Hello there! Acardia here!
Now, you're probably confused.
"What the hell is this foreword doing here?" You might say. I understand that. You can skip this foreword if you want, but be warned, things will not make sense. Are you good with that?
Ok?
Alright.
So, you're the ones that stayed, huh?
Well, let's get to business then. Firstly, this is a self-insert, if the summary wasn't clear enough already. If you don't like self-inserts, turn away now.
We good?
Good?
Ok.
Firstly, I want everyone to get the concept here. This is a story about Heinrich Wilhelm von Hresvelg, an OC sibling of Edelgard's, and also my SI. See, I've always thought that Edelgard's plan of using the Slitherers to take out the church was kinda dumb. Sure, you're under the thumb of some of the worst people in existence, but they're also the enemies of the church. Sure, you're also an enemy of the church, but the church at least you understand. Deal with the devil you know.
This is a story about manipulation, and how with a bit more bridge-building rather than bridge-burning and just a little recognition the story of Three Houses could have gone a lot differently.
So, let's start with the changes that have already happened. I will eventually get to all of them via flashbacks and whatnot, but I want to be clear here.
Firstly, Edelgard is now 10th in line, with her brother being born to her mother 2 years before her, in 1170.
Secondly, when Anselma and von Arundel flee to the Kingdom, they also bring Heinrich with them.
Heinrich fares a lot better in Faergus than Edelgard does. For one, he actually makes friendships with most of the future Blue Lions, namely Dimitri, Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix. More importantly, however, is that he keeps them going into the 1180 year. I've always thought it weird that Edelgard wanted to go everything alone. Allies are important and sometimes necessary. Expected a lot more inter-house cooperation between the houses this time around.
Thirdly, Heinrich doesn't go back to the Empire until a couple of months before the Duscur tragedy because Anselma hears all about this "Prince Heinrich" that keeps speaking with her stepson and doesn't that sound just like my son? Volkhard has to stay for longer to convince Anselma to go forward with the Duscur Tragedy, thus causing their departure to be much later.
Fourthly, I dislike writing true Self-Inserts. It feels weird… So, I've made a self-insert character that's completely fictional and shoved him into this world. I'm going to be using some Alternate History because I want to make references but don't want to offend anyone. So…instead of historical events, I'm using fictional historical events. That probably made no sense. Basically, my SI is from an alt-history world. Don't worry too much about it. I'll add context in author's notes if need be.
That's just about everything you need to know to understand. Everything else will be explained in the story, so enjoy!
Acardia out!
