Fodlan year: 1178
Guardian Moon
It was still early in the morning when Bernadetta woke up from her restless slumber, if the dim light coming through her small window was of any indication. Rubbing her dry eyes and stretching slightly, the young Varley sat up on her tiny bed before she noticed that she felt just as weak as the last day.
After a few minutes of sitting there mindlessly, the frail girl's mind awakened somewhat as evidenced by her resuming to move once again. She slowly got up from her bed and walked over to her personal desk without bothering to arrange her messy morning hair.
Once she arrived to her destination, she glanced down at what was on the little bureau. It was a half-finished scarf that she was intending to wear during those nightmarish winters – even though they were nothing when compared to what Faerghus had to endure during the same months. Bernadetta sighed as she got down and resumed knitting.
After this, nothing that much interesting happened in the frail girl's morning. She simply passed her time by continuing this small project of hers, without any intervention from her parents or the house's servants. She would not have it any other way.
As if instinctively, Bernadetta ended up looking through her window in order to determine what time it was. Coincidentally, her room happened to be on the side of the house which faced the sun all day long, and as such it was easy for the young Varley to judge the time of day. As usual, she looked outside right as it was about to be noon. That meant that one of the servants would soon bring her some small meal.
Right before she finished looking outside, however, something unusual caught the attention of the fragile girl. Two cavaliers were approaching the house. One was tall and blonde, while the other one was massive… It was her uncle! Her heart being suddenly lightened by the sight, Bernadetta went back to her desk with a little smile.
After she had fallen sick, her father must have called him over to check on her. For once, she could appreciate her father's decision, even if it was just him providing her with a more suitable company than his own.
Over the usual dinner period that she would have had, no food came to the young Varley's room, which did surprise her slightly. However, she was so happy at the prospect of seeing her uncle again that she didn't truly mind such a small inconvenience.
Early in the afternoon, she finally heard the noise of footsteps that were coming up the stairs in the direction of her little peaceful haven. Glancing nervously in the direction of the door, Bernadetta flinched slightly when the sounds of knocking suddenly erupted from the other side. Then, her nervousness lessened considerably when the bombastic voice of her uncle came in.
"Hey, Bernie? It's Jonas! Could you open the door, please?"
After she slowly got on her feet and walked over to the door, the young Varley paused for a second as she noticed the wonderful scent that emanated from the outside of her room which heavily resembled soup. The domestic must have come at the same time as her uncle, she thought, because he never was much of a cook himself.
When she opened the door, Bernadetta briefly froze as alongside the smiling figure of Jonas was standing the blonde man who had accompanied him during the last New Year's Eve's celebrations. He had a blank expression and was currently holding the pot which presumably contained the potage that she had smelled. Jonas, for his part, gave his niece a little wave of his hand.
"How are you doing, my little champion?"
"Not well, uncle… I'm feeling really sick. Should I stay in my room for a while?" Said the little girl with a hint of hope in her eyes.
"Well, I will be the judge of this." Responded the large nobleman as he turned to his blond companion. "Mister Link, could you stay outside while I examine Bernie? I will be taking her meal inside."
"All right, do your magic." Was the Hylian's simple answer as he handed the pot over.
Jonas then came inside of the room and deposited the bag that he had brought over to the Varley's mansion on Bernadetta's bed. He looked over to her and gently asked:
"Now, please sit on your bed."
After she complied, Bernadetta remained immobile as her uncle pressed his thumb at the junction between her neck and her chin, so he could check her heartbeat. While it was normal, Jonas noticed the sweat that was on both her neck and forehead and, when he brought his finger to the latter to check its temperature, he noticed that it was abnormally high. At this point, even an amateur would have guessed correctly in regards to the frail girl's condition.
"It seems that you have caught a cold. Have you gone outside lately?"
"Uhm…" Now, Bernadetta shrank back a little as she quickly shook her head. "Nope, I didn't…"
"Okay…" The large noble said slowly. "I will use some Faith to give you strength, but first you have to eat something. Take the soup that Mister Link made just for you."
"H-he did it?" Bernadetta stuttered before she regained some composure. "Are you sure that is will help me recover?"
"Bernie, I assure you that this man is trustworthy. Your father had his suspicions as well, so Link prepared it in front of us. There's nothing in there but good things."
Then, Jonas signaled to Bernie to get up and he put the soup pot on her room's desk as well as an appropriate spoon for her to eat it with. The young Varley sighed out as she grabbed it in order to take a first taste of the Hylian recipe. Right as she did so, her eyes widened as she coughed and brought her hands to her chest. With such a reaction, Jonas worriedly leaned over.
"Is something wrong?"
"N-no…" Responded the violet-haired girl as she took in a deep breath with a relieved expression. "But it cleared up my throat a lot… and it's a bit too hot…"
At this, Jonas frowned a little as he recalled the moment when Link had added to his mixture a strange orange mushroom. He had explained to everyone present that it came from his homeland and possessed incredible curative properties. He had also eaten a second one raw in order to prove that it was not poisonous. Seeing his niece's reaction, the large nobleman was certain that it was Link's intention.
"Just blow over it before you eat it, and it will be better. I'll go search for something in the living room, I'll be back soon, okay?"
As Bernadetta nodded to him, Jonas stood up and, as he exited her room, could hear her yelp again because of the meal's heat. After he closed the door, he turned to Link, who was smirking and leaning on the wall.
"So, how did the girl like it?"
"Whatever you put in it was, it made its effect, that is for sure." Jonas admitted before he sighed out. "However, even if it gives her temporary strength, she really got ill this time. Illness is something that is vanquished with time and care, so we may have to stay for a few days."
"Alright, I see. I never really became ill myself, now that I think about it…" Reflected the blond Hylian as he looked up. "I've slept on a snowy mountain chain for nearly a month and still didn't even catch a cold…"
"Yes, some are more resilient to such things than others… I do wonder how it happened, however. She says that she didn't get outside, and from what I saw, she was well enough supplied in blankets and clothing…" At this, Link merely gave a shrug in lack or an actual answer and let the nobleman speak more. "I think that now would be a great time to tell her a story so she can think of something else, for once. Had you thought of something?"
"Oh, you bet I did." Responded Link while stretching out. "I happen to have just the right fable to inspire a timid girl."
"And may I ask what it is?"
"I had to take some… artistic liberties…" Said Link with a wink. "But the name is: The Battle for Vah' Naboris…"
Fodlan year: 1180
Harpstrings Moon
In the morning that followed the near disaster that had been the Zanado incident, Jeralt had decided to take advantage of the fact that he wasn't assigned to any mission at the moment. As such, he would go over to the scene of the battle in order to do some investigation in person. To this end, he had prepared his horse early and was already riding away from the monastery when the sun began to rise up at the horizon.
As he thought about Rhea, a slightly bitter mood took him over as he still couldn't understand why this fiasco had to happen in the first place. She had knowingly sent inexperienced children in the middle of what could be considered to be a monster nest; of course it was going to go badly.
If he had decided to come in person rather than letting a group of knights do the deed like Seteth would have it happen, however, it was not at all because of Rhea and her questionable decisions. It was something far more troubling.
According to Alois, Byleth and the other Knights present, the three Demonic Beasts had all attacked the group at the same time, from three different angles. This was without counting the one that Link fought and which had killed Kostas' group in the Golden Deer's stead.
This was most odd. Ususally, Demonic Beasts are too dim-minded to coordinate such an attack. On top of this, they are quite territorial creatures, so it is even strange that four were in the same zone of the canyon at the same time, let alone them teaming up. Add to this the flock of Giant Birds who inexplicably chased after a falling man instead of attacking the group close to them, and this situation became not only strange, but extremely worrying.
This could not be the work of monsters alone.
As he continued to follow the path taken by the Knights and the students during the previous day, Jeralt sighed as he ordered his horse to accelerate its pace. After all, he didn't need to be all that prudent, since the monsters were already pretty much dead.
A few minutes later, he finally arrived to his destination and took the rocky path along the cliff where one of the two main battles had happened. Already, he could see black spots on the little road, as well as a collapsed part of the edge, indicating that this was where the Golden Deer had fought.
Approaching the place that had been the impact of Lysithea's magic, the Blade Breaker leaned towards the edge and observed the depth of the ravine next to him and he concluded that the Beast that had fallen had probably not survived its fall. Before he went on, he mentally congratulated the brats' tactic in this instance, since it had assured that all of them got out of this mess alive.
As he moved on, he noticed the corpses of the two Beasts that had been left lower down the path. As expected, a large pool of their blood had dried on the rock beneath them after the knights left them to rot.
Approaching one carcass, Jeralt jerked his head to the side at the putrid scent of the monster. Despite having been tasked to hunt them several times, it was hard to get used to the odor, especially out of battle when adrenaline doesn't force you to focus on more urgent matters. Nevertheless, he still knelt down next to it and observed whatever parts had not been cut open.
At first, he directed his attention to the legs of the thing, and immediately something seemed off to him. The skin around the ankles and wrists of the Beast presented a cylindrical mark, just like what one would expect chain attaches to leave. This confirmed his suspicions about the battle being a planned assault.
It was not the first time that he had seen tamed monsters. Often in Leicester, the brigands or poachers would have a few in their ranks. No wonder Leonie's village had so much trouble. However, before it had always been birds or wolves that were tamed. Jeralt had never seen a Demonic Beast being used in this way.
Maybe the bandits who hid there had managed to do it? And this Beast who killed them would have simply gotten out of control?
No, it was not plausible. Kostas was a minor thief and murderer who would not have the competence to tame and then give complex orders to so many monsters at once.
As he got back on his feet, Jeralt decided that he would be able to get any more information out of the scene. Even if it was an organized attack, the culprits would have fled long ago. Both worried and disappointed by his findings, the Blade Breaker came back on his horse and quitted Zanado before someone back at Garreg Mach noticed his absence.
Back at the Officers' Academy, the general atmosphere was quite dense as most of the students went to their usual activities. Unlike the cacophonic chatter of the few minutes before class, a dreadful silence imposed itself on the monastery's grounds.
News had travelled quickly amongst the staff and student body. The facts that a first assignment had nearly turned to tragedy and that the probable future leader of the Leicester Alliance had been gravely injured were no secrets to anyone.
As such, the ambiance at the Training Grounds was rather tranquil since most students had their minds focused on other things than training. The only ones who did not seem perturbed were Hubert and Jeritza, who respectively watched over the area and tried to train the Black Eagles decently.
Standing over the rocky edge of the sand-filled arena, the young Edelgard held a distant gaze while she reflected on the events of the previous day. Noticing his mistress' state, Hubert did not waste a second before he walked over to her.
"Lady Edelgard, was there something that you needed us to discuss about?" He said, with an exaggerated bow.
"… Maybe." Admitted the white-haired girl before she walked off deeper into the arena's backstage, signaling her vassal to follow her. Of course, this directive was immediately followed. Once the pair was sure to have gotten out of ear's reach, Edelgard took in a deep breath before she began to explain her train of thoughts.
"I was reflecting on what happened in Zanado. Have you seen how battered everyone was?"
"Yes, I have witnessed their arrival. They definitively had a difficult time."
"Indeed. In particular, have you noticed how the Professor and Link were?" Edelgard asked once more, glancing at her servant.
"The Professor was covered in a Demonic Beast' blood, which correlates to the reports of the nights pretending that she defeated one on her own. As for the outsider…"
"He was covered in wounds." Edelgard finished her vassal's sentence as she cupped her chin into her hand in reflection. "What do you think?"
At this, Hubert raised his eyebrows and sighed slightly as he crossed his arms.
"We cannot assume him to be an ally yet, Lady Edelgard. After all, he suddenly vanished from the battle and only reappeared several moments later, once all was over and with only superficial wounds. I will continue to monitor him."
"You are probably right…" Admitted the young woman, her head dropping down in disappointment. "Still, imagine how useful a man like this could be for our cause. Without speaking of the Professor and her tactical genius…"
Upon hearing his mistress express her ambitions regarding the two mysterious individuals, Hubert couldn't help but feel reluctant at the idea. After all, Link himself was still highly suspicious and since Byleth was the teacher of another class, trying to convert her to Lady Edelgard's cause would be too demanding in time and efforts compared to what they could afford.
Meanwhile, back in the sandy arena, the young Caspar was busy performing some one-armed push-ups in order to try to build up some muscle mass while his best friend, Linhardt, contented himself with sleeping the training period away as his back leaned on the rock contour of the training grounds.
As the diminutive brawler took a small break from his workout routine, he sat on the ground and sighed out as he stretched his arms. He then took a look upon his surroundings, observing his classmates if only to entertain himself a little. During this time, his mind drifted off.
The previous day, the Golden Deer House had been attacked by a bunch of Demonic Beasts. Without warning or any way around it, they suddenly found themselves in mortal danger and barely could do anything to save their lives. While Caspar had not heard much about the details of the battle, he knew that the students had struggled greatly.
In a bizarre way, Caspar felt somewhat conflicted about the situation. On one hand, he was worried about those that had been injured during the battle, as well as glad for them to have gotten out of it alive. On the other hand, however…
He felt jealous. After all, the Golden Deer, which had performed so badly during the mock battle a while before, had now proved their improvement by defeating a Demonic Beast on their own, with nothing but their sheer will and guts. Meanwhile, Caspar was stuck at Garreg Mach and the assignment for this month would be something as insignificant as to give assistance with merchandise transport.
The young Bergliez began to wonder how his own House would have fared if they had been in the same situation. Surely, his sheer strength would have helped the team a lot. After all, if he could land a few good blows, then the rest of the Black Eagles could have finished it off…
No, even he had to recognize that this was not how it would have happened at all. If someone as beefy as Raphael Kirsten could barely faze it, then Caspar would have become mincemeat in the minute. This train of thought reminded him of what Link had told him several days prior, about how he left himself open for attacks. Being strong and fast was good, but a good blow was going to put him down without problems.
As such, Caspar decided to follow the blond outsider's advice and got up before he began to walk off to the practice weapons storage of the arena. On the way, he took notice of Petra exercising her sword strikes, Ferdinand performing a few elegant moves with his lance…
Then, the young Bergliez frowned as something highly unusual caught his attention: Bernadetta von Varley, in the middle of carrying a bow target. Because of her usual demeanor, the simple fact that she was taking initiative in any sort of activity was impressive, unless Jeritza had forced her to do so.
Even so, the violet-haired girl had been slowly, but surely becoming more active in her studies since Link had been assisting the class. In fact, his presence was helping others as well. Ferdinand, Petra and himself benefited greatly from his expertise in lances, swords and axes and with him around, Jeritza was able to spend more time teaching those that wouldn't want anything to do with the outsider, like Hubert and Edelgard.
Link's helpfulness when present made his absence today stand out much more, now that Caspar thought of it. He heard that the blond man had been wounded during the battle in Zanado, but with what the Hylian had shown to be capable of, it was difficult to believe that he had trouble when the rest of the knights were largely fine…
Unless it's because he fought so hard that they did?
Pushing these thoughts aside, Caspar redirected his attention on Bernadetta, who was now preparing her bow and fake arrows in order to practice her shooting. The brawler then grinned as he got what sounded like a great idea. He decided to approach the girl and talk to her.
"Her, Bernadetta! Could you give me a minute?"
Immediately, the little girl shrieked and turned around with an expression of fear on her face, which in turn made Caspar raise his hands in a non-threatening manner.
"Woah, woah! I just wanna ask you for help with my training!"
"Wha…" Bernadetta then looked down to check herself over before she looked back at Caspar with a pout. "I can't possibly help you train… You're trying to kill me, that's it?"
"Huh? No?" The young Bergliez then scratched his head in search of a good way to phrase his next sentence. "I wanted to practice with a shield, and I think that you could help me out by shooting at me."
Silence then imposed itself on the pair as Bernadetta processed Caspar's request.
"You want me to shoot at you with arrows? Why? Oh, I get it!" Her face then became defiant as she recoiled back slightly. "You're trying to get me to hurt you so you can use the church to execute meaohGoddessnoleavemealone!"
After the end of the young Varley's panicked outburst, Caspar merely sighed while he shrugged.
"I dunno what you're talking about. All I want is to exercise blocking. You'll just have to shoot with your fake arrows so you don't hurt me for real."
"F-for real?"
"Yeah, trust me!"
"Ookay… but you're responsible if you get hurt… Alright?" Bernadetta said nervously as she readied her wooden weapon.
"Yeah, I get it." In order to prove his point, Caspar then began to yell confidently at everyone present, attracting some curious glances much to the violet-haired girl's horror. "IF I GET HURT, IT'S NOT BERNIE'S FAULT! Not like I'm gonna miss a block anyway…"
Sighing while blushing intensely out of embarrassment, Bernadetta pouted as Caspar went to get a wooden shield. When he came back, he held it to the side, ready to bring it back before him at any moment, while Bernadetta took aim and was ready to shoot. Just one more second and…
"Hey, kids, are you doing what I think you're doing?"
Suddenly, a familiar and friendly voice had come out from the training pair's side, causing Bernadetta to look in its direction with an elated smile. Unfortunately, so did Caspar. When the young Varley let her shot go by accident, the blunt arrow struck the brawler square in the jaw. The poor boy winced in pain as Link looked upon the incident, slightly amused.
As for Bernadetta, the joy that she had felt when hearing her idol talk was quickly replaced by stupefaction once she actually got a good look at him.
As a result of the difficult battle that happened the day prior, the Hylian's upper body presented an alarming amount of injuries. Some were merely bruises, but most of them still presented coagulated blood, as the deep cuts made by the numerous Giant Birds' talons had yet to cicatrize. There was no doubt that these were going to add on the already high number of scars on the outsider's person.
Worst of all, at least in Link's opinion, was the fact that his Champion's tunic – his favorite – had been utterly destroyed in the process. Now, he had settled for his climbing jacket, with which he had added the assorted bandana on the top of his head, for esthetic purposes.
At the very least, his hair and beard were not as messy as before, which indicated that he had cleaned himself thoroughly in the last evening.
After a few seconds of silence, Bernadetta looked straight in Link's eyes with worry.
"Mister Link… are you feeling alright?"
After she spoke, the Hylian closed his eyes as he slowly nodded.
"You could say that. I've been battered worse than that." Link tried to reassure the frail girl, but her unchanging expression was a clear sign that it wasn't working. "I'll admit that for all of my adventures, I didn't expect a bunch of birds to be that big of a challenge…"
Now, Caspar had regained his composure after the accidental attack that he suffered from Bernadetta. Noticing Link's poor state as well, the brawler cringed slightly before he pointed to the Hylian and spoke up.
"Yeah, no kidding it was a challenge. You look like you went through a grinder… How many birds were there? Three, four?" Asked the boy, trying to imagine just how difficult it would be to battle with that much flying enemies at once. Link frowned a little in reflection and glanced back at Caspar with his answer.
"No, more like fifteen or so."
Now, both Caspar and Bernadetta's minds had been blown, failing to even comprehend how one could handle this much of this kind of monsters all at the same time. Even the frail girl, who knew of the Hylian's previous exploits against Fodlan's monsters, was flabbergasted. Granted, he was far from unscathed, but the very fact that he survived at all was more than unbelievable. Link's eyes then opened as he remembered a detail.
"Oh, right, there was also a Demonic Beast in the bunch."
Upon hearing this last bit, Caspar shook his head incredulously.
"Nah, you must be kidding. How many were there for real?"
"What do you mean?" Link asked back, genuinely confused. "I'm telling the truth. It was tedious, but I got them all, eventually. All I had to do was to stay in perpetual movement and to watch my back. All is in the defensive play. If you cannot be hurt, then you cannot be beaten."
The Hylian then proudly smiled at his own piece of advice before he glanced down at his own body.
"Well, of course, I hadn't fought this fiercely in… forever, so I was still a bit rusty. But for next time, I should be good to go…"
Now, Bernadetta stepped up and raised a finger, pointing at the various wounds, before she spoke up.
"Are all these the reason why you arrived late today, then?"
"Oh, not entirely…" Responded Link while he slowly stretched. "They hurt, sure, but I just overslept. All the excitement yesterday tired me out completely…"
"Oh, what a relief…" The young Varley muttered as she sighed out. After the little conversation ended, Link took parole again while pointing at Bernadetta's arrow and Caspar in succession.
"By the way, what were you two trying to do, exactly? Trying to practice blocking?"
The blue-haired brawler then sheepishly scratched his head while rubbing his aching jaw with his free hand.
"Yeah, but you came up and kind of derailed it…"
"Ah, I see…" Link then chuckled a bit at the memory of Caspar getting hit across the face by an inattentive Bernie – she really was making progress! Then, his grin grew slightly as he looked at Caspar's shield. "Instead of doing stunts like that, why don't you see how a pro does it first?"
"You mean a demonstration?" Caspar asked with an interested expression. "Sure, count me in!"
With Bernadetta shrugging, indicating that she was at least not opposed to it, Link reached for Caspar small wooden shield and turned to the young Bergliez.
"Tell me, who here could throw me a fireball, or something like that?"
While the Black Eagles' temporary assistant prepared himself for a little show of skill, the ambiance was quite heavier in the infirmary situated in Manuela's bureau. The songstress was preparing a medicinal mixture while Byleth looked on from the doorframe.
Beside the main bed of the room was a chair in which Claude was sitting. The future leader of the Alliance breathed steadily as he held a small towel to his head. The latter had been infused with ice magic in order to calm the tanned boy's current migraine, nasty gift from a tail's hit to his head. In spite of his own pain and light-headedness, the House Leader's attention was instead on his classmate resting next to him.
In the spacious bed was laying the unfortunate Lorenz. During the night, he had finally managed to fall asleep thanks to Manuela's Faith magic diminishing his pain and accelerating his healing. Now, though, he was awake since a few hours.
His right arm was cast in bandages where the Demonic Beast had cut it open. During the battle, the sheer adrenaline rush had allowed the young Gloucester to disregard the wound as a mere inconvenience. However, after the Beast was defeated, the lessening tension made Lorenz realize just how badly he had been hurt. The Priest of the battalion present at the Red Canyon had to deal with the blood loss and to prevent infection before the youngster arrived to the infirmary.
Then, there was his left arm.
For now, the hand and forearm were wrapped in bandages, just like for the other arm. However, it was still clear from its deformed shape that the hand had swollen since the last day. Unlike the mostly white tissue on the right, the bandages on the left were beginning to be stained with either leaking blood or plasma. Both limbs were completely immobile, as any movement on Lorenz' part felt like torture to the young nobleman.
After glancing worryingly in the bed's direction, Manuela finished her disinfecting medicine and looked at Byleth, who was contenting herself with observing the two young men present with an unnerving calm. The new professor then spoke up, without moving.
"How bad is it?"
After sighing out, Manuela turned to the boys and nodded her chin up at Claude, as she told about him first.
"Claude has gotten a concussion due to the hit he received on the head. He will have headaches for some time, but there shouldn't be permanent symptoms. However, he must rest for the duration of his convalescence. Lorenz' case is much more serious… His right arm seems to have been cut very deeply, in such a manner that renders it difficult for him to move what is further down, like his hand."
"How does this work?" Asked Byleth, giving a quick look in the nurse's direction.
"That, I don't know. How the body exactly works has yet to be discovered. What we do know is that an adequate Faith magic dosage will allow for a full recovery of the arm in relatively short delays."
"And what about his burns?"
"Yes, this is where things get complicated. Not only did the burst of fire burn his skin, but the sheer force of the blow has broken his bones. I fear that all this has damaged his hand permanently."
"…" Byleth frowned slightly. "Can't Faith fix it?"
"Not necessarily. Faith allows the body to accelerate the process of healing that it already has. There will still be scars from healed wounds and injuries that couldn't heal in the first place will not be fixed either."
"…"
A very heavy silence fell upon the room as the two teachers uneasily stared at each other. Meanwhile, both Claude and Lorenz looked on with worry as they had heard the entirety of the conversation. The young Gloucester, in particular, became quite anxious as he glanced at the cast containing his left arm. After a minute of this atmosphere which felt like hours, Byleth sighed and began to walk over to Lorenz, undoubtedly with the intention of speaking to him.
"Lorenz, now you know. With your hand in this state, you won't be able to pursue your training in lances. Ever."
The way in which Byleth matter-of-factly talked of such a serious issue was quite unnerving to the injured young man, who made his best to remain solemn in this situation. No matter how mentally resilient or how calm you usually are, though, being faced with the real possibility to lose a limb would perturb any one, and Lorenz Hellman Gloucester was certainly no exception. Byleth, after a short moment, resumed speaking.
"If you cannot train for battle anymore, then it would be best to have you simply removed from this year's class. I'll make the demand to Seteth; I don't think he will object."
Now, Lorenz stared at his professor with horror as she spoke. Before she could turn around and carry on her plan of actions, he spoke up with a panicked voice.
"I- No! Please, Professor, don't do this yet! I cannot afford to drop out of the Golden Deer, under any circumstance!"
Now, Claude looked down while slightly shaking his head. He and Lorenz did not like each other at all, this was a secret for no one. However, he couldn't feel anything but pity seeing the boy who saved his life in such a pathetic state.
"Hey, listen…" The House Leader spoke up, dropping their usual rivalry for the moment. "After what happened, no one would blame you for going back home."
"He is right, Lorenz." Byleth said in agreement. "It is not the time for pride to cloud your judgement."
Upon hearing those words, the young Gloucester began to frown. Clearly, he did not appreciate the last comment at all.
"This is no mere question of ill-placed pride. My status as the future Count of Gloucester forbids me from failing my duty as a noble. If I abandon here, then…"
"You are afraid that it will set up a bad precedent for you." Said Byleth with the same neutral expression as before.
Despite being completely inept at expressing her own emotions most of the time, the former mercenary was quite talented at reading others'.
As far as she knew, Lorenz Hellman Gloucester was an arrogant, vain and snotty young man, who would judge a person's worth by their ancestry first and foremost. He had a poor opinion of menial labor and would often implicitly refer to his commoner classmates as inferiors to himself.
However, for all of his faults, he was also brilliant and extremely well-mannered. The day before, he had jumped in the fray and gravely injured himself in order to save his classmates, one of which he notably disliked. For him, the 'duty of the nobility' meant that he mustn't fail to protect those who depended on him. This also meant that he would have to keep doing his best, no matter the obstacles, to always be the best man he could ever be.
As such, it was inconceivable for him to abandon the class, despite having nearly lost his left hand and forearm.
"Y-yes. This is exactly it…" Lorenz admitted, looking at his professor with a dumbfounded expression.
"The thing is that you cannot take part in battles without being able to fight." Byleth mentioned.
"I…" For a second, the young Gloucester mentally panicked as he searched for a reason not to kick him out of the class. "I know magic well. I have studied to the Academy of Magic, in Firdhiad. I have met Anette and Mercedes there at the time, you will ask them."
Silence then imposed itself on the room again as Byleth reflected on Lorenz' words. After giving a glance at Manuela, she spoke up.
"Are you sure that you want to focus entirely on magic after what happened?"
"…" For a few seconds, the young Gloucester hesitated to answer. After all, the Professor's question had some very good merit. Someone else would be forgiven for not wanting to use magical energy ever again after such a terrifying incident.
The thing was that he was not someone else. He was Lorenz Hellman Gloucester.
"Yes, Professor, I wish to. I will follow professor Hanneman's seminaries, from now on. We should notify him this ins-…"
As if he was going to get out of bed in order to act on his words, Lorenz suddenly rose up from the comfort of the bed. Immediately, though, his face winced in pain as the movement perturbed his arms and caused him quite a lot of unnecessary pain. Laying back down, the young nobleman let out an exasperated whine as Manuela came to his side.
"Now, now, darling, don't do such things right now. Your seminaries can wait until you're capable of walking…"
While the songstress tended to the boy's wounded arms, Claude moved his chair away to leave her some space and Byleth frowned slightly as she observed the scene.
"It is utterly unacceptable." Complained the voice of Sothis in her head. "To think that children have been sent into this mess. It is a real wonder that it didn't turn to tragedy…"
Back in the training area, the students had collectively stopped to talk as they gathered in a group around the demonstration which was about to take place. Jeritza, while staying slightly further behind the youngsters, still looked on with interest.
In the middle of it all, Link was standing tall and straight, examining the training shield that the combat instructor had handled to him in order to determine its balance. Meanwhile, at around twenty feet from him was Hubert, who glanced quite unsurely at Edelgard before he addressed the Hylian.
"You must be sure that your technique works, Mister Link…"
"Oh, it will work, don't worry. Just focus on your magic balls and everything will be alright." Assured the outsider as he took a defensive stance, placing the shield in front of him.
The demonstration was simple: Hubert had to use one of his Miasma Delta attacks on Link. This is all that he had been told, other than that the Hylian apparently had a move which would make the attack useless. While talented with magic, Dorothea couldn't be the one attacking Link, due to the latter claiming that his technique doesn't work on lightning.
Once he was sure to be well placed, Link spoke up, still focused on Hubert's person first and foremost.
"What I'm about to do, kids, is called a 'Shield Bash'. It's made by, well, bashing your shield at whatever is going to attack you…"
"Using your shield as a blunt weapon is already a popular tactic, how will this be different?" Asked Ferdinand, who was scrutinizing Link's every movement.
"This is a really good question, and I'll answer you by showing it. Before that, though, I'll begin with taking two or three attacks just defending with the shield… Only to get the timing right."
At this, Hubert frowned a little and tilted his head in questioning. 'Timing'? What was this man up to again?
Despite his personal reservations about the whole situation, the young Vestra still prepared his Dark Magic, if only not to cause an unnecessary scene. Thus, he shot Miasma Delta once…
And stopped right on Link's shield. The Hylian, on his part, barely recoiled back and firmly stood his ground.
"Again." He demanded as the rest of the students were either confused or intrigued by the demonstration.
Hubert thus shot a second time, with the exact same result as the first one. However, as the smoke cleared away and the vassal got a glimpse of Link's visage, he found out that the outsider was actually sporting an expression of deep focus, bopping his head at regular intervals as if to count time.
"Alright, one last time…" Link said again, tensing his body and bending his knees further. "Although you may want to get ready to step aside, kid."
Now, Hubert was beginning to get an idea of what exactly the Hylian had in mind. However, he disregarded it for now, as the idea was a bit too far-fetched, especially from a man incapable of using magic himself. He shot a third ball of Dark Magic, which advanced towards the Hylian. Nothing suggested that the aftermath of this would be any different than the other two…
However, right as Miasma Delta was about to hit Link, his arm holding the shield moved. Quickly, sharply, the blond outsider outright hit the attack with his wooden shield. While everyone present simply expected the Dark Magic to explode in his face, the result was quite different.
Indeed, by some sort of sorcery, the Shield Bash didn't cause the Miasma Delta to explode. Instead, the ball of magic was sent straight back to the user. Right after Hubert jumped to the side in order to escape his reflected attack, the latter went all the way to one of the pillars surrounding the arena and pulverized it.
Link, looking at the damage caused, cringed a little at the idea of having to pay for this too after the gong of the mock battle…
The students, meanwhile, had quite a different reaction to the event. Most were shocked, but impressed by the unforeseen technique, while Bernadetta simply gawked while squeezing like an excited child. Edelgard, on her part, had her eyes widen as she mentally took note of Link's movements. After a little moment, the Hylian stood up and addressed the little crowd gathered around him.
"And this, kids, is how you perform a Shield Bash. You can perform it with anything, as long as you know what you're doing…" As he said this, Link smiled as he recalled killing Guardians with cooking pot covers. "With the right timing, even the mightiest attacks will do nothing… As long as it's physically blockable, anyway… Got any question?"
Right after he said this, Link found himself assailed by the students of the class, whose questions ranged from the specific movements that were needed for the technique to work, to see it again, or else how the heck it was even possible. Meanwhile, Hubert dusted himself off as he scoffed in the outsider's direction.
Later, after a good twenty minutes of exhausting interrogations, Link was finally able to get a little moment of silence, as only Caspar and Bernadetta remained to his side. Soon enough, though, the diminutive brawler couldn't help himself but ask a last thing.
"Hey, Link, you are very strong and all, but I've never heard you talk of the adventures you had before…"
"Huh?" Link looked over to the boy in confusion.
"I mean, how do you even know this shield move? How are you so strong? You must have been one hell of a badass where you're from!"
"Oh, that…" The Hylian let out a small sigh as he scratched the side of his head. "This is a really long story…"
Then, the outsider's eyes widened as he got an idea.
"I know! This evening, after dinner, come rejoin me at the market place, near Anna's stand. I will tell you a story of my homeland. I was not the only 'badass' there."
Hearing this, Bernadetta finally made her presence known with an elongated gasp, jumping in place.
"Oh, which one? A new one?"
"Hm, I don't know…" Link admitted as he looked down in reflection. "Maybe not something new… What about the first one I told you about?"
"You mean the one where-"
"Hey, hey now!" Link interrupted the frail girl and raised his finger at her. "Don't go spoiling it for your friend!"
"Yeah, that would do, I guess…" Caspar said with a slightly disappointed expression. He would have preferred to hear about one of Link's own adventures first, but that could also be fun. Better than studying anyway… "Why don't we invite the Ashe guy from the Blue Lions? I've seen him sometimes and he really loves this kind of stuff…"
"Oh, right, the little Ashe…" Link repeated. He had mostly focused on the Black Eagles' class lately, due to Bernadetta, but he did teach a few tricks to Ashe as well. "Very well, tell him the news, I'll be waiting for you all tonight. Got it?"
"Ha, you bet!" Exclaimed the blue-haired brawler while giving a thumbs up. Bernadetta, on her part, simply nodded.
At this moment, the young Cyril entered the arena, looking around in search of someone. Once he took notice of the trio formed by Link, Bernadetta and Caspar, he hurried his pace to rejoin them as quickly as possible.
"Hey, you were the guy called Link, right?"
Looking aside, the Hylian smiled slightly as he recognized the Almyran boy. He gave a small hand wave as he responded.
"Yeah, I am. You were… Cyril! That's it…" Then, Link tilted his head to the side in curiosity. "Why are you here?"
"It's Professor Hanneman. He wants to see you right now."
At this, the blond outsider frowned as he struggled to remember just who this 'Hanneman' person was. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but otherwise Link had no memory of him.
"He does, now? Is it urgent?" Asked the Hylian with a slightly annoyed eyebrow raise.
"He looked a bit impatient, so yeah, I guess. Do you need me to show you where his office is?"
"No, it'll be alright. Tell him I'm coming…"
At this, Cyril shrugged nonchalantly before going back to whatever task he had been assigned to before being sent to the training grounds. Meanwhile, Link uttered a sigh as Bernadetta pouted.
"Oh, you had just arrived…" complained the frail girl.
"Yeah, I know, but maybe it's important. Just go back to your training and come to meet me after dinner."
On this, Link went on his way to Hanneman's office, wondering what this guy could have to discuss about.
When the Hylian finally arrived at the location of Hanneman's office, he took a glance aside and slowly read the inscription describing the room.
"Crest Research Laboratory"
After having decrypted the words, Link frowned a little as he recalled of the things that Jonas told him about Crests. However, the nobleman wasn't much of an expert on the matter, so he only knew that they were important to nobles and had some obscure power.
He glanced inside and took notice of a tall and lanky man with greying hair, who was in the middle of a discussion with a much shorter and older man. As Link cleared his throat, both of their attentions were directed on him, with the taller one speaking first.
"Ah! Finally, Mister Link! I do not think that I had introduced myself properly to you yet!" He then performed the small bow that was a common greeting gesture in Fodlan. "I am Hanneman, the teacher of the Blue Lions this year."
As Link nodded down in turn, the second man present approached him and smiled kindly as he spoke up as well.
"And I am Tomas, the librarian. I I am quite pleased to meet you. I wanted to assist to this discussion, as I am quite curious toward you."
"Yeah, okay." Link responded blandly before he looked over to Hanneman with a raised eyebrow. "So, what is it that you need me for?"
"Of course, pardon me. I will go straight to the point: I wished to talk of the strange abilities that you showcased during the battle at Zanado yesterday."
"Oh, that…" Link became uneasy as he glanced at the researcher and librarian in succession. "Alright, what about them?"
"Simply of how they function, at first. According to the knights, you used a red sphere as a shield against one of the Beasts, am I correct?"
"Yup, I did." Since he already knew that the other two would want him to elaborate further, Link decided not to waste time. "It's a magical power that a guy in Hyrule taught me. I don't know how it works, but I can turn it on and off at will."
"Pardon me?" Tomas asked with a quite pronounced frown. "How can you use such a complicated magical technique masterfully with no knowledge of its functioning?"
"This is a very long story, and I don't want to tell it to just anyone." Link retorted, crossing his arms. "Besides, I couldn't teach it to anyone, so I can't help you."
"I see…" Hanneman muttered with slight disappointment before he looked up at the Hylian again. "There is still one more thing that I wanted to ask. Would you let me perform a test on your blood?"
Now, Link was beginning to get weirded out, not to mention a little suspicious. He observed the researcher carefully and frowned.
"Why? Aren't Crests hereditary?"
"Yes, they are, and I wouldn't normally bother with it on an outsider. However, some events let me believe that you could, despite minimal odds, be a Crest bearer."
"And how the heck could I be?" Asked Link with a confused expression.
"You see, Mister Link, the descendants of a Crest bearer will always have a possibility of having their ancestor's Crest, even if the chances of it diminish the more generations pass. It is not impossible that, in the millennium that Crests have existed in Fodlan, one noble quitted Adestria and travelled all the way to Hyrule, where he would have had a family of which you are the descendant. After all, you have come here in only a few years."
"Okay, I see your logic here." Link admitted while nodding. "Although I don't know what makes you suspect me in particular. Why not check Cyril too? Almyra's closer to Fodlan, I heard…"
"This, Link, is because of your exploits in Garreg Mach. Ashe has spoken of your talent in archery, as well as your sheer agility. Your fight with over a dozen monsters yesterday alone would be unthinkable for a regular person…"
"And to this…" Added Tomas. "We can add the apparent instantaneous mastery of a complicated spell, without even the basic knowledge of magic use. This seems like the Crest of Gloucester to me."
"Unnaturally high strength is rather similar to Blaiddyd or Fraldarius, however…" Hanneman retorted.
Now, Link rolled his eyes slightly as he uncrossed his arms.
"Okay, I can understand where you're coming from. However, I can assure you that these things are not affected by a Crest of any sort."
"Hm." Tomas smiled again as he observed Link closely. "And how would you be so sure of this, without the knowledge of Crests? Is the average Hylian as powerful and skilled as you are?"
As he was about to respond, Link actually hesitated for a second as Hanneman and Tomas' words echoed through his head. Despite being in doubt of their theory at first, the outsider had to admit that he was one of the only Hylians who could defend themselves at all against anything other than a Bokoblin. Even Sidon feared the Red Lynel living near his home.
He had been told that he was one of the Hylian goddesses' 'chosen ones' in his childhood, but what if this was all bogus? Now that he thought of it, this was actually a reasonable explanation.
"Alright, I'll give you credit, it's convincing… What now?"
Upon hearing this, Hanneman grinned and rubbed his hands together before he explained the basic outlines of his projector's functioning. Following this, he took care to take a fresh sample of blood from the Hylian and put it in the device.
The inconceivable then happened.
As he booted up the device, the office's floor began to glow, indicating a successful detection. Link curiously looked over, Hanneman was becoming extremely excited, and Tomas' eyes widened in what looked like fright.
However, when the projected image came into view, the Crest researcher and the librarian found themselves quite disappointed. Indeed, instead of showing the usually beautiful patterns of a Crest, the image was blurry, with a vague spherical white form being surrounded by a purple outline. Hanneman sighed out as he went to his device.
"Hey, uh, is it supposed to be like that? Is it a Crest?" Link asked out while glancing at Tomas. The latter shrugged as Hanneman responded.
"No, Mister. This usually occurs when several Crests are present in the analysis at once. There must have been a contamination…" Said the researcher as he cleaned the glass lens of his machine thoroughly.
In order to be sure that everything worked just fine, he tested it once with his own blood, and as a result the machine showed the Crest of Indech, as it should. He then cleaned once more and booted it up again. This time, there was no reaction, sign that no further contamination was present.
Now, Link was becoming impatient. However, Hanneman was able to test the Hylian another time with an apologetic smile.
"I am sorry for the waste of time. Now, the result should be more conclusive…"
The three men then looked on attentively as the projector was about to show Link's actual Crest, or so they thought.
Once more, the image came blurry, which frustrated Hanneman, quite a lot in fact.
"Well, it seems that we have gotten unlucky with your samples…" He said while shaking his head. "If you would be so kind, could I have a few strands of hair from you, Link? I will let you go, so I need more samples to run successful tests…"
"Uh… Yeah, you get what you need…" Link answered, still staring at the indecisive image in the middle of the room. Tomas seemed to be quite bummed as well, if his slight pout was of any indication.
After another apology from Hanneman and fulfilling his strange request, Link went out of the office with quite mixed feelings.
On one hand, it was quite exciting to know that he may very well be a rare Crest bearer of Hyrule. On the other hand, he had no idea of what it was, how it worked, how it looked or even if it was really the case at all, or just a fantasy of the Blue Lions' professor.
As such, it was with a lot of questions, and very few answers, that Link exited the floor in order to go for lunch.
Not far from Garreg Mach, in one of the numerous dense forests that surrounded the monastery, was waiting the tall white-bearded man known by some as Thales. Despite the calm of his surroundings, he was looking around him regularly so he could destroy anyone who would happen to witness his presence.
After he gave a scornful look at the buildings in view, he turned around calmly as a pillar of light crashed into the ground near him. Where the teleportation spell had landed was now standing Tomas, who scanned the forest around him before he finally took notice of Thales.
Then, dropping the kindly expression that he usually wore when interacting with the people of Garreg Mach, the librarian adopted a disdainful face while sparks of Dark Magic began to emanate from him. His entire body ended up being engulfed in dark flames and, once they were extinguished, Solon had recovered his true form, protruding veins and all. His leader then spoke up to him with a quite pronounced frown.
"Solon, I require explanations for your failure of yesterday."
At first, the deformed man sighed out as he pinched the upper part of his nose.
"There isn't much to explain, Master Thales. This little vermin proved itself to be more capable than I had estimated. Even the horde of monsters that I sent after him were absolutely no match…"
"I suppose that his 'Slate', as he calls it, is still in his possession?"
"Indeed, it is, unfortunately. However, I have discovered something of much importance today. The Crest researcher attempted to examine his blood to search for a Crest, but the device seemed contaminated by several ones. The fool blamed it on a malfunction or an improper procedure, but…"
Now, Thales' expression became uncharacteristically shocked as he listened to his subordinate.
"What are you implying, Solon?"
"I believe that the people of Hyrule may very well have found the answer to what we have been searching for the last decades."
Later that day, the outsider Link came back from the nearby woods, where he had been eating in peace, and arrived in the marketplace in order to wait for the three youngsters that he had asked to meet him. He glanced up at the sun and determined that it would take another hour before it went completely over the horizon, letting night take over.
At first, he had wanted to organize his little story night near Anna's stand, because he figured that she wouldn't mind his prolonged presence. The merchant had proposed to him that he makes a wood fire in the forest nearby for a more appropriate ambiance, but Link heavily doubted that Seteth would tolerate him bringing the students out of the monastery's grounds after the fall of night. As such, he had devised a compromise: a wood fire at Anna's stand. The latter didn't object, since it didn't affect her business and would give her some entertainment as she made counts again.
The first to get out of the main gate of the monastery was, of course, Bernadetta. She had finished the small portion that she had taken at the cafeteria and had undoubtedly been impatient to rejoin her... Her what?
As the little girl waved her hand at Link, the latter was dumbfounded to discover that he was unable to describe their relationship with a single word. He certainly wasn't a mentor or a teacher, he didn't earn such titles. Friends was more adequate, he thought.
"Hey, Link! Hi!" Yelled Bernadetta, jogging excitedly toward the Hylian.
"Hey, Bernie. I guess Caspar and Ashe aren't done eating yet?"
"Um, I couldn't say, really…" Admitted the girl as she looked down. "I'm sorry, I should have-"
"Don't worry about that." Link interrupted her before he booted up his Shiekah Slate. As he searched through the food menus, he glanced at his protégé. "Was the food good tonight? I have no idea of what they served…"
"It wasn't that much special, to be honest… But I wasn't really hungry, anyway."
"I see…" Simply said Link while searching for the logs of wood in his inventory. He had found a little snack for her, but he would give it once he began the story. At that point, the thin forms of Ashe and Caspar appear over at the gate, causing Link to divert his attention from Bernadetta for a moment. "And here come the boys."
Once the little group was finally united, Link clapped his hands together as he explained the planned activity of the evening. Once he was finished, Ashe raised his hand slightly.
"Hey, Mister Link, it was a knight's tale, or an adventure tale, right? No ghost stories?"
"Uh, I guess you could call it a knight story…" Link hesitantly responded while scratching his head.
"Come on now…" Caspar joked while glancing at the young archer. "Ghosts aren't even real anyway, it's just fun stories."
"Oh, no, ghosts are totally real." Link added bluntly as he began to walk over to the intended spot of the storytelling. "But friendly, for the most part."
With a grunt from the freckled boy, the four installed themselves around the place where Link had demonstrated his potion formula days ago. As he sat down, Caspar sniffed out the air and his face twisted slightly in disgust.
"Ugh, what's with that smell…"
"It's probably Anna who's trying the potions I showed her. Not quite there, but she's getting better." Link responded as he lighted up the little fireplace, on which the cooking pot had been removed.
And thus, Link prepared himself to narrate the story as the sun was beginning to set. Caspar and Ashe were sitting in front of him, from the other side of the fire, while Bernadetta had placed herself right next to the outsider.
"Now, let me tell you the story of The Battle for Vah'Naboris…"
Author's notes:
And that's it for this chapter. Sorry for the yet again longer delay, but I've gotten a new job at long last which leaves me a bit more tired during the evening.
So, the aftermath of the battle of Zanado. Lorenz' in a pretty rough shape, everyone's tense, and Solon seems to have plans for our favorite Hylian. I wonder what…
Next chapter will be quite different from the rest of the story so far. Instead of starting off the Lonato arc, it will be entirely about Link's retelling of the events of Vah'Naboris.
Also, be sure to check out a new story that I plan to post around the same time as Chapter 11: "The Pride of Almyra"! A sort-of sequel to the Crimson Flower route, but which will focus on some unforeseen consequences of Edelgard's war on the rest of Fodlan.
Until then, it's about it for the notes today. Once more, I thank all of you for your support and feedback, and I wish you a good day. May this blasted virus spare you all.