1/22 Guardian Moon
"Dragons are creatures covered in mystery. Contrary to lesser beings like the giant snakes of the wastelands or the wyverns, dragons appeared to have true sapience. With scales capable of breaking swords and the living inferno they were capable of releasing on earth they were considered goods of old.
The worshipping of dragons was popular thousands of years ago. Some warriors seek them to gain the secret of immortality yet what happened to them remains a mystery. The only trustworthy records of the existence of a dragon come from the Immaculate One. This individual was covered in white scales and it was said that it accompanied Saint Seiros in her fights to settle the teachings of the faith across the entire Fódlan. It is said that it was capable of effortlessly annihilating entire armies accompanied its trusted friend. Thus, the Immaculate One and Saint Seiros came to be worshipped as the champions of the faith. It is said that in times of need the Immaculate One will come to the aid of the faithful ones to stop the misgivings of the realm of men. In lesser regions dragons are believed to exist and those who seek to master a dragon are called dragon seekers. The dragon seekers are usually spotted to the east of Fódlan, in a region whose name is Almyra. The Almyrans are known to use wyverns in their incursions to Fódlan, but there have never been reports of beasts that could be considered dragons"
"The Gods created the wyverns so we could ride the dragons. Imagine having such a magnificent mount. A true god of war, releasing death upon the enemy. Even the sun would fear us!" he could hear the voice of Nader while laughing as they looked as the night started to fall over Almyra.
"I´m not so sure. We might end up as their supper"
"Well, in that case we would only need to kill them. A pity that such beasts aren´t here anymore. The beasts of the tales of the past are nowhere to be seen, but they must have existed, the armor of the king is made of dragon scales after all. No matter what weapon you use against it, it will shatter, even once a wyvern tried to shallow the old man and its teeth broke, that was quite the view. One day that armor could be yours"
"You know that it´s going to be really difficult. The succession to the throne is already complicated. I don´t think I will get my hands on it" he sighed. "Although if I could it could be an interesting thing to have, at least it could protect me from assassination attempts"
"Only cowards would try to avoid fighting under the sun. Are you saying that because you are too pale for our liking? Don´t take it bad, boy, but people from Fódlan have never been welcomed here, although the feeling is shared over there as well. They are closed to the rest of the world, considering themselves the elite of this world, but they are just a bunch of cowards. In open field they would be slaughtered by our forces, but they prefer to hid themselves in their rocky houses. That´s why we have cannons; to shatter their houses and watch their horrified faces as we defeat them"
"There is no other way around but to combat, right?" he sighed.
"You already know the answer, Claude. Almyra only respects strength. Your father ascended to the throne not because he was the eldest or the wisest, but because he was the bravest. He was on the frontlines during decades, his body is covered in scars, but he is revered by every single boy across the land"
"I wonder what the widows think about such tales" he thought. However, Nader wasn´t wrong the slightest. Even though a king ruled over Almyra, it was only because the Almyrans trusted him. Previous kings that had been defeated easily or were mere cowards had been swiftly eradicated as another war chief took their place. Almyra was a tough country where only the strongest survived, but that could be the key for the plans of his future. "Fódlan won´t open itself easily unless I forced it to do so, but for now the only thing I have is my brain" he thought as the memories of his past disappeared in front of his eyes.
The sky was still dark outside, but he knew that in less than an hour the sun would rise. After some part of the Church forces, accompanied by the Professor and students, had left he had plenty of time to sneak into the most guarded places of the monastery. The books that were around him contained tales more interesting that the ones explained in the official books of the Church.
"Having a dragon would certainly help, but it seems they went extinct" he said to himself. The old tales of Almyra were filled by stories of dragon riders that conquered different lands and continents and were able to reach unknown places with the help of their wing companions, although most of these tales ended in a bloodbath for its protagonist. Even a dragon rider could be killed.
The most similar thing to dragons were the albino wyverns of the Speartip summit, to the far east of Almyra. Contrary to most wyverns they were incredibly intelligent, capable of understanding the human language to an unknown extent, but before riding one of them it was necessary to gain their trust and that could take years of perseverance and even them that wouldn't mean that they would accept you. "Well, those are problems that I will have to settle after I return, but first I have to make sure that I know this land as an open book". His incursions into the most restricted areas of the monastery has allowed him to get a greater insight in the political nuances that were suffocating Fódlan. Now he was trying to figure out how to resolve the riddle that was presented in from of him, waiting to be resolved.
"The Professor would be a great asset to my plans" he thought, he was the wielder of the Sword of the Creator, after all. As he yawned his attention was caught by an old book next to him.
"The book of death" he was able to decipher from the letters of the cover. An eye was drawn on its surface, although it was closed. The first time he had opened it, the pages were void of any content. "There must be a hidden trick to read it" he thought as he lazily turned the pages. A sudden pain made him realized that he had cut one of his fingertips with the pages, the moment that the blood landed on it words started to form before him. With his curiosity renewed he didn´t think twice as he submerged himself into the lecture.
What he read was very dark: spells capable of turning the guts of someone into snakes, internal combustion or summoning demons from your own shadow were mere examples of the spells that could be casted with enough knowledge. However, the runes used by the book were completely different to the ones he had been studying at the monastery, even the blackest magic available used runes which he had some familiarity, yet these ones were a complete mystery to him. The most unnerving fact was that the book was eager to drink his blood and he needed to cut the palm of his hand with a hunting knife to continue scanning through the pages.
Even though the information he was reading could be of interest to a scholar of ancient spells or a dark mage, he felt there was nothing of interest left for him on that book, especially from a book so eager to absorb his own blood. He was about to close it, when a pair of golden words caught his attention.
"Fata mundi" he read as he paid close attention to its content.
"Through the darkness of the void a star shall rise; a cursed being, sacrilege of the basic rules of nature. Its power will make the pillars of this forsaken world crumble, spreading its fire through the entire land, but the very same fire won´t heal the darkness beneath. The Lord that has been consumed will raise again from its chains as the moon turns red over an azure sky. The day of wrath, that day will dissolve the world in ashes. Doomed to flames of woe unbounded. The eyes will finally open before the throne of beginnings. Only then, the one that endured the dangers of the curse will be the one to inherit what remains"
He wasn´t really sure about what he had just read, but he couldn´t about shivering. "This book is pretty dangerous. I should get rid of it soon" he thought. Magic beyond his comprehension and prophecies he couldn´t completely understand. "When you read a book, you connect with the experiences of those who died way before us" told him someone what appeared to be a lifetime ago, but he wasn´t so sure if he wanted to hear the tale of this book.
…
"It seems that the forces of the kingdom are still a few miles away from us. If we are lucky, we should be able to resolve this problem before they arrive" he said as he handed at his students training weapons. "These weapons are sturdy enough to leave someone unconscious, but remember that our objective is to make sure that they abandon the combat without casualties. If we defeat it like that, will they give up, Dedue?"
"Some of them won´t, but I´ll make sure to send the message to them. Not killing them will be a good signal that we mean no harm to them" Dedue said as he picked a training axe.
"You´ve heard it. We´ll fight them, but we won´t allow a massacre to happen. Ingrid, please tell us in advance if the kingdom troops are about to arrive. Until then we will make sure that both forces don´t meet on the battlefield"
"Understood!"
With their equipment already prepared for battle they approached the enemy from the northern hills of the valley. Horns were already sounding, alerting the forces from Duscur.
"Do you think they will stop fighting?" asked Edelgard besides him.
"Dedue is confident that they will. The only thing we have to do is to defeat them before the kingdom troops arrive"
"A fight against the time, then. I hope it gets over quickly"
The forces from Duscur were light armored, most of their troops carrying heavy axes that couldn´t compete with their light weighed weapons.
"Why are you fighting us with training weapons?" he asked a shocked soldier before he was sent to the ground by Dedue´s axe.
"We are here to avoid a slaughter, leave this place and live another day. The kingdom troops want to kill all of you" he said as he helped the fallen shocked soldier to get up again.
One by one the forces of Duscur started to retreat with bruises on their entire body, but all of them luckily alive.
"Don´t retreat, you cowards!" shouted what appeared to be the general of the main troops.
"Professor! If we defeat him, the rest of the troops will understand that this fight has no purpose!"
Nodding at Dedue, he decided to charge at them.
"Only you? You must be a madman or a hero" laughed the commander as he tried to hit him with his heavy axe. The rest of his bodyguards were trying to surround him, but his light armor allowed him to out speed them.
"Could you stop jumping all around?" the commander said as he missed another attack of his axe.
"Leave this place, there is no point about dying here"
"We are fighting here to liberate our people; we need to do it for their sake!"
"Tell me, would you be able to protect them as a corpse? We don't want to kill any of you, but the kingdom troops are approaching and they won´t be so merciful as we are"
"The Professor is right; this rebellion must stop for the sake of everyone. When I turn into the next ruler of the Kingdom, I promise all of you that mistakes of the past won´t be repeated again" Dimitri said as he approached him accompanied by Dedue.
"How could I trust someone like you?"
"His highness is kind of heart, he accepted me even if I´m hated by most of the inhabitants of the Holy Kingdom. I´ve lost my family, but he has granted me a new life. Those who are gone won´t return to us, but we can protect the future of Duscur stopping our constant fighting. Fighting will only bring more corpses"
"Why would you do something like that? The king died there, that´s the only thing the knights have been saying all these years"
"It is true that my father died there, but not everyone that died there was responsible of such crime. I promise I´ll be just. Justice will be brought to those who had committed atrocities, it doesn´t matter where they come from, if they are guilty of their crimes, they will answer to them. That´s the oath I promise to your people"
The general from Duscur was visibly shocked as he heard those words.
"Professor! The Kingdom forces are almost on us!" Ingrid shouted from the heights.
"You don´t have any time to lose, leave this place at once!"
"We´ll leave for now, but I can assure you that not everyone will be pleased with it"
"You are a general of your people, keep them alive instead of sending them to certain death"
The general was about to answer back, but after hearing the sound of war horns he decided to run away, accompanied by the rest of the forces.
"His Highness, Professor my most sincere gratitude for your help. You´ve saved my people, at least for this day" Dedue genuinely smiled as he bowed before them.
"It isn´t over yet. We must deal with the Kingdom forces or they will try to hunt them down"
"Now the real battle begins" Dimitri sighed. "I hope that they are reasonable enough. I´ll have to send to my uncle a letter explaining our presence here, but I regret nothing. I appreciate your help, Professor. It is at times of need when we need to aid each other"
"You will surely have plenty of responsibilities during your reign, but I hope you don´t forget the bonds that you have made at the monastery"
"Don´t worry, Professor. I promise you that I won´t forget anything. The good times…and the bad times" Dimitri gently smiled as they approached the hill where the banner of the Holy Kingdom could already be seen.
…
"The order of the regent Rufus is to suffocate the rebellion once and for all. The fact that you weren´t able to kill them means that we´ll need to finish the job. We´ll make sure that the pay for their crimes with their life"
"The problem has already been solved. They won´t been causing any trouble from now on. Attacking them now will be a meaningless slaughter. As the heir to the throne of this Holy Kingdom I forbid you to commit such atrocity"
"Your Highness, with due respect we must obey your uncle´s command. Until you come of age you won´t be able to command us. Besides, the inhabitants of Duscur are the scum of this land. They fornicate like beasts and they killed the king when he willingly tried to resolve the conflict in a pacific manner. They deserve no compassion!" what appeared to be the leader of the Kingdom forces said as he tried to pass through them. "Half of you are heirs of important houses of the kingdom and are friends of his highness so I wish no harm to all of you. However, there is a thing that must be done. It is our duty as proudful knights of this kingdom"
"When did you get the tittle of knight? Before or after you slaughtered a group of peasants?" asked an angry Felix.
"Enough of your insolence! We are from the same land, if those of the empire were the ones to be ill mouthing us, I could understand" he shouted, he then angrily looked at him. "Your students need to behave properly. They are disturbing our duty here. The Church has always been in good term with the Holy Kingdom, there is no need to start a fruitless discussion over this now"
"His Highness has clearly stated that he doesn´t wish any harm to the people from Duscur and their forces are in debt with us. They won´t attack again" Dedue said as he placed himself next to Dimitri.
"Your word is worth nothing, beast. Stay out of my way or I´ll cut your head off!" he shouted as he unsheathed his sword.
"This situation is escalating quickly" mumbled a worried Dorothea.
"You are right, the fact that they vehemently try to initiate a slaughter is unnerving" Edelgard said as the grip of her axe grew stronger. Even if it was only a training weapon, he was sure that a hit from her could kill an armored soldier if she wasn´t holding back.
"Acting like this will solve nothing. A true noble would fight for the wellbeing of its people. If you go after them, they will reciprocate as well and the lands surrounding this area will suffer as a consequence. There is no reason to continue this petty fight" Ferdinand said extending his arms.
"So, a noble from the Empire is trying to lecturing us, uh? You must be full of yourself if you think you are over us"
"Even if he is extravagant, he isn´t a bloodthirsty murderer like you and your soldiers"
"That the son of the shield of Faerghus is spotting such nonsense is highly embarrassing. We´ll continue our duty. Step aside! We don´t want any of you to get hurt in the process" the soldiers of the kingdom were trying to keep advancing as the ambient was quickly heating up. An ill-timed word could be the beginning of a fight. He then advanced forward.
"Return whence you came"
"Uh?"
"Return whence you came. Report to the regent that the situation is under control. Duscur won´t be raising in arms anytime soon and the peace of the king will be granted to these lands"
"Do you really trust the word of such scum?"
"I trust them. Unlike you, I don´t mind where my students come from. Dedue says that there won´t be any more troubles here and I trust his word"
"You must be an imbecile then" he laughed, but he was stopped by a sword next to his neck.
"Any more steps forward and you will lose your head"
"If you kill me, there will be consequences. The Church won´t be pleased about it too" the general of the king forces said while trembling.
"You are wrong about it" Seteth said as he stepped forward. "The Church is and remains on good terms with the Holy Kingdom, but it is against the teachings of the Goddess the use of unnecessary violence. We´ll send some battalions to this place to make sure that peace is respected between both factions. I´ll personally inform the archbishop about it so there shouldn´t be any problems"
…..
1/26
"I am pleased to see you well. Thanks to your assistance the petty rebellion of the Western Church has finally met its end. Now the only thing we can make is to pray for their misguided souls. May they find enlightenment in our merciful mother" Rhea said as she adopted a praying gesture. "A scholar year comes to an end and with it a year filled with unprecedent challenges. This year has been quite the anomaly, but I am glad that the will of the Goddess has guided you to me"
"I´m glad that I´ve come to this place as well" he said as he slightly bowed.
"If it is you there is no need of such formalities" Rhea smiled. "As reward for their efforts, there won´t be any final exams for the students next month. That way they will have plenty of time to prepare for their graduation. Speaking of it, there is a ceremony I wish you could participate in"
"What ceremony?"
"Those who are blessed by the Goddess are fated to receive a revelation from her. However, the Goddess cannot interact directly with the world of the living unless the situation is really dire. Despite of this, the merciful mother in her endless wisdom decided to create a place where those blessed by her would be able to hear her wishes for the world we inhabit. I am sure that the Goddess will communicate with you at the throne room, the place where it is said that she started the creation of this world"
Rhea´s face was gentle, but Seteh´s expression caught his attention. Looking at him, it could be said that he couldn´t believe what he was hearing.
"I´ve never heard of such place"
"Indeed. I would be surprise if you knew about its existence since it is one of the most protected secret of the Church. It is only accessible for those who have a great bond with the Goddess. I once received her blessing too. Even though years have passed it really feels like a recent event" she said with a dreamy look. "This next month I will be making the preparations to have such ceremony. Until then you are free to do as you please. I don´t want to rob time you would like spending with your dear students" she said with a motherly smile, although in here eyes there was a peculiar light; the light of hope.
"Thank you for everything, Rhea. I will cherish the time you´ve granted to me" he said as he left behind the audience room.
…..
"Rhea, what are you up to?" The throne room was a sacred place of their kind, the place where they had once the apex of their power, but it had been sealed for centuries after the construction of the current monastery. Despite of it, he had been to that place in several occasions, to make sure that the magic seals placed there were kept intact. Bringing a human to such place wasn´t only strange, but also dangerous.
"It is clear that the Professor has received the protection of our mother. Not only he is able the Sword of the Creator, the last earthly remaining of Sothis, but he is also able to use her power to an extent. I can´t think about anyone more suitable to enter such place.
"Do you really think that Sothis is acting through him?" He had known first hand the power of Sothis, but even though the Professor was extraordinary powerful he couldn´t compare to her powers.
"It is clear that she had accepted him as a worthy wielder of her powers. Contrary to that cursed human, Nemesis, he has received her powers through pacific means"
"Isn´t that because of what you did to him when he was a child?" he asked as he recalled the events, he had read in Jeralt´s diary.
"I told you once I won´t tolerate such questions, Seteth. Everything I´ve done has been for the greater good. The Church of Seiros has granted peace to the whole land of Fódlan and it is thanks to me that this peace has been kept. Even though they deserved to be obliterated I forgave the descendants of the ten elites to make sure that a durable peace could be built. Since then all my acts have had the objective of keeping the evil at bay. I just saved the life of the child, if Sothis has acted through him, it's just a mere coincidence"
"I apologize for my rude comments, Rhea. I´m still tired of our last campaign" he said as he looked to the ground. "Do you think the Western Church will raise in arms again?"
"Their leaders are no more, and members of the central Church have been placed to guide those who had been deceived by them. The wounds will need some time to heal, but I am confident that the differences between both churches will eventually disappear. Don´t worry Seteth, I won´t add salt to the wound. They have already paid the price with their blood, even if their mistakes had been terrible that doesn´t mean that all of them deserve to be executed"
"Understood. There was also a small conflict in Duscur as I told you in the letter, I sent to you. I acted on behalf of the Church, but the regent may complain about the way we have resolved the situation"
"The Holy Kingdom has always been a close friend of the Church, they will understand"
…..
"So, the time has finally come" she thought as she checked a map of the inner tunnels of Enbarr. Next month would proof to be the most challenging thing she would have faced in her life, but there wasn´t any way around. She needed to continue her path, no matter what, she told to herself as she observed the sunset, although her hand unwittingly touched the earrings, the ones she had received from him what appeared to be a lifetime ago.