"There is one thing I'm curious about," Yuri asked. "I noticed that Seiros, Hubert, and Mercedes were willing to discuss the reason some of the Elites turned in front of you and Cato. Him I get; he probably knew about that before he left the Agarthans. But why do you know that? Wouldn't that be something best kept quiet?"
"Yeah, it's strictly need-to-know," Madelyn nodded. "I needed to know. A year and a half ago, I was involved with an operation to break a Nabatean prisoner out of one of Nemesis's prisons. They told me the secret when explaining to me why this particular prisoner was still alive. Apparently Nemesis thought several officers with Crests but no Relics would have more value than an Elite with a Crest and a Relic. I think they were a bit more comfortable with me knowing instead of someone else, because I already have a Crest. I couldn't do what the Elites did even if I wanted to."
"That makes sense," Yuri said. "Did you rescue the prisoner?"
"We did," Madelyn said. "She's...still not okay, but she's alive, and she wasn't permanently crippled."
"Good," Yuri acknowledged.
The quartermaster had equipped the members of the Rising Sun Company with whatever equipment they needed. While a few of them had decided to take a full set of armor, most had just received slight alterations to their armor to have the Adrestian symbol visible on it.
While it wasn't as uncomfortable as wearing her ceremonial dress, for some reason, wearing the Adrestian symbol didn't feel right to Zelda, and she brought it up to Link.
"I'll admit, I feel odd wearing it too," Link admitted. "Still, is it that important?"
"Of course it is," Cato said, as the quartermaster handed him a double-bladed axe and a cutlass. "Good as new, sir."
"Some people think of the symbols on a banner as meaningless pictures," Cato elaborated. "But that's not true at all. Symbols were chosen for a reason. And they say something about how the people who follow the banner see themselves. Take the Adrestian banner. A black eagle on a red background. The eagle is seen as a symbol of power, nobility, and freedom, while the red background represents courage and strength on the field of battle. Or the serpent on the Agarthan banner. Serpents are seen by some as symbols of cunning and wisdom, and of transformation and renewal, and their power is in their venom rather than fangs and claws, just as the Agarthans believe their strength is in spies and subversives rather than armies and weapons." He looked at Link's shield. "Your homeland's symbol is much the same. Is it a falcon? An osprey?"
Zelda shook her head. "Good guess, but no. It's a Loftwing, a bird that Hylians rode in the early years of the kingdom's existence, like your wyverns. Sadly, they became extinct at some point."
"So they had cultural importance to your people. And this symbol above it? The triangle made of three smaller triangles?"
"That symbol is the Triforce, a symbol of the Goddesses Din, Nayru, and Farore," Zelda explained.
"And religion is very important to your people?" Cato asked.
"Extremely important," Link said. "In Hyrule, only a fool doesn't believe in the Gods."
"Interesting," Cato said. "Thank you for the insight."
After everyone had been kitted, they went back to the command tent. "So what's the plan?" Hilda asked.
"Up until now, we haven't had the resources to deal with the Order of Iron," Seiros said. "However, now that you're here, we can send enough men to break down their power base. Eleven members of the Company should be sufficient for dealing with them. For the most part, their forces have their military bases in the Ohgma Mountains because they aren't easy to attack there. The rest of the Company can help the main force of the army face Nemesis's forces. Nemesis has forces on both sides of the Ohgma Mountains, so we'll be fighting on two fronts. Nemesis himself leads his forces in the east, while his northern forces are led by Cecil Dominic. Count Varley and Macuil command our forces on the eastern front, while Lycaon and I command the northern front personally."
"Sounds like a plan," Claude said. "I'll lead the offensive against the Iron bastards, if that's okay."
"Fine by me," Dimitri said. "I'd much rather try and deal with the Elites. I suppose I'll take the ones in the north."
"We'll determine who gets assigned to which offensive later," Link said.
Seiros stared at the map of Fódlan on the table. "For decades, it felt like this war would never be over. But now that you're here, I feel as if this era of strife might finally be about to come to a close. Thank you."
"It's no trouble at all," Zelda said. "Aside from me, Link, and Linkle, all of the members of the Rising Sun Company were born in Fódlan, and they were instrumental in saving Hyrule from a great disaster. It's only right that we should return the favor."
"Nonetheless, you have my undying gratitude," Seiros said.
