Part 2: Pax Adrestia, Chapter 3.

Whew. Finally managed to put out another chapter.

Disclaimer: The author does not own anything in the IP. Thanks for asking.


"Ingrid," Byleth nodded in greeting before she turned to the other woman. "Hapi."

"Professor," Ingrid said, her face grim. "May I ask for your attention? We have a situation in the north."

Byleth glanced around the room before she responded. "Hubert and Yuri need to be informed, at the very least."

Ingrid nodded. "Of course, Professor."

"Follow me," Byleth said to Ingrid before she looked at Hapi. "Would you mind if I stepped out for a moment?"

Hapi shrugged as she walked over to a spare bed, landing with a soft oomph before she fell back onto the bed, her legs swinging like a bored child as Byleth nudged Ingrid out of the door.

Hubert and Yuri waited outside the door, their faces grim as they waited, though Byleth could never read their true feelings from their faces, even after almost two years working with them.

"Ingrid," Hubert started, his tone impatient. "We're rather busy at the moment, so make this quick."

Ingrid nodded and took a deep breath before she spoke. "There's an army out in the Sreng Desert. Hundreds of soldiers."

"What?" Hubert hissed. "How did Gaut-"

"Not him," Ingrid shook her head furiously. "It's Thales."

Byleth grimaced at the name as several possibilities ran through her head, each more worrying than the last. "Are you certain?"

"They sent a hunting party after Hapi," Ingrid explained, gesturing back to the closed door to the infirmary. "Persistent too. She was almost dead when we got to her."

"Is that so?" Yuri's voice was icy, and Byleth could imagine why. Constance was the only member of the Ashen Wolves who he had kept in touch with over the years, and he was clearly not pleased to learn that another of his friends had come close to death's door without his knowledge.

"Several stab wounds, an arrow to the thigh, magic burns," Ingrid said. "We drove off the raiding party, but they killed several of our men."

"Where was this?" Hubert asked, his face thoughtful but guarded.

"Border of Sreng territory," Ingrid replied. "Hapi didn't tell us much, but we're on high alert. Ashe and I have been riding day and night trying to get to Garreg Mach."

"We'll need a full army then," Yuri shook his head. "Is that what you're saying?"

"Our lines in the North are spread thin as is," Ingrid replied. "Fhirdiad can't spare any more troops with the number of food riots that have been occurring. We need help from Garreg Mach."

"You'll have them," Byleth promised. "But we deal with Varley first."

"Varley?" Ingrid frowned, her head tilting to the side. "What happened to him?"

"His troops supported an attempted rebellion by Count Gloucester," Hubert explained. "And we have eyewitness accounts that he's supporting bandits in his territory."

Ingrid frowned and nodded. "Surely we can spare some-"

"And we believe he's managed to steal Cornelia from us," Byleth added. "If we don't stop him soon, we're not sure what she could do."

Ingrid said nothing for a moment, but Byleth watched her swallow hard and nod. "What are you proposing, Professor?"

Byleth paused for a moment. "Hubert, do we have a map of Varley territory?"

"Yes," Hubert's eyes lit up with a cold light. "Very well. Shall I bring it here?"

"We'll head to the war room once we finish with Hapi," Byleth replied. "We need to learn of the scale of the threat in Sreng territory."

"Right," Yuri said as he turned away, any pretense of cheer in his body gone. "We'll be in the war room once you're done."

Byleth watched the other three leave before she headed back into the infirmary, noticing that Hapi had wandered away from her bed, now standing over Lysithea.

"Hapi," Byleth called. "Come. We have little time as it is."

"Hey Chatterbox," Hapi replied, not even looking up from Lysithea. "What happened to Lissie?"

Byleth walked over to the bed where Lysithea still lay, her breathing slow and steady despite the bony growths that tore through her skin.

"I'm not sure," Byleth said gently, replacing a wet towel on Lysithea's forehead with a cooler, fresh one. "We're trying to figure it out."

"I'm sure," Hapi replied, tracing a finger along one of Lysithea's claws. "It was Cornelia, wasn't it?"

Byleth flinched at the name. Hapi knew Cornelia?

"Chatterbox?" Hapi asked, her face serious as they made eye contact.

"We took Cornelia prisoner after the siege of Arianrhod," Byleth admitted. "She has since disappeared from our custody."

Hapi took a deep breath before she nodded. "Cornelia... made me who I am. You know, with the sighs."

"And you want revenge for that," Byleth guessed out loud.

"Yes," Hapi replied, nodding again. "She did things… I don't want to talk about it."

Byleth paused for a moment to look over to Edelgard. She suspected she knew, but it was Hapi's right to keep her secrets. "We'll be going over our battle plans downstairs. Will you join us?"

Hapi grunted in affirmation. "Sure, but Cornelia…"

"When the time comes," Byleth promised as she turned to the door. "But we have another concern."

"Huh?" Hapi asked. "Another concern?"

"This dragon you saw in the Sreng Desert," Byleth explained. "It seems like there was a… hostile group there."

"Yep," Hapi replied, suddenly flippant. "Maybe two hundred."

Byleth grimaced at the words. "Was that all of them?"

"Maybe," Hapi replied, an ever-present shrug in her shoulder. "I dunno. I didn't check."

"Running?" Byleth asked.

"You know how it is."

Byleth nodded. It wasn't a lot of information, but what did exist concerned her.

The army to the north was clearly dangerous, if the tale of the dead dragon could be believed. They had time, certainly. The army would have to heal up injuries in the unforgiving Sreng desert with a battle hardened force waiting for them at the border to Fodlan, but if that army was defeated, there would be immense risk to the surrounding areas.

"I'll keep that in mind," Byleth said. "Come, I'll show you the planning room."

Apart from a few stone-faced guards along doors and key entrance areas, there was little activity in Garreg Mach, despite the same place bustling with life just a day prior, but that was good by Byleth's standards. There would be little stopping her and Hapi, and even fewer eyes to be paranoid about.

It was only when they passed the subterranean gates that led to Abyss did Byleth feel a sign of relief. For all intents and purposes, Abyss was the most secretive part of Garreg Mach, especially with the doors guarded by four soldiers rather than the usual two, and a guard for each secret escape route.

And yet it had been breached with nobody the wiser. Someone had dragged a naked, tortured woman through the halls without the guards noticing.

Bizarre. Exceptionally bizarre.

"Where are we going?" Hapi asked, her face seemingly in awe.

"I trust you remember Abyss?" Byleth asked.

"Yeah," Hapi replied, a small smile crossing her lips. "Yeah."

"We're nearly there," Byleth replied. "Third door to the-"

"Professor!" Hubert's voice called. "We have something you should see."

"Come," Byleth said to Hapi. "Third room to the right."

"Professor," Hubert said again, stepping from the room. "I'm sorry, but this is for you only. Something's come up with the-"

"Cornelia?" Hapi asked. "Chatterbox has let me know."

"Is that so?" Hubert asked, his lips curling to a scowl as he looked over to Byleth. "Professor, may I have a word?"

"Cornelia experimented on Hapi in the past," Byleth explained, waving Hubert away. "She caused her… sighing issue."

Hubert's head tilted, but he had no change in expression otherwise, though he stepped aside to let Byleth and Hapi into the room.

"Professor," Ingrid greeted, rising from the table. "Ashe should be joining us shortly."

Byleth nodded as she looked down at the map on the table, squinting at the delicate series of lines that crossed the map.

"Hey Teach," Yuri said with a nod. "We're thinking of a two pronged push that pins Varley into a place he can't run from.

Byleth nodded as she looked down at the map. It was a good plan, especially given the limited scope of soldiery they had on hand. "Heavy infantry along the north, cavalry and lighter units along the main road?"

"Right," Yuri said. "I'll lead a hunting party ahead of the front line, make sure none of them try to run for it. Hubert or Shamir can lead the group around the road."

"Shamir is still in charge of the investigation in the Forbidden Forest," Hubert said.

"Not much to see there," Shamir's voice came from the doorway. "Broken trees, some blood, dead animals."

"Hello Professor," Ashe said pleasantly as he followed Shamir, giving quick nods to the others in the room. "Is this…"

"Varley territory," Yuri said, nodding down to the map. "Probably crawling with rebels and those who slither in the dark."

Ashe's face hardened at the words. "Are you certain?"

Something clicked in Byleth's head as Yuri cleared his throat. "Professor, do you recall the… unit Dorothea encountered? Under the so-called Verrat?"

"Yes," Byleth nodded at the question. "She said that they came for Marianne's sword, didn't they?"

"Correct," Yuri replied. "Assuming they continued marching west from Myrddin, we can assume safely that they will need time to rest, gather supplies, and so on."

"And that's where Varley comes in," Byleth guessed. "He'll supply them with food and whatever they need next."

"If we move quickly," Hubert said, drawing a long finger along the centre of the map until he stopped at a rough sketch of a manor. "We can cut them off before they can resupply, and give them the choice to surrender quietly or let the heat do them in."

"And we can get answers from them," Yuri said, his tone betraying a hint of excitement. "Including why they were helping us."

Byleth noticed an uncomfortable silence in the room following Yuri's words, and she risked looking up.

Ingrid and Ashe looked equal parts surprised and confused, and they looked back at her, as if expecting an answer.

"During the battle for Myrddin," Byleth explained to the newcomers. "Edelgard and I fell into a trap laid by one of their officers, but we were saved by another faction of them.

"Another faction?" Ingrid sounded confused, and she wore it plainly on her face. "Surely they all work together."

"Lady Edelgard and The Professor had been frozen to the bridge at Myrddin when one of the weapons launched at Arianrhod was fired at them," Hubert explained, his lips a pale, taut line. "We believed them slain, but…"

"Dorothea witnessed a group of them dragging Edelgard and Teach back," Yuri said. "The rest of us, well…"

"We were all knocked unconscious from the aftereffects of the weapon," Byleth said, looking down at the floor. "They must have cast Rescue- wait."

"Professor?" Yuri asked, his tone sounding concerned.

"That's it," Byleth hissed, anger rushing through her body as she suddenly understood how Cornelia had escaped. "Rescue. Why didn't we think of that?"

"You mean," Hubert's voice was hard, but he seemed to be the first to catch on. "Cornelia?"

"All of it," Byleth said, tapping her finger along the map. "What if this… Verrat has been working with… no, using Varley."

"Professor?" Ingrid sounded confused. "Sorry, we haven't been filled in."

"There are too many coincidences," Byleth said, tapping her fingers against the map as a chain of memories forced a grim picture in her head. "The traitor from Gloucester. The caravan of nobles from Enbarr. Cornelia escaping with outside help when we were away from Garreg Mach."

"And yet we know nothing of this Verrat," Hubert said. "Had his men truly wanted us dead…"

"We would not have escaped Myrddin," Byleth conceded. "A third of the Black Eagles slain in one fell swoop."

"And the Empire plunged into chaos," Yuri added. "Can't imagine why he wouldn't take that offer."

"The Verrat chose to let us live," Byleth reminded the others. "And if we take down Varley, perhaps we can find out why."

Hubert cleared his throat. "As you have pointed out before, Professor, we plan to launch our attack along two prongs, and force Varley in between them. Calvary and fast infantry to the south, heavy forces along the northern mountain passes."

"Classic hammer and anvil," Byleth said, her mind seeing how the battle would play out and finding satisfaction with the result. "Who else are we bringing with us?"

"Bernadetta will be informed," Yuri said. "But she will be held in reserve along with Constance."

"Marianne or Dorothea?" Byleth asked, though she knew the answer already.

"Marianne's mysterious sword is still in their custody," Hubert said quietly. "Perhaps we should include her?"

"No," Yuri was shaking his head furiously. "We still have to march north to deal with this army in Sreng. She'll need to rest while we can."

"We'll all need to rest while we can," Byleth said. "But until we defeat Varley, we cannot head north with our supply train at risk of being cut."

"We are in agreement with that?" Hubert asked.

Byleth glanced around the room again. There were a few eyes that met her gaze, but the room was mostly silent.

"We will ride in an hour," Byleth said. "Hubert, Yuri, see to it that the soldiers are rallied. Tell them that there is a bandit infestation in Varley territory."


Byleth spent the hour after leaving Abyss in the infirmary, watching Edelgard, and to a lesser extent, Lysithea and Linhardt. A quick consultation with two of the Black Eagles medical staff confirmed to her that a magical treatment for Edelgard and Linhardt wasn't ideal, and it was better to simply nudge their bodies back to health rather than drain the limited supply of healers at Garreg Mach. Even if something was to happen, Byleth knew Dorothea had the medical skills to make do until they returned.

The street had cooled down since she last stepped outside, though it was still warmer than the subterranean Abyss, especially with the long line of cavalry units in grim formation, their lances held high as Byleth passed them, replying to their salutes with small nods.

"Professor," Hubert called from where he stood, close to the front of the large regiment at the start of the parade of soldiers. "Marianne has offered to let you ride Dorte."

Byleth was surprised by Hubert's words as she stepped forward, rubbing the smooth hide of Marianne's personal mount gently. Dorte was a strong war horse, and very close to Marianne. Byleth wasn't sure if she would be able to mount the animal, but she climbed on regardless.

To her surprised, Dorte responded well, and Byleth gently took the reins and nudged the horse forward, moving to a quick trot as she headed down the road south, the road that would eventually end in Enbarr.

"Our few airborne units are scouring Varley territory for any targets of importance," Hubert said when he caught up to her several minutes later, his face strained as he fought with the reins of his own horse, a vicious looking animal with a fine black coat and several brutal scars. "They'll know where to go if anything important comes up."

Byleth nodded as she heard what sounded like a hundred hooves to her left, and she turned to see the first of the cavalry units ride by, their lighter armour a clear difference compared to the usually heavy knights that made up the elite Imperial corps.

"Most of our fast units consist of mounted archers," Hubert said with a nod. "They will be good for chasing down Varley or his retinue."

An idea struck Byleth then. "What if The Verrat's men haven't arrived yet?"

"Good," Hubert's voice came with a quiet mirth, and his lips perked up. "They will be exhausted, carrying wounded, and low on supplies."

"And they won't be linking up with whatever bandits Varley can get to fight for him." Byleth guessed.

"Bandits rarely fight if not cornered," Hubert replied with a shake of his head. "They won't realize the danger until we have fallen upon them."

"My Lords!" a voice ahead of the group called. "We've found something that you should see."

"That was quick," Byleth muttered softly to herself as she looked up, noticing a small body of the mounted archers peeling off from the main body to surround something on the side of the road.

"Indeed," Hubert said, pushing his beast harder. "We should hurry."

Byleth nodded at the suggestion and pushed Dorte harder, and the well trained horse responded in kind as they followed the messenger.

It was the stench of rotting flesh that first alerted them to the scene ahead, and Byleth grimaced at the smell, even from a distance away, but she still pushed Dorte forward, and to her surprise, the horse complied, trotting forward until they reached the unfortunate squad of soldiers who had been guarding the corpse.

It was a horse, but not a feral straggler, despite clearing being dead, it had the muscles one expected of a soldier's horse, though it was not a strong one.

"Report," Byleth heard one of the other men gasp through a muffled glove.

"Get on with it," Hubert replied.

"Right away," the man nodded as he pointed a sabre at a dark wound around the horse's neck. "Cause of death seems to be a slash to the throat. Knife wound. From what we can see it probably collapsed due to exhaustion. Not any visible injuries that would warrant putting it down."

Byleth nodded and glanced over to Hubert, who dismissed the soldiers with a flick of his hand.

"Exhaustion," Hubert muttered softly when they left the rotting corpse behind. "It's a long march from Myrddin."

"You think it's The Verrat behind this?" Byleth asked.

"No Imperial soldier would kill a warhorse," Hubert pointed out. "They are expensive at the best of times."

"True," Byleth said. "But that means they've already reached Varley territory."

"But they'll be even more exhausted than what we expected," Hubert replied with a small, grim smirk. "They had to cross difficult ground, and ride day and night to make the speed they did. They won't put up much of a fight."

"Good," Byleth said, pausing for a moment. "But… what is their plan, exactly?"

"Pardon?" Hubert asked.

Byleth stopped Dorte to look back at the dead horse on the long road that would eventually lead to Enbarr. "It's a risky gambit they pulled to return to Varley territory, but… what about after that? What then?"

Hubert paused. "Yes… when you phrase it that way, it's like their plans could fall apart at the smallest touch."

"Either this Verrat isn't as smart as we thought," Byleth muttered. "Or…"

"This was a distraction?" Hubert hissed.

"A sacrificial pawn," Byleth said, straining her head for answers. "No… wait a minute."

"You thought of something?" Hubert asked.

"How did the forces of The Verrat know we were going to be at Myrddin?" Byleth asked. "Our plans could not have been leaked faster than we arrived."

"Gloucester perhaps?" Hubert asked.

"Gloucester's forces were there to kill, but Dorothea said that The Verrat held clear orders to see to our survival."

"Another mystery," Hubert admitted after a moment of silence, frowning when he looked up. "Another question for Varley."

"Assuming we can take him alive," Byleth muttered as she pulled Dorte's reins back toward the main road. "We should hurry. They might have found something up ahead."

Byleth rode off before Hubert could reply, but she felt a sense of concern rising within her even as she pushed Dorte forward. The horse indicated that the men of the Verrat had already made it back to Varley territory, and that made Byleth nervous.

Cornered men were unpredictable at best, and something told Byleth that Varley County was as flammable as Fhirdiad, especially with the summer heat.

Dorte seemed to sense her concern, and it wasn't long before Byleth noticed a cluster of soldiers before her, huddled in a formation that hid something on the ground.

"Professor!" one of the soldiers called out as she slowed Dorte down to a trot. "Something here you should see."

"It's just some dead peasant," one of the other soldiers snapped as Byleth dismounted from Dorte. "Looks like a wolf attack."

A moment later, one of the soldiers stepped back from his position, allowing Byleth to see the body for the first time. It was a younger man, but clearly not a common peasant, for he wore the shredded remnants of what looked like a butler's uniform, though the cause of death seemed obvious, with the earth around the body soaked with dark blood.

"Wait," Byleth ordered as she scanned the rest of the body, grimacing as she stood up. "How close are we to Varley Manor?"

"We're about three kilometres northeast," one of the men said. "Give or take, why?"

"His clothes," Byleth replied, pulling a torn strip of the man's ruined, bloodstained shirt away from the corpse. "Farmers don't wear this type of clothing."

The crowd around Byleth was silent as she stood, taking a step from the body as she slapped away the crowd of buzzards in the air.

"Look around," Byleth ordered the group. "There should be other clues here."

"What should we be looking for?"

"Blood," Byleth answered without hesitation. "Carrion birds. Recent damage to crops."

"Understood," one of the soldiers said, saluting as the group dispersed.

"Professor!" Hubert's voice called from a distance away, his face grim as he rode close. "I've received word from the front."

"What do they say?" Byleth asked as Hubert dismounted.

"We're receiving scattered resistance among the line north," Hubert said. "But we've seen nothing else."

Byleth frowned as she gestured for Hubert to follow her to the dead butler behind her. "It seems like this man came from the Varley household."

"Odd," Hubert said, glancing around the area. "Why would they be here?"

"Professor!" a voice shouted. "We've found something! You need to see this!"

"Report!" Hubert barked back. "What have you found?"

"General von Vestra," the man who had spoken was pale, his face grim as he pointed to a spot on a small path leading into Varley territory. "Bodies. A dozen of them. All of them appear to be Varley staff."

"Cause of death?" Hubert's face was blank, hiding any semblance of emotion.

"They were running from someone," the man said, holding up a broken arrow shaft as he spoke. "We recovered a number of broken arrows."

"Household staff running from the Varley Manor," Hubert said, rubbing his chin. "It would appear that our foe is disposing of loose ends."

Byleth agreed with Hubert's assessment as she headed to the street the soldier had pointed out, and grimaced at the half dozen bodies that were sprawled over a long section of road.

"Some of them tried to fight back," Byleth said as she tore a small axe from the death grip of one of the dead men, grimacing when she noticed the blade seemed unbloodied. "But it seems this Verrat's men were better."

"Household servants make poor fighters," Hubert said from next to her. "Shame. They would have made good informants."

"And perhaps that is why they were killed," Byleth said.

"What are your orders?" Hubert asked. "Shall we continue the original plan?"

Byleth paused at the question. "Varley Manor may still have evidence, if it still stands."

"Doubtful," Hubert said with a shrug. "Fire is an excellent tool."

Byleth paused. "Order the advance. If there's anything left for us to find, we'll find it."

"As you wish," Hubert bowed, an orb of dark fire forming in his hands before it fired into the sky, rising far, like a bolt of ink against a blue canvas, before exploding in an eruption of unholy fire.

Almost immediately, Byleth heard the sound of a thousand cavalrymen commencing their advance, the trot of horses punctuated with roars of challenge as the army advanced.

"We should advance on Varley Manor," Hubert said. "Perhaps we can find a clue to what they are hiding there."

"Agreed," Byleth said as she turned to mount Dorte, frowning when she saw a speck in the distant sky. "Is that… Ashe?"

Hubert was silent as Byleth squinted hard. Even from a distance, she could see Ashe's silver hair, and the erratic, violent flight of his wyvern.

"Hubert," Byleth hissed.

"On it," Hubert replied as Byleth mounted Dorte, riding frantically in Ashe's direction, even as the wyvern glided slowly to the ground, its wings no longer flapping as it fell.

Despite her best efforts, Ashe crashed into the ground first, his wyvern no longer moving as Byleth watched him stagger to his feet.

"Professor!" Ashe shouted as he stumbled toward Byleth, crumpling to his knees as she ran over to him, his clothes torn and his face a mask of pain. "We need to go. They- they got Ingrid."


AN: Chapter 2-3 is complete (finally!)

Apologies for the delay. This is, in all honesty, the third draft I wrote for this chapter (first two are 100% deleted), and even so I've had to redo several scenes over and over again.

In two chapters I'll be creating a poll that creates two separate paths I want my readers to vote on. While I'm not optimistic on how it'll go (the last time I posted a poll it didn't do so well), I'm still willing to give it another try.