Byleth:
"You... How long do you intend to sleep?" A voice rang through Byleth's head, "Your body is awake. Your eyes must open now, and you must find the strength to stand upon those legs of yours" the voice continued on "Like so much rain, a pool of blood has fallen to the ground... As spears and arrows pierce the earth, it weeps. And even now... it weeps" the voice said. "In order to survive, they kill. And so, the people of this world are lost in an abyss of suffering. They weep as well" The voice said, "The only one who truly knows the nature of such things is I... or rather, you" the voice added.
"I'm still sleepy..." Byleth called out.
Byleth heard a dramatic sigh "You are a complete and utter fool! Have you not changed one bit?!" the voice huffed out "Get on your feet. Right now! I'll coddle you no more! You are just a child, always needing me to hold your hand..." the voice scolded.
The black slowly faded away, until Byleth saw white, she blinked her eyes trying to adjust them to the harsh beams of the sun. "Sothis?" Byleth said weakly.
"Huh?... Hey! A- are you awake?" A voice called out, Byleth's body instinctively shot up in case she would have to defend herself, she looked at the person before her a man with brown hair and brown eyes, by the looks of it he seemed to be a peasant.
"Where am I?" Byleth croaked, her throat hurt, just how long was she lying dormant for? she wondered.
"We're in a village at the base of the monastery. What are you doing in a place like this?" The man asked, "I honestly didn't expect to find someone floating away down the river..." he added quietly, "Garreg Mach is upstream of here, but that place was abandoned" he added.
Byleth furrowed her brows, "What do you mean?" she asked.
"Huh? You don't know? The Church of Seiros isn't there anymore" he said "Though there have been some folks still living there in the five years since... well you know" he added "Anyways, I've heard some thieves have been spotted around those parts these days" he said.
A realization hit Byleth "Did he say five years?" She thought to herself, "What year is it?" she asked the man.
"Um, are you feeling alright? You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?" the man asked "It's the Ethereal Moon of the year 1185. It's been nearly five years since the monastery fell" he said, "Tomorrow was supposed to be the millennium festival, but who's got time to think about things like that?" the man sighed.
"The millennium festival..." Byleth chocked out, remembering her promise to her classmates.
"Uh yeah, that's what I said. But with the war and the archbishop waging a war from Fhirdiad..." he said.
That is all Byleth needed to hear, Rhea was still alive, now all she needed to do was find Edelgard and they could end it for good this time. But why was Rhea in Fhirdiad? Did Dimitri eventually side with her, Byleth could not help but feel a pang of hurt over that. Regardless that did not matter now.
Byleth began to walk towards the monastery, the man ran after her "Hey! Slow down, will ya? Where do you think you're going?" He asked.
"The monastery" Byleth said bluntly, as she kept walking onward.
"Are you crazy?! I told ya! They say thieves are running amok up there, and there's plenty of other dangers too" The man shouted to her, Byleth nodded and kept on walking, "Come on, I promise I won't say you're a coward. Just forget about going anywhere near the monastery" the man pleaded " Byleth shook her head. "You just remember I tried to stop you, got it? It's not on my conscience if you wind up dead!" the man added.
Byleth let out a small laugh as she continued, "No need to worry about me" she said, the man murmured something under his breath as Byleth continued her journey to the monastery.
Byleth made her way to the monastery, as far as she could tell no one had been there. Well at least for the moment being. Byleth stopped for a moment as she crossed the bridge that led to the cathedral, the sun was beginning to rise, "How pretty" she thought for a moment then walked int the cathedral.
There was a man standing in front of a pile of rubble towards the back of the cathedral, he turned to look at her "You overslept Byleth" he said, "Pretty rude to keep a fella waiting like that, wouldn't you say?" he added. Byleth stared at the man before her for a moment. Then it clicked, it is Claude. "What's with the surprised look my friend?" Claude said as he approached Byleth "You didn't really think I'd given up on you coming back, did you?" he added, he turned away from Byleth briefly "Can you feel it? A new dawn is finally here" Claude said softly "Not just for us though. No, for all of Fodlan" he added.
Claude sighed then turned back to Byleth, "It's been five whole years. Where have you been Byleth?" he asked "You don't really expect me to believe that you've been napping this whole time, do you?" Claude said.
Byleth paused, "I was sleeping" she sighed.
"That's a good one! Except... That's not your lying face. I guess I've got no choice to believe you" Claude said, he looked over Byleth "It looks like you haven't aged a single day, since I'd last seen you" he murmurer then shook his head. "You're not exactly normal to begin with, so it's not a huge stretch to imagine you sleeping for that long" Claude sighed "Aaand this is where you say, just kidding. Right? If this is a rib, now's the time to fess up" he said.
Byleth shook her head, "It's the truth" she said. "I woke up this morning to a voice in my head yelling at me to get up" Byleth added.
Claude let out a long dramatic sigh, "You must be insane, and yet... Fine. I believe you, ok?" he sighed. Claude paused for a moment "But that means you don't know anything that happened after your last battle, right?" he asked.
Byleth nodded, "Last thing I remember was fighting Rhea... and then everything was black" she said.
"I guess it's on me to catch you up" Claude said, and threw his arm back with exaggeration. "As you can see, Garreg Mach was crushed by the Empire and was never restored" Claude began "The monastery is in ruins, and the town is in pretty bad shape too. Can you guess why?" he asked.
"Rhea" Byleth spat.
"Eh, kind of" Claude said as he scratched his head "She's been holed up in Fhirdiad, since the battle at Garreg Mach" he added.
Byleth felt a pit in her stomach, so it was true. "Dimitri sided with Rhea?" Byleth asked.
Claude froze, "Not exactly" he said quietly "Something happened in Fhirdiad, and Dimitri was... well executed" he said "And now Faerghus is being controlled by the Dukedom and Rhea" he added.
"Dimitri's... dead?" Byleth choked out, a wave of guilt fell over Byleth maybe he would still be here if Byleth had not chosen to protect Edelgard. Claude nodded "I see..." Byleth murmured, she felt the tears burning at her eyes.
Claude shifted uncomfortably for a moment "From what I heard; your Father was with Dimitri" he said softly. "I don't know if he made it" he added.
Byleth turned away from Claude all she could do was nod, "And what of Edelgard?" she choked out.
"Before we discuss this further... Are you hungry? You must be" Claude said with concern "It's not much but I did bring some food with me. Let's eat up and go from there" he said.
Byleth nodded, "Thank you" she said quietly.
Byleth and Claude sat eating in silence, "Phew! I am stuffed" Claude shouted once he'd finished eating "Even the most humble of meals tastes great with the right company" he added with a wink. He paused for a moment "By the way Byleth, Do you remember how the night before the ball both my class and yours promised to reunite on the day of the millennium festival" Claude said, "Today's the day we promised to meet up... but no one's here" he said sadly.
"Hmm, they must not like us" Byleth said with a small laugh.
"Heh, you know everyone looked up to you, right? Or are you trying to say I was a lousy house leader?" Claude laughed "Let's wait just a little longer. You never know... Maybe someone will show up after all" he said while rubbing his head. "Hey, Byleth... Just waiting around sounds boring. So why don't we get in some exercise. You know, help with digestion and stuff" Claude proposed "Unless you'd rather we talk about why you choose to help Edelgard?" he added.
Byleth stood up "Exercise sounds good" she replied.
Claude let out a laugh "Heh, you must be in bad shape if you've been sleeping for five years. It'll do you good to get your body moving again" he said.
"Ok, so you want to work out?" Byleth said while stretching.
"Hmm, something like that, Look, if you come with me, you'll understand. Oh, and don't forget your weapons, Ok?" Claude said "I want to make sure neither your leadership nor your skill with a blade have dulled" he added.
Byleth sighed "Dammit Claude, just what are you planning" she groaned.
Claude smiled at her "Oh you'll see, now let's go my friend" he said then began leading the way.
The exercise that Claude had told Byleth about, was more of a pest removal. Since there had been a group of bandits that began living in the monastery since it had been abandoned.
"Let me get this straight Claude" Byleth said with an irritated tone "Your idea of exercise is taking on a whole camp of thieves?!" she shouted.
Claude shrugged "Hey, we need to make sure you are able to fight" he said with a wink.
"You are unbelievable" Byleth muttered "Whatever, let's get this over with" she added while unsheathing the Sword of The Creator.
As the fight against the bandits drew on, one by one the students from the Golden Deer house began to show up. Byleth had to admit she felt a pang of jealousy that Claude's classmates had returned while hers did not. But then again, they were probably furious with her for siding with Edelgard so maybe it was best this way.
(The End of the Battle)
After Byleth, Claude, and the rest of the Golden Deer class gathered around together to discuss what had just happened.
"Ugh, I'm exhausted! What gives, Byleth?" Hilda pouted.
Lysithea sighed "I was so happy to see everyone again and then this happens..." she said. Byleth felt overjoyed in that moment, there was at least one student who had been a blue lion with her that made it to the reunion, although she had been a golden deer first.
"I'm still tired from the long journey. How did it come to this?" Leonie said.
"Let's all take a moment to catch our breath..." Ignatz said.
Hilda yawned, "If you have the spare time to play with those guys, the least you could do is prepare some tea" she said.
"Blame Claude" Byleth stated.
Claude turned to look at Byleth with shock, "Come on those guys were thieves! We couldn't just let them get away" he said, "It seems they've been taking advantage of the church's absence and doing whatever they please here" he added.
"In any case, um... I'm glad that all of you are well" Marianne said.
"That's the spirit, Marianne!" Ignatz said happily.
"That was fun! In fact, I wouldn't mind romping around some more!" Raphael said.
"So, you were alive this whole time, Byleth. I am not surprised" Lorenz hummed.
"And it doesn't look like time has rusted your skills. That's a relief" Leonie butted in.
Claude let out a laugh "I'm just glad that everyone is alive and well. On that note let's move this reunion party somewhere else" he added, then guided them to the cathedral.
"Now that we've dealt with those violent bandits, we could potentially use this place as our base of operations again" Claude said.
Hilda looked at him with shock, "What could you possibly mean by that?" she asked.
"I'm talking about the Leicester Alliance taking over Garreg Mach Monastery" Claude declared, "After all, it's right in the middle of Fodlan. It's a critical strategic location" he added.
Lysithea's eyes went wide "Are you suggesting that we fight back against the Empire?" she asked, while glancing at Byleth.
"Aren't you getting a bit ahead of yourself? The Alliance is in complete discord at present" Lorenz said.
"And, as leader of the Imperial faction of the Alliance, isn't Count Gloucester, your Father, the main cause of that discord?" Claude said bluntly.
Lorenz looked shocked by his words, "I... Yes, that is true. It was inevitable. Our house's territory is close to Imperial territory, after all" he said, "Had we not consented to vassalage under the Empire, they would have invaded immediately" he added.
"Naturally. And to be clear, I have no problem with your house maintaining its Imperial ties until we're sufficiently prepared to revolt" Claude said, "The Empire is the cause of the infighting. If we rid ourselves of them, the situation should resolve itself" he added. "That's why I'm thinking we should make this our base, raise up an army, and stir up some trouble for the Empire" Claude declared.
Raphael let out a hearty laugh, "Now you're talking! Sounds like fun!" he said.
"So then, Mr. Leader Man. Does this mean you intend to rope us into your scheme?" Hilda questioned.
"Leader man?" Byleth asked.
"Hm? Ah. My Grandfather passed away. That means yours truly is officially the leader of the Alliance" Claude said.
"If we had a more reliable leader, perhaps the Alliance would not have been divided..." Lorenz butted in.
A flash of irritation fell over Claude's face, "Think what you will. All I need to know is if you're in or you're out" he said.
"I'm happy to lend a hand. I won't let those Imperial dogs set foot in Alliance territory!" Leonie shouted, "I couldn't bare it if my village got caught up in the chaos of war" she added.
"I'll fight too! I've got to protect my little sis!" Raphael said.
"I will join as well. After all, house Ordelia was once dragged into an Imperial revolt. It ruined us" Lysithea said.
"Ah of course, I understand your motivation" Lorenz said.
"I'll fight too... It's time to take responsibility for my own future!" Ignatz said.
"I... I don't want to run anymore. I hope I'll be of use to everyone..." Marianne said.
"We can do anything if we work together, Marianne!" Ignatz shouted.
Hilda turned to look at Lorenz, "So what about you Lorenz? Are you going to go back home to your scary Father or what?" she asked.
"We cannot rely on Claude's scheming to lead us to victory. Therefore, I will remain" Lorenz replied, "It is my duty to ensure Claude does not worsen the situation in the Alliance" he added. Byleth got a strong urge to smack him upside the head and by the look in Claude and Hilda's eyes they felt the same.
Claude sighed, "All of us are fighting for a different reason, but we share a common enemy" he said, "If we don't act, the Empire will crush us eventually. I say we stop them before they have the chance!" he added. Claude turned to Byleth, "So, Byleth... will you help as well?" he asked hopefully.
"Claude, I won't kill Edelgard" Byleth stated bluntly, "I don't know what has happened that caused her to stray so far from her path of getting rid of Rhea" she added while shaking her head. "But, I will help you fight the Imperial army, know that it is only so that I can reach Edelgard and talk some sense into her" Byleth stated.
Claude scratched his head, "Do you think that can really be done?" he asked, "I mean if the possibility arose where we would be equals with the Empire in fighting the Church of Seiros and the Dukedom came, it would be the best for Fodlan" he sighed. "But so far Edelgard has made it clear she wants to reign over all of Fodlan" Claude said, "I don't mind you trying to work things out with Edelgard but... be prepared for the worst" he concluded.
Byleth nodded, "Thank you Claude, I'll heed your advice" she said "I hope we can all work things out together" Byleth said quietly
Hilda sighed, "Well all that aside, this place is a mess. We can't very well make our base in a ruin!" she said "And repairing it sounds like a lot of work... I wonder if anyone would be willing to help us out with that?" she added
Claude looked at Hilda with disappointment, "Really Hilda?" he sighed "Trying to find a poor sap to dump the workload on already?" he added with a laugh.
While the others were distracted by chatting amongst themselves Byleth took this opportunity to go retreat to her old room.
It was not exactly how she had left it, but that was to be expected especially given the circumstances on why she left from the monastery. Byleth sighed, but still what did they expect to find, Edelgard's super-secret plans?
Claude:
Claude noticed a bit into his conversation with Hilda that Byleth had slipped away from the group. "Hmm, it seems Byleth left us" he murmured.
Hilda looked around, "Maybe she's just checking out the damage to the monastery?" she suggested, "Or do you think she left for good?" Hilda asked.
"Nah, I don't think she would leave" Claude said, he paused for a moment "Shall we go find her?" he asked Hilda.
"Ugh, fine!" Hilda groaned, then threw her arms up dramatically "I guess I'll help you" she added.
Claude and Hilda made their way through the monastery, it was a wreck to be frank. Claude wondered just what had happened in the battle here that had made the monastery so destroyed. A part of Claude wished that he had been in that area during the battle so that he could have known what had happened, but he realizes that if he probably would have died if so. Either way it did not matter since Claude could always ask Byleth what had happened.
"Hey Claude, I think Byleth is in her room" Hilda said squinting her eyes at a figure that was entering and exiting the room.
"I believe so" Claude replied, and the two of them walked over to her. Byleth was in the process of ridding her room from all the dust that had gathered over the last five years.
"How's it going there Byleth?" Claude called out from the door frame.
Byleth stopped what she was doing, "Hello, you two" she said.
"You know Byleth, you're more than welcome to help me clean my room" Hilda said.
Byleth laughed, "I think not Hilda" she said with a smile "I hardly want to clean my own room" she sighed.
"Oh, that reminds me Byleth" Claude began "I have something of yours" he said.
Byleth looked confused for a moment, "Something of mine? What is it?" she asked.
"I have a journal that I found in here" Claude said, with a grin "I took the liberty of searching in here before the knights did" he added.
Byleth nodded, "Thank you Claude" she said softly.
Claude shrugged "It was no big deal" he said "I'll bring it to you later, I hid it in the wall of my room here" he said nonchalantly.
Both Hilda and Byleth looked at him with concern "I'm sorry you did what?" Hilda asked.
"I hid it in my wall" Claude repeated "What's wrong with that?" he said defensively.
"You only hide things in a wall if you're doing something bad" Hilda explained "I could see why maybe Byleth would have something there, but what do you have to hide Claude?" she said.
"Hey!" Byleth said "I didn't intend to side with Edelgard" she said defensively
Hilda got quiet for a moment, "So what exactly did happen?" she asked. Claude was grateful in that moment for Hilda's bluntness, he had to admit he had been dying to ask her that very question.
Byleth sighed and rubbed her forehead "Like I said I didn't intend to side with her, it initially was just me trying to prevent Dimitri from snapping her neck" she said "But then..." she sighed "Rhea transformed into the Immaculate one, and I knew that I had to do something" she said "And that was to kill Rhea" Byleth declared.
Claude and Hilda stood in silence for a moment, "What do you mean by Rhea transforming into the Immaculate One?" Hilda asked, she furrowed her brows "What the hell even is the Immaculate one?" she added.
Claude sighed then looked to Byleth, "I'll explain it" he said, and Byleth nodded. "The Immaculate one is this beast thing" Claude began "Five years ago Byleth and I were looking into what it was, when I found a picture of the Immaculate One" he said "We didn't find much on it, aside from it being spotted for centuries" he added. "However, that was until Edelgard provided us with a piece of information" Claude said "That we shouldn't speak about the Immaculate One while we are at Garreg Mach, and that it has been controlling Fodlan in secret for a long time" he concluded.
Hilda pursed her lips together then sighed, "You both are crazy aren't you" she said then sighed "So Lady Rhea is the bad guy, well go figure".
"So, I have a question for you Byleth, is The Immaculate One the cause of why the castle is this messed up?" Claude asked.
"Yeah, I think so" Byleth said "The last memory I have before I fell into my sleep was the monastery falling apart because Rhea transformed" she sighed.
Claude squinted his eyes at Byleth "You know now that I have a good look at you, I realize that you haven't aged... at all" Claude said in shock.
"What do you mean?" Byleth asked.
"Ok for example if you were in a coma, you would still grow, you know?" Claude said "Maybe a bit taller, and your hair would definitely be longer" he said "I would say it was more of a time pause for you than sleep" he added.
"How old were you when we were at the academy?" Hilda asked.
Byleth paused for a moment "I think I was twenty-one" she said.
"Hmm, you don't sound too sure" Hilda said with a laugh "But regardless, I'm older than you now" she beamed.
"Maybe in body, but not in mind" Byleth rebutted.
"Hey!" Hilda pouted "Not nice" she added with a laugh.
Byleth smiled lightly at Hilda then turned to Claude "You know having me in this army will give the Church of Seiros a reason to go to war with you guys" she said.
Claude paused for a moment, "I know that" he sighed "But I also think that if the church was out of the picture things would be easier" he said "So I'm not exactly opposed to fighting them" he added. "And if your plan of getting Edelgard to side with us works, then we will be fighting them regardless" Claude said.
Byleth nodded "I see your point" she said, " just don't want to drag anyone else into my mess" she sighed.
Hilda squinted at Byleth, "I don't know much on this subject, but from what I can tell Fodlan would be better off without Rhea" she said "Especially if she is that beast that has been controlling Fodlan for centuries" Hilda added.
"Thank you, Hilda, you too Claude" Byleth said with a smile, "I really hope Edelgard hasn't lost sight of the bigger problem, and is willing to work together" she sighed.
"I hope for that as well" Claude said.
Byleth:
After a while of chatting with Claude and Hilda, Claude eventually parted from the two to begin preparing his own room.
"You are not going to clean your room are you Hilda?" Byleth asked with a laugh.
Hilda looked to Byleth "No way!" she said "I'll just get someone else to do it, most likely Lorenz" she added, Byleth laughed at her response.
"Oh Hilda" Byleth sighed while shaking her head.
"I guess I'll just have to sleep in her tonight" Hilda said.
"Fine, I suppose so" Byleth said, "But you have to help me with something" she said.
"Hmm, what is it?" Hilda asked.
"Can you help me cut my hair?" Byleth asked.
Hilda looked at Byleth confused "What! No, you should let it grow out" Hilda protested.
"If you won't help me, I'll do it myself, and then it will look weird" Byleth stated "Also... It's weird seeing how everyone has changed so much while I'm the same" she sighed.
Hilda gave Byleth and sympathetic look "Fine" Hilda sighed "I guess I can cut it" she added and grinned at Byleth.
Byleth smiled back then went to retrieve her scissors, "Thank you Hilda" she said.
Hilda grabbed the scissors from Byleth and nodded, "Ok so how much am I cutting?" Hilda asked.
Byleth paused for a moment, "Hmm, right at my shoulders" she replied.
Hilda brushed through Byleth's hair with her fingers then stopped at the spot she would cut it at, "Are you sure?" Hilda asked before she proceeded.
Byleth paused for a moment "Yes" she said, then Hilda began snipping away at Byleth's hair.
After a while Hilda's breath began to even out, Byleth was certain she had finally fallen asleep. Byleth ran her fingers threw her hair, it felt... different. Which is exactly what she had wanted right now, she needed something to take her mind off the fact that her Father and Dimitri were dead.
Byleth felt her tears burning in her eyes, she had been trying to put off accepting the facts of their deaths and now that she was in the dark of her room that was all she could think about.