Chapter 7: Through Earth and Shadow
The fire in front of him was warm but Byleth couldn't help but feel cold inside. Physically, he felt spent, like he'd just run a couple of marathons, even as his mind raced like a child's seeing the world for the first time. He'd literally just shared the mind of the most powerful being known to this world.
Sothis. The goddess who created Fodlan out of the chaos and gave it life. Who, through him, the Avatar, wielded the four elements as easily as an artist wielded a paintbrush. He stared at his hands, the fingertips of which still tingled from the energy of the lightning blast that had turned those men to ashes before his eyes.
He shivered. What if...what if I can't control this? In his mind he could see a vision of Garreg Mach, its once pristine towers burning, its residents fleeing as he mercilessly struck them down, his students begging him to come to his senses but their voices lost in the deafening chaos.
"Professor?" Edelgard came and sat down gently beside him. "About what happened. How...how are you feeling?"
"It's a lot to process," he admitted. "And I'm afraid. Afraid of what I might do with this kind of power."
"You're a good person, Byleth," assured Edelgard. "If anything, Rhea should have known about this long before you did. And I…should have told you before as well. About what I had suspected was your connection with the ancient goddess."
"Sothis..."
Edelgard nodded. "In truth, I thought you might be the Avatar as soon as I saw you airbend against the bandits that day. Yet my first selfish thought was of using you to advance my own interests as head of the Black Eagles, and as heir of Adrestia… As it turns out, you've helped us greatly. The class has advanced so far thanks to your guidance."
Byleth shook his head. "I only bring out what people already know."
"That's exactly it! Don't you see, Byleth? It's the source of your powers as the Avatar. Because of you, Bernadetta was able to firebend for the first time in her life, and not only that -"
Before she could finish, they were startled by a sound of frantic rustling from the nearby bushes.
"Seteth! Professor!" A familiar voice suddenly broke the silence. Moments later, Ashe emerged, appearing harried and breathless.
"Thank - thank the goddess I found - I found you." He stammered, still struggling to catch his breath.
"What's happened, Ashe?" asked Seteth. "Speak openly, we are listening."
"It's my father...er, adoptive father...Lonato. He and his forces are heading this way, he's declared war on the Church!"
"But...that's impossible! Only yesterday the people of Omashu were loyal subjects of the Kingdom. How could a rebellion have started so quickly? Unless...it can't be…"
"Lady Rhea told me I'd find you here," continued Ashe. "You and the Professor's class have been gone for nearly a month!"
Seteth whirled around to face Byleth, his eyes betraying astonishment. "Byleth, your Avatar state, I fear it has disrupted the flow of Time."
He seemed to remember something then.
"I am sorry," he said abruptly. "I must go. Byleth, I trust you will protect your students in my stead."
With that, Seteth summoned Roku to his side and moments later the pair took off amidst a gigantic gust of wind. It blew out the campfire and left the class in darkness.
…
There was no time to wonder about the situation. Their only option was to return to the monastery as quickly and stealthily as possible. The bandits were initially against the idea, but the alternative of being eaten by wolves or captured by the Earth Kingdom rebels was no more appealing. They grudgingly followed as the class made their way up the path in silence.
"Shh!" came Ashe's voice from a few paces ahead. "There are some of Lonato's troops camped in that direction. I was almost caught on the way here. We'll have to go around."
They turned to take a slightly more sinuous route through the forest. Every now and then, a faint rumbling sounded beneath their feet, sending faint shivers up their spines. After a few moments, Ashe paused again, and knelt down to the ground as though to listen more closely.
"What's he doing?" Caspar whispered.
"Listening for vibrations in the ground. It's...an earthbender thing," said Linhardt.
"Okay, guys…" Ashe began ominously, "You're not going to like this, but I think we need to run."
"What? Why?"
The question needed no answer as in the next moment the sound of heavy footsteps broke the silence. Without second guessing this time, the group fled as fast as they could towards the far edge of the forest. The sound of men shouting could be heard in all directions.
"What about the bandits?"
"Forget it, leave them!"
After several minutes of desperate escape, they finally stopped to catch their breath. High above their heads, the full moon shone bright enough to reveal their location atop a plateau overlooking a dense forest to the west and a network of winding roads to the east. The largest of them was the main road between Garreg Mach and Omashu, the nearest Earth Kingdom city.
"Do you think we've lost them?" Someone finally asked.
Suddenly, the ground began to shake audibly. Around them, the earth stretched and lifted as though a giant baby were molding it like clay. It solidified into a ring of solid rock, trapping them within a walled garden.
Byleth's mind suddenly reeled from what he sensed just beyond the enclosure. There was something familiar about it...dark, sinister, inexorable. In his mind's eye he saw a black helmet, a magician mounted on a horse, a malicious and powerful lance in hand.
He sensed at least three other warrior-like presences as well. One of them was a woman, riding upon a winged horse and wearing glimmering steel armor, and the other two were men, both heavily armored with faces hidden in the shadow of their helms. He sensed incredibly dark auras emanating from each of them.
Suddenly, he was alone, facing the four demonic knights. One by one they dismounted and approached him, glowing spears poised and ready to carve out his soul. He tried to run but his feet felt like lead blocks. The earth beneath him rooted him down. He stumbled and fell to the ground, utterly helpless.
Their leader, the dark knight, lowered his spear and knelt upon the ground before Byleth, and spoke to him in a tongue that was utterly alien to him.
Danvia thye ijelam ack nous filet, westregal Nemesis. Lysem aux sigel.
Again the ground trembled, and Byleth found himself back in the clearing. He looked up and saw Dimitri, who was helping him to his feet. Accompanying him were two other male students Byleth recognized from the mock battle, and a blonde female student. She ran over and gave Ashe a hug.
"Thank goodness you're safe!" She exclaimed.
"Hah, good to see you too, Ingrid. Oh, and I found the Professor."
"Well Felix, toldya it wasn't a wild badgermole," said Sylvain.
"Whatever," the dark haired boy retorted.
"We were quite prepared to fight for our lives," Edelgard said, trying to sound nonchalant.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you then," Dimitri replied with cool courtesy. "But considering how long you've been away from the Academy, I doubt you would've put up much of a fight. I don't suppose it's a short story?"
"Another time, Dimitri."
"Very well. Then I recommend you take a path through these mountains back to the Monastery. It's safer than the main road, and the men who guard the passage are loyal to my father."
"I see. And you?"
"Our class has volunteered to help Catherine quell this rebellion. We will be joining with her forces shortly. That said, my father would have preferred to keep this an internal matter for the Earth Kingdom..."
"Sadly, The Boulder got away as we were fleeing from Lonato's troops."
"Ah...which boulder was that again?"
"Sorry, I meant that bandit we were supposed to capture."
"Leave that to us," he assured. "Our earthbending will be able to track them at night far better than you can."
"Thank you, Dimitri." Edelgard sounded genuinely grateful as she and the rest of Byleth's class said their farewells and headed towards the mountains, back to Garreg Mach.
"It was nothing...El."
…
The class arrived back at the Monastery later that night and found much needed rest. All except for Byleth, who lay awake that night staring at the stars through the still unfixed hole in his ceiling.
…
"The spirit world comprises all that exists but cannot be detected with mere senses. It is a world not of objects, but of concepts: light and dark, order and chaos, yin and yang, each given a unique spiritual form. In it, past and future are intertwined, and life and death are as impermanent as wake and sleep. We see simultaneously all that has been, and all that can be.
"The Avatar is known as the bridge between the material world and the spirit world. For the Avatar alone can cross the boundary between the two worlds without losing himself. While in the material world, he possesses immense power due to his latent spiritual energy, which unlocks the potential within all physical matter and manifests in his ability to bend all four elements."
Seteth proceeded to further explain the supernatural properties of the Avatar. Spiritual awakening. Elemental mastery. Past lives. The cycle of rebirth. Byleth was finding himself increasingly lost in the knowledge, but he nonetheless took it all in.
"So when I enter the Avatar state," he asked, "I and everyone around me gets sent forward in time?"
"Yes. It is the cost of crossing into the spirit world, where time does not flow the same way as in our world. The more time spent in the Avatar state, the greater the disruption. That is also the reason for the great beasts that appeared in the canyon. They are untamed spirits that crossed the border into our realm through the bridge created by the Avatar."
Byleth nodded, then thought of something else.
"When we were returning from the mission, we ran into Dimitri and some others from his class. Only...I saw them not as students, but as...someone else. He wore a helmet that covered his face, and I could not understand his speech," recounted Byleth.
Seteth's brows furrowed, deep in thought. "It is possible that you were tired at the time, and your mind may have crossed over into the spirit world by chance. This dark knight that you saw, it is possible that he was the progenitor of the royal crest that Prince Dimitri bears. I recommend you get adequate rest so as to avoid retriggering the Avatar state at all costs."
With that, the session concluded, and Byleth headed to the door of the meditation room. But he suddenly had one more question.
"Seteth...what does the goddess actually look like? I mean, physically?"
He must've imagined it, but he swore he saw the older Monk blush. "She manifests as the spiritual center of all living things, and in the hearts of all those who believe, as such her form is that of all things. I sense there is something else driving this question, however."
Byleth nodded. "That day when my father and I fought the bandits, and I was able to airbend, I saw a girl with green hair, who claimed to be the source of my powers. But if the goddess doesn't have a physical form, how can that be?"
Seteth paused then, looking troubled. Finally, he said, "It is a mystery why the goddess would choose one particular form over another when she appears to an individual. But my hypothesis is that this girl is linked to one of your past lifetimes as the Avatar. Perhaps one day, you will discover the answer for yourself."
...
Byleth looked askance at the device Hanneman was claiming could reveal his ancestry. All it needed was a sample of blood.
Loath as he was to spill any, he supposed the possibility of learning more about his destiny could be worth it. He placed the sample on the machine as Hanneman instructed.
After a while, several symbols which looked like ancient runes appeared holographically in front of him, and each displayed numerals along with more cryptic letters underneath.
"!"
"Utterly fascinating," exclaimed Hanneman. "Hmm...looking more closely at the blood analysis, it appears you may come from a place in northeastern Fodlan, perhaps from a village near the Locket. Have you any memories of growing up as a child?"
Byleth shrugged. "My father and I used to travel around a lot. He taught me most of what I know about swordsmanship. My mother though…" He shook his head. "I can't seem to remember her at all."
"I'm sorry to hear that. But if I may suggest, there is reason to think your mother was affiliated with the Church, according to this pattern over here."
"She was...a Monk of Seiros?"
"Quite possibly. As you now know, you are the Avatar. To me, that makes it all the more likely that your parentage would have deep spiritual roots. Look here."
He pointed to a particularly elaborate rune. This one pulsed steadily, like a flame.
"It is called the Crest of Flames. Most crests are inherited by blood. This one, however, is inherited by spirit, through the cycle of rebirth of the Avatar. It is the one borne originally by one known as the King of Liberation, as the source of his immense power."
Byleth stared at the symbol of the Crest of Flames, his stomach turning. "So I am the spiritual descendant of Nemesis."
"And of Sothis. Don't forget, it was Nemesis who stole the crest from the goddess through betrayal. Remember that, Byleth, if you ever find yourself doubting the nobility of your ancestry."
…
Byleth stayed late that night at his office to plan his lessons for the coming week. Reflecting back on the past month of classes, he still hadn't managed to figure out how he had managed to teach them so convincingly, despite knowing relatively little about the subject of military history. His class had become increasingly popular, and almost no one had been skipping class.
I seem to just be able to think of this stuff on the spot. I wonder if it has something to do with the Avatar state that Seteth was talking about.
He decided to go see if Seteth was still in his office. He checked his office, but it was locked.
He turned around and saw someone standing behind him. He started. It was Flayn.
"Hi Professor! Were you looking for my brother? Unfortunately, he's not in. Had to go to the Water Tribes on some important business. But if there's anything I can help with, let me know! We can drink some tea while we chat!"
Byleth considered. "Actually, that sounds lovely."
Soon, he and Flayn were in the courtyard sipping on honeyed fruit blend and chatting about cooking and fishing and all manner of daily frivolities.
"Ah, by the way Professor! I thought you might be interested in visiting my home sometime!"
"Oh, and where would that be?"
"Why, the ocean! I'm sure you'd love it."
Byleth assumed she meant that she and Seteth were originally from the coast of Fodlan.
"Oh, and don't tell my brother I told you this, but apparently he thinks you can talk to Sothis. I'm not sure where he got that idea from. He won't tell me these things. But anyway, just thought I'd mention. I do feel like we're pretty close. Maybe it's because of a connection to the goddess, or maybe it's just that you're so charming."
Byleth couldn't quite suppress a blush.
Flayn looked amused. "Well well, Professor! I think we're getting along quite well."
"Er...can you tell me more about your connection with Sothis?" Byleth asked, partly motivated to change the subject.
"Oh, of course! I'm - uh...well actually, maybe that's a topic for another teatime." It was Flayn's turn to look embarrassed. "What I can say though, is that I learned all my waterbending from Her."
She looked at the bandage on Byleth's hand where he had cut himself earlier. "Here, let me have a look at that."
She took his hand in hers and, after a moment in which he felt a slight tingling in his palm, she unwrapped the bandage revealing the hand had perfectly healed.
"There we go! All better now, isn't it?" She leaned closer, as though sharing a secret. "Don't tell Seteth any of this, he's so overprotective. If you ever need anything like this in the future, just come visit me at home. Good night, Byleth."
With that, she trotted off towards the chambers on the upper floor, while Byleth returned to his room once again to stare up at the sky.
…
The fog was thicker than any Catherine had ever seen, and seemed to stretch for miles. In the distance, she could hear the sound of metal and earth clashing as evidence of a furious battle being waged.
As skilled and powerful benders as they were, the Monks were still just a peacekeeping organization, not a formal army. Yet in its thousand year history, no nation, let alone a minor lord, had ever taken up arms against the Church like this.
Why would Lonato simply rebel for no good reason? Could it have something to do with what happened 20 years ago?
"Captain. Word from his Highness, they've found the waterbender responsible, and eliminated him. The fog should be clearing up any minute now."
Well done, Dimitri. Remind me to give your class extra sauna time.
Catherine's troops approached the main force. Only now did it become clear how lopsided the odds were in this fight. Even though the enemy outnumbered her four to one, most of their troops were nothing more than ragtag militia. What's more, they all seemed cowed by the sight of Thunderbrand.
The only exception was their commander, Lonato, an aged earthbender who was said to have built the great city of Omashu with his bare hands. He strode staunchly forward, well-sculpted muscles bulging like those of an old Greek hero.
"Well well well, if it isn't Thunderstrike Cassandra!" Lonato's voice cackled impishly, yet surprisingly sonorous for a man of his age. "You and that witch have disgraced my house with your vile act of villainy!"
"Speak about Lady Rhea like that again and I'll cut you down right here!"
"That witch murdered my niece Lyndis, and for that she will face an earthbender's justice! Even if I must deliver it with my own hands!"
With that, the earth began to shake violently as the earthbender charged.
Earth was a powerful element, but slow. Hence Catherine knew it would be difficult for her opponent to target her, as long as she kept herself moving. The ground beneath her rolled and tumbled, but using a combination of physical training and heightened airbender senses, she skimmed across it like a pebble across a pond. The earthbender kicked and thrust, each movement sending a wave of earth like a freight train in her direction, but with her sharpened senses she dodged every one.
As she did so, she began pouring her reserve energy into Thunderbrand, which began to glow as though on fire. The relics acted as conduits for receiving and focusing the wielder's chi, allowing them to execute attacks that would normally be beyond their physical abilities. In Catherine's case, her sword was linked to the Crest of Charon, one of the Firebending Elites.
Sorry, but I won't be going easy on you today.
With that, she unleashed the lightning at her advancing foe. The air before her exploded with the immense heat of electricity, which instantly connected itself with Lonato's iron mail, disintegrating it into molten metal. The shock repelled the old baron a dozen paces and he lay disoriented on the ground.
"The penalty for slandering the Archbishop is death. May you learn the error of your words as you spend the rest of your days in the spirit world."
"Lyn…I'm sorry..."
And she brought the glowing sword down upon her defeated foe.
…
Byleth awoke in cold sweat when a girl's scream pierced the night. There was no mistaking whom it belonged to.
Flayn.