I say to myself, 'this is the one, this will break 5k words' I end up just doing the usual 4k. I can't tell if I've just gotten more impatient or more brief than when I was writing Aberration. At least I haven't seen any complaints about length lol.
Anyway, see you guys next time!
