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>>5781612
It had been several days since the Faerghus Dukedom had been defeated at Garreg Mach. All around you, men and women were hard at work seeking to restore the damages the surrounding buildings had suffered during the ill-fated siege. And while an able-bodied woman such as yourself should have by all rights been helping, you were instead content to sit in the monastery’s garden, drinking tea and stretching out. By all accounts, you’d earned it. If it hadn’t been for you and Sreng coming to aid the Knights of Seiros, things would have been far worse. It was nice to sit here, taking in the sun. Five years ago, this place used to be a popular spot for students to come and drink tea. Apparently, once Professor Byleth had awoken, it was one of the first places she’d ordered restored. As you take a small sip of your chamomile, you’re reminded that you don’t sit here alone.

“So, if I’m to understand what you’re saying correctly, the leaders of every major country in Fodlan are comprised of these…underground cave dwellers?”

You stare over your cup at Leif, the Prince of Sreng. Though you’d only known each other briefly, the two of you had become staunch allies that had helped each other greatly. You figured you owed him an explanation as to what you’d exactly gotten him into. Seeing what Father Montgomery had really been had come as a great shock to Leif and the other Sreng soldiers after all. Despite the fact that they had an Agarthan embedded deep within their ranks, they had no idea how deep things really ran.

>“They’re called Agarthans, and they aren’t exactly everywhere. So far only the Empire and the Faerghus Dukedom seem to have a high concentration of them running around.”

“And they remain hidden by…stealing the skin of humans and wearing them?”

>“Correct. The real Father Montgomery, as well as the real Maeve, have likely both been dead for a considerable time. Their disguises are foolproof, only able to be seen by others of their own kind. The only thing that would really give them away would be if you were to notice a sudden shift in their personality.”

“Right, I see. And their goal is…”

>“They seek to keep humanity in their thrall. Because they lack the numbers to outright conquer us, it’s easier for them to simply take the form of our leaders and direct us as they wish. They bear a centuries-old grudge against the Church of Seiros, which served as the catalyst of this war. They seek to destroy our religion and keep us from every overthrowing their rule as a means to take revenge for the decline of their ancient civilization.”

“And…they turn into monsters or something…?”

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>>5781614
>“They possess the ability to create Demonic Beasts from humans, but they themselves are not monsters. The form you saw Montgomery, or rather, Odesse, take back in Bennett’s tent was simply how he truly was. I believe that centuries of living underground have warped their very bodies, causing them to appear like the fiend you saw.”

“Ahh, I get it.” Leif takes a sip from his tea. “So, in summation, there’s a thousand-year-old ancient civilization that lives underground, has access to superior arms, can take the form of whoever they wish, maintains control of large swathes of the population, and hates us.”

>“More or less.”

“Great.” Leif finishes his cup. With a satisfied exhale, he places it back onto the table, leans back, and places his arms behind his head. “Well…good luck with that.”

>“Eh?” You say surprised. “Don’t you want to strike back at them? They were trying to-“

“Not my problem.” Leif says, cutting you off with a hand. “I’ve spoken with that Leopold fella, and he promises to put in a good word with the Sword of Seiros as soon as she gets back. I got what I came here for. Once the war’s over, Sreng will open trade with the southern nations. A new age of prosperity and innovation the likes of which my people have never seen awaits. As far as I’m concerned, you and the Knights can handle these ‘Agarthans’ for us.”

>You sigh. “Fair enough. I’m glad you at least believe me.”

“If I hadn’t seen that geezer turn into a freak myself I definitely wouldn’t. Hell, if you had opened up with this stuff when we first met, I’d have probably thought you were insane. I’d have sicced Cormac on you.”

>“All’s well that ends well, I suppose.”

“You’ve got your work cut out for you. Once you topple the Empress, you’ll have to deal with that loony priest out in Zanado. I don’t envy you, Blair. Still, I appreciate our partnership. While it was brief, it certainly was memorable. Take care of Kayla, and best of luck out there. Don’t go dying just yet. Once things settle down, you’ll need to come and visit the new and improved Sreng.”

>You nod. “I’ll be looking forward to it.”

You depart the Tea Grounds after finishing your conversation with Leif. As you make your way back to the barracks where the other Blackwings are stationed, you are suddenly stopped by a runner. His uniform denotes him as a low-ranking squire in the Knights of Seiros. He appears to be ragged and out of breath.

“Commander Blair!” He huffs. “Lord Leopold requests your attendance in the audience hall immediately!”

>“What’s this about?” You ask.

“A scout from Lady Byleth and Lord Seteth’s has just returned to the monastery. He comes bearing news from the front!”

>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
>B): Press the scout for more information.
>C): Return to the barracks and first and grab some of your officers.
>D): Neglect the meeting.

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
Nice to see this back.

>>5781615
>>C): Return to the barracks and first and grab some of your officers
Welcome back

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
Well, he did say "immediately", so...
Welcome back!

>>5781615
>>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
Took me a few seconds to notice the new OP image. Great to have you back!

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
I hope Caspar didn't die at the siege of the Stubborn Old General.

Welcome back, Tree! Was eagerly awaiting this thread.

Also thanks Leif, it was nice to have you around. Him playing the straightman to Blair's casual conspiracy theorist results in a pretty fun scene. Maybe when this is all over, we can go and settle in Sreng lands, where we are ironically more welcome in than any other place in the continent, barring Garreg Mach and the Church itself, lmao.

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.

If it's so urgent, then I suppose we'll go now.

>capcha: GANKTA
Ominous.

>>5781615
>C): Return to the barracks and first and grab some of your officers.

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.

>>5781612
Wholesome teen Blair

>>5781615
>>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.

>>5781615
>B): Press the scout for more information.

>>5781615
>A): Head to the audience chamber immediately.
So long Leif, you were a cool detour

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>>5781615
Wasting no time, you make your way to the audience hall, located within the main cathedral of Garreg Mach. Much of the main church had been converted to serve as the military base of the Knights of Seiros, and access was barred to all but the select few that had business in its halls. That being said, no one barred your path or gave you so much as a sideways glance upon entering. Perhaps they gave you no hassle out of gratitude for your assistance during the battle. Or maybe Leopold’s approval was enough for them to accept you. Either way, you enter the audience hall, and are met with only approving glances from the veteran knights seated there.

“There you are.” Leopold says upon your arrival. “You’re the last one. We can begin now.”

Taking a seat next to your mentor, you’re able to get a good look at the scout who’d just recently arrived. The first thing you noticed was that his armor was in surprisingly good condition. For someone who’d just taken part in sieging one of the most impregnable fortresses in all Fodlan, you expected worse. Upon hearing Leopold’s call to begin, the soldier bows, and addresses the room of Knights.

“Thank you, my lord. I bring word from Seneschal Seteth and Lady Byleth. Fort Merceus has fallen-“

Before the soldier can finish his report, the room erupts into the sort of cheering that threatens to deafen you. Men and women jump out of their seats, embracing each other as they revel in the news of Byleth’s victory over the Empire.

“I knew she could do it!” One knight yells.

“Down with the Empress!”

“For the Goddess!”

The room has quickly descended into a sort of jovial chaos. You’re tempted to join in yourself as a flood of relief washes over you. You took a huge gamble that Byleth would somehow emerge victorious over Fort Merceus, a base that was said to be impossible to assault. You grin from ear to ear, until you notice something that unsettles you ever so slightly.

The scout in the room looks remarkably uncomfortable.

“Order!” Leopold shouts. At once, the reveling knights cease their celebration and merriment, and slink back into their seats. “Continue! You say the Fort has fallen? Are the soldiers stationed there right now?”

The soldier slinks back awkwardly. Clearing his throat, he continues. “Fort Merceus is…gone. It’s been…destroyed. Wiped off the map.”

“What nonsense are you blathering boy?!” One of the Knights in the room shouts.

“We captured the fort…” The scout continues. “An elite group lead by Lady Byleth infiltrated Fort Merceus, disguised as imperial soldiers. The defenders were scant, as the Empire had lost much of its manpower at Gronder Field. Lady Byleth defeated the Death Knight, and the doors to the fort had swung open. Only then…” He chokes on his words.

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>>5782717
“Only then what?” Leopold presses.

“A great light came down from the sky.” The scout says finally. “It destroyed the nearby town in an explosion of fire. The order came to evacuate…and then there was another beam of light. This time, it landed directly on Fort Merceus. There was another great explosion. We weren’t able to get everyone out in time. When the smoke cleared, the fort was just…gone. Along with the thousands of souls that were still inside.”

The room, which just a second ago resembled a tavern on any given feast day, suddenly went ghostly quiet. You felt a bead of sweat drip down your neck. You knew exactly what this was. Anemone had described it to you back at Arcadia. But even hearing about it, you never actually thought it would be possible. What the soldier in front of you was describing must have been none other than a Javelin of Light. You suddenly remember Odesse’s final warning to you before his death.

“Now you push too far. Back us into a corner, and only one option remains. When you watch as your world turns into naught but ash, remember that you brought it on yourself!”

“Where are Lord Seteth and Lady Byleth?” Leopold asks, breaking the silence in the room. “Have they survived?”

The soldier nods. “Both of them did. But we estimate that half the army was lost in that mysterious blast. Lord Seteth called for a retreat to the Great Bridge of Myrrdin. They are on their way back now to Garreg Mach to regroup.”

“Half the army…wiped out in an instant?” You hear a breathless knight comment as he leans back into his chair and begins laughing to himself.

“He said it came from the sky…could it have been the Goddess’ doing?” Another knight whispers in awe.

“Shut your mouth, heretic! Why would the Goddess attack her own soldiers!”

The room erupts into chaos once more, though this time, there’s pure panic in the air. Accusations of heresy, lying and lack of faith are being flung from one knight to another. You can sense the fear thick in the air. Though no one says it aloud, they all think the same thing.

If Fort Merceus could be destroyed in such a manner, what was to stop the enemy from doing the same to Garreg Mach?

You felt the ache of a sudden headache. So much for relaxation.

“Silence!” Leopold shouts. “I said order!” This time, however, your mentor struggles to bring the room back under his control. You’ve never seen him so flustered before. It was clear that even he was struggling with the news that half of the army, an army he helped train and get to their feet, could be taken out so quickly.

“Order!” Leopold shouts futilely.

>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.
>B): This meeting was over. You had to speak to Anemone and discuss this new revelation.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control
Feels bad

And so, the nukes are out.

>>5782719

>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

Surely, with A-rank Authority, Tactics, and Reason, we'd be able to at least calm them down. Definitely need to bring Leopold into the fold and tell him about the Agarthans, though.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.
Byleth is returning, the time for Blair to go on an unhinged schizo rant about mole people for the entire Knights of Serios is nigh.

I almost missed the thread with the change in OP image.
>>5782719
>>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.
Whatever our ultimate solution to Javelins is, it'll need orderly and controlled troops to carry it out. Probably.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control

>>5782719
>>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

>>5782719
>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control
There will be order in this war room or so help us someone will be court-martialed!

>>5782719
>>A): Assist Leopold in bring the room back under control.

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>>5782719
Under ordinary circumstances, Leopold should have had no difficulty reeling in the room of unruly senior knights. Such was his authority, that they’d put aside their contentions to adhere to the man that had been placed in charge by Seteth and Byleth. But these were far from ordinary circumstances, and Leopold was far from his usual self. Upon hearing the words of the scout, panic and despair had momentarily gripped those in the room. You certainly couldn’t fault them. You were feeling some of those effects yourself. But unlike the others present in the room, you knew that this was no work of the Goddess. Far from it actually. That knowledge allowed you to retain some semblance of composure. Being that you alone had that benefit, you felt it fell to you to try and bring things back under control.

You get to your feet, and snap your fingers. A spark of lightning jolts the floor where the scout had just been standing moments ago. The sudden boom and appearance of magic grabs the attention of the bickering knights and manages to briefly bring the chaos to a halt.

>“Enough!” You shout.

“W-what is the meaning of this?” A senior knight balks. “Who do you think you are?!”

>“I’d ask the same of you. You are Knights of Seiros, are you not? The best of the best? Then you must regain your composure immediately! You heard the scout’s words. Fort Merceus has been destroyed. The final obstacle standing between us and Enbarr lies in ruins. Now is no time to shrink back in terror when the goal we’ve worked so hard to achieve finally lies in our grasp!”

“Are you mad, woman?” A different knight shouts. “He said that Merceus was obliterated by an attack that came from thin air! How can we hope to stand against a power that comes from the sky?!

>“You are all still standing here presently, are you not?” You question the room. “Your continued existence is proof that the Empire cannot repeat this attack right away. If they could, they’d have turned this monastery to ash the moment they found out the Dukedom had been defeated.” You recall Anemone telling you that the Javelins of Light were a costly endeavor. They required a massive quantity of the Agarthium found in Rusalka, as well as tremendous magical power. Firing a Javelin also risked the possibility of alerting enemies to the presence of Shambhala. Though you were speaking out of your ass, if that were in fact true, then it would stand to reason that these Javelins were a last resort, and that they may not be able to fire another for some time.

“Comforting words from a sellsword.” A female knight sneers. “Half of our army, vaporized in a flash. You may not care about that sort of loss of life, but many of those soldiers were our friends. Comrades in arms with families waiting for them to return. How could you just expect us to move on from something like that?”

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>>5783475
>“In any war, loss of life is inevitable. Those men marched to Merceus knowing they might not come back. They were not killed by the Goddess’s wrath. They were killed by the Empire. For the Imperials to use such a repulsive weapon, not caring that their own were caught in the crossfire is unforgivable. It’s just another reason why we cannot falter and must march on and end this war once and for all.”

“She’s right.” Leopold says, standing firmly. “Get a hold of yourselves, people. For every setback and attack that we’ve suffered, we’ve only come out on the other end stronger. This cowardly attack is merely the Empire’s last desperate gasp to stop us. I’ll brook no more panic or blasphemy! Prepare the monastery for the arrival of our main forces. Ensure they have adequate supplies and beds ready. We’ll march on Enbarr and wipe out the Empress once and for all!”

The knights murmur in agreement. Though you aren’t sure they’re entirely convinced, at the very least their panic and terror has subsided somewhat. The rest of the meeting is spent discussing logistics and preparing for the arrival of Byleth and the other Knights of Seiros. At the end of it all, the Knights begin filing out of the room, and a semblance of normalcy returns. You are left alone with Leopold, who looks uncharacteristically exhausted.

“It’s beginning to irk me how much I’m having to rely on you.” Leopold says.

>“Think of it as the investment you placed in me finally paying off.”

“Do you really believe what you said? That it’s unlikely that an attack like that would happen again so soon?”

>“I know that the longer we take to capture Enbarr, the worse our chances will be.”

“For some reason, I get the impression you know far more about what transpired out there than you’re letting on.” Leopold says, narrowing his eyes as he takes you in.

A part of you thinks to tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans. As far as you were concerned, the more people that were aware of their schemes, the better. But you’re given some pause. Despite the trust that the two of you share, Leopold is still a dutiful Knight of Seiros. He’d have plenty of questions regarding the use of the Javelins of Light. Much of that knowledge you’d obtained from Anemone, who wished to remain hidden from their sight. You could tell Leopold what you knew about the Agarthans and the Javelins, but doing so might be risky when it came to preserving the location and safety of Arcadia. After all, if he knew that a member of the same race that wiped out half the Knights of Seiros was in his base, he might not be so welcoming.

>A): Tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light
>B): Tell him it’s just a feeling. Ensure him you were just putting on a face to bring the other knights under control.
>C): Write-in

>>5783477
>A): Tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light

>>5783477
>A): Tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light

We've done a lot for Leopold, Blair should be able to keep him from getting out of control.

>>5783477
>C): Tell Leopold exactly as much as he needs to know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light right now, in private, and promise to answer any further questions once the Empire is defeated.

This is probably a stupid way to word it, but hear me out. He deserves to know at least a little, but we can't give him everything just yet. If what he learns leads him to Anemone, we can tell him she's from a faction of defectors (which is true) who contacted us because of the inroads we've made against their kin (which is also true if I recall correctly).

>>5783477
>>B): Tell him it’s just a feeling. Ensure him you were just putting on a face to bring the other knights under control.

Glad to see Blair's stopped the panic in the war room. But I suppose we will need to be careful about who we bring into confidence regarding the Agarthans, for the sake of the Arcadians.

This event has certainly rattled more than a few Knights of Seiros. If they're given a target to go after once the war is over-- someone to blame for the use of the Javelins of Light-- they might pursue it, even with Byleth in charge. With that in mind...

>>5783477
Backing this anon. >>5783546

It might seem like we're trying to have our cake and eat it, but I think the difference is in degrees. I want to tell him about the Agarthans, and the Javelins of Light. Enough that he'll be satisfied, but not so much that he'll then use this information to go on a crusade against anything and everything Agarthan. I'd hate for the Arcadians to be caught in the crossfire, after all. And I'd hate for Blair to have to tilt her lance against her own mentor once this is all over.

>>5783477
>A): Tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light
I'd rather we gamble on having enough sway to prevent him from doing anything drastic with Arcadia.
Explicitly saying that we're withholding information from him might not end well for us. If we do withhold details, there's safer ways to do it like outright lying and claiming that Diogenes was our source since nobody is going to call us out on that. But I'd still rather not lie to him. If Anemone is sticking with us, she'll probably be exposed eventually once we deal with the Agarthans, so that's another reason to just spill the beans first before it becomes a problem later on.

>>5783477
>D): Write-in: Be forthcoming with strategic information, but in such a way that elides Anemone and Arcadia.
There's plenty of configurations of what to tell him that suggest alternative sources for Blair's knowledge. For example, speaking about Agarthium as a mineral common to Rusalka, which her adopted father told her is central to the Empire's war effort, and about Agarthans as something Blair is familiar with from her adopted father and from killing them and wiping their research labs, and saying that Blair had once seen her father wipe men out in a flash or some other similar leading phrasing, makes a line of reasoning available to Leopold, even if it's incomplete and inaccurate. It's a line of reasoning that even helps better explain Blair's overall behavior, like her desertion of her family and country. It's also all knowledge that only Blair specifically would know, so it's an unfalsifiable chain of provenance. That would let Blair make a lie of omission, rather than a direct lie, and avoid implicating Arcadia, all without needing to say 'I'm leaving stuff out' to Leopold's face. Anemone's role just doesn't need to be mentioned here.
But maybe Blair isn't so accomplished a liar to think this through laterally and instead thinks of deception as a linear yes/no thing...

>>5783477
Supporting >>5783546

>>5783727
You're making sense here, actually.

>>5783727
+1

>>5783477
>A): Tell Leopold what you know about the Agarthans and the Javelins of Light
If we tell him that there are good and bad Agarthans it avoids the worries anons have. It's just that the bad ones are the ones attacking us.

>>5783477
>B): Tell him it’s just a feeling. Ensure him you were just putting on a face to bring the other knights under control.

>>5784517
Looks like A wins. Writing

Rolled 92 (1d100)

Charm + Luck Roll x1.5 (Roll Needs to be 1-96 to succeed)

>>5784821
>The roll didn't fail
Oh praise Sothis.

>>5784821
Holy shit. I guess those Charm Boosters came in clutch. Now I wonder what would happen if we had failed the roll.

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>>5783477
>“Perhaps it would be best if you knew what I’d actually been doing for the last five years.” You tell your mentor. While there were certain things you wanted to hide from the veteran knight, you saw no reason not to be transparent with him in this moment. When the Knights of Seiros were at their lowest, he’d helped raise them back to their feet. Despite all their setbacks, his faith in the Goddess had seemingly never once wavered. As far as you were concerned, he had a right to understand what had happened to those men. “Fort Merceus was destroyed by what is known as a Javelin of Light.”

“Javelin of Light?” The paladin’s eyebrows furrow. “What are you talking about?”

>“It’s a super weapon in the possession of a group known as the Agarthans. They’re the ones that have been pulling the strings in the Empire this whole time, instigating this conflict. Many years ago, when I went to Rusalka to help put down a rebellion, I learned that there was a strange, rare ore native to the region that was being mined. The Agarthans harvested this ore to create weapons like the Javelin of Light, which is capable of destroying anything in its path in an explosion of flame. If you’ve ever visited Ailell, the Valley of Torment, you’d see first-hand what these weapons are capable of.”

“The Church teaches that AIlell was a manifestation of the Goddess’ rage.” Leopold says.

>“I’m no theologist, but I don’t believe the Goddess would do such a thing. Ailell was scourged by the Javelins of Light, and turned into the hellish wasteland it is today as a result. I believe that we shall soon see the same sort of thing occur at Merceus as well.”

“Ailell has been called the Valley of Torment for generations, Blair!” Leopold argues. “For what you’re saying to be true, these Agarthans would need to be hundreds of years old.”

>“They’re far older than that, I’m afraid.” You sigh. “Allow me to illuminate you.” You spend the next several hours catching Leopold up on your excursions and findings on the Agarthans. You tell him about the battles with Kronya and Solon, the merchant Echeverria, the experiments in Ordelia and your fight with Diogenes, as well as Odesse and how he’d been masquerading as Montgomery. Throughout the entire explanation, Leopold listens intently. He does not interrupt you once, allowing you to talk for what feels like almost several hours. By the time you’re done with it all, your voice is hoarse. A part of you wonders if he was following along, or perhaps just politely listening to the ramblings of a mad woman, when he finally speaks.

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>>5784841
“There was a knight here, at the monastery.” He starts. “His name was Ludwig. He was a devout paladin, and someone I studied alongside during our days at the Officer’s Academy. The two of us trained under Gallant Uriel and were by all rights as close as brothers. Until one recent day, he’d begun acting strange. It was subtle at first, but little by little, he’d begun poisoning the minds of some of the men here with doubt. His actions were the source of a major morale drop amongst the junior knights. Even when I tried giving him the benefit of the doubt and sending him away rather than outright imprisoning him, he still was adamant that we should open the gates to Bennett and his men. I was left with no choice but to make an example of him. Something a part of me deeply regretted.” Leopold closes his eyes, lost in his thoughts. “If what you’re saying is true though…perhaps the man I knew had already been dead, and I instead avenged him.”

>“Cornelia’s spy. The one that had been relaying information on the monastery back to the Dukedom. There’s a good chance it was this Ludwig, or rather, the Agarthan Talon that had been masquerading as him.”

Leopold sighs, getting up and stretching his tired limbs. With the day’s commotion, you only just realized that night has fallen. “This sounds like an absolute ludicrous story…but I suppose there are too many coincidences to ignore. I can’t say whether I believe all this or not, but ultimately, it’s not my say. I’ll expect you to make a full report of this to Byleth and Seteth when they return. No more hiding, understood?”

>“That’s fine by me. I’ll be glad just to be heard.”

“You said the materials necessary to create these Javelins comes from Rusalka?” Leopold asks you after some time.

>“That’s right. The Javelins and more.”

“If that’s the case, then at some point we’ll need to do something about it. It could involve invading your home. Fighting your own people. Perhaps even having to turn your spear against your own adoptive father, who may in fact have been one of these ‘Agarthans’ the entire time. If that were to happen, what do you think you would do?”

>A): I’d turn my spear against Count Charles and the Rusalkan people with no hesitation.
>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.
>C): I don’t know.
>D): Write-in

>>5784842
>C): I don’t know.
>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.

If we were an edgier, punished Blair, I think we'd go for A. But as is, I think Blair can show a little bit of doubt, even after everything. It's one thing to abandon your country to try and save them from an unknown enemy... and it's another to turn your lance on the people you swore to protect.

Ultimately, we'll do it, for sure. But I think it's understandable if Blair hesitates.

>>5784842
>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.

I'm fairly certain that Blair never knew Charles, but Anarcharsis instead.

>>5784842
>>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.

>>5784842
>A): I’d turn my spear against Count Charles and the Rusalkan people with no hesitation.

>>5784842
>>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.

>>5784842
>B): I'd hear what he had to say for himself.
That man gets one chance, ONE, to prove he's not a molesnake (like we've suspected for a while) when we get our hands on him. As for the people, we minimize casualties. If our lance must spill the blood of some of our people to save them all, so be it, but only those who insist. Anyone who knows the score gets to live.

>>5785159
Anon it's outright guaranteed that Charles is Anarcharsis, one of the sages. You can see this in Rex's interlude.

>>5785248
Okay so my memory is just bad, thank you.

>>5784842
>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.
The kid this snake picked up out of...what? Pity? Sentimentality? Pragmatism? has gone on to cut down a good chunk of his fellows. I wanna hear what he thinks of this

>>5785443
Hell, he even hoped that Blair would disappear from the war and stay safe when he heard she escaped from Garreg Mach. I really want to hear what he has to say to Blair and vice versa. Plus, I want to ask about the original count. For whatever reason, Rex was totally fine with Anarchasis killing Charles and wearing his skin, and I want to know why.

>>5784842
>A): I’d turn my spear against Count Charles and the Rusalkan people with no hesitation.
Blair of Rusalka is dead. We are Blair the Witch now.

>>5781612
> test

>>5784842
>B): I’d hear what he had to say for himself.
>D): But I've already killed my brother.
Ultimately Blair has already been fighting against her adopted father all this time. But he's still her father, and she's still human, and so will be the people she would need to kill to kill him, even if he's not.
Probably this answer just means Byleth benches Blair for the Rusalka chapter...
Even if Thales and co. are all seething screwups, I'd be down for hearing from one (more) Agarthan without emotional regulation issues.

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>>5784842
Leopold’s question insinuated the possibility that Count Charles was an Agarthan, but you already knew the truth. If Rex was to be believed, then he’d been one the entire time. That being the case, the Count was unlike any of his kind you’d met. You couldn’t recall there ever being a sudden shift in his personality, nor did he ever act cruelly or unduly to you or his subjects. Even when he’d executed the leaders of the miner’s revolt in Rusalka, though you’d been upset with it at the time, it was still within his right to do so. Throughout the war, you’d heard little of any actions he’d taken. From what you’d gathered, he’d simply been sitting in Rusalka the entire time, overseeing the shipment of ore for the Imperial war effort.

And yet…from the way Rex spoke of him, not only did he acknowledge that he was incredibly powerful, but he might also be at the forefront of a civil war against his own kind. It wouldn’t be the first time you’d heard of disharmony among the Agarthan ranks. Diogenes himself has seemed to be working against his people’s own interests through his research. Could he and the Count have been in league with each other? Though he might be a snake, and thus, your sworn enemy, you couldn’t bring yourself to kill him without first having him answer your questions.

Why did he take you in? Why did your real father need to die for him? And just what was he planning.

>“I’d…like to hear what he had to say first. Only then would I make my decision.”

“I see.” Leopold says. “Should the day come that the two of you must come to blows, I’d like to be there. Villain or not, you should not have to be the one that has to land the killing blow on him.”

>“Thank you.”


The next day, you seek out Anemone to inform her of recent developments. You find her in a tent just outside the monastery, alongside Eulalia, who appears to be pouring over several tomes of unidentifiable origin.

“Hmm.” Anemone mutters after hearing you out. “We always knew this was a possibility. If Shambhala was pushed too far, it was only natural that they’d resort to firing off the Javelins of Light. If they find their existence and rule is threatened, they’d rather scorch the continent to cinders rather than go out quietly. That they’d fire upon Merceus should indicate the dire predicament that they find themselves in. If the Empire is defeated and the war lost, much of the power that they’ve consolidated will vanish. It wouldn’t be as easy as simply taking on new forms in other countries. Their power grab over the Empire was the result of decades, perhaps even centuries of planning.”

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>>5786737
>“You once said that firing a Javelin of Light could very well lead to the location of Shambhala being discovered. Is that really the case?”

“It is.” Anemone says. “But it would require a mage of exceptional talent to go to Merceus themselves and trace it back to the source. They’d also have to know just what exactly they’d be looking for.”

>“Am I hearing you volunteering yourself to take a trip?”

“I’m certainly capable of it.” Anemone shrugs. “Though it would mean I wouldn’t be present for your battle in Enbarr.”

>“What’s this?” You ask, puzzled. “Am I actually hearing that you were planning on…helping for once?”

“Of course. With the Javelins of Light having been fired, we’ve now progressed to the point that I no longer have the luxury of distinguishing between Shambhala and the Empire. The quicker we topple the Empress, the faster we can dedicate all our resources to rooting out the remaining Sages. Besides, you’ll be facing the Hellwings again, will you not? You’ll need all the help you can get. I’d hate to see you fall now when we’re so close to the end.”

>“Such affection. Very well, I’ll consider it. One other thing. I interrogated the commander of the Dukedom army that attacked Garreg Mach. He seemed to be obsessed with Cornelia and let slip that she’d gained access to something called the Titanus. Any idea what that could be?”

Anemone grimaces. “That could be trouble. The Titanus are Agarthan war machines. There is no human-made creation I could compare them to. They are weapons of destruction, capable of leveling entire armies single-handedly while also being highly resistant to damage both physical and magic. Just like the Javelins, they require Agarthium to create.”

>“My homeland’s greatest export.” You seethe. “So, what do we do if we fight those things?”

“I can probably make something.” Eulalia says, never looking up from her tome. “Probably. But I would need some Agarthium.”

>“Should I send a courier to Rusalka?”

“No need.” Anemone says, “We should have some to work with here. Do you still have that dagger you picked up from Kronya?’

>“I do.” Though you hardly ever used it, you carried Kronya’s dagger with you. It was something of a memento. A reminder of how you embarked on this journey in the first place.

“Hand it over.” Anemone says, extending out her hand. “Every little bit counts.”

>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger
>B): Keep it

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger

I doubt Blair would ever forget the events with Kronya, nor everything that's happened so far. It's a nice memento, but that's where it ends.

>>5786741
>>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger

>>5786741
>>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger
This should be a no brainer but I fear that there may be some hidden consequences.

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger
If this turns out to be a key item needed for the future I'm going to kick myself.

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger

We'll trade a sentimental item used only in emergencies for something to defeat the Titanus with, easily. Hopefully, we won't need Kronya's Dagger later.

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya's Dagger
Normally, I'd say to keep it, as a reminder of what we're fighting against and a warning of what's waiting for us at any point. But this? This is the greater good we're talking about. This is taking down the Titanus, or even finding Shambhala. If the butterfly effect ensures Hubert doesn't do the thing, it may well fall to us.

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger

>>5786741
>A): Hand over Kronya’s dagger

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>>5786741
>“Here you go. Be sure to make good use of it.” You hand the dagger over to Eulalia, who grabs it by the hilt. Memento or not, if there was a practical use for it that could save you a headache further down the road, all the better.

“Thank you, Blair.” Eulalia nods. “We’ll fight Agarthium with Agarthium. It should be just about the last thing they’d expect.”

>“Of course. If anyone can do it, you can.”

“Blair…” She starts. “Thank you for following through on your promise. You killed Odesse, just like you said you would. When I heard the news, I remembered something. Something I’d experienced down in the depths of Ordelia, where Diogenes had kept me captured. That Sage and his cell had been prodding me to uncover the location of Arcadia. They’d tried all manner of torture, but to no avail. After that, I’d blacked out. When I came through, they began to taunt me about how I gave up the village.”

>“They tortured you, Eulalia. There was nothing you could do.”

The girl shakes her head. “That’s not it. I’d overheard them talking once…pouring over their research. Diogenes’ work didn’t just involve Crests. He wanted to…be able to influence others. He thought implanting Crests in humans that may later betray him was too risky. And there weren’t enough Agarthans capable of taking on human guises that could spread out to enact the will of Shambhala.”

“I believe influencing personalities has been a goal of theirs since Solon.” Anemone says. “You saw it with the villagers back at Remire, and I with the townspeople in Ordelia. If they could bend humans to their will via magic or technology, it would be far more reliable than taking to the frontlines themselves.”

>“Eulalia. Do you believe that Diogenes did something to your mind?”

The girl nods, sure of herself. “I do. I believe my mind had blocked it out…perhaps due to guilt for my actions. But I can remember it. I told them exactly how to find Arcadia. Only...it wasn’t Diogenes that I was seeing when I did it. I believed I was seeing Anemone.”

>“That’s…troubling.” Your brow wrinkles in thought. “Do you think they’re actually capable of doing something like that?” You ask Anemone.

“Acquiring the blood of Maculi and Indech turned out to be a great boon for their research.” She responds. “Years ago, Solon had managed to get his hands on Nabatean blood, but it was too thin. According to Diogenes’ notes though, the two Saints your brother killed were still in their beastly forms. The potency of their blood allowed them to make great strides on some of their prior projects that had been stalled. Had we waited any longer to uproot that Sage’s plans, I daresay things could have been far worse.”

>“He is dead though. And his research destroyed at that. Surely it can’t be made use of anymore?”

“Hopefully that’s the case.” Anemone sighs.

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>>5788036
As you make your way back to where the Blackwings are camped, you hear someone call your name.

“Psst! Blair, over here.” Yara calls out. The dark mage is leaning outside her tent, looking rather satisfied with herself as you approach her. Her trademark pipe is in her hand as she watches you saunter over to her. The smell of smoke and spices around her is strong. “There you are, Commander. You poor thing, always on the move. These Knights of Seiros are running you ragged. Not to mention the needs of the Blackwings themselves. Do you ever get a second to just sit down?”

>“I’m afraid not. What’s going on, Yara? Did you need something?”

“Self-reflection is important, Commander. Not just for a mercenary commander, but for a budding young woman as well. Now that we’ve finally come back to civilization, I thought I should offer you the opportunity to embark on the Vision Quest we’d spoken of back in Derdriu. I’ve acquired more Dreamleaf and am now fully prepared to help you on your journey.”

>“Ahh, that’s right.” You recall being less than satisfied with Yara’s fortune telling the last time she’d performed the service for you. It was then that she’d offered you the chance to perhaps see the future for yourself. “I…don’t know. I’m pretty busy getting ready for the march on Enbarr. How long does this stuff usually last?”

“Merely an hour or two. We can do it tonight after you’re done with your chores.” Yara puffs a ring of smoke at your face. “You’ll see some things. Perhaps you’ll understand them. Or perhaps not. Either way, it’s your choice. I wouldn’t want to force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.
>B): Politely decline.

>>5788038
>A): Partake in the Vision Quest
of course i want to do magic weed

>>5788038
>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.

>It was then that she’d offered you the chance to perhaps see the future for yourself.
Fuck Ashe in the dream

>>5788038
>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.

>>5788065
>Fuck Ashe in the dream
based

>>5788038
>>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.

>>5788065
Blair's already riding every night

>>5788220
Look all I'm saying is imagine what you could do in a lucid dream powered with magic dream weed.

>>5788038
>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.
We might as well, at this point.

>>5788038
>B): Politely decline.

>>5788038
>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.

We've been sitting on this plot hook for several threads now. I say we go.

And huh. I wonder if implanting the crest in ourselves would've opened us up to Agarthan influence. Probably for the best that we've gotten rid of it.

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>>5788038
>>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.
It's time brothers

>>5788038
>>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.

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>>5788038
>“Well…I suppose it couldn’t hurt to try. You’ll make sure I’m okay, right?”

“Of course.” Yara nods sagely. “You’re in good hands.”

Later that night, you head over to where Yara had set up her tent. Making your way inside, you’re greeted by the same aroma of spices and smoke that permeated from the dark mage. While it wasn’t necessarily unpleasant, you had to wonder just how often she smoked this stuff. Yara has made her tent as comfortable as possible. Pillows are scattered throughout, and you find a suitable one to rest your behind on. She was right, it really did feel like you hardly ever got a moment to just sit and reflect. Perhaps this was long overdue. Yara sits in front of you, fiddling with several small bags of reagents.

>“So, that’s Dreamleaf?”

“Indeed.” Yara hums. “It’s mostly native to the Duscar region, but you’ll find a few merchants here and there carrying it…if you know where to look. Smoking Dreamleaf is a popular recreational activity amongst certain circles.”

>“They don’t require the aid of a Duscur shaman?”

“Only if they want to do it right.” She smiles as she finishes packing her pipe with the herb. After fiddling with the pipe for a few more seconds, she offers it to you. “Here, you can use anima magic. Use your fire to light it, and then inhale the smoke. Take a deep pull. One alone should suffice. Be careful not to blow us both up with a fireball though.”

You do as Yara instructs and are greeted by the sweet herbal scent of the Dreamleaf burning. It’s not entirely unpleasant, and you soon find yourself enjoying the smell. The smoke enters your lungs as you pull from the pipe. You find that it isn’t nearly as harsh as you’d have imagined. Taking your deep pull, you blow the smoke out back into the room. You move to take another, but Yara gently pushes your hands away, and snatches the pipe back into her possession.

“Hey, I said just one would be enough.” She laughs, emptying the pipe into a small bowl.

>“Aren’t you going to smoke as well?”

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>>5789430
The dark mage shakes her head. “It wouldn’t be wise. I’m simply here to observe and ensure that your Vision Quest is a success. As the Dreamleaf courses through your body, you will begin to see or feel certain sensations. Though they may seem real, it’s simply your mind opening to new possibilities. Rest assured that it should all be harmless in nature. Regardless, it would be best if I had my wits about me to make sure you don’t hurt yourself. I’ll be summoning the spirits of Duscur to guide you along your journey. Now, sit still and relax.”

You feel a slight pulse of magic emanating from within the tent as Yara begins chanting something in a language you don’t understand. You believe it to be her native tongue but are unsure. Taking her words to heart, you lean back against the wall, and stare up at the tent ceiling. You feel lightheaded, and just a tad weightless. The stress you’d felt over the last week has completely subsided. At this moment, you find it almost impossible to care about Javelins of Light, Titanus, Agarthans or the Empire. You simply feel at peace with yourself and your surroundings. Your mind instead wanders to a distant pleasant memory.

>A): The night you reunited with the Blue Lions in Charon
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach
Let's go back to where it all began. Maybe we'll learn something we missed?

>>5789432
>>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

If only Blair's mind wandered to Ashe

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5788038
>>A): Partake in the Vision Quest.
gimme that sticky icky Yara

>>5789432
>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

It's funny to think that Charles was an Agarthan all this time. I suppose some Sages are just more sentimental than others.

>>5789432
>A): The night you reunited with the Blue Lions in Charon

>>5789836
Anon...... I

>>5789432
>>B): The ball the Count threw in honor of your acceptance to Garreg Mach

>>5790211
Look I didn't refresh in a while so I didn't notice how far behind I was originally

also I'm not Anon, I'm... Hubert.

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>>5789432
You recall the ball that the Count threw for you six years ago, when it had been announced that you’d been accepted into Garreg Mach. It was the first and only time someone had ever done anything this lavish for you. Nobles from all Rusalka had gathered at the castle to dance, socialize and feast, all in your name. You’d been living with the Count for five years at that point. Despite Rex’s incessant teasing and the rigorous daily training under Wedge, living there had still managed to be a wonderful experience. And while you missed your father, you knew that he’d have been happy to know that you were being well-looked after.

As the ball commenced in full, you found yourself standing by the wall, watching the other nobles and partygoers dancing to the music. Your eyes had wandered over to Rex, who had no shortage of women who’d been waiting to dance with him. He swapped from one partner to another with such ease, enjoying himself all the while. It almost looked as if everyone there had come together for him and not you!

“Blair!” Rex roared suddenly from the dance floor, startling both his partner and you. You reflexively back up into the wall. “Quit standing there and join in! Everyone’s here for you!”

Your face turns red hot as some of the nobles turn towards your direction and begin chuckling. Embarrassed, you try your best to sink into the wall and disappear when a warm hand reassuringly lands on your shoulder.

“He never stops, does he?” The Count scowls, looking down at you.

>“I…didn’t even think he would like dancing…”

“Hmm, Rex simply sees it as another conquest.” The Count says, eyeing his rambunctious son, who by now had tossed his partner aside in favor of a new one. “There’s no affection or love there. He just simply sees everything as a triumph over others. Still though, he does make one valid point. Why haven’t you joined in the festivities? I saw a few boys approach you and offer to be your partner.”

>You shake your head vigorously. “N-no way! I’ve never danced before. I’d just trip over my own two feet and probably embarrass the both of us. Besides…”

“Besides what?”

>“…Too close.”

“Hmm?”

>“It’s too close!” You cry, blushing. “I’ve never been anywhere near that close with a boy before…I can’t just do that with some random person I’ve never met before. It’s…weird.”

The Count’s eyes widen for a moment before he begins laughing to himself uncontrollably. You’d never seen the man looking or acting quite as jovial as he did in this moment.

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>>5791077
>“Are you laughing at me…?”

“Yes.” The Count rubs his eyes, regaining his composure. “But in a good way, I promise. I think that you make a great point, Blair. Why bother getting so close with these stuck-up pups? You’re still young. There’s no reason you should feel pressured to start doing things like dancing with boys. Save it for someone you really care about. A dance like that would be one that you’d remember for the rest of your life.”

>You sigh. “If you say so. How come you aren’t out there though? I’m sure plenty of these noble ladies would love a chance to dance with the Count.”

“Ahh, my dancing days are long behind me.” The Count says, observing the revelers. “I suppose I’m much like you in that regard. I don’t see the value in dancing with someone I do not love.”

>“Do you mean your wife?” You’d never known the Count’s wife. Supposedly she had died while giving birth to Rex. The two of you had that similarity in common. Your mother had died giving birth to you, after all. Throughout your life, you’d never had a maternal figure to look up to. It was why you supposed you naturally adapted to the martial training here at the castle. You’d essentially been surrounded by men since childhood.

“Yes. My wife.”

>“What was she like?”

“She was intelligent…far more so than I. A beautiful woman with a golden heart who cared not just for her family but for the world around her. She would have done anything for anyone who needed her help. And I in turn, would have done anything for her.”

>“I’m sorry…the Goddess took her too soon.”

“Yes. She certainly did.” He says tightly. “But, enough of this stroll down memory lane. If you listen to the ramblings of this old man, you might find yourself standing here all night!” He offers his hand to you. “This is still your party after all. And like it or not, you should still be out there making an appearance.”

>“Eh? I-I thought you said-“

“I did. And I meant it. So, there’s no harm in us sharing a dance together. Unless of course you wish to reject this old man like you did all those other boys?”

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>>5791081
Smiling, you shake your head and embark on the ballroom floor with the Count. The crowd opens as the other attendees watch the two of you take the center of attention.

“About time the lady of the hour gets up here!” Rex yells, boisterously laughing.

You struggle to keep up with the simple movements at first. Fortunately, though, the Count is a patient man who doesn’t even seem to mind when you step on his feet. In time, you’re able to keep up with the rhythm of the music. Even though you feel as though you must look a fool, it’s okay. The two of you continue following along with the ballad, surrounded by the various couples amid their own waltzes.

“AHHH!” A piercing scream from your right shocks your core and steals your attention. A noble-looking lady shrieks in terror and she is engulfed by shadows. She attempts to pat them out, twirling and spinning in vain, but to no avail. The shadows seemingly compress her. Her screaming is halted as her body collapses on itself, shattering her entire being with a grotesque squelching sound. Her dance partner recoils in shock and tries to back away, only to be swallowed up by the very same darkness that engulfed the woman next to him. One by one, each of the partygoers finds themselves swallowed. Some try to run for the exits while others plead for mercy from the Goddess. The music has halted now, replaced by the agonized and terrified screams of the ball’s participants. This was madness! None of this ever happened!

>“W-what’s going on?!” You cry, watching the scene unfurl before you. You turn to the Count for an answer, only to find yourself blinded by a terribly bright light emanating from where the Count was standing only a moment ago. As the shadows continue to spread and consume all those they meet, the light in the center of the room only grows brighter. You fall to the floor, screaming, unable to make sense of it all. The light burns out your vision, and all fades to black as the screams in the room finally fade away.

“Blair?” You hear a voice call out to you gently. You know that voice. Even though it defies all logic, you know that it belongs to none other than Mercedes. “Blair? Are you okay? Take my hand.”

>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.
>B): Refuse the voice.

Let's see, refuse the voice and wallow in darkness, or perhaps stand on her own? Or take Mercedes hand and get to see her again, even if in a dream. Honestly I'm pretty torn, it really sucks that nearly all the Blue Lions died at Gronder.

>>5791084
>B): Refuse the voice.
If there's one thing I know about weird nightmare realms it's never trusting voices that sound like the people you know.

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes' hand.
REACH FOR MY HAAAND
Clearly Ghost Mercedes is our spirit guide and we should follow her if we want any idea of what's going on.

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.

Either this gets us out of the trip, or it makes the trip worse-- either way, I think its to our benefit.

>>5791084
>>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.
I'm curious what this'll do

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.
We aren't a three houses protag for nothing, and she was our closest Lion support.

I really wanna know if this snake actually fathered Rex and he's talking about the human wife, or if he's remembering a snake wife.

>>5791084
>>B): Refuse the voice

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes' hand.

>>5791470
Probably a snake wife, especially considering the reaction to the goddess taking her too soon.

>>5791084
>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.
Cry

>>5791084
>>A): Take Mercedes’ hand.

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>>5791084
Though you’re lost in the darkness and fearing for your life, you’re sure that the voice you just heard belonged to Mercedes. Had she come to save you? Even though that didn’t make any sense, neither did whatever was happening in this room. Blinded by the light that had been shining off the Count, you throw your hand up, waving it around hoping to grab onto your deceased friend. You find what you were looking for, and another hand grabs your own. A chill runs down your spine. The hand that embraces yours is freezing to the touch. You are pulled up from the floor that you were sitting on, and brought to…

“Blair! Did you have too much to drink?” A worried Mercedes asks you as she helps you back to your feet. You remember this place. It’s the inn in Charon. You spent a night here with several of the Blue Lions shortly after the fall of Garreg Mach. The lot of you drank until the tavern had closed, discussing the fall of the monastery and the inevitable war to come. It must have already been late because your table was the only one still full. Sylvain and Annette were both staring at you worriedly, while Felix simply shook his head in disapproval.

>“Ahh-no, I’m fine! I’m just a bit tired is all. Thanks for the help, Mercedes.” You slink your way back to your chair, feeling embarrassed about your blunder.

“Hey, no shame in not being able to handle your alcohol!” Sylvain grins, downing some of his glass. “Besides, it’s not like we don’t all have plenty of reasons to drink right now.”

“Speak for yourself.” Felix scowls. “We have plenty of action coming up in the near future, and the last thing you need to be drinking anymore of that poison.”

“Would you lighten up?” Sylvain shoots back. “How else are we supposed to celebrate this reunion of ours if not with some booze?”

“Are you truly okay, Blair?” Mercedes asks, concern evident on her face. “It is getting late after all. Perhaps you should head off to bed?”

>“I’m fine, really.” You smile, trying your best to reassure the cleric. Looking around the table, it really was exactly as you remembered that night. Only… “Hey, where’s Ingrid? Wasn’t she just here with us a moment ago?”

“She had to go do something.” Annette smiles cheerfully. “Don’t worry, she’ll be joining us soon!”

“I hope so.” Sylvain sighs. “The Goddess knows I could use her company right about now.”

“What, there aren’t enough women at this table already to satisfy your perverse urges?” Felix asks.

“The more the merrier!” The redhead smiles happily, offering his glass up for another toast. “I’m really glad that we found you, Blair. I should have known you would have made it out okay. You’ve always been the resourceful sort. Far more than I. Thank goodness the Goddess saw fit to grant us another meeting like this.”

“Yes, she truly is merciful.” Mercedes sighs in appreciation.

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>>5792023
>“I’m really glad to see all of you too.” You smile. “When I fled the monastery…I had no idea if we’d ever meet again. I mean…I had no idea if I’d even survive. To be here with all of you now is something I’ll forever be grateful for.” You lift your tankard of ale up in a toast. “I hope the next time we get to do this, that the ale will be just as refreshing!”

“Oh, Blair.” Mercedes giggles as if having just heard a joke. “The next time we meet, you’ll be writhing on the ground, screaming in torment.”

>“Wha-“

“The monastery?” Annete asks, bewilderment evident in her tone. “Do you seriously still think it’s 1180?” She barks a harsh laugh; unlike any you’d ever heard from her. “Are you an idiot or what?”

“I have to agree with Annette.” Sylvain says sullenly. “You must have hit your head when you were scurrying away like a rat from Gronder.”

“She really did forget.” Felix says amazed. “Figures a coward like you would be the one to survive. I bet you don’t even remember leaving me to roast alive when the Empire blew up that tower.” He scoffs, angry. “You turned out to be utterly worthless, didn’t you?”

>“That’s right…” You say, realization dawning on you. “You’re all dead…this is just a dream. A vision. You’re not real.” You slide your chair away from the table to get up, but Mercedes places her icy hand on your shoulder, preventing you from escaping. When you turn to look at her, you’re horrified by what you see.

“Oh, we’re real, Blair.” It’s Mercedes…only she looks exactly like the last time you saw her. Back when she was lying on the cold ground at Gronder. Her right eye is missing, and you can clearly see where her limbs were broken.

“And we’re coming back for you.” Annette says. Her head is split open, just as you remember.

“We’re friends, after all.” Felix says. Petra’s dagger is lodged firmly in his throat. “And there’s still plenty of fighting left to do.”

“Thanks again for helping me get back the Lance of Ruin, Blair.” Sylvain stands. He’s covered head to toe in gore. “It’s going to be great when it slices through your body.”

“We’ll see you again real soon.” Mercedes whispers in your ear. Her nails dig deep into your shoulder, drawing blood. “I can’t wait!”

You scream as the four of them descend upon you. Darkness takes you once more, and you find yourself suddenly lying on the cold hard ground outside. You get back to your feet, shaken and sweating profusely. You suppress the urge to vomit and pray to the Goddess fervently that the visions were over. However, dread settles in as you recognize just where you were standing. You were outside the abandoned chapel where Kronya had taken you.

“HELP!” A voice cries. There was no mistake, it came from Martha. “Blair! Help me!”

>A): Enter the chapel.
>B): Stay where you are.

>>5792026
>A): Enter the chapel
We have to see this through, even if our friends' ghosts are telling us to go to Hell. We have to dive to the bottom if we want the treasure. We can't fail those who yet live by letting ourselves miss this chance.

>>5792026
>A): Enter the chapel.

One must imagine Blair happy

Man, if our survivor's guilt is this bad, I wonder how bad Ingrid or Ashe have it.

>>5792026
>A): Enter the chapel.

I'm still in a dream, Snake Eater...

>>5792026
>B): Stay where you are.

>>5792026
>A): Enter the chapel
This edible ain't shi-

>>5792026
>A): Enter the chapel.
Time for more suffering.

>>5792380
Well, Ingrid has it pretty damn bad, but at least she doesn't have to deal with a bad trip from dreamleaf. As for Ashe Blair just has to soothe his woes with her body

>>5792026
>>A): Enter the chapel.

>>5792026
>B): Stay where you are.

>>5792837
Truly. One interesting thing I noticed is that Sylvain is described is 'covered in head to toe in gore', which *does* mean there's a chance that he might've survived the battle. Of course, this is banking on the assumption that this isn't actually hell, but the mindscape that Blair has created for herself.

>>5793120
The gore thing might come from the fact that we saw Sylvain kill... Raphael I think? Right in front of us, so in our mind Sylvain's got this killer aspect to him but in his defense he really couldn't have known that Raphael didn't decide to kill us.
But man Punished Sylvain would be rad.

>>5793165
Calling it now, he got captured by the Agarthans and got turned into some fucked up crest demon thing

>>5793165
That sounds about right. Meatgrinder Fields was rough on everyone.

>>5793280
Oof, that's probably what happened, huh? Well, he wouldn't be the first Gautier Crest Beast we'd have to fight.

>>5793280
>Calling it now, he got captured by the Agarthans and got turned into some fucked up crest demon thing
>no corpse of Sylvain
>taken back to Enbarr and experimented on
>QM mentions someone would've stolen the Crest research if we hadn't destroyed it and make a future boss battle harder
>double crests are possible but annihilates your expected lifespan
>Diogenes was working on a rudimentary form of mind control
>souped up Sylvain with dual crests might've happened
I will subscribe to this headcanon, even though I am almost certain that the boss battle Tree was refering to would've been Kate.

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>>5792026
What kind of coward would you be if you ran away from your own nightmare? Regardless of how real things felt, it was still just a dream, right? You knew exactly where you were, and what was about to happen. Dream or not, if you stood by and did nothing, it would be an unforgiveable act. You march forward and open the doors to the chapel. The ruined room before you is exactly as you remember it. Rubble and debris scatter the ground, and moss has begun overtaking the ruined walls and pillars. Standing in the center of the room is none other than Monica and Martha.

“Eh?” Monica exclaims with shock upon your arrival. “What are you doing here?”

“Help me! Please!” Martha screams. Your arrival distracts the Agarthan assassin long enough for Martha to wrestle out of her grasp and run in your direction. She stumbles to the ground midway, crawling on the floor until she is behind you, and then grabs your cape in terror.

>“You’re okay now.” You say gently to your deceased friend. “Get out of here. She can’t hurt you anymore.”

Martha stares up at you with big, wet eyes full of terror. “B-Blair? H-how…?”

>“Go! Now!” You raise your voice, and Martha gets up and flees the chapel in terror.

“That was cute.” Monica smirks. “Of course, you’re wrong. I can hurt her. In fact, I already did. She died screaming for you to come save her.”

>“Of all the people for me to encounter in this lousy Vision Quest…you’ve got to be the worst one yet. And given where I’ve been so far, that’s certainly saying something.”

“That’s rude.” Monica scowls. “It’s not my fault I left such a big impression on you. I’m just naturally charismatic. And so what if I kidnapped you, killed your friends, and then turned them into Demonic Beasts? Honestly, just get over it already.”

>“I hope that’s not the lesson I’m supposed to take from this horrid experience. You’re a manifestation of my own conscience, aren’t you? If so, then you should already know how our story ends. I beat you at the Sealed Forest, and then I watched Solon kill you. In the end, you were nothing more than a reagent for the Forbidden Spell of Zahras. A fitting end for a wretch like you.”

“Woooow.” Monica places her hands on her hips, looking none too impressed. “You sure got long-winded with age, didn’t you? And what’s this about you beating me?” She scoffs. “The way I remember it, you did nothing of the sort. You and your friends jumped me and still couldn’t take me down. You had to wait for that stupid Professor to come save you.” She smirks at you mockingly. “Pitiful. Can’t fight your own battles, Blair?”

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>>5793346
>“I’d be happy to kill you again, Kronya. As many times as you’d like.” You didn’t care if none of this was real. You hated the Agarthan in front of you more than anyone. You’d relish the chance to tear her apart. Even without your spear, you believed you’d be more than a match for her. After all, she was dead, and you’d only gotten stronger. “Drop the disguise already, Talon. I know exactly what you are.”

“Anything for you, Blair.” She smirks one last time as shadows envelop her. Where Monica had been standing is now Kronya. She looks exactly as you remember, clad in her skin-tight black leathers. She smiles wickedly as she eyes you up and down, licking her lips. “Do you think just because this is a dream that you can’t possibly feel any pain? Feel any anguish or suffering? I’m going to enjoy carving into you slowly, bit by bit.” She emphasizes. “When I’m done with you, you’ll wake up a shell of your former self.”

>“Cutting into me with what?” You taunt. “Did you forget I was there when you died? I even have your dag-“

Shit! Realization dawns upon you like an axe to the face. Kronya’s Dagger, which you’d kept strapped to your side over the last few years, had now come into the possession of Eulalia. You’d given it to her just that morning and already forgotten it was no longer on you.

“Have my what?” Kronya giggles, producing the dagger out of thin air. “Do you want to back out? I won’t blame you if you do. I’ll make it a little easier on you if so.”

This was to be the last time you ever smoked Dreamleaf, you thought, just as the fight commenced.

>Kronya
>Level 30: Assassin
HP: 72
STR: 27
DEX: 30
SPD: 42
LUK: 20
DEF: 22
RES: 14
Weapon: Athame (+6 DMG, 20% Crit, Ignores Crit Avoid)
Skill: Vantage (When under attack, strike first if HP is below 50%)

>Note: You are fighting without a spear.

>Choose a spell to attack Kronya with.

>>5793350
>Forseti

Seems like the best choice? Either that or BY GOD IT'S DREAM ASHE WITH A STEEL CHAIR

>>5793350
>Choose a spell to attack Kronya with
Hit her with Forseti. Don't even give her the chance to scream. Rend that Shambhalan wretch apart and offer what's left to the Goddess in sacrifice. Make. Her. PAY.

>>5793350
>Choose a spell to attack Kronya with: Fimbulveltr
31 (Blair's MAG) + 12 (Fimbulveltr's DAM) - 14 (Kronya's RES) = 29
72 - 29 = 43 = Higher than 50% of Kronyas health = She won't activate her passive to attack first next turn
We get hit in retaliation, activating our Passive and making us double attack next turn, when we hit her with Forseti for 41x2 I think I recall Tree saying you double when using Magic even if you only have a single use left of the spell (37 from base damage of Forseti + Blairs MAG minus Kronya's RES, and +4 from our passive), which just kills Kronya outright even when she's at full health.

Kronya actually does zero fucking damage to us (27 + 6 - 28 = 7 total damage per attack means we can tank 9 rounds of her hitting us before she kills us) unless she's got hidden bullshit powers to activate, and even then we entirely nuke her Turn 2 anyhow so we probably won't hit that activation threshhold before we absolutely nuke her. But this is a dream so who knows, maybe if we dunk on her she just splits in to seven Kronyas or something.

>>5793381
>27 + 6 - 28 = 7
Which is in fact not 7, but 5 so we easily tank 12 rounds of combat. It could even go as low as 3 damage if the +2 to Def in our stat sheet isn't already added to our total, which means 20 rounds of combat before we actually have to fight back. At that point the bigger humiliation to Kronya isn't to get wrecked by Foresit nuke, but us just ignoring her and walking around in the Chapel while ignoring her.

>>5793386
The +2 to DEF is already added, yeah. Also should mention this as well, but you also don't have your Magic Staff, so no bonus to damage from that either!

>>5793350
>>5793368
Switching to >>5793381

>>5793350
>>5793378
Also switching to support >>5793381 because I need to trust the math.

Huh. Didn't think the repercussions for passing along that dagger would arrive so quickly. Ah well, time to show off our skills as a mage.

>tfw 14 level difference
Well, it's been nice knowing you, Kronya. We'll send you to hell as many times as you like.

>>5793350
>>5793381
Backing this!

>>5793381
Support

I think we'd already double Kronya on the first attack due to Darting Blow.
Blair also gets an additional +5 damage from Black Tomefaire, so the damage with Fimbulvetr should be:
31 MAG + 5 (BT) + 12 (Fimbulvetr) - 14 = 34*2 = 68
Even if we used Fire, we'd end up doing 25*2=50 damage.
Vantage will proc next round, but it doesn't really matter since we can tank her hits even if she gets a crit in.

We'll be killing her in two rounds either way unless we use Forseti, but personally I'd prefer to save it for now. Spamming Fire works, but Fimbulvetr was the spell we had originally used against her back then, so I think it'd be fitting if we went with that first.

>>5793350
>Choose a spell to attack Kronya with.
>Fimbulvetr

>>5793350
>>5793381
I bow to mathanon and second this.

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>>5793621
Of course I forget the passive abilities that completely change the dynamics of the battle.

I HATE THE PASSIVES, I HATE THE PASSIVES, I HATE THE PASSIVES! THEY RUIN THE SANCTITY OF THE SIMPLE MATH!

>>5793381
+1

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>>5793350
The first time you’d fought Kronya, you were blinded by her speed. You’d never met anyone who was as fast as her. Even Petra, who by all accounts was the quickest person you’d encountered by that point, could hardly keep up with the Agarthan Talon. But you hadn’t been a slouch these last few years. You’ve been fighting nonstop since your encounter in the Sealed Forest, growing stronger and faster than you could have ever imagined you’d become. Before Kronya can rush forward and attack you, you’re already on top of her. You extend your hand out and summon the icy winds of Fimbulvetr to pummel the Talon where she stands.

>Blair: 31 MAG + 5 (BT) + 12 (Fimbulvetr) = 48 - 14 RES = 34*2 = 68 DMG
>Stun: 46, 51 (Miss)
>Kronya: 4/72 HP

Both the room, as well as Kronya, are frozen solid. The icy winds of Fimbulvetr freeze all they touch. The assassin is stuck in place like an icicle, mid-motion with her dagger drawn. Slowly, cracks begin to form over the ice, until it finally shatters into pieces, releasing the assassin from its grasp.

“W-what the h-h-hell w-was that?!” Kronya’s manages to utter through chattering teeth. Her body is covered in horrid lacerations and frostbite. It’s a miracle that she’s still managing to stand.

>“You’re outmatched.” You say confidently. “I remember exactly how strong you used to be. It might have been scary back then, but I’ve been fighting your kind for too long now to feel any sort of fear. You don’t scare me anymore. In fact, I welcome this opportunity with open arms!”

“Y-you’ve become a cocky little b-bitch haven’t you?” She chatters. “B-but I won’t stay down. Y-you’re going to die, Blair. Mark my words!”

>Kronya: 27 STR + 6 (Athame) = 33 – 28 DEF = 5 DMG
>Crit: 77, (Miss)
>Blair: 62/67 HP

Kronya launches Athame with deadly precision, and the dagger embeds itself into your shoulder. Despite being a dream, the pain you feel is as real as it gets. That being said, it isn’t just Kronya’s speed you remember, but her strength as well. And while she could have eviscerated you with such an attack in your younger years, now it only serves to act as a mild annoyance. You pluck the dagger out of your arm, indifferent to the pain you feel, and throw it onto the ground. You extend one hand towards the Assassin and let loose a single Fireball.

The previously frozen Kronya is now engulfed in flames. She staggers around for a few moments, before collapsing to the ground, reduced to a pile of ashes.

Easy enough, you think to yourself as you watch the flames whittle away into nothing. If only things had really gone this way. You turn back towards the entrance of the room, where Martha must have escaped through. Dream or not, you wanted to find her and make sure she was safe. But as you turn your back on the smoldering pile, you’re caught by surprise.

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>>5795209
>Kronya: 27 STR + 6 (Athame) = 33 – 28 DEF = 5 DMG
>Crit: 79, (Miss)
>Blair: 57/67

You turn around just in time to catch the blade with the palm of your hand. Kronya’s dagger slices through the flesh and bone, causing you to wince as you take several steps back.

“I don’t scare you anymore, you say?” Kronya smiles wickedly. Her body has somehow recovered from all the wounds you’d previously inflicted. “You know, I just don’t buy that. Maybe I need to remind you just how terrifying I can be!”

Grimacing, you raise your left hand back to attack the talon with magic, when you suddenly feel another dagger plunge into your backside, causing you to scream in pain.

>Monica: 27 STR + 6 (Athame) = 33 – 28 DEF = 5 DMG (Crit) = 15 DMG
>Crit: 1, (Hit)
>Blair: 42/67

“Don’t you get it, Blair?” Monica giggles from behind. “We’ll keep coming back. As many times at it takes!”

You cock your fist and swing it back to connect with Monica’s jaw, but she deftly leaps out of the way, extracting her dagger from your back. Kronya does the same, and the next thing you know, you’re surrounded by two dream assassins on both sides. The pain you’re feeling now is all too real.

“Did you think you were some sort of hero?” Kronya taunts, running a single bloody finger across the blade of her dagger. “How long did you really think you’d keep on fighting for?”

“I bet she secretly loves it.” Monica laughs. “Fighting Agarthans is just an excuse for her to revel in bloodshed. Even if she did manage to somehow defeat Shambhala, I bet she wouldn’t even stop killing. She’d just find someone new to fight instead.”

“Maybe we’re more alike than she thinks?” Kronya says, astonished.

>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
>B): If they won’t stay dead, then all you can do is defend yourself from their attacks.

>>5795211
>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
>Fimbulvetr

Multiple enemies means AOE.

>“We’ll keep coming back. As many times at it takes!”
So Blair gets infinite stress relief then?

>>5795211
>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
We've only got two more Fimbulvetrs, and that wording tells me that none of our spells will hit both of them. For this reason, I vote:

>hit Kronya with Thunder
Ignore the simp skinsuit this turn. We can deal with her next round.

>>5795211
>>Fimbulvetr

I completely fucking threw myself in the trash with the math (Thanks, passives) but was bang on point for Kronyas bullshit powers. The question then is are we in a fight we're scripted to lose or can we beat enough Kronya's to death to win?

>“Fighting Agarthans is just an excuse for her to revel in bloodshed. Even if she did manage to somehow defeat Shambhala, I bet she wouldn’t even stop killing. She’d just find someone new to fight instead.”
>“Maybe we’re more alike than she thinks?” Kronya says, astonished.
Kronya, you're a dead loser so how about you lower your tone in my presence.

>>5795211
>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
>Fimbulvetr
Might as well attempt to Cleave again, this time it will actually one shot both of the Kronyas if the AoE hits both of them due to Firey Blood giving us that extra 4x2 damage. If we assume they undergo mitosis again, and expect them to get one attack in each we'll be looking at 20 damage in return unless we get lolrandumcrit again, and we only "die" on three lolrandumcrits or higher. After that we have to Forseti to buy ourselves a turn before we die, otherwise the mitosis kills us. Or we win by killing enough Kronya if we use the Fumbulvetr.

If I recall correctly, Daggers are considered to be Swords? If Dodge Chance is [Defender's Speed - Attacker's Dexterity + Avo], then we've got... [46 - 30 = 13 + 20 (Swordbreaker) + 40 (Alert Stance+) = 76%] chance of dodging a round of attacks? Of course, this drops to 36% after their first round of attacks, as we would be engaged at that point.

If this fight drags on, it may be prudent to just fight defensively, instead focusing on dodging, reposition, and killing the Kronyas and Monicas on retaliation instead of initiating and losing Alert Stance+.

For now, though...

>>5795211
>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
>Fimbulvetr

If we use it and they split again, we'll still have one more use, if ever.

>>5795775
Whoops, 46 -30 is 16, not 13. I had factored in Fiery Blood+ in one side of the equation, but not the other. The final answer shouldn't change though-- though I will admit that this is all based off of the assumption that Daggers are Swords, thus proccing Swordbreaker (I say this because we were able to use Kronya's Dagger without any Dagger ranks). If they are their own weapon type, it might be wise to just keep attacking. Unless of course, this is a dream sequence wherein whatever we do will reflect on Blair's personality when she wakes up, but hey.

>>5795211
>>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with.
>Fimbulvetr
We've still got a couple more uses of it left, so might as well stick with it to hit the both of them.

>>5795211
>>B): If they won’t stay dead, then all you can do is defend yourself from their attacks.
Perhaps we must die in order to see

>>5795211
Try to dream up something else

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>>5795211
>“I wasn’t joking when I said I’d kill you as many times as you liked.” You seethe through gritted teeth. “Keep getting back up and I’ll just knock you down again!”

>Blair: 31 MAG + 5 (BT) + 5(FB+) + 12 (Fimbulvetr) = 53 - 14 RES = 34*2 = 78 DMG
>Stun: 12, 96 (Hit, Miss)
>Kronya: 0/72 HP
>Monica: 0/72 HP

You feel the magic coursing through you as the icy harsh winds of Fimbulvetr blow the roof off the chapel and engulf theose inside in a blue, frozen tornado. The two assassins are swept up in the attack, unable to escape its clutches. They are violently thrown around like ragdolls until the spell reaches its crescendo, and the two of them are launched against opposite sides of the chapel walls. Chunks of ice and red explode vibrantly, signifying that they won’t be getting up again. At least you hope that to be the case this time. You watch both splatters of gore for several moments, waiting to see if anything will happen. When you feel as though you’re finally in the clear, you breathe a sigh of relief, only to yelp in shock when something from below grabs onto your ankle tightly.

>“You have got to be kidding me?!” You shout in annoyance as you attempt to free your trapped leg. The ground below you sags and gives in. Kronya emerged from the ground, grasping tightly onto your trapped foot.

“You don’t think I’m done yet, do you?” You laughs. “You’re the one that said you’d indulge me for as long as I liked. Don’t tell me that you’re getting sick of me already.”

You kick at the Agarthan with your free leg, but she avoids the clumsy attack. Emerging fully from the ground, she somersaults to face you. Just like the last time, there are no signs of damage or wounds on her body. If she was able to come back from that attack unscathed, then it also stood to reason that-

>Monica: (19, Hit)
>Crit: (92, Miss)
>Monica: 27 STR + 6 (Athame) = 33 – 28 DEF = 5 DMG
>Blair: 37/67 HP

You turn your face to the right fast enough that Monica’s dagger is only able to scratch you rather than puncture your lungs. Using her momentum against her, you lock her arm in place and then shoot a point-blank fireball directly into her chest, sending the girl flying back where she came from.

>Blair: 31 MAG + 5 (BT) + 5(FB+) + 3 (Fire) = 44 – 14 RES = 30*2 = 60 DMG
>Monica: 12/72 HP

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>>5796564
“Woooow, Blair. Color me impressed!” Kronya says cheerfully as you turn to face her. You wipe the blood off your cheek, staring down at it. It was impossible to get over how real this all felt. You were beginning to worry about the potential real-world consequences of this. What was going on back in reality, where you were asleep in Yara’s tent? And what would happen if the two of these nightmares actually did manage to bring you down here. Like it or not, you slowly but surely were getting dragged down by the two of them.

“Me too!” Monica says, coughing and dusting herself off as she got back up. She was covered in horrid burns and her clothes were completely singed, but she didn’t seem to care in the slightest. “I never would have thought a little dork like you would get this strong. But I guess it only stands to reason. You put off being a normal girl with a normal life, all so that you could go around playing the avenging hero and feeling good about yourself.”

>“Whose fault do you suppose that is?”

“Oh please, take some responsibility!” Kronya says indignantly. “You don’t even realize you’ve been consumed by vengeance this whole time.”

“You threw away your rank, country and prestige, all in the name of it.” Monica chimes in.

“You’ve been living on the idea of killing Agarthans for so long. Tell me you don’t really believe you can just return to living a normal life once everything’s over, do you?” Kronya asks, stifling a laugh.

“After all the things you’ve seen and done, you think you’ll just hang up your spear, pop out a few kids, and spend some cozy nights by the fire?” Monica asks, drawing near.

>“Didn’t sound like too bad a plan to me…”

“When all the mothers in the village get together to swap stories, what do you think you’ll share with them?” Kronya asks you. “How you ran men through with your spear? Sent them to their deaths through fire and ice? Or perhaps you’ll regale the women with tales of how you abandoned your friends to their fates at Gronder?”

The two of them were on you again, readying themselves to attack. Twice now they’d resurrected themselves, despite hitting them with everything you had. Was there no limit to how many times they’d come back to harass you? As you try to figure out your next move, you spot a figure moving at the entrance of the chapel. Martha has returned.

“Stop! Leave her alone!” Martha cries.

“Oh?” You hear Monica utter, a tinge of surprise in her voice. “There you are! I was worried you’d gotten away from me!”

>A): Choose a spell to attack either Kronya or Monica with (Note: Fimbulvetr will hurt Martha as well)
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.
We still have enough health to survive 2 crits if we get unlucky. Fimbulvetr is now strong enough to kill Kronya and Monica in one round, so I'd imagine it'd definitely kill Martha as well, so let's not go with that.

>>5796565
>>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them
SAVE HER

>>5796565
Fuck, they're kinda right, we did abandon a bunch of shit to focus on the agarthans, but like... Even if we are filled with vengeance we could live a good retirement right? I don't see Blair getting blood crazy and wanting to kill something else once the agarthans are all dead, but I can see her having trouble adjusting to a more normal life.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796976
Did we really abandon a bunch of stuff though? No matter what the Agarthan's are the ones pulling the strings, Blair simply took the most expedient route. The alternatives would be to essentially just follow one of the three factions, and end up doing less in the end, while Byleth goes and beats everyone up. Whereas Blair is responsible for multiple sages dying, fucking up Agarthan plans in general, and easily putting them centuries behind of their goals. Hell, Diogenes alone was a massive blow to the Agarthans overall. Now, MAYBE Blair could have saved more of her supports, (Gronder should just be named grinder desu) but they would only be from one faction.

>>5796976
A world in which the Agarthans are alive to threaten is not a world fit to retire into, and thus Blair less "abandoned" anything and more gave it up to create a world that she could actually retire in without the threat of a demonic beast destroying whatever quaint village she found.

>>5796976
Read man the hell do you even know why blair killing agarthan baka baka

Well, I can't say I didn't expect that, but at the very least, we'll be able to protect Martha through retaliation.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

>>5796976
Honestly, for soldiers and mercenaries alike, settling down and returning to normal life is always going to be rough. And while it is true we haven't made many happy memories during this war, that certainly hasn't stopped us from trying.

I will say it before, and I'll say it again: Blair threw away everything for the chance to root out the Agarthans. Despite her efforts, she will forever be branded a traitor to her homeland, and a ruthless mercenary who did whatever it took. Even when we were actually quite merciful when it mattered, and that we only really did what we did to save people.

Perhaps Ashe will end up writing our memoirs like he promised, heh.

Maybe before we settle down with Ashe, we take him, Corrine, and whoever else wants to come on a vacation? Adventure as Clay did, maybe-- minus all of the 'secret crusade to do good' stuff. Travel the world without worrying about Agarthans. Though I suppose it wouldn't really be a vacation, considering all of the bandits and hostile factions in the various corners of Fodlan...

Maybe it's just better to just accept the fact that her post-war retirement period is going to be one of a PTSD-riddled war vet who only really finds solace in like-minded friends and family who suffered much like she did. But hey. She has the Betrothed Trait, so maybe a happy (or at least peaceful?) ending is possible.

>>5797250
To get vengeance on our friends and to root out an ancient evil that's a danger to all of fodlan?

>>5797201
You're right, we didn't exactly abandon the church but betrayed the empire but we had a good reason for that, and we did go to the Kingdom which is the church's biggest ally so we did help them in a roundabout way.

>>5796565
>B): Place yourself between Martha and the assassins and defend her from them.

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No! You wouldn’t let them touch a single hair on Martha’s head. You rush over to place yourself between the memory of your friend and the two assassins, who are charging towards her with their daggers drawn. Martha, to her credit, does not budge from her position. You can sense that she is casting some sort of spell, but as to what it could be you have no idea. While she certainly wasn’t a bad mage, there was no way she’d be able to keep up with the Agarthans. Especially not here.

>Kronya: (30, Hit)
>Crit: (80, Miss)
>Kronya: 27 STR + 6 (Athame) = 33 – 28 DEF = 5 DMG
>Blair: 32/67 HP

Kronya’s dagger slashes across your face, leaving a cut that jets out warm blood. You push her back with your right hand just in time for Monica to leap into the air above her and attack you.

>Monica: (67, Miss)

Monica’s dagger misses your head by a few inches as you dance out of the way of her strike. Both Assassins are now on you, and it’s all you can do just to dodge their attacks. Eventually, your defenses begin to buckle, and little by little you find yourself being cut by the twin nightmares. It isn’t until you sense something massive from above you that your attention is suddenly snapped away from Kronya and Monica. Both Assassins take a step back, also staring up towards the sky, where you’d ripped the ceiling off the chapel with your Fimbulvetr spell.

“What the hell is that?!” Kronya exclaims, eyes wide in shock.

You can hardly believe what your eyes are seeing. A giant meteor has seemingly popped out of thin air to hang above the ruined chapel. You sense a surge of magic from behind you, and it suddenly dawns on you where that thing came from.

>“M-Martha?!” You exclaim with trepidation. “What are you doing?!” You knew and fought besides this girl for a long time, and you damn sure knew she could never manage something like this. Hell, you didn’t think there was a Sorcerer alive in Fodlan who could.

“It’s fine, Blair!” Martha exclaims cheerfully. She’s engulfed in powerful magics that emanate from her, the likes of which you’ve never felt before. Even looking at her is difficult, and you find yourself needing to avert your eyes to avoid going blind. “I’ll take them out AND wake you up at the same time!”

>“A-are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Positive!” She yells back. “And don’t listen to those two freaks, Blair! You have your whole life ahead of you. Once this is all over, you can do whatever you want!”

“What are you talking about, fool!” You hear Monica yell. Her voice is hard to make out over the roar of the meteor descending slowly upon the chapel. “She ruined her life all so that she could avenge you!”

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>>5798237
“It’s not just about avenging me, Blair!” Martha shouts. “It’s about living your life to the fullest for those of us who can’t anymore! You don’t always have to fight! One day, you’ll have the chance to hang it all up and go back to normal! I promise!”

The world around you trembles violently as Martha’s meteor is only seconds away from flattening everything in its path. You fall to the ground, staring upwards at your impending doom. Beyond just being able to wake up, you also hoped this didn’t hurt too much.

>“Thank you, Martha.”

>Maturity Increased! (All growths +10%)

The meteor crashes down upon the chapel, and you wake up-

You awaken in a cold sweat, screaming at the top of your lungs. You open your eyes to find yourself in Yara’s tent, or at least something that resembles it. The serene and cozy dwelling you remember has now been totally wrecked, with pillows ripped apart and glass smashed. You attempt to get up but fail. It feels as though there’s a giant boulder sitting on your chest, preventing you from moving.

“Fuck, she’s loud!” Scratch barks. The female bandit is sitting atop your chest, preventing you from standing. “I think she’s awake.”

>“W-what?! Is this real? Agh, y-you’re crushing me!”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Yara breathes a sigh of relief. The shaman looks absolutely rattled as she clutches her heart, spooked from your screaming. “I’ve never seen someone thrashing around so violently during a Vision Quest. You nearly destroyed my tent and threatened to run off, causing a terror. I had to enlist Scratch here to hold you down and make sure you didn’t hurt anyone. Oh, Blair… the spirits must have had a lot to work through with you.”

>“C-couldn’t you have gotten someone else?” You cough as Scratch gets off you and helps you to your feet.

“I need Scratch to restrain you. I thought about getting that boy of yours…” Yara starts. “But…”

“Hey Ashe, I’m a Duscan Witch. I drugged your girlfriend and she’s losing her mind.” Scratch says mockingly. “Care to lend us a hand?”

>“Fair point. Best we keep this to ourselves. Neither Ashe nor Corrine can ever learn about this.”

“Your secrets safe with me.” Scratch says. “Hell, I don’t think anyone would even believe me if I told them. You were…foaming at the mouth and sweating…throwing punches…speaking in tongues…it was weird.” She turns towards Yara. “Got any more of that stuff?”

“How was it?” Yara asks you, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder and offering you a cup of water. “Did you learn anything? Did you perhaps want to talk about it?”

>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.
>B): Keep them to yourself for now.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

>You were…foaming at the mouth and sweating…throwing punches…speaking in tongues…it was weird.” She turns towards Yara. “Got any more of that stuff?”
kek

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.
We technically did this to try to see the future ourselves, but this didn't help much with that unless Yara can somehow interpret this into anything meaningful. Even if she can't, we got the growth boost and Blair's motivated now.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.
If we can't tell the fortune-teller what we saw, who CAN we tell? Besides, these two are sworn to secrecy anyway.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

>>5798238
>>A): Discuss your visions with Yara
No let's tell Ashe and get stoned together actually

>“It’s not just about avenging me, Blair!” Martha shouts. “It’s about living your life to the fullest for those of us who can’t anymore! You don’t always have to fight! One day, you’ll have the chance to hang it all up and go back to normal! I promise!”

Here's to you, Martha. It's easy to forget what happened after all that's occurred, but the death of Martha and Xavier *is* what triggered Blair's rage towards the Agarthans-- even more so than what happened in Rusalka.

So the fact that she basically showed up in the dream sequence to tell us it's going to be okay, and a happy ending is still possible? I'm sure that'll be a beacon for Blair in the future. Like Ashe, she's not fighting to die anymore-- she's fighting to live.

>Maturity Increased! (All growths +10%)

Very nice. Makes this whole bad trip cathartic and worth it. A shame we didn't get XP for literally facing down old demons, but I suppose there's no experience to be gained in a battle already won.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

Terrible trip, but still probably not the worst thing we've ever experienced.

>>5798238
>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

>>5798238
>Maturity Increased! (All growths +10%)
Poggers

>A): Discuss your visions with Yara.

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>>5798238
A part of you felt bad for all those times you’d chastised Yara regarding the vagueness of her visions. Now that you’d experienced them for yourself, you weren’t sure if you could do much better. You think back to the three visions that you saw. The first had involved shadows from Rusalka engulfing all those around you, as if they were being swallowed by the void. Perhaps that had been meant to invoke the Forbidden Spell of Zahras, though what the strange light emanating from the Count could have possibly meant, you hadn’t the faintest idea.

The second was even more confusing. You’d been surrounded by your friends from the Blue Lions who had died during Gronder. They seemed angry with you and made mention of returning to kill you. But you knew that was impossible. You’d seen all but Sylvain dead with your own eyes. And there was no mistaking that they were in fact dead. If there were some sort of hidden meaning in that vision, you weren’t sure you possessed the means to grasp it.

Finally, there was your reunion with Martha. Whether it was her spirit returned to you, or just your mind’s own interpretation of her, her message was clear. You could spend the rest of your days chasing Agarthan shadows and fighting or do your best to honor her memory by living life and foregoing vengeance. While it seemed obvious enough, a part of you feared that the decision wouldn’t be as easy to make as it seemed. You share all of these stories with Yara, who sits there smoking, listening intently and nodding along.

>“So, what do you think?”

Yara takes one final puff of her pipe, and then looks at you sagely. “I don’t know.”

The next day finds you sitting in a tavern just outside the outskirts of the monastery. The place was a popular destination for travelers who were on their way to visit Garreg Mach. Currently, it served as a meeting ground for a variety of mercenaries who had come seeking employment outside of the Empire. It was here that Corrine summoned you. After putting out the call that the Blackwings were seeking new recruits, she’d apparently had no shortage of applicants who’d heard of the company’s reputation and had been looking to sign on. And with your treasury and the gold you’d provided, you had the means to hire several new sellswords for your depleted ranks. You and Corrine occupied spots in the back of the tavern, where you were expected to interview several applicants to see if they fit your criteria. The chief positions up for grabs were the two captaincy spots left vacant after the deaths of Roxanne and Nero.

>“I’ve narrowed it down to two choices each.” Corrine says to you. “You’ll pick who our new calvary captain will be, as well as whether we sign on a new battalion of pegasus or wyvern knights. Fortunately, they’ll each be coming with their own soldiers who have served under them.”

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>>5799659
>“That’s convenient.” You say, munching on a piece of the tavern’s bread. Ever since last night’s escapades, you’d had the biggest appetite. “Let’s start with the fliers first. It’s the most important hire.”

“Right. First up is Eleanor la Fleur. Otherwise known as the “Ice Queen”, she is the Captain of the Frosted Shrikes. They’re a band of pegasus knight mercenaries from northern Faerghus.”

>“Silly name, no?” You say, dipping the bread in stew.

“Silly or not, they’ve made quite a name for themselves.” Corrine says, reading off a piece of paper. “They spent much of the war in the service of Dimitri, running several successful raids on the Dukedom. Apparently, they’d fly even during the worst Faerghus winter storms, and each time they’d return successful with a trail of bodies to show for it. This Eleanor was supposedly a high-ranking Pegasus Knight from Galatea, before leaving to form her own company. After turning down Faerghus’ offer to join the battle in Gronder, they’re now seeking new employment.”

>“Well, her decision-making skills can’t be questioned.” You say, biting into a nearby apple. “Who’s she up against?”

“Daryun the Red and his band of mercenaries, the Desert Vultures.” Corrine says, flipping over to another page. “They’re a band of Wyvern Knight mercenaries from Almyra.”

>“Almyra?!” You exclaim with a full mouth.

“Would you quit eating already?!” Corrine chastises you. “And yes, Almyra. They just recently arrived in Fodlan. Seems Leicester is having trouble keeping them out after Gronder. I’m sure we’ll be swimming in Almyrans by the time this war is over.” She drones miserably. “Nevertheless, supposedly these guys are at the top of their game. Daryun is a favored candidate to be one of Almyra’s next Four Warlords. He’s come to Fodlan to help build a name for himself back home. Seems he thinks the best way to do that is by toppling the Empire. He’s got just as many Wyverns under him as Eleanor has pegasi. We can choose only one.”

>Eleanor
>Level 40 Falcon Knight
HP: 51
STR: 32
DEX: 39
SPD: 44
LUK: 25
DEF: 24
RES: 30
Weapon: Ice Blade (+8 DMG, Targets Res)
Skill: Glacies (DEX Based Chance to add half of RES to DMG)

>Daryun
>Level 40 Wyvern Knight
HP: 61
STR: 37
DEX: 30
SPD: 38
LUK: 28
DEF: 35
RES: 18
Weapon: Lance of Zoltan (+15 DMG, 15% Crit)
Skill: Pierce (DEX Based Chance to ignore enemy DEF)

>A): Let’s interview them first.
>B): No need, I’ve got a good feeling about Eleanor.
>C): We’ll take the Almyran.

>>5799665
>A): Let’s interview them first.

>>5799665
>A): Let’s interview them first.

>>5799665
>A): Let’s interview them first.

>If there were some sort of hidden meaning in that vision, you weren’t sure you possessed the means to grasp it.

Sylvain confirmed for alive and will probably try to kill us in the future, thanks Agarthans.

>Frosted Shrikes
>Desert Vultures

I see that the icy birds return. Does that mean if we named ourselves something else, she'd be the leader of the Blackwings?

>Weapon: Lance of Zoltan (+15 DMG, 15% Crit)

Isn't Zoltan a Sreng blacksmith? I'm surprised to find it in the hands of an Almyran.

>>5799659
>A): Let’s interview them first.

Let's see how the group dynamics will be.I wonder how Daryun will react to Blair's possession of Gungnir, and to Kate's possession of Gae Bolg, though.

>>5799665
>A): Let’s interview them first.

>>5799665
>A): Let's interview them first.
Time to be professional about this.

>>5799665
>>A): Let’s interview them first.

>>5799665
>>A): Let’s interview them first.
I'm favoring Daryun because I favor Wyvern Knights but him being Almyran is both interesting but might cause troubles.

>>5799665
>A): Let’s interview them first.
At a glance, Eleanor seems like the stronger option, but it'd be more fun to choose whoever is more interesting.

I wonder what Eleanor has to say about Ingrid, and vice versa.

>>5799665
>>A): Let’s interview them first.

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>>5799665
>“Well I can’t decide just based off some pieces of paper.” You say, tossing Corrine’s notes to the side. “Let’s bring them in and get to know them first.”

Corrine waves down one of the inn’s workers and instructs him to fetch Eleanor. You watch as the barkeep scurries away to another corner of the tavern. Several minutes later, he returns with the commander of the Frosted Shrikes. Eleanor looks like the picturesque model of femininity that any noblewoman would aspire to. Clad in regal blue armor that is adorned with gold trimming and decorations, the Falcon Knight walks over to you with a practiced sway in her hips and a slight smile on her face. At her side is an icy blue sword the likes of which you’d never seen. You can sense a faint trace of magical energy coming from it. The barkeep who Corrine had sent to fetch her seems to be awestruck, gawking openly at Eleanor, his mouth slightly open.

“Eleanor le Fleur.” She announces herself, performing a perfect bow before you. “Captain of the Frosted Shrikes.”

>“Blair Weaver, Captain of the Blackwings.” You follow suit, standing to meet Eleanor. You offer your hand in greeting, only to be taken aback when Eleanor cusps it in her own, and plants a kiss on the back of it.

“No need to introduce yourself.” She looks up at you from the ground, making direct eye contact. “I’ve heard everything about the famed Witch. I’m grateful to finally get an opportunity to work with you.”

“So cool…” You hear the barkeep whisper under his breath. He scurries back to work once given a mean glance from Corrine.

>“Ahh…you’re…too nice.” You mutter, retrieving your hand. You take your seat next to Corrine, while Eleanor sits across from you, legs crossed.

“I’ve heard much about the Blackwings.” Eleanor says, her voice full of charisma. “I greatly appreciate all the work you’ve done for the people of Faerghus. When I was told that you had need of additional Pegasus Knights, I thought it prudent that I introduce myself and offer the services of the Frosted Shrikes. Though our reputation pales in comparison to your own, you’ll find that we have no shortage of talented women under our banner.”

>“What can you tell me about you and your company?”

Eleanor smirks slightly, sitting up straight in her seat. “We’ve mostly fought in the north, coming to blows with the Dukedom, the Orthodox Church, and occasionally bands of Sreng raiders that have wandered too far south. The late Duke Fraldarius was all too eager to hire our services after your band left for Leicester. The icy winds and harsh climate of Faerghus can make flying there difficult. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that one bad bout of fog will send your band plummeting to the ground. But, well we’re different.”

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>>5800568
She chuckles softly to herself, running a hand through her hair. Coming from anyone else, you’d think they were being cocky, but Eleanor’s confidence has you sure she isn’t just speaking out of ego. “We’d take only the most dangerous missions, flying out in the dead of winter at night, and come back fully in-tact. The only evidence we’d ever been there would be the trail of corpses left in our wake. There isn’t a pegasus knight in all the Dukedom that could match us.”

>“And what about you?”

“I’m a former knight of Galatea. It’s where most pegasus knights in Faerghus received their training. Knighthood was well and good, but Galatea is a poor territory, and I simply desired more. After several years in service to the lord there, I struck out on my own to form a mercenary company.”

>“Ingrid Galatea currently rides with us. Do you know her?”

“Little Ingrid? Truly?” Eleanor exclaims. Even when supposedly shocked, she still has a cool, mature air about her. “I haven’t seen her since she was just a child. I’d feared she died during the battle in Gronder, but you’re saying she’s truly alive? Ahh, bless the Goddess, what wonderful news. On my way south, I’d spoken with her father who feared greatly for her safety. He’ll be relieved to know she still walks among the living.”

“Eleanor will bring with her over 30 pegasus knights to our cause.” Corrine chimes in. “As she said, each one is an experienced veteran.”

“Just say the word, Blair, and I’ll rally my women to your cause-“

“Oy!” A loud voice interrupts Eleanor mid-sentence. It belongs to a large man clad in red armor who has barreled his way into the tavern and is now heading directly towards you. The barkeep from before does his best to try and hold him off, but to no avail. He eventually falls to the ground, and the man deftly steps over him. He moves to stand next to Eleanor and points a finger at her accusingly while facing you. “Are you daft?! Ain’t no way you’re thinking of picking this dainty little princess over Daryun the Red!”

“What a brute of a man.” Eleanor scoffs. “Who do you think you’re-“

“I just told you; you pampered perfumed pup!” Daryun shouts. “I’m Daryun the Red! Leader of the Desert Vultures, and future Warlord of Almyra! Memorize it, for you shall be hearing word of my deeds soon!” He turns back towards you, arms crossed. “Good to see you again, Witch! It’s been a while, but you look every bit as modest as I remember!”

>“Is that supposed to be a compliment? And I’ve never met you in my life. Who are you supposed to be?”

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>>5800571
Daryun scoffs, tapping his boot impatiently. “Is everyone in Fodlan hard of hearing? I’m. Daryun. The. Red. And we’ve never met formally, but oh I certainly remember you. I was there on the side of the Almyrans during Shahid’s attack on Fodlan’s Locket last year. I watched you fry that bastard Jaswant into a crisp. That was the craziest thing I’d ever seen! Hahahahaha!” He laughs boisterously. Eleanor tries to say something, but Daryun moves to stand in front of her, blocking her off.

>“You think so? I remember none of you Almyrans being happy with the way that fight ended. In fact, you were all hurling insults my way.”

“We can be a bunch of sore losers sometimes, us Almyrans. But not I! I thought it was quite a comeback. If you’d been born an Almyran, that victory would have made you one of our Four Warlords, and I’d have been serving you. But looks like I’m gonna get my chance to anyway. Assuming you pick me over this girly.”

>“Y-you knave! It’s Ele-“

“Ellen, whatever. Hey, do you still have the Gungnir?” Daryun asks you.

>“How about you tell me about yourself, first.”

“Daryun the Red. Captain of the Desert Vultures. We’re the strongest mercenary company in all Almyra. Not even the Warlords over there want to mess with us, and they get into bidding wars trying to win us over to their service. When word got out that Fodlan’s Locket was undermanned last month, we were the only band of wyverns to make it over the wall. Not even Holst Goneril could catch us! I’ve got 30 hotblooded wyvern riders itching for a fight. They all know about the Hellwings, and they want to see what they’re made of. So, come on! Pick us! Hurry!”

>“You know the Hellwings?”

“Aye, that bastard Rex d’Rusalka made quite the fool of the Almyran Wyverns the last time he came around. I want to pay that son of a bitch back!”

“A loudmouth like you could never hope to stand a chance against the Aces of the Hellwings, let alone Rex d’Rusalka.” Eleanor scoffs, standing up from her seat to face Daryun. “These clumsy wyverns will only get themselves killed. Pick us, Blair. We’ll show them the superiority of pegasus knights.”

>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes
>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures

>>5800568
Well, maybe if we pick Eleanor then Corrine will be less lonely at least. Daryun's fun though, and I can't resist a good payback story.

>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures

>>5800573
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes

Damn, both of these guys are fun. Eleanor/Daryun S-Support Convo when? I'm always a sucker for two co-workers who are so radically different from each other, but get together somehow anyway.

>>5800573
>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures

I'm pretty sure that Eleanor is the superior choice when it comes to fights-- her Glacies procs more regularly, and she's actually faster than Blair (Darting Blow and Fiery Blood+ notwithstanding). But... Nero was a Wyvern Knight Captain, and we still have Ava (and Ingrid?) to lead our remaining Pegasus Knights. Daryun fills the gap we need in our army more. I wouldn't mind if Eleanor wins though. Both of these guys are really good.

Their stats are about what you'd expect for their classes. Eleanor is a speedy pegasus flier that can take magical attacks better than physical while Daryun is a little slower, but physically stronger and tankier while folding over to magic.
While Eleanor has less Str and Ice Blade gives less damage compared to Lance of Zoltan, it targets Res instead. Most enemies probably have higher Def compared to Res overall, but we've recently seen some like Odesse where targeting Res becomes a hindrance. Unlike Clay, she does have Glacies as a damage boost so she might not be completely walled off by Res tanks.
Glacies adds 15 DMG to her attacks. Pierce is a better skill unless they're fighting against a glass cannon, but Eleanor does have better chances of skill procs with her 39 Dex compared to Daryun's 30 Dex.
Against the Hellwings, it's only speculation as we don't know their actual stats, but we'd ideally not kill Kate. If we do need to fight her, it'd be kino to do it in a 1v1 with no help.
We'd preferably just Forseti the magic dude to utterly humiliate him assuming he's not a Res tank and there's no Agarthan around to use it on beforehand. He's an asshole and killed Shelley. We know that he has Wind magic, so he'd tear any of our fliers apart, which leaves it to us to deal with him unless we decide to toss someone like Diana our Delphi Shield.
Last remaining Hellwing Ace that we know of is the axe dude, who strikes me as a slow phys tank. Would presumably be perfect for Eleanor unless he ends up having high Res. Daryun shouldn't be too bad against him either as he should be able to tank some hits and he has Pierce.

>>5800573
>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures
I'd say Eleanor is better assuming future enemies don't turn out to just be Res tanks. She has an easier time doubling, higher chances of skill procs, and most enemies should have higher Def than Res. But we won't go wrong with choosing either of them. I just prefer wyverns and Daryun's personality more.

>>5800573
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes

>>5800573
>>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes

>>5800573
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes

Better overall stats, and I would hope she could just carry another sword in the event she's up against a RES heavy enemy. Troop diversity by having more wyverns would be nice, but I'd rather stick with an overall better captain unit.

>>5800573
>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures.
He covers a niche we aren't covering right now, and we get to continue our streak of influencing foreign politics while hunting the Sages. We just changed things in Sreng, why not in Almyra? Maybe this way we can make it up to Claude and the Deer.

>>5800573
>>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures

>>5800573
>>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures
More pegasus does sound nice but we do need to widen our abilities with the more brutish wyvern riders, but even if we don't recruit Eleanor could she meet with Ingrid? I think her meeting someone she knows would help her.

>>5800573
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes

>>5800573
>B): Choose Daryun and the Desert Vultures

>>5800571
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes
First ever post, seeing how this works on mobile

>>5800573
>A): Choose Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes
I'm more interested in the interactions here between Eleanor and Ingrid then I am dealing with Almyrans. Though we should absolutely mention that Daryun won't need to fear any further incursions from Rex. Because we killed him. I wonder what he'd have to say about that. My hopium levels are dangerously high thinking that he'd join for free if we tell him we've defeated Rex and the Hellwings before, but it's likely to just be copium.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

There's a tie. 1 is Eleanor, 2 is Daryun

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>>5800573
Both Eleanor and Daryun seemed as though they would make welcome additions to the Blackwings. While you could see the clear benefits of picking either one, you gravitated more towards Eleanor and the Frosted Shrikes. For you, it wasn’t just about individual skill, but cohesion as well. Their pegasus knights would be able to easily mix in with your own. Furthermore, Eleanor seemed to be a more agreeable, level-headed sort than Daryun. While you can’t fault the man for his enthusiasm in wanting to battle the Hellwings, you needed people that you could rely on. A part of you was unsure that he would be easy to rein in.

>“Eleanor. I’d have you and the Frosted Shrikes join us in battle.”

Eleanor smiles contentedly upon being chosen. She bows gracefully before you, tilting her head. “Very well, Blair. I’d be honored to accompany you.”

Daryun looks shocked, eyeing all those around him with contempt. “You can’t be serious. Fine then, suit yourself, Witch. If you ask me though, I believe you’ll wind up regretting this.”

“You heard her.” Eleanor says. “Please remove yourself from the commander’s sight with all due haste.”

Daryun snorts and exits the tavern. After exchanging brief words with Eleanor, she leaves to gather her mercenaries and join the rest of the Blackwings in the barracks of Garreg Mach. With one captain chosen, you settle back in your seat, ready to interview the next set. According to Corrine, the next two mercenaries would look to fill in the calvary vacancy left open by Roxanne. The first man enters the room, ducking his head to avoid the frame. He’s a mountain of a man, with a rough worn face and clad in heavy armor. He wears a purple cloak fastened to his back. Upon seeing you, he gives you a great wide smile, revealing a row of missing teeth.

“Hello!” He says jovially. His enthusiasm and good-naturedness betray his overall appearance. “My name is Rocks! Thank you for allowing me the chance to interview. Here, I brought you a token of my appreciation.”

>You receive a Miracle Bean! (Increase LCK by +1)

>”Err…thank you…Rocks.” You politely accept the strange bean, popping it into your mouth. Was he trying to bribe his way into the job? “Please, tell me about you and your company.”

“Name’s Rocks Dozel, and I’m the Captain of the Purple Axe Knights! We’re the strongest band of heavy calvary in all Fodlan.” He says proudly. “There isn’t any frontline or barricade my men and I can’t plow through!” He laughs in excitement. Evidently Rocks is quite sure of himself. A common trait you’re finding many of these mercenaries seem to share.

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>>5801839
>“What have you been doing during the war?”

“We’ve mostly been fighting for the Empire.” Rocks says cheerfully. A part of you is shocked he’d admit something like that in the heart of Seiros territory. “General Bergliez would have us lead the vanguard. We’d crash through the enemy ranks, leaving them softened up for him and his men to finish off. The last battle we fought in was over at the Great Bridge of Myrddin. We were ordered to break through the ranks of the Knights of Seiros, and we did just that!” He laughs heartily. Due to his loud, boisterous voice, those in the tavern have no problem hearing him, and many scornful looks are thrown his way upon the admission that he fought the Knights of Seiros.

>“You fought at Myrddin?” You ask puzzled. “But the Empire lost Myrddin. The bridge lies in the hands of the Knights of Seiros.”

“Yeah…” Rocks suddenly looks embarrassed, rubbing his neck. “We broke through the defensive formation of the Knights. It was really exciting! I uhh…guess it was so exciting that we sort of forgot to turn around. Just kept on charging straight through until we reached Leicester, if you can believe that! By the time we turned around, the Empire had lost, and we were stuck on the wrong side of the bridge.” He laughs as if recalling an embarrassing moment from childhood and not a fatal military blunder.

>“I…see. Well, it’s impressive enough that you managed to survive.” In more ways than one, you thought. Maybe with a little bit of direction you could harness that type of stupidity for good. “And you have no problem turning against your former employer?”

“Of course not! They didn’t even try to come get us!” Rocks says indignantly.

>“Well, alright then. If you could just…have a seat while I speak with my associate, we promise to get back to you soon.”

Rocks cheerfully leaves to take a seat outside, humming a tune and ignoring all the dirty looks that are being thrown his way. As he exits the room, a smaller man enters in his wake. He is clad in dark black armor and a long red cape, wearing a helmet that obscures his face. He sits down in the interview chair before you and Corrine but does not say a single word. The three of you stare at each other for several moments in silence, before you finally break the ice.

>“And you are?”

“Balbatos.” The man says in a cold, dreary voice. “Captain of the Order of the Blood Knights.”

>“Right. Could you tell me about you and your company?”

“We go where there is blood to be had. The trampling of our hooves signifies the end for all our enemies who hear them. We are mercenaries, selling our swords to the highest bidder. We are paladins, trained in the art of mounted warfare. And we are merchants, and the good that we peddle is death.”

“Oh geeze…” You hear Corrine groan with exasperation next to you.

>>5801840
>“What battles have you fought in?”

“My Order was instrumental in destroying a band of Pro-Imperial loyalists from Leicester.” Balbatos says. “Their Count sought to defect from the Alliance and join up with the Empire when it became clear their faction’s power was waning. They never made it though. We ran them down like the dogs they were. Their pleas for mercy fell on deaf ears as my men cut them down like wheat. None can escape from our wrath.”

>“I see. And what can you tell me about yourself?”

“There is nothing to say. My blade does the talking for me.”

“Right.” Corrine says, seeking to hurry things along. “Rocks will bring with him 20 Great Knights, while Balbatos will bring with him 20 Paladins.”

>Rocks
>Level 40 Great Knight
HP: 68
STR: 41
DEX: 20
SPD: 18
LUK: 35
DEF: 44
RES: 12
Weapon: Silver Greatlance (+17 DMG)
Skill: Counter (Reflects physical damage dealt to him)

>Balbatos
>Level 40 Paladin
HP: 52
STR: 37
DEX: 35
SPD: 38
LUK: 20
DEF: 29
RES: 20
Weapon: Devil Sword (+16 DMG, 30% Chance – LCK to damage user)
Skill: Bloodlust (15% increased chance to crit)

>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights
>B): Choose Balbatos and the Order of the Blood Knights

>You receive a Miracle Bean! (Increase LCK by +1)

Thank you Rocks, very cool. I know we're not supposed to let bribes skew our perception of things, but damn if it's not nice to have.

>Skill: Counter (Reflects physical damage dealt to him)

Hoo boy. I presume that has a % chance to activate? Because if that's always active, I can see that being hilariously broken.

>>5801842

Man, both of these guys seem pretty funny. On one hand, earnest-to-a-fault Great Knight captain who's tough as a rock, and about as smart as one, or super edgy Paladin with a cursed sword...

On one hand, Roxanne was a Great Knight as well, so Rocks does fill her old role-- and we've still got Uriel to lead the Paladins. On the other... we *did* take Eleanor instead of Daryun, so it's possible we are instead pivoting for a 'faster' army composition than our old one?

In the end, though, my vote goes to...

>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights

I'd take both of these guys on, solely because of the shenanigans they could get up to. But as dumb as Rocks is, I feel like we need a bulkier frontline now.

Well, Rocks skill is absolutely cracked. Uriel is already there for the paladins, and Balbatos has a really dumb sword. Remember that one Sreng warrior that nearly killed himself with the same type of weapon? I'm leaning towards rocks at the moment.... but he's so dumb it's almost painful.

The edgeknight is a fun guy. I do wonder if his name has any significance considering Byleth and Sitri. The actual name of the demon is supposed to be Barbatos, but Balbatos is obviously pretty close.
Rocks is also entertaining as well. I'm sure we can wrangle him if we do end up picking him.

Rocks is straightforward. He's not doubling anyone, but he makes up for it with his high STR stat, his weapon, and with Counter. He's a good phys tank with his HP and DEF.
Balbatos is the option for a fast calvary unit. 38 SPD is the same as Daryun's. I didn't give him enough credit in my last post, but while he was slower than Eleanor, 38 SPD is still pretty good. Some of our Blackwings have more than that, but the only ones that can actually double an enemy with 38 SPD are the fliers, Milly, and Anemone. Looking at other fast units from past threads, both Leif and Seamus had 40 SPD. Cormac is an outlier at 47. Even Rex only had 39 SPD.
While 38 SPD won't allow doubles against fast enemies, it would usually be good enough to prevent Balbatos from getting doubled.
Devil Sword has high Mt, and he'd only be doing 5 less DMG per hit compared to Rocks without Counter taken into account. But that effect combined with Balbatos's LCK stat is a glaring issue. His LCK isn't as bad as Manus, but there's still a 10% chance to backfire.
So Rocks is a strong but slow phys tank with a broken skill against physical attackers while Balbatos is a Paladin with respectable SPD and deals decent damage unless he gets unlucky.

Rocks also comes with tanky Great Knights that can break through the enemy's defenses. Balbatos and his band of edgeknights are good at mowing down the enemy. We should be closely working with the Knights of Seiros at this point, so I'm going to choose Balbatos. The Church can handle the hard part in sieges and stuff while the Blackwings focus solely on killing any enemies in the way.

>>5801842
>B): Choose Balbatos and the Order of the Blood Knights

>>5801842
>B): Choose Balbatos and the Order of the Blood Knights

>>5801842
>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights
I like his honesty, and we should be able to aim him at where he needs to be. Also, if we pick him up, we deny the Empire an asset it previously had.

>>5801842
>>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights

>>5801842
>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights
Yeah after Manus I don't trust a devil weapon

>>5801842
>A): Choose Rocks and the Purple Axe Knights
He fills the niche that Roxanne used too nicely. Without Rocks we'd only really have Sebastian to tank, and the Goddess knows we already work him like a mule already.

Rocks it is. Writing

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>>5801842
Once again, you were presented with two tempting choices. Though clearly not a tactician, what Rocks lacked in cunning he made up for in sheer power. On the opposite side, Balbatos looked the type to let nothing get in the way of completing a job, and such folks were good to have in your corner. In the end though, you decide that Rocks and his heavy calvary will be a much more useful addition to the company’s composition. If his skills were good enough for Caspar’s father, the legendary General Leopold von Bergliez, then they were certainly good enough for you.

>“Rocks, I’d like you and the Purple Axe Knights to join us.”

“Yes!” Rocks cheers loudly, throwing his arms in the air. “You won’t regret it, boss. You’re about to see what the Purple Axe Knights are made of!”

Balbatos gets up from his seat. With his helmet obscuring his face, it’s impossible to tell how he’s reacting to not being chosen. He spares a glance towards you and Corrine and speaks in that icy tone of his. “How unfortunate. I hope for your sake, that we don’t meet again on the battlefield.”

“Oy! You threatening my Commander?” Rocks shouts angrily, pumping a fist towards Balbatos. “Get your scary ass outta here before I show you the business side of my axe!”

“Well, that takes care of that.” Corrine sighs in exhaustion as the mercenaries leave the room. “With the addition of Eleanor and Rocks, as well as several new hires in the infantry, our numbers have swelled healthily back above 150.”

>“Just in time for the battle in Enbarr.”

“Right.” Corrine says. “We’ll have a bit of time before we need to head out. Byleth and the others aren’t here yet after all. We should spend it training and integrating the new troops into the company. We’ll need to make sure we’re at the top of our game. The Hellwings may have lost your brother, but they still have three Aces and a full company. They’ll be itching for blood when we meet.”

>“Well, when it comes to training, we’re probably in the world’s best place for it. We’ll have the rank-and-file whipped into shape in no time.”

“They’re not the only ones.” Corrine huffs. “Some of our captains could definitely use a little bit of extra instruction as well. They’re the ones that are often in the thick of things, and where we’re going, we can’t afford to have any slackers. I suggest you pick one of them and train their butt off until it’s time to depart to Enbarr.”

>“Me?!”

“Why not? You helped train the Knights of Seiros’ pegasus riders last time didn’t you? You’re a Garreg Mach graduate for goodness’ sake. I’m sure you’ll serve as a fine teacher.”

While you technically did not graduate, Corrine did have a point. The question was, who could benefit from some additional instruction?”

>Character chosen will become Level 42 and gain new skill.
>A): Train Corrine
>B): Train Diana
>C): Train Milly

Hoo, tough one. All three of these girls could really use the power boost. I want to train Corrine, since while she's pretty solid, she could really use the help to become stronger, but on the other... Diana really needs some help too, especially since she's attached to us 24/7. Milly, unfortunately doesn't see much use in the battles we're in, but she still leads the swordmasters and assassins of the crew, so she's not exactly a bad choice either.

>>5803118
>B): Train Diana

With the Left Wing gone, it falls to the Right Wing to pick up the slack. She's still got a score to settle against the Aces, too-- the Hellwings aren't going to stop fighting just because we're off trying to talk to Kate, after all. It feels a little bad, since I feel like we're neglecting Corrine, but Diana's going to be thrown into the most dangerous part of the mission, so I think she needs it.

>>5803118
>>B): Train Diana

>>5803118
>B): Train Diana

>>5803118
>C): Train Milly
Milly won't always be near us to get carried, unlike Diana, so we should give her a big buff so she can kill harder.

>>5803118
>>A): Train Corrine

>>5803118
>C): Train Milly

>>5803118
>A): Train Corrine

Diana wins, writing

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>>5803118
You wanted to make sure that you and Diana were on an equal footing. She was the pegasus knight you had the most experience fighting alongside, after all. With Shelly gone, you would no longer be able to utilize the Triangle Attack that the three of you had grown so fond of. Now more than ever, you’d need to rely on her. You had no doubt she’d want revenge on the Ace that took Shelly’s life, and you intended for her to be ready for that moment.

“Eh? You want us to train together?” Diana asks, mildly surprised. You find the girl lounging about in the monastery’s greenhouse, amongst all the exotic plants. “Sure, it’s been a while since we’ve ran any drills together. Let’s do it!”

The next week is spent not just training together with Diana, but also the rest of the Blackwings. The members of the Frosted Shrikes and the Purple Axe Knights that you recently acquired seem to integrate well with the others. Given that they were all trained sellswords with proven records of success, it was no surprise. Eleanor’s riders defer to her with the utmost respect and admiration, and you even find yourself learning a thing or two from how she commands her subordinates. Having her and Ava leading the company’s winged component while you focused on the Aces should prove to be remarkably helpful.

As for Rocks, Uriel seemingly had his hands full trying to get the man to remember specific formations and maneuvers. While slightly frustrating, it can’t be denied that Rocks excels at the one thing that has seemingly gotten him this far. Watching the Purple Axe Knights initiate a charge is a terrifying sight, and you aren’t even the one standing in front of them. So long as you could point the dunce in the right direction, the enemy was sure to buckle. After all, it wasn’t just the Hellwings in the sky you’d have to worry about, but the Empire’s ground component as well. The Purple Axe Knights should help to ensure that no annoying archers would be trying to pick you off from down below.

“Die!” Diana shouts from atop her pegasus. She stabs at you with her spear, and you deftly knock the weapon aside with your own, maneuvering Beathan further away.

>“What’s with you?!” You shout back, jabbing with your Killer Lance. The weapon misses as Diana’s steed zigzags around and behind you.

“Sorry! I’m just trying to get in the mood!” She catches up to you, and the two of you exchange blows with your spears, blocking and parrying each other in perfect rhythm.

>“That’s enough, you’re going to wear me out! Let’s land!”

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>>5804545
By now, you and Diana had been training for several hours each day. While she was already a skilled Falcon Knight, and by all rights a prodigy in the skies, you could already see signs of improvement in her fighting style. Diana leaps off her pegasus and removes her helmet, shaking the sweat out of her hair. She never took her training that seriously before, but it seems Shelly’s death had awakened something in the once immature girl. She hung on to your every word during training, taking each lesson to heart and applying it. Diana’s strongest point had always been her speed, and now even you had a hard time seeing her strikes coming, let alone landing a hit on her. It was sometimes hard to remember that she was only 18 years old. Five years your junior. When you were that age, it was all you could do to stay atop Beathan and jab with your spear. Given a few more years, she might even surpass you.

>Diana: New Skill (Avoid+: Grants Avoid +30 Bonus)

“How’d I do out there?” Diana asks wide-eyed, seeking your approval.

>“You did great. To be honest, I’m having a hard time keeping up with you. You and your pegasus are just too fast.”

“Milky’s the best!” Diana exclaims, referring to her steed. “It’s like he just knows what I want to do and then does it.”

>“You’ve been using that Spear for a while, haven’t you?” You point towards Diana’s weapon. “Here, why don’t you take this?” You hand the girl your improved Killing Lance. Now that you had Gungnir, the weapon had become rather redundant for you. In Diana’s hands though, you were confident the glaive would serve well.

“For me? Really?” She accepts the glaive with awe. “What kind of weirdo gives a girl a weapon as a gift?”

>“Hey! If you don’t like it-“

“I’m kidding.” Diana laughs joyfully. “Thank you, Blair. I’ll treasure it. I won’t let you down up there, you have my word!”

>“I know you won’t, Diana.” You pet the girl on the head when you spot a soldier running over to you. It was the same messenger from before, who’d been sent by Leopold to fetch you. Poor guy, did he ever catch a break?

“Commander Blair!” The man huffs out, exhausted. After several moments of catching his breath, he finally spits it out. “Lady Byleth has returned to the monastery!”

>Finally! “Where is she now? Have I been summoned?”

“Meeting with Lords Seteth and Leopold.” He reports. “Lord Ferdinand is overseeing the army’s settling into the monastery. Lady Byleth wishes to speak with you when you are ready.”

>A): Meet with Byleth and Seteth.
>B): Meet with your friends from the Black Eagles.

>>5804546
>B): Meet with your friends from the Black Eagles
Ah yes, our only classmates who aren't A, dead, or B, working for the enemy! We really should talk more often.

New Diana stats! Let's see here...

>HP: 45/45
Honestly pretty bad, at least compared to Blair, Anemone, and Eleanor-- no doubt Ingrid has higher HP as well. She beats out Ava at least, but it looks like she has abysmal HP growths.

>STR: 35
Surprisingly, Diana is swole, beating out all of the fliers there. A lot of the ground forces still beat her in spite of her low levels, but it's still impressive.

>DEX: 37
More dextrous than Blair and Anemone, though still not as dextrous as Eleanor and Ava. Still, she's got a good chance of not missing even the faster targets.

>SPD: 48
Diana is *fast*. She's as fast as Anemone, which is crazy. She outspeeds Eleanor and Ava, easily becoming the fastest human in our battalion. Blair only outspeeds Diana in turn if she initiates (Darting Blow+) with Gungnir while injured (Fiery Blood+).

>LCK: 22
Fairly middling LCK stat, here. She's not going to get hit by any random crits any time soon, but she might still need to be careful around anyone with a crit boosting weapon.

>DEF: 23
More than Ava and Anemone, but still less than Eleanor and Blair. I wouldn't throw her into a field full of archers or anything, but maybe she'll dodge.

>RES: 32
Solid RES stat. More than Blair and even Eleanor (though not by much), on par with Ava, but still beaten out by Anemone's godlike Resistance. She's got a good chance against that Malig Knight now, but as soon as he starts casting Wind Magic, she better start getting ready to dodge.

Speaking of which...

>Diana: New Skill (Avoid+: Grants Avoid +30 Bonus)
Combine this with her huge Speed stat, and... she has a 78% chance of dodging any attack? Reduced by DEX, of course, but most people have 25 or 35 on average, which knocks her dodge chance to a still significant 53% to 43% chance. Even Ashe, the most dextrous person in the company with a whopping 45 DEX still only has a 67% chance of hitting her, which is crazy.

This should hopefully increase her survivability in the battles to come, for sure.

>Weapon: Killing Lance+ (11 DMG, 35% Crit)
Having the Killer Lance+ as a backup weapon is pretty damn good. +35% Crit is the highest crit boosting weapon we've seen in the entire game thus far. It only ends up raising her Crit Chance to 44% (reduced by an enemy's full LCK), but she can at least fish for crits while using the Spear at range.

Overall? Diana's certainly one of our stronger fighters now. I almost kind of wish we had the chance to grind out more of our guys...

>>5804546
>B): Meet with your friends from the Black Eagles.

Byleth did say to see her when we're ready. I wanna check in on Bernadetta and Dorothea-- they should probably know that we're not dead. Ferdinand is there too, I guess.