Hello Friends! I hope you guys enjoy this story! Read Marred Mirrors and visit my Profile to read up on the Characters, there'll be a small chunk of exposition in this chapter, so stay patient until we get into the good stuff!
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30th of the Great Tree Moon
Santaniel sighed as he watched the battle unfold, the clumsy strategy of students and professors at play. He winced as he saw an orange haired man charge, followed by a black haired mage. They both got blasted by an orb of Miasma from a snow haired girl, the same color matching his own.
He sat next to Xavien and Arti, Hephaestus, like always, getting drunk at a local tavern. He watched intently as a teal haired man engaged against an axe wielder a full two heads taller than him. The man brought the wooden axe down hard, missing by an inch and got pegged in the forehead by a practice arrow. Amused, he watched as all three converged around a thicket of shrubs and the... who were they again? Oh, right. The Golden Deer emerged victorious led by their Professor, the teal haired man from before.
Xavien seemed to perk up at a noise, along with Arti, bushes quietly rustling behind them. They sensed something and he reached for his axe by his side, made of thick steel, the same as his arm. He heard loud footsteps approaching, metal boots meeting dirt. "Well, fun's over boys! Let's hit it!" Santaniel deflected an arrow with his axe, leading the way towards the tent they came through originally. He nicked his finger on his blade and flicked the blood towards the mirror, the surface rippling like a lake after a stone had been cast towards its surface. They jumped through and he closed the door immediately after, laughing at the attempt to follow them.
He high-fived Xavien while Arti muttered they should have been more careful. They walked back through the mirror, now back at the wooden shack they called home. He picked at his hair, noting the fading brown color at the top and growing white roots.
He'd ask Hephaestus to help re-dye it next month, he decided to focus on the maps in his room instead, he needed his weapons back from the labs. He noted weak spots in their formation of troops, their strongholds, their research rooms, and most notably their leaders.
A pair of twins who were trying to wield the damn things, they wouldn't be nearly as effective without his Crest, or the amount of time he spent with them. He needed his shield back too, more of an heirloom than anything else from his father. A couple hours passed, clicking his tongue audibly when he checked the outside, seeing a dark sky and the deep blue, almost sapphire sea beckoning him to come closer. He looked to the moon and counted his weeks.
Four hundred and fifty three.
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1st of The Harpstring MoonSantaniel stared at the man who invaded his house. How the actual fuck did someone get to the island? Much less someone from Garegg Mach?! He stared at the teal haired man, blinking rapidly, trying to see if it was still a dream. "Uh. Hi? If you're here to see why we watched the mock battle yesterday, it's mainly because my friend Hephaestus decided to get drunk at a tavern... he left the mirror portal open didn't he?"
The man tilted his head to the side, displaying no emotions besides general confusion, or at least he was trying to.
Santaniel rubbed the exhaustion from his face, "Ok. I'm going to yell at him about that later. What do you need? Why are you here? And if you even think about harming us I swear-" He thrusted a note into his face, the paper tickling his nose. He took it, and read it out loud, drawing Xavien and Arti's attention from the other room, the former drawing his daggers.
"Dear Men that ran through a mirror, this is a formal invitation to enroll at Garegg Mach to avoid punishment from the Archbishop, Rhea," He looked to Arti for explanation, he and Xavien were the ones who believed in the writings of the church, Arti just shrugged and Xavien was reading ahead, continuing off for Santaniel, "This is from Claude of the Golden Deer and your friend with that ability is more than welcome to join us." It ended there and he handed it off to Arti who tucked it into a hole they used for documents of importance.
Santaniel scratched his head and turned towards Xavien, looking for some kind of guidance. He offered nothing but a shrug, Arti said nothing as usual. He typically turned into a wall with newer souls. Santaniel pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed, "If I do this, you idiots are coming with, agreed?" Xavien answered for both, "Well, yeah. Kinda have to, owe you my life and all that Jazz." Arti agreed with a soft 'yes' and Hephaestus was blacked out in their shared room.
"Ok. Well I guess we're at your disposal. Would you mind telling us your name?" Santaniel asked, looking towards the Professor.
"Byleth."
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Day 4 of The Harpstring MoonXavien waltzed his way straight through the portal, goods in hand for Santaniel that he ordered from Anna, a merchant that up charged nearly everything she had.
He of course stole some stuff from her like weapons polish, some collectible swords, and tons of seed packets. He dropped them off for Santaniel along with his case of spices and sweets. Kid loved to eat, he also brought back news of their first mission that would be taken care of at the end of the month, bandits in Zanado.
He knew Santaniel's family originated from there through tons and tons of extensive research into it but that was about all he knew. Xavien had absolutely no idea why anyone would make their home in a desert valley.
Xavien drew up a map from the library dropping it off next to Santaniel to study up on the place, giving him a thumbs up as thanks.
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Day 5 of the Harpstring MoonSantaniel pulled on his grey jacket, etched in elaborate patterns with gold and silver. It was a gift from the guys for his fifteenth birthday. He was getting ready for his first day at the academy. He hated large crowds and unneeded attention, too bad he would deal with both today huh? He slipped his shoes on, shaking out sand first from the day before.
He flicked a small amount of his blood on the mirror and wandered through the portal, repeating the action to go back through and into Garreg Mach.
He walked out in the market place, a small book bag containing maps of Fódlan and his go to strategies, also containing its fair share of trinkets and weapons. He waved a hello to Anna, approaching her with a couple tubes of blood that she paid handsomely for. The blood he had in him was special due to his Crests, that being of the Thorn Dragon like Anna's. His however, was the major kind and allowed him to travel so easily through mirrors. It was a very strange ability, never really explained by Hephaestus either. It was also an ability his mother shared with him.
His blood also made him a common hit list target, he learned that from Xavien, he was apparently a commodity on the market but since he was forced to enroll, he got technical sanctuary.
He pocketed the large sum of gold from the woman, dumping it in the bag, nodding his head in farewell as he walked through the gigantic building he had to traverse. Just to get to class too, 'This'll be fun...'
He hummed as he poked around corners and avoided the bustle of the monastery, eventually running into a small group containing three teens, older than himself by about a year, all wearing different colored capes. All three simultaneously seemed to notice him, kind of hard when everyone around you was wearing darker colors, and he got a good read of their facial features.
The man on the right had golden blonde hair, and donned a blue cape, he was just a couple centimeters taller than Santaniel and he wore an honest expression. Yet he had something that weighed him down almost visibly. Arti would be curious about him.
The woman in the middle had ashen grey hair and violet eyes too match, donning a crimson cape that made him uneasy. She held a guarded look that made him want to keep his distance and he kept it dutifully in mind. He'd seen that hair somewhere before now.
On the far right was a tanned man with oil black hair, a lazy smile dancing on his lips but not a very trust worthy one at that. He had a yellow cape, so he was the one who was black nailing him to come here. Got it.
The two on the right seemed to start talking at the exact same time, greeting him.
"It is nice to meet you, my name is-"
"Edelgard."
"Dimitri."
He blinked twice and let the information process and nodded, looking over towards the shiftier of the three, "Oh. So you must be Claude. I already have my first impression of you because you blackmailed me but that's a bridge already crossed, right?" He peaked his brow at him, egging him into admitting it.
Claude laughed and had an amused look in his eyes, one that spoke of revenge. "Well. If It isn't the newest Deer." Santaniel rolled his eyes and started walking past, his green coat tail dragging on the floor and issuing the warning sound of a rattle snake.
Claude stepped on it and Santaniel whipped around, axe nibbling at his jugular, Santaniel smiled as sweetly as possible.
"Now. I suggest you lift your foot before I have a slip of my hand and make this whole thing a lot shorter than it has to be. Ok?" Claude still smiled, but complied, lifting his foot off the coat tail.
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Santaniel brushed past, Edelgard running a hand across her ribs when she saw the familiar scene that had taken one of her general's lives... and nearly her own. Claude grabbed at his neck and stared down Santaniel's back, maybe he wouldn't want to tease him like Lysithea.
Seemingly just thinking of her summoned the mage, a prod to Claude's stomach taking his attention away from the dribble of blood down his neck. "So. Who's the new student?" She asked, eyes following Santaniel until he was out of sight, heading towards the mess hall.
"I don't know his name yet, but hopefully he doesn't kill any of us before the year is up."
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Santaniel draped his book bag over a bench and sat down, pulling a blank map from a pocket in his satchel. He laid it out and started jotting down general notes of where things were as far as he knew. He marked the market place first and then drew the entrance hall with the doors towards the mess hall he came through.
He heard the scuffling of shoes again and looked up to see Claude and a white haired woman from the mock battle staring at him. He blinked once, twice, now speaking, "Can I help you?" He turned his attention back to the map and started marking the support columns and generally noted while he listened, "Well. I thought we could share a meal as new classmates." Claude suggested, sliding in besides Santaniel. He glanced towards the short woman, "And your name is?"
"Lysithea Von Ordelia. Please do not forget it." Santaniel rolled his eyes at her attempt towards the greeting. Not that he could do any better.
She scoffed and he held his hand up towards her, silencing her for at least a moment while he set his map back into his satchel. "I'm rolling my eyes because, and I assume you're a smart woman since you're here, when you saw me making a map purely from memories that I made about five minutes ago. If I'm not mistaken, you also saw me leaving said entrance hall, correct?" Santaniel tapped on his knowledge that Xavien gave him to explain himself and deescalate the situation, it was a handy skill, he had to admit.
Besides, he didn't feel like getting hit with Miasma right now. It gave him a nasty stomach ache.
After he finished tucking the map away, he continued, "My name is Santaniel Blessing. I lived near Brigid for most of my life on a small island, and I'm bilingual due to my parents speaking their tongue. I was taught the tongue of Fódlan by my caretakers." He stood and walked towards the counter and grabbed three dishes of peach sorbet, handing one to each of the duo that introduced themselves to him. He sat down and started to dig in, taking small bites to make it last.
Been a while since he had this kind of dessert after all.
"If you're interested in my life story you'll have to earn it." He said in between bites, dropping his eyes back to the people in eating with him. He had previously been studying the arch of the doors, he liked designing things, like buildings, as he wanted to renovate their house. He could never get the attempts to go right though, he was more attuned to battle plans.
He polished off his dessert and looked towards the two, studying like Hephaestus told him to, looking through their eyes and into their souls as Arti did. Claude had more than enough secrets to last another life, Lysithea was hiding only a couple secrets... but they were monumental ones. He looked at them expectantly, wondering if they were even going to speak, but the bells rang.
He heard they signify the start of class, he snatched up his bag and got off the bench in a fluid motion, walking before the two even knew what happened. His fluid motions only came every once in a while but they were nice when he got them right. He made sure his axe was by his side still and noticed the wear and tear on the latch. He'd have to repair it soon. However, for now, he was off to class!
...
Wait. Where were the classrooms?
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Santaniel arrived just a couple minutes before everyone else, only the Professor beating him. He was a bit scared he'd have not been able to find it but it was luckily only a short walk. He set his stuff down at a middle table and sat, picking out his map again to mark the route he would use for the day. He tended to do this for almost everything, or at least try. Besides, he'd update it throughout the year just to have plans.
He felt eyes burning into the side of his head and his face, so he turned and met the orange orbs of a tomboy just staring at him. "Y'know. It's rude to stare and you won't get anything you want by doing it sweetheart." He turned his attention to rolling his map and tying it with some twine, tucking it safely into his bag. It was a messy situation but it was one he was comfortable with.
He turned his head back and saw her still staring at him, "Listen mate, if you want something spit it out." She blinked and snapped out of it, finally opening her mouth to speak when she was cut off by Byleth approaching. "He's our new student Leonie." She nodded and started introducing herself, "I'm Leonie Pinelli, Jeralt's number one and best apprentice." Santaniel ran the list of names he knew, catching nothing about a 'Jeralt'.
"I'm sorry, but who is that?" That seemed to visibly irk the woman, who went on a tirade about how he was the best warrior to ever live in Fódlan which mainly washed over him like rain. When she was done he just muttered, "Oh. Cool." He turned his attention to Byleth, "Hey Professor, have any books I can borrow or know a place I can get them from?" Byleth nodded and told him about the library on the upper floors, he could feel a glare on the side of his face. He turned to Leonie and met her glare with a smile. "If you want to show me how good of a teacher Jeralt is, meet me at the training grounds during lunch. We can have a little skirmish there."
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The first session of class was uneventful other than Santaniel getting taught some basic black magic, Fire, that he apparently had an affinity for. His body conducted it like lightning... that was a bad joke huh?
He corrected a couple tactics people suggested, pointing out flaws that seemed quite obvious. Mainly since he made the errors before back at the island. He also apparently disgruntled Lorenz, a bean pole with purple hair in a style that looked like it had been botched with garden shears, because he had pointed out three flaws in his plan that doomed it from the start.
He had been corrected by Lysithea and Claude a couple times, once he made the adjustments, he capitalized on the changes and saw it spring to life into a win.
He liked Lysithea and Claude, they seemed alright and Lysithea acted like himself sometimes. Raphael seemed like somebody that Xavien would like to hang out with and Marianne reminded him of Arti, Lorenz and Hilda seemed... obnoxious. Ignatz and Leonie he couldn't get a feel for though, he hoped the latter would be more than just praise for Jeralt. He heard enough about him within the first day. He sighed, walking towards the mess hall as he mulled over his first day of class.
He bumped into a woman with green hair and he apologized, helping her back to her feet. She looked surprisingly young, for someone who had a very archaic aura to themselves.
He looked at her eyes, searching them for something he didn't know. He wasn't pulled out of it until she said something, "Um. Sir?" He realized he was still holding her hands, and started to blush profusely, apologizing, "I-I'm sorry. Something came over me. It's nice to meet you though, my name is Santaniel Blessing." He bowed, trying to remember the right way to do it, quickly rising back to his full height. The woman smiled and performed a small curtsy, "My name is Flayn. I appreciate you helping me back up from falling."
Santaniel smiled and the first thought running through his head was 'cute' he remembered what Hephaestus told him about what to do if he felt like this... uh, yeah that advice came from when he was drunk.
He shook himself out of it and went on the fly, "Would you like to join me in the dining hall for lunch?" He tilted his head slightly, insinuating the question as best he could. Flayn giggled, "My brother would be quite adverse to hearing something like that..." she still smiled, which didn't indicate a no... where was a mini version of Hephaestus when you needed it? Or hell, even Xavien.
Santaniel had never truly had... well, any kind of social interaction before today. Mostly just bartering with Anna or people at the market. The last time he'd been somewhere so populated was on a battlefield.
So he just looked off to the side and mumbled under his breath, which apparently Flayn had easily picked up on because she cocked her head to the side like a puppy. He crushed the feelings welling up in his chest and smiled, "Well, I don't happen to know your brother. But if you would advise against it I'll comply with your wishes." He started to walk away before he heard the scuffling of feet and short legs struggling to keep up, he stopped and turned to see Flayn running him down... was that an axe?!
He reached for his hand axe he usually carried, not realizing the strap had broke... and then the realization kicked in. He had probably dropped it, yep, definitely repairing that tonight.
He stood in place while she caught up, tapping his foot while she slowed down, and promptly tripped over a dog. The axe went flying out of her hand and into Santaniel's prosthetic, making a sizable cut. He glanced at it with a small frown, pulling it free and setting it in a loophole for his bag. When he looked up, it would suffice to say that Flayn was horrified at his nonchalance.
The reasoning as to why subtly set in, making him clam up on the story but sheepishly smile at Flayn before turning heel and getting out of there. Ugh... why was he such an idiot. He got to the counter and ordered his food, a king of beasts steak, and sat down.
He tore into his food, finally somewhere he felt comfortable with. That is until the two other house leaders from earlier sat next to him. Oh joy.
He swallowed the bite he took before his attention skipped onto the people who pretty much forced themselves into his little bubble. He could stand people, but not this many new faces around a new place so quickly.
His social stores were plummeting, he offered a small smile to the two before returning to his food. They made small talk with each other while he ate, why didn't either of them have food? His question was answered by... 'shit what was her name?' he thought.
He pushed his plate aside and took a drink of water, racking his mind to remember. She started talking, "Me and Dimitri would like to get to know you as members of the Officer's Academy." Of course the one who's name he knew wouldn't be the one to speak, he nodded and asked, "Well, what would you care to know about?"
"Where are you from? What house do you hail from? Do you have a-" The question was cut off by a sudden push on the back of Santaniel, sending him off the bench.
"Boar prince... what happened-"
Blood started roaring in Santaniel's ears, he stood back up, smiling sickly as he wrapped his iron fingers around Felix's neck. Santaniel picked him up a like a puppy by it's scruff, his skin conducting surges of magic, making his hair stand on end. "You have about thirty seconds to apologize, otherwise, you'll be joining whoever you loved in the grave." Felix struck out at him with a fist, met with a tightening of Santaniel's hand and a 'tsk'. "The only animal here is you. Go and reflect on that." Santaniel threw him like a short axe, and onto a table.
"Sorry about that. Bullies have no place in life." He turned his attention back to white haired girl and Dimitri. Both of whom looked fairly shocked at the display, "What? Was it something I said?" The silver haired- no, Edelgard, shook her head and gestured for him to continue.
"To answer the questions you asked earlier..." Santaniel paused to consider what he should speak about, deciding on just going full send, "I'm from an island south of Brigid and Fódlan that is uninhabited by people besides me and my family of three, who you guys will meet on missions if you assist us."
He paused out of courtesy for them to ask their questions, neither of them did, so he continued, "I don't hail from a house, but I do have a Crest, that being of Ernest or the Thorn Dragon." That seemed to satisfy the two, then he remembered his spar with Leonie. He quietly excused himself, swiftly ducking around a corner and heading to the training grounds.
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Santaniel walked through the large arching doors and into the open air room. He immediately saw a small line of twine, glinting off the sunlight since it was high noon. He walked towards the center and checked the weapons, settling on a training axe that could still seriously do some damage to other people if handled correctly. He swiped through the air and turned at the sound of wood scraping against dirt. Leonie and Byleth walked through the door and he waved at them, approaching with axe over shoulder. "Hey. Just got here, you ready to start?"
He looked to Leonie expectantly and read her like an open book, she set traps and they weren't going to be as good as Xavien's. She nodded and grabbed a training lance, taking the outside stone area to her side, and Santaniel sat in place on the other. The rules for the duel were,
1: No going off the dirt floor.
2: No real weapons.
3: No Magic.
4: Vital Strikes win the match.
Santaniel took a seat and beckoned Leonie forward, his eyes closed. He saw the tripwires were littered all across the center so there was no point in crossing for him. When she refused to cross, Santaniel sent a dagger careening into all three lines that sent training arrows raining down upon the field, but also releasing the pitfall trap in the center.
She looked dumbfounded and Santaniel slowly walked across, closing the distance, striking her in the stomach with his axe, following up with a punch to her chin. He started walking off towards Byleth. "If you father has only taught her traps, there isn't much she can do, is there?" He swore he could hear an audible snap in Leonie as she dove for him, he sidestepped and watched her crash into the Professor.
He helped the two up and gave a small boop on the nose to Leonie with an electric shock accompanied by a wink, saying, "You'll get me next time. I'm sure." He smiled sweetly at her and she stomped off, looking more flustered and embarrassed than angry. He turned towards Byleth and gave him a bow as he excused himself and went off towards the classroom for the next session.
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The next session was a bit less eventful, but Arti and Xavien showed up to get some tips from the Professor and it showed that he was good at teaching because Arti finally mastered his Aura spell and was extremely pleased while Xavien received pointers on his bow shooting form.
Santaniel had received homework he had to have done by the end of the week about Reason Theory and some battle tactics. Seemed easy enough. He accompanied Hephaestus to the library so he could help him pick out some books. He hummed as he picked out a book on Lightning and... why not? Luna seemed like a fun one.
He and Hephaestus checked them out and they walked down a flight of stairs, discussing how days went and what Hephaestus was up to. He had apparently helped the Blue Lions on spell casting while Manuela was out drunk, of course, replace a drunkard with one on his way there.
Nonetheless, Hephaestus would be a great teacher anyways. He had felt a connection with Mercedes which Santaniel teased him about until they reached their way home.
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As the day wound to an end, Santaniel made a mark on his wall. How many weeks did he have left?
Four hundred and fifty two.
This marks the start of the Wayward Saint's life as a Golden Deer and Viridian Viper leader. This would be a harrowing life filled with betrayal, love, laughs, and tears. But in the end.
This stubborn bastard would win.
Hey guys! Remember! Go and check out Marred Mirrors for back story! It will help out a lot!
As always, a thank you for your time from the other stubborn bastard
-Guardian