Harpstrings Moon
Foddlan year 1880
When Byleth woke up, her unfamiliar surroundings initially made her mind confused briefly, before she remembered where she was and why she was there.
She had passed the night in the rather comfortable room that the Church had provided her in exchange for her service as a professor for the Golden Deers, a gesture that was undoubtedly appreciated by the former mercenary.
As she slowly got out of her bed, Byleth reminded herself of the ordeals of the day. The first thing that came to mind was the mock battle which was going to be disputed around noon, and the thought made the new professor slightly apprehensive. Not nervous, mind you, merely unsure of her team's chances.
In order to even the odds, she had ordered her students to come during the morning in the Golden Deer's classroom. There was not meant to be an official class today, due to the unique activity, but Byleth had deemed vital to organize a strategic meeting, at which all were mandated to come.
Now, though, it was the time to actually prepare herself for her day. Moving to her wardrobe, she began to look for her usual outfit, a light (a bit too light, some had said) armor made of a mix of metal plates and extra-resistant fabric. For added esthetics, she wore a cloak, which was really just a dark coat with its sleeves cut open to let her arms slip out.
After changing from her nightly underwear to her normal clothing, the former mercenary grabbed the book of rules that she had been reading since the day before. Since it was still only around five in the morning, she figured that she could take some time to continue her reading.
Thus, she sat on her desk and opened her Guide of Disciplinary Rules of the Officers' Academy (written by Seteth) and narrowed her eyes to better decipher the inscriptions inside.
She had never particularly liked to read. Her father had forced her to learn how to do it when she was still very young, but it always ended up getting her bored more than anything else. Moreover, a mercenary's life is not necessarily full of paperwork, and thus, fortunately, she did not have to read that much often. As a result, she never really learned to write that much either.
Now, though, she kind of needed to know what was and wasn't acceptable in the monastery. After all, she had a lot of plans for her students' schooling and she had to know if she was allowed to do them or not. Already, she had to forgo some of her ideas, mostly those involving honey and charcoal.
Their loss. It had done wonders for some of her dad's recruits.
After a few minutes of reading, sure enough, she could hardly keep her focus on the figures anymore, so she decided that she had done enough for now. She just hoped that she could do a good job as a teacher with only simple diagrams and images on a chalkboard.
Now that she thought about it, though, the fact that the Archbishop had just entrusted a random fighter with teaching a bunch of students around her own age while not even bothering to verify her competences – such as her writing capability – was quite curious. Add to this the blonde outsider who had been allowed to reside at the monastery for as long as he wanted, and there were now a lot of questions to be asked.
However, right now it was not her job to ask questions, but to go teach a bunch of kids and maybe get them to a victory this afternoon.
When Lorenz arrived at his House's classroom this morning, he had been expecting to be the first student to arrive, but to his surprise and dismay, he had actually been beaten. Indeed, the young Lysithea was already sitting at one of the front desks, focused on one of her books. Continuing to look around, he spotted the commoner Leonie as well who, noticing him, frowned and averted her gaze.
Slightly disappointed at the fact that he hadn't been the most exemplary student at this instant, the young noble cleared his throat and took a seat near the white-haired magical prodigy before diverting his attention at his new professor, Byleth, at the front.
The former mercenary, for her part, was currently busy preparing the 'lecture' that she was about to give her class. So far, she had brought enough training weapons of each type for any student who may want to use them later that day and she had begun scribbling the mock battle's field as well as the three Houses' positions on the place's chalkboard. She had managed to get Seteth to give her some information on their battlefield so she could actually plan ahead. He had not been happy to be disturbed so soon in the morning, but he did respect the new professor's dedication, and so he obliged.
From what she had learned, it was a fairly small plain near the monastery which was never used for agriculture or housing. There were a few pockets of forest here and there, mostly at the east, north-west and south, which Byleth definitively intended to use as cover. Each House's position was in some sort of clearing made by these woods: the Black Eacles at the north-west, the Blue Lions at the north-east, and finally the Golden Deers at the south.
As the new professor pondered on the various tactical possibilities, the classroom began to fill up with the rest of the students. At the time that she had told them all to come, she turned to her bunch of rookies, making sure that all of them were present, before she took parole.
"Alright. Good morning, kids. Before we discuss the strategy of this afternoon's battle, we need to determine just who will be participating. Have you thought of this yesterday?"
After this question, Byleth had expected to see at least five or six hands being raised, so she could have a few options to choose from. To her disappointment, only three volunteered: Claude, Lorenz and Leonie. Of the rest, Hilda and Ignatz were looking around, hoping not to get chosen, while Lysithea, Marianne and Raphael were all focused on something else entirely. At this sight, the former mercenary could only wonder what the latter five were in the academy for.
After a moment, however, the biggest member of the group looked around him, getting out of his hunger-induced trance, and realized what was going on. He then promptly lifted his own hand.
"Hey, if no one else wants to go, I might as well put my muscles to good use, right?"
Alright, so now Byleth had a good idea of her team. An archer, a girl with somewhat of a training behind her, a snotty noble and a brawler. It wasn't a fantastic combination, but it did offer at least some diversity.
"Good. Now, let's talk strategy."
The sun was already tapping hard on the small field of the monastery as the Three Houses and the school staff were moving onto the battlefield. While the representative of the classes went to their assigned position, the teachers and House leaders went to the middle of it all to exchange some good sportsmanship wishes.
During this time, Jeralt and Link had moved to a hill not far from the small area, from which they could view the entirety of the battle. For the former, it was essential, as he had been tasked by Rhea to be the referee of the entire event.
As for Link, he had insisted on coming in order to witness the little scuffle that was about to begin. As ever, he was in search of a little entertainment in his day, and he figured that seeing a bunch of kids beating each other up could provide a little of it. While Seteth had not liked the idea of the Hylian observing the students, the fact that Jeralt would supervise him mitigated his worries somewhat. As the discussion between the House leaders was going on, the Hero of Hyrule stretched a little and sat on the verdant grass before turning his head to look at the former mercenary.
"So, Jeralt, could you explain to me what's the deal with the Knights of Seiros? What do they do?"
After giving the Hylian a quick glance, the Blade Breaker nonchalantly redirected his gaze onto the field below them as he responded.
"If you really want to know, they are kind of the Archbishop's personal military forces. They are often sent to aid the main factions when needed. Mostly, we take care of bandits and monsters plaguing the commercial roads, or we fight against the Church of Seiros' enemies."
Satisfied with the answer, Link nodded slowly and absent-mindedly played with a small rock he had just found until Jeralt asked him a question of his own.
"Why do you ask? Did Rhea try to recruit you or something?"
"Well, not exactly. She said that I was free to act as I pleased, at least for now, but I'm sure she wants me in your ranks someday."
At this, Jeralt actually glanced over the younger Hylian a second time with an air of worry in his visage. He took a deep breath and looked around them, as if making sure nobody else could hear what they had to say.
"Listen, kid. I am not going to try to convince you to join or not, and all of this is just between us, but…"
"… But?" Inquired Link, now intrigued by the mercenary's attitude.
"But there is a reason I left, 20 years ago."
"What, did your 'Lady Rhea' do something to you? You don't seem comfortable around her."
"She never did anything to me. I know she has hurt other people in the past, but I do not know how."
As the newly re-appointed Knight seemed to become increasingly stressed, Link decided that he would change the subject, but not before making a mental note of this interesting piece of information.
"So, about this mock battle, basically it's a free-for-all, right?"
Fortunately, this seemed to succeed in calming Jeralt down, if even only a little, if his softening facial features were any indication.
"Yes, four students per House, plus their teachers, that makes fifteen fighters in total on the battlefield. One House wins when all of their opponents are down."
"I see. Personally, who do you think will win this?"
"I trust my kid to bring these brats to victory, although the Blue Lions seem to be well organized. Besides, they are taking their positions, so your question should be answered soon."
While Edelgard and Manuela had departed to exchange a few words with the other teachers and House leaders, the young Ferdinand von Aegir's mind was busy trying to come up with the best strategy to overcome both the Blue Lions and the Golden Deer.
His own leader had proposed that they used the thick forest they were assigned to as cover in order to ambush incoming attacks from the east, while they took advantage of the barriers at the south with their long-range weapons. Of course, her sidekick Hubert had sided with her.
While the noble redhead certainly saw the merit in these tactics, there was one minor problem for the noblest of nobles: it was cowardly. Yes, he wanted to win. However, it would not be done in a way that would transpire so badly on the House!
Meanwhile, Dorothea was practicing the Thunder spell that Edelgard had taught her in the last week. While she was surprisingly good at casting magic, she still needed to increase her stamina since she usually could only use the attack thrice in a short timeframe. Thus, she needed to make all of these count as much as possible, and it was absolutely vital that at least her precision was top-notch.
Hubert, for his part, contended himself with merely standing still and preparing himself mentally, evaluating each possibility that could happen during the battle. His reflection was short-lived, however, since Ferdinand soon came to his side to discuss his… 'brilliant' strategies.
"You cannot argue that if we attacked the Golden Deers as a unified front, they would be caught off-guard. After we finish picking them off, then we only need to worry about the Blue Lions."
"You are forgetting to take the new professor into account." Replied the tall servant with a sigh and a glare before closing his eyes as he thought of their situation. "She is not a coward like the previous one, but a fierce mercenary, and certainly not someone to be taken lightly. And before you propose to switch to attacking the Blue Lions first, you should realize that the prince is more than strong enough to take both you and Lady Edelgard on. We need to fight safely if we want to triumph."
"I think you are underestimating the power we have at hand. If-"
"It is better to overestimate your enemy than the opposite, idiot. Now, go back to your post and wait for the start of the battle."
As the son of Duke Aegir went back to the barrier at the south of their position, Hubert looked around and a rare smile appeared on his face as he caught sight of Edelgard approaching alongside Manuela.
"Lady Edelgard." He said formally, bowing as he ever did in her presence.
"Hello, Hubert." Replied the House leader with a faint smile of her own. "Is everyone ready?"
"Dorothea has been practicing her Thunder, and Ferdinand is merely supposed to be guarding the southern part of our territory." Hubert's face then took a somber turn as he checked around them. When it became clear to him that neither Manuela nor one of their fellow students were within hearing distance, he whispered.
"The outsider has come to observe the battle, alongside Sir Jeralt. Do you really think he could…"
"We cannot assume that he isn't, Hubert. You know what they are capable of. Tonight, we will be able to determine a plan of action." Her visage then sharpened as renewed determination shone in her eyes. "For now, we have a battle to win."
"Yes, of course. I will be assisting Ferdinand, to make sure he doesn't ruin our strategy."
On these words, Edelgard and Hubert separated, ready for the moment when Jeralt would signal the beginning of the battle.
The ambiance at the Blue Lions' position was calm and collected as the chosen fighters were silently preparing their weapons for the upcoming battle. In the stronghold that they were in possession of, Hanneman was pondering on the course of actions that his fellow teachers would take. He had fought against Manuela many times in the past, but the presence of this mercenary girl could easily turn everything upside-down if he wasn't careful.
Meanwhile, Prince Dimitri was helping out his fellows Ashe and Mercedes, who had to calibrate their bows before the signal that Sir Jeralt would give them. Despite never having had talent for archery himself, the young prince had been taught how to take care of a bow correctly. Once they were done with this task, Ashe breathed in and exalted heavily before his grip on his weapon strengthened.
"Alright, so all I have to do is help you and Dedue out, right?" The boy asked.
"Yes, this is all. Do not worry, we two will protect you from the enemy's attacks as well, and in the worst caase scenario, Mercedes and Professor Hanneman will be able to heal you up." Responded the blonde prince, grabbing his lance and spinning it around a few times.
"Good. They'll see what we can do!" Exclaimed the freckled teenager.
"And that is the spirit. With our skill, and the professor's genius, we are sure to win!"
After departing from the meeting with the other House leaders and teachers, Byleth and Claude deliberately took a slow pace as they returned to their own position. Often, they would pause and examine the bushes, rocks and trees they could use to their advantage during the battle. While they were eyeing a small forest that they could hide into, Claude remarked while pointing to the Blue Lions' location.
"Hey, teach', you've seen the fort that the Lions had in their spot? It was a little hidden by the woods, but it seems they have fortifications if need be. Do you think the Black Eagles have one too?"
"Even if they have one, it would not matter much. If they decide to hide in such a small place, then it'll be easy for us to corner them." Responded the new professor.
She was still pondering on the other teams' constitutions as she had seen them, as well as the information she could recall on them thanks to her meeting with Seteth, Manuela and Hanneman the previous day.
On the Black Eagles' side, they had taken Ferdinand, Hubert and Dorothea. None of them apparently had a particular history of combat as far as she knew, but as she could remark, the latter two did not wear physical weapons, indicating use of magic. This was a little problematic, given that only one member of her team could attack at a distance.
"Now, Claude, let's go. My father will soon give the signal, and we need to be in place."
"Yeah, let's. So, can you just repeat your plan again?"
After a slight sigh, the former mercenary nodded and began repeating her planned tactics while looking straight in front of her.
"When the fight begins, I want you and Raphael to get to the forest at the east of the terrain as soon as possible before the Blue Lions get there. If they come, then you two will be able to take advantage of the woods to ambush them. During this time, I will be attracting our opponents' attention while staying out in the open. Meanwhile, Lorenz and Leonie will look out for the Black Eagles' hideout and southern barriers and intervene if that's where the enemy comes around."
"Ah, yes, now that I see the terrain, it's a bit clearer. I do wonder why Dimitri didn't bring Sylvain, Felix or Ingrid. They all have more experience than Mercedes and Ashe, as I've heard."
"They have opted to balance their strengths and weaknesses while giving the less trained members of their House a chance to test their abilities. Plus, both of them are archers, which is not a bad addition in a group."
Nodding in agreement at his teacher's words, Claude looked up to the hill where Jeralt and Link had stationed themselves in order to monitor the battle. He smirked a little while thinking of the strange outsider. A travelling wanderer who just pops out of the blue to help people, coming from a destroyed kingdom?
He will definitively try to learn more about this guy another time.
Looking up into the sky, Jeralt took notice of the position of the sun and narrowed his eyes from the strain that looking into so much light caused to them. He then glanced at Link and let out a sigh.
"Good, they're in position. We'll be able to give the signal now."
"Oh yeah, but I do have a question…" Spoke the Hylian, putting his hand on his chin in his curiosity. "What is this famous signal?"
"Not far from here, there is a big disk of metal under a thick clothing protection with a mace. You strike it and the sound alerts the three teams that they can begin."
"Oh, a gong! That sounds fun! Can I go hit it?"
Now giving Link an amused look, Jeralt did not find any objection to his request and merely shrugged in response, at which point the outsider happily descended the small top they were currently on. Waiting for a minute for the Hylian to find the darned thing, Jeralt still jerked a bit in surprise when the signal came.
It was not the beautiful, constant sound that would normally resonate through the battlefield like it used to when he last worked at the monastery, but instead a dry and sudden 'Boink'. When Link came back, it was with a stressed expression and wide eyes.
"Hey, you… you might wanna tell them to replace the disk for next time, I'll pay for it…"
"Are you serious? What did you do to it?" Responded the mercenary with a dumbfounded expression.
"I just wanted everyone to hear it, but… I may have struck a bit too hard…"
After letting out yet another exasperated sigh, Jeralt contended himself with continuing his given task while Link awkwardly sat down and redirected his attention on the field below.
"Was that the signal?" Asked Lorenz, looking outside through the bushes' leaves.
"It sounded more like a slaughtered pig's squeal, but I think it was…" Answered Leonie, whose attention was focused on the forest where were hidden the Black Eagles. When Ferdinand exited the bushes that he had been stationed in and began to examine their own, Leonie decided that the time was, indeed, for battle as of now.
"Look, the redhead over there…" Leonie whispered to Lorenz, grabbing her spear. "He seems to be alone… do you think he's scouting for his team?"
"He is Ferdinand von Aegir, and I do not think he is. If he was, then he would not be staying idle at the edge of his House's woods." Retorted the Gloucester, before reflecting further on the situation. "If we did it quickly, I could easily take him out of the competition and assault the Black Eagles' base…"
"What do you mean, 'I could'? I am here too, you know?"
"Please, I am aware of your training in battling, but this a matter to settle between fellow nobles, and involving a commoner would be irresponsible on my part. If I were to fall, then you shall retreat and inform the professor."
On these words, as Leonie found herself utterly aghast at his claims, Lorenz took his weapon and went out of cover in order to go meet his Black Eagle counterpart. The orange-haired girl, for her part, was fuming with anger.
This pretentious, snotty snob of a noble intended to leave her behind? There was no way in hell that she was going to let it slide.
She jumped out of her position, her emotivity attaining a point where she couldn't even realize just how much consequences her and Lorenz' actions were going to bring to them and their class. As the two spear handlers marched on their way to their opponent-to-be's position, Leonie decided that she would humor his request of letting this be a matter between the two of them, if only so she could laugh at him as much as she could in the case of his defeat.
Ferdinand, for his part, had taken a combat stance as he saw the two Golden Deer members approaching him. Lorenz stopped walking when he arrived at a few meters from him and announced, in the most eloquent tone he could muster:
"I, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, formally challenge you to a duel." The Adestrian noble smiled and nodded at Lorenz before strengthening his grip on his own spear.
"I am Ferdinand von Aegir, and I accept your challenge."
At this, the two gentlemen stayed idle for a second, evaluating each other, before they engaged battle. The wooden sticks that they used as weapons clashed and the two nobles entered a blade lock, each trying to overpower the other.
Leonie, on her part, contented herself with observing, snickering all the while. While they were both under the assumption that they were having a grandiose fight, it was clear to everyone currently observing them that they were amateurs, at the very best. Their movements were slightly sluggish, lacking proper coordination.
After they pushed each other away, Lorenz attempted to strike Ferdinand in the thigh in order to incapacitate him, but the latter managed to roll out of the way. Unfortunately, it only left him vulnerable to a second attack from the heir of the Gloucester.
Just as Lorenz was about to land a devastating blow on the son of Duke Aegir, however, his eyes widened in horror as he spotted a dark ball of magic coming in his way. At this moment, it was already far too late to attempt to dodge it, and as such Lorenz instinctively brought his training spear between him and the oncoming attack in hopes of minimizing its effects.
Unfortunately for the violet-haired boy, the ball of black magic was far stronger than he had realized, and it pushed him back violently before exploding, leaving the heir of the Gloucester winded and with a scorched uniform.
Now, Leonie may not have been an admirer of Lorenz' behavior until now, but she was not going to let a teammate go down without reacting, especially by such a dishonorable tactic. She quickly tensed and jumped between the young noble and the forest, looking out for the next offensive move of their hidden opponent. When Lorenz composed himself once again, he looked to the side and yelled:
"Look out!"
It was too late, however, and Ferdinand von Aegir took advantage of Leonie's split attention to whack his spear to the side of her head, nearly knocking her out on the spot. The Adestrian noble looked over the commoner with a regretful expression before readying for combat again.
"I am sorry it has come to this, but we cannot afford an honorable duel anymore, Gloucester." Announced Ferdinand while Leonie rubbed her wounded cheek, her face being reddened by anger.
"Stop acting as if I wasn't there, you son of a bitch!" Exclaimed the fiery redhead.
Meanwhile, Lorenz had managed to get up, grasping his burned torso with one hand while he grabbed Leonie's shoulder with the other, speaking in a solemn tone.
"No, we have fallen right into a trap! Go back and reunite with the others, I will occupy them." Spoke the skinny young man, letting go of Leonie in favor of his training spear.
"To hell with it! I am not backing down. If we take out that clown, then we'll go tear apart this bastard in the woods." Stated Leonie, staring at her teammate. "And besides, you're the one who should take it easy from now on."
Just as Lorenz was about to protest, though, the duo's attention was grabbed by Ferdinand charging at them once again. This time, though, Leonie was ready and redirected his blow, leaving him vulnerable to Lorenz' own. The Leicesterian noble used the blunt end of his spear to violently poke into Ferdinand's ribcage, which incapacitated him quite effectively.
At this moment, however, the invisible forest attacker had decided that it was the perfect occasion to try to catch them off-guard again. While Leonie managed to get out of the way in time, Lorenz hadn't been so lucky and took the full force of the blast once more, leaving him truly unconscious. As the rules were, it meant that he was considered out of the competition and thus, he couldn't attack nor be attacked again.
"Damn it…" Muttered Leonie, who now had to deal with both this mage and von Aegir, who had come back to his senses and was ready to fight her. This time, she was well and truly alone.
It wasn't going to end well.
As Claude examined the tree he was considering climbing into, Raphael was busy stretching his arms, legs and torso in order to be in optimal form for the fights he was going to be in. When he turned around to check on his House leader, however, he blinked a few times in confusion when he found himself unable to spot him anywhere, at least until Claude popped out while holding on one of the nearest tree's branches, his head upside-down.
"Alright, the new teach's strategy seems to be quite good. We may actually have a chance, I believe…" Reflected the brunette, bouncing back up to get his bow and arrows ready.
"Yeah, well, it doesn't really matter, now does it?" Asked the much larger blonde man, who was installing his training gauntlets on his fists. "After all, only one House can win this, and we'll have another chance later…"
"This isn't false, I'll admit, though…" A smirk appeared on the tanned brunette as he continued speaking. "It would be nice to begin this year on a blast, don't you think?"
At this, the brawler could only shrug and look over the Blue Lions, who had begun preparing themselves as well. He then looked in the open field, where his own professor had taken place. He still wasn't certain of her own chances, since she was right east to the Black Eagles' own turf. Then again, she was a trained mercenary before, so she would certainly be better than untrained people like the students…
When he looked between the positions of the Black Eagles and his own House, though, Raphael's eyes frowned when he saw Lorenz and Leonie who were right in front of a redhead guy, seemingly ready to fight.
"Hey, Claude?"
"Yeah, Raphael?"
"Were the two others supposed to go forward too, again?"
Now becoming slightly worried, the House leader of the Golden Deer turned his head around and positioned himself to be able to see clearly through the leaves. When he perceived Lorenz' very recognizable hairdo, he brought his hand to his chin while shaking his head, slightly discouraged.
"They were not supposed to, but… seems that they are doing it anyways… Lorenz and his stubbornness…"
"So, are we going to help out or not?" Asked the blonde man again, lifting his questioning stare up to his House leader.
"I don't think it would be wise. We are here to provide support for out teacher, so if we just abandon our posts like that, we'll also condemn her. Besides, they're two on one, so it is a pretty safe fight on their end."
"Ah, okay…" With an uncertain look, Raphael redirected his attention on the Blue Lions, as Dimitri and Dedue had begun advancing to their positions or, more precisely, Byleth's. The prince and his vassal's pace were slow and steady, and the two were actively looking around to catch the sight of anyone who would try to ambush them. With the heavy forest at the west of their position, it was impossible to tell the Black Eagles' whereabouts.
When the leader of the Blue Lions' path seemed to redirect more towards the Adestrian House, Claude emitted a small sigh of relief. He was pretty confident in his abilities, but it wouldn't hurt if he didn't have to measure up to someone as strong and skilled as Dimitri.
Once the prince and his Duscurian servant had approached enough, Byleth readied her sword in order to take them head on. She may not have access to a shield and both of the two Blue Lions may be stronger than herself, but she was backed up by two allies and, most importantly, far more skilled than the two. Her head tilted forward a little as she focused her attention on them.
During this time, while Raphael was observing the situation very closely, ready to jump in so he could even the odds for his professor, whose attention was on the oncoming Kingdom representatives, Claude had been looking over the beginning of Lorenz and Leonie's harsh battle against Ferdinand and Hubert, and needless to say, he was not liking what he was seeing.
Despite what Byleth had told him, Claude could not leave the situation as it was without intervening. If the two spear users were to fall, then the Black Eagles would be able to attack the foes fighting near their territory at full power and with complete immunity. As such, while his bulkier teammate would go help their teacher against Dimitri and Dedue, Claude would go to try to help out his two other team members in time.
Thus, the tanned archer jumped out of his hiding spot and, after informing Raphael of his intentions, went on to assist Leonie, as Lorenz had already been knocked out. Launching one of his fake arrows at Ferdinand's head, he promptly turned the fight back to a somewhat balanced one, two-on-two.
Raphael, meanwhile, had decided to get out of hiding right away. If Lorenz, Leonie and Claude had already ruined the professor's plans, then he figured that he could at least do his best to help out.
The new teacher, for her part, had already begun engaging Dimitri in combat. From the scuffle with Kostas and his men, she had learned to not underestimate the prince, and as such she tried to evade his attacks as much as possible while taking advantage of his openings to strike in particularly painful areas.
While the three Houses had finally begun engaging each other in combat, the appointed arbiter of the match frowned slightly as his Hylian companion of fortune was resting his chin in the palm on his hand. He was so used to being right in the center of the action that he hadn't yet realized just how boring it was to simply sit back and watch a battle that you have no stakes for. From as far as they were, they could barely hear anything.
"Wow, your kid's students are really getting their asses served to them, aren't they?" Said the Hero of Hyrule, regarding Lorenz and Leonie's poor performance. While their leader had finally come to their rescue, Lorenz had been knocked out cold and, and although Ferdinand was in a pretty bad shape now, so was Leonie, and there was still this mage in the forest that they had to deal with.
At least, Byleth and Raphael, who had begun fighting Dimitri and Dedue, were doing well enough, if being at a standstill could count as that. From where they were, Link could see that the Blue Lions were keeping this grey-haired archer and the blonde girl behind, probably so they can keep their strength. That left two Black Eagles students unaccounted for, without taking Manuela and Hanneman into consideration, who seemed confident enough that they simply stayed in the fort of their territory.
"You could say that, I guess…" Responded the much older Jeralt, who looked over with a little disappointment. Leonie had once been his apprentice, after all, so seeing her fall into an enemy trap was a bit unfortunate.
Link, meanwhile, was rather focused on the efforts of the Blue Lions to defeat what was left of the Golden Deer to oppose them. After a while, Byleth ended up understanding Dimitri's attack patterns a lot more, and thus she was beginning to push him back bit by bit, while the mountain of a man that was Raphael was holding his own against Dedue and his training axe. Although the Duscurian was obviously more skilled in armed combat than his blonde opponent, the latter's sheer size and power managed to even the odds.
When the prince and his vassal started losing ground, though, Link noticed that their blonde teammate, who had been sheepishly staying in the sidelines until then, rushed forward in Dimitri's direction. At first, the Hylian assumed that she wished to give armed assistance, but he was quickly proven wrong.
When she arrived in close enough range from her leader, she lifted her right hand and extended it forward, with a green glow emitting from it. The weird light was then transmitted to Dimitri, who seemed to be revigorated by the move and quickly began to attack Byleth more ferociously. At this moment, Link understood what she had done.
During the moments he had passed in civilization in Fodlan, and even a bit in Dagda and Brigid, he had learned of the two main ways to utilize magic. One was by converting its pure power into complicated spells, like fireballs or thunder, that were capable of tremendous damage in the right hands. Usually used by erudite and other prodigies, it was called 'Reason' magic.
The other form, which was rather called 'Faith', while it could still be weaponized effectively, was way more effective when used as a way to heal someone else. Those who used it were usually fervent believers in some sort of god, or yet they were simply gifted with a great peace of mind.
It made sense, when Link thought of it. After all, the late Mipha, back in Hyrule, was not only very proficient with healing magic, but she was also a devoted believer in Goddess Hylia, and her spells were always of a green or light-yellow color…
Mipha. Link's heart twisted a bit thinking about her as he reached for his left forearm with his right hand, almost by instinct.
'I haven't heard them at all for a long time' He thought before Jeralt's rough voice interrupted his reverie.
"Leonie and Ferdinand are down, now. You were right, after all."
Redirecting his attention on the battlefield, Link could indeed see the two redheads' immobile forms on the ground, while Claude was trying to figure out where his hidden foe was, bow readied.
Looking over to the other major fight that was going on, Link saw that, thanks to Mercedes and Ashe's support, Dimitri and Dedue had actually succeeded in making Byleth and Raphael lose ground. With no healer and no one else to attack with them, it was obvious that the former mercenary and the muscled blonde were having a hard time keeping up with their foes.
Now that the battle was getting slightly more interesting, the Hylian remade himself comfortable on the grassy ground and yawned loudly before he continued his observation.
Hubert was cursing under his breath as he hid as well as he could inside a bush. Every time he would peak through to observe his opponent's whereabouts, von Riegan was always nearby, seemingly closing on him and approaching the forest. The tall, dark-haired boy would have liked to be able to take him head-on, but there was a little problem.
He was almost exhausted.
Not to the point where he couldn't fight anymore, far from that. However, Claude von Riegan was a formidable fighter in his own right, Hubert knew it, and he also was aware that he had spent a lot of energy fixing Ferdinand's mess. As such, he could not afford to fight someone on par with the other two House leaders on his own, especially not in his current state. Lady Edelgard might need him later when fighting the Blue Lions.
Thus, when he caught a glimpse of his mistress and Dorothea approaching in the woods, he sighed slightly from relief before tensing up and getting ready to assault Claude with everything he had. When Lady Edelgard was close enough and had her axe ready, he quickly got up and prepared one of his black magic spells…
Just in time to get the blunt end of a training arrow striking him square in the jaw.
"Ouc- HOW!" Exclaimed the somber servant, rubbing his chin as he benched over in cover.
"What? You though I didn't know where you were, sneaky buddy?" Mocked the heir of House Riegan, before he giggled slightly.
"What you did to my allies, that was pretty foul of you, you know? Now, allow me to return the favor…" the brunette continued, beginning to prepare another arrow to finish Hubert off.
However, in the corner of his vision, he saw a blue glow erupting from behind a tree, and he had just the time to dodge out of instinct before a Thunder spell hit the ground right where he had been standing, mere seconds before.
Seeing as Dorothea's move had failed, Edelgard decided to take the initiative and jumped towards her Golden Deer counterpart, placing her axe in a defensive manner in order to try to block any incoming arrow.
With now three opponents teaming up on him, Claude knew that his situation was far from optimal. Thus, he employed the secret technique that he had developed in times of need, when the odds seemed impossible. A tactic that was passed from generation to generation since himself, that had already made proof of its wonders against the bandits, and that no one else where he came from used often…
He ran away.
No, wait… a 'tactical retreat' would be a more flattering appellation.
Byleth was fighting with all of her strength, now, parrying blow after blow from Dimitri while she retaliated with her own. She also knew that it meant absolutely nothing as long as her foe was backed up by a competent Faith user like Mercedes, but she had trouble winding the prince back enough to give her a little time to think of a good strategy.
Indeed, without a healer herself, she was beginning to tire up, so her attacks began to decrease in might, and she became both weaker and slower, allowing Dimitri to gain more and more ground with her. At this moment, she truly regretted to not having brought Marianne, no matter how much the latter did not want to fight. 'A burden', she called herself. Ironic, considering the burden right now was her very absence.
Byleth's witty mental banter was quickly interrupted, however, when one of the blonde prince's strikes passed through her defense and hit her in the side of the abdomen, knocking the breath out of her. As she recovered from the attack, she was sent on her back on the ground by a powerful shoulder tackle from Dimitri.
She refused to give up just yet, however, and she ran in the direction of the prince after getting herself up as quickly as possible. However, as he lifted his spear to defend himself, Byleth side-stepped him while striking his right leg with all of her remaining strength, resulting in him losing his balance and falling down.
Using this opportunity, the former mercenary rushed a panicked Mercedes, whose eyes widened in shock as the blue-haired teacher yelled.
"Now, let me demonstrate!"
That was, however, before she was hit with full force sideways by a Thoron attack, derailing her course and sending her crashing down once again.
When she lifted her eyes, she saw that Hanneman had left his stationary post and had come to the help of his class, with his hands crackling in electricity. Turning around, she could see Raphael as well, who was beginning to be at the receiving end of a beatdown from Dedue thanks to Ashe's support, and she got up, more out of stubbornness than anything else.
Mercedes and Hanneman, however, did not move and inch, so Byleth turned around to see Dimitri getting ready to finish their duel. In desperation, she tried a last attack, which was easily parried. The prince then swung his spear at her…
Unfortunately, he had wished to hit her in the side of the torso, but her weakening state had made her bend over at the last moment, which caused his lance to strike her straight in her head, with enough force to snap his wooden weapon outright.
"Professor!" Said a voice that the new teacher was no longer able to recognize as her vision turned to dark.
This was the second last thing she heard before she closed her eyes and fell on the ground. Right before she lost consciousness, she swore that she could hear Sothis' exasperated grunt.
"Come on, you have slept enough, now. Wake up."
As if reacting from the childish voice calling her out, Byleth suddenly woke up in…
… a bed?
With her mind still shrouded in the confusion brought from Dimitri's reckless strike, the former mercenary gave a few glances to check out her surroundings. Eventually, she had recovered her senses enough to realize that she was in Manuela's infirmary, if the green sheets and the medicine were of any indication
Ah, yes, Manuela's own presence may also have given a pretty solid hint.
Continuing her observation, the former mercenary then distinguished the form of her father, resting his back on the doorframe and looking over her with the softest smile that his rugged face could perform, seemingly realizing that she had awoken. Besides him was Dimitri himself, with quite a pronounced frown. When the older man's glare went to the wounded professor, the prince's followed, and his facial features softened considerably once he saw her current state.
Desiring to get out of the bed, Byleth began to remove the sheets covering her, but Manuela stopped her right in her tracks with a 'shh', similar to what she could have used to try to tame a baby.
"Please, professor, stay down for a few moments while I examine you, will you?" Asked the busty nurse as Byleth looked at her with her characteristic emotionless stare.
"I'm fine, I swear…" Responded the annoyed new teacher before she brought a hand to her forehead in reaction to a sudden migraine. Darn, Dimitri must have truly hit her with the force of a Monster Wolf if she was this badly hurt.
While the songstress went on to examine Byleth's wound, Jeralt and Dimitri decided that it would be the right time to approach her current resting place. Once Manuela was done with taking care of the blue-haired woman for now, Jeralt's eyebrows lifted as he spoke.
"Well, you certainly didn't miss her, kid." As the prince took a more stressed expression yet again, Jeralt sighed for what must have been the twentieth time today. "Dimitri here was beginning to get quite worried about you."
At this, the young teacher nodded slowly before giving the Blue Lions' leader a quick glance. The kind of wound like he had given her was fairly common occurrence in her profession. After all, no matter how strong or skilled you are, you will always end up getting surprised by someone, especially if you always engage in battle as often as her and her father.
However, she had always been rather resilient to damage before. Apart from her embarrassing incident with Kostas two days before, she had never sustained any permanent damage from her battles. No matter how deep the cut was, it always ended up vanishing without as much as a scar. Even now, she could feel the migraine brought by her unfortunate meeting with Dimitri's lance dissipating progressively.
"So… who won, in the end?" Asked Byleth, rubbing the bruise that had formed on her head.
"The Blue Lions did." Answered Manuela, not without frustration. "After you and Raphael fell, they set their sights on us. The thing is that your Claude had managed to tire out both of our two other magic users, so we were not exactly at an advantage." At this point, Byleth noticed a bruise on her fellow professor's cheek.
"In any case, with the speed at which your wound has been healing, I will liberate you soon enough." Announced the songstress. "Oh, by the way, Hanneman wished to talk to you once you were able to."
"The Crest researcher? What does he want?" Asked Jeralt, frowning in suspicion.
Link stretched a little as he was seating on the edge of the monastery's fishing pond, contemplating the cute little aquatic creatures swimming around, using water as birds used air, granting them such a freedom of movement. Seeing how many there were in the little space they had, he wondered how much at a time he could blow up.
Once he bored himself with this idea, however, he reflected a bit back on the mock battle. While he didn't regret going there, he definitively didn't find it nearly as entertaining as he had hoped. It may be because he would have rather been the one fighting off plenty of other people.
His mind then wandered around the cafeteria as he could smell a delicious odor of roasted meat emanating from there. He had yet to taste the food of the Academy, and he was absolutely starving. Maybe he should check out if they accepted help in the kitchens? He wasn't arrogant about it, but Link was pretty sure to be the best darn cook in the entirety of Hyrule!
Then, incapable of focusing his thoughts on a single matter, he looked over at his left, where there was a narrow access to the local marketplace. He didn't have any luck back at Remire's, but he was at a prestigious military school, so he should at least find something decent, right? Besides, after losing his stock at the blacksmith the other day, he figured that he may as well look what was available, even if it wasn't new.
Thus, he went on his way to it, soon passing in front of the front gate of the entire faculty. He waved and nodded politely at the guard stationed at the entrance, before the latter saluted Link and exclaimed with enthusiasm:
"Greetings, sir! Nothing to report!"
Genuinely surprised by the sheer concentration of joviality in the response, Link stopped in his way for a few seconds before the guard started talking again.
"Although, I guess your presence here would be something worthy of report! However, I remembered seeing you coming yesterday with Sir Jeralt and Alois, so you are clear, mister."
Normally, this would be the point where Link half-heartedly nodded and walked away, but for some reason the soldier's silly attitude and oversized helmet encouraged him to stay and listen to what he had to say.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm here for some time, so I think you may want to report that too, buddy." Inquired the Hylian with an amused smile.
"I sure will, Link sir! By the way, you can call me Gatekeeper."
"Alright, then. See you later, Gatekeeper."
After another salute from the guard, Link left to meet the merchants with a slightly better mood, and what he saw there surprised him quite a bit.
The people who operated here clearly knew what they were doing, with stands that did their best to showcase just what they had in store. After purchasing a few weapons from the armorer, Link had almost decided to stop spending money from today. After all, he had promised Jeralt to pay for the gong he had practically destroyed with his over-enthusiasm, and he suspected that this Seteth guy would be more than happy to go along with it.
Right before he turned over to return to the pond, however, he caught the sight of a girl he hadn't noticed until now. It was weird, he thought, because her bright pink hair made her stand out quite a bit in the crowd. Curious, he approached her in order to see what she had to sell away, but even before he made an attempt to make his presence known to her, she turned around and waved at him.
"Aye-aye, customer! How can I be of service for you?" Asked the woman, who then tilted her head forward with an expecting expression.
"Oh, just wanted to see what you had. And call me Link, for the record."
"Oh, right, and I'm Anna. And I just so happen to have plenty of different merchandise, brought to you from even the deepest parts of Fodlan, and even beyond!" Exclaimed the quite excited merchant, gesturing to Link to come with her to a recluse point of the place. For a second, he thought that he may have just fallen into a trap, in which he would be mugged by shady people…
But, really, he didn't care. If he could deal with murderous banana sellers in Hyrule, then he could handle pretty much anything, now.
There, she gestured a couple of guys to lift some kind of cloth to reveal her stand. It was mostly filled with jewelry and refined products and furniture, or, as Link preferred to call this sort of things: 'useless junk'. However, there were also brute materials and rare weapons that were quite interesting.
Making a few purchases out of politeness, Link brought up his Slate in order to pay, which caused Anna and her men's eyes to grow wide. Before he could regret showing it to her, her mouth grew into a mischievous grin.
"Hey, tell me sir… this thing you have there, how much have you paid for it?"
"Nothing. It was a gift from a friend. I couldn't replace it if I got rid of it either." Responded Link, cutting off the girl's attempts at negotiation. Her face grew into a pout for a few seconds before she attempted again.
"Well then, do you have something else in there that you think could interest me? I'm always buying if you want something gone."
Gosh, Link thought. She was pretty much Fodlan's Beedle, as far as he was concerned. Only a girl, and prettier.
In order to humor her request, Link searched through the various items he had accumulated in his amazing piece of Sheika technology and ultimately settled on selling her a few potions so she would leave him alone. After all, they were made of monster parts and bugs, which were rather plentiful in this continent.
"Oh, amazing! It looks homemade, did you do these yourself?" Asked the pink-haired girl with mesmerized eyes.
"Yeah, I did. Quite simple if you know how to do it."
"Hmm, and what would you ask of me if I asked you to teach me the recipes?" Asked Anna, bringing a finger to her chin in a seductive pose. Her mind, however, was all focused on the money she could get from an eventual accord.
"Uh, I guess a discount for me? I could also sell you minerals, herbs and other stuff if you accept."
At this, Anna's eyebrows narrowed as she evaluated Link's offer. Sure, the possibility of getting another source of income was tempting, but at the price of a discount? This was hard to decide. Examining the Hylian for another time, though, she noticed his pointy eyes and guessed that he could provide her with unique skills from some remote kingdom, expanding her service arsenal.
"Alright, it's a deal! Ten percent off for you from now on, what do you think?" At this, Link only shrugged and extended his hand forward in order to perform a handshake, which Anna replicated eagerly.
"Sure."
"You wanted to see me?"
Byleth was standing in the doorframe of Hanneman's office, staring at the aging man with her characteristic blank stare. After calling out to him, she observed as the researcher, who had previously been completely absorbed with his paperwork, jumped out of his seat, readjusted his monocle, and arranged his elegant, brown suit before walking over to the former mercenary.
"Yes, indeed I did, professor. You have my gratitude for accepting so quickly! I wanted to have a talk with you." At this, Byleth remained stationary, prompting the man to elaborate. "It is about your… lineage, in a way. Have you ever been tested to see if you were bearing a Crest, by any chance?"
The young teacher couldn't help but frown slightly at the question.
"No, why? I am a commoner, right?"
"You may be, but social status does not necessarily dictate whether you have a Crest or not. But you knew all of this, I am sure…"
After a small laughter, Hanneman looked over to Byleth, who, apart from a faint shake of her head, did not perform any movement.
"Hold on, professor. What exactly do you know of Crests?"
At this, the blue-haired woman slightly shrugged before speaking.
"Not much, I'll admit. I know that it is a big deal in the nobility, but apart from that…"
"I see." Stated the Crest specialist before he cleared his throat again. "Crests, in essence, are the mark of a holy power in an individual. You know that if you press your hand on a glass, you will leave a handprint unique to you, right?"
"Yes."
"Crests are the same thing. It is a print. Now, you were right, they are highly valued in nobility, for various reasons. One reason, of course, is that they allow their bearer to wield the Hero's Relics. As for you, you could very well have one. Let's suppose that, a few generations ago, an esteemed member of a noble house gave birth to a bastard child, who was then sent away. Even if this child was born Crestless, he could have left a descendance who all had a small chance of bearing their noble ancestor's Crest."
"You sure like to say 'Crest' a lot." Replied Byleth, with a faint smile on her face.
"As far as I know, there isn't a synonym for them." Retorted a slightly offended Hanneman.
"So, if I understand well, you want to see if I have a Crest, that I could have inherited from hundred of years ago?" Questioned the younger teacher, tilting her head to the side.
"Yes, but it is not only out of curiosity. You see, when you were attacked by Dimitri this afternoon, I believe that I saw the faint glow characteristic of a Crest activating. I could have been mistaken, but the fact that you recovered so quickly from such a vicious hit deepened my suspicions."
"Okay, so even if I do have a Crest, how do we know for sure?"
Just by the way the older man's face lightened up, Byleth knew that he had been waiting for her to ask this question.
"Ah, well, this will be done easily thanks to one of my finest inventions, the Holographic Crest Detector! Could you please take a look beneath you, professor?"
Following Hanneman's command, Byleth glanced down and, besides a purple circle, there wasn't much to talk about.
"When I take a blood sample from anyone and put it in a little device… right there…" Then, pointing at a small bowl-like construct, he continued. "The system will project a high-quality image of the Crest present in it. If I did the test right now, then it would show the Crest of Indech, of which I am a bearer, but would you kindly do so as well?"
Seeing no reason to refuse, Byleth nodded and let Hanneman do his magic. After having taken a drop of her blood and inserted in his detector, the purple circle she had seen previously began to glow. The researcher, for his part, exclaimed while smiling widely:
"Oh, so I was right, after all! Now, let's see what we have here…"
Then, just as the aged teacher had claimed it would do, the device sent into the office a holographic picture of a Crest. Of course, Byleth did not know what to make of it, but she was quite surprised to turn to Hanneman and realizing that he was actually taken aback by the results of the test.
"Is something wrong?" Asked the blue-haired woman, looking back to the Crest that was supposed to be hers.
"I… It is fascinating. To think that there are still Crests that I did not even know exist!"
"Pardon me?"
"Oh, sorry. You see, there are fifteen Crests that are well-known, among the populace, being those of the Ten Elites, the Four Saints, and Seiros herself. Obviously, however, there are far more, like the mysterious one that your student Marianne bears, or the Crest of Ernest, worn by this merchant who comes regularly, but this one… I do not recall having seen it anywhere else before!"
"So, what does it imply?" Inquired Byleth, who was beginning to get slightly interested in all of these magical shenanigans.
"It implies that there may be yet another holy bloodline that has been forgotten by history… if you agree to it, professor, I would greatly appreciate to perform further experiments on your Crest. At the same time, we could discover its effects!"
Before answering, Byleth looked over to the image that was still levitating in the middle of the office. For some reason, there was a certain feeling of warmth that engulfed her when she saw it, as if it was a sort of complementary of her in a way. However, on the other hand, there was a sensation of eeriness that crept up on her at the same time. In a bizarre way, it felt as if this uneasiness was not part of her, but of some kind of… other self?
In any case, to know more about this emblem might help her expand her set of skills if she was lucky, on top of learning more of her own identity.
Hey, Emblem, that could be a good synonym for Crest.
"Yes, you may."
Later that day, once the bells announcing the end of classes for the day – or the few there were, in today's case –, most of the students made their way to the dining hall as quickly as possible so they would not be caught in the extensively long line of waiting they would otherwise have to follow in order to access their food. Of course, no matter how fast everyone was, there were always an unlucky few who ended up last.
Around the place were placed the various groups of friends among the three Houses, with very little mixing, if any at all. Most of the students who had taken part in the mock battle had bandages stuck on them due to the wounds they had sustained this afternoon, but they were otherwise fine.
One of the groups was the trio of Ingrid, Sylvain and Felix who were speaking with Annette and Mercedes about the latter's exploits of the day.
"Wow, in a way, you could say that Dimitri owes his victory to you, Mercie. That's wonderful!" Exclaimed the excitable orange-haired girl, nearly knocking over her glass of water in the process.
"Hmph." This was all that Felix would bring to the conversation, focused on his own plate. Meanwhile, Sylvain himself looked pretty down, not even paying attention to his friend' words, or lack thereof.
"Hey, what's the matter with you two party poopers?" Asked the clumsy Annette with an offended tone. "We won!"
"They won." Clarified Felix, making his point very clear to everyone present – except for his childhood friend Sylvain, who didn't bother to listen.
"Come on, Felix, don't be like that. You still have a year to prove your worth." Jokingly said Ingrid, further causing the prideful swordsman to clam up. Seeing her friend's reaction, a look of slight regret passed over the lancer's face as she turned to Sylvain.
"And what is your excuse?" Asked Annette to the Casanova, which made Felix show a rarely seen humoristic side of him.
"I am certain that it is because we are stuck with the old man as a teacher, instead of the two other women." Hypothesized the heir of the Fraldarius, taking a bite of the roasted meat as his best friend shot him a half-annoyed, half-amused glare.
"Just don't change Houses just because of that, it's not like you absolutely need to make a fool out of yourself with a professor…" Warned Ingrid.
"Yeah, I get it. Don't worry, Ingrid." Replied the Gautier, seemingly getting out of his somber mood.
Much later that evening, as all of the students were to enter their dorms, as per the rules imposed by the nightly curfew. At this hour, only a few of the teenagers were still out, and most of these cases had been because of a discussion with a member of the staff which took them longer than they realized.
Of course, for Edelgard, this hour was perfect to organize a little meeting with her sinister servant. So far, everything was going according to their plan. Fortunately, the back of the stables wasn't as heavily guarded as the rest of the monastery, and as such they could maybe enjoy some privacy. That, they couldn't be sure until Hubert would finish his little reconnaissance round.
When a shadowy figure approached her, Edelgard tensed up for a second, until she realized just who it was.
"The area is clear, Lady Edelgard." Confirmed the young man, bowing to his mistress.
"Good, now we can talk of some… pressing matters." Uttered the future empress of Adestria with no little stress in her voice. She rubbed her forehead softly as she continued speaking. "Have you managed to gather any kind of information on the new professor or the outsider?"
"I have found a few interesting pieces of intelligence on Byleth, but I am afraid that this blonde man remains mostly a mystery. Apparently, this woman has been raised by her father among his group of mercenaries after Sir Jeralt disappeared. She does have a trackable history, from the employers who bought their services. Among them are Rodrigue Fraldarius, of the Kingdom, and Count Gloucester, of the Alliance. The soldiers talk of them as the 'Blade Breaker' and the 'Ashen Demon'."
After this lengthy description of everything he knew from Byleth, Hubert remained in silence for a moment, letting his mistress assimilate the information and awaiting her instructions. After a few seconds, Edelgard nodded slowly and crossed her arms as she decided on her next course of action.
"In this case, then we can safely assume that the new professor is not a fake. No amount of trickery of illusion could reproduce that much skill. She might be useful to us, in the long run. It is a shame that she teaches the Golden Deer."
"And what do we do for Link?" Inquired the dark-haired young man, his eyes betraying worry for his leader.
"Continue your search. A man cannot spend at least a year or two as he claims and not leave a single trace in Fodlan. At least someone from the church or nobility must have heard of him. Try to see also the records of Brigid and Dagda, since he says that he passed through there."
"I see what you are trying to do, Lady Edelgard, but even if it turned out that he truly existed… he has just now reappeared, and joins the monastery's numbers just as you begin to serve as a student? These are all the signs of an infiltration, and I think we should instead try to eliminate him."
"No." Pressed the red-caped woman. "If he is one of them, then his disappearance would be considered a provocation, and that would bring us much more trouble than we can handle. If he is not, then he can potentially help out cause. Besides, we do not know what he is capable of. Foreign technology is not something to scoff at. Now, let's go to our rooms, we need to be in our best condition for our training tomorrow."
"As you wish, Lady Edelgard."
Welp. Yet another chapter done, I hope you liked it!
Now, to explain a few things. I have decided to make Byleth lose the mock battle in order to avoid having her winning every scuffle she gets in. Yes, she is a great tactician, but at the end of the day, she was fighting against other genuinely talented leaders in their own right while leading what was at best a bunch of misfits. At the same time, the Black Eagles had the advantage of the terrain while the Blue Lions were better organized, and they were actually cooperative with each other.
As for poaching students: yes, it will be a thing. Certain of the characters will not end up in the same class they debuted in.
Also, yes, the Gatekeeper will continue making appearances, and not only as running gags.
For next chapter, a first day of official classes for the Three Houses! The Black Eagles get to train with Jeritza, the Blue Lions get a little taste of typical classroom lecture with Hanneman while Byleth has some things to set straight regarding the previous day's disaster. There will also be something with Link, but I won't spoil that.
Also, shoutout to Sol D. Mars for pointing out a mistake, regarding Hanneman's crest. It's been fixed, thank you man!
Second edit: Forgot the horizontal lines. I now realize that this chapter must have been a pain to read, and I'm quite sorry.
Finally, I appreciate it immensely when you readers leave your thoughts, it allows me to make sure that my writing stays entertaining and of quality! Do you think I made the characters justice? Was there a major flaw or inconsistency you spotted? Don't hesitate to give feedback!