AN: A small response to a guest reviewer.

The custom classes you came up with sound really interesting. My problem with them is not something inherent to them, though. It's just that I don't really make use of the in-game class system in my story and that some of your proposed classes require a narrative element I chose to change for Headmates. Nevertheless, thank you for your suggestions.

Chapter 23: Disputes

16th of the Horsebow Moon 1180, afternoon. Byleth's office, Garreg Mach.

It was the first day of classes of the week. It should have been the day before, but the ceremony had led to the cancellation of those lessons. However, it was not classes that took up his time right now. He was instead busy being pestered with questions.

"So, Teach, what exactly does being a Knight of the Covenant mean?" asked Claude.

It was a fair question. His new competencies had only been hinted at and not stated yesterday. "A Knight of the Covenant counts as a Hresvelg household knight and a Cardinal at the same time," answered Byleth.

The student spotted a problem there and made as much known, "But that would mean that you're beholden to the Adrestian Empire. Wouldn't that cause problem in the Kingdom or the Alliance?"

Byleth shook his head. "No. The title was made at a time when Adrestia was conquering all of Fodlan."

"I don't quite follow," said Claude.

The answer was surprisingly simple. "A Knight of the Covenant is sworn in to protect the free people of Fodlan. Counting as part of the Hresvelg household simply lets me walk in and out the Imperial Palace without issue. My duty is first to Fodlan itself, to the Church second and only very distantly to the Empire."

"Sounds convenient. Do you already have any thoughts on what to do with your new privileges? There ought to be something," said the young Lord.

Byleth shook his head. "Nothing so far, but there are bound to be uses in the future," he explained.

"I guess you're more focussed on the other side of the deal, then," commented Claude.

Byleth could see that he was just fishing for more and more information, but the young Professor didn't mind talking about it. It was soon to be on public record anyway. "Yes. I will take up the late Bishop Aelfric's duties as Cardinal."

The brows on Claude's face furrowed. "I wasn't aware of any Bishop by the name of Aelfric, nor why he would have a Cardinal's duties."

The former mercenary had to concede that point. "He was known to most as just a Cardinal. The title of Bishop was secret, though not unofficial. His misconduct with his duties as a Bishop did get him killed, though."

"Sounds spicy. What did he do?" asked Claude.

"Disturbing the rest of the dead, unauthorised access to and attempted desecration of Church artefacts, blackmail and abuse of his authority," answered Byleth flatly. While his student may have a talent for getting the information he wanted, no one said that he couldn't be made to work for it. Claude would definitely have to work for details on this particular subject.

The Golden Deer seemed to notice it too. He gave a light sigh of played irritation. "Guess I'll have to try again later for more information," he said. Then, he smiled and winked. "You'd better be prepared."

Byleth felt slightly amused. "You're welcome to try," he said. "Now, if that is-"

A knock on the door cut him short. "Enter!" he shouted.

The door swung open and into the room stopped the purple-haired figure of Lorenz. The youth in question stopped when he saw Claude in the room as well. He hesitated, but he eventually adopted a resigned expression while coming closer to the other two.

"Professor, I have an urgent matter to discuss with you," he said. "Much as it galls me to say this, Claude should probably hear it as well."

"What is the matter?" asked Byleth.

Lorenz took a letter out of his pocked and said, "I received this letter from my father this morning. He is recalling me temporarily to deal with a problem on the border of his lands."

This piqued Byleth's interest. If possible, he planned on taking advantage of this to complete the evacuation plans for the Ordelia household and Sauin village. For now, he would have to stay focussed on the conversation. "I assume it is a military problem," commented the Professor.

The purple-haired youth nodded. "Sadly, it is. A neighbouring minor Lord, Acheron, is stirring up trouble on the border. Raiding parties have moved into Gloucester lands to threaten several watch stations and at least one village so far."

"So…," began Claude, "Why isn't your father dealing with this? A minor Lord should be easy to put down."

"It is this lack of understanding for the intricacies of the Alliance's politics that make you unsuited to be its future leader," commented Lorenz. "To answer your question, the problem is that Acheron Is a minor Lord. My father cannot validate Acheron's delusions of superiority by acknowledging him directly. Therefore, I am the best candidate to handle this border dispute."

Byleth thought for a moment before he asked, "How did this dispute even come about?"

"The origin is very complicated and spans back to since before the Alliance's founding, but the actual reason is very simple. Acheron has control over the Great Bridge of Myrddin, which grants him access to influence and wealth beyond his station. He believes himself strong enough to press his rather flimsy claim to the border territory," answered Lorenz.

The young Professor stared blankly. Figures, he thought. Then, he spoke up, "Very well. I will talk to the Archbishop once we're done here."

"That would be appreciated," stated Lorenz, "The matter is urgent, as I said in the beginning."

"We should be able to move out tomorrow afternoon if we have enough supplies on hand," said Byleth.

Claude injected himself into the conversation again. "Looks like I'll have to assemble the other Golden Deer in that case. It should be exciting."

"Exciting?" asked Lorenz, aghast. "This is a serious dispute!"

"It's two children arguing over a toy, just with higher stakes," retorted Claude. "I refuse to take this seriously. Don't get me wrong; when it comes to the fight, I'll be as serious as it gets, but the politics behind it is more than silly."

"Preposterous!" exclaimed the son of House Gloucester.

Byleth chose to intervene at this point. "Enough!" he said. "Is there anything else to know?"

Lorenz still looked upset, but he shook his head. "Not until we reach the area," he answered.

"In that case, we'll leave things here. Gather the other students. I'm going to see the Archbishop," concluded Byleth.

At roughly the same time. Guest quarters of the Archbishop.

Dimitri was on a mission. He had been ever since he'd spotted her yesterday. Patricia, his stepmother, had been there at the ceremony, almost centre stage, together with Edelgard. The knowledge that she was also Anselma, Edelgard's mother, hadn't hit with full force until that moment. The sight of her did bring up old questions again and he was determined to get answers. However, to get these answers, he would first have to find her.

He had searched the wider area of the Monastery for any sign of her after the ceremony, but it had remained fruitless. But now, a day later and after classes, he was on the search again. The last place he could think of that he hadn't searched yet were the seldom-used guest quarters for the use of the Archbishop's personal guests. It was there that he finally found her, and she was not alone.

In front of the door, which was halfway open, stood both Anselma and Edelgard. It looked as though they were about to enter the quarters when they spotted his approach. Anselma's face took on a melancholy expression. Dimitri could guess why that was.

"Hello, Dimitri," she said with a sad smile.

"Hello, Patricia," he responded.

Anselma took a deep breath. "You're here to ask questions, right? I will answer them." She turned towards her daughter. "Edelgard, please close the door behind us. We don't want anyone to overhear. Come on, you two."

After her, Dimitri entered the quarters and Edelgard followed him. He was very well aware that the girl was watching him like a hawk. She knew that he was angry and why. If he made any move to hurt Anselma in a rage, Edelgard would pounce on him. Much as he hated to admit it, the possibility was there. The voices of the dead had calmed significantly since he had started going to Professors Manuela and Byleth regularly, but they had not ceased. So, he was oddly comforted by Edelgard's vigilance. It was an additional layer of security on his sanity.

When they were all seated at a small table, Dimitri finally voiced his first question. "I will be blunt. Did you sell out Father?"

"Yes and no," answered Anselma.

Dimitri's nostrils flared and he clenched his fists. As he saw Edelgard tense, he forced himself to relax. "Why?" he asked in a strained tone.

"Do you remember Cornelia? She was a close friend of mine. We went to the Officers Academy together and though our ways parted from there, we stayed in contact," began Anselma. "So, when I came to the Kingdom years later, I was eager to reconnect. I was lost and confused. I didn't know the fate of my children and my brother had dragged me into a foreign land with one of his ill-considered but well-meaning decisions."

The young Prince was growing a bit impatient. "Where are you going with this?"

Anselma inclined her head. "The point is, I trusted both her and my brother. So, when people wearing their faces and speaking in their voices started telling me that my new husband was betraying me, that he had been keeping Edelgard away from me, I believed them. The woman who'd stolen Cornelia's face even led me to her former residence one day, some time after Edelgard and my brother's imposter had left the country, and showed me the evidence that she'd been there. I always thought Lambert's denial of any subtle questions on the matter had been a matter of malice, not ignorance"

She took a deep breath before she continued. "From that point on, 'Cornelia' and I hatched a plan over the next several months. Lambert's reforms and policies were not universally liked by everyone, especially the western nobles, whose predations on Duscur were curtailed by his interference. The plan I was part of designing was to abduct Lambert during his next diplomatic visit to Duscur and blame it on his political enemies. It would have forced him into letting me go so I could find and see Edelgard."

Dimitri was angry. He wanted to scream at her. Before he could do so, Edelgard talked. "Things didn't happen like you planned," she said.

"No," replied her mother with a shaking head. "It was the original plan. However, I began to grow uneasy. Whenever I visited 'Cornelia', I would check up on her ward, a red-haired girl with tanned skin. Over time, I discovered that she was mistreating the girl and performing experiments on her. I was horrified. I was ready to abandon the plan and intended to report everything to Lambert, but…"

She trailed off. It took her a few seconds to pick up again. "That horrid woman confronted me before I could do so. She told me plainly that my children were being tortured beneath the Imperial Palace. She told me with glee that two of them had already died to the experiments, and that they would continue until all of them were dead… unless I followed along with the plan."

"Your… children? You keep saying that, but I thought Edelgard was your only child," said Dimitri. He was still angry, but his desire for answers kept him relatively calm.

Anselma nodded. "It's true that Edelgard is the only child born of my womb, but I considered all of Ionius' children mine as well, just as their mothers considered Edelgard their daughter."

"It is the way the Imperial Family has handled it for over a thousand years," commented Edelgard.

"To continue," her mother went on, slowly losing her composure in the process. "I had no choice. My children were being tortured. Only you were excluded, Dimitri – and yes, I consider you to be my son. As far as I understood, the original plan was still going to be implemented, though I should have known better. I did not realise until the massacre began what their true intentions for you and Lambert were."

She cupped her face in her hands as sobs began wracking her. "And then that filthy wretch came along and took me away. He told me that Cornelia was dead, that Volkhard was dead, that almost all my children were dead and that I would never see Edelgard again. And then… then he sold me to the slavers."

Edelgard awkwardly wrapped an arm around her mother, though she still kept her sharp gaze on Dimitri, waiting for his reaction. The expression on his face was not exactly unreadable, but it was strange. It looked like the combination of a snarl and a pitying visage. It would have been hilarious to behold out of context, but Edelgard did not feel like laughing at all.

As for the Prince, he took a long moment to gather himself. Eventually, though, he finally said. "I am angry. You betrayed Father. You betrayed me and all of Faerghus. Part of me wants to hate you, but I cannot. I remember how kind you always were to me." He breathed hard. "But I cannot forget your betrayal either. It is only because you were forced to be complicit in the Tragedy of Duscur and because you have suffered for it that I do not call for your head. You must still be punished, however: You are henceforth banished from Faerghus on pain of death."

His piece said, he stood up and strode over to the door. He opened it, saying, "And don't ever call yourself my mother again," before he slammed it shut after himself, leaving behind Edelgard to comfort a crying Anselma.

19th day of the Horsebow Moon 1180. Leicester Alliance, Gloucester-Acheron borderlands.

There was a great deal of nervousness among the students. Three of them had a personal stake in this mission. Lorenz for his part was the most directly involved. The battle they were about to fight involved the lands of his House. The other two with something on the line were Lysithea and Leonie. This battle and Acheron's general aggressiveness were the perfect cover for the evacuation of Sauin village, which was located in Gloucester territory, and the evacuation of the last remnants of the Ordelia household, including Lord and Lady Ordelia themselves. This plan had, as a consequence, caused a day-long delay due to necessity of informing the involved parties in time.

For the purpose of securing the evacuation, Byleth had requested reinforcements from Rhea. Not much could be sent due to manpower restrictions and political problems, but both Jeralt and Alois accompanied the Golden Deer on this mission, each of them bringing with them a company of (wo)men-at-arms. That made for a combined force of exactly 501 people. Something about that number seemed to amuse Hyperion, but the man refused to elaborate. "I'll show you the movie," was all he would say on the matter when asked. Any digressions aside, it was a decent number for a border skirmish.

"We're almost there," said Lorenz. "I recommend we assume combat formation, Professor."

Byleth could ascertain as much with the helmet's sensors. About half a kilometre away was the fortified outpost they were supposed to reinforce and about another 600 metres away were the first forward elements of what had to be the Acheron attack force. The course was clear.

"Agreed," said the Professor. "We advance in block formation to pass through the outpost. After that, we shift into split maniples."

Split maniples was the name he and Hyperion had eventually come up with to call the enlarged version of the team system. It was fitting since the team system itself was a modified version of manipular tactics. There was also the advantage that it was easy to remember. The average soldier could understand it better that way than if it were named something ridiculous like shrieking phoenix tail formation or similar nonsense.

It took them a good ten minutes to reach the outpost and march through it in an organised fashion, but luck seemed to be on their side. The enemy had only noticed their presence once they'd reached the outpost and were now only in the process of forming up. Byleth wasted no time giving orders.

"Father, take Leonie and Ignatz and push to our right. It appears that raiding parties are returning to the enemy force. I want you to intercept them and get rid of them before they can link up," he said. "Alois, you take Lysithea and Claude and secure our left flank. The rest of us push through the centre on our side of the river and then hold position until we're ready to encircle them. And stay alert, everyone. They have pegasi with them."

"Got it," said Jeralt in response.

"Leave it to us!" was Alois' reply.

Everyone set out to execute the orders immediately. The entire force exited the outpost in with a charge. In their most immediate vicinity, they found three easily overwhelmed enemy companies. The one to the front fell into disarray as Byleth and Lorenz showered them in Fire spells. Barely half of their number were still in any condition to resist when Raphael and his troops crashed into them. The enemy company on the left experienced a similar fate. The bombardment from Lysithea took its toll on the axemen on the ground, who were then crushed by Alois' charge. Claude and his archers were not idle either, taking up the duty of warding off the approaching Pegasus riders. Jeralt took his cavalry into the small forested area to the right and baited the enemy spearmen into coming closer. Their formation soon dissolved under a hail of arrows from Leonie and Ignatz' archer companies.

With the initial engagements over, the Golden Deer split apart to fulfil their objectives. Naturally, Acheron's forces from across the river noticed this. Seeing as the centre group had no archers to counter airborne attacks, the enemy attacked that weak spot immediately. As their remaining two companies on the outpost's side on the river closed in on the exposed elements, three companies of Pegasus riders crossed the river to join the attack.

Byleth spotted this quite easily. He had planned on it. "Raphael, Hilda, fend off the enemy ground troops. I will take care of the flyers. Lorenz, Marianne, you support whomever of us needs it the most.

"Yes, Professor!" they chorused.

Not long after they had gone in formation, the Pegasus riders reached their position. They dived fast with the intent to strike quickly and ascend again, but when they were about to reach their targets, they were stopped by a sea of flame. Byleth and the roughly forty of his soldiers who could cast Fire spells, did so at point blank range. The effect this had on the attacking flyers was devastating. The foremost company of Pegasus riders was roasted alive in its entirety, while parts of the other two fell victim to the same fate. The mounts of the surviving riders were panicking as a result and ascending at speeds and angles that were not healthy for their riders. A good dozen fell out of their saddles and ended dead or injured. The ones who avoided this particular fate were still not out of the water, as Lorenz and his soldiers began peppering them with their own magic and Byleth was ready with a second volley. It was therefore not much of a surprise that the surviving Pegasus riders broke and routed back across the river.

The two companies of Acheron's soldiers on the ground saw this unfold before them, and their charge faltered under the sight of it and the smell of burning bodies. When Hilda and Raphael then charged them in response, they scrambled to get organised, but they stood their ground quite well. They were professional soldiers, after all. However, their opposition consisted of experienced troops as well and had skilled healers with them, and so, neither side inflicted much damage on the other for a few minutes. The decision came not long afterwards, though. It became clear that no further reinforcements would come across the river, and Acheron's soldiers soon found themselves beset on several sides by a numerically superior enemy. They surrendered in short order and were tied up. With that, Byleth's group had secured the outpost's side of the river with only a few casualties to his name.

Things went a bit differently on the Golden Deer's left flank. Their advance was slow because of the enemy Pegasus riders' constant harassment. They did not really inflict any damage because of Claude's archers, but neither did they allow themselves to be targeted and shot down. It was an annoyance during the Golden Deer's advance. Nevertheless, there was combat eventually. Four companies of enemy soldiers had closed ranks and were marching on them. However, closing ranks was the exact wrong thing to do when facing a mage of Lysithea's calibre. Granted, the one company that consisted of mages managed to raise their defences in time, but the company of swordsmen in front of them had the dubious honour of being annihilated by a powerful Miasma spell.

The rest of them were quick to disperse. Unlike Alois and his allies, they were not used to it, and they suffered for it. Confident that the students would keep the others at bay, the Knight of Seiros took his soldiers and charged straight at the biggest threat to his troops: the mages. There were a few casualties as the robed soldiers of the enemy shot spells in his direction, but there was not much tie for them to do so before axes descended on them. Resistance did not last long.

True to Alois' assumptions on the matter, Lysithea and Claude were doing an exemplary job of keeping the other two companies busy. It helped that they considered the white-haired girl a priority target and ignored their fellow mages' plight in favour of attacking her. They were rewarded with spells to the face and then arrows once Lysithea's troops retreated. They couldn't afford to retreat much further, however. In fact, they had to reverse the momentum.

"Lysithea, can you push them? The Pegasus riders are coming back!" he shouted at her.

"Don't underestimate me!" she shouted back.

It was true that she was physically weak and didn't have much stamina but she could push. Professor Byleth had been instructing her in swordsmanship and even though she'd been terrible at it initially, she had discovered that she had a talent in it. It also helped that he had used his funds to procure a Levin Sword for her. So, she was quite confident in her chances when she began her assault. The opener she chose was a Swarm spell, which worked better against dispersed groups than Miasma did. Then, much to the enemies' surprise, she charged at them alone while her mages stood back and continued to pour spells into them. Any thought of slipping past the girl or overwhelming her quickly were dashed when she made her first strike. Arcs of lightning shot out of the magical sword, electrocuting a good dozen soldiers and killing at least half of them in the process.

At the same time, Claude stopped his support of Lysithea's unit, though he had one of his soldiers keep watch on her in case she needed help. What he was really witing for was for the Pegasus riders to become overconfident. He did not have to wait long. While Alois was dealing with Acheron's mages, he was vulnerable to attack from behind. The flyers were quick to spot the opportunity and took it. Alas, it was not to be. Just like their fellows attacking Byleth, these Pegasus riders flew to their doom. They thought Claude distracted by the melee and paid the price. Arrows were shot in their direction, forcing them to change their angle of attack when a third of their number fell. It did not do them much good, as they were already in a tight attack formation, and the single arrow that embedded itself in the neck of the woman behind the foremost rider was enough to cause a collision that saw several of them crash to the ground. Their order disintegrated thereafter and only a handful managed to escape the renewed hail of arrows in a rout.

Both Alois and Claude were then able to put their focus on the two heavily damaged companies engaged with Lysithea's troops. The girl put up a valiant fight, and her sword left arcs of deadly lightning in the air as she swung it skilfully, but her stamina was waning and her enemies were more cautious now than during the first wave. Fortunately for her, Alois and Claude arrived before she could be overwhelmed. Her opponents, realising that they were both outnumbered and outmatched, threw down their weapons in surrender. The path to the stone bridge was now open.

Compared to the left flank, the right one was a bit of a breeze. There were more enemies overall to deal with, but they were raiding parties, splintered apart and easily picked off piecemeal. The only problem was that taking them all out was taking up a lot of time. Jeralt also led competently, as if he'd led Leonie and Ignatz for years. It was clear that command was his talent. It made things that much easier.

After they'd taken out the third set of enemies, Ignatz noticed something peculiar about their weapons. "Sir Jeralt," he said, "There is something strange about this axe and these swords. They look dangerous."

The old knight grunted and then picked one of them up. He hissed and dropped it quickly. "Those are cursed weapons. They do a lot of damage, but they're usually just as likely to kill their wielder as their opponent. I guess that's why the enemy isn't using them."

After that, they picked up again where they left off. As they marched further south, taking out another raiding party resting at a healing platform of all things on the way, they could spy the front of the outpost across the curve of the river. Counter to the initial plan, the drawbridge was lowered and there was combat on it.

"Something's wrong," said Jeralt. "Alright, double time, everyone! It looks like we're behind schedule."

With more hurry than before, Jeralt and the students took their soldiers along the dirt road leading to the southern drawbridge. Despite their haste, they still made sure to try and be stealthy. It was a good thing they did so, as Ignatz spotted a company of Pegasus riders guarding the drawbridge. Jeralt them led them all into the small forest to sneak up on the riders as best they could. A few minutes of sneaking later, they were close enough for their attack. The cavalry charged out of the forest on a course set straight on the Pegasus riders. They responded by taking to the air and flying out of the range of the lances that assailed them. As they made to attack Jeralt's troops from behind, however, a hail of arrows descended on them as they made their turning manoeuvre. Once more, there were only a handful of survivors, who abandoned their position and fled.

"Hurry up and form up!" shouted Jeralt after the deed was done. "I want this bridge lowered and the enemy shot at!"

Leonie and Ignatz did as ordered and quickly left the forest with their soldiers, forming up by the drawbridge. Ignatz and his company were the ones to lower the bridge itself while Leonie's archers shot their arrows into the enemy's flanks. Before long, the bridge was set and Jeralt took his troops across it. He and his company then charged into the weakened flank of Acheron's soldiers while the two students under his command protected his own flanks with their archers.

After the foremost unit of the enemy had crumbled, the troops under Byleth's command streamed over the bridge and continued the attack. Jeralt found a moment of time to find his son in the crowd, or rather, his son had come to find him. As they met, Jeralt couldn't help but ask, "What went wrong? Where did the plan change?"

Byleth was quick to answer. "I spotted soldiers breaking away from the enemy main group to reinforce their right flank. It would have been too much for Alois's force. I had to attack and force them to stay."

"That would do it," grunted Jeralt. "What are the new orders?"

"Attack their right flank and then try to encircle-"

Byleth didn't get any further. He was interrupted by the blasts of a multitude of horns. To the duo's surprise, Acheron's forces then broke out in a full retreat, though they did stay in a semblance of a formation as they did so.

"Should we pursue?" asked Jeralt.

Before Byleth could answer, he heard Hyperion's voice. "I recommend we don't. We've got inbound travellers. On the path the raid groups came from is a group of 224 life signs walking in a disorderly fashion. I'd say those are the people from Sauin village. On the east side, about 800 metres out we've got another set of 85 arrivals. They're in a marching column, but only the outer layer of it seems to be in a formation. I guess that's the Ordelia soldiers escorting their household. They…. Wait a moment. They're picking up speed. They're running, but what would- what the fuck?"

"Hyperion?" asked Byleth.

"1.4 kilometres out, a bunch of massive life signs has just appeared, likely warped in, and they seem to be chasing our allies. Judging by the size, those are either monsters or demonic beasts," said Hyperion. "There's more trouble. Over 4'000 human-sized heat signatures have showed up on the edge of the helmet's perception range. I'd hazard that's an army."

"Shit," said Byleth out loud.

Jeralt looked worried. "Kid?"

"Give me one of your men's horses," said Byleth. "I'll tell Alois to guard the bridge until the Ordelia household arrive. Once they're here, he is retreat to the outpost at once. Send Leonie up the path you came from to greet the residents of Sauin. They are also to retreat to the outpost immediately."

"And what are you up to?" asked Jeralt.

"I'll have Lysithea warp me to the Ordelia household's position. I will hold off their pursuers," answered the Professor.

Jeralt froze. "Are you insane?!" he yelled. "You can't seriously mean to fight monsters and demonic beasts on your own!"

"I have a plan," said Byleth. "And there's no time. I need to go now."

"Fine," growled out Jeralt.

Byleth nodded. He quickly took one of the horses from which one of Jeralt's soldiers had dismounted. "Retreat as soon as I'm back. There is an army on the way here, at least 4'000 strong. You're in command." Without saying anything more, he galloped off to Alois' position.

With the speed at which he was pushing the horse, he was at his destination in less than half a minute. Alois, Lysithea and Claude were staring anxiously at the approaching train of people and the demonic beasts behind them. There were no regular monsters among them, which made clear that it was as Byleth had suspected: This was military action, not unfortunate coincidence. The situation was made worse by the fact that the beasts had nearly caught up to the fleeing people, who had left behind their baggage in their panic.

He dismounted quickly and gave orders immediately. "Wait for the Ordelia household to arrive, then retreat without delay. Lysithea, warp me to their current position."

She was shocked. "Only you?" she asked.

He nodded. "I'm going to go all out. Now hurry!"

Lysithea nodded as well and used Warp on her Professor before the others could object. He appeared next to the running ground of Ordelia household members in a beam of purple light. Taking stock of the situation was not really necessary, and so, Byleth went right into action.

"You've got five minutes," came Hyperion's voice, reminding Byleth of the time limit the Balance Breaker brought with it. It had extended massively, for both Hyperion and Sothis had been circulating their divine energies through him at night in order to condition his body to their presence.

Without responding, the young Professor activated the Raiment of the First Principle, temporarily blinding the demonic beasts and anyone else looking in his direction. He launched himself at the first one with inhuman speed and buried his sword in the stunned beast's eye socket, shattering its protective barrier in the process. The shriek it let out was bone-chilling. Yet a blade to the brain proved lethal and the beast fell to the ground motionlessly.

Byleth knew that this was not the end of the beast, but there were half a dozen more of them pursuing the Ordelia household. And so, he made to pull out the sword. However, he underestimated his current strength and broke the sword as he did so. Biting back a curse, he abandoned the broken blade and instead formed a javelin of light, which he then threw at the beast closest to catching the fleeing crowd. Contrary to the lances he had thrown back in the Western Church headquarters, this one turned out to be far more lethal. It broke through the protective barrier as it buried itself into the flank of the beast and exploded in a shower of light which cost the beast a good chunk of its ribcage.

There was no time to gawk at his handiwork when there were still people in danger. Instead, Byleth used the speed the Balance Beaker afforded him and inserted himself between the remaining beasts and the fleeing mass of people. The hexagonal barrier of Hyperion's AT field manifested, causing the demonic beasts to run head-first into it. They were disoriented for a few seconds, which allowed Byleth to launch two more lances. There was no time for more as the previously wounded beasts had finished regenerating and were now pouncing on him. They had correctly assessed that he had to die for them to be able to continue their rampage.

With no melee weapon on him, Byleth was forced to rely on punches. They would have reduced any human to a bloody smear, but the demonic beasts were resilient and only flinched when hit. Byleth experienced worse, however, when one of the beasts' claws hit him with a swipe. The armour that the Raiment of the First Principle presented protected him from being gutted like a fish, but it could not prevent him from being launched in the air and landing painfully with a mess of broken bones. It was his luck that his left arm was uninjured still and he was able to, somewhat awkwardly, use it to take out a bunch of copper rings. He launched them at the beasts at full power with the Gauss spell, tearing through barrier, flesh and bone with devastating power.

This still left him with the problem of a lot of broken bones while the beasts were regenerating. Having no other choice left, he focussed on generating as many lances as he could and throwing them with his thoughts alone. It took over twice as long as normal and Hyperion had to help along quite a bit, but it succeeded eventually. The lances flew and tore into the demonic beasts which had just finished regenerating. The two he had attacked first died for real in the attack. The other five, however, would regenerate again, and Byleth had not much time left. His wounds also hampered him and he feared that he would soon lose consciousness to blood loss. In his desperation, he took the last two of his copper rings and used them to launch the Gauss spell once more, cutting the number of demonic beasts down to three. He was out of options now.

Just as he felt like he might lose consciousness, he felt a familiar rush come over him. Someone had just used a healing spell on him, Physic if he had to guess. Only one of his students had learned that spell: Marianne. The young Professor noted that he had been too disoriented by the blow he had taken to notice Hyperion talk, who had announced her imminent arrival. He had no idea why she'd disobeyed his orders, and he was at once glad and worried. This was not the time to think about that, however. The beasts had finished their regeneration and were ready to pounce on him. The first one to do so got a nasty shock, however. It was impaled on a sword made of light, which Byleth had formed almost by instinct with the powers of the Raiment.

At the edge of his vision, he noted in surprise that Marianne was on a horse and that she had not come alone. Jeralt was with her, furiously brandishing his lance at one of the beasts. The spear found its mark, piercing through an eye and killing the beast he had attacked. Marianne for her part was casting Nosferatu spells at an astonishing rate. She was even reinforcing the spells with the Wheel of Fortune Arcanum. The beast she was targeting fell eventually and she breathed heavily as she finished it the stroke of a sword she had drawn from her side.

As the last beast died, Hyperion forcefully shut down the Raiment and let it revert to the helmet. Byleth was immediately beset by Marianne. Despite her exhaustion, she used several healing spells in quick succession. "Are you alright, Professor?" she asked with worry.

"Not quite, but well enough to retreat," he answered. It appeared he was now coherent enough to understand people again. "Thank you for coming."

The girl smiled weakly through her weariness. Before she could say anything more, Jeralt spoke. "Hurry up, you two. We need to get out of here."

The two nodded grimly, and Byleth added, "Definitely. The enemy seems to have even more reinforcements. I'm seeing a lot of them with the helmet."

"Behind the first 4'000 there are another 10'000. This is a full-blown invasion," mentioned Hyperion over the speakers, which startled Marianne. She'd never heard his voice.

Jeralt swore. "Damn it. Alright, time to retreat. I'll have a messenger sent to Count Gloucester to inform him of our withdrawal and the invasion. And you, kid, are going to stay put until we get back to his estate. You need to rest. Explaining all this to him is going to require a lot of energy."

One day later, late evening 20th day of the Horsebow Moon 1180. Audience Chamber of the Archbishop.

"This concludes the battle report," said Byleth.

Rhea frowned. "This is very concerning," she said. "What was Count Gloucester's response?"

"He was furious," answered Byleth. "He ordered a full muster of all troops."

Lorenz nodded next to him. "Indeed. My father was upset enough to request reinforcements from all Alliance Lords, even Duke Riegan."

"I take it that this is a big deal," said the Professor.

Lorenz confirmed this. "Very much so. My father has coveted the position of leader of the Leicester Alliance for a long time now. He is also quite prideful. For him to request reinforcements from his rival means that he truly believes that he cannot win on his own."

The frown on the Archbishop's face does not abate. "Count Gloucester should have more forces available than the 14'000 you spotted on your mission."

"That is true," admitted the student, "However, Acheron should not have been able to field an army larger than maybe 5'000, and then only for a single battle. The entirety of his lands holds less than 20'000 people. My father knows this as well and inferred that he has foreign support. He expects more reinforcements to come to Acheron's aid as soon as it looks like he might lose to Gloucester forces."

"A reasonable assumption," said Hyperion. "I suspect that Acheron's troops have mostly been supplied by the Agarthans."

"Professor?" came Lorenz' voice.

"My apologies. Hyperion was talking to me," said Byleth.

Rhea raised an eyebrow. "What did he have to say?"

Byleth relayed Hyperion's words this time. "It's most likely the Agarthans. Their city, Shambhala is located in Hrym territory. The Great Bridge of Myrddin is not far from there."

"Impossible," remarked Lorenz. "A single city cannot field such a force, especially a hidden one."

"Let me talk directly, please," said Hyperion. Byleth nodded mentally and summoned the helmet.

His headmate took the opportunity immediately. "Nice to meet you, Lorenz. My name is Hyperion. And nice to talk with you again, Rhea." At the Archbishop's unreadable expression and Lorenz' stunned face, he continued, "Never mind the introductions. You see, Lorenz, you would probably be right with that assumption in most cases. Only large cities like Enbarr, Fhirdiad, Derdriu and Nuvelle could potentially field armies larger than 10'000…. If we take Fodlan's current peace time standards. If you take extensive conscription into consideration, up to 20% of any given settlement's population can be recruited. Going by Nuvelle alone, which is the smallest of the cities I mentioned, that would be over 50'000."

Lorenz thought about this for a moment. Then, he said, "But that is unsustainable. The supply situation would grow dire very quickly."

"You're right on that," said Hyperion, "But this is where the second consideration comes in. Shambhala is old. Very old. In fact, it's over 10'000 years old. It was also founded during a time of high technology and large cities in general. I've also managed to gain information from an Agarthan who lived there. The city's current population exceeds ten million people."

The number boggled Lorenz' mind. Rhea and Byleth were less surprised, the former because she had seen some of the large cities of humanity before their destruction and Byleth because he had seen some of those in films. Lorenz had neither of these advantages and voiced his disbelief thus.

"That cannot be. Nobody could hide a city that large," he said.

Hyperion retorted, "It's underground. It's a marvel in engineering, and so is the technology that allows them to survive there. Then again, the humans of this age are a bit different from before."

"Survive? Different from before? Elaborate," demanded Rhea. Her tone was harsher than the purple-haired youth expected. He had a feeling that it had less to do with the question and more with the person it was asked of.

"Before the cataclysm, an event which I will not go about into detail at this point, humans needed exposure to quite a bit of sunlight to produce a substance known as Vitamin D. It is vital for the survival of humans. If humans were still like that, most residents of Abyss would be either dead or severely ill at this point due to lack of sunlight," explained Hyperion.

Rhea paled. She hadn't known about this. While she had never been shy about killing when the need arose, the thought that she might have needlessly killed thousands of (mostly) innocent people with her carelessness if not for a stroke of luck was unsettling to her. "What has changed?" she asked.

The man in Byleth's head hummed. "I can only speculate. It's possible that Sothis did something. It's also possible that the awakening of magic within humans has caused said magic to produce Vitamin D subconsciously. In the case of the Agarthans, I would guess gene therapy or an implant that synthesises it are responsible, but I really can't say. I may be completely wrong on all of those points and it's just a product of natural evolution."

"While this is incredibly fascinating," said Lorenz, "I think we have stayed from the topic."

"I agree," said Byleth.

Lorenz went on, "If I understood what you were saying right, we can expect a sufficiently large force from this… Shambhala to take on the Leicester Alliance on its own, correct?"

"Yes, and then some," said Hyperion, "They also have agents in the other nations. I don't know how their affairs in the Kingdom are currently, but they have a lot of influence over the western lords and Rufus' court. As for the Empire, Arundel is one of theirs and most of the other high nobles are their puppets without even realising it. I'd tell your father to prepare for a continent-spanning war if I were you."

"I see," muttered Lorenz with a frown. "That explains my father's words to me."

"Please elaborate," said Rhea.

The Golden Deer nodded. "Certainly. My father told me that if things get as bad as he fears they will, I will be the future of House Gloucester. He commended me on my initiative to evacuate Sauin village and to have House Ordelia in my debt. I elected to not tell him the truth about both of these points."

"Was there anything else?" asked Byleth.

"Yes," answered Lorenz. "My father also gave this into my custody."

At that, the purple-haired youth produced a large bundle he had taken with him to the Audience Chamber. He unwrapped it and revealed what was inside: It was Thyrsus, the Hero's Relic of House Gloucester. It was, according to Hyperion, one of the most useful Relics.

"Ah, the instrument of magical artillery," said the man in question. "Only you and Lysithea can use this to its full potential, unless we find some Craft Dragon Signs, but it's going to be a huge help regardless.

"Craft Dragon Signs?" asked Lorenz.

"Never mind. It would take some time to explain all this and I have no idea how to find them," said Hyperion dismissively. "Plus, compatibility might also play a role."

It was Rhea who asked a question this time. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's faint, but if I focus on it, I can feel an echo of sorts," answered Hyperion. "Some part of the person from whose remains this weapon was made is still in there. It's not the soul, but a small part of their consciousness remains. It's likely that Thyrsus will be more effective with someone who manages to communicate and build a rapport with that consciousness."

There was a look of longing on Rhea's face now, a crack in her composed façade. It was easy to guess why for Hyperion and Byleth as well as Sothis, though she was but a silent observer in this conversation. She, too, felt that longing. Whoever it was who was turned into Thyrsus, they were Sothis' child, after all.

After some time had passed in silence, Rhea finally spoke up. "While I am curious, it is a topic for the future. I think we have discussed all there was to discuss for now. Dismissed."

AN: Hello, dear readers.

This chapter was a bit more action-heavy than I planned for it to be, but I hoped it was exciting enough for you. It's honestly ironic how I dreaded writing fight scenes when I started out, yet they have become practically the easiest thing to write at this point.

In any case, Jeralt has had a bit of time to shine again, though not all that much. Still, it's something. I plan to give him more time in the spotlight further down the story, but having to include so many characters is difficult. Heck, Catherine, Shamir and especially Cyril haven't had much to do in this story, and only in Catherine's case it is because I dislike her. With Cyril I just don't know what to do, and I haven't had an opportunity to show off Shamir.

As for today's recommended story, I present to you Absolute Trust by Urbanator93. It's another self-insert story, though this time in the Avatar universe. It's very fun to read and it's frequently updated. Honestly, after having read Embers, I thought I'd never find another Avatar story I could truly enjoy, but this one really got me. Give it a look.

Alright then, until next time, dear readers. Stay happy and healthy!