Chao Xing's eyes brightened as she, her father and grandfather entered the monastery. The air smelled so clean and fresh. The sun wasn't too hot and the wind wasn't too cold and the energy of the land was rich. This reminded her of the Cloud Retainer's abode back in Teyvat, the royal kids bid her a welcome to Garreg Mach and while they were shifty in her eyes, she could tell they were genuinely nice people. While her dad and grandpa were busy meeting the lady in charge of the place, Alois acted as her guide throughout the monastery while riding on Rosa.
The black wyvern was calm and cautious, acting placid yet her eyes gleamed with hidden intellect beyond that of typical wyverns. It knew that Alois was harmless to her rider's young one by the way he smelt. Warm sunshine was the best way to describe a good person by scent. The three royals though smelt bitter, which meant they are experiencing hardships that are bad for their health. But overall, they were safe to be around Chao Xing.
"-eird girl should go back from where she came from." came a faint voice that made the wyvern pause. It was a scent she had become accustomed to during her stay here in Fódlan, whenever someone looked at the beloved child with disgust. The smell of foul water and usually, the smell of anger her rider or his sire had at the one responsible for the smell. Since they were gone at the moment, the wyvern decided to take matters into her own hands.
In the next five seconds, a knight was sent flying into the sky before falling into crates and groaning in agony as Rosa snickered at the human's folly. Alois would learn later that the knight was saying something rude about Jeralt's granddaughter and ensured that the man would be thoroughly punished for his rudeness.
While Chao Xing learned more spots to enjoy running around Garreg Mach, both she and Rosa caught a whiff of something unpleasant: dark magic. It was a foul version of the dark magic Auntie Hakuno used, because it usually felt protective and safe despite its nature. This dark magic they both felt was repulsive to the core, it truly carried bad intentions in its very nature as the child and wyvern cautiously looked around, getting Alois's attention. "What's the matter? Is there something amiss, young lady?" the knight asked.
They found their target as Chao Xing pointed at the person in question. "Who's that creepy old man?" she asked, getting Alois to turn and raise a brow at the person in question. An old man walking with his cane with his back turned to them.
"That's just Thomas, our liberian. There's nothing creepy about him, just grumpy when there's late books. But if you do have late books, you'd better book it! Aye?" He joked with a playful wink. Chao Xing giggled while Rosa rolled her eyes at the joke. The wyvern moved, leading her young rider and the knight from that dark magic user. Byleth would like to be aware of a dark mage here for safety reasons.
*Golden Deer Classroom*
"Did you see that little girl riding that huge wyvern? She was sooo cute!" squealed Hilda while Claude had recognized the vague description anywhere else.
"You mean Chao Xing? She's the Ashen Demon's daughter." the schemer replied as another noble child, Lorenz raised a brow. No doubt about the way the girl's name sounded foreign to Fódlan tongues.
"Is she a foreigner perchance? It would be unlikely she would be welcomed in Garreg Mach." Lorenz asked, some minor concern in his voice.
"Unless you want to upset the Bladebreaker and his son the Ashen Demon, I'd rather not be the poor fool." Claude admitted to the thought of making an enemy out of both powerful warriors by doing something foolish around the child. Then they heard the screaming as everyone looked out to see a knight being tossed out into the sky before falling back down again. "Looks like there's already a victim." Claude jokes.
*Blue Lions*
Dimitri blinked at the sight of a knight of the church being flung in the air before coming down in a loud crash that made everyone else wince at the sound. "Looks like someone outdid you this time, boar." a voice of a close friend noted. It was Felix, and his usual tone and nickname for the prince when he noticed the flying knight overhead.
"...It's most likely Rosa. Chao Xing does say she does that to those that were mean to the young girl." Dimitri smiled wryly, recalling on the trip back to the monastery of the wyvern's antics. That wyvern was smart from the way she looked at him and it took a great deal of self-control not to be intimidated by the way her eye looked at him with a knowing look. Given that a professional mercenary has such a powerful mount that was also smart and protective of his daughter, Rosa was no doubt an ideal wyvern for the Ashen Demon.
"Such exotic names and the fact you know them. Care to introduce me to them by chance?" a familiar redhead asked with a playful smile. Sylvain Gautier, the residential skirt chaser within the Blue Lions house and someone who needs to be kept an eye on before he offends anyone of importance. Dimitri wondered how his friend would react to a wyvern and a five-year-old child? Scratch it, his friend would be killed by the Ashen Demon and Bladebreaker within the next hour-correction, half hour if they were inclined to do so. Better deter his friend from making a foolish choice there and be in an early grave.
"Sylvain, I know they're cute when I saw them earlier…but I didn't know you'd be that desperate." came the voice of a fellow blonde friend. Ah, dear old Ingrid. Where'd they be without her reigning in his friend's antics?
"Uh, Ingrid, what do you mean by that exactly?" Sylvain asked nervously at the rather pitying look Ingrid was giving him.
"You mean you don't know? Rosa is a wyvern and Chao Xing is a child." Annette answered for him, causing the Gautier heir to pale at that. Alarm bells were already ringing in his head at the implications now.
"Now you've really fallen far, old friend, what are we to do with you?" Dimitri asked sardonically with a shake of his head in disapproval. Instantly Sylvain was defending himself, pleading his innocence as members of the Blue Lions laughed at his expense.
*Black Eagles*
"Wow, talk about strength. I gotta ask who did that and how!" Caspar shouted excitedly while his friend, Lindhart napped peacefully at his desk.
Edelgard raised a brow at the sight of a knight in full armor being flung sky high before turning back to Hubert, her faithful right-hand man and listening to his report. She wanted information on Hakuno Kishinami the Ashen Witch, Jeralt the Bladebreaker and his son, Byleth the Ashen Demon. She knew they were powerful assets to her cause if she managed to recruit them and she needed information on them in order to fully understand what they are capable of. The Ashen Witch had a rather large profile in the past twenty years when she appeared out of nowhere.
She had been the one to recruit and train individuals, from the poor and downtrodden, to outcasts and fallen nobility into a powerful mercenary corps of Jeralt's. The main corps belonged to Jeralt, but there were two subfactions in it that this vice-captain created. One was her own group she led known as the Ashen Coven and had the fearsome reputation of reducing the battlegrounds they appeared in to cinders with powerful magics. Next was the Ashen Blades, led by the Ashen Demon himself. Rarely appearing, they are dreaded as fearless destroyers that have decimated thousands of bandit camps and were responsible for the death of Acheron the Weathervane when he backed out on a deal with Jeralt's Mercenaries.
The Ashen Witch herself was confirmed by further digging to be involved with the Tragedy of Duscur by her 'associates' and had even given Cornelia the court mage the scare of her lifetime, something Edelgard would have paid to see. She had even been responsible for negotiations between Brigid and the Empire, by forcefully making a ceasefire with her might and making an agreement of sorts. A cultural exchange it was called, some of the nobility of Adrestia would live in Brigid to learn the culture and language as ambassadors, while the princess of Brigid, Petra, would come to Fódlan to learn their culture.
The princess herself volunteered willingly despite the protest of the still living king. Edelgard had to admit though, the few years Petra has been in Fódlan, she learned quite a bit of the culture despite having some problems with the language. Both princesses have exchanged pleasantries, and both hoped to make a friendship treaty given how this cultural exchange from both sides have been progressing smoothly so far despite the small hiccups from some of the Adrestian nobles acting as ambassadors.
But what really caught Edelgard's interest about the Ashen Witch was the confirmation that she single-handedly decimated the armies of Faerghus by her lonesome self during the Tragedy. A single mage wiping out an army of knights just like that was someone she had to get on their side no matter what. Despite being a foreigner, she proved to be quite a capable lady and held insights Edelgard might have overlooked.
Next was Byleth Eisner the Ashen Demon, the young mercenary she felt drawn to. He was an aloof individual, rarely emoting unless it was his daughter. A skilled warrior with a knack of leadership and tactical prowess, she needed him for her cause. It was a feeling deep down that he would be a key instrument in changing all of Fódlan when she made her plans onwards.
But deep down there was also a major concern that both she, Dimitri and Claude had: the Rift Beasts.
From what she gleaned from both Sir Byleth and Lady Hakuno, Rift Beasts were creatures taken from their worlds, corrupted by a dark will to be sent and invade other realms. That was a wrench in her plans since knowledge of them was completely nonexistent and they had only just recently showed up. If she were to wage war with the Church of Seiros; with Rhea, then she'd be dealing not just Faerghus who'd be glad to lend a hand against the Empire, but this rogue element that would make the future war more problematic than it should. She'll have to make it a priority to learn about the Rift Beasts to ensure she is armed with the knowledge on how to deal with them. But for now, the school semester was about to start, and a surprise she didn't expect.
*Audience Chamber*
You wish to what?
"I wish to mention your name in a gambit. Honesty is a dangerous double-edged sword that I hope would allow some leeway with the archbishop." Byleth mentally communicated with the amnesiac goddess in his head. "I know she's responsible for you being inside me, why your core is connected to my heart. Please Sothis, I want to find the answers I've been seeking when I came to Fódlan."
…Very well. I did say to drift through the flow of time to find the answers you seek. But I warn you, do be careful with what you say. Something about Rhea concerns me quite a bit.
With that done, the doors opened to see Archbishop Rhea and her aid standing there, expecting him and his father. Despite not being the most expressive person, he did clench his fist tightly in alarm. Both people in the chamber were dangerous, his honed instincts on the battlefield taught him this much. One wrong word and the consequences would be fatal. He was going to have to play it by the ear and hopefully get some answers from Rhea without bloodshed.
This will be quite something in the upcoming chapter wouldn't you say? What kind of can of worms will Byleth open when he mentions Sothis this early in the game? Such is the game of chance; you have to take it. Until next time, Ciassou!