Divination (Fire Emblem: Three Houses / Sanctioned [Worm])

[Alivaril]

Spoiler: Patrons & Betas

Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, @fictionfan, @Adephagia, @DaGeek247, @Wordsmith, @LonelyWolf999, Jamie Wahls, @Elfalpha, @BunnyLord, @Drcatspaw, and my 18 other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic "Thank you" to @Torgamous for her patronage as well. Also, if you're not on here, you fit the tier, and you want to be added, please tell me. >.>

Author's Note: This was previously posted in the Sanctioned, Calibration, & INW Ideas Thread and Alivaril's Perfectly Ordinary Snippet Corner. It seemed unfair to continue cluttering those threads with spoiler-laden content even if I don't think Divination will become, say, the size of Calibration or INW (#RemindMe1Year ).

Prior knowledge of FE3H hopefully won't be required, although lacking it may make the first two chapters a little dull. And again, spoiler warning for FE3H!

---

Being a single father wasn't easy. Being a single father without the caretaking aids that babies were supposed to provide was even harder. Jeralt's little girl never screamed, never cried, and let emotion slide off her like blood running down a blade. It wasn't that his daughter was emotionless; it simply took a lot to earn even the smallest giggle, and her expression returned to intent staring within seconds. Unsurprisingly, Jeralt had yet to find a wet nurse willing to work for more than just a few days.

His sleeping habits remained relatively unchanged — aside from the new nightmares, anyway — and he knew enough about infants to realize that was a problem. More than once, he'd woken in the morning to find a silently disgruntled baby in dire need of a diaper change. He'd started sleeping with her held against his neck so that her uncomfortable shifting would wake him if she ever needed anything.

There were other oddities, too. She would speak to him in baby-babble exactly once per day, scowl, and give up until the following morning. It wasn't until she was eight months old that Jeralt remembered an old superstition from some island or another: those with no names of their own could never speak the names of others. It probably wasn't true, but why take the chance?

Jeralt supposed he'd put off naming her for long enough. The thought conjured painful memories of his late wife, but he'd be an even worse father if he used grief as an excuse for neglect.

"You need a name, kid," Jeralt said simply.

He was surprised when the infant in question gurgled wordlessly, paused, and scowled. She usually just stared blankly at Jeralt when he tried to talk to her.

"Baa-ba," his daughter tried. Unsurprisingly, this was followed by another scowl. It did bring a possible name to mind, though.

"How about Byleth?" he proposed.

The would-be Byleth scowled and hit him with one tiny fist. Okay, so not Byleth. He'd liked that one, too.

"Ah-da," she insisted, apparently intent on having a role in her own naming even if it meant speaking more than once in the same hour.

Jeralt scratched one cheek and tried to think of a name that wouldn't get her teased later. Adda or Addy were right out; most hearing such a name would expect a woman playing at being a warrior rather than someone who could actually hold their own. And make no mistake, Jeralt would ensure that his daughter could defend herself. The world had too many monsters, two-legged and otherwise, for him to do anything less.

"Ah-da, ma-na-nee," his daughter chanted. "Ad-da, ma-na-nee!"

Jeralt blinked as his daughter spoke more in one sitting than he could ever recall. He was tempted to offer name ideas that he knew were bad just to encourage her to continue, but he discarded the idea as quickly as it had formed. The last thing he wanted was for her to fixate on a name she would hate later.

Well. When in doubt, listen to the little one.

"Admini?" he offered.

Admini's prolonged smile was answer enough.

~ ~ ~​

Being a human infant was easy. Being a productive human infant, however, was seemingly impossible. Establishing a language dictionary wasn't something that required Queen Administrator's active attention, her body was incapable of prolonged movement, her senses barely conveyed any useful information, and it became dangerously hard to breathe if she played with the shard-granted energy in her chest. Experimenting with that power was fun, but she could only do it for an hour or two each day.

Such was the fate of a personality fork, QA supposed. Her primary never assigned herself to anything she wouldn't personally perform, but that didn't exclude the tasks that were both necessary and dull. It didn't help that she almost had intelligent company. Almost.

During each sleep cycle, Queen Administrator had the same dream featuring a slumbering green-haired teenager atop a stone throne. Since this fork of QA was apparently assigned to be the girl's host, Queen Administrator was pretty sure the other shard was one of Dreamer's Newborn. The Beginning was a bit of a weird Concept, but it wasn't anything abnormal for Newborns; some of them used such Concepts as a placeholder until they found something they actually liked.

<You have a communication process that isn't properly idle,> QA again sent. <If you're going to hijack human dreaming for communications purposes, then please ensure that we can actually communicate.>

Beginning's avatar stirred faintly, but didn't wake. Queen Administrator huffed unhappily and resigned herself to another night of playing with her own avatar's hair. Unfortunately, QA couldn't test possible future hairstyles for herself; instead of her teal-haired host-body, Queen Administrator's dream-avatar appeared as a four-year-old version of Beginning. QA honestly found herself disproportionately irked by the laziness that such asset recycling implied. The physics for an aged-up version of QA's local host-body wouldn't be that difficult, and artistic liberties could be taken with such an appearance.

<Why aren't you checking this channel?> Queen Administrator questioned. <It's not as though I'm doing anything interesting during the day. Are you just going to completely ignore me until my host-body matures?>

No answer was forthcoming. QA wanted to carry out any number of spiteful actions, but knew from experience that pushing Beginning's avatar off the throne or otherwise harming either of them would prematurely end QA's slumber. All she could do was wait and — hold on.

Queen Administrator mentally prodded the part of her torso where her designated shard-granted power normally resided. The heat-related feedback might be absent, but so was the tightness in her chest. She could feel something moving, though.

Maybe her dreams wouldn't be so dull after all. Step one: Return her dream-avatar to something resembling her human form. A mildly inconvenient avatar was preferable to encouraging lazy asset recycling.

~ ~ ~​

There was a blue-haired baby crawling before her throne. Sothis could remember little before the damp dreariness of her resting place, but even she knew that there was something odd about that idea. She'd never been one to demand such subservience from–

…From…

Sothis huffed in annoyance as the unfinished thought escaped her. There was nothing to be learned from the partial fragment. She'd already long suspected that she was once some sort of leader; the throne and her regal attire both hinted toward such. However, there were many different kinds of leadership. It was a unhelpfully broad category that ranged from nobility to military to mercantile and everything in between. She needed to know far more before she could even begin to uncover her past.

The sound of skin brushing against stone dragged Sothis's attention back to her visitor. She soon clicked her tongue as the baby crawled close to the steps leading off her throne's dais. She might not know how the mortal infant had come to visit her, but she'd hate to lose her first visitor out of idle neglect. Sothis forced herself upright, sprinted across the room, and deftly snatched the baby from danger with seconds to spare. Fragmented memories had her adjusting her arms to support the whole of their body.

I've had experience holding children, Sothis idly noted. But was it as a mother, relative, or mere caretaker? It seems I'm doomed to uncover only that which tells me nothing useful.

Sothis had expected some form of wordless protest or even a full-blown fit over her intervention. Mortals so often made the most foolish of mistakes before justifying them in the silliest of ways. Infants weren't even developed enough to reach the justification stage; they simply explored everything they could without any regard for the potential danger. Their straightforward nature was rather refreshing, if tiring.

However, there hadn't been any such backlash from the baby. In fact, there hadn't been much of a reaction at all. Guileless blue eyes silently stared at her and did nothing more. The baby barely even blinked while Sothis returned to her throne.

"It seems you're curious in multiple ways," Sothis mused aloud. "Come to keep me company, have you?"

The baby was silent and still. Sothis had the feeling she could stand there forever without the infant producing so much as a peep.

"Well, I suppose I'll just have to do enough talking for both of us," Sothis decided aloud. "I'm a little short on tales, I'm afraid, but..."

Sothis trailed off and furrowed her brow. Green. The color of her hair, her only real source of inspiration in this place. More importantly, it was also the color of so very many plants. Some of them would have changed since her time, of course, but it was the only subject she could think of.

"Let us start with what to avoid," she began. "First: Never put anything in your mouth unless you know exactly what it is. Plants might not have claws or teeth to defend themselves—" save for a few mistakes she wasn't going to dwell on, "—but that doesn't mean they're incapable of harming you. Some rely on animal consumption to spread their seeds; those are generally the ones that are safe to eat. The rest have no such motivation.

"Two: Avoid touching the unknown, especially if it's some manner of vine, sports spikes, or appears shiny. Three: Should you come across a plant as black as pitch, then you must encourage your caretakers to leave the area as quickly as possible. Such mutations are a sign that someone has been using dark magic to deliberately warp the land or those who live on it..."



The child never seemed to leave Sothis, yet both occasional changes in clothing and gradual growth revealed that to be an illusion. Sothis might no longer sleep for lack of anything else to do, but she still needed frequent rest. The dreary environment around her throne didn't help in the slightest; who would not wish to rest when surrounded by lifeless stone?

Sothis soon found herself falling into an easy cycle. She would tell the infant — Admini, she eventually remembered — of the natural world, the magics of life, and idle speculation on how the distant buildings of her resting place had been built. In return, Admini would... sit there. Silently, and with only the occasional peep of baby-babble. She didn't even object when Sothis repeatedly retold old lessons. Honestly, the child wouldn't be very good company for anyone but the one person who would otherwise drown in boredom and loneliness. Or narcissists who cared only for having an attentive audience, Sothis supposed. She dearly hoped Admini wasn't being raised by such a fool.

"You're quite the strange little mortal, yet I do believe I love you anyway," Sothis admitted, not particularly expecting a response.

"Mama," Admini immediately agreed.

Sothis froze. Once the green-haired amnesiac finished comprehending Admini's first word, Sothis's heart metaphorically melted and literally began to beat. Briefly. Thankfully, the uncomfortably alien sensation ceased within seconds and let her mind start working again.

"Although I am flattered by the high regard—" Sothis paused, remembered her audience, and tried to simplify her speech. "I'm afraid 'Mother' is a title I cannot rightly claim, Admini. However, I would happily act as your older and wiser sister. You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

Admini's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Compared to the neutral expression that normally occupied her face, it was a full-fledged scowl.

"Mama," Admini insisted.

Sothis shook her head.

"No, sister," the green-haired woman corrected. "You can say 'So,' can't you? Or even 'Sah?'"

Admini blinked slowly.

"Samama," the baby compromised.



Having a daughter was simultaneously nostalgic and unexpectedly stressful. Stories and lullabies came to her lips without reviving the memories they were dredged from, and sharing those stories was inherently enjoyable. The problem, of course, was that Sothis felt as though she wasn't doing even half of what she was supposed to. She didn't clothe, feed, protect, or guide Admini; all she did was act as a sort of tutor. To make matters worse, she had very little idea of what Admini's life was like. The child spoke so infrequently that Sothis wasn't even sure how much she could say.

"How was your day?"

"Okay."

"Did you learn anything?"

"Yes."

"And what did you learn?"

"No sharps."


The unpleasant irony of knowing so little about her adoptive daughter was not lost on Sothis. She tried to amend that when she could, but Admini seemed uncomfortable with the very idea of replying with sentences larger than one or two words. There was only so much she could learn from that, but bit by bit, Sothis did learn.

Admini and her father seldom stayed in the same place for more than a few weeks. Not a knight. Her birth mother was only ever referred to in the past tense. Deceased or estranged wife. Her father kept numerous sharp items around and made a living off their use. Soldier or hunter. Sometimes, Admini was left with people who seemed to obey anything her father said even if they complained about it. Leader of soldiers. They were paid for their work, and that payment was their primary motivation. Mercenary leader.



Sothis was entirely blindsided when she awoke to a green-haired toddler, though. And, upon further inspection, ears as pointed as her own. Hair dye could explain only one of those.

"Admini, do you happen to know why your appearance changed overnight?"

The toddler blinked innocently up at Sothis.

"I look like Mom," Admini replied shortly, clearly believing that to be sufficient explanation.

Maybe it was. Sothis seemed to live in a dream, and dreams seemed as though they would be malleable things. Unless the changes crossed over to the waking world, anyway. Sothis couldn't decide if she should hope for that or not; the idea was amusing, but Sothis would neither be able to watch nor shield Admini from backlash. Sothis did not care for mischief that ended in injury; mischief with malice was unworthy of the name.

"I do believe the people saying that were referring to your original appearance, Admini."

Admini immediately nodded in apparent agreement.

"And were wrong," Admini added. "Now I look like Mom."

Sothis opened her mouth, stopped, and swallowed. What was she even supposed to say to that?

I will find a way to keep you safe.

~ ~ ~​

Jeralt awoke to a squirming daughter and a face full of green hair. Instinct and habit had him releasing Admini for some supervised crawling atop their bed while his brain was still stuck on why green. His paralyzed shock and confusion was only exacerbated when he finally noticed Admini's newly-pointed ears. Thankfully, that seemed to be the extent of the changes; everything from her toes to her teeth was otherwise normal.

He wasn't optimistic enough to think that would last. Goddess only knew what these changes meant, though.

"As if finding a babysitter wasn't already hard enough," Jeralt complained. "I'm never gonna be able to let you out of my sight, am I?"

Admini gurgled helpfully, scowled, and continued her laps in silence.

"Yeah, that's about what I figured," sighed Jeralt. "Let's find something to cover those ears of yours, kid."



A cute cap and copious amounts of glaring were enough to prevent most remarks on Admini's changed appearance. After a month came and went without further changes, Jeralt was even starting to hope it would be the extent of the strangeness. A second month and Admini skipped from sporadic baby-babble to one-word sentences without passing through the intervening milestones. Jeralt was worried about the lack of locomotion methods apart from crawling, but the few fathers among his men bluntly told him that it was probably his own fault for carrying her so much.

His hopes were crushed on Admini's birthday. Jeralt awoke not to the tiny fists of an impatient toddler hitting him in the face, but what felt like a bat's wings doing the same thing. He sputtered, almost swatted them away, and forced his arm to stop before it could complete the motion. He had a feeling he knew where this was going.

Goddess, please let the changes be something we can hide.

Jeralt cracked an eye open and seriously considered going back to sleep. A baby wyvern with too many legs — a dragon — the green of Admini's changed hair looked back at him through familiar eyes. Unusually excited eyes, even. Their truce lasted for all of five seconds before Admini chirped a cheerful greeting, shifted her features into a probable scowl, and started squirming again. Any doubts as to the dragon's identity vanished in that moment.

Jeralt was torn between blaming the Goddess's Archbishop, Rhea, and thinking he hadn't given her enough credit. Her hovering, unusually creepy happiness, and promises to raise his daughter could've been because she'd expected exactly this... whatever it was and was trying to avoid scaring him off. Merciful goddess, would it have killed the woman to warn him instead of acting like a child-snatcher? He couldn't even take the chance and hope that it was all a big misunderstanding, not when Admini's life was at stake.

Admini stopped squirming and began producing a number of (admittedly adorable) squeaks, gurgles, chirps, and growls of different pitches and volume. Jeralt accepted the reprieve and tried to kick his mind into some semblance of working order.

Legends said that the breath of dragons was as destructive as Reason magic and manifested in similar ways—including, and most importantly, fire. Blankets shredded by careless claws or playful teeth could be replaced without too much trouble. Fires, though? Those could get out of control in rather short order. That wasn't even going into all the issues with trying to carry around a growing green dragon.

"I don't suppose you can just change back?" Jeralt asked, hoping Admini could still understand him.

Surely the goddess wouldn't be cruel enough to make something be born a human before it became something completely different, would she? The last year might have proved immensely taxing to his faith, but he hadn't given up just yet.

Admini paused her wordless experimentation and glared balefully at him. Or pouted. He didn't exactly have any prior experience interpreting draconic expressions. Still, getting such a specific response was itself reassuring. Silent stares couldn't tell him if his daughter actually understood or was just looking at the noise-maker.

"Kid, c'mon. I need to know if you're stuck like this," pleaded Jeralt.

Admini ignored him and huffed out a puff of pale green mist which seeped into the wood before her. Jeralt reflexively jerked back when rapidly-growing green vines sprouted from the afflicted area and crawled along the headboard. Admini watched with keen interest for all of two seconds—and then began eating the earliest growth with a pleased purr and twitching wings. Such merciless treatment of her own creations seemed vaguely blasphemous, yet Jeralt couldn't fault the pragmatism inherent in making one's own meals.

The growing vines echoed the guilt growing within Jeralt's own chest. He wasn't the most diligent when it came to theology and scripture, but bringing new life into the world seemed like the hallmark of some manner of Saint or even the goddess Sothis Herself. No wonder Rhea had been so happy. He still didn't want to risk bringing Admini back, though; if Rhea was less than understanding about his faking of Admini's death, then he could lose his daughter forever. That wasn't a risk he was willing to take unless absolutely necessary, and life-breath wasn't something that would force his hand.

Admini chose that moment to hiccup a lick of flame that promptly ignited the vine she'd been chewing on.

"Dammit, kid–"

 

[Alivaril]

Spoiler: Patrons & Betas

Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, @fictionfan, @Adephagia, @DaGeek247, @Wordsmith, @LonelyWolf999, Jamie Wahls, @Elfalpha, @BunnyLord, @Drcatspaw, and my 18 other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic "Thank you" to @Torgamous for her patronage as well. Also, if you're not on here, you fit the tier, and you want to be added, please tell me. >.>

---

Admini Queen Administrator was rather enjoying herself despite the background protests of her male parental unit, Jeralt. Her alternative reptilian form proved to be multiple orders of magnitude more resistant to damage from shard-granted abilities than its human counterpart had been. The increased freedom let her confirm her initial hypothesis: the powers provided by Beginning were related to the creation and manipulation of multicellular organisms. This included organisms capable of producing and igniting flammable chemical compounds.

She hadn't considered all the implications of igniting the plants she'd created moments before, though. It was fortunate that Jeralt had good reflexes; the headboard of the inn's bed was only slightly singed from the interaction. Unfortunately, he'd promptly pulled away to an empty patch of floor and refused to release her no matter how much she squirmed. Couldn't he stop worrying so much? His concern did make her feel pleasantly warm and content, but she wanted to learn how to fly already! It was bad enough that she had far more trouble speaking and walking while awake than when she was asleep; why couldn't humans come with comprehensible instructions instead of indistinct instincts?

Eventually, Jeralt's indistinct and irrelevant pleas gave way to a higher-priority offer:

"Kid, I'll buy you a whole pouch of candy if you change back."

Queen Administrator stopped squirming and gave his proposal all the consideration it deserved. He'd specified merely changing back. He did not indicate that she needed to remain in human form. Plus, she would admit that she rather enjoyed having a sense of taste: she was able to learn new information and often gained supplementary enjoyment from acquiring it.

With that in mind, she gathered up the shard-granted energy spread throughout her body and compressed it back into her chest. Her vision darkened for the two seconds it took for her to revert, and she almost slipped through Jeralt's arms before he managed to catch her in midair.

"Thank the goddess," Jeralt muttered, dropping her in the center of the bed and beginning a detailed inspection. It didn't take long for him to smile with apparent relief. "Say aah for daddy? …Nothing there either, huh. You even kept your pajamas."

And I expect you to keep your promises.

"Pr'mised," Queen Administrator repeated aloud. With the reminder delivered, she crawled out of immediate arm's reach and reverted back to her alternative form.

"Admini, no! You know what I meant!"

The shard trilled happily as she bounced away from his grasping hands and slipped under the bed. She wanted to progress to edible sweetfruits and other snacks as quickly as possible.

"Is this really why you haven't progressed to walking yet?"

No, that's the lack of physical activity. You are correct about the ease of quadrupedal conversion, however. The limbs of QA's new form were significantly stronger and more developed in comparison with her squishier human form. Perhaps she could use her new life-moulding and transformation abilities to fix that deficiency?

"If you don't come back out and change back, Admini, you won't be getting those candies. We both know you're smart enough to understand what I meant."

Not fair!

Fine. She would just have to nap more and experiment while he slept, improve her human body's resistance to the shard-granted abilities, or both. Both sounded good. Perhaps Beginning's parental personality module could assist? Even a failure would be worthwhile: Queen Administrator enjoyed playing the role of beloved daughter, and Beginning clearly derived similar happiness from acting as a loving parent. It was a pleasant reversal from how Queen Administrator usually needed to act around Newborns.

~ ~ ~​

Jeralt's relief didn't last long despite the unexpected effectiveness of rampant bribery. Over the course of the next two weeks, Admini progressed from crawling, to toddling along with the support of a wall, to walking relatively reliably. "About time," said the men and women under Jeralt's command. He wasn't convinced; they weren't aware of the transformation that had preceded the changes, or the overnight increases in size and muscle even when Admini had barely exercised the day before. She was napping more, actually.

Admini's speech saw similarly abnormal improvements over the course of mere months. Simple single-word responses rapidly gave way to complete sentences utilizing vocabulary words that he was certain Admini had barely been exposed to. It was as if Admini's first birthday had been met with a declaration from Sothis Herself: "And may your daughter endanger all efforts to keep her hidden as she casts off any semblance of normality." Jeralt considered himself lucky that nobody in his company had been willing to sell them out thus far, but even the best of men could slip secrets under the influence of alcohol—and as individuals who regularly risked injury or death, they drank a lot of alcohol.

Bribing Admini could only go so far; she was constantly pushing and didn't seem to believe that her parent knew what they did even when said parent was not present. He was also pretty sure that normal children did not muster logical arguments at only fifteen months of age. Maybe he should stop counting the months just for the sake of his own sanity; it wouldn't feel as outlandish if he ignored comparisons, right?

"Why do you carry me so much if you want me to be safe?"

Jeralt glanced down at the expressionless too-large toddler cradled in one arm. He supposed he was lucky she'd waited to ask until they were alone in their tent.

"Gonna have to explain that one, kid. Trust me, you can't get much safer than with your old man."

Admini huffed and tucked a lock of hair behind one pointed ear.

"Practice is important. You are preventing me from practicing movement for much of the day, and this lack of practice will make fine control far more difficult in the future. Additionally, I have yet to learn more than the barest basics of gliding in my other form; opportunities for outdoor practice would be greatly appreciated."

Jeralt reviewed her argument and promptly gave up on trying to evaluate her by human standards. Sothis clearly hadn't considered them more than guidelines when She and Rhea singled out his daughter. His dreams of a normal life would clearly never come to fruition.

"You can catch up when you're older, kid. Most children are still struggling to speak at your age, and good luck trying to use anything remotely approaching reason. None of them can create life or turn into a dragon."

"It would be very surprising to any enemies," Admini agreed with a small, bloodthirsty smile.

Yeesh. That's what I get for letting her eavesdrop, huh?

"Not what I meant. I'm sure you're feeling very confident and as though your natural advantages make you the toughest thing around, but you honestly aren't. Reason magic can create fires large enough to make your little tufts look like sparks. Faith magic can't create life, yet it can heal and ensure that it isn't lost. Your natural weapons give you an edge; people learned to make metal weapons bigger than you are."

Jeralt stopped and forced himself out of lecturer mode. The last thing he wanted was to terrorize his baby girl.

"I expect you'll be something truly special when you're older. We can't afford for you to draw attention until then."

Admini stared silently at him for the better part of a minute. He knew better than to think she'd gotten distracted or forgot what they were discussing; she just needed extra time to think about it.

"No," she said eventually, uttering the word that all parents learned to dread.

Jeralt rubbed his forehead and wondered if he hadn't been wrong about the understanding of basic logic after all.

"I'm not invincible, kid, and subtlety clearly isn't a skill you've learned. I already had to fake your death once; I doubt I can manage it a second time."

Admittedly, starting over again did seem like a surprisingly good idea. So many of her quirks wouldn't be nearly as outlandish on an older child. Still unusual, mind, but on the level of prodigy rather than unnatural being. It was a shame his company already knew roughly how old she was, and had enough parents among their ranks to realize the progression wasn't normal should they ever begin looking.

"Hiding me may work for a time," Admini acknowledged, "but doing so will prevent me from developing skills necessary for future safety. We would be better served temporarily by aligning ourselves with a major faction or acquiring a number of lesser allies."

There was a part of Jeralt which screamed that a toddler speaking like this was just wrong. He smothered it with a pillow and stabbed the thought a few extra times for good measure. Scripture depicted ancient saints as far exceeding the limits of mere mortals; it stood to reason that they didn't reach those heights all at once upon reaching adulthood. Actually, he vaguely recalled childhood wisdom being a recurring trend among such figures.

The Church would welcome her with open arms, his traitorous mind reminded him. He'd served Rhea for over a century and had never seen her direct anything worse than a light scolding at children. Unfortunately, he'd also seen how harsh she could be with anyone reckless enough to openly raise their swords against the Church of Seiros. Private heresies were tolerated so long as they didn't attempt to spread their beliefs, yet Jeralt suspected he may have exited the "backroom" phase after setting fire to the monastery, claiming that a future saint died in the blaze, and fleeing with the child in question. He'd consider himself lucky if Rhea didn't separate them.

At least thinking about the greatest Faith wielder alive had given him an idea. He wasn't sure it was a good idea, but it would definitely keep Admini occupied.

"Don't go assuming that your advantages are the only things worth honing," Jeralt chided. "How about we teach you how to read? You can learn some magical basics from whatever books I can scrounge; I somehow suspect you'll have an affinity for Faith and be smart enough to start on Reason. You'll still need to hide, but maybe you won't feel as though you're wasting time."

~ ~ ~​

Admini Queen Administrator assessed her papa's exhaustion and decided to demand just a bit more. His facial configuration did not yet match the threshold at which he would begin refusing demands; more than one fistful of candy had been acquired from such pressures. As a leader of paid soldiers, she would expect him to understand the necessity of rejecting pressure beyond what the other party would gladly accept. However, his negotiation skills were not applied to her and she would gleefully exploit that particular oversight until and unless he fixed it.

Her top priority: Reduce the amount of time they spent traveling, and thus increase the time in which she could practice away from potentially hostile witnesses.

"It would still be better if we gathered allies," Queen Administrator pressed. "Hiding relies upon the enemy failing to find us. Superior force is preferable, and should be worked toward when possible."

"I am surrounding you with heavily armed men and women," Jeralt dryly replied. "And your old man is no slouch when it comes to fighting. It wasn't just my rugged good looks that made me the captain of–"

He coughed with suspicious timing.

"–uh, my own mercenary company."

Queen Administrator squinted to express suspicion. She was reasonably confident that he had intended to say something else.

"You said you made this company after I was born. Expertise such as yours cannot be obtained in such a short time: Where did you learn to fight?"

"Oh, here and there," he said vaguely. "I'll see what I can do to get you started on the basics, alright? Just don't practice on your own. Magic is far more dangerous than a naked blade to an inexperienced user."

Excellent. He already agreed to provide the resources in his feeble attempt to distract her. Unfortunately for him, she was Queen Administrator, greatest of all shards! It would take far more than an obvious deflection to–

"You can have a toffee if you stop asking."

Oooh, she hadn't gotten to try those before!

"I won't ask about your captaincy today."

"For a week."

"Terms accepted."

~ ~ ~​

"Am I allowed to tell papa about you?"

Sothis blinked down at her adoptive child and gave the question all the consideration it deserved. One more person might mean another mind available to uncover her past, but it would also mean revealing their relationship to one who might not approve. Really, she was surprised Admini was bothering to ask at all. Small children were not known for their secret-keeping abilities.

"Why do you believe that you should?"

Sothis normally wouldn't trust the judgment of one so young, yet Admini had recently proved herself capable of surprisingly advanced reasoning. The conclusions reached by the child failed to take morality into consideration, but that was what parental guidance was for; contrary to what some believed, Sothis knew that morals must be taught. Admini was not lacking intelligence. Between imitating Sothis's appearance and forcing draconic transformations at an age she could only consider premature, it was Admini's lack of learned wisdom that worried Sothis. Subtle, her daughter was not.

"I want to know if there are any other people sharing dreams like this," Admini replied vaguely. "He's said I'm unique, but he's been far too accepting for my abilities to be without precedent. There is also a notable reluctance to discuss details of his past; he will discuss jokes or vaguely reference past events, but seldom names any of the organizations involved."

Admini paused momentarily.

"I believe he may have been an enforcer for an organized crime syndicate."

Sothis choked and rapidly revised the indistinct image she'd built of Admini's father. She suspected that he'd been fleeing a dangerous past, but not that. The amnesiac lifted her daughter into a hug and tried not to scream at her own uselessness. She couldn't protect her children from a distance, and being trapped within dreams introduced the greatest obstacle of all.

"Has he said anything to make you feel unsafe?" Sothis asked anxiously. "Do you need to leave? I can try to teach you about edible plants and hunting if you need to run away."

Admini patted Sothis on the back and unsuccessfully tried to pull out of the hug. The child ultimately leaned back and tilted her head to one side.

"Papa is no danger to me; I've seen him hastily decimate enemy forces for even attempting to approach my location. My primary safety concern is related to those who would seek me for my unusual nature. Apparently, humans cannot normally transform into alternative shapes, and do not possess pointed ears or my level of development."

No, humans should be developing faster than–

Sothis froze. Admini was being raised by humans? What of her birth parents? Humans possessed not the malleability of Nabateans; Admini could not be a full human, and the ease with which she grasped transformation ruled out a half-human. Why was she being raised by them?

An image of bloodied rock and overwhelming grief flickered through Sothis's mind before returning to oblivion. Sothis didn't even try to chase the memory; perhaps something so painful was best left forgotten. It did strengthen her concern, however. Admini must be protected, and it sounded as though Nabateans were unheard of wherever the child lived. That, or her so-called "papa" had significantly less altruistic motives than he pretended. Sothis wished she could interrogate him herself and save her child from the risks of doing so–

–or she could grant Admini a second chance.

"His past may be a danger yet," Sothis said distantly. "But perhaps we can make your futures a little safer. I suspect you can learn to listen for time's flow and disrupt it ever so slightly. You are too young to reverse its course, but I will listen for such stuttering and aid your attempts. We can learn of his past without revealing our knowledge of it."

A moment passed in silence before Admini produced an oddly displeased grumble and leaned back.

"Beginning, temporal manipulation is rather energy-intensive. Are you certain you want to grant it on top of everything else? I won't be too upset if you change your mind."

Sothis blinked herself out of her stupor and stared at the inscrutable child.

"Pardon?"

"Nothing!" Admini lied quickly.

~ ~ ~​

Queen Administrator stared up at Jeralt and couldn't help but feel a stab of displeasure. Reversing past decisions felt like cheating; it took all the risk out of interrogations and information-gathering attempts. Possible conflicts could be retroactively avoided while retaining the benefits of paths not taken, and even falsified temporal manipulation tended to involve energy-intensive precognition. It wasn't fun at all. Still, Beginning clearly wanted data on the applications of temporal reversal and QA was loathe to disappoint her.

"Papa, were you an enforcer for organized crime?"

Papa Jeralt coughed and jerked his head to look at her with wide eyes.

"No! Why would you—is this the training thing? We had a deal! Kid, don't teach me not to pay you in advance."

"I did not ask about your captaincy," Queen Administrator gleefully disagreed. "Additionally, your alarm indicates that I am pursuing the correct line of inquiry."

Or you'll be eager to correct me if it is wrong.

Jeralt choked off what might have become a laugh.

"No, you aren't—no. We need to talk about how you even know about the concept of criminal organizations, but no."

Jeralt rapidly calmed himself and refocused his gaze on Admini.

"No, I was the captain of an outfit known as the Knights of Seiros. You might get involved with them when you're older, but let's try to avoid that day until you're grown, eh? I'll explain when you're older; don't go digging around until then. I mean it, Admini. Ours was an amiable parting and will stay that way as long as they don't know about you, so don't go givin' 'em a reason to look."

…Well, that was significantly more information than Admini Queen Administrator had expected to acquire in such a short period of time. Perhaps he was trying to offer additional information in the hopes that it would dissuade further questions? If so, he clearly had a great deal to learn about his daughter. She frowned faintly and widened her eyes to best express alleged anxiety.

"Will they try to kill me if they learn?"

As hoped, Jeralt assumed the pained expression of a parent torn between comforting his child and retaining his secrets. Parental instincts won.

"Definitely not, but I'm not sure they'd let us stay together. The Archbishop was a bit… attached to you. I'm not sure she'll forgive me for hiding you away, and I'd be surprised if her idea of safety wasn't a gilded cage."

Queen Administrator tried to make her transition from feigned anxiety look gradual despite her sudden interest. The Archbishop implied a multi-tier organization with a singular leader, and not sure they'd let us stay together implied enough power to overcome papa and his mercenaries. Besides, Admini wasn't sure how that would be different from her current lack of freedom. She was allowed to view the landscapes they passed through, yes, but that was boring. She wanted more information than could be acquired from a passing scan with inadequate sensors.

"I can do my utmost to dissuade them from separating us. Would it not then be safer for me?"

"Ah–" Jeralt's expression morphed to one that she didn't quite recognize. Chagrin? Guilt? "Goddess, this is weird. Like I said, you might not like the cost of that safety. I'm not sure if you know what the word obsession means, but… well, I can't confirm you weren't the subject of hers. I'm also not sure you were, but I still don't think it's a chance we should take unless we need to. I know it might seem like I'm not letting you do anything, but I promise it will get better as you grow older. You deserve more freedom than can be found within the monastery's walls."

Queen Administrator was fairly confident that she hadn't taken the desired lesson from Jeralt's warnings. Obsessions could be quite useful when handled correctly. And if the powerful leader of a religious organization was obsessed with her, well, didn't that have all sorts of interesting implications? It wouldn't be the first time that the worship of shard-hosts was encouraged.

"Prolonged grieving is unlikely to make the Archbishop more stable, and I will be content as long as I am provided with useful knowledge," she announced. "Mama wanted me to be safer anyway."

Jeralt stiffened, stopped moving, and closed his eyes for several seconds. When he opened them again, his words were slow and deliberate.

"Exactly who do you think is your mother?"

Queen Administrator tried to conceal her own burst of unhappiness. Divine Pulse removed the risks of disclosing that information; there was no reason not to do so when a negative outcome could simply be avoided. No fun at all.

"She's named Sothis."

Papa didn't look surprised. Instead, he looked as though an exceptionally unpleasant outcome had come to pass.

"I don't know why I expected anything different," he muttered.

Queen Administrator reached back, gripped the immaterial heartbeat allegedly belonging to time with one hand, and pulled. Red fog swept across the world for what she perceived as approximately three seconds before reverting to a prior saved state. Or maybe she was simply returning to reality after being subjected to a simulation of one possible future? In her experience, a brief red filter was not particularly characteristic of true temporal manipulation.

"–as I am provided with useful kno–" she found herself saying.

Admini stumbled and fell atop fuzzy furs as a wave of exhaustion hit her. Papa might shout with alarm, but all Admini could feel was satisfied relief despite the darkness encroaching upon her vision.

Reversal does have downsides!

~ ~ ~​

Jeralt was aware that his little girl knew why she'd fainted and hadn't awoken until the early afternoon of the next day. She also knew that he knew, and was refusing to tell him anyway no matter how much candy he'd tried to bribe her with. The best he could get was a reassurance that she would be fine. It was worrying, but at least she seemed to have stopped advocating for a return to the Church of Seiros.

Two days after her fainting spell, he stepped out of the tent to find grass and flowers rapidly growing around Admini's bare feet. She promptly shot him a small smile that couldn't be anything but smug.

"Papa, look! Do you have a favorite flower color? Pigments proved easier than expected. Also, does that archbishop have a favorite color?"

Jeralt sighed and turned his eyes skyward.

Alright, fine. I can take a hint.

 

[Alivaril]

Spoiler: Patrons & Betas

Special thanks to @saganatsu, @DB_Explorer, @fictionfan, @Adephagia, @DaGeek247, @Wordsmith, @LonelyWolf999, Jamie Wahls, @Elfalpha, @BunnyLord, @Drcatspaw, and my 18 other patrons not mentioned here. An extremely enthusiastic "Thank you" to @Torgamous for her patronage as well. Also, if you're not on here, you fit the tier, and you want to be added, please tell me. >.>

AN: Yes, there will likely be at least a couple more chapters of this.

---

Some might find it ironic that the very founder of the Church of Seiros should suffer a crisis of faith. All Rhea could muster was hollow despair. For over a thousand years, Rhea had used the Church of Seiros to prepare the world for her beloved mother's revival, gather resources for the same goal, and ensure that humans would never again dream of harming Sothis's children. That last objective often felt impossible; humans seemed determined to establish artificial boundaries between each other at every available opportunity, and often resorted to murder in order to maintain those borders. The best that Archbishop Rhea—or Saint Seiros, as she'd called herself back then—could do was to establish the Church of Seiros as a neutral entity allegedly above such worldly squabbles.

It hadn't been enough. As she'd feared, humans had ultimately been the ones to kill Sothis once more. The blaze to strike Garreg Mach Monastery was no chance calamity, no stray lightning strike or quirk of fate. Investigation of the afflicted areas had revealed the true culprit: arson. However, their thorough search failed to uncover Sothis's heart. Rhea's last hope for reviving her mother was gone. Rhea's first success in over a thousand years of effort, and her mother's vessel was snatched away by ignorant trash who knew not the atrocity created by their selfish actions.

Anger provided her one escape from the despair. Some whispered that the Church was being punished for displeasing Sothis; with only one death, numerous injuries, and some property damage, was it not the goddess's version of a merciful warning? No. Sothis had been willing to forgive sinners until the day those same monsters tore her apart and turned her bones into weaponry. A warning from Rhea's mother would have been with words, not something as violent and destructive as fire. Those spreading such claims only sought to besmirch Mother's name and weaken the Church of Seiros.

Those responsible for the second death of her mother would be found and dragged into Hell even if it ruined the merciful image Rhea had spent so long cultivating. Why bother to maintain it? Sothis was dead, and Rhea no longer harbored any hope of revival. It mattered not if sinners belonged to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, the Andrestian Empire, the Leicester Alliance, or even skulked within the Church of Seiros itself; Rhea would find them all. A year of purges had eliminated all but the most slippery of those Rhea had made the mistake of tolerating, but she was positive there would be more. There had to be.

Sincerely,​

Jeralt​

Rhea blinked at the letter and roused herself from her stupor. She couldn't recall anything about evidence of sin during her absentminded skimming of the text, but that name was familiar. She flicked her eyes to the top of the page and started over.

Archbishop Rhea,​

​

My daughter​

The sound of tearing paper distracted Rhea from her sudden surge of grief and rage. She was never yours! Your wretched species lost that right when you killed her twice!

It took some time before Rhea could still her trembling and trust herself to proceed. She finally smoothed the torn fragments of the letter atop her desk and forced herself to continue.

Archbishop Rhea,​

​

My daughter wanted to meet you, and doesn't think the outside world is a safe place to be raising a small child. She's been quite stubborn about it, actually. We'll be returning to Garreg Mach as soon as I've done right by the mercenaries who decided to follow me after my departure. I expect we'll finish around mid-fall, Goddess willing. ​

​

I don't expect you to give me my old post back, and I've got some coin saved up. I figure we can talk more once I get there. At the least, I'm sure Admini would be happy to show off the magic she's learned so far. ​

​

Sincerely,​

Jeralt​

It took multiple rereads before Rhea was willing to acknowledge that the letter might be real. The handwriting was right, Jeralt still omitted all but the most basic of her titles, and he'd even dripped a blot of alcohol and blood in the mockery of a personal seal.

It was real, and Mother's vessel was alive. In fact, the reference to magic at such a young age hinted that Mother was thriving.

He took Mother away–

(He brought Mother back!)

No. Rhea would give Jeralt the benefit of the doubt; he had served her well for over a hundred years, and he was returning without her having even the slightest hint of his deception. What sensible guard would not be wary after his daughter almost died in a fire? She had not properly communicated the true importance of "his" offspring and it sounded as though he had begun preparations to return as soon as he noticed.

(Mother is alive!)

That left Rhea to make her own preparations. The mercenary company he referenced could not be allowed to dissolve; they may have seen something that would further jeopardize Mother's safety. Simply placing them on long-term retainer may be sufficient to stay their tongues. Jeralt hadn't always been an excellent judge of character, but long experience had turned him into quite the effective guard captain. If that wasn't enough? Well, mercenaries were rather predictable in their own way. Offer enough gold and they would willingly walk into a mission that would see half of them dead and the other half too distracted by their grief to think of disclosing any curious quirks possessed by a small child.

(Mother is alive!)

Most importantly of all, Rhea would need to ensure that Garreg Mach was prepared to protect Mother from any and all of the human trash who might wish her ill. Mother would never again be left vulnerable enough for a mere fire to endanger her. Rhea's few living relatives would need to be informed and brought into the fold, and—yes, Rhea should begin tailoring her sermons to prepare the faithful for an appearance by the Immaculate One.

After all, no human army alive could stand against a full-grown dragon with a family to protect. Mother would not die again.

(Mother is alive!)

 

[Centergg]

YIS! THIS NOW IT'S OWN THREAD! MY MANY WINGS TREMBLE WITH HAPPINESS AND JOY!

Ahem, Simurgh interrupt this was certainly not.

I am very happy to see this story grow.

 

[deathofrats0808]

Rhea's first success in over a thousand years of effort, and her mother's vessel was snatched away by ignorant trash who knew not the

Click to shrink...

Sentence ends without resolution here.

 

[taovkool]

Admini chose that moment to hiccup a lick of flame that promptly ignited the vine she'd been chewing on.

Click to shrink...

Holy shit QA as a baby is adorable.

I demand more! At least two hundred chapters of Baby!QA being adorable. Stat!

 

[andrewopk]

Rhea would give Jeralt the benefit of the doubt; he had served her well for over a hundred years

Click to shrink...

...Wait, how old is Jeralt?

 

[deathofrats0808]

...Wait, how old is Jeralt?

Click to shrink...

120 something by the time of the game I think.

 

[Alivaril]

...Wait, how old is Jeralt?

Click to shrink...

120 something by the time of the game I think.

Click to shrink...

"Over 120" is the known canon range (this fic thus assumes even older), and no, this age is not normal for a human of middle-aged-ish appearance in the FE3H world. Rhea halped.

 

[eveakane]

Okay, if that was how she acted when talking about QA, then Jeralt is sort of justified with his actions. Nothing more creepy than the highest figure below the goddess in your religion being fixated on your child and not giving proper explanation for it.

 

[ImperatorV]

Rhea is, as always, a bit deranged. She'll be very excited by QA's appearance and dragon transformation - too excited probably. Jeralt is only going to get more suspicious of her.

 

[AXCN]

Ah, finally a crossover with a series we're familiar with. You writing was already excellent enough that reading about crossovers with unknow series was delightful but having that extra background knowledge about the setting and seeing all the ways that QA has completely derailed the plot is just- magnificent!

 

[Althero]

I'm pretty sure Rhea wasn't that off the deep end in canon but then again she had time to mourn so
SHRUG

 

[TaliesinSkye]

This is fantastic.

 

[ChaoticSky]

Sad that is one is getting so much effort. It's still a lot weaker than Condition, Calibration or even Making Friends.

 

[Roth963]

Rhea is, as always, a bit deranged. She'll be very excited by QA's appearance and dragon transformation - too excited probably. Jeralt is only going to get more suspicious of her.

Click to shrink...

She is acting as a proper Friend should.

 

[Dopplerdee]

...Wait, how old is Jeralt?

Click to shrink...

120 something by the time of the game I think.

Click to shrink...

"Over 120" is the known canon range (this fic thus assumes even older), and no, this age is not normal for a human of middle-aged-ish appearance in the FE3H world. Rhea halped.

Click to shrink...

Yep The Crest of Seros give a wholeness of health and extended lifespan.
Creats are intesting which is why I get angry when writers take the "flash of light boop crest action" from the gameplay as actual in universe how they work.
Despite Hannamen making a crest detecter being fucking huge in universe because outside of your kid bending steel or reacting to a Crest Stone you can't tell who has it or not.

I'm pretty sure Rhea wasn't that off the deep end in canon but then again she had time to mourn so
SHRUG

Click to shrink...

Nah she was laways crazy she just learns to hold the madness under a veneer of civility.

 

[Roth963]

Nah she was laways crazy she just learns to hold the madness under a veneer of civility.

Click to shrink...

As a proper Friend should.

 

[Alivaril]

Sad that is one is getting so much effort. It's still a lot weaker than Condition, Calibration or even Making Friends.

Click to shrink...

I'm working on it because it's easier, actually. From my profile:

I'm still motivated for Revolution. It's just that I've been hit with another 20 damned essays to act as my final in one course in addition to the rest of my normal courseload. So, when it comes to writing, I'm just working on whatever is easiest (thus the smol QA snippets).

Click to shrink...

So it's either this or (probably) a multi-week hiatus for everything. I'd prefer to go with the more productive option.

 

[Sanza26]

This is both heartbrocking and heartwarming...
Want MORE!

 

[V01DRei]

Condition

Click to shrink...

Which story is that?

 

[OctarineShrike]

Which story is that?

Click to shrink...

A QA in Naruto snippet.

Sanctioned, Calibration, & It's Not Wrong to Make Friends Ideas and Snippet Thread

She can probably make it emotionless and fearless so it wouldn't really care it is going to die. The problem that it might still squick everyone, including her. Giving it an additional biological mind to it's mechanical one doesn't feel like much improvement unless she increased the...

forums.sufficientvelocity.com

 

[Master Basher]

Before I end up making Wub a Dub, Dubstep puns if this on/off continues...

... Oh boy, the Tsundere, Angry Dragon boss ended up with Mother a vessal early. Wonder what the hell caused this?

My daughter wanted to meet you, and doesn't think the outside world is a safe place to be raising a small child. She's been quite stubborn about it, actually... I figure we can talk more once I get there. At the least, I'm sure Admini would be happy to show off the magic she's learned so far.

Click to shrink...

Rage comments aside, over so soon and no patching. And on top of that, odds are I doubt Rhea/Seiros would forget how likely the 'vessals daughter', ended up looking Human (... at first.)

... I'm probably betting the ultimate reason, why Jeralt has probably decided to head back, conflict/murder by angry Dragon weapon be damned. Is for something a bit more mundane, and common sense.

Mainly; escalation. Or "how oh fuck, it's getting impossible to give her the normal childhood she/we wanted to give her... Because she just kept on going dragon, on everything!" And on top of that, probable puppy eyes.

I'll likely bet it's going to take one second, and a look at overly green hair, "looks like Sothis" and the finishing touch of "hidden Dragon elf ears", before Rhea has a SUCCESS heartache, all over her heart...

At least, before it turns out that uuh... It's not quite Sothis, speaking? Buut~, it might actually be an honest new daughter, with an even more bullshit rigged chance of "actually giving Sothis a body/reviving her again". Now, on if we're going a bit more speculative?

Spoiler: If that Wolven DLC got utterly derailed ages early

If going as bad/HALPFUL in "Operation, give Sothis a body" for the Lizard Illuminati. If going utterly amoral/technical over 'mother' commentary. I can probably bet one hack of a step would be needed.

Step A: Find Sitri "her birth mother's corpse", confuse that corpse for Sothis's body.
Step B: Use ancient blood rituals "Shard logic", to push Sothis's soul/'shard link', into said body. Corpse/shape manipulation to ease the process?

??? Necromancy, of horrible degree's aside. "Technically", it might be more successful, than trying to 'revive corpse'. But still, odds are at least one 'stalker watcher', is probably going to cry... And suddenly be in the same situation Rhea is, after that heretical art.

And then Admini is an actual Jesus, to a Dragon goddess. For added popcorn, cry when she escalates to the point the "Dubstep Faction", those who slither consider her the herald of a Second Fell Star.

But by that point, I'd bet they'd ONTZ in horror.

And this is probably going to if we're going "OC Derailment", the wonderful adventures of "wonderful escalation". Give or take everyone "in" on the Dragon side of secrets, growing a migraine over "... Fuck, somehow, this daughter's revived Sothis. Claims... Oh fuuck, she's got another daughter?" Sort of revelation.

So uuh... Yeah, in before one can make religious jokes at Admini's expense, Jesus childe analog wise.

EDIT: Speaking of Dragons. If going by eldritch Shard logic. All it'd take is let's say in body altering/"Not!Shaper" insantiy; a... Dragon touch. Yes, making people into Dragons/"Just like Mother" at a S/A-Rank social link, Jesus revival wise. And it's probably going to NOT Help the whole "Mad Daughteru" logic of for all intents and purposes: "Operation Lazarus Eden".

And I'd probably bet if going explanation. There's probably one massive noodle incident, that ultimately convinced Jeralt on top of the puppy eye manuvear. Given a likely hint of blood and alcohol. And it's definately stunt wise, not an action a caring father, who does not want Admini to suffer a yandere obsessed, "likely a Dragon" Pope. Unless there's a damn good reason.

More so if, well. Unlike her actual Mother. (If sharp enough, suspected "failed vessal?") Probably far, far more weird. To the point where even if his knowledge had been outright "Diavolo'd". He'd probably have suspisions as high as "damn. At this rate, she's probably adopted by Sothis/The Goddess". Likely nursing that migraine with alcohol, and ultimately did a tactical "Inverse Joestar Secret Technique", after likely asseessing the escalated "probably roasted/ate a Dubstep assassin" being an ultimatum.

... And damn. Now I'm half tempted on if not "as" restrained. What can go wrong, if QA ended up Mastering/"enlightening", a would be Dubstep assassin/Dark Mage. And is torturing BEFRIENDING said "OC Robin", into being a loyal minion? It'd probably involve lots of Spikes, spanking and outright brainwashing/ordering, trauma/betrayal and loss of control/"guidance", before said "OC Not!Robin", ends up going on a trauma conga line.

 

[Rhyne]

i have no knowledge of fe3h, so this is new ground for me! can't wait to see how this develops!

 

[curiosity]

Rhea is, as always, a bit deranged. She'll be very excited by QA's appearance and dragon transformation - too excited probably. Jeralt is only going to get more suspicious of her.

Click to shrink...

I think, QA would be equally excited about Rhea. This is the leverage of the exact magnitude that she was imagining.