I have to wonder if I'm overcomplicating things at times. In any event, time for the Agarthans to get a chapter.
Chapter 73 – Schemes in the Dark (Great Tree Moon)
Odesse watched the holographic projection of Thales as the Agastya frowned. At first, the ruler of the Agarthans had been pleased by the results of the Chimeric Crest Stone's test at the Great Bridge of Myrddin. Odesse had no doubt that Thales would demand the creation of more Chimeric Stones.
That changed when Odesse told Thales that the Fell Star was alive.
"Interesting…" said Thales. "Bias told me a very different story on who was leading the Knights of Seiros."
Odesse smirked, though Thales could not see the expression thanks to the crow's mask that the former wore. Odesse had always despised Bias, viewing her as an obstacle to his own ambitions, and knowing she was about to be in hot water delighted the Agarthan Thaumaturge.
Thales then said, "But it hardly matters if the Fell Star leads them. She is far too late to stop us now. Fódlan already runs red with blood. Soon, the Blood Oath will be fulfilled, and our vengeance against the False God and the beasts who walk upon the surface will be complete."
"What would you have me do, Agastya?" asked Odesse.
"Search for other fools and ensure that they receive the other Chimeric Stones. Each one must be tested for their destructive power. If any more variants prove promising, ensure that Pittacus is given the relevant data."
"As you command, Agastya. Odesse out."
Odesse shut off his communicator and looked about to ensure no one had been watching. He had already swept the area earlier, but it didn't pay to be careless at such a crucial time.
The Thaumaturge then skulked off into the wilderness, intent on finding others who he could dupe into taking the Chimeric Stones.
…
Within her sanctum Ephyra, Cornelia placed a hand to her collar as she lifted the enchantment that disguised her. Her clothes and skin changed to those of the Magistra Bias as Cleobulus watched. Kronya, meanwhile, remained well out of sight, knowing she could not afford to be seen by Thales when Bias made her report to the Agastya.
Bias lamented that she could not remain disguised as the Duchess of Faerghus while contacting Thales. She wasn't worried about anyone tracing their connection, but Thales despised seeing the others in the guise of humanity. Changing back to her Agarthan form was necessary to keep him unaware of her intentions.
Shortly before Bias was about to contact Thales, the communication device that rested on a nearby table began to blink as it made several beeps.
It seemed the Agastya was impatient today, Bias thought. But this was not unexpected. She already had a good idea what he was going to say to her.
Ensuring nothing damning could be seen, Bias activated the device, which began to project Thales's hologram.
"Bias," Thales said crossly.
"Agastya, is something amiss?" asked Bias.
"I recall you informing me that the Earthen Tiger was commanding the Knights of Seiros, Magistra."
"That is what my spies told me, Thales."
"Your spies are clearly incompetent, Bias. Odesse has informed me that the Knights of Seiros have taken the Great Bridge of Myrddin, and that they were led by the Fell Star."
Feigning surprise, Bias said, "She lives? But you destroyed her when the war began."
"I find it difficult to believe that your underlings were unaware of her return, Magistra. You had best explain their lapse in competence, lest I decide to lay their error in your hands."
It was exactly as Bias had anticipated. Thales was still unaware that she already knew of the Fell Star's return long before he did.
But she had to keep him believing that she was unaware.
"Perhaps the Fell Star had simply not returned yet, Agastya," Bias replied. "My spies clearly determined that the Knights of Seiros were taking their orders from Cichol when they made their report at the start of the Pegasus Moon. Had I known of the Fell Star's presence at Garreg Mach, I would have notified you immediately, Agastya. She must have returned some time afterward."
Thales glared at her, but Bias knew he couldn't argue with her logic.
Bias had to stop herself from smiling as Thales said, "So it would seem, Magistra. Regardless, her return changes nothing. The war has already culled the beasts of their numbers. Nothing she does will change the inevitable outcome. And should she somehow prove an obstacle to our victory, I will crush her myself."
Again, Bias maintained her expression so as not to show her disdain for Thales's hubris. He might have defeated the Fell Star when the war started, but she knew it had only been because she had already been weakened.
"As for you, Magistra," Thales continued, "you are to march the Dukedom's armies on Houses Gautier and Fraldarius immediately. You are already well behind schedule."
"My apologies for the delay, Agastya," said Bias. "Baron Dominic's treachery required my attention. Yet in dealing with Averill, Chilon was able to take Count Rowe's place."
"Good. He will deal with any other revolts in western Faerghus. You are to deal with Margrave Gautier and the Loyalists who remain in the northeast. With the rest of the Loyalist army pushing toward the Airmid River, dealing with the so-called Wall of Ice will be simple, even for you. Do not disappoint me again, Bias."
"As you command, Agastya."
Thales shut off the link from his end.
Bias finally dropped her submissive façade as she smirked.
"That fool… He's as easily duped as ever."
"I'm impressed that he bought your little story, Bias," said Cleobulus.
"As I told you before, Cleo, he's become so reliant on his Dark Gift that he believes no one could ever trick him. But time and again, I've proven him wrong, and he still doesn't know it."
Kronya then slinked out of the shadows and said, "I gotta admit, it's almost sad seeing that he hasn't caught on yet."
"It is, isn't it? A shame we don't have the luxury of time to see how long we can keep him in the dark. Every day that passes, we edge closer to the culmination of the Blood Oath. Once that happens, our race is finished. Thales must be removed before then."
"And we can't do that as long as Myson and Odesse still live," said Cleobulus.
"How very true. They will never be swayed from the Agastya's side but moving against them remains a dangerous prospect."
"So, what do we do about them?" asked Kronya.
"That, dear Kronya, is something for which I will need Edelgard's help."
"You still haven't managed to sway her, Bias," said Cleobulus. "And if Thales finds out you had a hand in her moving against him–"
"You let me worry about that, Cleo," Bias interrupted. "I will be heading south in a few days to meet with her. Meanwhile, I need the two of you to lead our forces against Houses Gautier and Fraldarius. Matthias thinks he can fool us with how little he has left."
Cleobulus and Kronya nodded to this. Margrave Gautier had been moving the few troops he had to try and deceive the Dukedom into thinking he had a much larger army. But the Agarthans could easily see through this trick, recognizing the faces of the men as they moved between camps. Cornelia suspected Matthias probably had no more than 3,000 men stretched widely across the front, while she had over 10,000 massing near the eastern front. All that the Dukedom army had to do was plow through his weakened defenses and the Loyalists would be easily overwhelmed.
Yet the three knew they couldn't make it come out as a landslide victory for the Dukedom. Thales wanted to bleed Fódlan dry on all sides of the war in order to make exterminating the survivors a trivial matter. So far, the tactic was working, with hundreds of thousands of dead on all sides of the war since the conflict began.
"Now, if you don't mind, I need to make a few more adjustments to my little secret weapon," said Bias as she walked over to a nearby stasis tube.
Inside the tube, Hapi remained unconscious as Bias began to adjust various settings on the monitor before her.
…
Thales scowled after finishing his discussion with Bias. Once again, he found himself angry with the last remaining heir of Ptolemeios's bloodline. Time after time, she remained just useful enough to him that he hadn't ordered her death. But his patience with her was starting to wear thin.
As he tapped several symbols on the console before him, he knew his frustration was not about to soften. He now had to speak with another of his most-hated subordinates.
The screen before him came alive, revealing the main laboratory within Shambhala. Sitting at a desk and peering through a microscopic scanner was an elderly Agarthan woman with a series of tubes and cables coming from her otherwise bald scalp. The Agarthan Geneticist did not appear to have noticed him.
"Pittacus," Thales said crossly.
Without moving her head, Pittacus said, "Agastya. I take it you have a good reason for interrupting my experiments again."
"You have received Odesse's latest report, I presume?"
"Yes, I have. The data on the Manticore variant is within acceptable parameters. His choice of host, however, was unsatisfactory. The creature would have done far better had the Crest Stone been given to an adult instead of a child."
"You are to create another twenty Chimeric Stones within the next two weeks."
"Yet again, you ask the impossible of me, Thales."
"I am in no mood for your belligerence, Pittacus. You will obey my decree and do as I have demanded."
"I will not, Agastya." Thales was about to speak again when Pittacus said apathetically, "And spare me your threats. The synthetization of the Chimeric Stones is far more complex and time-consuming than our standard Artificial Crest Stones. Done improperly, the process will result in creatures far weaker than the common Demonic Beasts, or in Stones that will fail to induce a transformation altogether. In addition, the materials I require for the creation of the Chimeric Stones are costly to produce and, like the Stones themselves, take time to synthesize. So, unless you can find someone who knows more about the procedure than I, I will not provide you with a sub-optimal result because you are impatient."
Thales, knowing he could not sway the Agarthan Geneticist, remained silent. No one knew more about the creation of Crest Stones than Pittacus did. She had been at it for over a millennium. She had even created the Crest Stone that once imbued the Sword of the Creator, made from the Fell Star's heart.
But Pittacus did not concern herself with Agarthan politics. She held no concern over her own standing on the Chain of Ascension. When Thales had usurped Omphalos, she did not care in the slightest at the change in leadership. And much to Thales's irritation, she did not care for the Blood Oath.
All that mattered to her was science. Whether it was creating monstrosities or fashioning the weapons that the beasts of Fódlan called "Heroes' Relics", she only cared about the data collected from her experiments.
Despite his ire, Thales knew that Pittacus was too indispensable for him to get rid of her. He knew any attempts to force her hand would be ignored.
After a long pause, Thales said crossly, "So be it."
Still looking through her scanner, Pittacus said, "You will have your Chimeric Stones, Agastya. But you will receive them only once they are to my standard. I can provide you with two per week at most, and that is only if I am able to make them without interference. Now, if you have nothing else for me, I insist that you leave me to my work."
The transmission between Thales and Pittacus ended.
The Agarthan Geneticist remained glued to her scanner for the next half-hour before she finally moved away from it and went to a nearby console. For another half-hour, she entered the results of her experiment into a massive database, one that she had been filling with records and logs for over a thousand years. Much of what was within it would be incomprehensible to others.
Upon finishing this, Pittacus slowly walked toward a far corner of the lab where a large, highly complex apparatus stood, holding an incomplete Crest Stone within it. To the side were several vials filled with blood and various other chemicals, as well as a shelf filled with numerous assorted materials.
But as she moved, Pittacus stopped briefly and turned to a stasis pod to her right. Runic chains were wrapped around the metallic coffin, which was built to contain someone who would've been almost three times her size.
Pittacus touched a nearby panel, causing a screen to project before her, listing vitals and other relevant statistics on the subject contained within the pod. The screen showed the image of a large muscular man with a white beard and white hair. The man's throat had several highly visible scars. In the top left corner of the display were the words "Образец Немезис".
Satisfied with what she saw, Pittacus left the stasis pod to begin her work on the Chimeric Stones.
Gee, I wonder who could be in that pod...?
Writing Pittacus was a bit tricky, as I'm trying to portray her as a kind of "insufferable genius" who Thales can't threaten or replace. Unlike Bias/Cornelia, though, Pittacus doesn't care about her position in the Agarthan hierarchy. And I know she's a Gremory in the game, but I've decided to take creative liberties (heck, she doesn't even get lines in Three Houses, and only gets a few in Three Hopes).
And speaking of tricky writing, the same goes for Bias tricking Thales on her awareness of Byleth's return. Yet again, she's metaphorically walking on eggshells to keep him from ordering her head on a spike. And we'll have to see if her attempts to win Edelgard over will pay off.
We'll be getting back to the bridge next time. See you then.