Fire Emblem Three Houses: Five Years War
I don't own Fire Emblem Three Houses, or any of its characters. This will be a series of one-shots concerning the five years timeskip that occurs right as the war starts. It will contain spoilers for the Azure Moon storyline, and the supports of some characters.
I will treat everyone from the Black Eagles as being recruited by either the Golden Deer or the Blue Lion house, except Hubert who's impossible to recruit. I will attempt to put the shipping to the side as much as possible, but here's what you can expect: Dimitri/F!Byleth, Claude/Hilda, Ferdinand/Dorothea, Petra/Linhardt, Caspar/Bernadetta, Felix/Annette, Dedue/Flayn, Lorenz/Leonie, Sylvain/Ingrid, Lysithea/Cyril, Catherine/Seteth. It will also contain the Ashen Wolves, who will get a dedicated chapter.
I might operate some minor design changes for some of the characters who don't have any post timeskip designs (Catherine, Shamir, Seteth and Flayn for example).
That said, I hope you enjoy your read.
Chapter 11: Hubert "Valuables" Around the Red Wolf Moon (November) of year 1183
The island of Brigid had a different climate to the one in Fodlàn. On the main continent, it snowed from the Red Wolf Moon to the Guardian Moon, when in Brigid, heavy rainfalls stroke the island for three months straight, forcing its fishing activities to wait for the storm to stop and for the sun to shine brightly again, for the next nine months. Despite the terrible weather, there was one ship heading towards the main harbour of the island, Maradùn. One that proudly bared the eagle of the adrestrian empire on its sails.
There was a procession waiting out, soaked under the rain, on the docks, while the ship was arriving. It extended a footbridge over the sea to let a cloaked figure stand on the docks, followed by guards, who were wearing typical adrestrian armour. The captain of the brigidian guards, who bared a carefully crafted and coloured armour, his face hidden under a dark green hood, stepped forward and spoke in perfect fodlian "Welcome to Maradùn, adrestrian. Maybe we should move in before the storm hits." The leader of the adrestrian group raised his gravely voice "Thank you for welcoming us, captain…" He seemed to hesitate before the captain answered "Peadar."
The adrestrian leader smirked under his black hood "Hubert von Vestra." He said while doing a small curb. The young advisor to the emperor could see that some of the brigidian guards were quite tense, but Peadar didn't look nervous. The brigidians guided the adrestrians to the town's palace, where the meeting with the king was scheduled.
At the entrance, Hubert removed his hood, letting people see his tired traits and his yellow eyes. The king of Brigid was sitting on a throne, that seemed to be made for those specific kind of occasions. Hubert bowed in front of the king, who bared a white mane, and wore colourful robes, fit to the country of Brigid. "Your grace, king Fiachra, allow me to thank you for welcoming us on Brigid, despite the terrible weather."
The king, well-versed in Fodlian, spoke. "I hope the emperor holds up well. War tends to ruin people's health, if not kill them outright." Hubert smirked "She is fine. With a bit of luck, the war will end in the few next months."
The king raised an eyebrow. "I hope the emperor hasn't forgotten her promise. This war is dragging on, and my people starts to suffer the consequences of what is happening on your continent. I remember receiving a missive about the war ending three moons ago, and yet, you still request military forces from our land."
Hubert remembered having put too much faith in a mercenary's loyalty to gold, and had used it to calm the already angered king of Brigid, and bought himself some time before this confrontation. The plan hadn't worked out as expected, however, though Hubert still hoped it brought confusion to the Leicester alliance.
"The emperor only has the best of intentions towards Brigid, I ask you not to worry. The princess shall be returned to you as soon as the war ends."
The king Fiachra did not seem impressed "Talking about Petra, could you tell me how she is doing?" Hubert smiled and did a small curb. "Of course, she is fighting for the empire, as she knows the sooner we win, the sooner Brigid will be free."
The king's right eye twitched "And how do I know if she even fights for the empire?" Hubert's smile faded "We can send you her head if you wish."
The captain of the guards immediately raised his spear, followed by the rest of the guard. Fiachra rose from his throne and roared "Gu leòr!" That seemed to calm the guards, who brought their weapons down. "So the emperor's dog reveals his true colours." Fiachra said with scorn, while turning around Hubert, who scoffed "I said the emperor had the best of intentions towards you, I may have… different plans."
The king laughed "You would betray your empress?!" All amusement on Hubert's face disappeared "There is no-one more loyal to her majesty than me. And I am the only one who has the power to change her mind. It would be… terrible if the emperor decided that Brigid was not fit to world maps anymore."
Fiachra looked back at Hubert with scorn "I know why you have come here, and we will give you more soldiers for your petty war. But you will leave, now." He then said a few words in brigidan. Hubert smirked when he heard those words "If I were you, I wouldn't try to make us disappear. Her grace might not take it very well if I don't make it back to Enbarr."
He walked out of the small palace back to his ship, escorted by the guards, who were looking at him with scorn. But Hubert didn't mind, he didn't need the brigidan's approval to have their military forces by the empire's side. Although it would be nice if he could be softer with Adrestria's vassals, but the times needed strength.
Sorry, I'm late for such a small chapter. As I said before, Hubert takes this evil persona that makes me laugh when he starts doing crits.
Brigid seems to have a big Gaelic theming with big focus on spirits. The name Maradùn quite literally means Port town in Scottish Gaelic.
Childhood F Idea: Indeed, that's what I've been trying to do with this chapter for Leonie, by focusing more on her mercenary side rather than just idolizing Jeralt (which would seem like the easier way to write her). I still mentioned him, since he's still a big part of her character, but I made it minor. Also, Leonie notes she has never seen Byleth despite having trained with Jeralt for a year. That's something that I may have overlooked right there.
Next Chapter: Pragmatism and Nobility