6/1 Garland Moon

"Another abandoned village" she muttered as they approached the center of what remained of the village. The ashes in the ground were still warm and even some goods of the villagers could be seen in the surroundings. "They must have run away in the middle of the night"

"All our armies are reporting similar events and we haven´t faced yet significant opposition from the kingdom forces. Our spies have reported that a strong army is preparing to leave from Arianhood. The situation in the northern regions of the Holy Kingdom is unknown, although it is highly probable that they are mobilizing their armies to the south to strengthen their southern armies"

"And they will be most likely reinforced by the forces scattered in this region. They aren´t running away, they are preparing to fight back, as a tide" It was evident what was the plan of the kingdom forces; they were letting them getting into their territory so they could surround them when there was no possible escape. She could feel a warm breeze touching her skin, but she knew that the good weather in the north was short-lived. And when the weather changed, they would be vulnerable with a bigger army to feed, the harvest they could have used to sustain them destroyed.

"The Kingdom is expecting to defeat us when winter comes, but they will wait in vain. If we can conquer some of the fortresses along the way we can withstand the coldest months. We need to prepare safe areas to place our provisions. Any news from the Church forces?"

"Complete silence, but it is highly doubtful that they are idle. Lady Edelgard, please take a look at this" Hubert said as he offered her two documents.

"I guess that the Church has been busy as of lately" she said as she started to read the document.

"Inhabitants of Fódlan, please listen to the Goddess´s voice. A demon is sitting on the throne of the Adrestian Empire, her ambitions endless. She wants to drown this world under the blood of thousands of innocents, from the elders to the newborns, no one is safe. Her army will abduct your children so she can bath in their blood.

The imperial army is filled with vile beasts, creatures that will burn this land and rape your daughters and women. However, this land hasn´t been forgotten by the Goddess. Our merciful mother has chosen a new champion of the Faith. King Dimitri will protect all of you in this sacred war. He has promised to pierce through the heart of that vile beast to spare Fódlan from a dark future. If you see any sign of the imperial army, run away with everything you have. We must leave nothing to the enemy. Your houses can be replaced but your lives are priceless to the Goddess. Fear not the dark times to come, in the end justice will prevail"

The other document was an illustration where she was depicted as a monstrous figure, two horns on her head while the imperial army slaughtered a kingdom village.

"Should I add horns to my outfit? It seems that´s how an important part of this country is going to see me"

"I highly advise against joking about this matter. The fact that these papers are in a small village like this means that this message has already been spread"

"Then it´s not surprising that we have only found empty villages up to this point. Fear is a strong tool to control the actions of many, but that alone won´t do anything to their cause. They are also spreading hate against us and resentment has much more unexpected consequences, but our main worry should be the Church and the Kingdom army. Send scouts in all directions, make sure that no one is observing us. We can´t tolerate sabotage operations against us"

"Understood, Lady Edelgard" Hubert said as he bowed, leaving her alone.

"The situation in the west is escalating quickly, but to the east everything is too silent. Claude, what are you up to?"

….

6/3

He was surrounded by complete silence, the only thing he could hear was his own breath as he examined one of the crest stones of the mausoleum.

"How interesting" he thought as he felt a familiar spark coming through the ancient stone. The crest stone he was holding was of a small size, a grey color on its surface. Stones like that where the ones that were present in the relics, weapons of great power capable of causing great destruction.

"But like this, without a weapon to wield, its utility is quite limited" he thought. He could sense strength coming from within the orb, yet most of its capabilities were sealed within it. Without a weapon and a compatible crest wielder, the power they could release was quite limited, yet even in that case, its power was enough to momentary overcome experimented warriors.

"There are many crest stones like this, yet there aren´t so many relics"

"That doesn´t mean that there weren´t in the past"

"Professor Hanneman! I thought you still needed to rest from your injuries"

"I´m better than ever before and Edelgard has allowed me to continue my studies as long as I stay here until the war ends. I can´t ask for nothing more. Furthermore, Manuela is still here, taking care of the injured and her spells had helped me a lot to get better"

"I see, well, if you are feeling better, I don´t mind you being here. Tell me, what do you think about this room?"

"I must admit that I had never heard about a place like this before. The most plausible theory is that this place belongs to the most ancient part of the monastery, but the mechanisms to access this room are too advanced. Returning to your initial thoughts, I do think that these relics were employed once as weapons. You can see that its form is ready to be added to a weapon, but we can only speculate about what happened to it. From time to time, new relics appear, although some of them are just rediscoveries of weapons forgotten long ago.

As you know, to make a hero relic function properly, it is required the relic itself and the Crest stone"

"But Professor Hanneman, there is an exception to that rule, the Professor is able to wield the Sword of the Creator without requiring a Crest stone"

"I have really thought about this matter and my search for the truth has brought me to do things that some people could consider immoral" Hanneman said as he made sure that they were alone. "I know that you are interested in the search of truth as I am, but on this matter, precaution is highly needed. Are you able to keep a secret?"

"I do"

"Well, I stumbled into Jeralt´s diary. I knew that it was disrespectful, but curiosity forced me to read its content. It seems that something happened to Byleth when he was born. According to the description made by the person that checked the newborn, Byleth did have a pulse, but his heart wasn´t beating any longer"

"That would be something impossible. The only thing that could explain such event would be the use of necromancy. However, necromancy only allows to manipulate human bodies up to an extent, but those bodies move clumsily and are uncapable of following the most basic orders. Our Professor is capable of doing many things and his agility is nothing to belittle. He acts like a normal human being"

"You are correct on your assumption, but I highly doubt that a professional or Jeralt himself were just imagining things when that happened. I thought as well that that was something, I was uncapable to explain, but one of my experiments made me think about a hidden possibility. As you know, without a crest stone a relic is unable to release its power. I decided to extract the crest stone from its weapon and tried to use it and as I expected, nothing happened. However, I then decided to use the weapon holding the crest stone on my other hand…and it worked! My own body acted as the nexus between the weapon and the crest stone. You are wielding a crest stone, what are you feeling as you touch it?"

"It feels as if I was charging an electric spell"

"Exactly! We can recognize up to a degree the energy released from the crest stones as that kind of energy. That would explain why Jeralt and the doctor could feel a pulse yet not a heartbeat and that would also explain why Byleth is able to wield a crestless sword. He is acting as the catalyst, as the crest stone of the mighty sword"

"So, you are saying that Byleth has a crest stone in his body and that would be the answers to some of the many mysteries surrounding him?"

"Yes, you are right"

"But what would be the effects of having a crest stone inside you? Even when they don´t have a relic, the crest stones continue to release energy. Those amounts of energy would certainly affect somehow a human body"

"You have already answered yourself, Linhardt. Think about it, Byleth suddenly changed when he was trapped by the forces responsible of Jeralt´s death. His once navy-blue hair and eyes changed into light green. There is no magic that could explain such change. I could also sense that his capabilities were enhanced after releasing himself from that trap"

"That would mean that the crest stone reacted to whatever that happened inside that portal. However, the Professor´s personality wasn´t affected by it. He still acted like usual. If the crest was capable of making such changes in his body, wouldn´t that affect his personality as well? Powerful spells are capable of changing the way human minds work and that´s talking about an influence from the outside. If the changed happened from within, it would be more logical to expect more changes in that case"

"Who says that those changes were present already? Byleth was known as the ashen demon, a heartless mercenary capable of facing any adversity without showing his emotions. However, as time passed, he appeared to show more emotions, why do you think that he was so emotionless at the beginning? According to Jeralt´s diary he never smiled when he was a baby"

"That could be explained by the influence of the crest stone... I see, the crest stone did have some influence on his personality as well as his body, but in that case, what is the truth Professor?"

"The only truth I know is that he has been showing his emotions bit a bit until now. I don´t know why, but it seems that whatever that remained dormant within his body is starting to awaken once again"

"But until the Professor returns, we won´t be able to test such theories. Until then we are powerless, although you have enlightened me with your words, Professor Hanneman. I would have never thought about the possibility of having a crest stone stored in your body"

"Learning and committing mistakes is the process to access to true knowledge, but you are right. Until Byleth returns we have nothing else to say about that matter, but that doesn´t mean that our responsibility as researchers ends here. We must make sure that we can discover as many things as possible about the crest stones"

"Professor Hanneman, can I ask you something?"

"For sure, Linhardt, go ahead"

"Do you think he is alive?"

"Of course, someone so powerful like him, wouldn´t fall even against a powerful being like Rhea. He has survived many things during years, the battle of the monastery was just another battle to him"

"I see, that is something relieving to hear. I must admit that sometimes I feel worried about his disappearance, but he isn´t the kind of person to just die, right? There isn´t a logical explanation to this feeling, it´s just my instinct telling me so"

"Then you should follow it, giving up is the worst thing that could happen to a researcher like me and you. Any news from the front lines?"

"The rest are advancing pretty quickly. I haven´t received any relevant reports of resistance to the west and in the east the situation remains calm. Don´t you think it is strange that Rhea hasn´t attacked us again?"

"I doubt she can abuse her powers, otherwise she would already be attacking us, which is a relieving thing to know. It means that her powers aren´t completely unnatural, there is something that you can somehow analyze in a logical manner"

"The Immaculate one was said to be the loyal companion of saint Seiros. However, I doubt that I can believe anymore everything that has been written in the library. It is really shocking how difficult it is to differentiate the truth from lies. It makes me feel sleepy"

"If you are feeling like that, you should return to the surface. Overworking isn´t something good for your health"

"You are right, I will accompany you then"

….

Everything was too cold, he couldn´t feel anything. The world around him filled with darkness.

"We were this close to achieve their annihilation" he thought as he tried to fight his tiredness off, he needed to carry on fighting against their sworn enemy.

"Master, please open your eyes"

That was easier said than done, but he tried nevertheless, around him the world was covered in white death, everything could be better than remaining in such place.

He was dazzled by a strong light the moment he was able to open his eyes.

"Where am I?"

"We have brought you back to our main base, Master Thales, wit what remained of our army" It was the voice of Myson, one of his most high ranked officials, his right hand at the government of Agartha.

"What do you mean with what remains?" he tried to get up, but he felt an intense pain coming from one of his arms and legs. When he looked at them, he realized both of them pierced by several ice javelins, its color red because of the blood they had been absorbing.

"Our main forces have been destroyed in battle. We were at the epicenter of the explosion and the casualties we suffered were catastrophic, not even our ancient machinery could outstand such degree of destruction"

Hearing such report was a hard pillow to shallow. He knew that they didn´t have the numbers to rule over the world, they relied on their technological advantage to have the upper hand in the conflict, but with most of their weaponry gone, their situation was dire at best.

"What happened then?"

"The Immaculate one and the Fell star fought against each other as they fell to the abyss next to the monastery. The immaculate one appears to have survived and is leading the resistance from their new base located at the Holy Kingdom.

"And the Fell star?"

"We have no reports about it"

At least a good thing to know, but that could mean anything until they discover its body.

"We need to find the Sword of the Creator then. Finding it is the key to keep our ambitions afloat"

"Are you planning to give it to that thief? We already have a prototype that could be used by him, but it isn´t perfected yet"

"Not for that. The energy stored within that sword is unvaluable. If we can obtain it, we would have an infinite surplus of energy, allowing us to use our most potent armament in an unlimited manner. Furthermore, we need to take it back, before it loses stability or we might get eradicated by our own creation"

"What do you mean by that, Master?"

"Before losing consciousness, I could feel it. The sword was finally releasing its true strength. When I created it, I used all my knowledge to make sure that the volatile structure of the Fell Star remained under control, but that meant partially sealing its powers. However, if the sword was able to release such amount of power, it means that the seals are starting to fade away. Without someone to control what rests within, the destruction of this land could happen at any moment. The sword remembers"

"Are you implying that the sword is sentient?"

"I wouldn´t define it as a consciousness of its own, but it isn´t completely lifeless. Rage, hatred, despair, that is what is sealed within the sword. As it absorbed the powers of the Fell star, fragments of such emotions were transferred to it. It was something impossible to avoid since what lies beneath is the result of the true nature of the sword. All relics up to an extent have the same characteristics. However, the Sword of the Creator as the most powerful relic ever created has properties that escape to the comprehension of a normal human mind"

"A weapon capable of such degree of destruction… Was it really wise to create such thing? Something with such power in the wrong hands could mean the doom of many"

"Between the risk of death and the possibility of victory I chose the latter. There is no point on wondering about it anymore. We need to find the Sword and keep it for our own purposes" he said as he tried to get up, but a piercing pain paralyzed him. "Why haven´t you gotten rid of this nuisance?"

"Master, we have done everything we could, but those ice spears are cursed. It is an ancient magic that surpasses our own. This is the true power of the Crest of Seiros"

"Then you know what you have to do"

"Master, it is going to be a painful experience. We should at least apply…"

"Do it. My hatred against them will be my shield. When I raise again, I will be stronger and I will finish what I started"

"As you wish, my lord"

He could feel intense pain as his own flesh started to turn apart, but he remained conscious.

"The pain I feel will be nothing to the one I will make you experience. Everyone will tremble before me, not even gods will be safe from my ire"

…..

6/6

"Lorenz, thank you for staying with me"

"Enough of your meaningless words, Claude. It doesn´t suit you well at a time like this. I know why you have summoned me here, to the capital; to have my father under control"

"You have seen through me; you really have the innate talent to turn into a great politician" he laughed. "Your father is a risk to the mere existence of the Alliance. If he was the leader of it, we would have been fighting already against the kingdom"

"I don´t see any problems with that kind of reasoning. The armies of the Empire can´t be compared to those of the Holy Kingdom. And the Church has suffered greatly after this assault. It is a matter of time that they are defeated, unless they win a decisive battle or the Emperor dies"

"You are right about the might of the imperial army, but that doesn´t mean that we should surrender so easily. Agreeing with such position would only mean that we would have to face civil war here, and in a civil war no one wins"

"Crows will most likely disagree with you. So, you think that by keeping me prisoner you will make sure that my father won´t stand against you. Am I mistaken?"

"I´m not considering you a prisoner, just a guest. Furthermore, I wouldn´t like to resort to violence since we have been together for many months. I have rooms suitable to you. I don´t think you will be missing anything here, in the capital"

"I thought you wouldn´t be capable of something like that, but I can see the truth in your eyes. My father truly has a worthy opponent"

"If you were suspicious about the reasons you were summoned here, why did you come nevertheless?"

Lorenz took a look sip before answering to his questions. His eyes were calm as if they were just having a small exchange of words at the monastery.

"I was just curious. I wanted to see if you have the quality to be a good ruler for this Alliance and I wasn´t mistaken. My father has his own ambitions, but he won´t be risking losing his heir. At his age it would be unlikely that he gets any more children, and losing his bloodline for a potential gain would be insane to him. Keeping the bloodline is everything to a noble"

"I see, I thought the same as well, your dad might want to rule over this Alliance, but as long as I´m the leader of House Riegan I won´t giving him the keys of the Alliance. Lord Gloucester is too fond of our imperial neighbors"

"However, being a leader comes with great responsibilities. Do you understand the risks of your position right now?"

"I do, I know that I could get killed at any time. We have already detained some plotters, but the masterminds behind those plans are careful enough no avoid getting exposed. However, the borders are a more important matter to me right now. I´m planning to close borders with the Empire. If we continue giving them free access through the great bridge that would put us in problems with the Holy Kingdom and the Church"

"But if you do that you are inviting an invasion from the empire and the empire is the one that is currently advancing the most in the frontline while our troops are scattered around the entire region. Facing them in combat would mean a military suicide in our current situation"

"That´s why I´m planning to bring the troops of the east. Plenty of them are experienced warriors that could put in trouble most of the generals of the empire. With them we could gather an army capable enough of avoiding an invasion from the Empire while we prepare our next step"

Lorenz was looking at him with disbelief, his face losing the composure he had been maintaining until now.

"If you do that, we would be invaded from the east. You know really well what would happen. Almyra cannot be trusted"

"I happen to have some good relations with people there. I have already discussed this matter with Holst and I have convinced him"

"Convincing Holst, the hero of the Alliance? What kind of deal have you achieved?"

"I will have the pleasure to tell you about it soon, but I can show all my tricks in just one row, don´t you think? By the way, have you heard any news from Leonie or Lysithea? It´s been a while since the last time I´ve seen them"

"Not at all, but if they had been killed, we would have known by now, at least in the case of Lysithea"

"I see" he simply answered before looking at one of the windows. Night is about to come; you should take some rest. As a guest is my duty to look after you"

"I don´t mind being a guest if you are competent enough on the matters ahead. It would be a disappointment if I had to fix the problems you left unresolved in life"

"Don´t worry, Lorenz. I´m planning on living a good and long life after all of this comes to an end", he smiled back as he saw him leaving the room.

"I don´t think that the imperial princess is going to like my decision, but I can´t just give up" he thought as he started writing a letter. If kingdom and empire fought against each other they could be weak enough for them to take advantage of the situation. It was a risky bet, but there wasn´t any more options. Between choosing to leave to never return and trying to chase his dream he was unwilling to sacrifice his own dreams for a better future.

決意 is determination. I think I might start to put the tittles of the chapters in Japanese as well because since it helps me to take a better look to some things.