6/24 Garland Moon
"We will depart shortly" announced Byleth "Everyone, pick a horse"
His students had already changed to their travel clothes. The sky ahead them was cloudless, but the wind coming from the north wasn´t so gentle. Catherine had already started the march as the leader of the vanguard. Byleth and his students were assigned to the rearguard and they were waiting their turn to leave the monastery.
"The roads to the north are harsh, even in this season" told him Dimitri, who was riding an especially sturdy horse. "However, Faerghus doesn't lack its own beauty and Fhirdiad has nothing to envy to Enbarr. If an opportunity arises I will gladly show it to you"
"I wouldn´t mind" Byleth nodded at him. He looked pleased by Byleth´s answer.
"For the time being, let´s focus on our task" his eyes recovering his solemn aura.
As they left, Alois came to him and handed him a pair of concoctions. "Good luck Byleth, I hope you don´t have to use them, but just in case"
"Thank you Alois"
Alois kept waving his hand until he lost sight of him.
The roads around the monastery were in good condition and they advanced smoothly. His students were pleasantly chattering between them. Byleth remembered his days of a mercenary, he barely talked except with his father, but he didn´t mind the chattering of his comrades. It was a way to release the tension of the upcoming battles and it was useful to avoid being idle for too long.
"I can´t wait to fight again!"
"Caspar, this travel is going to take a while, could you please remain silent for a while?"
"All you want to do is sleep Linhardt! You are going to fall from your horse if you do so"
"I don´t like the wind from the north"
"I think the same Petra. Brigid is completely different right? How about we talk about Brigid to forget this chilling wind?"
"Of course Dorothea" Petra genuinely smiled.
The ones who talked the less were Edelgard, Dimitri and Hubert, but even they were a bit more relaxed than usual.
"That´s thanks to you I guess. I enjoy seeing them more opened between themselves for the time being" Sothis said
"I know, let them being simple students for now"
"If you said it like that you sound like an old man, but you are not that older than them. Shouldn´t you relax a bit too?"
"You sound like Claude"
"The easy going child? You might be right."
"Professor, what are you thinking?"
His conversation with Sothis was interrupted by Edelgard´s voice.
"Nothing really, I was just remembering my mercenary days. I didn´t join the chattering, but I didn´t mind them"
"Feeling nostalgic then." She smiled to him "Talking about it you promised me to tell me some stories of your past. Would you mind telling some of them now?"
"I have no problem to tell you"
He told her about the clan wars of Sreng, the assaults from Almyrian pirates and the giant mammoths from the frigid lands of Albinea. When he realized, everyone was silent listening to him.
"Is there a place where you haven´t been to?" Hubert chuckled.
"That sounds amazing I want to see the world like you have done Professor!"
"Now you are going to be an explorer Caspar? We are doomed then" Linhardt sighed
"Did you find a forbidden love during your expeditions Professor? Someone to share your nights with?"
"Dorothea that topic is highly inappropriate" said a slightly embarrassed Edelgard
"I wasn´t there for love, just for money"
"So boring" Dorothea sighed, "But I will give it a pass, since you are so handsome" Dorothea teased him.
Watching their quarrels Byleth found himself at peace.
…..
6/27
As the days passed, the hills gave way to shady forests. An ominous atmosphere was starting to settle and the students started to remain more silent than usual. The sun was starting to set when Catherine came riding from the vanguard.
"We are entering Lord Lonato´s domains. Stay alert. We will face them at dawn"
"Understood. I will stay alert"
Heading again to the vanguard Byleth regrouped his students.
"We are entering Lord Lonato´s territory. Remain alert"
Everyone nodded, afraid to disturb the forest silence. Ashe was slightly trembling, but Dimitri´s reassuring eyes made him stop.
They arrived to an open area in the forest with a crag to the left. "Prepare the perimeter; we will make the camp here. I will have the night guard."
As they were preparing the camp, Byleth climbed to the crag. In the horizon small dots of light started to appear. Byleth was opposed to the use of bonfires in hostile territory, since they were easy to spot at night, but looking at the surroundings he thought it didn´t matter.
"Lord Lonato already knows we are here. Fewer bonfires wouldn´t change his way of action" he thought
Everyone was busy with the preparations of the camp. He searched for Ashe, who was making arrows.
"How are you doing Ashe?"
"I´m fine Professor…I would like to say, but I´m nervous" Ashe admitted "This place is full of fond memories, yet here I am, preparing arrows to fight my benefactor"
"Can you tell me more about Lord Lonato, Ashe?"
"Lonato is a pious man, he completely believes in the Goddess. He is beloved by his knights and small folk alike. He even brought me out of the misery and brought me up as his own son. He taught me how to read and write and paid to send me to the monastery. A man with such a good heart can´t be acting like this just out of grief"
"Do you think he has learned something that has changed his view of the church?"
"I´m sure about that, he won´t be acting like this without new evidence. That´s why I must talk to him"
Byleth placed his hand over Ashe´s shoulder.
"I will let you talk with him, but if he doesn´t change his heart you must prepare yourself for the worst"
"I know Professor, I´ve feared the day that is about to come since the beginning of the month. But I won´t betray the confidence that you have placed on me Professor. Besides, Dimitri won´t treat me the same if I did" he said, a sad smile on his face.
He patted his shoulder and let him be.
"This world is full of unnecessary deaths. It makes me sad" Sothis muttered
"It´s been like this since I know. It´s just the way this world has been built"
"I would like it to change, but for now is just wishful thinking. Take care of that little student of yours, whatever it happens tomorrow"
"I will, I´ll protect them all"
"I´m glad to hear that" Sothis smiled "But don´t die doing something heroic, remember we are on the same boat"
"Don´t worry, I haven´t forgotten"
…
After a light dinner, everyone headed to their tents, only Byleth remaining on the top of the crag. He was using a whetstone on his sword; the sound of it gave him a strange comfortable feeling. The world around him was completely silent, only the leaves murmuring between them. He remained like that for hours, mentally reviewing tomorrow´s battle plan. He had already lost count of the time that had already passed when a familiar voice interrupted his thoughts.
"You are still here my Teacher. May I accompany you?"
He looked at her; Edelgard was wearing fur clothes that only revealed her face. Covered in fur she looked especially tiny.
"You should be resting, Edelgard, tomorrow is going to be a hard day"
"I know, but I don´t feel tired at all. Am I disturbing you?"
"I didn´t mean it like that, your presence has never been a burden to me. You are free to stay if you want to"
"Thank you my Teacher" Edelgard said while sitting alongside him. "How do you feel about the upcoming battle?" her amethyst eyes searching his.
Looking at her he answered "It´s a meaningless battle, yet I don´t think that Lord Lonato is acting like this out of vengeance. If it were like that he would have rebelled years ago. He has discovered something"
"I think so, I can´t avoid wondering if the Church is fighting the rebellion to keep something hidden. Lord Lonato´s forces can´t compare to the might of the Church, yet he is fighting against them for something he knows. I can understand that feeling"
The way Edelgard talked to him, made him wonder if she was keeping something from him too.
"Secrecy is the way the nobles fight so it isn´t strange to be the same in the case of the Church"
"As a mercenary I can see that you have experienced the true face of the nobility. Quarrels without end only to improve a bit their own position, while crushing to the oblivion commoners and defeated alike. The Church is no different to them in my opinion."
Her bold words moved him a bit.
"You said you will change this system for the better. I wish your dreams come true" he said while gently tapping her head.
"My Teacher…" said Edelgard, gratitude filling her eyes "If most people were like you. Maybe you can…" she stopped taking a deep breath. "There is no time to such wishes, for now let´s focus on the task ahead"
They remained silent like that, lost in their own thoughts, until the dawn came.
…..
Everyone was changing their clothes to their combat armors. He could hear the movement around the near camps. Everyone was preparing to march. A messenger from Lady Catherine came to inform them that they were required to Lady Catherine´s presence at the top of a hill 500 meters to their right. Dispatching him, he gathered his students.
"We are going to a hill 500 meters to our right; remain together as we will be leaving the cover of the forest. The fog is beginning to form, use torches to avoid losing sight."
They left the cover of the forest in complete silence. Dimitri to his left and Edelgard to his right, everyone followed behind them. The silence was total and unnatural.
"The fog is too thick for this time of the year" murmured Dimitri beside him, his eyes alert and checking his surroundings.
"It´s getting colder too" murmured Edelgard
Fortunately, they arrived to Lady Catherine´s camp without too much trouble. Lady Catherine received them with a serious gaze. "Good morning Professor, the offensive against Lord Lonato´s forces has already started, but with such a poor visibility we cannot neglect our vigilance."
"I agree"
Catherine sighted. "The old man is stubborn as a mule. I didn´t want it to end like this but…"
"Lady Catherine!" A soldier entered the tent where they were talking. Lonato´s forces have entered the perimeter. They are within reach.
"That´s impossible! The fog… Professor, prepare your students for battle, we can´t stay here idle!"
"Understood"
He gathered his students. "The enemy has entered the perimeter. Stay close and follow me"
"Yes Professor"
They formed a spear formation and entered the mist. The fog was so dense they could see almost nothing.
"All of you drop the torches" he ordered "If we can´t see them don´t let them seeing us"
Everything was in complete silence, but he could hear fainted voices within the mist, and the smell…
"Blood" completed Edelgard for him. There is a battle ahead us.
And then the first of them appeared.
A middle aged man was running towards them wearing a rusted sword. Byleth blocked the attack easily and pierced his attacker´s chest. When life left him he observed the corpse appearance.
"It´s not a soldier, but a villager" Dimitri´s voice was shocked.
"They fight and die for their Lord. It´s a tragedy, but we must endure it. If we doubt we can end up dying"
"Edelgard is right; no matter their reasons they are trying to kill us. We must defend ourselves"
"I know Professor, but it doesn´t make it easier for me"
A group of arrows interrupted then, they were shooting close to them. Edelgard shielded him, while Dimitri avoided the arrows directed to him.
He prepared a fire magic attack "Edelgard, Dimitri take advantage of my spell to neutralize the archers"
He released his spell into the mist, cutting like a knife through butter the fog disappeared for an instant in the trajectory of the fireball, allowing Dimitri and Edelgard getting rid of the archers.
Staying close, they slowly advanced through the fog. To his right he could hear screams and glimpsed a golden glow. "Catherine is using Thunderbrand" he thought.
"This fog is unnatural. It´s the product of sorcery. I can feel it in the air" pointed out Hubert.
"That means that if we kill the mage that is producing it we will be able to end its spell" Edelgard said
As she was saying it he sensed a slight change in the air. He quickly pushed Edelgard to a side to avoid the upcoming impact.
"So there you are" shouted Dimitri while running towards the enemy mage while being covered by Hubert´s spell.
"Thank you my Teacher"
"No problem" he said lending her his hand to get up.
"Lord Lonato, I´m sorry I couldn´t do more" he could hear the dying mage last words.
With his last breath the fog started to disarray and with it the magnitude of the tragedy appeared in front of them. The corpses of the attackers were spattered around them, most of them ill-equipped and only a handful of them could be considered real soldiers.
"So many families have lost their loved ones here. How many times is it going to repeat this tragedy just to fulfill the wishes of a few" lamented Dorothea.
"Using commoners as meat shields. I´m embarrassed of belonging to the same group of him" said a saddened Ferdinand.
"I knew some of them, they weren´t bad people and now I have their blood on my hands" grieved Ashe, tears starting to form in his eyes.
"Ashe…Just a bit more and you can mourn as long as you want to" comforted him Dimitri.
"Dimitri is right, we have to continue" said Byleth, although he felt his inside aching.
"There he is" announced Edelgard
Lord Lonato was heavy armored except for his head. He was guarded by a small group of knights, but he didn´t notice them. He only had eyes for Catherine.
"You have come here to finish what you started. Am I wrong Cassandra?"
"You are a fool Lonato. So much suffering and death for what?" said a saddened Catherine.
"Enough of your words! You are a servant of that monster! The death of Christophe won´t be in vain if I kill you know!"
"Lonato, please wait!"
Ashe rushed in front of him.
Lonato was in evident shock.
"Ashe, why are you here?" he said, his face unable to hide the sadness he was feeling.
"Surrender Lonato, I beg you!" tears starting to leave his eyes "There must be another way"
"Join me then Ashe, Rhea deserves to be punished for the unforgivable sins she has committed"
"Even if that´s true, using villagers is not right Lonato. It doesn´t matter which side I choose I will end up killing someone I love!"
"Enough! If that is how you feel there is no use of talking! Forgive me…Ashe"
Fast as the lightning a javelin flew and pierced Ashe´s chest.
"Lonato…"
Ashe fell to the ground while a solitary tear left Lord Lonato´s eyes.
"I can´t let it end like this!" he thought
Returning to the past, he rushed to Ashe´s position and intercepted the flying javelin with his sword.
"Who are you? Are you another servant of that filthy apostate?"
"I´m a Professor and I serve no one but my students"
"Enough of this nonsense! Charge!"
Lonato and their men charged at them, but he wasn´t alone. The rest of his students charged with him, spells and arrows flying over his head. One of the spells impacted on Lonato´s horse, making it trip. The rest of the enemies were quickly dispatched, but they died with honor.
Byleth approached the fallen Lord. He had broken his legs due to the weight of his horse.
"What are you waiting for? Put me out of my misery!"
Byleth raised his sword but a hand interrupted him.
"Your Highness…"
"I´m sorry for all of this Lonato, but you have chosen this path"
"I regret nothing your Highness. This way I can rest in peace knowing I did what I could."
Ashe approached them.
"Ashe you shouldn´t be here" Dimitri said, sadness lingering in his voice.
"I promised you I wouldn´t cry yet I did, allow me to stay in compensation"
"Ashe…" Lonato said coughing blood. "I´m sorry for leaving you in this state. I hope you will one day forgive me"
"Don´t worry Lonato, I will help the villagers as you taught me to do"
"Thank you"
Dimitri pierced Lonato´s chest with his lance and that marked the end of the rebellion.
…..
While Dimitri was comforting Ashe, Byleth checked the rest of the students. They were all alive, but they were depressed.
"This wasn´t a battle, it was a slaughter. And for nothing!" shouted an angry Caspar.
"I won´t forgive such behaviors. Unforgivable!" said Ferdinand in an angry tone.
Byleth noticed that Edelgard was bit apart from the rest of the students and he approached her.
"Professor, as you can see everyone is having problems to handle their feelings after what happened"
"This is the reality of the world we live in"
"You think the same then. Trying to hide the reality would be a foolish act, but doesn´t make it sweeter. The villagers that fought alongside Lord Lonato fought for his beliefs of justice. That's the reason why I think calling them just victims would be disrespectful to them. They chose to side with him until the bitter end. In this world, there isn't a unique justice or righteousness. It depends on the values we cling onto. I would follow my own values even if it means facing the wrath of a divine being."
"The righteousness of one's ideals aren´t based on the authority that creates them, but the results that bring to the world. If you leave the world better than it is I see no reason to oppose you"
Edelgard was completely shocked by his words.
"You really mean what you say… I think I would act like Lonato if I were the emperor. There is no other way to change a world that ignores the suffering of humanity. But I can promise you my Teacher that if the time comes I won´t make unnecessary sacrifices"
Byleth tapped her shoulder.
"You are strong Edelgard, but don´t let your force of will consume you if that time comes"
"My Teacher I´m afraid that…"
"I´m sorry to interrupt, but it looks like the situation is worse than I expected" said Catherine approaching them. "I have found this between Lord Lonato´s possessions" she said handing him a document. He read it and then gave it to Edelgard.
"An assassination plan against the archbishop?" said Edelgard
"Exactly, we don´t know yet the reach of this plan, but we have to be careful about it. We will depart shortly, after I leave part of my troops to check the situation in the nearby villages. I don´t want to waste more lives with another uprising"
"Understood"
After Catherine departed Edelgard looked at him.
"My Teacher, I have my doubts about the document we have just seen. Why would someone write an assassination plan in a situation which would risk its exposure?"
"It really sounds strange" he admitted.
"We will think about it later" she said as Hubert approached them "And thank you" she smiled "I´m glad to have heard your way of thinking in such a serious matter. I will remember it".
…
6/30
The return to the monastery was slower than expected since they were exhausted and the motivation of most of his students was at its lowest. His main concern was Ashe, but Dimitri was taking care of him. As they approached the monastery he could see the relief on some of his student´s faces.
"It´s over…for now" he thought
He directed to his students. "You all did well. I´m proud of all of you. Rest for the rest of the day and see you tomorrow"
"Yes Professor"
He approached Dimitri and Ashe.
"Dimitri, you did great and Ashe you did well too. I hope to see your smile soon".
"Thank you for your kind words Professor. I will head to my dormitory for now" said Ashe, the ghost of a smile on his face.
"Thank you for your guiding Professor. It´s a pity we had to experience such a tragedy, but it has helped me to grow"
"Don´t push yourself too hard. I´m looking forward to training with you again"
"Thank you" Dimitri smiled, "I will take my leave now"
"Professor" Catherine approached him. "Come with me to Lady Rhea´s place. We need to report this matter to her. Bring Edelgard with you too, she read that letter too, after all".
"Edelgard, with me"
"Understood Professor"
They arrived to the audience room, where Rhea and Seteth were already waiting.
"Welcome again Professor" Rhea smiled. "Lady Catherine please tell us about the development of the events".
"Lady Rhea, the rebellion has been suffocated. A part of our forces has remained there to avoid more uprisings, although the risk is small. Lonato is no more."
"Villagers took place in the battle. We were forced to take them down as well" added Byleth.
"It saddens my heart to hear that, but no matter the reason raising weapons against the church is opposing the Goddess herself. May they rest in peace now"
He could sense Edelgard´s tension.
"We also discovered this" Catherine said while handing her the document.
"An assassination plan against Lady Rhea" Seteth said. "Even if the rebellion has been repelled this matter is not over yet. I propose to turn the investigation of this matter into the assignment for the coming month"
"I agree with you Seteth. Next month is very important to us since it marks the arrival of the Goddess to this land. We cannot afford to call off the celebration, no matter the cost. Besides, if we have the protection of Lady Catherine and the Professor we have nothing to fear" she said smiling at him.
"Understood"
"Then the matter is settled" said Seteth, "You will patrol the monastery alongside the members of the Church. There is no need to say that you must keep training your students as you have been doing until now".
"Leave it to me"
"Then this matter is settled. You are free to rest now"
After leaving the audience room, Byleth walked alongside Edelgard through the aisles of the monastery.
"Our next task is to patrol the monastery then. However, I highly doubt that the archbishop is the real objective"
"You mean that the assassination plan is a distraction"
"Exactly. We should investigate possible elements of interest that could be the real objective of the plotters. Hubert shares the same opinion, but it would be ill advised to share our doubts with everyone. We can´t know if there are moles within the monastery"
"You are right, we will start from tomorrow. Rest Edelgard"
"Thank you, see you tomorrow then" she smiled to him.
Byleth returned to his room and sit on his bed. He was worried about the wellbeing of his students but he knew that handling hardships was part of their education.
"You worry too much about them, they will overcome it"
"I know, but I can´t avoid feeling bad about them"
"It´s called empathy, and it makes me happy to know that you have it. Tomorrow will be another day"
"You are right; there is no use to think about it now. I need to talk with my dad too" It had been a while since the last time he talked to him and knowing he was going to meet him again soon made him feel a comfortable warmth inside him. With that feeling he surrendered himself to the world of dreams.
This chapter hit me harder than expected. I planned to name it "Blood in the mist" but after writing it I think that the current title it´s more adequate. I wrote it while hearing "Thorn in you" from FE if/Fates. Credits to it for contributing to the mood to write the chapter.