(A/N: I'm aware that there's a paralogue in Three Hopes—Gatekeeper's—that somewhat implies that everyone in all three houses participates. However, I won't change this chapter to match; my reasoning is that in Three Houses, they talk about how the Battle of the Eagle and Lion was 'a large-scale, three-way battle,' which means—to me at least—that the Great Tree Moon's battle had to be less impressive. Just wanted to clarify that in case anyone got confused.)

The month passed by quicker than she expected. Between classes and trying to keep the Black Eagles in check, Edelgard didn't lack for things to do. She would adjust to it soon enough and manage to get some free time—until then, she tried to think of it as a preview of the busy days to come.

They were repeatedly reminded of the mock battle, both by Manuela and some of the knights, as a class and individually. A majority of the students seemed excited, although there were others who seemed to avoid the topic; it was a good way to estimate which ones wanted to be here, and which ones were less than willing to fight.

On the day of the battle itself, the morning proceeded as it usually did. Edelgard had a good idea of the schedule by then—wake up early, get herself ready, eat breakfast, then head to the Black Eagles' classroom. When she got there, she stood at the front of the room and watched the other students came in. They didn't seem to get into as much trouble if someone was actively observing them.

When Manuela came in, Edelgard took her spot among the desks; the professor did give her a small, thankful nod. The first few days were a little chaotic until Edelgard tried her current tactic.

"All right, you kids are lucky," Manuela announced as soon as she faced the class. "Not all of you have to participate in the mock battle; Edelgard and I will decide who should fight, and everyone else will be assessed after the battle itself. Once that's all done, you practically have a free day."

She paused for the reactions—disappointed looks from some, relieved sighs from others—and spoke up once they quieted down again.

"You're all dismissed for now. Go ahead and get ready to fight, even if you won't be participating. The knights can show you to the area the battle will take place in."

Edelgard waited until a majority of the students left the classroom before discussing what she noticed about them—which ones seemed least likely to disobey commands or who seemed to be most comfortable fighting. With their combined input, they narrowed it down to six students, including Edelgard and Hubert. Manuela then left to meet with the other professors.

Hubert, unsurprisingly, waited outside the classroom for her. They went to the training area together, only for the place to feel crowded with so many students trying to fit in last-minute lessons or try to tire out any likely opponents with sparring matches. Instead of training herself, Edelgard opted to watch and provide some input where it was due.

Alois came into the training area after an hour or two of waiting.

"All right, it's about time for the mock battle!" The knight declared. "Everyone, follow me to where some of you will be fighting. Regardless of whether or not you're participating, attendance is mandatory."

None of the students, as far as she could tell, gave much protests. When following after Alois, the students were by no means quiet nor orderly—some complained of training too extensively now that they took a break from it, others gave bets on whose class would win with varying degrees of certainty, and others still seemed to openly pray to stay away from the main action if they had to fight at all.

Alois led them to an area outside the monastery itself, but not very far from the town surrounding it. Each class's professor was already there, and called forward anyone who would be fighting. Every house had six students as well as their professor on the battlefield; they were given about ten minutes to review strategies before the battle itself begun.

The house leaders were wise in who they chose; as per some agreement, with the exception of Jeritza, the professors moved alongside their students. Edelgard could tell that it would be a reasonable way to guess how the rest of the year could play out—they would need to fight alongside their professors in all of the coming missions, after all, and it was invaluable to see how such a battle might play out considering how the Black Eagles fought.

Edelgard did her best to prevail. Due to what seemed to be a lack of proper guidance from their professor, the Blue Lions lost a few students shortly after the battle begun; they were mostly routed, save Dimitri, Dedue, and Jeritza, by the time the Black Eagles lost two people and the Golden Deer lost one.

Manuela and Hanneman retreated at roughly the same time due to an argument that Edelgard could hear pieces of a little ways away; she caught enough glances to see that Manuela retreated due to Hanneman fighting her, while Hanneman was finished off rather discreetly by Dimitri. The loss of leadership for both houses resulted in the retreat of those who didn't immediately seek some guidance from their respective house leaders.

In the end, Edelgard retreated as the last Black Eagle standing on the battlefield, after attempting to fight with Jeritza. The professor himself only moved from his spot after Dimitri and Dedue had retreated, quickly leading the remaining two students from the Golden Deer—Claude and Ignatz, both due to staying a little farther away from the rest—to go to rout as well.

"That wraps things up!" Alois declared at the end. "Good work, everyone. The Blue Lions win this battle by a close margin. There will be a short break before we assess the other students' abilities in a similar, less formal manner. Everyone's free to leave once your professor lets you."

A majority of the students gave some form of agreement. Edelgard stayed so she could watch the rest of her classmates' fighting styles and preferences.