Fire Emblem: Years of War
Emerald Shark Route
Prologue: Memories of Dawn
"So, this is what has become of you Dimitri. You are only capable of killing. Have you no compassion?" Edelgard said, standing over the ruined king.
"I could ask the same of you Emperor. All this war, all of this hate. Why? Why did they have to die, because you ordered it! You killed them like you will me!" Dimitri yelled.
Starting to lose her composure Edelgard swung her mighty axe Aymr towards his neck. "Ow!" Edelgard yelped. "Who dares fire upon the Emperor of the Adrestian Empire."
"We need him alive, Edelgard." said Claude, stepping out of the shadows. "Look at Garreg Mach."
Edelgard turned to Garreg Mach far in the distance. There was a purplish glow above the monastery.
"What is this?" Dimitri asked. "Claude, what is happening to the monastery?"
"It is Those Who Slither in the Dark. Now that the monastery is defenseless they are trying to take it over. Yuri is already there with Rhea at the front lines." Claude said. "Now I need you two to get along so we can defend Garreg Mach. Failure means the end of the world as we know it. I need your help, you too Teach." Claude looked to Byleth.
Byleth nodded and gave his hand to Dimitri.
Dimitri pushed the hand away and got up. "I will call my forces to Garreg Mach."
"I will do the same. Claude is the Almyran Navy joining you?" Edelgard asked.
"Why would the Almyran Navy be joining him?" Dimitri asked.
Claude smiled, "Yes, they 'll be on our side. We have to hurry though."
By the time they arrived the battle had already begun. Rhea had already turned into the Immaculate One and Yuri was leading the Abyss' soldiers forward against Those who Slither in the Dark's daemon soldiers. Overhead the Immaculate One flew by and transformed in a flash of green light back into Rhea.
"You!" she yelled at Byleth, "You stole my Mother. Give her back."
Edelgard stepped in front of Byleth. She spoke calmly to Rhea, "We have no time for this Rhea. Now is the time for us to stand together no matter how impossible that may seem."
"You mutinous…. " she started to say but was cut off by Dimitri.
"As hard as it is for me to say this, Edelgard is right. We must kill Thales before he achieves his goals." Dimitri said strongly.
"Well now that we're all reacquainted I think it's time to focus on the matter at hand." Claude said.
Edelgard turned towards her troops. She raised her hand defiantly and called her soldiers to action. "Look around you. You may see people you were just trying to kill in the name of the Empire. Now I ask you to embrace them for the battle ahead so we can bring glory to Fodlan. Forget the Empire or the Kingdom or the Alliance. Now we fight as Fodlan. Get ready to move!"
"So proper, it hurts me that you didn't have Abyss in your little roll call." Yuri appeared. "But regardless you land dwellers have the support of Abyss. I don't care about your politics but we can't have Abyss destroyed now can we?"
"The little Church resources I have left will also be joining the fray." Rhea said, glaring at Edelgard.
"Well then, let's move." Claude said.
"Where is Thales?" Edelgard asked.
"Why? Oh, do you have a scheme, little miss princess?" Claude smirked.
"I am just suggesting that the six of us should take on Thales while our armies do battle with their soldiers. That is if the two of you are willing to work with me." Edelgard suggested.
"I will put aside our fight for this. You will have my full support." Dimitri said.
"I will abide. But after this is over I look forward to tearing you apart limb from limb." Rhea stepped towards Edelgard.
"I hate to interrupt, but who will lead the troops down here?" Dimitri asked.
"I know a guy." Claude winked. "The leader of the Almyran Navy, Nader will lead the troops while we take care of business."
"Excellent. Then we should go take care of Thales now." Edelgard said.
"I know the way. Just follow me through Abyss and we will be fine. Don't get lost, friend." Yuri looked at Byleth.
After a short trek through the labyrinth of Abyss the six of them arrived at a chamber with an ominous glow. In the center of the chamber Thales was surrounded by five acolytes.
"So you have come." Thales chuckled.
"Whatcha doing there buddy?" Claude asked.
"You dare to refer to me as buddy?" Thales was furious.
"What, you don't want to monologue about your evil plan? What kind of villain are you?" Yuri smirked.
"You are all so smug. That will all change when we destroy Garreg Mach Monastery." Thales cackled.
"If you think I will let you rip this place from me then you are delusional. I will burn the world to the ground before I let any harm come to this place." Rhea growled.
"This place means too much to us to let it go." Edelgard said.
"If all of us are working together to stop you then you know this can not go well for you." Dimitri said.
Byleth stepped forward and readied the Sword of the Creator.
"Ahh… So the Fell Star thinks he can stop me? I think not." Thales waved his hand and his acolytes got into position. They took cover behind columns and started blasting dark energy at the lords. Dimitri stood in front of Claude to deflect the magic with Areadbhar while Claude sniped some of the mages with Failnaught. Edelgard readied Aymr and pushed forward with Rhea behind her to close the distance. Yuri dodged the blasts and used his speed to get close enough for hand-to-hand combat. Meanwhile, Thales was starting to exit to a backroom in the chamber. Byleth started to chase him down while the rest of the group was still dealing with the acolytes.
"You can't stop me." the doors behind Byleth slammed shut. Thales had channeled his energy into a dark blade. Byleth got into an offensive stance. Thales rushed Byleth and swung at him. Byleth parried and dodged back, he used the Sword of the Creator to keep some distance between him and Thales. Thales was smart, he swung with calculated power. He never overextended and always pushed to try to close the gap. But Byleth was smarter, he was playing with his food. He was making Thales expend energy needlessly. It was working, Thales' sword was losing power and Byleth took advantage of that. He pushed equally as ruthlessly as Thales had. Finally, Byleth was able to wrap the Sword of the Creator around Thales' sword arm and cut it off. Thales screamed in anguish and Byleth took this chance to stab him through the heart.
"I just wanted to come out of the dark." Thales said with his last breath.
Byleth was panting, he could hear the others banging on the door asking if he was okay. They had defeated Those Who Slither in the Dark. But regardless, Garreg Mach Monastery shook.
Though Those Who Slither in the Dark had been defeated their magic had one residual effect. Garreg Mach Monastery now soared over Fodlan. This left Abyss completely exposed. But Abyss' contributions to the fight were not forgotten and a temporary ceasefire had been called to help Abyss get its affairs in order. The ceasefire had opened up opportunities for compromise, and much to the dismay of the Emperor and Rhea the Treaty of Lords was drawn up. This treaty officially ended the War of the Great Powers. A new balance of power was created, the church no longer had any influence outside of the newly formed Holy Church State made up of Southern Adrestian land. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was renamed the Kingdom of Faerghus. Where Garreg Mach was, the newly formed Abyssal Congregation was formed. Edelgard's want for reform was met, all of the relic weapons, besides the Sword of The Creator were melted down. With that the Crests were also removed from Fodlan. The melted materials made six weapons, one for each of the five governments and a sixth made as an extra for any government that was the weakest at any point. Byleth decided to stay at Garreg Mach in the hopes that one day he would be able to reopen the Officer's Academy. One day, when the sixth relic was being transported off the coast of Northern Adrestian land the ship sank. A woman by the name of Oceania bonded with the weapon and used it to create a sixth government. Oceania created new land and took some land from the Adrestian Empire. She formed the Naval Meritocracy. A government where leaders were based on merit. As each lord had a child of their own Byleth was now ready to reopen the Officer's Academy in Garreg Mach, land with no bias towards any one government. But right before the reopening each heir was kidnapped. Seeing this as a chance to prove the worth of a neutral Officer's Academy Byleth sent his twins to track down the heirs. With rising tensions the two twins finally managed to track down the heirs and it was time for a new age in Fodlan.