The world was still dark when he woke up. With two hours of spare time he headed to the armory bringing with him all kind of training weapons. They were light yet sturdy. "With enough strength it could cause quite the damage" he thought.

After placing the weapons next to the walls of the training room he mentally reviewed how he will teach his students. Even without experience he felt he could handle his ground in anything relate to weapons. "Although I need to learn a lot of this world" he thought. After the training he planned to go to the library, he needed to learn to avoid being a handicap to his students.

The first to arrive was Edelgard, who instead of her elegant clothes she was wearing a hard leathered armor. Byleth nod in approbation. A battlefield, even if it was a training one wasn't a place to wear fashionable clothes.

"Good morning Professor Byleth. I am glad to see you well. I hope that you are happy to have chosen the Black eagles".

"I will confirm it now"

"I am glad to hear that" her eyes staring at him directly. "By the way, I know I´ve already expressed my gratitude but I cannot thank you enough for saving my life".

"No problem, it was my decision even if it meant my death".

Her eyes showed an instant of surprise after which she returned to her usual expression.

"Your words have a heavy meaning yet your face doesn't change a bit. I admire the confidence of your will".

Their conversation was interrupted with the arrival of Caspar, who was evidently excited about the training.

"Hey Professor, I´m going to give my best"

Alongside him came a still sleepy Linhardt

"Please be quieter Caspar, your voice is too annoying at this time of the morning"

"Come on Lindhart, you were planning to skip!"

"Ok ok you win; I don't want to have fruitless discussions"

The next to arrive were Hubert, Dorothea, Petra and Bernadetta. Dorothea and Petra were carrying her, while Hubert was walking at a prudent distance from them.

"Good morning Professor, we were searching for Bernie, it looks like she wanted to stay in her room" said a smiling Dorothea.

"I don't want to fight!" said a trembling Bernadetta.

"Now that everyone is here I will explain today´s practice. I want you to practice in pairs but first of all I want one of you to fight against me".

Looking at their faces it lingered a bit more on Edelgard. She was about to speak when Caspar rushed forward.

"I will fight against you Professor!"

"Very well, pick the weapon you prefer the most"

He picked a training axe.

"What about yours Professor?"

"I will fight with my hands"

The surprise was evident between their ranks, the only one who found the situation amusing was Hubert, who was silently laughing.

Caspar came charging at him shouting. His charged attack too obvious and Byleth evaded it effortlessly. He then punched his student to the face with all his might. Caspar fell to the ground unconscious. Everyone was silent.

Dorothea was shocked "Was it necessary professor?"

"In a battle you have to give everything to win. Good intentions won´t keep you alive for too long. Lindhart use your magic on Caspar".

"Harsh words for a Professor but appropriate ones for a mercenary I guess" Hubert grinned.

When Caspar recovered his sense he talked to him.

"Caspar, your actions were too obvious. If this were a real battle you would be already dead. And stop shouting, you will only reveal your position to the enemy".

"Understood Professor" said Caspar who still had a slight contusion on his face. I will try harder."

"Oh what do we have here? A training battle?"

Byleth turned around; standing next to a column was Jeritza, who always was wearing a mask. It was the first time he saw him grinning.

"I have a proposal to you Professor. How about we fight to demonstrate the risks of a real life combat? Sometimes watching a fight is more useful that being into one. Of course we won´t fight to death"

Byleth turned his gaze to his students. The most tensed was Edelgard who kept staring at Jeritza, although he couldn't understand why.

"I see no problem"

"Very well then. Take this" Jeritza threw at him a silver sword perfectly sharp.

After saluting his adversary the combat began.

As quick as the lightning the blades met and the dance of swords began. The surrounding world was engulfed in darkness as Byleth´s attention was centered only on the masked man.

His foe was a formidable adversary, he was quick, yet strong and his attacks were trying to breach through his defense.

In a blitz Jeritza changed the arc of his sword releasing a thrust directed to his neck that Byleth avoided by the skin of his teeth. It was clear that the purpose of the attack was to kill.

"Don't get yourself killed or I will be gone with you!" Sothis shouted

"I won´t" he thought

Immediately Byleth started a counterattack aimed at Jeritza´s leg, which he avoided easily, the blades quickly meeting again. Showing no hesitation Byleth used all his might against the masked man, who changed to a defensive position. His senses were awakening despite his everlasting blank expression.

The battle continued for what it looked like an eternity. Both adversaries weren't showing signs of exhaustion, though Byleth was feeling a strange itching on his right hand. Suddenly an explosion happened that knocked Byleth down. "Magic!" he thought.

With dust still lingering in the air Jeritza was already on him. "It can´t end like this!" he thought.

With all his might he moved his sword to stop the incoming attack and then it happened.

His attack broke both silver swords

"What?!"

Feeling an incredible power on his right arm Byleth pressed forward and with a convinced look on his face he said

"Allow me to demonstrate"

His punch sent his foe flying like a doll impacting towards a column.

Splitting blood Jeritza surrendered. "You are strong; I think I have bruised my rips. Thanks for showing your strength"

Byleth had never felt such power on his hand, when he looked at it he saw purple lines across it, resembling a geometrical figure, though it was disappearing. Byleth turned his gaze to his students who were completely silent. Hubert´s and Edelgard´s gaze caught his attention. Hubert was looking at him as if Saint Seiros had appeared in front of him. Edelgard´s was focused on his hand where the marks were already disappearing and then their eyes met. It was a strange expression, a mixture of surprise, admiration, hope and doubt.

"Professor! That was impressive" Caspar shouted.

"What kind of Crest do you have Professor? That power was really impressive" said Linhardt completely awaked.

"That fight was epic Professor. I couldn´t expect less coming from you" Ferdinand grinned "By the way, I think that you are the center of attention of the entire monastery".

Byleth looked around. Apart from his students there were knights, students of other classes like Claude and Dimitri, his father, Manuela, Hanneman and even Seteth. Seteth expression was similar to Hubert´s.

"Professor Byleth, Instructor Jeritza, that was quite a battle but it was an irresponsible act to have. A student could have been killed by mistake."

"My bad Seteth, I just wanted to taste the force of Jeralt´s son. He lives to the legend" Jeritza apologized.

"You should rest at the infirmary, Professor Manuela take care of him". As Manuela and Jeritza left the area Seteth took the broken blades. Looking at their sharpness he looked at him

"Impressive strength Professor. It's not an easy task to break not one, but two silver swords. I hope that this strength will be used to help your students at times of dire."

"I will"

"All of you, return to your positions, the training room is reserved for the Black Eagle´s students for the rest of the day".

Everyone but he and his students started to leave. His father was the last to leave, his face a mixture between pride and worry.

"Are you ok Professor? Are you sure you didn´t break your hand with that punch" asked a worried Dorothea.

"Don´t worry, I´m fine" he answered. He had no visible injuries and his hand was completely fine. We shall continue for the time being. "Form pairings and practice, don´t worry for now I will be keep watching". The phrase was meant to be a light joke but his blank expression made it look like a veil threat.

"I don´t want to be punched to death!" screamed Bernadetta.

"Don´t panic Bernie. I´m sure that the Professor won´t punch a cute face, right?"

"Maybe"

"You aren´t helping at all Professor" complained Dorothea.

The rest of the practice went smoothly. He trained individually with all his students, although he did his best to avoid leaving someone unconscious. Edelgard and Hubert were the more experienced but even Lindhart was able to give a minimum of resistance with the wooden sword he gave him and Bernadetta could show an incredible strength when she was feeling trapped, like a feral animal.

"What is the verdict of today´s class professor" inquired a bruised Ferdinand.

"You would have only died a few dozen of times"

"That…doesn´t sound very promising".

"Don´t worry. All of you have shown a good start. We will train the next two days and we will rest the day before the battle. It is over for today".

The students started to leave one by one, only remaining Edelgard and Hubert.

"Today was a really eventful day Professor Byleth. I am glad that we have you on our side. With your guiding I am sure we will overcome every obstacle whatever it may be" said Edelgard.

"You did well too Edelgard."

"As the future emperor of Adrestia Lady Edelgard´s strength can´t be questioned. Although I must admit that your strength was impressive"

"That´s right Hubert. I could only have a glimpse of it, but you also have a crest" said Edelgard her violet eyes focused on his. "Can you share with us the name of your crest?"

"I don´t know. Professor Haneman is investigating about it"

"An unknown crest?" Edelgard´s eyes grew wide open. "You may have the power to change Fódlan´s future on your hands".

"Lady Edelgard…"

"By the way" interrupted Byleth unaware of the tension of Hubert. "Do you also have a crest?"

"Yes, Professor, I have a minor crest of Seiros. Are you interested in the world of crests?"

"Not really"

"That is surprising; every noble family seems to be fixated on them, claiming they are gifts from the Goddess"

"The Goddess?"

"Are you working for the church without knowing about its origins?" Hubert chuckled. "We should stop this conversation here. We don´t want to be an enemy of the faith".

"What are you going to do now Professor?" Edelgard inquired.

"I will go to the library. I need to learn more about the world that surrounds me".

"It would be a pleasure for me if I could go with you. I may be able to help you if you have any questions"

"Thank you Edelgard"

"Hubert I need you to go to the town"
"Understood Lady Edelgard" although he stared at Byleth, seemingly against leaving his master with Byleth.

Most of the trip to the library was made in complete silence. Byleth was used to walking alone and Edelgard didn´t seem to mind his silence. In fact he didn´t find uncomfortable her presence, quite the contrary.

"How are you feeling Professor? Your show of strength was quite impressive I must dare to say"

"I´m Ok, although I don´t know how that strength came to me"

"Do you think that this strength comes from your father or perhaps from your mother?"

"I haven´t seen that on my father and my mother is dead"

"I´m sorry for asking something like this. I beg your pardon" Edelgard´s face darkened a bit.

"No need to feel sorry about it. You didn´t kill her. She died giving me birth".

He didn´t know how to feel about her mother. Every time his father talked about her his father´s face brightened, yet he wasn´t sure how to feel about someone he couldn´t remember. He wasn´t even sure why he was explaining his background to Edelgard, yet he did.

"We have finally arrived"

The library was a wide room filled with books he was sure he wouldn´t be able to read, even if he dedicated his entire lifetime to it.

"Shall we get started?" asked Edelgard

"Yes"

"Take your time to read about it. We can talk about it after you know the basics"

After a while he directed his gaze to Edelgard, who cleared her throat.

"I think that the best approach to this matter would be to start from the beginning. Do you know about the origin of the crests?"

"As I can recall the crests are the gift from the goddess" He answered Byleth, in the process of understanding everything he had recently read

"According to the Church yes, they are. Although nowadays they are considered a symbol of status, mainly between the nobles"

"Are they important?"

"Good question" said Edelgard in a meditative state. "If you look at the nobles and the Church they are important, the disappearance of a crest from a noble house may mark the end of its nobility. According to some scholars the crests are inherited by blood, but sometimes they appear after decades of their last sighting or even between commoners. For a commoner having a crest allows them to climb in the social ladder. For a noble it´s a way to maintain his status".

"And for you?"

"You don´t waste your time making questions Professor" Edelgard giggled, yet her eyes were filled with a peculiar resolution. "I think that what matters is the person and not the crest they have. The crests are no more than a different way to discriminate".

Her bold answer reverberated inside him.

"I agree"

"Really?" her eyes wide open, though she quickly regained her composure. "Forgive my reaction Professor; it was just that it isn't a common sight to see someone who agrees with something like that. Perhaps is your mercenary background? If you don´t mind, keep it a secret between us, especially from Hubert."

"Understood"

"It´s getting late, shall we go to the dining room?"

"Go ahead; I think I will stay for a bit longer"

"If you say so" her voiced sounded a bit disappointed. "See you tomorrow Professor".

"Good night Edelgard"

He continued reading for hours. The more he read the less he could understand "Why does it feel incomplete?"

"Oh, Professor Byleth I didn´t expect to see you here that late".

The voice came from an old man with a gentle face.

"I am Thomas and I am here to serve you in matters relate to the library".

"Hello Thomas, I was just educating myself"

"I am glad that you are trying your best to improve your knowledge, is there something that I can do to help you?"

"I think there are gaps between the different books I have consulted. Is there a reason to it?"

"Well, as you know this library is the propriety of the Holy Church of Seiros, which controls which documents stay for the formation of the students and which stay within their ranks".

"Are they keeping information for themselves?"

His relaxed face darkened although it returned to its former self in an instant "I don´t mean it like that. The Holy Church has its own motives, there is no bigger danger that an ill-advised knowledge".

"Can I keep some books with me? I would like to have them at hand"

"Of course Professor, nothing makes me happier than seeing the flame of curiosity alight"

…..

Byleth walked through the empty aisles.

"Today has been an eventful day"

Hearing that voice, Byleth startled.

"Why are you so surprised? I´m Sothis, I live inside your head, remember? I was just taking a nap".

"I´m sorry"

"It doesn´t matter. You should take a nap too. Fighting to death and chatting with your Princess should have exhausted you".

"She is not mine"

"I was just joking, no need to feel so defensive"

Their mental chatter was interrupted when they heard someone coming closer. It was his father, Jeralt.

"Oh Byleth, what are you doing awake so late?"

"I was studying"

"Oh I see" he sighted. "I guess that it is too difficult to assume a completely different lifestyle all of a sudden. Are you hungry? Come to my place. It´s been a while since we could share a meal together"

"Of course"

"Your expression doesn't change at all but I´m glad to hear that from you" he said while rubbing his head.

Jeralt´s room was filled with different kinds of weapons and his personal armor.

"How are you feeling son? I saw that you had a fight with Instructor Jeritza"

"It was an example of life battle situation for the students"

"Fighting to death with silver weapons? That could have ended with one of you death. Dying on a battlefield is a risk. Dying on a training yard is a waste".

"Did you know that I have a crest?"

"Not at all but I can assure you that you are not the only one. Sometimes crest appear on individuals without a proper reason, but I doubt it is related to the gratitude of a goddess"

Hearing about it, Byleth was surprised that his father and Edelgard had a similar opinion, despite their backgrounds.

"I don´t care about it either"

His father laughed. "Be careful out there, our talk could be considered blasphemous. By the way how are your students doing?"

"They are not too bad; it is my first time guiding someone"

"That´s my fault. I took care of everything while you were focused on combating. Don´t push yourself too much, it´s only a mock battle.

"I promised them I will win."

"I hope for the best. I will be the judge for the battle but I won´t allow favoritisms."

"I know, what have you been doing?"

"Me? Paperwork, the Church wants to have everything under control and they love to have these little papers around, especially Seteth" he sighted again. "It´s getting too late, get some sleep".

"Good night father"

"See you son"

…

The next two days were followed by an intense training. Caspar wasn´t shouting every time he launched an attack and Bernadetta was trying her best to control her nerves. Even Lindhart was more awaken than usual.

The morning before the battle they just did a light exercise to avoid exhausting their forces.

"You have all done well, prepare yourselves for tomorrow"

"Thank you for your guiding Professor, I am sure that with you the victory will be ours" said Edelgard, a confident tone in her voice.

Byleth nodded "I won´t let you down"

Leaving his students chatting between themselves, Byleth wandered around the monastery until he arrived to a pond. There Alois was trying to catch some fish, without much success.

"Oh Byleth! how are you doing?"

"I´m fine, what are you doing?"

"I would like to say that I´m fishing, but I´ve been here for two hours and I have found nothing! It´s frustrating!"

"If you keep shouting like that you are going to scare all the fish"

"Egh, you are right" he admitted. "By the way, do you know how to fish? Your father loved to do it by when I was with him".

"I have tried it"

"Really, then teach me how to do it! I can´t be your protector if I don´t know how to fish!"

A little confused by his words, Byleth took the fishing rod. After a while it started shaking. With a fluid movement he caught a medium size fish.

"Impressive! As expected from Jeralt´s son! But I won´t lose, let´s make a competition"

It took three hours to end, Byleth basket was full while Alois´s basket was extremely light weighted.

"Oh, you are quite the man haha!" said Alois while patting his back, but his strength was excessive, making Byleth lose his balance, falling into the pond.

"Byleth! Are you ok, I´m sorry!"

"Don´t worry, it´s just water. I will go to change my clothes. Can you take the fish basket with you?"

"Of course! Leave it to me"

He headed to his room completely wet, the courtyard was completely empty, everyone seemed busy with the preparations of tomorrow´s battle.

"Oh, hello Pro…what happened to you?"

"Hello Edelgard, I was just fishing."

"Fishing? Anyway, you should take off your clothes as soon as possible Professor. I don´t want you to catch a cold".

"You are right" he said, starting to take off his shirt.

"Professor?! What are you doing?" Edelgard said her cheeks turning red by the minute.

"Taking off my clothes"

"I didn´t mean it know. That would be… inappropriate".

"Oh I´m sorry." Byleth stopped immediately. What are you doing here?"

Regaining her composure Edelgard faced him again.

"Me? I was just admiring the landscape before the sun sets. As the heir of the empire I am too busy, yet I can´t help but indulge myself from time to time".

"I see, rest well Edelgard" without thinking too much about it he patted her head as his father used to do to him when he encouraged him.

Edelgard flustered again.

"P-Professor?!"

"See you tomorrow Edelgard"

Byleth continued his path, while Sothis was scorning him

"What were you trying to do idiot! Trying to take off your clothes before a girl"

"Back when I was at the company there were no problems with something like that"

"A company of men! That´s completely different. You must realize that your behavior was dangerous"

"I´m sorry I will apologize tomorrow. Wait a moment. If you are inside my head then you can see me when I´m changing my clothes. Is that different?"

"What?! How dare you! I´m not a filthy animal you know! I have plenty of things to do instead of watching you haha"

He had never seen her like that, avoiding looking at him while forcibly laughing.

"Understood"

"I will take another nap. You should take a rest too"

"I will"

After changing his clothes he headed to his bed. It took him a while to get sleepy.

"What is this kind of sensation? Is this what they call excitement?"

Darkness engulfed him while he was thinking about tomorrow´s battle.

Author notes: Next chapter's publication will be 1 per week on Fridays. I think that it is better to have a fixed day than having irregular bursts. This story will have recruitments, mainly the ones that I´m using through my Maddening Classic no ng+ CF route (currently chapter 15). I have recruited everyone but benching half the staff makes no sense. I´m open to suggestions. I thought that it may make sense to use a playable character death as they happen during my game route but for now everyone is alive.

Regarding the DLC I may make use of it if it can help the story, but I will have to finish it first (chapter 2 right now).

I hope all of you have a good week.