Chapter 20: The Path to You

The Nohrian Military Camp, The Kingdom of Nohr, Moirai

Year 625

Nohr was not what Byleth would call a scenic country.

The lush trees and gentle landscape that had surrounded the Dragon's Gate quickly turned dry and barren the farther they traveled into Nohrian territory. The road hardened into stone beneath their feet. Cracks from centuries of erosion split through the rock, almost catching Byleth's feet several times during their short journey to the military camp. As if the pain and lethargy sticking to his bones weren't giving him enough trouble already.

Luckily, he managed to keep pace with the rest of the group—thanks in no small part to Ashe, who had stuck close by with a discreet arm to help him maintain his balance—as they reached the border of the camp.

A wooden fence built up just over Byleth's head sat between them and whatever was waiting on the other side. Runes had been carved into the posts, shimmering with a soft golden light. Tendrils of smoke puffed into the air from behind it, the scent of spiced meats and fish swirling under his nose as a gentle breeze blew over the camp. Faint chatter and clinking metal filtered through the tiny slots between the wooden planks, too cluttered to really make out anything distinct.

Odin stepped forward, cleared his throat, and announced to the fence, "Great watcher on the wall, heed my call! For I, Odin Dark, have returned to our mystical abode with eternity's favor at my back."

A slot in the fence opened up, revealing a young woman's giggling face. "Ah, yes. We have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of your dark…presence…" She trailed off, purple eyes roaming over the faces of the rest of the group. "Um, Odin? I don't remember you leaving with this many people."

"Fret not, my fair princess!" Odin grinned and motioned to them in a grand, dramatic sweep of his hand. "The gods have heard our pleas, and have sent heroes from the great beyond to aid us in—"

"Oooh!" The girl cut him off with a high-pitched squeal. "Is that Kana and Sophie?!"

Silas nodded with something of an exhausted smile, wrapping an arm around each of his children. "Yes, Lady Elise. Our new friends here from the Deeprealms helped them find their way home."

"No way!" More excited giggling came from the other side of the wall. "You're so big! Hold on, let me get a better look at you…"

As she stepped away from the slot, the sound of a gong rumbled through the air. The golden runes flashed in response, drawing the outline of a dragon along the length of the fence and sending tremors into the earth. Byleth, to his embarrassment, had to once again lean against Ashe to keep himself from falling onto his face.

The cracks of the stone floor widened and dragged a section of the fence down into the depths of the earth, the wooden posts creaking as they sank beneath the surface. The quaking ceased, and soon after a young woman skipped through the newly formed opening to greet the kids up close, blonde pigtails bouncing with every step.

"I don't know if you guys remember me, but I'm your Auntie Elise!" She beamed and squeezed them both in a tight hug. "I got to meet you once when you were itty bitty which…wasn't actually that long ago for me…but that's okay! We can spend some time together now to make up for all that growing up I missed out on."

"Milady," Silas started, "we have to—"

"Silas, come on!" Elise pouted and crossed her arms. "We're family now. Family doesn't call family by their fancy titles."

"…My apologies, Elise," Silas tried again, stumbling over the name, "but we need to speak with Lor…Leo…as soon as possible. He's back from Hoshido, right?"

"Yeah, he rode in with Queen Hinoka not too long ago. But what's the rush? Let's get your new friends all settled in, catch up with your kids, maybe even introduce them to all the other—"

"Corrin might still be alive."

Elise's cheerful demeanor fell away instantly, eyes going impossibly wide. "W-What? Corrin is…alive? But we…we saw her…"

"I know, but according to them—" Silas gestured to the rest of the group "—it's possible she survived the fall, and she's trapped somewhere in the Bottomless Canyon."

Kana puffed out his chest and curled his hand over his face, imitating one of Odin's "heroic" poses. "Yeah, so it's up to us to save her! We're the…uh…heroes of fate, and we're going to beat the bad guys with our cool swords and stuff to save Mama from their evilness."

Off to the side, Odin flashed him a thumbs up and mouthed "nailed it!"

"Really? Corrin could really be…" Elise clasped her hands together and bounced in place. "Th-that's great! You're right, we've got to tell Leo right away. Come on, come on!"

Without wasting a beat, she hopped back over the cracked earth and passed through the gap in the fence, beckoning them forward one by one. Byleth made his way over with slow, methodical steps, careful not to slip on the uneven terrain as he entered the military camp.

Once everyone was through, Elise jumped onto a raised piece of stone with another image of a dragon burned deep into the rock's face. The gong sounded again as the dragon beneath her boots lit up in a blaze of white and gold, prompting the earth around it to shift and shake. The missing wooden posts slowly raised themselves back out of the ground into their original positions, closing off the opening.

A magical mechanism that could manipulate the earth itself? How strange. Byleth was tempted to inspect it further, but he was a little busy trying to keep his body upright as both ground and fence settled back into place.

"Leo's tent is in the back," Elise said, stepping off the stone. The dragon symbol immediately faded into a dull shine. "He's a little grumpy right now but I bet he'll really cheer up when he sees you guys." She winked at Sophie and Kana before motioning for the group to follow her, skipping along a path carved through the middle of the camp. "He's a big softie when it comes to his niece and nephews."

"Nephews?" Sophie asked, emphasizing the s on the end of the word. "It's not just me and Kana? We have a cousin?"

"You have two, actually." Elise grinned and waved to two young boys, one dressed in blacks and purples and the other in brighter pinks, playing what seemed to be a game of tag, weaving through the dozens of tents lining the walkway. "Siegbert and Forrest. They're just about your age…or rather, they were, but I guess you guys grew up a little faster out in the Deeprealms, huh? But don't worry, that doesn't mean you can't still be friends! They'll be so excited to meet you, and then we can introduce you to everyone else…"

Elise continued to ramble on about the rest of the army, pointing out different faces as she guided them through the grounds. People of various states of dress wandered the camp, from knights covered head-to-toe in thick armor plate to mages wearing next to nothing. A curious tactical choice that Byleth couldn't figure out. Why would mages, who were generally the frailest people in an army, choose to forgo even just a small layer of clothing to protect themselves and their skin? It didn't make sense.

As they neared the back of the camp they passed by a man crouched over a campfire, stirring a pot that hung just above the roaring flames. A young girl with pink hair clung to his back and peeked over his shoulder as he dumped a few spices and meat cubes into the pot.

"And that's Laslow and his daughter, Soleil," Elise said. "They're—"

"Daddy, look!" The girl tugged on his shirt and grinned up at them. "Pretty girls!"

The man glanced up from the pot. His lips curled into a relaxed, suave smile as he rose to his feet to greet them properly.

"My my, and who do we have here? New recruits?" Laslow took the hand of the closest woman in the group—Celica, much to Alm's chagrin—and pressed a kiss to her knuckles. "You must be. I would never forget such a gorgeous face, my sweet—ow!"

Selena slapped the back of his head and pulled him back by his ear. "Selena—hey! What gives?!"

"We need to talk," she hissed. "Right now."

"Can't it wait? My stew—"

"It's happening."

Laslow's jaw stiffened, all traces of his casual and flirtatious persona wiped from his face. "Are you sure?"

Selena and Odin answered at the same time with a solemn nod.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Soleil asked, hugging her father's leg. "What's happening?"

"It's nothing you have to worry about, love." He knelt in front of her and ruffled her hair, offering her a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Why don't you go practice your dance steps with Ophelia? You can teach her what we learned earlier this morning."

"Oh, okay! Then we can both do a show together for our new friends!" Soleil giggled, grabbing Annette and Petra's hands then tapping Celica's shin with her tiny feet. "Come on, the pretty ladies get to see it first!"

"Ah, but…!" The three women, conflicted, glanced back to the group as the girl dragged them away.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Mae said, pouting, "why am I not being included in this? I'm a pretty lady!"

"Lady isn't the word I'd use," Boey muttered.

"Well no one asked you!" Mae hurried after them, leaving behind only a few puffs of dirt in her wake.

"I guess we'll fill them in later?" Alm said through an awkward chuckle.

"Fill them in on what?"

A man dressed in black armor plate and a wide collar stepped out of one of the nearby tents, arms crossed and lips drawn into a thin line. Byleth inwardly sighed; he hadn't had to keep track of so many new faces since he had first started teaching at the monastery.

"Odin, Selena, Silas," the man started, his tone undercut by a sharp edge, "I thought we all agreed that we wouldn't be bringing any strangers into the camp until they could be properly vetted."

"Ugh, don't be so prickly, Leo. And stop trying to look so tough and aggressive." Elise tugged on his arms until the man was forced to, begrudgingly, relax them to his sides. "They're here to help! And they've got some really, really important stuff to tell you."

"I would hope so, seeing as all the racket outside my tent has interrupted a diplomatic meeting with the Queen of Hoshido."

"I'm sure Hinoka won't mind, especially after she gets to meet our newest arrivals." She pushed Sophie and Kana forward, grinning from ear to ear. "After all, they're part of her family, too."

"Part of her family…too…" Leo's expression softened as he took in the kids' faces. He rested a hesitant hand on each of their shoulders, as though testing to make sure they were real. "You're…but how…?"

"It's a long story," Silas sighed.

"…Then I suppose we should get to talking then." Leo pushed aside the flap of his tent, inviting them in with an eager wave.

"I want to hear everything."

—

Byleth had never been so thankful for a cup of tea. As Odin recounted the events of the past few hours to the prince and the queen—with Alm and Silas interjecting corrections or translations when he leaned a little too much into the realm of exaggeration—Byleth focused on slowly sipping the Nohrian brew. He relished the way the liquid warmed his body, relaxed as it dulled the exhaustion and pain from their long days of travel. Those feelings still lingered, to be sure, but the tea had helped it all become a bit more bearable.

Good tea always seemed to have that effect on him.

"Are you sure?" Hinoka asked. Her short, spiky red hair and dirt-caked uniform clashed with the poised, sophisticated image of a stereotypical queen, but Hinoka didn't strike him as the type of person to put much stock in that kind of thing. "Corrin…you think she's alive?"

"That's what our mutual friend led us to believe," Alm said, referring to Byleth's brief encounter with Azura. "And so far, she hasn't done us wrong. We only made it here with your niece and nephew because of her guidance."

"Frankly, it is a bit hard to believe." Leo rested his chin atop steepled fingers. His gaze drifted over to said siblings for a moment, a ghost of a smile tugging at his lips as he watched Kana fawn over all the swords and tomes the prince had stored around the tent.

"But with Silas and Odin vouching for you, I suppose there's really no reason to doubt your claims. The latter can be a bit," Leo clicked his tongue, "odd, at times…but he's a dutiful retainer, and I trust him with my life. If he says it's possible, then we'll work within that assumption."

"Aww," Odin gave an exaggerated sniffle and raised his own cup of tea. "My dark liege, he who sups at the altar of chaos itself, bestowing such a grand compliment upon my name? Truly, this is an honor Odin Dark will never forget."

"Don't push your luck."

"So," Hinoka continued, "if we think Corrin—and Azura, potentially—are trapped somewhere in that canyon, then the next logical step would be to scope it out, right?" She leaned forward on the command table, tracing down the center of a map where, Byleth presumed, the canyon was located. It seemed to serve as a natural barrier between the two nations. "See if the Bottomless Canyon deserves its name."

Byleth began to nod in agreement—

…No…

A voice, faint and breathless, brushed past his ear. Byleth blinked and set the teacup down, glancing around to search for the source of it. A pulse of pain stabbed through his skull, his vision clouded over with blots of purple and black. He dug his hands into his trousers and screwed his lips shut to keep himself from crying out.

…No…

"…No…?"

"No?" Silas asked, regarding Byleth with a raised brow. "Weren't you the one who suggested they might be there, back at the Dragon's Gate?"

"I…" Byleth's mouth was suddenly very dry, like he had just choked down a bucket of sand. He took a large gulp of his tea; it scorched his throat on the way down. "Yes, sorry…we should go as soon as possible. Before the enemy has a chance to attack us again."

"If they do, we'll be safe inside the camp," Leo said. "We've integrated the outer fence with the power of a Dragon Vein. No one gets in or out unless they have the ability to activate it, only people from Nohr's royal family."

"Or Hoshido's," Hinoka said. A brief flash of resentment burned in her gaze before it disappeared with a (somewhat forced) sigh.

"…Right." Leo cleared his throat and adjusted his collar. "We'll have to leave the safety of the camp to conduct the search, obviously, but we're fairly close to the canyon. If any problems arise, we should be able to make a hasty retreat back here relatively easily."

…No…the voice said again, so quiet that Byleth almost missed it.

He pinched the bridge of his nose. That voice…it almost sounded like…

Sothis? he called out from his mind. No response. Of course not, what had he expected? Sothis was gone.

Whatever sickness he had was now haunting him with hallucinations, then? Fantastic.

"Our best bet will be to send some fliers down to check it out," Leo continued, rapping his knuckles on the table. "Unfortunately, all of our wyvern riders are back at Castle Krakenburg with Xander and Camilla, my oldest siblings."

"We have one among our group," Alm said, "but she probably can't carry more than three passengers at a time. And I don't think sending just a few people down there alone is a good idea."

Hinoka shrugged, nodding to the tent's flap. "Then how about some pegasi? You could borrow them from my guard. They're not as durable as your wyvern, but they're faster and, more importantly, here for us to use."

"That's not going to work, unfortunately." Alm sighed, shoulders slumping. "At least, not if you want us to be able to help. We only have a few women in our group…"

"So? What's that got to do with anything?"

"…Only women can ride pegasi."

"Um, what?" A crease formed over Hinoka's brow as she looked him over. "What are you talking about? Anyone can ride a pegasus. Gender has nothing to do with it."

"…Oh." Alm scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, the pegasi I'm familiar with are…considerably more sexist. Where I'm from, if a man so much as touches a pegasus, it will try to bite his hand off."

"Well then, I guess today's your lucky day, boys." Hinoka's mouth took on a smirk as she shuffled toward the tent's entrance. "You're going to get your first taste of the open air on pegasus-back."

Still smirking, the Queen of Hoshido excused herself from the makeshift meeting to, presumably, prepare the flying creatures for the journey ahead. A chance to ride a pegasus? Byleth wasn't sure if he should be excited or worried.

…No…

…He was leaning more toward worried.

"Well, if we're done here…" Leo rolled up the table map and tucked it under his arm. "I need to get a message out to my brother about all this, then start preparing our troops for the canyon. Thank you again for—"

"Uncle Leo?"

Kana's voice was quiet, almost as quiet as the strange one floating around Byleth's ear (though he knew Kana's was, at least, not part of his imagination). The boy was kneeling beside a wooden box, a sword of bronze and gold sitting flat on his palms. "I…I recognize this one…it's…"

"…Your mother's sword, yes," Leo said softly. "The Yato. She left it behind before she…fell."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. It was quite powerful in her hands, especially when she was fighting beside your Uncle Xander and I, him wielding the legendary Siegfried and myself with my Brynhildr tome." The prince tapped an empty section on his belt. "But we lost them when the invisible army attacked, which weakened her sword, too. I think you would have liked seeing it at its full power, Kana. It would shine with this radiant mix of purple and red light, just…like…"

As if on cue, the sword began to glow in the same manner Leo had just been describing. Two slots engraved just above the sword's cross guard lit up in tandem with the sharp edge of the blade.

"It feels kind of tingly," Kana giggled.

"…How…?" Leo muttered under his breath. "That shouldn't be possible…we don't have…"

"Uh, what's happening?"

Alm unsheathed Falchion, holding it away from his body as the soft light dancing around the Yato curled itself around his own blade. He ran his fingers over the flat side. The light seemed to part around his touch as he drew an invisible line down the sword's center, like he was dragging his hand through a gentle stream.

Byleth peeked down at the Sword of the Creator and, strangely enough, it too had taken on the same glow.

"Whoa, so cool!" Odin was gaping and grinning all at once, staring at the blades with child-like glee. "Three legendary weapons, each resonating against the other's power and crying out to the heavens!" The teacup in his hand rattled as he shook from excitement.

"Have you named them yet? Every blade should have a powerful name. I can name them for you, i-if you would give me the honors, of course. Let me tell you, I can come up with the coolest, most awe-inspiring—"

"The Sword of the Creator," Byleth said. It felt a little weird saying it out loud…too dramatic for his tastes. "Didn't name it myself."

"Very fitting, very fitting." Odin tipped his head in a show of reverence, lifting the cup to his lips as his expectant smile turned to Alm.

"This one's called Falchion, but I also didn't—"

Odin spat out his tea.

"F-Falchion?" He was coughing like someone had punched him repeatedly in the gut, remnants of tea and spittle dribbling off the corner of his lip. "Falchion?"

"Um…yes?" Alm slowly sheathed Falchion with a frown. "Is there…something wrong with that?"

Odin's wide-eyed gaze snapped to the other side of the tent, where Selena and Laslow had been whispering among themselves over the duration of the meeting. The two seemed to be too wrapped up in their own conversation to notice his reaction.

"A-and, ah…" He wiped off his mouth with the back of a trembling hand. "What was your name again, sir?"

"…Alm."

"Alm…Valm…" Odin traced invisible dots in the air like he was solving some kind of puzzle. "That must mean…you're…you're…" The wide-eyed gaze was now bulging. "Th-the legendary Saint-King of Valentia?!"

"What…?" It was Alm's turn to look aghast, eyebrows shooting up. "How could you have possibly—"

"And that must mean—but you don't look anything like—" Odin's hands gripped the short blond hairs on his scalp "—if you came from that time, then that mage wasn't just some random mage named Merric, that was Merric Merric, the Great Sage of Wind and closest friend of—ah!"

One of his hands dropped from his head to his mouth, muffling the rest of his rambling.

"What the hell are you going on about, Odin?" Leo asked, equally as confused as the rest of them.

"I've said too much!" Odin practically dove over the table to reach Selena and Laslow in a matter of seconds. "S-sorry, milord, but I have to, uh, talk about some things with my friends here! Haha, yeah."

Selena tried to shove him off when he grabbed her arm. "Hey, get your hands off—"

"We'll be back soon to help out with the expedition's preparations, promise!"

And with that, Odin zoomed out of the tent, dragging the other two retainers behind him.

"…My apologies," Leo said after a few beats of awkward silence. "Like I said, he can be…odd, sometimes…" The prince shook his head and turned back to his nephew. "Let's put the sword back for now, okay? We shouldn't mess with it without your mother's supervision, especially with this…strange reaction."

"Okay…" Kana carefully placed the sword back in the box. As he released the handle, the purple and red lights encompassing all three blades immediately faded. "I really, really wanna see her fight with it. Can we practice together after we find her, Papa?"

Silas smiled down at his son, though it seemed a bit hesitant and forced. "Sure, Kana. After we find her."

No…the voice whispered one last time, so soft that Byleth wondered if maybe it was all just a trick of the wind. He called out to it once more, waiting several minutes for a response. Nothing. The voice did not see fit to speak again.

Byleth sighed, allowing himself one more sip of tea to help him refocus his mind on the mission ahead.

Character Bios:

Elise: Strategist

—Youngest princess of the Nohrian royal family. A bubbly and cheerful spirit who loves giving warm hugs to friends and family. While she prefers to solve conflicts with kindness and peace, she won't hesitate to fight to protect the people closest to her with her talents in the mystic arts.

—Relations: Daughter of Garon (deceased). Half-sister of Leo, Xander, Camilla, and adoptive sister Corrin (current whereabouts unknown). Aunt of Siegbert, Forrest, Kana, and Sophie.

Hinoka: Falcon Knight

—Queen of Hoshido and oldest surviving member of the Hoshidan royal family. A headstrong spirit who trained from a young age to become one of Hoshido's most formidable warriors in hopes of one day reuniting with her stepsister, Corrin, after she had been taken captive by King Garon of Nohr. After the death of her brothers and the war with Nohr came to an end, she vowed to work tirelessly to rebuild her country and restore relations with their neighbors to the west.

—Relations: Daughter of Sumeragi and Ikona (both deceased). Sister of Sakura, Ryoma (deceased), Takumi (deceased), and stepsister of Corrin (current whereabouts unknown). Aunt of Kana and Sophie.

Laslow: Hero

—Retainer of King Xander of Nohr. A flirtatious man who often partakes in many dance routines some say he learned from his mother. Despite his tendency to chase after the hearts of beautiful women, he is known to be quite bashful when their attention is turned onto him. Like Selena and Odin, it is said that he hails from a land far outside of the borders of both Nohr and Hoshido.

—Relations: Father of Soleil.

Leo: Dark Knight

—Youngest prince of the Nohrian royal family. A strategist of incredible intellect who's always trying to measure up to his siblings' abilities. Because of his extreme devotion to his studies and improving his magical talents, he can sometimes be forgetful of the smaller things in life, such as his tendency to wear his collar the wrong way.

—Relations: Son of Garon (deceased). Half-brother of Elise, Xander, Camilla, and adoptive brother of Corrin (current whereabouts unknown). Father of Forrest. Uncle of Siegbert, Kana, and Sophie.

I turned in my completed master's thesis document to my committee today. How do I celebrate? With more writing, of course!

In this story, the child units were all born after the war ended so there weren't any Deeprealm shenanigans (beyond Kana and Sophie's circumstance, explained way back in chapter 3), which is why they're depicted fairly young here. I also don't really have a preference or story reasons for the identity of their mothers, so if you have a pairing you like you can just go with that lol

Next chapter: Journey into the land below.