12/15 Ethereal Moon
"So you were the one behind all the attacks to my properties. The fact that someone as pitiful as you could so something like that… However, the blade of justice will finally have its fair share of blood. Executioner, do what you must to do" The Count ordered, looking at him.
"What I did was for the people. The same people you were willing to murder with your rule and taxes"
"Nonsense, a filthy individual like you does not have the right to oppose my rule. Everyone who defies me must be crushed without hesitation"
As he approached, he looked at her. Despite her chains she was still showing determination in her eyes, a look that was piercing his.
"I knew that this moment would come the moment you became the right arm of the Count. Was it all a lie? Was it an illusion of a time when you were what you used to be?"
"You have to be more expressive, Edie! This line is extremely important, although I must admit that the look of your eyes was quite impressive!"
"I will do my best next time" Edelgard sighed, as she adjusted the chains that surrounded her arms.
"Dorothea, I must admit that I´m not confident with the role of the Count for this play. It is completely opposite to my own values"
"I know that Ferdie, you don´t have to worry about that. When I worked at the Opera I didn´t enjoy all the roles I had to play, but the moment you enter the stage you aren´t yourself anymore, but the role you have to play. Don´t worry, I know you will do a great job"
"If you say it like that I feel obliged to comply, although I think that this role is better for someone like Hubert"
"Thank you for your compliment, but each of us has their own role for this little play" Hubert sinisterly chuckled.
"You only need to be more expressive. In a few days I´m sure we will get everything working as expected. I can´t wait to see the reaction of our public"
"I promise to do my best" Edelgard said as she approached him at the small stage they had prepared for the rehearsal. "However, I must admit that I didn´t expect you to choose a play like this"
"You mean that you expected a more typical chivalry story when I talked about my plans for a play. I´m fond of this story, since it isn´t typical the slightest, yet I´ve heard it plenty of times since I was a young girl. I´m sure that everyone will enjoy it if we pour our soul in it. Until the 20th of this month we have enough time to have it well prepared"
The energy of her words had its effects on everyone; even Linhardt was more awakened than usual. It was heavily snowing outside, but the torches and the magic fires inside the classroom kept the cold at bay.
"What I want to practice is the battle part. It is my favorite part of this story!" Caspar roared, moving his training axe dangerously close to Linhardt´s head.
"Calm down Caspar. You almost hit me now"
"Oh, sorry"
"I can read and write, but remembering all these words it´s going to be difficult, but I will do my best for you, Dorothea"
"Don´t worry Petra, I´m sure you will be doing your best. With your energy there is nothing to fear" Dorothea said with a charming smile, she then looked to the rest of them. "Rest for a while. We´ll start again in five minutes"
"So troublesome and tiring" Linhardt yawned. "Well, at least I don´t have much to say"
Byleth took a seat and looked to his surroundings. All the Black Eagle students were taking part in Dorothea´s idea, Flayn included. Most of them were doing their best, although Linhardt appeared to be napping from time to time and Monica was more bored than excited about the rehearsal part.
"It surely is an interesting idea" Edelgard said, sitting next to him. "I must admit that I didn´t expect to do this play, but I don´t regret it"
"I´m sure that everyone will enjoy it" he assured her. During their rehearsal Manuela and Seteth had arrived to check how they were doing. Manuela was particularly excited about the rehearsals and she had also made various tips for the preparation of the play. Seteth had asked for the script of the play and appeared to be pleased with the role that Flayn had.
"I can´t really get him. She is going to be safe. It is a play, not a battlefield" Sothis sighed inside his head.
"My Teacher, what are you thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing really. I´m sure that everyone is doing their best"
"Talking about it, in ten days the ball will take place. We will need to practice more to give the best impression to the rest of the students. You have improved a lot, but there are some things that need to be polished"
"We can practice after this rehearsal. Look, Dorothea is calling for us" he said as he prepared to assume his role again.
….
"Good job everyone, keep like this and we will be praised by everyone"
"You sounded like the Professor, Dorothea"
"I know" she giggled. "Let´s practice as usual tomorrow at the same time here"
Everyone started to leave until they were the two of them alone.
"My Techer, I will return in a moment. Move the desks to make some space for our practice in the meantime"
"Understood. Leave it to me"
As she left he started to prepare the class for their dance practice. He could see through the windows how white the world had turned with the endless fall of the snow. Winter had arrived and appeared to be willing to stay. Some of the knights had been sent to the surroundings of the monastery to make sure that the roads remained safe for those who were heading to it. Leading the patrols was his father. Despite the hazardous conditions he knew that he would be alright, since it wasn´t the first time they had to deal with weather conditions like this.
"Hello Professor. Am I interrupting something?"
"Not at all, please come in"
Lorenz entered the room, accompanied by Sylvain. Both of them had already built up a reputation in the monastery for the wrong reasons. He already had a bunch of letters on his desk complaining of his methods for approaching girls, especially those of Lorenz.
"How can I help both of you?"
"We were discussing how the best way to seduce a woman was. I think that my methods are worth of praising, but he insists that he has the upper hand on this matter"
"You are just insistent, Lorenz. You should accept that you aren´t invincible since I´ve seen your advances being refused more than once" Sylvain laughed, adopting a carefree position.
"That is just nonsense. As a member of House Gloucester it is my duty to practice with every chance I have. The conquests that take more time are the ones that are most worth it, in my humble opinion"
"In your humble opinion? That´s something I wouldn´t say about you" he laughed as he looked at him. "Since regarding this matter you are the most impartial person we could think of we have come here to hear your opinion about which one of us is the best seducer"
"Are they really asking you something like this?" Sothis said, sitting on her stone throne. "They must be really full of themselves if they consider themselves the bests on that matter. I don´t know why, but most people appear to treat you in a more casual way that compared with the other professors. It must be the age difference. Well, what´s your answer?" she sighed.
"Both of you are enemy of the women" The moment he said those words both of them appeared to be shocked, especially Lorenz, although the effect was diluted by Sothis´ laughter inside his head.
"Those are quite the words, Professor, but I am sure they are based on rumors filled with ill will. There is no way that my actions could be considered hostile against women. I swear it by my honor as a noble"
"Tsk. You really got hurt in the pride, don´t you? I must admit that from time to time I´ve had some problems, but nothing too serious. I know when there is no possibility to succeed. The one who is to blame is Lorenz"
"I have received complaints from both of you, especially you, Lorenz"
"That is clear a rumor born out of envy! I refuse to accept the content of those accusations against my honor" Lorenz said, his cheeks increasingly red.
"That isn´t just my opinion on this matter. I´m only telling you the information that I´ve received about the whereabouts of both of you"
"And here I thought my advances were more appreciated" Sylvain sighed. "Well, at least Ingrid hasn´t told anything strange recently. The last time I had a scene was at the canteen and I don´t want that to happen again"
"Even if you have received those reports I beg to have an opportunity to clean my honor. A stain like that could ruin my reputation and I cannot allow such dire risk to happen as the heir of House Gloucester"
"Why are both of you so interested in seducing women?" It was clear that they appeared to be competing between them, but he wasn´t sure about the reasons behind it.
"As you know, my duty as a noble is to assure that my bloodline continues. Continuing it is really an easy task. However, I do not only aspire to continue it, but to improve it. My advances are just a way to evaluate possible spouses that could bring a new age of enlightenment to House Gloucester. Continuing the bloodline is as important as politics and military strength for a noble. That is what is expected of me"
"I didn´t expect to agree with Lorenz on something, but I guess that he has a point about what he had just said" Sylvain said, his usual smile nowhere to be seen. "The nobility of our world is based not only on the wealth of the noble House itself, but also in the presence of Crests within the family. Being a noble doesn´t mean that you will get a guaranteed Crest the moment that you are born, but it really boosts the possibilities of getting one and marriage is a golden opportunity for most women to climb the social ladder, since giving birth to a Crest wielder means that they have their subsistence guaranteed. I wasn´t the one to make the advances when I was younger, but most women that approached me had done so with the hope of getting a better position. In that case, why not having some fun myself too, or is it wrong?" he said looking at him, a shadow of anger behind his usual relaxed eyes. "You are really lucky Professor, you don´t have to worry about things like this. I could say that I hate you" he said laughing, as if he didn´t really mean what he had just said.
"The society of Fódlan is certainly dysfunctional if most nobles are basing their way of life in the reasoning of these two. Humans really enjoy overcomplicating things" Sothis said, while sighing.
"Now that you have heard our reasons it is time to repay my honor. I have just thought about a good idea to defend it. I defy you to a trial by combat, Professor, I will proof to everyone that I am not the person that those dreadful rumors had described"
"Are you seriously meaning what you say, Lorenz?" asked a surprised Sylvain. "Haven´t you seen him fighting? He is going to crush you"
"I am not afraid since I am a talented fighter too. However, I expected that you would say something like that. As expected of someone who lacks the necessary courage to protect his own honor. You are free to witness our battle from a safe place"
"You are really full of yourself. I don´t really need to practice to defeat someone like you. You will regret provoking me"
"Less talking and more figthing. A three way battle then. In two days I will proof to the entire monastery that my honor remains intact and that these rumors are baseless"
"Why do you have to fight if you don´t have anything to proof? This situation is really ridiculous" Sothis sighed. "However, if you let them be, the problem won´t be resolved so defeat them. I don´t want to hear this chattering again"
"Understood"
"You really seen confident, Professor. I suppose that you think that you can defeat both of us easily, but an excess of confidence could proof to be your undoing. We will fight in the place where tournaments are held. I am looking forward to our fight. Be prepared for every possible outcome" Lorenz said departing with a confident look on his face.
"He really gets on my nerves" Sylvain said sighing, looking at him. "I don´t mind if you give him a good beating, but be easy on me, Professor. I want to keep this face of mine as intact as possible"
"That wouldn´t be fair"
"I expected a response like that. I will do my best then. Ugh, I don´t know how we ended like this, I really should have kept quiet about this" Sylvain said mumbling as he left behind the classroom.
It didn´t take too much time until Edelgard returned. When she returned the center of the class was already cleared.
"Sorry for making you wait. I´ve seen that Lorenz and Sylvain were leaving the class" she said as she closed the door behind her.
"They wanted to hear my opinion about which one of them was the most charming regarding women. Lorenz has defied me to combat him in two days and Sylvain is going to part into it too"
"The fact that they asked you such a ridiculous question embarrasses me" Edelgard sighed. "You shouldn´t have agreed to do something like that. It is just a waste of resources, they won´t change their behavior by their own will"
"At least I have to try"
"I hope for the best of outcomes. Let´s start the practice then. This time I will let you take the lead. Show me how much you remember" she said as he approached him.
They danced across the class as the snow continued to fall outside, but he was completely focused on the steps he had to do. Even if she had told him to take the lead he knew that she was indirectly correcting some of his movements as they continued to dance.
"You are doing a good job, my Teacher. You only need to be more fluid with your steps. I´m confident that you won´t have any problems the night of the ball"
"That´s because you are teaching me"
He tried to follow her advice the best he could as they approached the small stage that they had prepared for the rehearsals of Dorothea´s play. Looking at her, he couldn´t avoid faintly smiling as he looked at the face he had grown fond of.
"I´m glad to see you smiling more often, my Teacher. I´m sure that…" she couldn´t finish her phrase since her feet tripped with one box that was negligently placed in front of the scenery, making her lose her balance, dragging him with her.
"Are you alright, Edelgard?" he worriedly asked as he saw the hurtful expression on her face, ignoring a light pain he was feeling on his face.
"I didn´t expect to trip over something like that. I think I´ve hit my head, but it isn´t anything to worry about it. I apologize for my clumsiness" she said avoiding his gaze.
"Let me check it" he said as he touched her head from behind, caressing the affected area, her sweet scent flooding his mind.
"You shouldn´t worry about the wellbeing of others when you are the one to be hurt" she said gently touching the area next to one of his eyebrows. "You have some blood there" she said as she cherished the area for him.
He felt a strange sensation inside him, a combination of pain and pleasure, but his mind could only think about her, his eyes focused on hers as he continued cherishing her silky hair. They were so close that the mist of their breath was one. Even if both of them were silent he didn´t mind. He was afraid that the moment words left his mouth the moment would be spoiled.
"Byleth…" Edelgard said with her mouth slightly opened, her voice a mere whisper as her hand slightly moved his face closer to her.
"Yes, Edelgard?" he was starting to feel dizzy with the strange sensations he was experiencing inside his body, his eyes looking alternatively to her eyes and mouth.
"I…I…"
Her words were interrupted by someone furiously knocking the door.
"Why is the class closed? Damn it! I really need one of my gantlets for a fight I have in an hour!"
"No need to shout Caspar, there is always a reason to it"
As he heard the voice of his students he returned to his senses and helped an extremely red Edelgard to get up again. As he approached the door his mind was still lost in all the things that had just happened.
"Oh, Professor. I didn´t expect to see you here"
"It is my class after all. Are you picking a fight again?"
"Your hearing abilities are really impressive! Don´t worry I will be taking the victory this time"
"No impressive at all since you are always shouting" Linhardt sighed. "I forgot something too inside the classroom, but since I saw it closed I thought to come again tomorrow when I came across with Caspar" Linhardt said as he noticed Edelgard. "Oh, Edelgard. I didn´t expect to see you here. What were you doing here?"
"She is giving me some dancing lessons to prepare for the night of the ball"
"We thought that closing the doors would be better to practice since there is still snow falling outside" Edelgard said with her usual tone, although the tip of her ears was still red.
"Oh, I see. Thank you for taking care of the Professor. It would be tiresome if I were the one to practice with him." Linhardt said as he looked at him. "I don´t mean to offend you, by the way"
"Don´t worry"
"Well, now that I have my gantlets I will certainly win. See you later Professor, everyone!" Caspar shouted as he ran to his fight.
"He is really full of energy. If he would apply that energy to his studies" Lindhardt said as he picked a book decorated with all kind of Crests.
"What are you reading Linhardt?"
"It´s just a book about Crests, Professor. I have recently become interested with Cethleann´s Crest and I thought I would give it a deeper analysis. Professor Hanneman has been kind enough to give me one of the books of his private collection and I want to use my time the best I can. Now, if you forgive me" he said, leaving the room.
As he left silence fell between the two of them. He was about to speak, but Edelgard was the first to talk.
"I think that we had enough for today. I apologize for the incident that happened before" she said as she adjusted her cloak, before leaving the room without looking back.
As he saw her leaving the class, he couldn´t avoid feeling a bit of sadness inside him.
"It is a pity that those two appeared. Things were so interesting. What a pity" Sothis complained inside his head.
"It´s really strange when you are observing, yet you remain silent"
"I´ve told you many times before. I don't want to spoil those moments you have with the little Princess. However, I wanted to talk with you about something"
"About what?"
"I´ve been thinking about the place where you went on your first expedition with your students. It´s name was Za…Zana…"
"Zanado?" he asked as he recalled the ruins of a civilization that appeared to be gone a long time ago.
"Correct! I can´t explain it, but my thoughts appeared to be attracted to that place, I wonder why. Since the place is close enough to the monastery, how about we do a little trip to it? I promise you it won´t take us so long"
"I don´t have any problem with that. I will prepare my equipment then" he said as he headed to his room.
…..
"Lady Edelgard, are you paying attention to my words?"
"Forgive me Hubert, I´m just a bit exhausted, only that"
They were at the main hall of the monastery. Even though the main gates were completely opened the air inside was warmth enough thanks to the presence of torches and magical flames that gave more light to their surroundings.
"As I was saying I´ve found out that Monica has been frequenting an abandoned chapel in the surroundings of the monastery"
"A chapel? Is there something of interest to her in such a place?" Monica had been frequenting the students of the lower levels of the monastery, but she didn´t think that she was planning to attack them, at least for now.
"At a first glance I didn´t see anything of interest. The place appears to have been abandoned for years. It is highly unlikely that something of interest had remained there after all this time"
"Keep an eye on her, we must be cautious about her whereabouts" she said as she saw a familiar back walking besides them. "Isn´t that the Professor?"
"He is. And he appears to be prepared for battle. How interesting. I wonder where he is heading"
Her Professor appeared to be wearing a full combat armor and she could see the Sword of the Creator at one of his sides.
"If he is carrying the Sword of the Creator it is clear that he is up to something. I wonder where he is heading. Hubert, call the rest of the students. We will follow the Professor"
"Understood, Lady Edelgard. I will search for them"
"Is this a task from the archbishop?" she wondered as she followed him with her eyes.
…..
"We have finally arrived here" Sothis said as he walked through the ruins. Despite the snow falling at the monastery he could barely see traces of snow among the ruins as if the place was warmer than its surroundings. "This place is really strange, yet I can avoid feeling familiar with all of it. I wonder why"
"I feel like that too" he said as he walked through the ruins. Strange runes could be seen in some of the walls, their meaning lost long time ago. Walking next to them he recalled the vision he once had when he battled accompanied by his students when they had to get rid of that group of bandits.
"Have you found anything of interest?"
"No, only emotions from a time I don´t remember anymore. I´m feeling completely confuse. If I am supposed to be the Goddess how can I be so helpless, it doesn´t make any sense. Ah, my head hurts. We should return before the sun sets. We don´t want to…"
Her words were interrupted by the roar of a beast.
"What was that?"
"It sounded like a beast of a great size" he said as he unsheathed the Sword of the Creator, it´s light casting away the shadows of the ruins.
"We must return before the situation gets worse"
As he tried to approach the stoned bridge at the entrance of the valley, his path was blocked by a giant wolf, similar to the ones he had to fight in the Leicester Alliance. The moment their eyes met the giant beast howled approaching him.
"This one isn´t the one that roared a few moments ago" he thought as he prepared to fight against the beast.
Avoiding a giant rock that was thrown to him he approached the bell of the beast. Using his strength he cut through the skin and flesh of the beast. The beast tried to fight back, but he was too small and he was too close to be repelled effectively. With a swift hit he cut through the giant wolf´s throat silencing his dying howl, an ominous silence returning to the valley. However, this silence didn´t last for too long as two giant shadows appeared on the cliffs surrounding the valley to his right and two other shadows appeared to his left.
The pack of wolves quickly approached him, the first of them with its jaws wide open to devour him. Avoiding the upcoming attacks he climbed one of the wolves backs using one of the partially destroyed buildings. The beast entered a frenzy like state the moment he climbed on it trying to bite him, but its efforts were fruitless. Using the beast as a shield against the attack of the approaching wolves he used the Sword of the Creator to attack the other beasts before finishing off the beast he was mounting.
"Your control of the sword has really improved as time has passed, but we should leave before more beasts start to arrive"
"In that case we have to get rid of the source of those screams" he said as he tried to look for the origin of the roar of the beast. As the hidden beast roared again he could see a giant shadow close to the stone bridge of the entrance, but his path was blocked by a new horde of monsters.
"Not only giant wolves, but we also have to fight against giant chickens?!"
Hearing her words, he couldn´t avoid smiling
"I think that they are giant eagles, not chickens"
"It doesn´t matter, if we don´t get through them we will be in a hurry. I don´t want to be the dinner of those monsters"
"Don´t worry, this won´t be our end" he said as he prepared to resist the next assault of beasts.
…..
"It seems that a battle had already started" Hubert chuckled as they arrived to the entrance of the valley.
"Wow, the Professor is fighting against lots of monster!" Caspar shouted as he saw corpses of countless giant wolves and eagles spattered across the land. She could see her Professor standing a few meters apart from them. He appeared to be exhausted, but he was still holding his own against the multiple beasts. When he looked at them he smiled and pointed at something on their left. The moment she turned her head she saw a beast of a monstrous size completely different to the giant wolves and birds her Teacher was fighting. The beast had an ivory carapace and appeared to be silently witnessing Byleth´s fight against the beasts. The beast appeared to have something resembling a crest stone on its face.
"An interesting beast" Hubert chuckled to her side.
"We have to take down that beast" she said as she looked to the rest of the students. "Ferdinand, Caspar and Bernadetta assist the Professor! The rest come with me, we must make sure to defeat that beast!"
"Understood!"
Realizing their presence, the beast roared and jumped from the cliff where it was witnessing the battle. The beast tried to throw to them a poisonous fluid, but it failed. Using the power of her twin crests she pierced through the beast armor, biting the flesh beneath it.
With a piercing roar the monster tried to body slam her, but it was met by the combined spells of Hubert and Dorothea. As the beast was trying to avoid the spells that were hitting it all over the place she and Petra charged at it from opposite directions. With a war cry in her native language Petra released the full power of her sword against one of the beast´s hind legs as she did the same against the other one. Losing its balance the beast fell to a side, next to one of the precipices that surrounded the area.
"Now we have our opportunity! Release every possible spell to make it fall!"
"Said and done, Lady Edelgard" Hubert said with a sinister smile as he released all his magic power. Dorothea did the same with her electric spells. The combination of both sources of magic created a great explosion that weakened the ground around the beast and as it tried to stand once again its own weight made the ground under it crumble, sending it to the abyss with a final roar.
"Good job everyone. Now let´s reunite with the rest" she said as she rushed to Byleth´s position.
She found him accompanied by the remaining Black Eagle´s students, which were covered in sweat, but they didn´t appear to have any visible injuries. Byleth appeared to be ok as well, making her feel relieve.
"How did you know I was here?"
"Professor, it would have been more polite if you first thanked us for lending a hand" Linhardt complained as he caught his breath.
"I saw you at the main entrance of the monastery. You must admit that you weren´t strangely cautious about your leaving. I decided to summon all the Black Eagles to assist on this task and I guess it was a great decision after all" she said, proudly looking at all of them, although Flayn wasn´t among them.
"To avoid further questioning you should qualify this little adventure as an expedition. We don´t want to have to answer uncomfortable questions just for following you to this place" Hubert said standing next to her.
"You are right, thank you for helping me, but we must leave before it gets too dark. I wouldn´t like to be surrounded by beasts again"
"Don´t say that aloud! It was already scary when we had to fight all those monsters right now" Bernadetta cried, although during the battle she had proved to control her nerves.
"Sorry about that, let´s return already" her Professor said as he walked alongside all of the students. She was intrigued about the motives why he had gone to such a place, but she thought it would be wiser to ask about it when there weren´t any of the other students around.
As they weren´t a numerous group it didn´t take too much time to arrive to the surroundings of the monastery. The wind was chilly, but all of them had clothes that allowed them to resist the harsh conditions of the outside.
"Even if we had to lend you a hand you can´t skip our next rehearsal, Professor"
"Don´t worry Dorothea. I will be prepared. I´m not injured"
"Even if you were, you would be there. I´m sure about it" Linhardt said. "I´ve had enough for today. See you tomorrow"
As her classmates started to disband, she waited until there weren´t any of them to approach him.
"My Teacher, I must admit that I´m curious about the reasons that made you head to the Valley of Zanado. May I ask why did you go to such a place alone? Was it a task from the archbishop?"
"It wasn´t"
"Then why did you go there?"
Hearing her question he stood silent for a few moments.
"I wanted to explore the ruins, since I feel there is something strange related to it, but I didn´t find out anything relevant. Sorry for making you worry about me. I didn´t mean to drag all of you for this"
"Definitively those ruins are the living proof of a civilization that disappeared a long time ago, but I don´t think there is nothing relevant for us there. No matter what it was before, now it is place frequented by all kind of monsters. It wouldn´t be safe to go to such a place alone"
"You are right. I didn´t expect to face such amount of monsters there. The one that you and the rest of the students took down appeared to be their leader since the giant wolves and the giant eagles came after it roared" Byleth said with a pensive gaze.
"That monster appeared to have something resembling a crest on its face. It wasn´t surely an ordinary beast"
"Could it be someone like Miklan?"
"I can´t assure you that our assumptions are right, but I think that kind of beast shared some similarities with the monster that appeared in front of us when Miklan succumbed to the power of the Lance of Ruin. We should be careful from now on"
"Oh, Byleth, I was searching for you" Manuela said as she noticed the both of them talking. "I wanted to show you the results of my investigation regarding the events that had happened in Remire. Do you mind, Edelgard?" she said looking at her with a charming smile.
"I don´t mind, I will see you tomorrow Professor"
"See you Edelgard"
….
When he entered Manuela´s infirmary he was surprised to see Hanneman there too.
"He was interested to hear about my findings so I told him to come over here"
"What have you discovered?" he asked sitting next to Hanneman.
"The events that happened in Remire are darker than I expected. The frenzy state of the villagers wasn´t only related to the use of dark magic, but also a strange substance must have been inoculated in their bodies. I brought with me different samples and combined them with drops of my own blood and the result was always the same. The moment my blood entered in contact with the infected blood its color changed and turned into that strange black liquid"
"Even though time had already passed since this tragic event, it is interesting how this "substance" can be active. Do you know about any substance that modified with magic could do something like that?" asked Hanneman as he adjusted his monocle.
"I really wish I knew, but I didn´t have any access to any information related to this branch of magic. Even though the Church tolerates the use of black and white magic, the dark magic had always been a subject difficult to search for. Not even in the restricted sections I have found anything about it so I´m afraid I cannot with you more insight about it"
"Don´t worry Manuela. Thanks to you we know that things don´t appear to be as simple as they appeared to be at first glance. That means that we have a group that not only has in its power dangerous substances, but also has the knowledge of a branch of magic whose use could be related to what we consider in colloquial terms evil"
"Your analysis is correct, Hanneman. However, I must say that no matter the branch of magic, you could use them for evil purposes. Even what we call white magic can be used to harm or kill so the classification of the different branches of magic it's artificial at best"
"You are right Manuela. Magic is just a tool. If we consider it good or bad depends on the use we give it. What are you planning to do with your new findings?"
"I will inform Rhea and Seteth about it, although I wanted to tell both of you before I did" she then looked at him. "You were the one that was in combat with this mysterious group. You should be careful from now on. We don´t know when they will strike again"
"You too"
"Don´t worry, Byleth. Even if I had a little problem with that Death Knight when Flayn was kidnapped, that doesn´t mean that I will be unprepared the next time we have to face them" she said winking an eye.
He left the room accompanied by Hanneman. The day was already coming to an end and most of the aisles were deserted, the torches casting shadows against the walls of the monastery.
"From time to time Manuela really says interesting things. If she were like that most of the time she could even be a researcher. Talking about mysterious objects the weapon of choice of the Death Knight has really intrigued me for a long time. A giant scythe"
"I used it once against him back in Remire, but it was later destroyed when I tried to break the magic barrier that Solon casted between me and him"
"I´ve heard about it. When Rhea and your father went to village they picked some of the fragments of that weapon. It is under heavy surveillance, but I was able to catch a glimpse of it and I must admit that I´m still fascinated by what I saw"
"What do you mean?"
"Strange glyphs were written on it. It appeared to be an organized structure and not just a mere ornament so I suspect that it is possible a language or a method of communication we don´t know anything about. Besides, one particular element caught my attention. It appeared to be an eye surrounded by a group of geometrical motives. It reminded me of the symbols that the noble houses employ to differentiate themselves from the others"
Hearing his explanation he tried to recall the events that had happened the last month. When he wielded the giant scythe he didn´t feel anything strange about it, except for its lack of weight, making it a dangerous weapon in the wrong hands.
"Despite its size it was a light weighted weapon. It must have been built by materials different to the ones we use to forge our weapons"
"That sounds really interesting. I know that it isn´t my field of study, but I would do anything to have my hands on it. It is a pity that Rhea doesn´t allow a further research on it"
"Why wouldn´t she do something about it?" It was clear that Rhea was worried about the wellbeing of the villagers, yet he couldn´t understand why she wouldn´t allow an analysis of the fragments of the weapon they had obtained.
"I think that she isn´t just doing nothing about it, but we don´t know what kind of devices are hiding beneath the cold metal so I can´t really criticize her proceeding. However, whatever it may be I´m sure that we are facing a group with knowledge far superior to the one we have right now. Please, keep an eye on your students to avoid them getting into trouble" he said patting his shoulder as he prepared to leave.
"Could it be that the strange technology both Professors had been talking about is somehow related to that valley? You should ask before he goes away. I´m really curious to hear about it" Sothis said, looking at them.
"Hanneman"
"Yes, Byleth?"
"Do you know anything about Zanado? Could it be that there is some kind of relation between that place and the events that had happened the last months?"
"That is an interesting theory I´m eager to hear" Hanneman said as he adjusted his monocle. "As you know I´ve spent some time here in the monastery so it is only natural that I´m already acquainted with its surroundings. If we hold true the teachings of the Goddess that place is undoubtedly related to her, yet now only ruins are left of what appeared to be a great city. When I was young I had the opportunity to travel across all of Fódlan and apart from their customs and techniques I was able to notice the different architectonical styles of each country. However, that place is completely different to any other place I´ve ever been. The only thing that I can say for sure is the following: the civilization that settled in that place disappeared a long time ago. Why would you think it was related to the events of the last months? I´m genuinely curious"
"I thought that perhaps the advanced technology we had been talking about could it be related to that place since it is completely different to any other place I´ve ever been"
"Interesting idea. However, I think that they are unrelated. That place is completely isolated from other territories, but there aren´t any stories that talk about settlements in it since several hundreds of year. At least since the funding of this monastery that place hasn´t been populated. A pity that even the information of this monastery is incredibly scarce the more you dig into its history" he sighed. "I didn´t expect to have such a fruitful conversation with you, Byleth. It was certainly enlightening on certain aspects. If I ever get permission to analyze that mysterious weapon I will certainly tell you. Between your conversation and Manuela´s I have plenty of things to think when I´m not focused on my studies of Crest. By the way, if you see Linhardt, tell him I´m looking forward to hearing about his ideas about the book I had lent to him. Good night Byleth"
"See you later, Hanneman"
Leaving behind an unusually lively Hanneman behind he decided to return to his room. Placing the Sword of the Creator in its magic box he tried to think about everything that had happened that day.
"This was really an interesting day, but there is something I don´t really understand yet. Why would monsters gather in such a strange place? One of them appeared to be their leader too. Are they somehow attracted to that place? In that case why? My head hurts just by thinking about it" Sothis complained as he returned to his room.
12/17
The day was cloudy, but luckily enough, it wasn´t snowing for once in a while.
"In two months there won´t turning back, but even if I make the world my enemy I won´t back down" she thought as she cleaned her face with cold water. Kronya was definitively up to something, but she couldn´t simply kill her. There were too many vigilant eyes on her and pretend her death to be an accident would leave too much questions on the air. Thales and Solon had been completely silent for a while, but that wasn´t assuring. "They are definitively up to something"
As she opened the doors of her room there was no sight of Hubert. She knew that he was keeping an eye on Kronya, but she couldn´t avoid wondering if she was letting him assuming too much risks. Hubert was a capable mage, but with something as unstable as Kronya there was always the risk that she could react aggressively if she realized they were controlling her movements around the monastery.
"When I turn into the next Emperor I will be able to rely less on them, but I can´t openly oppose to them until the appropriate moment comes and when it came she would make sure that…"
"Edie, why are you standing in the middle of the aisle? What are you thinking about?"
"Oh, Dorothea. It´s nothing, I was just thinking about the events of this month, nothing more"
"This month has been really interesting, but the best part of it isn´t over yet" Dorothea said with a charming smile. "I can´t wait to see the reactions that our little play will make. I hope that everyone can enjoy it. Besides, the night of the ball is approaching and with it all kind of interesting events" she giggled. "I´ve already plenty of plans prepared for it"
"I´m happy to hear about it. I must admit that I´m impressed by the quality of your acting. It really reminds me of Manuela, even though I was only able to watch her performance once"
"Being compared with my mentor makes me really happy. I was planning to call everyone to make a final general practice, but everyone appears to be heading to watch a fight"
"A fight?"
"Yes, a fight between the Professor, Sylvain and Lorenz. Didn´t you hear about it? It was something really difficult to ignore since Lorenz has been talking about it with everyone that crossed his path"
"Now that you talk about it, I heard it from the Professor. Lorenz wants to defy the Professor and Sylvain to clean a stain on his honor as a noble"
"Don´t make me remember why I don´t like most nobles" Dorothea sighed. "When you have everything at the reach of your hand it is really easy to focus on unimportant things like your honor or complaining about imaginary threats, but most people can´t afford that luxury. Some people can´t only thing about the food that will keep them alive for another day" Dorothea said, the expression of her face hardened as she said so.
"Dorothea… I apologize for everything that has happened to you. I know that most nobles can be unbearable"
"I wasn´t criticizing you with that Edie. In fact I must admit that I´m quite fond of you" she said with another of her charming smiles. "It´s just that it is very ironic. When I was a little girl most nobles ignore me as if I were nothing but some mud on the streets of the city, yet when I was picked by Manuela and debuted in the opera the very same nobles started to appraise my qualities and looks. They are really a bunch of hypocrites, but you and the others are mostly fine, but I don´t like Lorenz a bit, mainly because of his attitude. Anyway, how about we go to see that fight? I´m sure that the Professor is going to win, but I would like to see Lorenz´s face"
"I will accompany you then"
The air outside the walls of the buildings of the monastery was chilly, but luckily the snow was giving them a break. As they headed to the place where tournaments where held she could hear an increasing number of voices. When they finally entered the place she realized that most of the students were already there.
"Hello Edelgard" greeted her Lysithea, who was holding what appeared to be a tome of magic.
"Hello Lysithea. What are you reading?"
"A tome about advanced magic. I´m really interested in improving my abilities even further" she said with a proud smile.
"I´m sure that you will master that tome in no time" she smiled as she took a seat next to her. They didn´t have to wait for much longer as Lorenz, the Professor and Sylvain appeared in the center of the arena. Her Professor was wearing his usual equipment and he had his usual neutral expression on his face, although he faintly smiled the moment he saw them. Sylvain was wearing black iron armor and a lance, but the worst offender was Lorenz. He was wearing purple armor with overcomplicated decoration based on roses. He even had a red rose on top of it. He bowed before of them before with a triumphant smile on his face.
"Hello everyone. I am pleased to see everyone here. I have defied both the Professor and Sylvain to proof to the entire monastery that my honor as a noble is intact and that the accusations made against me are nothing but a fraud made by jealously and unfounded hatred. With that said I hope that all of you can enjoy a battle that will surely be remembered for the coming years"
As he said that he returned to the center of the arena and bowed before both of them. Her Professor simply nodded his head and Sylvain was sighing as he prepared himself for the upcoming battle.
"Everyone ready? Fight!" Alois shouted, which appeared to be the judge of the battle.
Lorenz and Sylvain directly charged at the Professor. He stood still as they approach him and in a split of a second he jumped backwards, making Sylvain and Lorenz clash against each other. Taking advantage of the situation Byleth quickly knocked them down. Lorenz tried to resist the most, but before a minute had passed it was clear that the battle was already over.
"And the winner is Byleth! That was really fast!" Alois shouted.
"More than a battle that was a beating, although a beating that I don´t disagree with" Dorothea giggled as they saw her Professor trying to help Lorenz to stand up again. Lorenz´s face was completely red like the rose he was wearing on his armor. With a quick bow he quickly abandoned the place, avoiding everyone´s gazes.
"Professor I told you to be nicer with me. I wasn´t the one that started all of this" Sylvain was complaining to Byleth as they approached them.
"I told you that that wouldn´t be fair. Hello Edelgard, Dorothea"
"You really give your best no matter the situation, Professor"
"Since all of you are doing your best I need to reciprocate"
….
"With so much snow the world looks so innocent"
"I wonder how you can make such a statement when you lack those qualities, Kronya. Anyway, I hope that you have secured a group of beasts for our next experiment. Myson will be doing the same soon, but he has other objectives on top of it" Their surroundings were completely silent, but he wasn´t too comfortable talking so close to the watch of one of their sworn enemies.
"Don´t worry Thales. They believe that I´m just an innocent and fragile girl, they don´t know what it is going to happen to them. I´ve everything prepared for it. I´m just waiting a signal"
"You won´t have to wait for too long. Strike when the security of the monastery it at its lowest. I heard that they are focused with the celebrations of this month. Take advantage of that"
"I won´t fail you, I promise" Kronya said bowing before him in a mild manner.
"I hope so. Failure would be the least of your worries in case that you disappoint me. Now leave. I don´t have more business with you"
After she had left he watched the monastery from the distance. "The final watchtower of our real enemy. The last threat before the world returns to the true humanity"
"Those who are not divine tried to destroy us humans, but they failed. Ours will be the final victory and this world will finally meet peace" he thought as he prepared to teleport to the place where they had to exile. A place without light, where only those who longed for the ancient times remained.
To avoid any confusion I must explain the following concepts (although I suspect that I have mixed sometimes the terms Yami and black magic)
闇魔法 (Yamimahou) Used by TWSITD and those with a connection with them (Jeritza, Hubert and Lysithea, Edelgard). Lysithea and Edelgard presumably because of the experimentation they suffered.
黒魔法 (kuromahou). Black magic, but with nothing in particular to say about it.
白魔法 (shiromahou). White magic.
I think that I will write Yami with the term dark exclusively. In case I mix the concepts please tell me. See you next week!