Fodlan year: 1177

Ethereal Moon

If the temperature outside of the Varley Mansion had been chilling when Link had first arrived, it was now downright glacial. Just by the action of breathing, both he and Johnathan were causing the humidity that they exhaled to instantly freeze on their upper lips. If Link hadn't shaved prior to this, he would probably already have a few ice blocks stuck in his mustache and beard.

Fortunately, even though they had been forced by the owner of the place to wait outside, neither of the two men were suffering from it. Indeed, Link had been kind enough to share one of his ice resistance elixirs with Jonas von Varley's personal guard, and he had a feeling that the nobleman himself would be glad to get some of it himself for the ride.

Both Link and Johnathan's attention were grabbed by the front door of the massive home opening up, with the third member of their group saying his last goodbyes to his niece, Bernadetta, while putting up his massive coat.

After giving Jonas and both horses some of his potion, Link prepared himself to salute them and go on his merry way, until Jonas spoke up to him first.

"Say, Mister Link. Why don't you come over to my own propriety for a few days?"

"Actually, I was about to go on my own, good Sir. I wouldn't want to trouble you."

At this, both the large nobleman and his guard burst out in laughter, which only served to confuse the Hylian. Once they were done, Jonas waved his hand dismissively at Link.

"Oh, please! Do not say things like this! I may not be the richest noble in the Empire, but I can afford to house a man for a while! Besides, it is only natural to offer you something in return for saving both of us. You even gave us something to fight the cold for the ride back home!"

"I suppose it is fair." Admitted Link, contemplating the scenery as he considered the offer. Shortly after, he shrugged slightly. "Alright, I'll come back with you. No need to get me on your horses, though, I'll just walk."

Elated to see his proposition accepted, the nobleman let out a pleased sigh as the trio began their travel back to Jonas' home. This time, since it was very early in the day, the three men had opted to take an alternative route to the one the noble and the guard had gone through two days prior, just in case something else was lurking in these woods. Link wasn't worried, but the other two could be hurt in the potential crossfire if another fight was to occur.

Immediately after the beginning of the three men's travel, Jonas and Johnathan started to speak of their personal impressions of the family reunion they had just attended. Having nothing better to do while he walked along, Link listened to their banter in silence.

"My brother… what a case, wouldn't you say?" Jonas asked to his old friend as the latter acquiesced. "'Trying to get a say in the internal affairs', he said. This is only going to exasperate the others even further."

"Not to mention…" Added the guard. "That he already isn't really that important in the grand scheme of things. The man responsible for religious business in the faction with the least amicable relationship with the Church of Seiros is far from indispensable. Does he think that the others will put up with this forever?"

"And the way he spoke of Ionus, the poor old man. Hasn't he suffered enough? I heard that even more of his children have died already. How many of them could still hold the throne if he was to die himself?"

"Counting the ones who have just gone completely insane or not?" Said Johnathan with a bit of irony. "I swear that something fishy is going on that Vestra and Aegir are not telling us. There cannot be that many children who simply suffer from these afflictions without explanation."

"Indeed. Something is happening…" Complained Jonas before his voice began bitter. "And have you seen Bernie? She looked even sicker than last time."

"Yes, I have. What he is doing to her will just hurt them both." Began the guard as he adopted a careful tone. "While I don't agree with it, I see where he's coming from with making Bernadetta a more… passive wife, so to say. Though, there are so other many young women born from other, more prestigious Houses, that just being a trophy wife will not make her stand out. Did he really expect Aegir to betroth his eldest son to her?"

"This is not the point!" Exclaimed the large nobleman, causing his friend to flinch slightly. "I do not care who she marries, what I care about is her!" After this little outburst, the Varley took a few deep breaths to calm himself down and noticed Link looking at the two of them back and forth. "Excuse me if our discussion bores you."

"Oh, no, it's fine." Responded the blonde Hylian. "I actually like listening to conversations. You would be surprised at how much insight of someone or something you gain when you listen closely, especially you two and with how political you were getting. Although, why is your brother trying to marry Bernadetta off to anyone?"

"Ah, this is the painful reality of the nobility." Said Jonas while looking in the sky with a hint of sadness. "Personal well-being goes second to political obligations. I was lucky to be the younger brother, so I escaped this craziness."

"Is this not the same in your homeland, Link?" Inquired Johnathan.

"No, not really. Nobility in Hyrule has practically disappeared by now." Explained the blonde man.

"I see. In any case, I certainly hope that you will pass a good time in my humble propriety, Mister Link. I have several acres of land with several people to cultivate it, although not much activity goes on outside in this time of the year." Said Jonas with the first smile he had since they departed from his brother's home.

"The farms are a lot more active, though." Johnathan specified. "The cattle needs care all the time."

As the three-way conversation died down, Link reflected on his current situation. At first, he had been reluctant at the idea of passing a few days under someone else's hospitality, but Jonas and Johnathan both seemed to be of an enjoyable enough company. Furthermore, they seemed to be well knowing of the political status of their nation, which would be useful for Link in order to navigate through Fodlan more efficiently. Going through a scattered wasteland and a well-organized empire were two completely different ordeals.

Fodlan year: ?

? Moon

For the first time in a long while, Link felt perfectly rested when the sunlight of the morning hit his eyes, forcing him awake. As he slowly opened them, however, his mind was gradually being filled with confusion.

He wasn't in a forest, like he gone to sleep in before… He was in… a bed?

Slowly getting up, the Hylian tried to rub his eyes in order to clear his view, but to no avail. Still, he could distinguish the shape of the window through which the light was coming from. Looking around, he began to recognize a few more of the furniture present in the place. A desk, on which his slate was; a small library, filled with random books that he never really had to chose in the first place.

Most strange of all was a framed picture hung at the wall. Link decided to approach it and observe what it was depicting in order to make his mind a bit clearer.

In the middle of the image was him, albeit much younger. He had yet to get his last growth burst and beard in the time period of that picture. Looking at the rest of the individuals allowed him to remember who they were. Right beside him was a strange red woman. She was frail and had a surprised look on her face. On closer inspection, Link could discern her fish-like features. She was a Zora. Mipha?

Then, as he continued to observe, he could see the feathered fellow with an angry look, the archer Revali, as well as the tall and tanned Gerudo known as Urbosa, looking down upon Link with affection. Then, enveloping all of them in a sort of group hug was the gigantic Goron, Daruk. Then, practically glued to Link's younger self by Daruk's embrace, was…

Zelda.

Upon recognizing this particular face, the Hylian suddenly got a slight headache, right as he looked around some more. He knew where he was, now.

He was at home, in Hyrule.

But this was impossible… what about Bernie, and Jonas, and all those people he met since he left? Was it all…

"Link? You're awake already!"

His mental panic was somewhat slowed down when he heard a charming and calming voice calling out to him. He then glanced in the voice's direction and gasped. The blonde hair, the youthful and radiant visage…

Zelda.

"Are you alright? You look off." Said the princess in the same calm tone that she had spoken in earlier while the Hero of Hyrule felt his heart sink in more and more.

"I'm… I'm not…" Were the only things that he could muster in his shocked state.

"Aw, look at yourself. Even after defeating the Calamity, you still end up panicking like that over nothing… come here."

Then, Zelda came to him and wrapped him up with a warm embrace. In response to this unsolicited mark of affection, however, Link instinctively pushed her away, which did not seem to bother her, as she simply began to walk down the stairs to the dining room.

"Today will be pretty busy. We will be talking with Sidon about the Zora's part in Hyrule's new united government. Let's eat breakfast first, okay?"

Too dazzled to argue, Link simply complied and followed her, as if he was being forced to by an external force. When they arrived at the table in Link's living room, however, he soon realized to his horror that there were a few more people at home than he had realized. Indeed, sitting down were four more people.

Revalli, Urbosa, Daruk and Mipha, all together, and staring right back at him. However, there was something wrong about them. They all had grotesque wounds scarring them, almost beyond recognition, and Link could only know it was them because of a vague gut feeling.

As he gasped in disgust at the deformed figures of his friends, Zelda turned to him with a smile, as if inviting him to sit down as well. When he did not move, Revalli took parole.

"You could at least spend some time with us now, after this little escapade of yours."

Then, it was Urbosa's turn…

"Hmph. After getting us like this, he can burn for all I care."

Then Daruk's…

"Honestly, I wish you could have at least tried to stay a bit longer to clean up your mess."

Finally, Mipha spoke up.

"Do you not even feel shame after killing us, Link? I thought you loved us. Then you run away like this? Are you going to kill them too?"

"What?" Link asked out in shock. "I never…"

"YES, YOU DID!" Shrieked Zelda, suddenly grabbing his neck with such strength that he could not get off. "I WAS STUCK THERE FOR ONE HUNDRED YEARS, AND WHAT DID YOU DO AFTER THAT? WHAT DO I GET FOR WAITING FOR YOU?"

"No, I did not abandon you, I was done there…" Pleaded the Hero, to no avail.

"You abandoned Bernie, though. Did you not?" Asked Zelda, with a much calmer tone, while still strangling Link. "You knew what would happen when you did it."

Upon those words, the delicate-looking princess threw Link to the ground, before she went back for his neck while the poor man was struggling for his life.

"No! I did not! I tried to help!"

Fodlan year: 1180

Harpstrings Moon

When he opened his eyes, the first that was registered into Jeritza's vision was the warm color that the Officers' Academy's sky was adopting in the early morning, despite the clouds that were beginning to agglomerate. Despite it being nearly six in the morning, his eyes felt sore and his pupils heavy, signs of yet another restless night.

He took his time standing up. He did not like to rush things when he could help it, as it only brought in unnecessarily stress that he had no need for. Once he was done getting out of his bed, he scanned his room as he did each morning, in search of any change in the otherwise familiar scenery.

After this quiet check-up, the first thing he did was to walk up to his personal desk, which had a nicely framed mirror mounted on it, and observed his reflection in silence. His hair, while neatly cleaned every day, had gone messy in his nightly agitation, so he took the time to comb it back into the way it was supposed to be.

Then, his inspection went to his eyes, cold and stern, and he remained immobile for a moment as he stared into his own glare. After this, he quickly reached for the white mask that he had discarded on the desk the day before and put it on, hiding away any sign of fatigue.

Now that he wore this veil, he was no longer the real Jeritza, but merely a toned down version of himself, one that was capable of living amongst civilization with relative ease, for however long he could.

Done with his routinely self-checkup, Jeritza changed from his nightly pajamas to his usual daily attire while he took a few deep breaths in order to remain as serein as possible before he went to give his lessons. He was having the Golden Deer this morning, and if the stories he heard were of any indication, then they were in dire need of proper training.

A small sigh of relief escaped him as he thought of his consistent schedule. Not only was he allowed to perform the only activity which he actually liked, but it also permitted him to keep his… other side into check until it was really needed.

Lastly, right as he was about to leave his room, he gave a glance to a long object, which had been wrapped in some sort of protective cloth, which had been put resting on one of the bedroom's corners. Under this layer of fabric was his latest purchase at Anna's company the Lance of Sariel. This little beauty of outsider craftsmanship had been a wonderful addition to his collection of deadly weapons.

Getting his eyes off his newest finding, the instructor exited the cramped space that was his bedroom in order to go prepare his class.

As the cloudy sky shone in light grey over the monastery of Garreg Mach, the training arena found itself filled with energy, as all of the peculiar students of the Golden Deer had arrived to have their class. Immediately, Byleth and Jeritza had shared the youngsters between them in order to monitor their training effectively. As a result, the former mercenary would have Leonie, Marianne and Ignatz while the masked instructor would take Raphael, Lorenz and Hilda. Lysithea had wanted nothing to do with either, as she preferred to train her magical endurance, as Byleth had suggested days prior.

Claude, for his part, had expressed the desire to have the outsider Link as his mentor for the day. Having seen the display the latter did to Ashe, Jeritza had simply assumed that the young Riegan had deemed the Hylian as the best suited person to teach him and accepted. Of course, with Claude, nothing was as it seemed.

The truth was that his research on the blonde outsider was going slow. After all, he only had the latest hours of the day free to do it, and during these he needed to be as attentive as possible, and it turned out that to stay focused when your body already craves sleep is not an easy task. As such, he had decided that he would try to get relevant information on the man himself. He also had some dirt to dig up about the Church, so he couldn't afford to waste too much time on who was merely an oddity.

When he got the confirmation that his request for today's mentoring had been accepted, Claude bowed to his instructor with a smile while telling him his gratitude before he went to the back of the area, where Jeritza told him that Link had gone to earlier.

When he got a glimpse of the Hylian, the tanned archer was taken slightly aback by what he saw. Instead of standing straight and grinning while observing everyone passing by like he normally did, Link was sitting with his back resting on a lonely pillar while he contemplated the heavily clouded sky.

In order to attract his attention, Claude coughed slightly in his fist to make some noise. Sure enough, it was sufficient to make the blonde man's head turn to look in his direction. Heavy bags under his eyes betrayed extreme tiredness and his gaze was distant.

"Oh, you want to train with me, kid?" Asked the Hylian, forcing a smile.

"Yeah, I thought that you could get me some advice…" Claude asked before examining his interlocutor's state closer. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Ha, yes. Just missed some sleep tonight. You know how it is." The older man responded. He then began to stand up after rubbing his eyes. "Don't worry for me, I'm fine."

Semi-satisfied with Link's explanation, Claude went back to the sanded grounds with his temporary mentor following him before he made a demonstration of his shooting skills. After flawlessly hitting the middle of the target a few times, Link made a show of his with moving and jumping like he had shown Ashe the previous day. Unlike the freckled young man, however, the heir of House Riegan turned out to be quite steady with his aim, managing to perform a few acrobatics of his own, including shooting while upside-down!

"Quite impressive." Admitted Link, slowly getting back to his usual, care-free attitude. "You must have practiced a lot when you were a child, did you?"

"I won't lie, I have. My family has quite the history with warfare and weaponry. On my father's side, I mean." Said Claude, not without pride. He then profited of this occasion. "Since you think that I'm pretty good already, I was wondering about something. You think you could tell me a bit about your home region, Hyrule I think?"

"You want me to tell you about Hyrule?" Repeated the Hylian, before his shrugged half-heartedly. "You know what? Fine. I'm not really in the mood for crazy stunts today."

Smiling slightly, the young Riegan's gaze followed Link as the latter went to search for the rocky edge of the sanded grounds, which formed some sort of step up from the rest of the area, and sat on it. Claude approached him slowly.

"So, you want me to tell you about what, exactly? There are so many differences between Fodlan and Hyrule, I could be here for days."

"Why don't you begin with the power system?" Claude suggested, the tanned boy tilting his had to the side as he prepared to listen closely. "Who is in control?"

"Ah." Was all that Link said at first, like a sigh. "Well, over a century ago, the Kingdom of Hyrule was led by a royal family who bore the name of Hyrule themselves. I don't remember the name of the king, but the Princess was called Zelda. There were also probably a lot of nobles who did pretty much what yours do today, bickering among themselves and doing petty mischief."

"Okay, I get it. You said, 'over a century', though? What happened?"

"The Calamity happened."

The Hylian went silent for a moment before he continued, with Claude avoiding adding pressure onto him.

"Imagine a dark and violet, deformed pig, with enormous tusks and a large, gaping mouth. Now, imagine it to be the size of the entire monastery, and you get an idea of the kind of thing that ravaged my homeland.

It was said that at the time, four champions, each representing a different race of the kingdom, were chosen in order to pilot formidable weapons that would be enough to obliterate the thing when it showed its ugly mouth. With them, the Hylian Princess and her personal Knight fought during its rampage."

Another silence.

"One made it out alive."

While Link was telling the story, the young Riegan had sit beside him and was giving all of his attention to him. He was genuinely beginning to get hooked by the legend of Hyrule's downfall.

"The Princess, Zelda, had access to a powerful artefact that allowed her to seal the demonic entity away, and she held up until the next hero could weaken it enough so she could banish it for good." Then, the Hylian man looked to his interlocutor. "To answer your question, now the different races of the kingdom rule themselves, for the most part in communities. There is the Zora race and their king, the Rito and their chieftain, the Gerudo and their queen, the Sheika and Goron and their elder, and the Hylians and their various mayors, company owners or whoever can lead the best."

"Hold on a second, you're saying that Hylians are their own race? Then, who are the rest? Outsiders?"

"No. The Hylian race is mostly alike to your own kind, kid. We just have pointier ears sometimes. The Gerudo are a race of warrior women who only have boys very sporadically, and they marry men from other races. The Sheika have white hair and live for very long, the Rito are bird-like, the Zora fish-like, and the Gorons are literally living rocks." Noticing the incredulous stare that Claude was giving him, Link grinned and closed his eyes. "I'm not making it up, I'll show you proof later."

"Oh, I would love to see it, that's for sure." Admitted the young Riegan. "Though, how would you describe the relations between the people? The fish, the bird, the rock… do they live in harmony?"

"You could say that. There is absolutely no central force that I'm aware of, so everyone is on their own. However, everything that existed before is in ruins and needs to be rebuilt, so no one really thinks of causing trouble, apart from the Yiga." Under Claude's questioning stare, he elaborated. "They are rogue Sheika, who followed the Calamity like you people do with your Seiros god or whatever. They haven't reappeared in years, though, so that's good."

"So, what you're saying is… that it took an apocalypse to bring people together?" Asked Claude, a bit uneasy. He then quickly rectified himself. "No, that's not it. I think that everyone gets along because they have something to build and to move towards to. The future of their lands, prosperity… Is this it?"

"Pretty much. I will admit that seeing the sort of evil things that people are capable of in Dagda, Brigid and Fodlan surprised me quite a bit."

"It must have. Can I ask you a last question, Link?" After the latter acquiesced, Claude continued. "Who were you before you left? You look like someone who has seen a lot of things."

"Maybe I do." Said Link, shrugging dismissively. "I will tell you something, though… I haven't been traumatized much by the fights I have had. Some of my fondest memories are memorable battles. Sometimes, the worst part of battle are the people that you could not save."

After this, yet another moment of silence.

"After this battle in Remire, I saw this young girl, with the white hair…"

"Edelgard?"

"Yes, that. I saw her drenched in her own blood, and… it could have been way worse. Tell me, have your friends ever died on you?"

Now, the atmosphere was getting dense as Link's question caused Claude to be a bit uncomfortable.

"No?"

"Keep it this way. This peace in Fodlan, preserve it as much as you possibly can, because when it's gone, then people who counted on you will die. War is the worst thing."

"You seem to know this by experience, and with the sort of skills you displayed at Remire, I wouldn't be surprised if you were a very well-known hero back home." Claude added, before he reformulated his previous question. "The thing is… what sort of war did you fight, if Hyrule is rebuilding and your own troublemakers have pretty much disappeared? Were there invaders from outside?"

As the young Riegan was talking, Link began to scowl and gave the youngster an annoyed glare. However, his expression soon turned to resignation as he resumed recounting his homeland's story.

"No, Hyrule is not an easy place to invade. We are so isolated by geography that it took me three years just to find a way out. There's something I forgot to tell you when I spoke of the Calamity. While she was preventing it from coming back, Princess Zelda has waited for over a century before someone could finally slay the beast." Under Claude's stupefied stare, Link continued. "Somehow, she had taken a different form to fight the evil entity, so she could stay alive for so long."

"So, if this is right, this means that this thing has only been vanquished very recently, right?" Asked the tanned archer.

"Yes. In the meantime, there were a lot of possessed monsters to fight, and many people of all sorts banded together to fight off this Calamity, or 'Ganon', as the Gerudo called it. I was one of these people."

"Wow." Claude commented. "You know, it is strange to think that just anyone you meet could turn out to have faced unthinkable things. 'Everyone is the hero of their own story', as they say. I'm wondering, though… If you were such a big deal back in the day and you helped to save your kingdom from annihilation, then why are you here, far from home?"

Right after he asked, however, Claude felt as if he had crossed a line for the blonde outsider, as the older man had first stared at him with a blank expression. No anger or even annoyance in this stare, just emptiness. Then, his glance drifted slowly over the arena where the others were training, and he eventually looked down and shook his head.

"I am not a man who can just settle down so easily. A few years after we defeated the Calamity, I began to feel empty, as monsters were becoming scarce. I had nothing to fight against, and it drove me crazy. All the others, they were either a prince, a queen, or another important part of their little society, so I was alone in this sort of… situation. I came to Dagda, then Brigid, and then Fodlan, in search for excitement, novelty." A sad smile appeared on his face briefly as he paused. "I have managed to stay in one place for a while, though."

Realizing that he was beginning to shed a small tear, Link interrupted his rant and wiped his face clean before he stood up.

"I think I have talked enough of Hyrule for today. I'll show you some pictures another time, I'll be taking a break. Why don't you go train with your friends over there?"

"I sure will. Let me tell you something, though…" Claude responded. "I hope that you find what you've been looking for. Until then, I'm sure Garreg Mach should have enough oddities for you to stay entertained. Don't you agree?"

At this, Link smiled sincerely and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, it sure will."

As Lorenz took the wooden spear that he would use in this morning's training session, he evaluated the thing's balance before he glanced in the direction of Raphael, who was picking up one of the training axes.

He then proceeded to strike a few stances in order to coordinate his practice swings better and tried to focus his entire mind on this unique activity. Thus, for a good five minutes, he was able to perform some moves that he was eager to try out during the mock battle with the knights of Seiros in only a few days now.

Eventually, though, his concentration was broken when he caught the sight of Claude von Riegan, sitting on a stony edge of the arena while discussing with this blonde outsider, obviously slacking off in the process. In this single instant, all serenity that inhabited the noble young man was gone, evaporated, and he began to mumble to himself about the tanned boy. Suddenly, the booming voice of Raphael came out from behind him.

"Hey, Lorenz, what are you talking about?"

Surprised by the unexpected arrival of the huge blonde man, Lorenz turned around and had to look up at his interlocutor's face – which was, at least to him, slightly degrading.

"I do not recall speaking to you, Raphael." Retorted the self-proclaimed noblest member of the Golden Deer.

"Ah, sorry. It's just that seeing you being all angry like that and not moving, I thought you had something on your mind." The bigger student explained himself with an innocent tone which Lorenz could not think of as anything other than sincere.

"Actually, I was thinking of Claude." Admitted the violet-haired man.

"Again?" Asked Raphael rhetorically. "Why do you hate him so much? Did he do something to you?"

"No. It is much more important than such petty matters. You would be forgiven for not understanding."

"Come on, buddy. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but I'll try to understand. If you have something on your mind, you shouldn't keep it all in." Raphael commented. Lorenz, for his part, decided that he could afford to share his worries with someone for once instead of taking the burden himself.

"Fine. You must know how the Alliance works, at least? The Riegan, Gloucester, Ordelia, Goneril and Edmund Houses form a council with the leader."

"Yeah… I knew that." Said Raphael after a bit of effort to recall what little he knew of politics.

"Well, with the sudden death of the son of Duke Riegan's son, it seemed as though their House was eventually going to collapse. My father, Count Gloucester, would have then taken the lead of our nation." Upon seeing Raphael nodding while listening, Lorenz continued. "However, only a little while ago, we have Claude here who comes out of nowhere, with a Crest of Riegan and ready to take the role of leader of the Alliance all of a sudden. Do you not think of it as suspect?"

"Well…" The muscled blonde tried to come up with a worthwhile contribution to the conversation. "Doesn't he have the Crest? I mean, that's all you guys think matters, right?"

"It is definitively important, yes, but my problems with our House leader goes deeper than this. His lineage is not questionable. No one could simply spawn the Riegan bloodline's Crest out of nowhere. However, it alone doesn't make a good leader. Do you understand?" He then noticed his interlocutor's questioning expression and sighed. "Duke Riegan had a daughter, who has disappeared many years ago. She is Claude's mother. However, while the identity of his father has ever been found, I am convinced that he is an outsider."

His voice then turned bitter as he spoke again.

"With his skin color, I wouldn't be surprised if he was an Almyran, on top of this."

"Okay, I get it, but what does it have to do with being the leader of the Alliance?" Retorted the mountain of muscles of a man while he scratched his head.

"What? Think a little! We have a complete stranger who appears out of the blue to take the highest position of the Leicestian government! No one really knows him, and from all the evidence currently available, we can assume that he never stepped a foot in Fodlan in his childhood! How can someone like this be trusted with such an important role? Even if nothing of this mattered, how do we know that he can lead anything? It is not easy. Let's take you for example, you could not hold your parents' business, as I've learned, right?"

"Leave my family's stuff out of this, please." Asked the gentle giant with a slight frown. "I sold our things so me and my sis could live for a while."

Realizing that he had just stepped on very personal matters, Lorenz took a regretful expression.

"Yes, pardon me for my rudeness, but then you must understand my doubts about Claude?"

"Well, I do get where you're coming from, but we're here for a year, right?" Lorenz nodded. "Then, why don't you give him a chance? If he's good, then we'll see it, right?"

"I… Yes, I suppose you are not wrong, but my point is that we shouldn't look at outsiders for our very first choice in future Leaders! Who would you prefer, an outsider who neglects his studies or a groomed nobleman who understands his nation best?"

"I don't know." Admitted Raphael. "Though, I would begin by getting to know them. So far, both of you look like pretty good people, so I'm not sure who would be best."

"Ah, yes, of course." Lorenz sighed. "Charisma can gather masses without effort, and Claude certainly doesn't lack any of it. I just hope that this fiasco does not end in the ruin of Leicester."

While Claude was learning about Link's homeland and Lorenz was complaining about him, Byleth had begun to tutor her self-assigned students for the period. For a good hour, she had shown some basic stances to Marianne without getting too much in-depth. Indeed, the young woman was still very unsure of her own skills and Byleth found herself having trouble to teach her effectively. Since Hilda, Raphael and Lorenz, who were under Jeritza' tutelage, were rather talented already in their respective weapon expertise, the new teacher gave away her training to the masked instructor for the day.

For now, the new professor was practicing her lance skills with Leonie. While Byleth was undoubtedly remarkable with a sword, she hardly had any practical experience wielding any other kind of weapon and, as a result, this seance was proving to be beneficial to both teacher and student.

The two's wooden lances clashed continuously as they performed a choregraphed exercise, where when one of the two women would strike, the other would position their weapon to block it. This went on for a good while, with the two training partners trying to break each other's defenses, and none of them was ready to give up just yet.

Eventually, however, Byleth's inexperience with lances ended up causing her to slightly miscalculate the position that she needed to assume in order to block a particular attack from Leonie, resulting in the first successful hit of this sort-of duel. With her chest puffing from both pride and the effort she was putting into this training session, Leonie took a step backward.

"Hey, this was not bad, but I guess that I really am beginning to catch up to you after all, huh?" Exclaimed the redhead, spinning her lance in her hands.

"You have progressed much, indeed. Have you learned from another instructor?" Asked Byleth, as she assessed her current foe's fighting style and, thus, weaknesses.

"Not since you and Sir Jeralt went away. Nope, I came this far with just his teachings and sheer force of will!" Boasted Leonie, before she took a combat pose, indicating that she was ready to engage once again.

Thus, wood clashed once again in rapid succession. This time, however, Byleth had had the opportunity to analyze Leonie's patterns, and as such the fiery redhead realized that she was having a much harder time to pierce her teacher's defense. In fact, the new professor was becoming bolder, and her more ample movement and seemingly abandoned self-protection would look rather risky to an onlooker.

The truth was, however, that every attack of Byleth's was being meticulously calculated in order to strike right where Leonie would have most trouble blocking according to her habits. From how she had seen the redhead fight right before, the blue-haired woman was able to predict her foe's next movements and act accordingly. After a dozen seconds of incessant assaults on her teacher's part, Leonie began to become frustrated, which troubled her focus and made her even more predictable. A few attacks later, despite the expertise gap between the two women, Byleth managed to hit Leonie right in the side of her ribcage, cutting the redhead's respiration off for a few seconds and effectively scoring the second hit of the spar.

"You… Ah, Damnit! How do you always get so much better in so little time?" Complained Leonie, who was holding a hand on the side of her chest with a little hint of pain of her face.

"I'm not getting better. You are simply letting your guard drop." Byleth explained with her usual deadpan expression. "If you want to become a better fighter, then you need to anticipate your opponent's patterns and exploit their weaknesses. For example, when fights take a certain time, you act impulsively. When you are winning, it causes you to lose your edge, and when you're losing it is merely aggravating your situation"

"Ah. I've never had this problem with others before." Remarked the redhead with a frown.

"That is because battling is what I excel at. When you have fought before you could muster complete sentences, you have to."

"No mention having Jeralt as your dad and mentor! Really, you have so much luck…"

Now, Byleth's facial features hardened a little. Leonie had been a great fan of her father from the day they met several years ago, and if she had to be frank, her always fawning over him was becoming annoying.

"I told you before, it is a matter of perspective. It is the only life I know, so I have no idea if I would have preferred another lifestyle. To me, my father has been a great mentor, but he also represents my standard of a mercenary."

"Yeah, yeah, I got it. It's just…" Leonie then paused, with her expression becoming a bit sadder. "I have worked so hard to come here, you know? So I could make Sir Jeralt proud, and so I could fight bad people like he did someday."

Since the redhead did not seem to want to resume their spar any time soon, Byleth contented herself with standing still and listening to what she had to say.

"Byleth, could I ask you something?" Leonie asked. Byleth actually felt strange to be called by her first name, since in the monastery, everyone seemed to want to call her some variation of 'Professor' or 'Teacher', and her father still called her 'Kid'. It made sense, though, as she and Leonie had actually known each other well as teenagers.

"Yes?" She responded, ready to listen.

"You know what they say about Crests, and how important they are… it's not right, right?" Leonie then shook her head a little. "I don't know, it just seems a bit shallow to judge someone's worth by their ancestry."

"Personally, I have never cared much for this myself." Admitted Byleth.

"Yeah. Screw them and their stupid rules. We're going to rock their world by our own merit, Crest or not." Leonie exclaimed, confidence coming back into her facial features, before she looked uncertainly at Byleth. "You're Crestless, right?"

At first, the new professor was going to respond affirmatively to Leonie's question, but then her personal meeting with Hanneman made her change her mind.

"Actually, I do bear a Crest. We're trying to see what it is exactly."

At this, Leonie's expression passed from one of pride and determination to one of utter disappointment. Byleth assumed that the redhead had wished her to be Crestless so they could be proper rivals, sort of. Then, though, Leonie grinned and brought her hands to her hips.

"Well, then, just one more reason for me to surpass you. Someday, we'll set things straight for good, and we'll see who's become the best of the best."

In Garreg Mach, there were few places where one could enjoy some tranquility, due to the activities of the staff, the movements of the Knights, or the banter of the students. The Gardens, however, were generally exempt of all the uproar that afflicted the rest of the monastery. As such, those who wished to study in peace, to have a tranquil tea party, or who simply wanted a quiet nap would find an unoccupied spot of the Gardens.

In this late morning, this was the case for Link. Trying to calm his mind after his agitated night, he had sought the peace which reigned in this place.

No matter what he did, however, these images would simply not go away. Visions of the accusatory, horrifyingly disfigured forms of those who had been his companions, born from some nightmare he had from very long ago, were still haunting him, no matter how much he tried to forget them.

It made no sense, and Link knew it. When he fought the Calamity and communicated with them for last time, they were on nothing else than good terms. He had avenged them, and they had been able to pass on in peace. He could have done nothing more for them, and they had already shown him their gratitude. So then, why couldn't he get rid of them?

As he was reflecting on a way to stop these visions for good, something moving in his field of view caught his attention. Lifting his head and his gaze, he noticed a blonde woman who was slowly approaching him. With her tight green clothing and generous bust, she would have probably had made quite the impression on most men – and probably some women, too.

However, being neither interested in these things nor in the mood for pointless banter, he tried to ignore the feminine figure and went back to his thoughts. Shortly after, however, the woman cleared her throat and bent slightly forward in order to speak to him.

"My, my! You must be mister Link, am I right?" She said in a rather seducing tone. With this evidence that she wanted to speak to him, Link sighed and lifted his head again. "I am Professor Manuela, teacher of the Black Eagles. May I speak to you?"

"You already are." Responded the Hylian with a half-annoyed and half-tired expression.

"Very well. Could you come to my office so we could speak in private? Maybe you would appreciate a glass of wine?" Manuela proposed with a smile. Link, though, was not impressed.

"I am perfectly fine here. Speak lower if you don't want people to hear you." Said the Hylian before he added: "And I'm going to be blunt. I'm not interested."

Looking slightly offended, Manuela took in a deep breath to stop herself from returning the rudeness.

"I wasn't going to… Ugh, fine. Let's do it here!" She then sat near Link before she continued. "It is about Bernadetta."

At the mention of the young Varley's name, Link suddenly perked up and glanced unsurely at the professor.

"I supposed that you would react as such. I have caught word of the… reunion(?) that you two have had during my class' training. If it is not too indiscreet, could you tell me from where you know her? I would ask her, but you must know how she is with most people."

"…" The Hero of Hyrule hesitated slightly before he responded. "We've met a few years ago. Why?"

"Well, considering how familiar the two of you seem to be, it is reasonable to suspect that you spent quite some time together. Actually, that is why I am here."

"Go on." Said Link, moving his hand in a circular motion to encourage her to continue.

"Bernadetta has been a… difficult one to work with so far. She will do her study well, but it is nearly impossible to get her to participate in class and her training is lacking as well. However, when she saw you, Edelgard told me that she acted almost normally for the first time since she got here."

"It's really that bad?" Asked Link with a worried look.

"Yes, it is, but only when you are not there. Even for the class in this day's afternoon, she was far less nervous. For this reason, I would like to ask you to come and accompany her from times to times, so she could gain some psychological support from someone she seems to trust."

At this, Manuela noticed that Link's usually confidant expression had been replaced with a mix of resignation and worry.

"I… Why not?" Responded the Hylian. "I still don't have much to do here for now, so I am free. Will the school accept this?"

"I will ask Seteth, but I am certain that he will have no objection. He is strict, but he has the students' well-being in his heart."

"Alright, then. I would be here just to sit and watch over her, or…"

"Well, if you wish, I see no objection to you offering your help to teach the rest of the class. Apparently, you have helped Jeritza for a few days now."

Link nodded and then contemplated the sky as he reflected on the idea. To interact with these youngsters and to help Bernie out, that would certainly help him change his thoughts. At least, more than simply ruminating the same unpleasant ones over and over again.

"If Rhea's minion doesn't object, then I will help." The said with a smile forming on his face.

"Perfect!" Exclaimed the busty teacher, before she got up and began to leave for the upcoming lunch break. At this moment, Link turned to her.

"Just a last thing…" The professor turned as well with a questioning look. "I'm sorry for when I told you I wasn't interested. I wasn't in a good mood. It isn't anything against you, I'm just not into these things in general."

"Oh?" Manuela was now becoming curious. "Leaning towards your own kind, mister?"

"Meh." The Hylian shrugged. "More like towards none at all."

As the professor walked away with an understanding nod, Link leaned back and thought more in depth about what had just been discussed here. Of course, spending time with Bernadetta was going to be sweet after all this time, but to help even more with the training of the Black Eagles? This could actually get interesting.

Maybe Claude was right, after all.

The wind was blowing hard in the vast crevasses of Zanato, as it usually did. This, however, did not seem to bother the activities of the several men and women who had established camp in the forbidden holy lands.

Unlike the few, feeble tents that had been erected when they first arrived, the bandits who had stayed had taken the time to fortify their temporary homes, if only for the sake of comfort. As some of them were still working, a few others were on the lookout for the infamous Black Beasts who infested the place. They had been told by their former employers that this particular emplacement was relatively safe, but after the Flame Emperor left them to be slaughtered by the Church, they couldn't be sure of whether they had been sincere.

Working on a crude and self-made map detailing the nearest patterns of the Red Canyon were Kostas and one of his men, who had just come back from a patrol. The chief of the bandits rubbed his beard as his underling made his report.

"A few hundred meters south, there is a pack of these monsters, but they never come toward here. However, we should look out for the birds, they are everywhere."

"Ah, damnit." Complained the bearded thief, sighing. "We'll have these things on our backs on top of the knights. Speaking of them, does it look like they found us yet?"

"They know we're in the canyon, that's for sure. I saw a group of knights checking up on the west." The smaller outlaw revealed, causing Kostas to facepalm. "At least, they are not coming here, so they don't know where in the canyon we are, exactly."

"And Greg? Did he come back with his group?" Asked Kostas.

"Not yet. I hope they didn't get caught."

"Yeah, because we don't have enough food to wait until another bunch comes back with supplies. If they stayed low like I told him, though, they should have been fine." Said the leader, looking up at the cliffsides that surrounded their camp.

At this moment, fortunately, one of the group's vigils alerted the rest of the gang of said Greg's return. Sighing from relief, Kostas slowly got up and went to receive his men. When he looked at the returning group, however, he realized that a few of them were missing. Greg was there, sure enough, with his own beard and size which made him look like a taller, but slimmer version of his boss, but at least three or four of the original members of the supplies gathering party were now gone.

"Hey, what happened to you guys? I told you to stay low!" Exclaimed the bearded leader with a frown.

"You try to steal food and weapons without getting noticed! It's just that we met some resistance and some of us didn't make it." Replied the tall bandit, much to Kostas' frustration.

"So you're telling me that you've killed people in those towns?" Muttered the leader of the thieves, grinding his teeth in anger.

"So what? Since when do you care about lives? It's because we tried to kill these kids that we're here in the first place!"

"AND I STILL DON'T, YOU IDIOT!" Screamed the chief before sucker-punching his underling right in the jaw, sending him to the ground instantly. "I was trying to make the Church give up on us! We hadn't actually harmed their students, and we're in a freaking monster nest! Now that you had the brilliant idea to go around and kill folks right under their nose, they're going to send the entire order of Seiros on us!"

A moment of uncomfortable silence fell on the entire camp, only disturbed by the blowing wind of Zanato and the pained cries of Greg. After a while, one of the returning young men spoke up nervously.

"Now… what do we do? Are we going to die for sure?"

"If you were afraid to die, you should have become a farm boy instead of an outlaw, kid." Responded Kostas without an ounce of empathy. "And thanks to this cretin, the Church will never let us get away scott free. Plus, security will be reinforced in the nearby towns, so we won't be able to steal food there anymore."

"So we need to get away as soon as possible." Concluded a scarred woman, crossing her arms.

"We could do that." Kostas agreed. "We'll have to explore the canyon fast so we can find a hidden path or something."

"Wait!" Exclaimed the nervous youngster. "I've just got an idea!"

"…" Everyone's eyes fell on the boy as he spoke, until Kostas uttered: "Yeah?"

"It was that fire king guy who wanted us to kill the students, right?" He said, and his leader frowned, wondering where he was going with this. "If we ratted them out to the Knights, maybe they would let us go?"

Once again, near complete silence. The battle-worn woman glanced at Kostas and scowled.

"You're not really considering that, are you?" She asked out to her leader, who was currently deep in reflection. "We would end up incarcerated for life at the very best. And that would be unlikely. Plus, if we do that, the Flame Emperor and his cronies will kill us all."

"But! Not if we have the knights with us! If he was strong enough to fight the Church, he wouldn't have hired us!" Argued the youngster.

"Enough!" Roared Kostas, shutting both of his underlings up. "We're going to try to run away first, but if we're caught, we'll rat this prick out as a last resort. He betrayed us, so there's no shame in doing so."

The rest of the gang stood still and most of them nodded slowly in agreement with their chief's logic. Despite being a brute, he had managed to lead them effectively for years, and his judgement had rarely failed him. Trusting the Flame Emperor was a notable exception, of course.

"Now, it's still early." He then addressed the man who had been sent as a scout earlier. "Bring me to where the knights are. We'll try to see where they're going. As for the rest of you…"

He then numbered just how many members of his gang were left. Only twelve.

"Sophie, you and the others will go to the south to check on the monsters there. If they're coming closer, we're moving camp. Greg, you stay here and look out for the birds. If they try to steal our resources, slaughter them. That's all you seem to be good for anyways."

After a dismissive groan for the tall bandit, the gang began to move according to their role in the plan. The youngest member then uttered a sigh.

"Please, Saint Seiros, help us pass through this."

All that his prayer got him, however, was a smack behind the head by one of his fellows.

In the Archbishop's conference room, Lady Rhea was currently busy praying to the Goddess for the benediction of whoever she thought would need it at the moment. Only herself would know. None of the guards appointed to the room were making any sound, making the ambiance extremely serene.

This calm, however, found itself disturbed by rapid footsteps coming from outside, followed by the large door being hurriedly opened. Offended by the intrusion, Rhea jumped back up and scowled at the newcomer, only to calm herself down when she realized that it was simply Seteth coming in for a report.

"Greetings, Seteth. What are you here to tell me about today?"

"Greetings, Lady Rhea." The bureaucrat replied, bowing to his superior. "I have a report from the searching party that we sent to the Red Canyon. They believe the bandits to be hiding in either the northern or eastern part of Zanato. With the monsters present, however, it could take up to a week before they are actually found. I have ordered an embargo to be put into place so they cannot flee until then. Shall we launch an offensive to retrieve them sooner?"

"No. The new professor and her students will take care of this matter easily enough… There is no need to waste resources on such matters." Said Rhea, although Seteth could tell that she was hiding something from him by her slight frown and more hesitant speech pattern.

"Lady Rhea, could I get a private audience from you?" Asked the second-in-command, looking around at the soldiers in the room. After some time, the Archbishop nodded and the two went to her personal office. Once arrived, Seteth sighed and closed the door behind them.

"Rhea, there are some questions that I must ask you." Said the bureaucrat, abandoning the formality that he was sticking to in public. "I would like you to tell me why you are letting these assassins stay in Zanato for any more time."

"Oh, this is all you were worrying about?" Rhea asked back with the serenity that most people knew her from. "Since they are not a threat to us or the towns anymore, we will let the students carry on their mission as we had decided."

"Rhea." Now, Seteth's voice was stern. It sounded more like he was scolding a family member rather than addressing the Archbishop. "We both perfectly know that you would never let anyone step into the canyon without immediate retaliation. Please tell me what your change of heart is about."

"I am not letting them go without punishment, Seteth." Rhea responded with harshness in her voice. "I simply trust our new professor to be capable of handling a few bandits, like she did with her father."

"Yes, and that is another thing I was wondering about. Who is Byleth? Why entrusting her with such an important position and giving her such a… holy mission. We already had Jeritza who could have fulfilled this role fairly well, so why?"

After this exchange, Seteth and Rhea stood quietly as the bureaucrat was staring at his superior expectantly. The Archbishop, for her part, had turned to face away from her second-in-command and she took in a few deep breaths before she answered.

"It is so Sir Jeralt does not go away again. If his beloved daughter lives and works here, he is going to stay."

"Is this really all there is to it?" Now, Seteth was becoming agitated. "If he really was a faithful as you told me he was, then why did he flee in the first place? What have you done, Rhea?"

"Enough!" Exclaimed Rhea in a tone that managed to make the bureaucrat flinch. She glared daggers at him for a while until she gained back her composure and slowly walked to the door of the office and opened it. Now, there would be no way to have the privacy that they benefited from before. "Now, I believe that our discussion is over. Could you please salute Flayn for me?"

Realizing that Rhea did not have any intention of humoring him any further, Seteth stared at the doorframe for a few seconds before he glanced back at her. It was not accusatory or judgmental, but it was rather a sad and worried look. He nodded to her and bowed.

"Very well. Please excuse me for the inconvenience, Lady Rhea, may the Goddess bless you."

As the second-in-command exited the audience room, Rhea went back to the praying position that she had been in before his arrival. However, she couldn't find the will to pray to the Goddess anymore and retreated to her chambers for the rest of the night.

Author's notes:

So, I have made this chapter a bit more Link-centered in order to get some new insight on his character. I think I have been straightforward enough about it in the narration (I do not think subtlety to be my forte), so I'll leave it at that. Furthermore, thanks to his connection with Bernie, he will spend more time supervising the Black Eagles. I wonder what Hubert and Edelgard will think of this?

Up next chapter: Byleth and her students depart for a mock battle against the Knights of Seiros. Some character banter and finally some action after a few chapters.

I have also decided to make this chapter a bit more exposition-ish, because things do need to be established. As a part of this, I have taken the time to explain Lorenz' point of view on Claude, as well as explaining why Rhea lets Kostas and his goons spend an entire month in Zanato despite it being stated that she wants them out as soon as possible.

A side note: I know that I haven't given the Blue Lions a lot of spotlight yet. It is because there are a lot of characters in Three Houses (or any FE game in general) and I will not be able to balance them all the time. For the time of the Bandit Arc, they will not appear much. The next one, the Lonato Arc, will give them much more screentime.

Finally, as is my habit, I am asking you for your opinion on this chapter. Does Link's internal struggle seem natural enough? How do you find Byleth and Leonie's relationship so far? Do you like what I have done with Kostas? How do you like the Link/Bernie backstory? Any question you want me to address?

On this, I wish you all a good start in this new decade. Let's just hope it isn't always the same political turmoil in a new baggage.