The Birth of New Legends (LoZ:BotW/FE3H)

[sasahara17]

It was the 23rd day of the 4th month of the year 1180, under the Great Tree moon.

Although this moon would normally have been a time of celebration of the peoples of Fódlan, a great unrest had spread across the continent. A calamity at the Garreg Mach Monastery, the seat of power for the Church of Seiros, had set the entire continent afire. The threat of war loomed, and it seemed that there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.

Barely two weeks ago twenty-four students that had only just begun their schooling at the Officer's Academy, and the young ward of the Archbishops' loyal aide, had mysteriously vanished overnight without a single sign of where they had gone or who was responsible.

A disappearance of this scale from within the Monastery would have been reason enough for alarm, but among those missing were the future leaders of the Adrestian Empire, Kingdom of Faerghus and Leicester Alliance, as well as the heirs of many other noble houses. The loss of these children this had caused shaken the foundations of Fódlan and as the three nations that called the continent home accused each other of foul play.

Despite the best efforts of the Knights of Seiros, who had searched high and low across the continent, there was no sign of where the missing students and young Falyn had gone. There were no ransom demands having been issued. No clues left after political assassinations. No messages of endangered souls crying out of rescue. As far as the world could tell those poor children had vanished from all creation, like ash in the wind. With each passing day it the likelihood of them being found, and the chances of averting the brewing war between the three nations, grew ever slimmer.

And then, on this spring morning just after the sun had reached its' pinnacle, Archbishop Rhea received incredible news.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"The students have reappeared?" The Archbishop said, eyes shining in excitement as she received the wonderful news the guard that had interrupted her midday meal with a distraught Seteth.

"Yes, your holiness," The guard said respectfully, unable to keep his excited smile from his face, "The missing students all appeared at the Monastery gatehouse barely an hour ago. Sir Alois received them there, and have escorted them to the Cathedral under guard. He respectfully requests your presence. They're back, Lady Rhea. All of them!"

"All of them? All the students have reappeared?" Seteth asked urgently, "Including…"

"Yes, Master Seteth. Your sister is among the returnees… as is Princess Edelgard, Prince Dimitri and Young Master Riegan." The guardsman happily reiterated his point, "I can confirm that all missing students are present and accounted for."

"Oh, thank the goddess! I… Flayn…" Seteth all but collapsed into his chair in relief.

"Well then, this is magnificent news." Archbishop Rhea said with a smile, wondering how long it would be before Seteth pulled himself back together and charged out of her private chamber to search for his beloved Flayn, "Are there any other details that you can share about their return?"

"Uh, your holiness. I'm… I am not quite sure how to explain this next detail, but I will try," The guard suddenly seemed awkward, "The students and Miss Falyn were accompanied by two individuals who reportedly claim they are responsible for the disappearance… and subsequent return… of our missing youths. They are with Sir Alois right now-"

"WHAT?" Seteth leapt out of his chair, surging with overprotective anger at the news "The people responsible for kidnapping Flayn are here?"

"Calm yourself, Seteth. Let us not jump to conclusions here. A malicious party would not have approached us in such a forward manner," Rhea quickly raised a hand in a calming gesture, before turning back to the guard, "Can you tell me more about these strangers?"

"Yes, your holiness. They claim to be travelers from a faraway land… your holiness, one of them claims to be a Princess, and the man with her is personal knight," The guard shifted awkwardly, "She claims to be one Princess Zelda of The Kingdom of Hyrule."

"Hyrule?" Rhea suddenly felt the hairs on her back rise, and a sense of foreboding come over her. She had not heard that name in a very, very long time.

"That is correct, your holiness. I would have thought she was some kind of charlatan, the returnees all vouched for her identity."

The guardsman's hesitation was understandable. In all the known world, beyond the borders of the continent of Fódlan and even across a history long forgotten, there was no such Kingdom by that name. Anyone claiming to be from a place, let alone claiming to be royalty, would be seen as a talentless impostor at best. Yet Rhea knew better. The name of Hyrule stirred memories from the recesses of Rhea's mind. Stories, or more accurately legends, passed from mother to child in a youth long lost to time... and Rhea wasn't the only one that was alarmed by this news.

"H-Hyrule? Did you say the Kingdom of Hyrule?" Seteth stammered, the color draining from his face, "Did you say the Princess Zelda was here?"

"Yes, Sir Seteth," The guardsman blinked in confusion, "So you've heard of Hyrule, then? I wasn't sure if they were just charlatans, but…"

"The personal Knight, that would be a man named Link? And their ears, are they pointy and sharp?"

"T-That would be correct, Sir." The guardsman affirmed.

Seteth and Rhea turned to share a look of concern. While this certainly explained a few things about how none of the nations of Fódlan could find the missing students, the involvement of the land of Hyrule was an unexpected complication indeed. One that the powder keg that was Fódlan did not need right now. Rhea quickly composed herself, and turned back to the guardsman.

"You have done well. Please let Sir Alois that Seteth and I will be along shortly. Also, please alert the Professors of these events… and the representatives from the Empire, Kingdom and Alliance staying in the guestrooms if they haven't already been notified of current events."

"Yes, your holiness!" The guard declared before hastily taking his leave.

"Rhea, as happy I am that Flayn is back… if Hyrule is involved, then this situation has become much more volatile than we ever anticipated," Seteth stated bluntly once the guard was out of earshot, "The students going missing for two weeks, and then suddenly reappearing at our very doorstep without warning with Hylia's mortal incarnation in tow…?"

"Calm yourself, Seteth. We should not assume the worst before we learn more information about what has transpired," Rhea replied with a frown, clearly just as aware of the dangers as her compatriot was, "For all we know, the danger has already passed."

"If even half the things we've heard about Hyrule were true, I very much doubt that," Seteth muttered, brows creased with worry, "That place is synonymous with the word 'trouble'. If Flayn got caught up in one of those 'stories'… I… I don't know what I would do."

"There is only one way to find out, old friend," Rhea acknowledged rose from her seat and straightened her robes, "Come, Seteth. Let us see what twists fate has in store for us, shall we?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

It wasn't long after that Archbishop Rhea and Seteth, escorted by a cadre of her finest Knights, stepped into the Cathedral. They had found it was as the guardsman had said. Seated at the pews were twenty-four youths, all chattering excitedly among themselves while under guard from over a hundred heavily armed Knights and Soldiers. Alois, as boisterous as he was oft to be, was no fool and clearly aware of the potential dangers as well. The Cathedral had been emptied out of the faithful beforehand. Only the missing students, their two guests and their guards were present.

As Rhea approached, she found herself startled at her preliminary observations. Although she hadn't known them for long, Rhea had taken care to memorize every face and names that came to the Officers Academy, and this included the missing students that now were before her.

The youths were seated on the pews certainly resembled the students that had gone missing, but much to Rhea's surprise they were at around two years older than she had last seen them. They were all garbed in strange clothes and armor of a material and make Rhea had never seen, even from lands beyond Fódlan's borders. Many of them bore visible scars. No longer where they children who had come to Garreg Mach to learn the ways of the world, but young adults who had returned after some great adventure. Quite a change, for a mere two weeks.

Also of concern was a sizeable assortment of strange looking weapons and equipment, clearly having been collected over many adventures and made of styles and materials foreign to Fódlan, that was gathered in a corner of the Cathedral. The man standing guard over the assortment of gear looked very intimidated by what had had been charged with securing, but did his duty all the same. The poor man would be having quite a bit to report after this.

"It would seem that those stories about Hyrule's unique relationship with the flow of time was true," Rhea observed, "The students clearly are much older than they were when we last saw them. I suspect some form of time dilation effect, or time travel."

"Agreed. Rhea, I cannot recognize the make of many of those weapons," Seteth added with concern. "I suspect some of them incorporate advanced technology-"

"Flayn! It's your da-brother! Your brother is here!" Someone suddenly cried out.

"Raphael, wh-Seteth!" A delighted cry came from the pews, and a certain young girl rushed forward upon seeing the man at Rhea's side.

"FLAYN!" Seteth replied, throwing all proprietary to the wind as he ran ahead to meet the one he loved most. "Flayn! Flayn, you are all right!"

"Seteth, I missed you so much!" Flayn laughed tearfully as the two embraced in the great hall.

"Ha! Man, that's been a long time coming! Way to go Flayn!" One of the students, Caspar if Rhea recalled his name correctly, laughed as he began to clap uproariously. He was joined by all the other students witnessing the reunion, all wearing warm smiles at the sight before them.

While Rhea found herself smiling at the sight herself, she did not miss the verbal misstep young Mister Kirsten made, one that had some very alarming implications.

He clearly knew who Flayn really was. The reactions of the other students indicated this was true for them as well. Even though they all seemed to have accepted Flayn's secret and seemed genuinely excited about Flayn and Seteth's reunion, this was a terrible breach of the Church's secrecy. Flayn and Seteth's true identities were two of the closest guarded secrets of the Church, and there would be many enemies who would exploit that information for nefarious ends.

What else did they know? What secrets did the students uncover in their time in Hyrule? What did this mean for the future of Fódlan? There were so many questions that were running through Rhea's mind, and she needed answers for them if she were to plan for the days ahead. Proceeding forward, Rhea quickly spied the three young Heirs at the front of the pews, where they had been having a conversation with Alois. Accompanying them were two strangers in travelling clothes, both of whom notably had pointed ears. Rhea knew at once who they were.

"Ah, look who it is. Your holiness, it is great to see you. Your timing is impeccable, as always." Alois saluted respectfully as Rhea approached.

"And I you, Sir Alois," Rhea greeted the knight politely before turning to the three students beside him, "Lady Edelgard, Prince Dimitri, and Young Master Claude, it is good to see you all well. Your respective nations will be very pleased to hear you are well and safe… although I must admit you have changed much from when last I saw you."

"Indeed, your holiness," Princess Edelgard said the Archbishop with a respectful bow, "While I am given to understand only two weeks have passed for the people of Fódlan since our disappearance, for us it has been over two years."

"Well, two years, two months and three days to be exact. The Sheikah Slate is an impressive time keeper." Young Claude quipped cheekily. "But yeah, it is good to be home."

"I wish it were under better circumstances though. Sir Alois here has informed us of the dire situation that has been developing in our absence. It is quite fortunate that we returned before the situation could deteriorate further." Dimitri noted bluntly, "Hopefully our return will cool the rising tensions between our nations."

"That would be my hope as well," Rhea said as she turned her eyes to the two Hylians among them, "And who might these two be?"

"Archbishop, allow me to introduce Princess Zelda of Hyrule, and her personal knight, Sir Link," Edelgard said as the two Hylians stepped forward, "They have come a long way to return us home to Fódlan, and explain our journeys together in the land of Hyrule."

"Greetings, Archbishop Rhea. It is an honor to finally meet your esteemed self in person," Zelda curtsied while the ever-vigilant Link silently stood at ease by her side, "Yours students and Miss Falyn have spoken much about you."

"And I you, Princess Zelda." Rhea drew her eyes over the young woman before her, and was surprised find the mortal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia seemed so humble.

While Zelda's travelling clothes did have some air of nobility, and bore what clearly were sigils of her noble house proudly, the Princess had clearly modified her outfit for travel. Pouches, belts, pockets and all manner of practical things that were clearly not part of the original design dotted her attire, as where the various implements stored on her person. Worm leather journals, writing implements, travelling rations, spare rope… if Rhea had not already known this was the Princess Zelda before her, she could have easily mistaken the Princess for an adventurous archeologist or a travelling scholar instead of the heir to a 10,000-year-old legacy.

"It is good to see that you have returned our missing students to us, and for that I am grateful" Rhea continued without missing a beat, "However, I am given to understand that you have also claimed to be responsible for their disappearance in the first place?"

"Unfortunately, I have to confess that would be the case," Zelda admitted without even a hint of guilt or nervousness, "But I assure you that there is an explanation on why this was necessary."

"Considering the problems, you have caused Fódlan, I would hope your explanation is a good one." Rhea stated firmly, making sure to meet the Princess' eyes to convey the severity of the situation.

"I can assure you, your holiness, it is." Zelda replied, undaunted.

"I can vouch for her." Edelgard stated firmly.

"As can I." Dimitri added resolutely.

"And you can count me in as well," Claude said to round out their number, "And before you ask, there isn't a single one of us who thinks Zelda was wrong in doing what she did. Ask Flayn, if you're that worried about it."

Rhea frowned at Claude's very specific mention of Flayn, for it hinted he know of Flayn's very personal relationship with Rhea. It reminded her of the problems she now faced. Even so, the unanimous show of support for the Princess was something Rhea could not discount.

"Very well. I would like to hear your explanation, then," Rhea said. "However, perhaps we should discuss the matter in my private office. It would not do to discuss this matter so openly."

"That would be very much appreciated, your holiness." Zelda agreed, only to pause when Link cleared his throat from behind her, "Link? Is there something you want to say?"

"May I be excused so that I can go to the kitchens? I, uh, promised to cook a celebratory dinner, and I would like to get to it if that's okay with you," Link asked bluntly, "I had the whole thing planned out before we left, and got the ingredients for a full ready to go in my Korok pouch."

Rhea and Alois stared at the man, who has seemed like a model knight just a moment before, with utter disbelief that he had the gall to ask such a thing in a formal meeting. Meanwhile, Claude just burst into laughter while Edelgard and Dimitri gave a simultaneous groan at Link's antics.

"We just got here, and you already want to know where the kitchens are," Dimitri muttered as he palmed his face, "Why am I not surprised food is the first thing on your mind?"

"Link, our celebration is something that can wait," Edelgard concurred, "I think our explanation to the Archbishop should take priority."

"But you everyone was looking forward to coming home," Link defended adamantly, "I even have all the ingredients picked out!"

"What's for dinner, Teach?" Claude asked, snigger all the while.

"Well, I was thinking I'd give the locals a taste of Hyrule. I have Clam Chowder and Creamy Heart Soup as starters, Meat-Stuffed Pumpkins, a selection of Slow Roasted Gourmet Meats, and Hearty Salmon Meuniere as mains, and a Mighty Banana Fruitcake, Carrot-cakes and a spread of Simmered Fruits as desserts. A little of everything from here and there," Link shrugged, "Besides, think it'll be easier to talk to the Archbishop here if we had some good food to help the story go down. Hyrule is opening diplomatic channels with Fódlan, after all. Wouldn't it be better to do so over a meal?"

"What are we ever going to do with you, my teacher?" Edelgard shook her head.

"Very well then, Link," Zelda giggled at her knight's antics, "Please go prepare a meal for everyone."

"As you wish, Princess." Link saluted.

Rhea was having an unexpectedly hard time following this exchange. Were these really the latest incarnations of the Princess and the Hero?

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"It will probably be some time before Link finishes his preparations for lunch." Zelda said as she and the three former house leaders settled down around the meeting table in Rhea's private office, "But I suppose we can get some of the preliminary explanations out of the way while we wait."

"Yes, I suppose we could do that," Rhea motioned for a servant to set tea around the table for her guests, "I am surprised you and Link came alone to return our students. I would have expected royalty to be accompanied by more than just a personal knight as an escort."

"Your holiness, she didn't come alone," Dimitri declared proudly. "All three of us here have given her our word no harm shall befall her while she is in Fódlan. Do not doubt that the Princess is well protected, and no harm shall befall her on our watch."
"There's also the fact we didn't want literal rock people and shark people walking up to the gates and scaring all the guards. Good thing too given how jumpy everyone seems to be around here." Claude added cheekily.

"Well, Claude isn't wrong there. However, in all honestly… I didn't have a larger escort because I and the peoples of Hyrule could not afford to spare one," Zelda admitted with a sigh, "Our kingdom is still in the process of rebuilding after a great calamity, and every available soldier we have must be used wisely. I deemed Link and your students a sufficient for the purposes of journeying to Fódlan."

"A great calamity, you say?" Rhea raised an eyebrow. It seemed that her earlier thoughts about Hyrule having suffered yet another disaster worthy of legends was not far off the mark. Thankfully, as Zelda had admitted that the Kingdom was on the road to recovery, it would seem the danger seemed to have passed.

"That is correct, your Holiness. Hyrule was almost destroyed calamity, and your students played an integral role in saving Hyrule from it. For their efforts, the peoples of Hyrule owe them a great debt," Zelda affirmed while Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude all sat a little straighter in their seats, "It is my hope that opening dialogue between the peoples of Hyrule and Fódlan can be a way for us to start.

"There must be quite the story behind that."

"Well, the short version is that Hyrule was in desperate need for heroes, and I pulled your students to our Kingdom to help my chosen champion to save it," Zelda stated honestly, "Simply put, Hyrule lacked the resources and manpower needed to survive against a monster known as 'Calamity Ganon' on our own. Your students were our last chance at turning the tables in our favor."

"Please give us more credit, Princess. You make us sound like you were scraping the bottom of the barrel when you nabbed us from our beds." Claude chuckled.

"That's not entirely inaccurate, though. Transporting us to Hyrule was a last-ditch gamble on her part," Dimitri noted with a frown, "One of the reasons why you should be understanding of Princess Zelda's situation is because the situation in Hyrule was truly dire at the time she took us there. Had we not joined her cause, every man, woman and child's there would surely have perished."

"So that's the short version of it. Without us, lots of people would have died." Claude said.

"I see," Rhea asked quizzically. "And the long version?"

"Well the long version… it's not my story to tell as I was… preoccupied for most of it," Zelda turned to look at the three Lords around her. She unclasped the strange rectangular stone that hung from a belt at her hip, and offered it towards Edelgard, "But they lived it, and can tell you of what happened better than I ever could."

"If I may Princess?" Edelgard asked.

"You may, Edelgard."

"It is a very long story, your holiness" Edelgard said, taking the stone from Zelda, "And I do not think that we can cover all of it in a single session."

"It's probably going to take a couple of nights at least to recount the whole thing, even if we stuck to only the most important events." Claude noted.

"Not to mention all the other things the rest of our cohort got up to," Dimitri smiled, "I dare say our exploits would be enough to fill several volumes in the library once it is all documented."

"Still, I do suppose we should tell you only the important details. We need to explain to our governments our disappearance carried no malicious intent." Edelgard said.

"Yeah, it would be bad if we came home only to get caught up in a war." Claude agreed.

Edelgard tapped on the stone, and much to Rhea's shock it began to glow as image flared to life on the flat surface. What Rhea had thought was an inert piece of rock was in fact some kind of device. Seteth wasn't mistaken about Hyrule having access to advanced technology.

"I left Ferdinand, Dedue and Hilda with instructions to speak with the ambassadors while we meet with the Archbishop," Edelgard stated while she flipped through the images on the stone like she was looking for something, "With any luck, our capital cities will receive word of our return before anyone there does anything rash."

"If they don't, rest assured if anyone in Faerghus does anything I will personally ride out to rectify the problem." Dimitri declared confidently, "I am sure it is the same with the two of you as well."

"That goes without saying." Claude smirked. "And I hope you don't mind Edelgard, but I took the liberty of asking Ignaz and Marianne to help Hubert and Ashe look into that side project of yours that you had running before we left. Not that I don't trust you or Dimitri, but after two weeks you never know what kind of nonsense would have cropped up in the interim."

"Thank you, Claude. That saves me the trouble to-Ah, here we go. I found it." Edelgard laid out the stone on the table where Rhea could see, presenting the Archbishop of a picture of a darkened chamber with what appeared to be an open coffin in the very center of room, one filled with a glowing blue liquid.

"You're starting with the Shrine?" Claude tilted his head quizzically. "Wouldn't it be better to just talk about the old man? It's when we learned why and how we got to Hyrule, you know."

"Agreed. Starting from the very beginning would be comprehensive, but I there are more important details the Archbishop needs to know." Dimitri agreed.

"Perhaps, but I think it would be best if we started from the very beginning," Edelgard retorted calmly, "Besides, it was the moment we met Link. Without him, we never would have survived to return home… and Archbishop Rhea did ask for the long version of the story, after all."

"What do you think Princess?" Rhea turned to Zelda with a questioning look.

"It's their story to tell." Zelda admitted with a smile.

"And so I shall, Princess," Edelgard looked down at the picture on the table, a soft, nostalgic smile on her features, "Now, let me tell you of the time we met our teacher…"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THE BIRTH OF NEW LEGENDS

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD/FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES CROSSOVER
By Sasahara17

Prologue - Ballad of a Goddess

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem Franchises belong to their respective copyright holders, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction.

Note: Thank you to Spacebattles User @D.E.X for the title of this fanfic. Full credit should go to him for coming up with it. Anyway, I'm cross posting this this fanfic in case anybody on SV wants to read it... and also in case something happens to SB and the whole thing disappears on me. Wouldn't be the first time!

 

[JoJa]

You magnificent bastard, you went and did it!

NOW, FOR THE GRAMMAR TO BE CORRECTED!!!!

there was no sign of where the missing students and young Falyn had gone.

Click to shrink...

Misspelled Flayn's name here.

Calm yourself, Seteth. We should not assume the worst before we learn more information about what has transpired

Click to shrink...

'Learn More Information' is clunky phrasing, dropping 'information' makes the sentence flow better.

That's just what I saw on a second skimming, good luck to you!

 

[sasahara17]

A/N - And here is the rest of what I have so far. Cheers!

-=-=-=-=-=-

"Lady Edelgard! Lady Edelgard! You must wake up!"

"Urgh, what is it, Hubert? And what did I tell you about barging into my room in the morning?" Edelgard groaned as she pushed herself up with one arm while drearily rubbing the sleep from her eyes with the other. Strange, she didn't remember her bed feeling this hard when she went to bed. More than that, it sas awfully cold. Where her sheets gone?

"Lady Edelgard, this is not your room! We have been abducted!"

"What?!" Edelgard exclaimed as she was roused to full alertness. Now aware of the danger, the heir to the Adrestian throne immediately took in her surroundings.

Hubert, still clad in his sleep wear, who was hovering protectively by her side. His hand held out an orb of light that was the only source of illumination in the darkened chamber around them. The chamber was not very large, and mostly empty of furnishes save for a stone coffin that lay in the very center of the room and what seemed to be a stone pedestal not too far from where Edelhard had awoken from. The air was cold, but breathable, but her cursory look could not find any openings or windows in the stone walls that surrounded her.

The most pressing concern, however, was the fact Edelgard and Hubert were not alone.

"Lady Edelgard, you are awake!" Prince Dimitri, also clad in his nightwear, hurried over to Edelgard's side from where he had just roused a still groggy Dedue, "When Hubert and I woke up in this place, I feared the worst."

Aware that Dimitri and Dedue were present, Edelgard realized there were more abductees. She quickly took stock of the number of unconscious forms still lying about the chamber, and could not believe the number she arrived at. Twenty-one silhouettes in the dark. The first-year students she had only just begun schooling with, plus one other that Edelgard didn't immediately recognize.

Twenty-five people, taken in their sleep. The scale of this kidnapping boggled her mind. All of them trapped with her in this unknown place for an unknown purpose, and more than enough reason for the sole heir of the Adrestian Empire to be alarmed.

"Prince Dimitri. What happened? Where are we? Where is this place?" Edelgard asked as Hubert helped her to her feet. She was fairly sure the Prince was just as clueless as she was, but it never hurt to ask. Already, her mind was running through all the possible culprits who had both the means and the will to carry out a kidnapping of this scale.

Thankfully, Edelgard quickly determined that Dimitri, for all his status as the crown Prince of a rival country, had neither. Dimitri was too honorable, to straightforward for such things. He was the sort of person you would always see coming if he wanted you dead – subtlety and underhanded tatics were just not in his nature. If there was one person Edelgard could trust at this very moment besides Hubert, it was the leader of the Blue Lions.

"I do not know, Edelgard. I was hoping you could tell me." Dimitri answered honestly, "I woke up just about when Sir Hubert did, and I was hoping that you and Claude could.. Dedue? What are you-?"

"Stand behind me, your highness. There is foul play afoot, and we do not know if they are behind it." Dedue imposed himself in between the two Black Eagles and his liege, using his own impressive form as a shield for Dimitri. Edelgard had to give Dimitri's retainer credit where it was due. He had just woken up in an unfamiliar place wearing only his sleeping shorts, but stared down Hubert without a hint of fear to protect his lord.

The sad part is, had Edelgard or Hubert been given more time to put their plans into action, in any other situation Dedue might have had a point. But at the moment, Dedue 's prudence was counterproductive and preventing them from dealing with the real problem. Worse, it was clear Hubert had similar thoughts.

"I could say the same to you, man of Duscur. Your people are infamous for their treachery, are they not? If we are the innocent party, then it would be you who are the suspicious one." Hubert replied, raising the hand holding the orb of light aloft to remind Dedue of his status as a mage and the fact he was still armed.

"Perhaps. However, the son of Count Vestra would be equally suspect of such things. Your father's actios towards the Emperor are infamous as well, are they not?" Dedue retorted. Hubert's scowl only deepened upon being reminded of his father's betrayal of his family's sworn duty.

The tension between the two retainers was clear, as neither man was willing to trust the other or back down. Worse, Edelgard had noticed that the commotion between the two was beginning to case a few of their classmates to stir. It wouldn't be long before others woke up and saw the confrontation. More people being drawn in was the very last thing Edelgard needed right now, so it was with a heavy sigh Edelgard intervened.

"Hubert, stand down," Edelgard ordered as she willingly stepped in front of her loyal aide and, in a symbolic way, outside his protection, "I sense we are all victims here. Arguing with our fellow students is the very last thing we need right now."

"As you command, Lady Edelgard." Hubert obeyed dutifully as he fell back into line.

"You should stand down as well, Dedue," Dimitri quickly added, "If the Empire were behind this abduction, I do not think they would have allowed me to wake up before Edelgard would. Or have allowed her to be abducted in her night dress."

"As you command, your highness." Dedue said, albeit with more reluctance than Hubert did. Although Dedue still seemed cautious the confrontation had thankfully been defused... and not a moment too soon, as many of the students started to rose themselves from unconsciousness.

"Urgh, when did the bed get so hard? I am going to so complain to the staff about the quality of their bedding." Hildegarde complained from where she had been curled up next to the coffin.

"Too early... wake me up when the sun is at midday..." Linhardt mumbled at the base of a stone pedestal near one of the far walls before going right back to sleep.

"Oh, man. What time is it?" Claude von Reigan moaned softly while he sat up, "It doesn't feel like it is the right time for my morning meditation... wait, where am I?"

One by one, with only the one exception of Linhardt, the other young men and women that had been in the room slowly rejoined the world of the waking. Twenty other young men and women, about to find out they had been stolen right from their beds, without any explanation as to how or why, and stranded in a place that by all appearances seemed to be a sealed tomb. Edelgard turned to Dimitri with a concerned look.

"We don't know where we are, what is going on, or who is behind this," Edelgard said quickly, her keen mind already trying to form plans to handle the potential situation of panicking students, "Worse, there aren't any Professors or Knights around. For all we know, we are the only ones here."

"Please do not be saying what I think you are saying." Dimitri paled.

"The others are going to look to the House Leaders for guidance. You. Me. Claude? We are in change." Edelgard summed up with a worried glance. "They are going to look to us for leadership."

"I was afraid you were going to say that." Dimitri answered nervously, "By the gods. Between you and me, Edelgard? I am not looking forward to dealing with this."

Although she would never admit it aloud, for to do so would be sign of weakness Edelgard would never allow herself, Edelgard agreed wholeheartedly with that sentiment..

And then Bernadetta von Varley woke up.

"WH-WHERE AM I? WHAT IS-IS THAT A COFFIN? AM I IN A TOMB? I-I-I AM IN A TOMB!" A terrified Bernadetta shrieked at the top of her lungs upon realizing where she was, "OH, NO-NO-NO-NO...! IT'S FINALLY HAPPENED! I'M DEAD, AREN'T I? I'M DEAD!"

"...she's one of yours?" Dimitri said to Edelgard sheepishly as the future Empress gave an audible sigh while Hubert and Dedue both rushed over to calm the panicking noblewoman before her hysterical terror could spread.

Well, at least it Edelgard could take comfort in the fact nobody had chosen to sleep in the nude last night. That would have just been the worst.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Thankfully, it didn't take very much to silence Bernadetta and stop the panic from spreading to the others. Granted, Edelgard would have preferred calming the timid girl down instead of Hubert's questionable, albeit effective, method of rendering poor Bernadetta unconscious by scaring her into a dead faint, but for the greater good it had to be done. Still, it was a rare sight for Edelgard to see the ever-stoic Hubert look embarrassed.

"I swear to you Lady Edelgard, all I did was greet her and introduce myself. I am not sure how that resulted in Miss Bernadetta passing out, but it did." Hubert explained while he finished propping Bernadetta up against the nearby wall in the corner of the chamber that the Black Eagles has chosen to assemble.

Now that everyone was awake, save for the unconscious Bernadetta, Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude had quickly put together a rudimentary plan to assess the situation. The leaders of the three house leaders had all taken their respective houses to their own separate corners of the room for a brief discussion among solely their own house members.

Officially, this was so they could check on the health and wellbeing of their fellow housemates in a more organized fashion.

Unofficially, it was also so that each house leader everyone could talk privately on anything they did not want to share outside of their own house before everyone regrouped.

Edelgard saw the sad necessity behind this, of course. As much as every student at Garreg Mach was supposedly a child attending under the flag of peace, at the end of the day each house represented a different rival polity that could not afford show weakness in front of the other nations. In a situation like this, where their very survival could be at stake, the slightest advantage or disadvantage between the three houses could have dire repercussions for their nations in the future... so naturally, her Black Eagles decided to fixate on something else entirely.

"You know, Hubert. It probably has to do with the way the shadows on your face from holding that light orb under it make you look like some kind of serial killer," Caspar helpfully supplied, "If your face was the first thing I saw when I woke up, I'd have a pretty big fright too."

"I'll say. Hubie, you really have to be more mindful about the way you act around other people," Dorothea admonished, "Poor Bernie was scared nearly half to death!"

"And as I said before, I did not intend to scare her." Hubert shook his head defensively.

"How is Bernadetta able to be sleeping with her eyes and mouth open like that? It is amazing feat," Petra said with wondrously as she studied the unconscious noble, "I have no seen person react like this before. In Brigid, if animal freeze like this when faced with predator, then it will be food."

"That is quite true. I would have thought a noble lady of Bernadetta's upbringing would have reacted better to danger. I am now questioning Count Varley's wisdom in send young Bernadetta to the Academy instead of private tutoring. Her temperament does not seem suited for it." Ferdinand placed a hand under his chin thoughtfully.

"Maybe she just likes napping? I mean, I do," Linhardt yawned as he summoned his own magical orb of illumination to aid Hubert in lighting the Black Eagle's corner of the room, "If we hadn't just been abducted from our own beds, I'd say she had the right idea."

Edelgard resisted the urge to drop her face into her hands out of pure frustration. Granted it had only been a short time since the school year had started and Edelgard was still getting used to leading them, the future Empress was still having trouble at not how random and colorful her housemates could be. They were certainly a far cry from the usual subordinates she was used to commanding before starting at the Acadremy, and it was times like this Edelgard truly wondered for the future of Adrestia and her own ambitions.

Still, as the future leader of the Empire, it was Edelgard's duty to lead her housemates rightly, so she had better get to it before Dimitri and Claude finished their own discussions.

"Okay, everyone that is enough. Enough talk over Bernadetta here," Edelgard clapped her hands to draw the attention of the other Eagles back onto her, "We do have more pressing issues to discuss."

"Edelgard! I am aghast!" Ferdinand rounded on her with an expression of genuine surprise, "Can you not see we are assessing the health of Miss Varley, here? Was it not the purpose of this meeting to ensure the good health of our fellow students? I am shocked you would say there are more 'pressing issues' than Bernadetta's well-being!"

It was also times like this Edelgard was reminded of her keen dislike of Ferdinand von Aegir.

"Bernadetta's current state is obvious for all to see," Edelgard said while keeping her irritation at bay, "What I need to know now is if anyone else is injured, or any anyone here has anything we can use to defend ourselves in case we need to."

"What, like weapons? All I got on me is my jammies." Caspar threw his arms out helplessly.

"Well, as for me, what you see is what you are get," Dorothea sighed while folding her arms over her nightdress to protect her modesty, "As good as my looks are, I don't think a pretty face and a nice singing voice are going to get us very far."

"There is the fact you are a mage. Your knowledge of magic would be much more useful than your past as a songstress." Linhardt pointed out.

"I'm not that good at it yet, though. I mean, we just started schooling," Dorothea noted, "That is not to say I can't use magic, but if we went against a fully trained war mage, I wouldn't like my chances."

"It is more than what I can do right now." Petra chimed in happily, "I have no sword, bow or knife. You have magic. Is better for us that you do."

"Yes. It is fortunate then that we have three mages in among our number," Hubert mused, "while this is only a slight advantage over what the each of other houses have, it may be a decisive one."

"Hold on, Hubie. Are you seriously comparing us against the others?" Dorothea frowned disapprovingly.

"Yeah, Hubert! We gotta work together if we want to beat up the guys who put us there!" Caspar said with a clenched first.

"While I do think the situation is suspicious, to presume guilt without evidence would also be a mistake. Alienating potential allies when our options and available resources are so limited is just as dangerous." Ferdinand added firmly.

"I am sure Hubert here was just making an observation," Edelgard stepped in quickly before any more could be said, "However he is right in the fact our greater number of mages would mean we can contribute more to the group effort."

"I seriously doubt our one extra magic user will make that much of a difference if you plan to leverage our meagre advantage to gain favor with the other house leaders." Linhardt replied tiredly.

Edelgard closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath. This was so unlike her previous experiences in leadership. Must her house mates be so difficult? She hadn't talked with Dimitri and Claude about their own experiences as house leaders, but Edelgard doubted the students in other houses would be so problematic.

"Excuse me," Edelgard and the other Black Eagles turned to see a young girl with long green hair and wearing a conservative black dress approaching the Black Eagles' corner of the chamber, "If it were not too much trouble, would it be possible for me to join your class for the purposes of this discussion? I would very much appreciate it."

"It is no trouble at all," Edelgard said aloud, although inwardly her suspicions and alertness were heightened at the girl's approach, "Miss Flayn, was it? If I am not mistaken, you are Sir Seteth's ward."

"That is correct. Seteth is my brother," Flayn bowed respectfully at the waist in gratitude at her inclusion, "I am honored that you would allow me to join your class, Lady Edelgard."

"The honor is ours. You are the sister of the Archbishop's personal aide, after all. It would be remiss of us to turn you away in a time of need." Edelgard stated rationally.

"I am grateful! It would seem that the stories I have read about House Hresvelg's closeness with the church were accurate!" Flayn clapped her hands together in delight. "I had a feeling you would help me in my time of need, and it is good to see I was right!"

Edelgard had to blink in confusion at the earnest expression that Flayn was giving her. Did... did Flayn not know of the tensions in between the various Polities of Fódlan and the sects of the Church? The Empire may have had historically had good relations with the central Church, but those good relations had cooled in recent decades due to the growing political rift. In fact, if anything Edelgard would have thought the Blue Lions were a more logical refuge for a ward of the church.

Or perhaps... there was a more sinister purpose the sister of Archbishop Rhea's right hand approaching them. After all, Flayn was the only one halfway dressed in the group, and the only non-student present. Considering the secretive nature of the Church, there may be more to young Flayn than met the eye. Edelgard would have to be cautious in her dealings with this young woman.

"Forgive me, Miss Flayn, and I truly mean no offence when I say this... but I have to ask, would it not have been better for you to be with the Blue Lions?" Edelgard said evenly, her sharp mind quickly putting together the perfect excuse, "Aside from the fact relations between Faerghus and the Church are far better than those with the Empire, one of our number accidentally frightened another into unconsciousness..."

"Lady Edelgard?!" Hubert exclaimed while several of the other Black Eagles began to snigger at his expense.

"...so we are not in the best shape to receive you right now." Edelgard finished without reacting to Hubert's outburst. She mentally apologized to her loyal retainer though, but it had been the only way she would think of to ask Flayn this question without arousing too much suspicion.

"You would be correct, Lady Edelgard. My first thought was to go to Prince Dimitri and the Blue Lions for aid," Flayn confirmed with a slight blush, "However, when I approached them, I found that they were having a slight... disagreement..."

A loud slap echoed through the chamber, and all heads turned to look at the Blue Lion's corner of the room, where one Sylvain Jose Gautier was rubbing the side of his face after one Ingrid Brandl Galatea had slapped him as hard as she could across his right cheek.

"I can't believe you, Sylvain! We have been kidnapped and might be in a life or death situation, and you still find time to crack jokes about Mercedes' nightwear? What is wrong with you?" Ingrid seethed at the redheaded Casanova.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Ingrid." Slyvain withered under her angry glare.

"Ingrid, please, I don't really mind. It was my mistake." A clearly embarrassed Mercedes tried to quell her fellow housemates, but failed miserably.

"You said she was practically NAKED! You even referenced what happened two mornings ago!" Ingrid fumed, "Apologize to her right now!"

"I agree with Ingrid, Sylvain. That was a very inappropriate comment you made to Mercedes. You should apologize immediately!" Dimitri admonished, only to have the wind taken out of his sails when Felix gave a derisive snort from his side.

"Stop wasting our time the chivalrous act, Boar Prince. So, Mercedes' nightgown is almost see through. Big deal. Like being naked matters when we might be hostages or worse." Felix scoffed.

"I have told you before, and I shall tell you again. Do not call my Prince that name." Dedue growled threateningly as he loomed over the swordsman.

"I will call the Boar Prince whatever the hell I please... dog." Felix retorted defiantly while meeting Dedue's stern gaze without even flinching.

"Come now, Felix," Dimitri stepped between the two in an attempt to play peacekeeper, "This is no time to-"

"Get out of my face, Boar Prince."

"...It is as I said. The Blue Lions seemed to experiencing… disagreements… and so I thought it best to seek other company," Flayn turned back to Edelgard with a smile, "then I noticed the Black Eagles seemed to be getting along much better, so I decided to come over. Does that not make sense?"

"I see…. Oh, my..." Edelgard said, continuing to watch in morbid fascination with the rest of the Black Eagles as the situation in the Blue Lions corner continued to deteriorate. She could not see how the Golden Deers were reacting to the scene, but from what Edelgard could tell, the Blue Lions were not in a good place right now.

Poor Dimitri looked like he was being run ragged trying to deal with both arguments at once.

If all Edelgard had to deal with were a few eccentricities, perhaps the eccentric whimsies of her new house weren't so bad after all.

-=-=-=-=-=-

The room was much better lit now that the other students were awake, and every one of the mages had created their own light source. The students had all dispersed around the room, either investigating points of interest or attempting to scavenge what little resources there were. While this was happening, the three house leaders once again reconvened in hopes they could come up a better plan than, in Claude's words, 'poking around aimlessly in hopes of something happening'.

"My apologies for the conduct of my house," Dimitri said to the other house leaders once the trio and their retainers reconvened near the 'coffin' at center of the chamber, "Tensions are understandably high and it took a moment for us to calm down. Trust in my words that it will not happen again."

"That's a bit of an understatement if I ever heard one, Dimitri," Claude replied, leaning back with his arms behind his head while Hilda idly picked at her fingernails beside him, "but, if that's the way you want to sell it to the rest of us, your call."

"I am pleased to report the Black Eagles are all in good health. Well, Bernadetta being the exception of course," Edelgard quickly informed the other two house leaders, "I am also pleased to report that while we are all unarmed, Hubert, Linhardt and Dorothea are all well rested and have access to their spells in case we need to defend ourselves. Miss Flayn also said she is well versed in Faith magic, should we have need of her assistance."

"Same here for the Deer. Marianne and Lysithea are both ready to go," Claude happily reported, "Raphael is also pretty good at fisticuffs too, so I have him on standby in case we need a brawler. By the way, I've got Marianne, Ignatz and Leonie searching the place for stuff. All we have are small rocks so far, but Leonie thinks we can make a makeshift sling out of some cloth we have, so we aren't completely helpless. Lysithea and Lorenz are also checking what appears to be a door we found near our corner of the room. It's shut tight so war, but it could be a way out."

"Well, Linhardt and Caspar are looking into that pedestal they woke up next to. Aside from the coffin, it seems to be other only other major fixture in the room. There must be a reason why it is there," Edelgard stated firmly, not about to be outdone by the easy-going Claude and his Golden Deers, "Linhardt also noted we seem to have breathable air, so there must be some form of ventilation. I have the other Eagles checking the walls for openings."

"Has Bernadetta woken up yet?" Claude cheekily asked.

"Sadly, no, but I have Flayn watching her. Besides, I doubt she would be much use in this situation." Edelgard admitted sourly, quickly turning to the Dimitri before Claude could respond, "Dimitri. Do you have anything to report?"

"...the Blue Lions are ready and able to assist any way we can." A visibly embarrassed Dimitri said without elaborating further. While Edelgard did not doubt the Blue Lions had many capable members, she knew Dimitri had just settled two separate arguments before coming over and thus had little time for anything else than just ordering them all to scavenge for usable items instead of something more complex.

"Well, so long as everyone call pull their own weight, I don't see a problem." Claude said with a grin, "anyway, anyone have any idea how we got here? I asked around, and none of mine have a clue."

"I am sorry to say the Blue Lions are just as lost as you in this regard," Dimitri let out an honest sigh, "I briefly discussed the matter with the others, and we can't think of anyone with the means of kidnapping all of us from our beds in the span of a single night."

"There have been rumors of abductions in Garreg Mach in the past few years." Hilda supplied from where she stood at Claude's side, "I heard a few members of the faculty gossiping about it."

"Yes. I too have heard of those rumors... but an abduction of this scale? Under the watch of the Knights of Seiros? Even if someone could do such a thing, none would dare!" Dimitri insisted.

Edelgard kept her face neutral as she listened to the theories go back and forth between the group. Unlike her peers, she could think of one group capable of executing of such an abduction. However, she also knew they wouldn't have done so, because showing their hand at this early stage would disrupt all their own carefully laid plans. That left only one other party capable of acting freely in Gaarreg Mach. But why would the Church involve one of their own? Unless...

"Lady Edelgard, you seem deep in thought," Dimitri observed, "do you have anything to add?"

"Nothing much, Dimitri. I just do not think this line of inquiry is not the best use of our time. Perhaps could should focus less on apportioning the blame for now, and discussing more about our present predicament," Edelgard replied, stowing her suspicions for another time as she quickly refocused on the present, "Besides, if we truly have been taken by a hostile party, it will only be a matter of time before they show themselves before us. We can worry about a confrontation then, and prioritize more important things first."

"Edelgard has a pretty good point, ther-"

Claude had just barely said those words when the whole chamber began shaking. Glowing blue lines, glyphs, suddenly sprang to life all over the walls and the ceiling, sending many students who had been studying their surroundings tumbling onto their backs in fright.

"What in the name of the Goddess!?" Dimitri exclaimed while the every surefooted Dedue gripped his arm to steady his lord.

"Protect me, Claude!" Hilda squeaked as she and her leader both ran for cover.

"Linhardt did it!" Caspar accused from over where her and Linhardt had been studying the pedestal.

"Caspar pushed something!" An uncharacteristically wide eyed and alert Linhardt shouted to hastily defend himself.

"If whatever you to buffoons did hurts so much as a hair on Lady Edelgard's head, I will end you!" Hubert snarled as he gripped Edelgard's shoulders and began to drag her to a more defensible corner of the room... just in time too.

Much to Edelgard's shock, the stony ceiling above the coffin, now glowing with blue glyphs, seemed to curve downward like water as the ancient stone reached towards the sealed coffin below...

"Oh... my head... why is everything in my room shaking...I just had the weirdest dream I was in a TOOOOO-IT WAS ALL REAL, I'M GOING TO DIE!"

...and with a thunderous sound the glowing surfaces connected. Then, the ceiling began to retract, but this time taking the lid of the coffin with it. A Pale blue light burst from within the liberated confines of the now opened coffin as the sound of terrified screams from several students reverberated through the air.

Then, just as the ceiling had raised the coffin's lid of a respectable height, everything stopped. For a few tense moments, every one of the students remained frozen in place as the last tremors in the chambered ebbed away. Finally, when Edelgard was certain the room had stopped shaking, someone spoke up.

"It... it's not a Strigori, i-is it? I... I read about s-such monsters in the l-library. T-they sleep in coffins!" Bernadetta mewled in fear while she huddled in a fetal position to protect herself, "No-no-no! I Don't want to have by blood drained!"

"D-don't b-be absurd, B-Bernadetta! S-S-Strigori only e-exist in fairy tales!" Lysithea von Ordelia replied from out from under Raphael, who had thrown himself over her smaller body to protect her, "W-we'll be fine! Use some common sense!"

"And a tomb with glowing blue runes on the walls and ceiling that sakes and rumbles is your idea common sense?!" Annette, having lost her feet in the quake, whimpered in terror from where she lay on the ground. She was still trembling in fear when Dimitri and Dedue rushed over to help her and Mercedes back to their feet. In fact, most of the students were.

"Oh, for the love of-Hubert, with me." Edelgard rolled her eyes and, uncaring that everyone else was still trying to get back on their feet, marched over to the open casket that was now before her. While Dimitri was too busy helping his housemates regain their footing and Claude remained, as always, on the side-lines, Edelgard intended to face her destiny as she always did: Head on.

"Are you sure this is wise, Lady Edelgard?" Hubert said as he walked ever dutifully by her side, "there could be a danger...

"If there is a danger, I will not cower before it." Edelgard stated resolutely, taking the last few steps she needed to peer into the coffin to see what lay hidden within. Idly, Edelgard noted she and Hubert were not alone in being proactive, for Miss Flayn had come up right beside her and was also moving to investigate.

Considering most of their peers were still floundering around, Edelgard mentally noted Flayn was definitely more than just a normal girl if her response to danger was similar to Edelgards'. This thought was one Edelgard would have to follow up later, for at that moment the she had her attention focused on what lay before her.

The interior of the 'coffin' was filled with a glowing blue liquid, clearly of magical origin. However, the liquid was quickly receding from the casket, slowly revealing the sleeping form of a young man. He appeared to be the true secret that had been concealed within, and a cursory inspection of his unmoving form glance hinted to Edelgard as to why.

The young man looked to be about Edelgard's age, perhaps lightly older. Clad only in a modest pair of boxer shorts, Edelgard was given a near uncontested view of his body... but alas, at first it didn't seem it was much to look at. His build was average, perhaps even a bit skinny and poorly maintained when compared to Edelgard's more active classmates. His shoulder length blonde hair was fanned out behind his head, and his handsome features seemed to be the only standout thing about him. To most taking a cursory look, this stranger would have been an ordinary, if good looking, young man.

However, Edelgard saw more.

Faint scars from dozens, maybe even hundreds, of past injuries visible on his skin drew Edelgard's attention almost immediately… a permanent record of a life of hardship and battle, carved upon his skin. Never had Edelgard seen so many scars on a single person, not even herself. Moreover, if Edelgard's instincts were correct, some of the scars that marked his form would have come from wounds that would have killed most mortal men. That his chest still rose and fell hinted to him being more skilled than most. Although his posture was resting, Edelgard noticed the fingers of his right hand seemed to curl, as if instinctively grasping for the handle of a weapon that he would normally have kept by his side.

There was no doubt in Edelgard's mind this man was a warrior, and that made him very interesting to her. And there was one last thing...

"His ears..." Flayn gasped, the girl's eyes locked on the sharp pointed ears of the young man before them. Yes, Edelgard had found a most interesting person indeed.

Then, his eyes opened… and the stranger immediately was greeted by a Miasma spell to the face.

-=-=-=-=-=-

Edelgard, caught so completely flat footed by the aduacity of Hubert's actions, found herself unable to respond. She could only watch in shocked amazement as Hubert knocked the stranger out the second the sleeping man regained consciousness, tied him up with a makeshift rope made from Raphael's night shirt of all things, and drag the new prisoner into the center of the room for an interrogation. Edelgard obviously did not approve of any of this, both literally and figuratively, but Hubert was adamant it had to be done out as the prudent course of action.

"I know you are not happy about these arrangements, Lady Edelgard, but I assure you that if there is any individual that would ever be considered as a suspicious person, this man would be it." Hubert insisted as he and a much less enthusiastic Raphael deposited the unconscious stranger in the center of the gathered students.

"Hubert, you didn't even give this man a chance to explain himself," Edelgard said, her disapproval dripping from her voice, "He just opened his eyes, and before he could even get a word off you had Miasma going off in his face! What if you'd killed him?"

"I have to agree! This man is clearly of more use to us alive than dead," Dimitri added with a glare, "If he is a party to our kidnapping, his death would have prevented us from getting information from his. If he is blameless, then we would be responsible for the death of an innocent man!"

"That would not have happened, Prince Dimitri. My control over that spell is impeccable. I merely gathered enough toxic fumes to put the man to sleep instead of inflicting lethal damage like the spell is normally wont to do. Besides, Miss Flayn was next to us at the time. If I had miscalculated, her healing smells would have surely prevented undue loss of life." Hubert informed them all logically, "besides, had this man been a mage with hostile intensions, allowing him to speak would be akin to allowing an assassin the opportunity to pick up a knife, or an archer a bow and arrows. Given Lady Edelgard was so close and time of the essence, I took to initiative to neutralize a possible threat. Was I wrong to do so?"

Instead of reassuring the others, Hubert's very thorough explanation instead caused many of the other students to shuffle away from the retainer with anxious looks.

"Well, uh, you were not wrong in a technical sense..." Dimitri muttered, unable to fault Hubert's logic while remaining deeply uncomfortable the whole situation.

"Your highness, much as I do not care to admit it, Hubert's logic is sound. Had I been in the same situation, I would likely had acted in the same way." Dedue said.

"Please don't." Dimitri replied.

"Sir Hubert, I am out of practice! I am not sure that I would have been able to intervene quickly enough had this man been moved to death's door!" Flayn quickly informed Hubert, who merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"It was a calculated risk. I assure you I have full faith in your abilities, Miss Flayn." Hubert responded firmly.

"Did... did Hubert just roll the dice on this man's life? Miasma kills people, right?" Annette whispered to an equally horrified Mercedes, who nodded dumbly in response to confirm the other girl's fears, "Oh, good. I didn't think I was wrong about that. That is... nice to know."

"I am starting to see why you handed your shirt over to Hubert without a fight, Raphael." Ignatz chuckled nervously.

"Hey, when a scary man with dark magic asks for your shirt to tie up some poor guy he just knocked out, you give the scary man with dark magic your shirt." Raphael replied crossing his arms were crossed over his bare chest. Judging from the fearful looks the big man was giving her retainer Edelgard suspected his shivering had nothing to do with the cold.

"No-no-no-no-no... I am stuck in the same house as a serial killer. I knew this Academy was going to be the death of me!" Bernadetta whimpered, "I want to go back to my room! Back to my room where Hubert can't get me!"

Edelgard was unable to stop herself from running an open palm down the side of her face. While she appreciated Hubert's prudence most of the time, it was instances like this where she wished he had a bit more tact in the execution of his duties.

"Edelgard... your right-hand man is one scary, scary man. This makes me thankful none of my housemates like this," Claude remarked at seeing Edelgard's dismay before turning to look at the prisoner, "So! What do we actually know about this guy? Do we have a name at least?"

"No name, unfortunately. Hubert knocked him out before he even managed to get a word out," Edelgard reminded the archer.

"So, basically, we know nothing about this guy, why he was sleeping in that chamber, or what any of this even is?" Hilda threw her hands up in the air. "well, it's back square one now."

"Not so. We now have a prisoner," Hubert noted while a curious Petra prodded the coconscious form of the stranger with her foot. Much to everyone's surprise the stranger started to stir in response, "He appears to be coming back to his senses. How fortunate."

"Good. Maybe then we can finally get some answers." Edelgard decided firmly while shooting Hubert a glare, warning him not to knock out the prisoner again before she could get what she wanted out of him. Granted Edelgard didn't think Hubert would do so now that the stranger was at their mercy, but she wasn't about to take any chances after the first time.

The stranger gave a low groan as consciousness returned to him. Mumbling inaudibly to himself, he groggily shifted from where he was lying down to a cross-legged seated position, seemingly without even noticing the students that surrounded him.

"Urh... my head... why does my body feel so weak?" The stranger complained once his voice became loud enough to be heard, "and why are you telling me to wake up, lady? I don't even know you..."

Edelgard, and several others around the room, briefly cast her eyes about the chamber. No one among their number had spoken. Perhaps the effects of sleep were still causing the man some confusion by making him hear voices?

"Guh... why is it so cold? And why is my bed so hard.... wait, why are my arms tied behind my back?"

"Good Sir. If I could have your attention, if you would please." Hubert cleared his throat and kneeled down to bring himself to the stranger's eye level. The stranger blearily turned to look at Hubert, and his unfocused, drowsy eyes met the retainers' own dead on.

"Huh, who are yoooooooo-WHO THE HECK ARE YOU?" The young man's eyes widened considerably as sleep practically fled from him. In an instant, the prisoner had gone to full alertness upon seeing Hubert's charming visage only inches from his face, "WHY ARE YOU-WERE YOU WATCHING ME SLEEP?"

"Uh, Hubie, what did we just talk about with Bernadetta?" Dorothea whispered in an attempt to remind the retainer about what happened earlier, to no avail.

"Your attention, if you would please. There are questions to be asked." Hubert stated firmly. Alas, the stranger understandably had other things in mind at that very moment.

"W-Who are you people?" The stranger shuffled back away from the students in fear, eyes darting from face to face in a blind panic, "Why are my arms...I'm a prisoner? Y-you've taken me prisoner! What are you going to do to me?"

"We're the ones asking the questions." Hubert said stoically as he advanced upon the panicked stranger like the creeping doom, "Your name and affiliation. Now."

"...Is it wrong that I feel sorry for this poor chump?" Caspar muttered to Linhardt from just behind Edelgard, "leaving him to Hubert... Man, I feel like we're the bad guys now."

"Dedue?" Dimitri stated firmly.

"Yes, your highness?" Dedue responded.

"Don't EVER get this bad. Make it a standing order."

Edelgard's left hand joined her right in cupping her face in mortification. This was not how she had wanted the interrogation to pan out, at all.

"Give me your name and what I want to know, and we can make this as quick and painless as possible." Hubert leaned forward towards the trembling stranger, his magical orb in his hands casting sinister shadows across his face.

"I-I-I don't... wait, I'm naked?" The stranger blinked in realization, looking down at himself and seeing he was clothed in a pair of form fitting underclothes. "I'm... naked."

He looked up at the group of students before him, eyes lingering on the fact a good number of those gathered before him were of the female persuasion. Many of whom had also had been stuck with the fact he was baring practically everything about himself to them.

"I'm naked." He repeated, face turning a spectacular shade of crimson. "I'm naked."

Then his eyes settled upon an equally red face Bernadetta, who was peeking out at him from behind Dedue. Then they both screamed.

-=-=-=-=-=-

"It took us a while to get them both to stop," Edelgard admitted awkwardly, "With all the screaming they did, I think we could be excused for thinking that we had a second Bernadetta on our hands for a moment there."

Rhea wasn't quite sure how to respond to the story that Edelgard had just told. While the Archbishop the very picture of serenity while she patiently sat and listened to Edelgard's tale, inwardly the woman was completely baffled by what she was hearing.

The stories of her youth, the cherished legends her mother had told her had described a gallant figure who stood unyielding against evil. Whether skyward bound, adrift in time, or steeped in the glowing embers of twilight, the Chosen Hero of the Goddess would stand ever resolute in the face of tyranny for his beloved. While she had forgotten much in the long life she had lived, Rhea already remembered that the tales of this courageous warrior had been some of Rhea's most cherished childhood memories, and had remained with her even after the dark times had come.

Edelgard had just told her that the abducted students had sucker punched her childhood hero with Miasma, tied him up, and then proceeded to scare the poor soul half to death within minutes of actually meeting him. Rhea couldn't help but be a little disappointed that the man her mother used to tell her stories about to keep the nightmares away was… less impressive than the stories.

"In Link's defense, he'd just woken up from a hundred-year slumber after he'd been wounded in battle," Princess Zelda coughed into her hand with some embarrassment, "His muscles were atrophied after his long sleep, as were his senses. He was far from his top form at the time."

"I'm sorry, Princess Zelda. Did you just say Sir Link was asleep for a hundred years?" Rhea tilted her head in confusion. She remembered the story of the Hero of Time, and how he'd been sequestered in the sacred realm for his own safety for seven years, but there was a quite a difference between seven years and a hundred.

"Asleep is, perhaps, not quite the right word," Princess Zelda raised an upright figure in a lecturing gesture, suddenly beaming with energy and excitement, "The 'Shrine of Resurrection' is medical facility with the ability to heal grievous, even mortal, injuries. This is accomplished through a combination of a synthesized chemical cocktail designed to reconstitute missing or injured organs and tissues, and a stasis function that can be activated and maintained until healing is complete. Purrah and I also hypothesize that surgical machines smaller than the naked eye can see might also be involved, but so far we have not had the opportunity or funding to run tests to find them…"

"Whoa, slow down there, Princess! I don't think the Archbishop needs to know all that!" Claude waved a hand in front of Zelda's face to interrupt her excited rambling. Indeed, Rhea's eyes were staring at Zelda with unfocused eyes wide as teacup saucers because she had been unable to parse any of what the Princess had just said.

"O-oh! Of course. How rude of me. I must apologize. The ancient technologies of the Sheikah are an area of interest for me, so I couldn't help myself," Princess Zelda quickly gathered herself, "the point is that so long as a prospective the patient still has vital functions, however weak, when brought to the Shrine, the facility will be capable of saving them."

"And Sir Link was…?" Rhea asked cautiously.

"Mortally injured, approximately one hundred years prior to his awakening and meeting your students. From Purrah and Impah's notes on the matter, I am given to understand that Link suffered from no less than internal bleeding from two of his vital organs, namely his liver and left kidney, three lacerations on his extremities and his lower back, a fractured radius on his sword arm…." Zelda began to rattle off more terms that Rhea did not care for as she continued to elaborate on the injuries her Chosen Hero had suffered.

Rhea had already suspected it, but much like the Chosen Hero, it would seem that the latest incarnation of the Princess, Zelda, was not quite what the legends described either. Granted her mothers' stories had been quite clear that every mortal incarnation of the Goddess Hylia would be different in some way, such as the one that had started off her adventure as a pirate or the one that had the skills of a trained assassin, but Rhea would never have expected the living vessel of the White Goddess of Light and Magic… to be a scientist. And one very much like Hanneman at that!

Rhea honestly wondered what her mother would have thought of that.

"…and his amnesia could also have been a symptom of brain damage from a lack of oxygen after his injured lungs cut off the supply of oxygen to his brain. Honestly, it is a real testament to the wonders of Sheikah science that the Shrine was able to heal even that!" Zelda puffed her chest out proudly as she finished. That is, until Zelda noticed that Rhea had slipped back into a dumfounded countenance, and the three house leads were looking at her with varying expressions of amusement and irritation. "I'm doing it again, aren't I?"

"Princess, perhaps it would be best to leave Edelgard to do the talking?" Dimitri said, the corners of his lips twitching upwards in mirth while Edelgard frowned at Zelda in quiet displeasure. Claude on the other hand had a hand over his mouth and was working hard to quell his quaking shoulders… and failing quite badly.

"Perhaps a technical explanation can wait for some other time, Princess Zelda? I do believe Lady Rhea does not need to know such a comprehensive breakdown of Link's injuries at the moment." Edelgard quirked an eyebrow.

"I… I guess you are right about that. Sorry for troubling you all again. I shall leave you to it, Edelgard." Zelda said quickly as she backed away before she could embarrass herself any further. It was at that very moment, that a loud knock sounded at Rhea's office door.

"I asked not to be disturbed." Rhea called out firmly but politely.

"Lady Rhea. It is I, Seteth. May I come in?" The familiar voice of Rhea's trusted aide called from the other side when challenged. Seeing no issue with Seteth joining the discussion, especially since it was becoming increasingly clear that Flayn had played a major part in the adventure, Rhea welcomed him in. It was to her surprise that he was not alone.

"Hello, everyone!" Link said cheerfully as he followed Seteth in while pushing in a wooden cart filled with afternoon snacks and still brewing tea, "I knew you were all having an important discussion, so cooked up some tea and snacks on the fly to make sure nobody went hungry."

"Aw, Teach. Wildberry Crepe? You shouldn't have!" Claude rubbed his hands eagerly while Zelda's chosen champion went about setting out the table ware for all the attendees.

"That is very considerate of you, my teacher," Edelgard beamed warmly as she caught a whiff od Bergamot from the tea set he'd brought in, "Very, very considerate of you."

"Sorry, Dimitri. I couldn't bake Monster Cake for you as I didn't want to frighten the Archbishop with it until I could explain what it was," Link smiled apologetically when he handed Dimitri a small paper bag, "Her are some Monster Rice Balls for you in the meantime."

"You are far too good to me, Sir Link." Dimitri bowed his head in appreciation.

"Lady Rhea, my apologies for my lateness. I needed to see to Flayn before resuming my duties." Seteth settled down in the empty seat adjacent to Rhea while Link was getting the meal ready.

"That is quite alright, Seteth." Rhea reassured the man.

Although Rhea didn't express it quite as openly, Flayn was just as important to Rhea as she was to Seteth. In fact, had Rhea not been attending to this meeting, she would have prioritised seeing to Flayn's well-being before all other factors. The Archbishop understood all too well how important family was, and family had been her guiding star throughout all these years.

"How is Flayn? I trust she is well, and in good company." Rhea asked.

"I do believe she is. I left her in the company of Alois, Catherine and several of the students," Seteth paused for a moment as if measuring his next words, "I do not entirely approve of the closeness she has with the young gentlemen, but for now I will… endure… it."

"I see." Rhea said with relief.

"I will however, be speaking to them about it later. But that will be a task in the future," Seteth shook himself and refocused back to the matter at hand, "So, did I miss anything Lady Rhea? I do hope I was not absent while important information was being discussed."

"There is no need to worry, Seteth. We only just started." Rhea turned back to her guests and noted Link had finished the table setting, "Sir Link, will you be joining… us…?"

Rhea's eyes could not help but widen in surprise at the veritable feast of sweets and treats that the knight had set out on the table. Colorful, vibrant Wild-berry crepes were arranged perfectly beside a small mountain of golden Egg Tarts and delightfully crisp, and warm Apple Pies. The steam was still rising from the freshly prepared and deliciously red, Hot Buttered Apples, the gloriously fluffy Mighty Banana Fruitcake looked absolutely splendid, and a variety of Honeyed Fruits completed the ensemble. It looked absolutely delicious, and Rhea was rendered speechless at the sight.

The stories her mother had told about the Chosen Hero hadn't said anything about his ability to cook! This was one discrepancy that Rhea was quite happy to have.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I am going to have to decline," Link replied while he handed a plate containing a single slice of a specifically baked fruitcake, different from the one on the table, to his adoring Princess, "I mentioned earlier I am cooking a feast for everyone. These treats were just a little something I prepared on the side while the meat was slow roasting, but I'd better get back to that."

Rhea turned back to the work of culinary art on the table. This had been a 'little something I prepared on the side'?

"Zelda, everyone, dinner will be at seven. Good day." Link bowed politely once more and made his exit, leaving the group to continue the discussion and have their afternoon high tea in peace.

"Sometimes, Princess, I wonder if the man is your appointed knight, or your appointed chief." Claude reached over and nabbed one of the Wild-berry Crepes for himself.

"W-well. I see we now have some food to go with our discussion," Rhea said while gracefully and deliberately taking a slice of the Apple Pie for herself, "Miss Edelgard, if you would please continue."

"Then I shall." Edelgard nodded, sipping a cup of perfectly brewed Bergamot tea as she did so. "Now, I am not sure if you managed to catch that detail in Princess Zelda's recital of Link's many injuries, but there was a problem about him having amnesia after his hundred-year sleep…"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THE BIRTH OF NEW LEGENDS

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD/FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES CROSSOVER

By Sasahara17

Prelude of Light, Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem Franchises belong to their respective copyright holders, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction.

 

[JoJa]

Oh, how nice of you to give me more to read!

Here are the grammatical whoopsies I picked up.

caught so completely flat footed by the aduacity of Hubert's actions,

Click to shrink...

If I had miscalculated, her healing smells w

Click to shrink...

Edelgard... your right-hand man is one scary, scary man. This makes me thankful none of my housemates like this,

Click to shrink...

Two Misspellings I think, the second one is tricky and I think you're missing an 'are' between housemates and like.

Ah, forgive me for assuming this position of pointing out errors, the story you're weaving, its brilliant, and it makes me happy to see content like it.

 

[Sailormarsfan2]

plz keep up on the excellent story

 

[sasahara17]

A/N - And here is the rest of what I have done this week. Well most of what I have done this week. Some bits that are supposed to be part of the next chapter will not be posted on SV until the next chapter is ready. Hope nobody minds.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Lets us get this straight," Hubert sighed into his hand, "You have no recollection of where we are..."

"Nope." Link replied, having long given up trying to free himself from his bonds, and was now just patiently waiting for the interrogation to be over.

"...What you were doing in that coffin..."

"Pretty sure it is not a coffin since I am not a dead guy, but nope."

"...and you only 'think' you name is 'Link' because, in your own words, 'that is what the lady with the posh accent called you'," Hubert raised his eyes to regard the prisoner with a withering look, "Am I understanding this right, Mister Link?"

"You got it. You sure there wasn't anyone else here? I mean, I've been listening to your voices and I am pretty sure the girl I heard isn't one of you guys," Link caned his head to look around at each of his twenty five captors in turn, "She had a really pretty voice."

"You sure you aren't talking about me? I used to be in the opera, you know." Dorothea cheerfully said from where she and the other students were watching the proceedings.

"Sorry, lady. You're nice and all, but I am pretty sure the accent is different." Link paused as if thinking deeply about what he'd heard, "She seemed to know me."

Hubert turned from his interrogation to look Edelgard directly in the eyes.

"Lady Edelgard, after an extensive interrogation of this man, I have come to one undeniable conclusion." Hubert declared firmly before pausing for effect, "This man as in idiot."

"Hey!" Link protested.

"Hubert..." Edelgard sighed and hung her head at her retainer's blunt assessment.

The students had spent what felt like the better part of the morning questioning the stranger, now known as Link, but found the answers he possessed about their predicament to be less useful than they had hoped. That is to say, not at all.
It appeared, for whatever reason, Link was suffering from a bad case of, in his own words, 'the forgetsies'. He wasn't even certain of his own name, asserting that he only thought 'Link' was his name because he'd been addressed as such by someone while he was waking up. While Edelgard was still quite certain he was a person of interest, whatever happened to cause him to lose his memory certainly caused her to re-evaluate Edelgard's initial assessments.

"That isn't a very nice thing to say." Mercedes frowned.

"You sure he is an idiot? You just blasted him in the face with dark magic as he was getting out of bed. Maybe you gave him brain damage or something." Caspar proposed while gesturing the Link's bandaged head, courtesy of Mercedes.

"That would explain his amnesia." Linhardt concurred thoughtfully.

"It could be just as likely that he is lying and playing the fool." Felix stated firmly while crossing his arms over his chest while eyeing Link with disdain, "I say he's probably lying."

"Normally, I would agree. However in this case I have reason to believe Link is telling the truth," Hubert turned to the swordsman to explain his reasoning, "I have been trained quite extensively in the arts of interrogation, and have been present which such events before."

"Y-y-you have i-in-interrogated people before?" Bernadetta squeaked, before turning to Claude beside her, "I can switch houses right? Please tell me I can switch houses. I don't want to be in the same house as Hubert anymore!"

"I'm game, but are you sure you want to do that? Hubert might not left you leave." Claude teased, and poor Bernadetta paled considerably as the implications of her hasty decision struck her.

"That is very rude of you to tease Bernadetta like that, Mister Claude!" Flayn said crossly with her hands on her hips upon noticing Bernadetta's discomfort, "Hubert may seem intimidating in the course of his duties, but I do not think he would deliberately seek out to harm a fellow classmate for such a minor reason!"

"Just joking around, Flayn. Just a joke!" Claude waved disarmingly while Bernadetta started to mumble something that sounded like 'treason' and 'executed' under her breath. Poor girl really needed to calm down.

"I have been training to serve Lady Edelgard all my life. As such, I have been taught to recognize tells and signs when a person is attempting to hide details from me, none of which I see from Link here. If anything I can only see impatience, confusion and boredom. As far as I can tell, he had been completely forthcoming with what he knows," Hubert nodded, "hence my conclusion that he is an idiot."

"Harsh, but fair I suppose." Felix decided.

"Uh, I am still here you know," Link said from where he was still seated and bound on the ground, "Since you guys seem to have decided that I am not a threat anymore, could you untie me now? My arms are really starting to cramp up."

"That would not be a wise course of action. Truthful as he might be, we should still exercise caution. Having no memory does not automatically equate to not having ill intent." Dedue suggested.

"My thoughts, exactly." Hubert agreed.

"It was worth a shot." Link shrugged.

"Well, that's a bust. So much for hoping this pointy eared guy knows something that could get us out of here." Claude said Edelgard and Dimitri now that the interrogation seemed to be coming to a close, "Well, I hope you two have any more bright ideas we can try, because I have nothing."

"My apologies, Claude. I too have nothing to suggest." Dimitri shook his head sadly, "In my defence, I was focused on helping our fellows and did not spare much thought to other details since I believe you and Edelgard had it well in hand."

"Hey, it's alright Dimitri. Nothing wrong with helping other people out. Besides," Claude winked at Edelgard, "It looks like Edelgard here is cooking up something."

Edelgard had placed a hand under her chin thoughtfully, carefully assessing the events that had just transpired in her own mind. The lighting of the glyphs on the walls and ceiling, the opening of the coffin, the interrogation of Link... it all happened because of one thing. Perhaps, that would be the key to escaping this prison.

"Linhardt," Edelgard turned to regard at the lethargic researcher who had been idling at the side-lines, "The opening of the coffin was caused by your inspection of the pedestal, correct?"

"That is right." Linhardt confirmed with a nod, "However, I went back to the pedestal while the interrogation was happening, but found the device there had become unresponsive to my touch. It is very vexing, as I have reason to believe it serves more functions than what Caspar accidentally triggered."

"I see. Thank you for your efforts, Linhardt," Edelgard said, her theory crystalizing in her mind, "But perhaps that device was not meant for us to use."

"Not meant for us?" Dimitri blinked in confusion, "but then who would... oh."

All twenty five students turned to face their bound captive, still sitting on the floor before them looking absolutely clueless as to what was going on.

"Er, what? Is there something on my face?" Link tilted his head in confusion.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"So, uh, this is the doohickey that you say woke me up?" Link rubbed his now unbound wrists, probably to get some feeling back into them, as the group gathered around the pedestal once more.

"While I would argue that is an oversimplification of what occured, for the purposes of expediency I would say that would be correct," Linhardt motioned for Link to approach the rectangular device embedded within the pedestal, one that was now glowing with blue and orange runes, "I hypothesize that this is some sort of control mechanism for this room of some sort. Although its' make and origin are alien to me, it is my hope that further operation could yield favourable results."

"Or, you know, start up another earthquake and kill us all." Sylvain jokingly said before Ingrid reached over and slapped him in the back of his head.

"Sylvain, don't be an ass. You know that there are some people here who are on edge after everything that's happened." Ingrid lectured her childhood friend, giving a sharp nod in the direction of a timid looking Bernadetta who had thankfully been too focused on her own worries to hear Sylvain's thoughtless comment.

"Right, sheesh. I'll behave." Sylvain relented sheepishly.

"Mister Link, although we have not had the best introduction, I would ask of you to help us in this time of need," Edelgard implored Link, "you were sleeping in this chamber when we found you. Surely this must mean that you, out of all of us here, are meant to use this device."

For a moment, Edelgard thought that Link would refuse. Even if Hubert had been the one to take the lead, Link had been horribly mistreated by the students. If Edelgard had been in his shoes, abused and interrogated by an unknown party without actual cause, she would surely have refused out of pure defiance.

Fortunately, Link was not Edelgard.

"Well, okay. If you say so." Link reached out and, much to everyone's surprise found the pedestal responding to him.
With a strange, mechanical sound, the rectangular stone-like device popped upwards from its' resting place, clearly inviting Link to take it from its' resting place. Link, looking more curious than anything else, carefully wrapped his hands around the device and found it lifted off the pedestal with ease.

"Huh, would you look at that." Link admitted with a smile, just as another quale shook the entire.

"What the-I was kidding about the earthquake!" Sylvain yelped.

"No, look!" Ingrid pointed at the stone doorway that the Golden Deers had been studying before.

Much to the fascination of the students, the ancient rock seemed to peel away piece by piece, parting like leaves of paper in a book, as the opening showed itself. A faint light emanated from somewhere beyond the newly revealed opening, and a gust of fresh air blew through the room beyond. The exit that the students had sought had been revealed.

"It looks like your suspicions were entirely correct, Lady Edelgard. Well done." Hubert congratulated his liege.

"No, Hubert. I do believe the one here who deserves our thanks is Mister Link," Edelgard smiled at the strange man they had found, but found herself surprises when she noticed Link starting at the device he now held in his hands. "Mister Link? Does something trouble you?"

"I am going to hazard a guess that you didn't hear a woman telling us this thing is called the Sheikah Slate, and that we should step into the light now... did you?" Link asked, his eyes narrowing in contemplation as he turned the device, the Sheikah Slate, over in his hands.

"A woman's voice? Sorry, Mister Link. All I heard was the walls shaking," Raphael threw his arms out as he answered honestly, "It's a good thing too. I can't, uh, help more than one person if something bad really happened."

"I don't think any of the girls here screamed too loud this time either," Lorenz chimed in with a haughty tone, "Thankfully there was no need for me to use my oratory skills to calm down a maiden's beating heart this time."

"I can't believe I am in the same house as this guy. It hasn't even been a month yet, and I already can't stand him," Leonie pinched the bridge of her nose in frustration, "Guh, how does Captain Jeralt stand all these stuffy nobles as his clients all the time?"

"Think of it as practice for when you di become a mercenary, Leonie," Claude suggested helpfully, "besides, not all Nobles are full of themselves. You got guys like Lorenz, and then you got guys like me. Or Hilda if you prefer your nobles to be lazy but bossy."

"Thanks, Claude." Leonie chuckled.

"No, Link, we did not hear a woman's voice," Edelgard said as she focused on the matter at hand, resting her hand at her chin as she began to think about what he'd just said, "Are you certain that you heard someone speaking?"

"Definitely." Link affirmed as he tapped on the flat surface of the Slate. Those close enough to Link to see it were astounded to see images appear on it's hard surface, so vivid and clear it beggared belief.

"You know how to use the device," Linhardt observed curiously as Link's fingers flew across the surface of the Slate, tapping controls only he knew existed and causing the images it displayed to flicker and change, like a reflection in water, "How do you know how to do this, if you do now have any memory?"

"That's the thing... I don't know," Link admitted wondrously, "I know what this is, and how to navigate it. But how I know this, I honestly have no idea. It's all just one big blank to me."

"Hm, if I recall correctly, there have been cases where a person who loses their memories retains the skills and knowledge they had even though they can't remember anything about themselves," Mercedes suggested helpfully as she came up to Link and carefully motioned to the bandages around his head, "So even if a person cannot remember their name or their history, they can remember how to speak certain languages or know how to ride and care for horses. I think this is what is happening with Mister Link."

"That doesn't explain him hearing that voice though." Felix said.

"Hallucinations and delirium could be a sign of injuries in the brain. That might explain why Link is hearing voices where there are none. This could be a symptom of a much more serious injury than we anticipated," Linhardt pointed out gravely, "However, I doubt any of us have the medical expertise to treat such an injury if Link actually has it."

"Uh, I have brain damage? That's bad, right?" Link grimaced.

"Damn it, Hubert! You actually gave Link brain damage! What the hell are we going to do now?" Caspar rounded on the stoic retainer, who merely regarded the outburst with cold indifference.

"M-maybe I could try to help Mister Link? I am a bit out of practice, but I am well versed in healing magic." Flayn offered.

"I don't think that will be necessary, Flayn," Edelgard said before Flayn could proceed further, "while your help is appreciated, I do think Link's hearing voices may have a different explanation."

Edelgard had a strong suspicion that, out of all of the abductees, Flayn was in fact the most powerful magic user in their number. However, it seemed as if Flayn had been trying to keep it secret and pass herself off as a regular student, but was about to break her cover out of concern for Link. While there were merits of forcing Flayn to reveal this, Edelgard figured preserving the status quo until she and Hubert gathered more information was a better choice for now. Besides, Edelgard was not lying when she said she believed that Link wasn't just hearing voices because of delirium.

"Lady Edelgard, if I may be so presumptuous to guess what your theory is... do think the voice Mister Link is hearing may be a magical projection of kind?" Hubert gave a low hum as he pondered this, "There have been theories and research into forms of magical telepathy, but I personally have never seen them in effect."

"I have heard of such arts in stories before," Flayn noted in a way that unknowingly confirmed a few of Edelgard's theories about the girl, "it is said those capable of such feats were supposed to be very old, or very powerful. If you are correct, we should be cautious."

"Perhaps, but the voice Link heard has been too accurate to be a mere hallucination. Aside from that, we have not seen any of the perpetrators of our kidnapping yet, and someone with the ability to use magic beyond the current state of the art in Fodlan could conceivably pull off a kidnapping at Garreg Mach," Lindhardt mused, "While it is still very much conjecture at this point, I do believe that Edelgard's theory does have merit."

"So instead of brain damage, some wizard lady is talking directly into my head?" Link raised his head and stared at the ceiling with a sigh, "Wow. Brain damage or Wizards. I don't know which one is worse."

"Regardless as to whether my theory is correct or not, even if Link does require a hospital, we certainly won't be finding one if we loiter around in here," Edelgard proposed, motioning an arm towards the newly opened doorway, "the only way we can make progress is if we forge onward. With the exit now presented to us, the path we must thread is clear."

"I don't know, Edelgard. That path seems too convenient. It could very well be a trap." Dimitri cautioned.

"It's the only way out of here. If it's a trap, it is one we are going to have to trigger." Claude shrugged, "In any case, most of us are still in our pyjamas and we aren't going to find any clothes around here. I For one hope we can find some proper shoes out there."

Or answers, and a way to contact Garreg Mach and return back to their homes, were the words left unspoken.

"Then it is settled. Let us go onward." Edelgard declared.

With that, the group moved through the opening, cautiously hoping it would take them somewhere where progress could be made. The cavernous passage beyond wasn't very long, or filled with too many actual things of note – the most interesting thing the students encountered on the way was a chest that, much like the Sheikah Slate, only responded to Link's touch.

"Hey, would you look at that," Link had quipped as he lifted the worn and tattered shirt and trousers out of the chest he had just opened, "I don't have to run around in just my underwear anymore!"

Aside from that though, every other wooden crate the group had discovered was empty, and after scaling a small rock wall, the party eventually came to an opening that exited into the outside world.

The group, mages and brawlers leading the way with healers bringing up the rear, cautiously stepped through this new opening onto what they had discovered as an outcropping on the side of a small mountain. The students were immediately bathed in sunlight as the outside world seemingly opened up them once.

"My word." Ignatz exhaled in awe at the sight of the world, laid out before them like art on a canvas. The students, mesmerized by the sight, found themselves drawn to the very edge of the cliff face to get the best possible view they could of the land before them.

Bathed in the light at the sun that was at it's zenith that was not obscured by a near cloudless sky, the students couldn't have hoped to get a better first look than what they were getting. Plains, forests and lakes dotted the lands before them, an untamed land teeming with life and nature at its' fullest. A this carpet of beauty seemed to end at another long cliff face, however, caused those astute enough among the student body to realize they were on an enormous plateau. Hints of stone structures, hidden among the bounty of nature, could just barely be made out by the naked eye. Ruins, perhaps?

In the distance, almost hidden beyond the horizon, the peak of a enormous mountain that was so high it touched the heavens could be seen. Closer from the horizon was the silhouette of what seemed to be a magnificent structure of some kind that lay at the centre of some kind of plain, although it was so far only the smallest of details could be made out due to the extreme distances involved. A castle perhaps? Even so, it was most definitely a sign of civilisation.

"It's so beautiful," Annette marvelled wondrously, "I just... wow."
"If only I had my paints with me." Ignatz said, looking very much inspired.

"I have never seen any thing like it." Dorothea concurred.

And therein lay the problem for Edelgard.

"Claude, from the look on your face, I take it you have noticed it as well." Edelgard said to the heir of House Reigan that was standing beside her.

"Yeah. Yeah, I have." Claude replied, a worried frown upon his brows, "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

While the other students had been completely taken in my the magnificent view, Edelgard and Claude had never lost sight of their objective.

Edelgard in particular was entirely focused on the task of ascertaining where she was so she could formulate a plan to contact her allies. Thus, she had been keeping an eye out for recognizable landmarks that could give her an idea of where she was. Ideally, Edelgard had been hoping to see signs that she was in Empire territory, but had she seen indications that the abductees had been taken to Kingdom or Alliance lands, Edelgard could have planned for that too. There were sympathetic ears she could find to secure her safe passage back to Enbarr, where Edelgard could then plan her next move.

There was nowhere in Fodlan that had a plateau this big. None of the mountains were so tall their peaks could be seen over the horizon. None of the three nations had a major settlement in the middle of a large plain close to said enormous plateau. From these three facts alone, coupled with the position of the sun in the sky hinting that they were in now the southern hemisphere, could only mean one thing...

"We aren't in Fodlan anymore." Edelgard stated, unable to stop the sense of dread from chilling her bones as she realized that none of her plans had ever accounted for a possibility such as this.

"Yep. I'd say we are in a pickle all right," Claude agreed with a shaky smile that most definitely did not reach his eyes, "Man, we are really in for it now, huh?"

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The winding path that led down from the outcropping did not take very long to find, and seeing as how they had no other obvious options, the students had almost unanimously decided to follow it.

Edelgard walked at the head of a column of students that were excitedly taking in the sights and sounds of their vibrant surroundings. It seemed that the others had not realized what she and Claude had yet, and aside from quietly consulting with Hubert on the matter, Edelgard had no intention of addressing that issue until a more suitable opportunity to discuss it could be found.

"Wow, there are so many apples around here! Wait a second guys, let me go grab a few," Edelgard could hear Annette remark gleefully as the bubbly magician made a slight detour to pick a few off a nearby tree, "we didn't have breakfast, so I'd better go grab some of these so we can have something eat."

"I have been picking a few of these mushrooms off the ground as we've been walking. Maybe they're edible?" Dimitri of all people said while cradling an armful of unusually large red and white fungi.

"Please do not eat the mushrooms." Dedue stated humourlessly at his liege.

"I'm just saying..." Dimitri mumbled.

"I would have to agree with Mister Dedue here," Marianne quietly spoke up, "I don't recognize any of these varieties of plants or mushrooms here. They might not be safe to eat, so p-please be careful."

"Huh, actually I think they are," Link chimed in helpfully as he came up next to Dimitri to have a better look at the Prince's bounty, "I am not sure why, but I seem to recall having eaten them before. In fact, I think we can eat them as is."

"I would have considered this good news had it not been coming from the person suffering from amnesia. Do not eat the Mushrooms." Dedue reiterated firmly.

Edelgard shook her head at the antics of the students behind her as she kept her eyes forward to scan for any sign of danger. The only weapon Edelgard had at the moment was a simple tree branch she had picked off the ground that was large and thick enough to be considered an improvised club, and she would need to pay extra attention to avoid being at even more of a disadvantage that she already was should danger arise.

It was because of this that she was among the first of the group to see the Old Man camped out along the path.
Settled under a small rock outcropping, the large hooded figure was seated on a small stool next to a campfire while roasting a slab of meat above the flames on a spit. His large frame was garbed in weathered baggy clothing, and his long white beard could be seen even from afar. While the walking stick and attached lantern propped up against a nearby stone further revealed the stranger's advanced age, the woodcutter's axe buried in a freshly cut tree stump not too far form the camp site perhaps suggested an active lifestyle.

Finally, a local! Perhaps he could tell the lost students where they were.

"Hello!" Edelgard decided to seize the initiative called out to him as the group approached the makeshift camp, causing the Old Man to turn and rise to greet them, "Good afternoon, good sir! I hope we can spare a moment of your time."

Now that Edelgard was closer, she could make out more details in the Old Man's face. His large prominent nose, his tanned complexion and wrinkled face creased by well worn lines of worry hinted at someone who had endured a life of hardship and pain.

"Good afternoon to you, young Lady!" The Old Man returned the greeting, "It is no trouble at all. It is rare to see people around these parts, and I would certainly appreciate the company... although I must admit I am concerned at your state of dress for you and your fellows, young lady. are you quite alright?"

"Unfortunately, no. Our situation is rather complicated, but safe to say we appear to have lost our belongings," Edelgard said calmly, noting several of her female schoolmates had moved to hide themselves behind their male fellows out of shyness, "we are in a bad spot at the moment, and any assistance you can render to us would be very much appreciated, good sir."

"It would be wise for you to do so," Ferdinand spoke up before Edelgard could stop him. "We are students from the Garreg Mach Monastery, and I personally assure you that you would be richly rewarded for helping us."

"Garreg Mach Monastery... can't say I ever heard of the place. It's certainty not a place I have ever heard of. In fact, I have never known of such a place in all of Hyrule for that matter," The Old Man said, causing some of the students behind Edelgard to gasp as they came to the same realization she and Claude had earlier, "But then again, I am but a humble hermit, and live far from most. It has been I while since I have heard news about, well, anything!"

Edelgard quickly shot Hubert an unspoken command to prevent Ferdinand, or anyone else for that matter, from speaking up further. She and Claude had agreed to keep the issue about their not being in Fodlan quiet until it could be addressed in a controlled matter to avoid unnecessary panic, and that fool Ferdinand had just tossed their plan to the dogs.

"A hermit you say?" Edelgard said while Hubert firmly seized Ferdinand's arm and pulled him back before the noble could make the situation worse, "May I ask what you do for a living, Sir?"

"Retired, actually. Living the remainder of my days in nature's good grace, far from civilisation. In fact, you younglings have the first people I have seen in years!" The Old Man replied with a hearty chuckle.

An old man, living in the middle of nowhere to avoid other people. If that was not suspicious, Edelgard did not know what would . However, Edelgard had few other options but to continue questioning him. Still, at the worst case there were twenty six of them and only one of him.

"Be that as it may, we do still require aid," "I know we are asking much, but if you could please give us directions to the nearest settlement, or failing that food and shelter, we would be ever so grateful..."

"And I do suppose you will be needing some proper clothes as well! Well, as luck would have it, directions at least is something I can help you children with." The Old Man gave a laugh as he pointed directly at Link... or more precisely the Sheikah Slate that hung from Link's newly acquired belt, "Young man, would I be mistaken in saying that there is a Sheikah Slate that you have?"

Edelgard's eyes narrowed at the way the Old Man had immediately focused on the strange device without even commenting on other oddities, such as Link's very conspicuous pointed ears. Definitely suspicious.

"Er, yes, I mean, no... I mean, this is a Sheikah Slate!" Link bumbled as he unclasped the device from his belt and held it up for the Old Man to see. "So, you know what this is?"

"Indeed! If you are needing Sheikah Slates are particularly good tools in helping you find your way about. But judging from the fact you are lost, I take if your Sheikah Skate doesn't have the map of the Great Plateau on it yet. Quite problematic for travellers such as yourself, I would say."

"The Great Plateau? I assume that would be the name of the plateau we are currently standing on?" Edelgard mused thoughtfully. Well she had a name for where they were at least, "And you say you can help us get a map of this place?"

"Quite so. Although I do not own a Sheikah Slate myself, my daughter is quite the expert on such things," The Old Man beamed proudly at his mention of his progeny, "She once told me that placing the Sheikah Slate into indentations on certain pedestals could 'load' useful things like maps onto it. If that happened, I am sure you can find your away about."

"That sounds rather vague, and a bit far fetched. What does he mean by 'Load'? how would that stone carry a map we could use? I am afraid I don't understand what this gentleman is saying." Dimitri whispered into Edelgard's ear at her side.

While Dimitri and Claude had graciously allowed Edelgard to take the lead on this, likely because she had imitated contact and had been doing a good job thus far, it seemed he was having a hard time following the odd terminology that was been bandied about and wanted some reassuramce. Not surprising, as most people of Fodlan had difficulty grasping foreign concepts. Edelgard herself, who was considerably more exposed, could only make guesses as to what the Old Man meant based on her limited exposure to things beyond the Church's reach.

"I guess we will have to see, won't we?" Edelgard whispered back to Dimitri before turning to Link, who was fiddling around with the Sheikah Slate in his hands, "Mister Link, as our resident expert on this, does any of this make sense? Can we really gain access to a usable map on your Sheikah Slate?"

"I am not sure how I know this, but I think we can," Link replied as he flipped the Sheikah Slate over so that the image displace on the surface faced her, "See those little icons on the bottom? I think one of them is supposed to represent a map. However when I push it, all I get is a blank image with a dot in the middle... and this weird icon not to far away."

Edelgard leaned in to inspect the image herself. Much like what Link had reported, it really did appear that the Sheikah Slate had a map function... except one that did not have the information needed to actually display the map, other than what Edelgard surmised was the Slate's current position. The Slate really could function as a map! Remarkable! She had heard her Uncle once remark that such advanced devices had existed in times long past, but Edelgard had never thought she would see one herself...

"Oh dear, that sounds like you don't have any of the maps of Hyrule loaded into your Sheikah Slate. No wonder why you are lost!" The Old Man got to his feet and pointed down the path, "Do you see that small hill with a cave entrance in the distance? There is a pedestal inside that will load the map for the Great Plateau into your Sheikah Slate. Once you have it, finding your way around these parts will be much easier."

"Now the old man is pointing us in the direction of a dark cave," Claude mumbled to Hilda just within Edelgard's hearing, "Why do I feel that 'Bandit Ambush' is something that is going to happen in our near future?"

"Claude, don't jinx us!" Hilda hissed.
"If you keep following this path, you will eventually come to it," The Old Man continued, either not hearing or not caring about Claude's remarks, "just place your device into the indentation on the pedastal's surface, and your Sheikah Slate will automatically load the map of the Great Plateau for you."

"Hey, thanks for letting me know about that, old guy! You've been a big help!" Link said while he stowed the Sheikah Slate back on his belt.

"My, my, quite a rambunctious one, aren't you?" the Old Man laughed.

"Thank you, Sir... but while I appreciate the help, I was wondering you could also direct us to a town or a village as well," Edelgard chimed in, "Having the ability to navigate for ourselves is all well and good, but I think we all would settle for a nice meal and a room over our heads before we do anything else."

While a map would be good to have, and Edelgard was certainly interested in the prospect of seeing just what the Sheikah Slate could do, the future Emperor of the Adrestian Empire shared the same concern as Claude did. She wasn't about to walk right into a dark cave wearing only her nightgown, especially when everything that had happened so far pointed to the fact there was a trap at the end of that path. Better they get to civilisation first, then start thinking about the possibilities offered by Link's technological marvel.

"Well, unfortunately that is going to be a problem. The Great Plateau doesn't have any towns or villages on it. It's just wilderness, old ruins and nature." The Old Man informed Edelgard apologetically.

"Wait, what?" Edelgard said.

"Aside from myself, no one has lived on the plateau for ages. It's difficult enough getting up here, so most don't think it worth the trouble. The few who do basically come here to sightsee or camp for a night or two, then move on," The Old Man shook his head sadly, "Oh dearie me, I have never seen tourists from abroad this clueless before. You didn't even know that there aren't any towns here!"

"So no town, huh? That means no shelter, no food, and no change of clothes, and we might not even be in Fodlan anymore," Hilda sighed dramatically, "I'm not even wearing shoes. Just great."

"You younglings are in even worse straits than I thought! I guess it would only be right for me to do something to help," The Old Man bent down and started to pack up, "My shack is half a day's walk from here. Let me run over there and see if I have enough spare bedrolls for all of you. I may be an old hermit, but I remember how to be a good neighbour at least!"

"That is kind of you, Sir-" Edelgard said.

"I do think you should get that map sorted out though," The Old Man suggested, "I can't be around all the time to keep you from losing your way!"

"Whelp, like I said... Bandit attack, in our future." Claude repeated, eliciting a sigh from Hilda.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"We're really doing this, huh? We are really going to do what the Old Guy said and check out the dark cave that is basically an ambush waiting to happen." Claude said to Edelgard as the group continued down the path towards the cave in the distance.

"It's the only lead we have," Edelgard said honestly, "if it makes you feel any better, we are considerably better armed than we were moments ago. At very least we will be able to defend ourselves."

"I would not say 'considerably better armed' would apply here, since the biggest improvement over our previous situation is that a few more of us have sticks and tree branches now," Dimitri disagreed, hefting the long tree branch with a sharpened stone at top that had been tied there with ropes of grass, for emphasis, "the only one here who could be said to be properly equipped with a weapon is you, Edelgard."

"I was just trying to stay positive, Dimitri." Edelgard replied while hefting the newly acquired woodcutter's axe the Old Man had graciously loaned her over her shoulder. She'd passed her previous 'weapon' to Link, and while she wasn't sure what good a tree branch would do for him it was better than nothing, "Besides, don't forget our mages and those of us who know unarmed combat."

"Be that as it may, we are still woefully equipped for combat. We should exercise caution." Dimitri warned.
Although it had been visible from where the Old Man had set up his encampment, the distance was actually quite substantial. From the movement of the sun, Edelgard estimated their party had been on the path of the better part of two hours before they finally closed in on their destination.

The students had passed many curious sights while they proceeded towards the cave though, including a lake with a small island with what appeared to be an embedded sword in the middle and what appeared to be a massive ruined cathedral of come kind, however on Edelgard's insistence the party remained focused on the task at hand. Perhaps it was risky for her to focus so

exclusively on what could be a trap, but she felt the other curiosities were just as likely to carry their own dangers. Objective first, diversions later.

She had to keep everyone on point, after all – it was the only thing preventing the students from contemplating the fact they were no longer in Fodlan. As long was Edelgard was pushing them forwards towards what seemed to be progress, the others could be distracted from their predicament long enough for her to figure out how to deal with that issue.

"Well, there it is. Huh, it is much larger up close," Claude said when their destination came neared, "I hope the Old Man was on the level about that pedestal. That was a long walk to get over here."

"I'll say. My feet are aching, Claude." Hilda moaned in an over dramatic fashion. "I don't think I have walked that much in my entire life!"

"You know, we just walked out of a cave . Now we're going into another one. Seems we're going in circles today, eh?" Raphael clapped Ignatz on the shoulder jovially.

"Uh, guys?" Ashe suddenly cut in "I know that the cave is interesting and all... but Is that cooking pot supposed to be there?"

While the rest of the students had been focused on the cave entrance, Ashe had noticed a small camp site that was just in the hill's shadow, just far enough from the cave opening that it wasn't immediately noticeable. It wasn't a very big one, just a wooden campfire with six creaky wooden stools around it, but it was a campsite nonetheless. Edelgard, remembering Claude's earlier comments about bandits, immediately rushed over to investigate what Ashe had found.

The very first thing she noticed was the embers in the campfire were still warm.

"Everyone, be cautious," Edelgard shouted to the others in alarm, "We are not al-!"

That was then an arrow slammed into Raphael's left shoulder, causing the big man to cry out in both pain and alarm.

"AMBUSH!" Link cried out, raising his weapon just as several dark shadows launched themselves over the top of the hill onto the terrified students below.

"Fighters forward, provide cover to the mages!" Claude ordered, practically grabbing Lysithea to pull her behind him protectively, "Archers and mages get some distance, everybody else, charge!"

"For the honor of Faerghus!" Dimitri bellowed as he launched himself at their assailants, several of his Blue Lions following suit as the melee began.

"Oh-no-no-no-SOMEONE HELP!"

Edelgard, not even bothering to get a good look at what was attacking them or give a battle cry of her own, immediately sprang into action herself. Reacting to the cry of help, Edelgard spotted one of the shadows barrelling straight for a panicking Bernadetta, and launched herself at the enemy. No thought, no contemplation, just pure instinctive reaction to a threat.

With a howl, Edelgard brought her axe down upon her foe's back in a overhead swing. Power surged through her form as Edelgard felt the power of her Crest activate, turning her already powerful swing into an earth shattering blow that could rend steel like paper. The feeling of cold steel tearing into vulnerable flesh was familiar to Edelgard, but the inhuman squeal that came from her victim most certainly was not.

"What in the-?" Edelgard's eyes widened in disbelief at the... creature... she had just felled, lying on the ground prone where she had killed it.

It had lanky, yet muscular arms that ended in a three fingered grip that, even in death, still grasped a wooden round shield in one hand and a rudimentary club in the other. Stubby legs than ended in hooves supported a grotesque torso that still had the head of her axe still embedded in its' back. The creature's most prominent feature was its' huge bulbous head one that resembled that of a pig. It had a massive snout, toothy mouth and two huge beady eyes, now unseeing as death slowly claimed it. Covered in tough, leathery red skin, whatever this creature was, there was no in Edelgard's mind that what she had just slain was not human.

"Wh-what is that?" Bernadetta, having fallen onto her behind out of fright, stammered out in fear as she shuffled backward away from the creature's corpse, "What is it? WHAT IS IT?!"

"I... I don't..." Edelgard shook her head in disbelief. She had expected to be fighting bandits, not... whatever this was.

"YOUR HIGHNESS, BEHIND YOU!"

Edelgard had only heard Hubert's warning just in time moving her torso just enough to avoid getting skewered by a rusty broad sword. Another creature, this one having black skin instead of red, had seen the demise of its' fellow and had charged right in to avenge it. Edelgard's lapse in concentration had almost caused her to meet the same fate, and it was only because of Hubert that she had avoided injury. Cursing her own inattentiveness, Edelgard pulled her axes out of the corpse, just in time to parry another attack.

The rusted broad sword clammed into the haft of Edelgard's axe, brought up just in time to parry it, with such force Edelgard swore she was almost knocked off her feet. The creature may have been lanky and misshapen, but those arms belied a fearsome strength!

"Lady Edelgar-!" Hubert was halfway through casting his spell when an arrow slammed into his right breast, causing him to fall to his knees with his liege's name still upon his lips.

"Hubert!" Edelgard's eyes widened when she realized the monsters must have an archer that she could not see. Edelgard wanted nothing more than to run to Hubert's aid, but the enemy in front of her was tenacious. Another wild swipe at Edelgard's head that she had to parry told the future Emperor that turning her back on this particular enemy would mean certain death.

"What are these things? Get them away from me! Someone help!"

"Lorenz, move! I can't get a clear shot!"

"Guh! Damn it! I'd be able to kill this thing if I had a proper sword!"

"Raphael! Hold still, I'll get tha-aaaaaaah!"

"Damn you! Leave her alone! Caspar, Ingrid! Get his arms!"

Around Edelgard, chaos reigned. Whatever these things were, they had successfully jumped right into the student's formation and had caused the entire column to fracture. Although Claude and Dimitri had tried to rally their peers, the grotesque appearance of the monsters and the fact they were in and among their number had sent the majority of the students of Garreg Mach into a blind panic. Although Edelgard was preoccupied with this duel to the death against this powerful beast, she could see glimpses of the battle raging around her.

Edelgard could see Lindhardt, Lysithea and Dorthea having retreated to a nearby tree line, attempting to fire spells into the melee but hesitating out of fear of hitting their fellow students. The last Edelgard saw before her attention moved on was the three mages scattering when arrows began to fly at them.

She could see unarmed students, like Hilda, Marianne and Ignatz running around in fear as more red skinned monsters chanced them gleefully, sowing chaos and discord around and preventing Claude from organizing a proper defence.

She could see Mercedes lying on the ground next to Raphael, cradling her broken arm after a blue skinned monster had clubbed her while she was trying to heal the wounded man.

She could see Caspar, Ingrid and Sylvain attempting to wrestle the one that attacked Mercedes to the ground, attempting to use their strength in numbers to make up for the fact they were unarmed and it wasn't... and the monster was winning.

She could see Dimitri attempting to fend off a blue skinned brute wielding a rusted claymore with half a spear, his makeshift weapon having broken due to its' fragility.

And Edelgard could see Annette curled into the ground behind him, shrieking while grasping painfully at the arrow that was protruding through her left fore arm...

Edelgard couldn't even see Hubert anywhere. She didn't even know if he was still alive.

That was what Edelgard could see in her peripheral vision as she fought for her life against her monstrous foe. What she couldn't see was probably worse. The situation was dire, Edelgard had to end this, quickly, before it got worse.

Lunging forward with all her might in another overhead swing, Edelgard attempted to break though her opponent's guard with sheer brute force. She had to defeat this thing, before this gang of monsters overwhelmed them. She could not afford to fall here!

And the she missed.

Or more accurately the creature, with a level of skill that even a Knight of Seiros would have been impressed with, skilfully moved out of the way of Edelgard's blow at the very last second, before using his free hand to punch Edelgard in the gut when she overextended.

Pain flared though Edelgard's person as the monster's unnatural strength took the wind completely out of her. Edelgard was forced to crumple to her knees and release the haft of her axe while cradling her stomach, vomit threatening to erupt from her moth at the grievous blow.

A shadow fell over Edelgard.

The wounded leader of the Black Eagles painfully caned her head up to see the grinning face of the monster staring down at her. Victorious, slowly it raised its' broadsword skyward, savouring the moment it would end her life.

"No... not... not like this." Edelgard growled defiantly... unable to accept that she would die in a land so far from home without her ambitions, her need for justice, unfulfilled. This could not be where her path ended. Not at the hands of this beast!

The sword descended...

...and was deflected, going wide and missing Edelgard completely, when Link body checked the black skinned beast from what seemed like out of nowhere. The creature howled in pain, as it dropped its' weapon and began clutching its' eye while rolling on the ground in agony. It's eye that now had a tree branch sticking through it. It didn't cry for very long. In one uninterrupted move, Link scooped up the broadsword the monster had wielded and, within a mere second, slammed the blade down on the monster's chest in a finishing blow that ended it's life.

The monster that had almost killed Edelgard was dead.

"L... Link?" Edelgard gaped wondrously at Link, who was already moving to where Ingrid, Caspar and Slyvain had just lost their struggle against one of the blue skinned ones.

Caspar had been thrown against a tree and was lying against its' roots, winded. Ingrid was shrieking in pain as the monster had her hair in a vice grip, and was dragging her against the ground while Sylvain was hanging off its' back attempting to choke it. Link put an end to that, pretty quickly.

"Sylvain, out of the way!"

"Link? Wha-"

Link charging into the grapple and, narrowly missing Slyvain who had only just begun to disentangle himself, drove his blade into the side of the monster's head, through one ear and out the other. The now deceased beast hadn't even hit the ground yet when Link moved on to his next target, a red skinned one chasing Hilda and Marianne.

An arrow whizzed by Link's head, the unseen archer having decided that Link was the most preeminent threat. Without even looking at where it came from, Link's sword arm snapped out and sent his broadsword flying into a nearby group of rocks. The grotesque head of the enemy sniper had just popped out from concealment to loose another shot when the thrown broadsword's sharped point found its' way home.

The by the time the archer's corpse toppled to the ground, Link had scooped up a rusty Claymore and had just slain the one chasing Hilda and Marianne. Then, without even breaking his stride, Link sent the Claymore he's just picked up flying into the back of the monster having a duel with Felix.

"Hey! That one was mine!" Felix protested

"I-Incredible." Edelgard exhaled in awe as she watched Link move from target to target. The precision, skill and finesse Link was using to dispatch his foes was unlike anything Edelgard had seen before. She had seen powerful warriors before, and the Empire and Fodlan had no shortage of such individuals, but the way Link was moving... it was like Link was one of those legends her mother used to read to her as a child, in the flesh.

And she didn't see a Crest flare around him as he fought. Not once.

"L-lady Edelgard...?"

"Hubert!" Edelgard spun to face two approaching figures that were limping to her side. Hubert, this night shirt now stained in now drying blood, was leaning heavily against the much smaller form of Flayn as she supported his weakened form, "Hubert, you're alive!"

"I am... sorry... for my... carelessness... Lady... Edelgard. Are you... unhurt?" Hubert wheezed out painfully.

"Do not try and talk, Hubert. I may have healed you, but your wounds were great. You must be careful!" It appeared Flayn had managed to extract the arrow from Hubert in the confusion and used her magic to save his life. Although it galled Edelgard to know she now owed a member of the church this way, Edelgard could not help the flood of relief that flooded her being upon seeing that her faithful Hubert yet lived.

"I am well, Hubert. Do not worry." Edelgard replied with a comforting smile.

"Lady... Edelgard... the monsters?" Hubert questioned, caning his head to watch the battle, "What is... is... is that Link?"

"Yes, I do believe so." Edelgard replied, turning back to the battle as it was winding down. "Yes, indeed."

Dimitri, having finally gotten tired of using his broken spear, had managed to ctach his adversary on a chokehold. With one twist of his body, the Prince snapped the creature's neck and ended his duel.

"There!" Dimitri grinned, "Got one! On to... the... what happened?"

Only one monster remained, a red skinned brute armed with a rusty broad sword and a makeshift wooden shield. It was backing away, trembling in fear as it backed away from Link. Link now armed with a tree branch as his latest weapon, had slaughtered most of its' fellows. Judging from his heavy breathing and flagging strength, it was a surprise to Edelgard that the exercise had actually been tiring for Link, who hadn't seemed winded before... but tired as he was, she could tell Link still had enough strength left to see to this one last monster.

"Let's... finish this." Link said firmly.
The creature, pure desperation fuelling its' movements, all but threw itself at Link in one wild gamble to survive where the other monsters had not. As soon as it was within reach, Link moved.

Link's left hand shot out, fast as lightning, to grasp the wrist of the monster's sword arm mid swing, skilfully directing the weapon away from Link's twisting body. Link's right arm trust the tree branch into the monster's open mouth. The improvised weapon exploded out of the back of the monster's head, a mortal wound if Edelgard ever saw one.

The monster's eyes rolled up into the back of its' head, and it expired.
With a long sigh, Link released his hold on the creature's wrist and the tree branch, allowing the corpse to fall at his feet. Link stood upright, his laboured breaths slowly coming back under his control now that the last enemy had fallen.

In the time it had taken for Dimitri to best just one foe, Link had utterly demolished most of the enemy. Not even the mages, who had actually killed three more red skinned ones while the battle was raging, had contributed this much to their victory.

The students looked on at the stranger they had found in awe as they slowly came to grips with what had just transpired...

"What the hell was that?" Link blurted out, looking at his own hands in undisguised shock. Safe to say, Link had become a very interesting person to Edelgard.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The aftermath of the battle would have been a lot more chaotic without Claude von Reigan. Edelgard had been more shaken by her brush with death than she cared to admit and had taken more time to regain her bearings than she would have liked. Meanwhile, Dimitri had seen several of the Blue Lions were injured, Mercedes and Ingrid in particular, and had rushed to help without thinking. Claude on the other hand had kept his head, and had immediately taken command.

"Leoine, get up onto the top of that hill with your sling. Ignatz, grab that monster's bow and quiver and follow her. You both are on recon. If there are any more of those creatures around here, we need to know," Claude barked, all humor gone from his voice, replaced with a steely authority that Edelgard was shocked to see him wield with such ease, "Mages, get that perimeter up! Lorenz, Caspar, get those weapons together. Linhardt, Flayn, are you done healing Mercedes yet? We have other injured!"

In any other circumstance, Edelgard would have been irritated to have control over the Black Eagles wrested from her so easily. The way Claude wielded command over all three houses, and the way they obeyed him so naturally because Dimitri and Edelgard had been just a step too slow in doing so themselves, could have been seen as a threat to Edelgard's own authority.

However, for this one-time Edelgard was grateful that Claude had assumed command.

She had something she wanted to investigate on her own, and Claude was making for a very welcome distraction. Link was sitting on one of the wooden stools at the encampment, staring at his own hands in shock. He'd retired there after the fighting was done, and no one had tried approaching him since, likely because everyone was intimidated by him and that there was much to do in the meantime. Edelgard, however, was not most.

"Link," Edegard carefully said as she approached the young man who had saved her life, "Thank you for saving me earlier. I would have died had you not intervened."

"No problem." Link murmured, not looking up to greet her.

Edelgard took in his form, and realized he wasn't just dealing with the shock of what he'd done. Link was exhausted. Although his body had been able to defeat those monsters, it seemed that now that the danger had passed, the exertion had caught up to him. Link didn't just have amnesia, but Edelgard had suspected that his mind, his fearsome skills, was not used to having a body this weak.

"You saved all of us, you know." Edelgard continued, taking the seat next to him, "I didn't know you were capable of such things."

"Neither did I. When they attacked, I just tried to stay out of the way," Link replied honestly, "Leonie was telling me on the way here how you guys were all part of this famous military academy, so I figured you'd have this covered."

"Well, that's only partially true. Most of us only just started our training at Garreg Mach," Edelgard explained, while also noting the fact that Link had apparently been talking to members of the other houses while she wasn't looking, "Granted some of us had prior 'schooling', but for the most part we are still pretty new at this."

"So I gathered. The way you all reacted, I know in my gut most of you haven't even had your first real battle before," Link wearily lifted his head to look up at where the corpses of the monsters had been dragged to and left in a pile, "And I think it's pretty obvious that this is far from my first."

"Still can't remember anything then?" Edelgard queried.

"No. Nothing. Not even when I was fighting," Link shook his head sadly, "It was... it was just like instinct? Muscle memory? One moment I was trying to stay out of the way, and then when I saw you in trouble, I just... I just reacted."

Despite herself, Edelgard felt her heart practically skip a beat when Link said the whole reason that he'd sprung into action was because of her. However, Edelgard quickly quashed the feelings rising in her chest. It would not do to form a childish crush on someone who so many unknowns about them, no matter how interesting, just because of one event!

That didn't mean Edelgard wasn't interested in him though. It was clear to her that Link's talents clearly would be a boon for her cause, and his lack of allegiance to any of the existing powers in Fodlan made him one of the few people Edelgard knew she could come to trust. Granted there was still the issue of his ears hinting at supernatural ties, but if she could just win him over.

"Whoever you are, whoever you were, you must have been a powerful warrior then," Edelgard quickly glaned up to make sure Claude was too busy barking orders and Dimitri was preoccupied with caring for the injured, which included a still recovering Hubert, before she proceeded, "You know, the Empire of Adrestia could use someone one like you."

"I'm sorry? The Empire?" Link turned his head slowly to look at Edelgard in confusion.

"It is the largest of the three nations of Fodlan, and the oldest," Edelgard elaborated slowly and calmly, her attention evenly split between the man beside her and watching the other lords to ensure they would not intervene, "It is also one that now owes you a great debt, Mister Link."

"I'm not sure how an entire Empire can owe me a debt, considering I haven't done anything for it yet," Link replied, "Uh, have I?"

Edelgard inwardly steeled herself, readying all her years of speech training for the trial to come. She could see Link entered into her service. Somehow, although it defied all rationality, Edelgard was certain with someone like Link at her side, the path she would walk would be different. It would be better. For that, she needed him.

"Actually, Sir Link, I-"

"Everyone! I have great news," Ferdinand declared jubilantly as he emerged from the cave entrance, "I have investigated this cavern, and it is as the Old Man said! Sir Link, come over, there is a pedestal inside this cave!"

"What, really?" Link stumbled to his feet, the energy from his excitement of this new discovery all overpowering the weariness he had felt before, "I'm coming over, Ferdinand! You stay right there!"

Edelgard, her mouth still open with her formal introduction still stuck on her lips, continued to sit on her stool. Her wide eyes were still locked on the place Link had been sitting just moments before, unable to believe she hadn't even gotten to her pitch before the proverbial rug had been unceremoniously taken out from under her feet. The opportunity to recruit a man as skilled as Link before Claude and Dimitri could notice, snatched away by the one ponce she never saw coming.

"Guys come over, there really is a pedestal in here!" Link's voice cried out from behind Edelgard.

Damn you, Ferdinand von Aegir.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Why were you investigating the cave anyway? I thought I thought you were inspecting the weapons with Lorenz and Caspar." Claude grumbled as the three house leaders, Linhardt, Link and Ferdinand gathered around the stone pedestal in question after Ferdinand's grand announcement.

"I thought it best to secure the cave mouth in the event there were further hostiles inside. A perimeter is no good if the enemy has already penetrated inside," Ferdinand informed the future Alliance leader smugly, "Once I was suitably armed with one of our scavenged weapons, I thought it was my duty as a noble to take the initiative in securing our safety."

Left unspoken of course was the notion that Ferdinand was reluctant to take orders from a member of the Alliance. As the prime minister's son, Edelgard knew Ferdinand was more prideful than most, but even she, the heir to the Empire's throne, felt this was bordering on extreme. She could only hope there were no other students who were not as open to cooperation as Ferdinand was, especially since they could not count on any of their respective nations for reinforcements.

"Going in alone was needlessly reckless, Ferdinand," Dimitri chided the young noble with a frown, "If there had been enemies in here, you could have been overwhelmed without us noticing."

"It will take more than mere beasts to get the better of Ferdinand von Aegir!"

"Wow, I am sorry you have to put up with this," Claude winced sympathetically to Edelgard, "actually, no I'm not. I have Lorenz to deal with, so instead I will take comfort with the knowledge that there is someone here who knows my pain."

"This is no time to be joking around, Claude." Edelgard admonished, "But, be that as it may, it does appear that our journey here was not entirely wasted."

Edelgard leaned down to inspect up to the pedestal in question. Edelgard could see the brown etchings and glowing orange glyphs set smooth darkened surface. An indentation, clearly meant for the Sheikah Slate, all but beckoned them to place the device upon it. In her view, the pedestal, and the decorations at its' base, were much more elaborate than the one in she had seen earlier.

"The elaborate etchings and décor definitely suggest this is an object of some importance." Edelgard surmised firmly.

"Aside from the monsters, the Old Man's information does appear to be accurate." Linhardt observed. He had followed the group into the cave while the other magic users were otherwise occupied to provide illumination, but found his services unneeded as the cave was fairly well lit thanks to some openings in the ceiling that allowed daylight to seep through. He had also followed because his scientific interest in the Sheikah Slate was also well known, but given the circumstances none could argue against his involvement.

"I wonder if the Old Guy knew about the monsters and meant for us to be attacked, or if was just a coincidence," Claude mused, "Oh well, something to worry about later now that we're here. Let's put the Sheikah Slate into this thing and get us a proper map."

"Okay, then," Link said as he unhooked the Sheikah Slate from his belt, I'm just going to put the Slate in there, if it's okay wit-"

Dimitri's hand clamed around Link's wrist just before the he could place the Sheikah Slate upon the pedestal. Confused about the intervention, Link turned to look at Dimitri with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you sure about this?" Dimitri said cautiously, looking at each member of the group in question, "Although the immediate danger has passed, there could be other traps and dangers in store for us. We are in no shape to take on another crisis so soon after surviving that ambush."

"What, you're worried about Link sticking the Slate in there is going to cause another earthquake?" Claude cupped his hands behind his head and leaned back with a smirk, "Geez, Dimitri. Lighten up. This is supposed to just give us a map, not make everything explode."

"We are currently directionless, and have no other lead to give us progress. If taking this course of action will truly provide us with a map of the surrounding region, our situation will be greatly improved," Linhardt pointed out logically, "Besides, in the event this device does not perform as the Old Man said it would, I am still curious as to what its' function is."

"I am all for caution, Prince Dimitri, but I do believe the old saying about how nothing 'ventured is nothing gained' does apply here." Ferdinand agreed.

Finding himself outnumbered and in the clear minority, Dimitri turned to Edelgard.

"Sorry, Dimitri, we've come this far," Edelgard shrugged with a comforting smile, "Might as well see it to the end now that we are here."

"Very well," Dimitri relented, "But do not say that I did not warn you."

With that, the Prince released Link's wrist, and the Slate was promptly placed upon the stone surface. With a mechanical whirr, the Sheikah Slate seemed to snap and rotate into place as unnatural sounds began to emanate from the device. The glowing lines across the pedestal seemed to pulse and intensify as the machine seemed to work its' magic.

"SHEIKAH TOWER ACTIVATED." An inhuman voice reverberated from the ancient stone. "PLEASE WATCH FOR FALLING ROCKS."

"Huh? What the heck?" Link blinked in confusion, "Please watch for whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa-!"

The Adrestian heir couldn't tell what happened next, for she was too busy screaming from the fact her whole world basically exploded. One moment she was standing upright, the next she had been thrown to the floor by an unseen force propelling her skyward. All rational thought in her mind was quashed by an earthquake many times stronger than the ones she had experienced before, one quaking her to her very bones. She could vaguely tell that displaced rocks were flying everywhere and nearly everyone around her was screaming in panic, but other than that Edelgard was finding it very hard to think from the sheer terror that gripped her heart.

For an eternity, it seemed like the tremors would never end.

Then it did. For a moment, Edelgard didn't dare move, fearful that this blasted foreign land full of monsters, earthquakes and other unwelcome surprises was not quite done with her yet. However, when the seconds ticked past and nothing happened, Edelgard mustered the courage to open her eyes and get back to her feet.

"Is, is everyone alright?" Edelgard asked as she stood up, "Are we all..."

Edelgard's words trailed off when she beheld beauty in its purest form.

No longer were they in a cave. The group had found themselves atop a massive tower, so tall that Edelgard wondered if it challenged the tallest spires of Garreg Mach, that had a perfect view of the land around them. The view from outcropping that Edelgard had been on before had been lovely, but it was nothing compared to what she was seeing now. Unable to stop herself, Edelgard walked to the edge of the tower to get a better view and found herself breathless at what she was seeing.

To the north, a vast plain larger than any she had ever seen in Fodlan. At its' end, a massive city and castle whose elegance was clear even at this distance. To the east, a massive mountain range, the most prominent of which had two twin peaks. To the north east, a great lake and river...

The more Edelgard looked, the more she felt spellbound by the sights before her. Sights she had never seen in her life in Fodlan. All her life, she had kept her mind singularly focused on her ambition, so it was unusual for her to have had a moment to herself. A moment to just sit back and take in the moment to enjoy the wonder of life.

"Amazing." Link's voice said from beside her, and Edelgard was alerted to his presence. She'd been so mesmerized by the sights before her that she hadn't noticed him come up next to her.

Strangely enough, Edelgard found that she didn't mind the company.

"Yes, yes, it is." Edelgard said with a warm smile.

"Hey, get away from the edge! This place doesn't have any railings and it's a long way down!" Dimitri cried out with alarm as he gently pulled Link and Edelgard away from the side of the tower where Claude and Linhardt were getting their own bearings.

"Dimitri, don't be such a worry wart," Link grumbled, "We were just appreciating the view."

"After what just happened, I am not taking any more chances!" Dimitri fumed, looking at Claude with the most accusing look he could muster once Link and Edelgard were far enough away from the edge, "I told you so."

"Yeah, yeah you did." Claude smiled sheepishly at the Prince, clearly embarrassed his jest about things not exploding had turned out to be rather poorly made.

"Is everyone, alright?" Dimitri scanned his immediate company and, other than some shaky legs and rattled nerves, found them to be in good health, "Good. Everyone's okay. I'm concerned about the others. We should find a way to head down and-"

"WE'RE NOT OKAY!" Ignatz screamed in fright from somewhere above.

"Uh, guys? A little help here?" Leonie's voice echoed soon after.

"Leonie, wha..." Claude spun around at the sound of his house member's voice, and after some searching, was promptly stunned to see Lionie and Ignatz clinging on to the side of the spire atop the Tower for dear life.

"Please help!" Ignatz pleaded, eyes wide in panic, "It's a long way down, I don't want to die!"

"How did you two get up there?" Link asked.

"When the rock you happen to be on suddenly explodes and a tower rises out of it, you tend to end up in a bad spot. Now could you guys please stop gaping and HELP US GET DOWN FROM HERE?!" Leonie all but screamed, legs kicking out frantically in an ill-advised attempt to get a better grip.

"H-Hold on, Leonie! Ignatz! I'll get you down from there!" Dimitri stammered while he desperately searched the tower for something he could use to help his two panicking schoolmates.

"Well, this is a thing." Link muttered, wide eyed at the two panicking students.

"Oh-oh! Young'uns these days get up to such odd things." The Old Man gwaffawed.

Every person on the tower froze in place at the sound of that man's voice. As one, their heads turned to face the large hooded figure, standing idly beside the pedestal at the center of the tower, looking very much amused at their current predicament. When he'd gotten here, how he'd gotten here, Edelgard did not know. But what mattered is that the Old Man was right there on the tower with them... and Edelgard, and the rest of the students for that matter, have some words for him.

"Hm, you lot look surprised to see me," The Old Man rumbled cheerfully, looking very much aware at how unnatural his appearance to them was, "Why, you look like you've seen a ghost!"

"YOU!" Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude snarled simultaneously, eliciting only a jolly laugh in response.

She would have words indeed.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THE BIRTH OF NEW LEGENDS

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD/FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES CROSSOVER

By Sasahara17

Prelude of Light, Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem Franchises belong to their respective copyright holders, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Note : Sorry about not having had the chance to implement the corrections given by feedback yet. I am planning on doing that next weekend when I am in Singapore with my desktop, which will give me the ability to make alterations much easier than my current methods. In the meantime, here is the complied version of Prelude of Light scenes 6-10 for your attention.

 

[sasahara17]

"...and to be honest, I had a half mind to put my axe through Rhoam's face at the time. Granted it wouldn't have done anything other than give away his true nature, but I we were pretty angry at him," Edelgard chuckled nostalgically while calmly sipping on her cup of bergamot tea, "That conversation we had up on the Great Plateau tower was interesting to say the least."

"True nature?" Seteth tilted his head quizzically.

"I would gather a much given he appeared on the tower without anyone noticing his approach," Rhea guessed from the facts she had taken from Edelgard's tale, "However, I am curious about that Sheikah Tower... what does it actually do?"

While this may have seemed like a random question, Rhea was in fact quite alarmed by the sudden appearance of these 'Sheikah Towers'. Technology from a time before the founding of Fodlan, had been incredibly advanced, possessing wonders that would make the current state of the art look laughable. However, with those wonders came terrible weapons that Rhea still shuddered to remember... and in particular if those the function of those towers was what Rhea suspected them to be, then that was something that the Archbishop had reason to worry about.

After all, global satellite technology was not that far removed from something else that was far more concerning than just providing accurate 'maps'.

"Well, principally, Sheikah Towers were designed to upload map data of the surrounding region onto a Sheikah Slate that had been inserted into the main console," Zelda supplied excitedly, "We also believe the towers are what helps the Slate's map function pinpoint the exact position of the Slate's holder on the map itself. Purrah has also hypothesized that the towers are part of the Sheikah Shrine Network that allows for teleportation-"

"While this is fascinating, Princess, I don't believe that the Archbishop and Seteth needs to know this now." Edeguard cut in firmly before the Princess' ramblings could get too far, "It would be more important for her to know about what we talked about with King Rhoam."

"King Rhoam?" Seteth questioned with no small amount of surprise. "The old man was a King?"

"Yes. King Rhrom was a King. The Former King of Hyrule, and Zelda's father, actually." Edelgard turned to the Princess in question, who now sported an embarrassed blush upon her face.

"I have no idea what father was thinking, presenting himself to you that way." Zelda huffed while averting her eyes in pure modification at what he father had pulled, "He caused everyone so much trouble, yanking your chain around like he did. I thought he was bad when he was strict and tough on me, but then I look at you lot and wonder if I had it easy."

"I'll say. I know Hyrule was very much a 'deep end of the lake' kind of learning experience, but Rhoam didn't make it easy for us," Claude threw his arms out in frustration, "I mean 'go find these four shrines, or you're not getting off the Great Plateau' was the next thing he told us to do. He wouldn't even point us in the direction of the shrines – told us to look for the Shrines ourselves!"

"He did take us to the Temple of Time so we could set up base camp. And he, uh, did give us all those baked apples as an apology." Dimitri pointed out. The Prince of Faerghus was clearly the minority opinion about King Rhoam's conduct, and was promptly ignored.

"Well, that nextly leads you to the next thing I wished to tell you about." Edelgard said as she set her cup of Bergamot down, "The Shiekah Shrines. They are ancient buildings scattered across Hyrule with many unique functions. I think it is particularly important to tell you about them because these shrines played a large role in how we actually managed to return to Fodlan-"

A loud series of knocks on Rhea's door interrupted Edelgard before she could elaborate.

"Not again. I asked not to be disturbed." Rhea called out to the guard on the other side, irritated from the interruption.

"Forgive me, your eminence," the guard from the other side of the doorway replied, "But it is Lord Arundel and Lord Rodriguez. As per your instructions, I informed them of Lady Edelgard and Prince Dimitri's return, and they have been insistent on seeing both yourself and them."

"Can it not wait?" Rhea frowned, cursing the boorishness of these foolish, self-important nobles.

When the students had gone missing, each of Fodlan's nations had dispatched high ranking officials and generals to investigate the disappearance.

The Empire had unsurprisingly sent Edelgard's Uncle, Lord Arundel, a thoroughly detestable man that Rhea personally could not stand, but had to tolerate because the Church was technically at fault for losing the students. Lord Rodriguez and Lady Daphnel were much better in that regard, but Rhea still found Rodriguez's concern over the disappearance of his Prince and his only living son seemed to constantly interfere with her own plans. Such as now for instance. The worst part was that Rhea, for all her position in the Church and a leader of Fodlan, could not say no to their request.

"Very well, then we shall go and meet them," Rhea sighed, stamping down on her frustration as best she could. She would have to resolve this quickly so that she would be able to get the answers she needed, "Were are they waiting?"

"In the main chapel with the other students, Your Holiness."

"So, hey, no one is looking for me?" Claude joked while Rhea, Edelgard and Dimitri rose from their own seats, "I'm feeling a little left out."

"Well, uh, Sir Reigan... Lady Daphnel was looking for you," the guard admittedly awkwardly, "However, she ended running into young master Gloucester and Lady Goneril and-"

"Say no more, I can pretty much figure out what happened. Well, it sucks to be her I guess," Claude chuckled while shaking his head at Judith von Daphnel's misfortune, before turning to Rhea, Edelgard and Dimitri, "So, do you want me to come with? I'm not sure what kind of help I could be since this seems to be a Kingdom and Empire matter, but since I don't have anything better to do I could come along in case I am needed."

"Actually, if you don't mind, I would like to ask young master Riegan a few questions of my own," Seteth said with a glance toward Rhea, practically begging the Archbishop for this chance to question Claude, "What Lady Edelgard just told us has me very concerned about the health and safety of our students. Lost in an unknown land with only the clothes on their back, and then getting ambushed right out of the gate, I fear for the hardships they must have faced."

Or more precisely, the hardships Flayn must have faced before returning home.

"You do realize they did survive the journey, as evidenced by their return." Rhea said.

"Survival may be one thing, but I worry for the experiences she-they would have endured. I am sure you are aware that not all wounds are of the body," Seteth replied, "I do have much to ask of young Reigan, and would seek your leave to do so."

"Very well, you may have it." Rhea nodded understandingly, "But please, only matters which would be pertinent to their health, and nothing further. There is much I need to hear, as well, and it would not do for you to hear it before I."

"I will see what I can do, Lady Rhea. Thank you for agreeing to my request." Seteth assented.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"Well, it's just you, me and the Princess now, Seteth," Claude said once the door to Rhea's office swung shut, the Archbishop and the two other heirs having departed for their meeting, "So, I'm guessing you want to ask about Flayn, am I right?"

"More or less." Seteth was not embarrassed in the least that Claude had read him so easily, or more precisely Seteth was not surprised that Claude knew of how protective he could be over Flayn.

Flayn had been very clear that the only reason she was still alive was because of the group, and had grown very close to them as a result. Obviously, they would know... more about her than Seteth would have felt comfortable with, however Seteth was quite certain that this group were people he could trust when it came to Flayn's best interests. Besides, they knew things that Seteth desperately needed to know about his dear Flayn.

"She's healthy and hale, if that's what you are worried about," Claude assured Seteth with a wide smile. "I am surprised she didn't tell you herself earlier."

"Flayn and I were not able to talk for very long. More than that, I know my sister quite well. There are times she will try to keep things from me. She can be very wilful, when she wants to be," Seteth admitted grudgingly, "It is for that reason I thought it best to ask someone else to tell me about her experiences in Hyrule."

"Awfully sneaky going around behind Flayn's back like that, you know?" Claude said teasingly.

"Come now, Claude. Can't you see the man is worried about his family member." Zelda chided the archer.

"Just having a little fun, Zelda," Claude waved a hand dismissively, "But honestly Seteth, you really are worrying too much this time. Flayn more than pulled her own weight in this group."

"Really?" Seteth raised in eyebrow.

"Really. Flayn really helped is get our bearings, especially in the beginning." Claude leaned forward and gave Seteth a knowing wink, "It's a good thing you were asking me this instead of the other two. I happened to be the one that helped established establish our first base camp along with Flayn while they were off gallivanting around the Plateau with Link..."

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

"…so the first thing we need to do, is gather some fish," Flayn stated with complete seriousness as she stared deeply into Claude's eyes to convey the earnestness of her conviction, "It is imperative that we gather fish from the nearby lakes and rivers to improve our food situation. If we do not, it will only be a matter of time before we all starve, will it not?"

Claude, standing beside the three gurney sacks filled to the brim with freshly picked apples that the Old Man had graciously provided them, could only return Flayn's look with utter incredulity. Claude had been in the middle of a stock take in the designated store room of the group's newly christened 'base camp' when Flayn had come in and presented him with her odd request.

"Uh, Flayn? Shouldn't we worry about other things instead of getting fish?" Claude asked the young healer carefully, " I mean our food supplies aren't perfect, but I think these apples are going to last us a good while. Shouldn't we prioritise other things like scavenging more weapons, or finding more clothes? Most of us are will wandering around in our jammies."

"Our food situation is not stable at all!" Flayn protested hotly, gesturing angrily at the apples, "One cannot subsist on a diet of apples alone! Protein is a key component of any healthy diet, and right now we are having a dire lack of it. The others put you in charge of our base camp, did they not?"

"Yeah. Yeah, they did, didn't they?" Claude dropped his head into his palm and gave out a loud sigh and silently cursed his own short-sightedness.

After the rather heated conversation atop the Tower, one which was interrupted by a frankly alarming sight from the nearby Castle that had quickly put a halt to any thoughts of gaining recompense from the old man, all thoughts had quickly turned to survival. Between the ambush he had just survived and the 'interesting sight' he had near the Castle, it was unsurprising that every one of the students had decided getting proper shelter was critical for short term survival.

Thankfully, the Old Man had helped them out there by providing them the basic essentials. Instead of housing the group at his 'dinkly little shack', the Old Man had taken the group down to the ruined Cathedral he had called 'The Temple of Time' where he had provided them some bed rolls and food.

However, the Old Man had also given the group their next objective – four ancient shrines located around the massive plateau that had been visible from the Tower's lookout. If the group found and plundered what was within those shrines, the Old Man promised he would give them a way off the Great Plateau, and from there hopefully a way home.

Although Claude and Dimitri had been understandably dubious about the Old Man's promises, Edelgard and Link had been very adamant that this was the way forward. Thus, when Edelgard had announced she was putting a party together to find and explore the shrines, Claude had been very quick in putting his own up to be the one in charge of setting up and establishing their base camp. While the future leader of the Leicester Alliance was all for progress, charging off into the unknown without a proper foundation was unbelievably reckless.

Hence why Claude had been put in charge of the student's fledging base camp in the ruins of the Temple of Time while Edelgard, Dimitri, Link and a few other intrepid souls were off gallivanting across the Plateau... and why every single student with even the most minor of problems or simplest of question was running up to Claude trying to ask him about it.

"If only I had a retainer like Hubert or Dedue I could have delegated. But no, I have Hilda, who is 'writing a letter'. I can't even dump this on Lorenz because he ran off with Edelgard and Dimitri," Claude groused under his breath, before looking back up to Flayn and returning his voice to an audible level once more, "Okay, Flayn. I was about to send Leonie and Sylvain out to grab that sword we saw in the middle of that lake tomorrow morning. I might as well send Ingrid and Raphael with them and turn the whole thing into a fishing trip."

"That would be wonderful! I thank you deeply," Flayn bowed before a thought crossed her mind, "Wait. I notice that you did not include me among their number. Should I not accompany them? It was my proposal to have a fishing expedition, so would it not be appropriate be to lead this group."

"Nope. I need you in the infirmary. You're our most experienced healer right now, so I need you to help set that up," Claude explained, mentally running through his list of things to do to ensure everyone did not die, "Why did I volunteer for this? So much I need to deal with right now..."

Shelter had been taken care of now that they had secured the temple, and food and fresh water were less of a concern after the Old Man's help, but there was still much to do. Ashe and Ignatz had scouted around and reported there were more of those 'Bokoblin' things wandering around the Plateau, which meant that the ability to defend themselves was at the top of his list. While the temple did have a few rusted swords and spears lying around, and Leonie and Petra had been working to craft some improvised weapons, Claude would not rest easy until everyone was armed.

And Claude was also keenly aware nightfall was coming. The Old Man has given out a stern warning about the dangers of nightfall, and while the old man had not elaborated, Claude could not discount those dangers... not after what he had seen atop the tower. For this reason, Claude had ordered Raphael to lead a team in boarding up every window, doorway and opening in the ruined Temple to make the place a lot more defensible.

He honestly doubted that Bernadetta's hysterical fears about 'the undead coming to eat us' like something out of Mercedes' horror stories would crystalize, but it never hurt to be careful.

"Huh. I did not notice how stressed you are until a moment ago, Claude," Flayn took a step back in surprise, "I did not realize you were dealing with this on your own. Should Hilda not be helping you?"

"Oh, she is. But she, well... as much as I joke around her being lazy, uh, some of us a taking the fact we are stranded away from Fodlan harder than most," Claude admitted guiltily, remembering his earlier gripes but clearly having not meant any of it, "Hilda happens to be one of them."

"How so?" Flayn asked curiously.

"She's writing a letter to her brother." Claude said flatly.

"But is her brother not in... oh..." Flayn brought a hand to her lips in realization.

The students had all come to the realization that they had been ripped away from everything they had ever known, loved or believed in. Many of them, particularly those who actually were close to their family, were taking this realization hard.

Some, like Raphael and Ignatz, had thrown themselves into their tasks to distract themselves from their separation from their loved ones. Others like, Bernadetta and Marianne, had all but withdrawn into themselves to come. Then there were those, like Hilda, who required Claude apply a more personal touch to deal with their feelings. It was a stressful job that Claude hadn't realized he had signed on for, but one he had to deal with nonetheless.

Claude knew this was why Edelgard had been pushing them so hard, and for all his beliefs she was being overly aggressive in making progress, in a way he understood why she was doing this. By pushing forward, Edelgard was giving them hope, or at very least a distraction from their current circumstances, that progress was made for their return. Reckless perhaps, but something Claude appreciated all the same.

"I was the one who told her to write that letter. She did want to help, but I could tell it was eating her up from the inside. So I told her to get herself sorted out first before she get on the job," Claude explained to Flayn with a helpless shrug, "It isn't like her brother is ever going to read her letter, but what matters is she gets to put those feelings down on paper where she can see them. Maybe then, she can begin to cope with, well, everything that's happened."

"That is very nice of you," Flayn said, "I am surprised with the fact you complained about it earlier. You cannot complain that Hilda is not here to help you, if you were the one that put her up to it."

"You heard that huh? And here I thought I was being quiet," Claude chucked with a cheeky grin, "Griping about how overworked I am is how am coping with this mess."

"I see."

"And how about you, Flayn? How are you dealing with our situation?" Claude narrowed his eyes as he took in the girl before him, "You are looking remarkably well, given our circumstances."

While he hadn't had a chance to check in with her before because he was so preoccupied with his other duties, now that Claude thought about it, Flayn was remarkably composed for someone who in their predicament. Claude had thought her a fairly suspicious person before when he had believed that someone in Fodlan was responsible for their abduction, but even after he was certain of her innocence in that matter, Claude found something about Flayn didn't add up. She was too composed, knowledgeable and mature for a girl her age.

Perhaps she was innocent of their abduction and transportation to Hyrule, but that did not mean that Flayn had something to hide. Although Claude had other things to worry about at the moment, he had a feeling in his bones that he needed to find out what it was, for the survival of the group could depend on it.

"Me? I am doing just fine, thank you," Flayn bowed earnestly, seemingly oblivious to Claude's suspicions, "Although you are right that I am worried about my separation from my brother, this is not the first time I have been caught in a dangerous situation. I have long since learned to control my fears, lest they overwhelm me."

"Really? That sounds like a very useful skill to have."

And a very interesting thing to let slip, as well. Not the first time she was in a dangerous situation, huh? How many dangerous situations would a girl Flayn's age have to endure to be able to master her fear so totally? Looks like there was something about Flayn after all!

"In fact, I have a proposal to put forward, if you do not mind," Flayn offered brightly, "Seeing as how you seemed to be overwhelmed with work, and I am one of the few among our number who seems to be well in mind, perhaps I could be your adjutant until Miss Hilda recovers."

"It would certainly take a load off my shoulders if you do," Claude grinned, "But are you sure about this? I have Linhardt coming to me every half hour about his observations on those weird statues crawling all over the Temple, Bernadetta getting scared by someone or the other almost on the hours, and let us not forget about Ingrid trying to throttle Sylvain for still finding the time to make passes at our female peers..."

"I am sure," Flayn nodded without an ounce of hesitation, the pure sweet innocent thing looking like she was actually excited about having to deal with this madhouse, "In fact, I would be delighted if you would have me."

"Fantastic. Then you're hired." Claude decided and held a hand out to Flayn.

"Delightful! I know we would make a great team!" Flayn took his hand, pure happiness rolling off her person as she shook it, "Come now, nightfall is almost upon us. We should make ready for it!"

"Yep, it'll be a good test to see how we work together." Claude agreed as he and Flayn made their way out of the storeroom and into the Temple proper. Hopefully nightfall wouldn't be as bad as the Old Man said... but given the way Claude's day had been going lately, he wouldn't make a bet the group getting on a restful night.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

The sun was beginning to dip below the horizon when Claude and Flayn returned to the main chapel, which had been designated as the operations area. The large open room had been perfect for Claude to house the bulk of the group's noise generating activities. Cooking, cleaning, crafting and other tasks critical for the group's survival were meant to be done there, away from sections of the ruined temple designated for rest and recovery. The fact it was all in one open room made it easy for Claude to keep an eye on things.

At the moment, Clauce could see Dorothea and Caspar working on cooking up some soup... thing... in a large campfire in the center of the room using the pot they seemed to have scavenged from somewhere. The soup they were making seemed to only simple ingredients, such as the mushrooms Dimitri had gathered earlier, but it would at least allow the students a better dinner than 'just apples'. Most of the students haven't had a proper meal since waking up that morning, so even this mushroom soup and apple combo was better than nothing.

Leonie and Petra were on a table not too far away from the cooking area fashioning and crafting improvised weapons. Most of their creations were basically sticks with sharpened rocks on the end, creating rudimentary spears, arrowheads and hatchets depending on the size of the stick and the size of the rock, but beggars could not be choosers. Owing to the greater danger the Edelgard's expedition would likely encounter on their mission, it had been agreed that away party would taken most of the actual weapons with them when they set off, so Claude saw any addition to the base's limited arsenal an improvement. Even a rudimentary arsenal was better than nothing

Raphael and Ingrid were leading the majority of the other students in an effort to secure the building Students were busy boarding up every window, doorway and opening they could find both to keep the elements out, and to make the Temple, and the students' fledging base cap, more defensible in case it ever came under attack. However, it was slow going, and the rudimentary barricade made out of loose rocks and old furniture meant to patch the large hole in the side of the Temple looked about as sturdy as a tall blade of grass. Granted Claude didn't think any attacking force would have too much trouble with their meager defenses... but it was better than nothing.

"Better than nothing is going to be my new catch phrase at the rate things are going," Claude muttered frustration as he noticed the overarching theme of his assessment their progress, "Man, what I wouldn't give to have a proper convoy. Logistics was so much easier when you had an entire country backing you up."

"I think your assessment of the situation is overly pessimistic, Claude." Flayn disagreed politely, "The lessons taught in the Officer's Academy were never meant to cover circumstances such as the one we are in now. All things considered, I believe we have done remarkably well."

"Well, optimism isn't going to patch the holes in the Temple's roof. I hope it doesn't rain tonight, or we are going to be wet and miserable instead of just miserable." Claude groused.

"Claude, there you are! I was hoping to see you," Lindhardt called out as he noticed Claude and Flayn's approach. The young scholar had been scouting around the Temple with Lysithea, who seemed really put out with her 'partner' as she followed beside him, "I have completed my investigation into the Temple ruins like you requested, and I have something to report."

"Do you now?" Claude raised an eyebrow, immediately turning to Lysithea with a questioning glace, "Does he actually something we can actually use this time, or is he going to show me one of those screws and gears he pulled from those big statues again?"

"No. Believe it or not, he actually has something to report this time." Lysithea admitted with a huff before jabbing a thumb at where Sylvan was banging away with a hammer at the first part of a palisade meant to replace the rudimentary barricade they had constructed, "Seriously, Claude, are you sure we should be wasting time trying to play archeologist in this old temple? As much as I like studying, we have bigger problems. I won't want to be attacked by those monsters again."

"Hey, I share the same sentiments you do, Lysithea. But right now, I am having a really big information deficit at the moment about this place that I need patching even more than that hole in the wall there," Claude explained while gesturing to the hole in the Temple for emphasis, "Look, when we get jumped by Pig Monsters on day one, see something out of my worst nightmares barely an hour later, and then get warned by the old man that it can get dangerous after dark... it kind of makes me want to know what else is out there waiting for us."

"And you think looking around a dusty old temple ruin can help with that?" Lysithea frowned.

"Hey, if this happens to be an ancient temple worshiping the root of all evil and were about to be swarmed by ghosts and monsters come nightfall, I would say that would be a pretty good thing to know beforehand. Don't want the ghosties to get us, right?" Claude teased, taking pleasure in watching the Lysithea somehow go both pale with fright and red with indignation at the same time.

"Are you two quite done?" Linhardt mumbled irately, while Lysithea spluttered with indignation "I do actually have something to report."

"Okay then, let's hear it." Claude nodded to Linhardt.

"Well first, I think you will be pleased to know that this temple is not one 'worshipping the root of all evil'," Linhardt pointed at the large winged statue at the Temple altar, "This temple is meant to worship a deity known as 'Hylia', who seems to occupy a similar position to the Goddess in the Church of Seiros' doctrine. Far from a place of evil, this temple was apparently thought to be a sacred place of protection and light. Well, before those machines came in and laid waste to it."

"Still going on about those machines again, Linhardt?" Lysithea shook her head disapprovingly, "Look, I concede that you were right about what we thought were statues being mechanical machines, but jumping to the conclusion that they were responsible for the destruction of the temple is just jumping to conclusions."

"And I believe the arrangement of the derelict machines is very much in line my theory they were besieging the temple, who I currently postulate was filled with worshippers seeking shelter at the time. However, I do not think that will be a discussion Claude here will appreciate very much," Linhardt said firmly, "As I said, this temple, the 'Temple of Time', was meant to venerate this 'Hylia'. What surviving scriptures I found on engraved in the walls point to this place being sacred ground that no 'being of malice' can enter."

"So this place is sacred ground then?" Flayn tilted her head quizzically, "I wonder if the protections in this place are similar to the ones in Garreg Mach."

"Garreg Mach is a fortress which is protected by the Knights of Seiros. This is just a temple. No way you can compare the two." Lysithea pointed out with a frown.

"Perhaps Flayn was talking about spiritual defenses. Like magical wards against ghosts and demons," Claude pondered, half-seriously and half-jokingly, "That's a good thing for you, eh, Lysithea? No ghosties around here."

"Enough with the ghosts already!" Lysithea folded her arms petulantly.

"I would have to agree with Claude, actually. The fact this place seemed to have been a refuge at one point, and the engravings I found indicated it survived 'a time of darkness' before, suggest this place did one have formidable protections. It just wasn't' enough, as you can probably tell," Linhardt extrapolated while gesturing to the ruined state of their surroundings, "Still should there even the smallest of chances that these defenses still exist, it could be a good boon for us."

"But if you want to be certain they exist, we will have to test for them." Lysithea added grumpily.

"Huh, interesting. It's good you got this information... I am curious how quickly you could decipher their language. We are in a different land after all." Claude mused.

"It didn't take me any trouble at all. I fact their script is completely legible to me despite my being certain I have never seen it before," Linhardt explained, "And we do seem to converse with Link and the Old Man without any issue without regard to a language barrier that should be there. Most peculiar, wouldn't you say?"

"Now that I think about it, you're right." Claude stroked his chin thoughtfully, wondering why he hadn't thought about it before. Too much happening in the meantime that distracted him, perhaps, "You don't suppose some form of magic is at play here?"

"I cannot rule out the possibility. There are too many other possible explanations and not enough information for me to believe our understanding of the local language is magical in nature. For all we know, it could be technological, or even divine," Linhardt decided with an enthusiastic smile, "Regardless, I am finding this area of study to be quite interesting. Almost as interesting as my Crest research in fact. I would like to continue my investigation, if you wish."

"Perhaps tomorrow. It's getting late, and I want everyone inside now that the sun has gone down." Claude noted the sun had dropped below the horizon.

"Of course. Getting good rest is important too. Come on Lysithea, let's get some food and pick out a place to sleep in. I'm tired." Linhardt gave a loud yawn and walked off, leaving a spluttering and indignant Lysithea to follow after him.

"What a peculiar set of people." Flayn said.

"I think you could say that for everyone here." Claude chuckled.

The last embers of red and orange beginning to fade from the darkening sky. The crescent moon had risen, and it was clear the night that Claude had been warned about had finally come. Claude called for a break in their activity so that everyone could gather around the main camp fire to share a meal and rest after their long, exhausting first day.

Aside from Ashe and Ignatz, how were a little late in returning from their scouting mission, this gave Claude the opportunity to assess how everyone was doing. As Claude suspected, the students' Morale was shaky. Most of them seem tired, scared, confused or a combination of all three.

Mercedes and Raphael both sustained grievous wounds this day, but they were surprisingly the most focused of the group despite their brush with death. Their work in the infirmary and fortification construction respectively definitely helped them keep their minds off their own concerns. Certainly, Annette chattering away to both of them helped, for which Claude was grateful to the redhead for.

Sylvain and Ingrid had were quietly engrossed in their own conversation. From what little Claude could eavesdrop on, the pair were talking concernedly about how the political situation back in Faerghus would be with them and Prince Dimitri having gone missing. Their conversation was quite grim, and Claude wondered how his own disappearance would affect the already fracturing Alliance.

Leonie and Petra on the other hand were talking exclusively about their work here. Claude was pleased to hear them so on point, but was puzzled by the fact Petra's speech was just as 'rough' as it was back in Garreg Mach. He knew she was having trouble learning the languages of Fodlan, and it seemed the translation effect Linhardt described did not help poor Petra surmount that problem.

Claude tried to listen to Linhardt and Lysithea for a few minutes, but quickly grew bored of them. Linhardt was basically shoveling food into his mouth quicker while Lysithea was complaining about how the Caspar's bungled cooking had accidently taken all the sweetness out of the baked apples he had prepared on the side. Thank goodness Dorothea's stew managed to turn out pretty well.

Hilda was, thankfully, looking in better spirits now that she had some time to herself. Granted her slumped shoulders made it clear she wasn't quite out of the woods yet, but hopefully she would be able to assume her regular duties tomorrow.

Most concerning of all though, were Marianne and Bernadetta. They two recluses weren't even talking, and just eating their food in silence. As amusing as Claude found Bernadetta's panicked antics, he was fearful for her mental health, and the same went for the depressed Marianne. Claude would have to look into this tomorr-

"G-G-GHOSTS! EVERYONE BACK IN THE CHAPEL," Ashe screamed in sheer terror as he sprinted through the main door of the Chapel, looking like he'd sprinted the entire way back from his scouting mission, "THE STORIES WERE TRUE, THE DEAD ARE RISING FROM THE GROUND!"

"What now?" Claude groaned, while Lysithea and Bernadetta both gave strangled screams in response to Ashe's sudden entrance. Putting his meal to one side, Claude reluctantly got to his feet and went over to the panicking scout. "Ashe, Ashe, calm down. What's going on?"

"D-DEAD RISING FROM THE GROUND! SKELETONS! SKELETONS OUTSIDE!" Ashe blabbered near incoherently to Claude's face, "SKELETONS WITH GLOWING EYES! SKELETONS WITH BOWS AND ARROWS AND SPEARS!"

"Ashe." Claude said, resisting the urge to slap the Blue Lion back to sanity. Seriously, if he kept going like this Ashe was going to make everyone panic. Besides, dead walking or no dead walking, Claude could see an immediate problem here and now that needed fixing.

"GODDESS PROTECT US, IT'S LIKE SOMETHING OUT OF MERCEDES' GHOST STORIES, BUT WORSE!"

"Ashe, where's Ignatz?" Claude asked.

"THE DEAD AR-Uh... What?" Ashe blinked.

"Ignatz. Your spotter. Wears spectacles, son of two merchants, pretty nice guy?" Claude reminded Ashe with a sharp look, "I sent him out with you so you two could back each other up. Where is he?"

"Ignatz is right behind me." Ashe turned around to the open door only to see a distinct absence of his scouting partner. In his terrified flight, Ashe had unfortunately returned alone. "Uh... I thought he was right behind me."

Well... crap.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-


His apprehensions about the dangers of night having apparently crystalized, Claude did not waste any time in getting a small team of volunteers together to go out in search of Ignatz.

Every second he spent floundering the response to this latest crisis was another precious second that Ignatz was out in the cold dark night alone. Thus, an immediate, decisive response was imperative.

"C'mon, Claude! Let me on the team," Caspar all but begged the archer, just a moment before Claude and his chosen few were about to step through the front door, "Edelgard already left me behind while she went off on her adventure. I don't want to be left twiddling my thumbs for a second time!"

"This is a rescue mission, not an adventure," Claude clarified snappily, less than pleased about this latest distraction, "I am not bringing anyone out there that I don't have to."

"Caspar, I believe that Edelgard asked you to hold the forr downwards. That is a very important duty," Petra reminded her fellow Black Eagle helpfully.

"Hold down the fort. Not hold downwards." Claude corrected the foreign princess.

"You are thanked, Claude," Petra noted before turning back to Caspar, "You are also very loud. In Brigid, when we are looking for prey in forest, it is not good to make noise. You would not be help here."

"Oh, come on! Edelgard took Ferdinand with her. Ferdinand! She doesn't even like the guy!" Caspar exclaimed in frustration.

Actually, Claude knew Ferdinand and Lorenz's inclusion on the Shrine expedition team had more to do with the two nobles forcing themselves on the team than their own merits... well, that, and Hubert and Dedue not objecting to the inclusion of a few 'meat shields' for their lieges in case things went sour, but now was not the time to explain this to Caspar.

Unfortunately, the enthusiastic response from the other survivors willing to volunteer for the impromptu rescue mission was slowing Claude down. Not that Claude didn't appreciate the courage of his fellow students, but this was help he didn't need right now.

Before Caspar, Claude had to turn down the almost the entire Golden Deer house for wanting to rescue their friend. Then several members of the Blue Lions had offered to come because one of their members had put Ignatz in this predicament, and it was their house's responsibility to make up for it. Aside from a few specific inclusions Claude had turned both of them down. Claude needed a small, fast and stealthy team that could grab Ignatz and get back to the camp as soon as possible, lest their rescue team end up needing a rescue of their own.

"Sorry, Caspar. Maybe next time," Claude clapped the young man's shoulder comfortingly, "Why don't you go help Raphael with the barricades? We may need them in case our return trip becomes a little hairy. I am trusting you to keep this place safe while I am gone."

"Y-yeah. Okay. You better bring me along the next time you do this, Claude." Caspar relented as he shuffled off to help Raphael ready the Temple's defences.

"Now that that's settled, let's be off." Claude announced as he drew his eyes over his chosen team. It wasn't everything he could have hoped for given the circumstances, but it was the best he could make do with given his limited circumstances.

Ashe, although still trembling with both fear at what he had seen and shame at having accidentally left his partner behind, was the first inclusion. Only Ashe would know where he and Ignatz had been, so as rattled as the kid was Claude needed Ashe or their rescue party wouldn't even know where to start.

Leonie and Petra were the next inclusions, both of whom had prior tracking experience while hunting through difficult terrain. Their mission was to find Ignatz instead of an animal, but the skillset they possessed made them important inclusions for this team.

Flayn was their last member. Claude needed to bring a healer in case Ignatz was injured when they got to him, and Flayn had pretty much been his only choice. Linhardt didn't have the energy for it, Mercedes was still recovering from her own injuries, and Marianne was an even worse recluse than usual. Flayn was, from what he had seen, also the best healer in the group by far.

Claude had debated on bringing an offensive spell caster with them, but given how flashy and loud most mages could be, it wasn't optimal. Besides, Claude's first choice in Mages was currently a quivering wreck at the thought of ghosts being involved. Thus, he had settled on this five man team to rescue Ignatz.

Hopefully, it would be enough.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

Under the cover of night, the group stealthily made through way around the Great Plateau in search of their missing comrade. It wasn't long before a very nervous Ashe was able to lead the team back to the very spot where he had first encountered these 'skeletons', and the team's two hunters immediately set to work in trying to reconstruct what happens.

"Footprints go that way. Looks like he went into the woods." Leonie said quietly, looking up from the freshly laid tracks the group had identified and pointed the rescue team toward the nearby woodlands, "Ignatz's tracks went that way, while Ashe's lead back in the direction of the temple."

"I went back to the temple because that's where everyone else was. I should have known that retreating to the tree-line was also something we were taught to do instead of assuming Ignatz was going to follow me. What have I done?" Ashe said shoulders sagging with guilt from what the aspiring knight perceived to be his own cowardice and abandonment of his partner.

"Ignatz was not alone. I am seeing six other tracks. Look like animal hooves." Petra pointed out, eyes narrows in confusion at what she was seeing, "The spacing between the hooves is very odd. The enemy that chased Ignatz was standing on two legs. But very few animals walk on two leags."

"Might be one of those Bokoblin things. They look like they're part pig," Leonie deduced with a grunt, "Well, looks like all these guys decided to chase Ignatz as a group... Thanks a lot, kid. My housemate is in trouble because of you."

"I'm so sorry." Ashe said, looking like he was on the verge of tears.

"You can feel guilty later. We need to find Ignatz first," Claude reminded the other archer and shooting Leonie a warning look not bring up the issue again until this was all over, "So into the wood Ignatz went? Then into the woods we shall go."

"We'll have to be careful about moving around in there. All that foliage could easily hide those enemies until they get in real close with us," Leonie lifted her makeshift spear into view, "As proud as I am about the weapons I made today, I'm no blacksmith. There's no telling how my stuff will hold up if we have to fight those pig monster again."

"Not to worry, Leonie! I have Nosferatu. No pig monster will get the better of us." Flayn added helpfully.

"I told you before, we didn't run into pig monsters." Ashe said, biting his lip fearfully, "We were attacked by s-s-skeletons. With g-glowing eyes an-and weapons. T-they c-clawed their way out of the g-ground and came at us the second the moon came out!"

"This again, Ashe?" Leonie rolled her eyes, clearly skeptical about his claims, "Seriously, Ashe. The undead are not real. You probably ran into those Bokoblins again."

"I'm telling you, we ran into actual living dead! I fire an arrow into one, and it went right through the rib cage!" Ashe insisted, holding up the group's one good bow for emphasis and pointing to the arrow embedded into the grass not too far away, "You see? My arrow is right there!"

"Maybe you just missed. Did you think about that? That's way more logical than skeletons jumping out of the ground," Leonie challenged, "There's no such thing as undead."

"Maybe in Fodlan. In Brigid, we have stories where evil spirits can inhabit dead bodies the dead to rise. I have never seen one though." Petra helpfully filled in.

"Petra, could you not?" Leonie grumbled.

"Brother once told me of stories about evil dragons and deities that could raise the dead as foot soldiers," Flayn mumbled thoughtfully, "It is said that only the most powerful and malicious beings were capable of such things. Perhaps that is what we are facing here?"

"Flayn, not you too!"

"Y-you see? M-maybe it's because we aren't in Fodlan anymore that g-g-ghosts are around," Ashe gulped, "W-we're in a foreign land far from the g-g-goddess' protection! That's why there are ghosts!"

Leonie slapped a hand to her head, and looked about ready to throw all caution to the wind and explore in anger when Claude's comforting hand laid itself on her shoulder.

"Guys. This discussion about skeletons is fascinating and all, but we have a missing classmate to find. Save it for after we find Ignatz and get back," Claude cut in with a mischievous grin, "Besides, talking about ghosts is waaaaay funnier when Lysithea is around!"

Every member of the rescue team looked at Claude's cheek with varying levels of disgust.

"You're terrible, you know that Claude?" Leonie huffed her house leader before turning away towards the woods where Ignatz had gone.

With that discussion over, the team carefully made their way through the foliage, Leonie taking point while Petra brought up the rear. The group found it much easier to maintain stealth by using the foliage as concealment. Unfortunately, those same the woodlands made it much harder for the group to find Ignatz than if he were out in the vast open plain also neighboring the temple.

The woods around them didn't seem too different from the ones Claude had seen back in Fodlan. Although Claude was no botanist, even in the darkness he could make out a few recognizable species of trees as the group progressed in silence. In fact, if he hadn't already known they were not in Fodlan, the future Alliance heir would have assumed this forest to be one close to home. Hopefully, this would be a clue that would give Claude an idea of where 'Hyrule' was in relation to the rest of the world.

It was a good way into the forest, while the group was walking in the shadow of a large tree, when Leonie suddenly held out a fist to bring the group to a halt.

"Leonie? What's going on?" Claude slid up right beside her. Although he knew speaking up now was dangerous, it couldn't be helped as the group had not learned proper night time hand signals before ending up in this place. It was times like this that Claude was keenly aware of their lacking education. Couldn't they have been abducted after having learnt at least some of the curriculum at Garreg Mach?

"That tree over there. Look at the pile of leaves under those roots," Leonie pointed with the tip of her spear, "I saw something shift about a moment ago. There's something in those leaves."

"Ignatz?" Claude asked, his fingers tightening around the hilt of the rusted sword at his hip.

"Shadows and foliage are making it hard to get a better look," Leonie replied gravely, "Could be just another animal, or one of the enemies laying an ambush. But there's a good chance it's Ignatz since his tracks lead this way, and I lost track of the enemies a while back."

"So it's probably Ignatz, and not one of those Bokoblins?"

"With some luck, yeah. But we'll have to get in close if we want to find out for sure."

"I was afraid you'd say that," Claude silently cursed, quickly forming a rudimentary game plan to tackle this latest crisis, "Okay, here's what we are going to do. Leonie and I are going to run in there and check those leaves out. If we're lucky, its' Ignatz and we'll wave everyone over and figure out what to do next. If it's an enemy and we just outed ourselves, we go back the way we came in a fighting retreat. Petra will lead, everyone follow. Do not get separated."

"I have our path memorized. If we need to flee, I will not lead you all astray." Petra noted confidently.

"And if we get split up?" Ashe asked fearfully, "It happened once. Could happen again."

"Plan B for anyone who gets lost is get out of the forest and run for the temple like your life depended on it," Claude ordered soberly, "Ashe, get that bow ready and watch our backs in case anything tries to jump us while we're checking that out."

"And don't hit either of us." Leonie added grumpily.

The two Golden Deer snuck out from their concealment, crossing the thirty feet or so between where the rest of their group was hiding in some foliage, and where the leave were. It was a nerve racking few seconds for the two students, but one that thankfully passed very quickly as they arrived at their destination without issue. Claude moved up to the pile of leaves while Leonie positioned herself next to one of the large roots with her spear readied in case it was needed.

It was as Leonie said, the pile of leaves was shaking. Something was under it. With a silent gulp of anticipation, Claude reached over to the pile of leaves and reached a hand over to brush some of the leaves away...

"Goddess! Please don't hurt m-"

Claude's free hand clamped down on Ignatz's scream before it could get any further.

Even in this darkness, Claude could tell that Ignatz looked to be in a terrible state. Lying on his back while using the pile of leaves as camouflage, the bespectacled artist was covered head to toe in mud, leaves and dirt. He was trembling badly, and his frightened eyes behind his smudged, but thankfully still intact glasses hinted to Claude that Igantz was clearly not in the best state of mind. Still, considering what the kid had been through, it wasn't as if Claude could blame the guy.

"Ignatz, it's me, Reigan," Claude hissed, keeping his eyes locked onto Ignatz's in an attempt to gauge his reaction, "We're here to rescue you. But you need to keep quiet."

Ignatz's trembling lessened, and the fear in the boy's began to ebb as the realization that rescue had come slowly dawned upon him.

"I'm going to remove my hand now. Don't scream, okay?" When Ignatz nodded in response, Claude lifted his hand.

"Claude! You came! Thank the goddess, Ignatz whispered, looking like he was seconds for crying in sheer relief that help had come, "I thought I was done for."

"Are you injured anywhere? We have a healer with us if you are." Claude asked, unable to tell if his housemate was injured due to both the poor lighting and all the gunk and junk on Ignatz's person.

"I-I don't think so. There were a few pretty close calls, but those skeleton things didn't manage to hit me," Ignatz replied while patting himself down, "Yeah. I think I'm okay."

"Skeleton's again? Seriously? " Leonie hissed from over where she was standing.

"Not now, Leonie." Claude shushed back, nevertheless feeling dread flooding his veins.

One person mistaking Bokoblins as skeletons while fleeing in terror was one thing, but two people? Something was very wrong here. They needed to get back to the Temple, and they needed to do it now.

"Can you move? We need to get back to base camp where the others are." Claude said.

"Yeah, I think I can." Ignatz replied shakily as he pulled himself up to a crouching position next to Claude. However, just as Ignatz sat up and moved the leaves off his person.

"Ya-ha-ha! You found me!"

"WHAT IN THE-?" Claude and Ignatz yelped as a tiny wooden... tree... thing... with a leaf for a face cheerfully exploded out of the foliage and practically jumped right into their faces.

"Ha-ha-huhhh... wait a sec. You're not Hetsu?" The tree thing said in confusion… just as something else jumped out of a bush fifty feet from their hiding place, clearly having been drawn by the sudden noise. Claude's eyes snapped to the new tenant, and felt his blood freeze in his veins.

It was a skeleton. It was a skeleton of one of those Bokoblin things. It had glowing red eyes and was standing upright when it should have no business of even moving. It carried a small wooden shield and a pitchfork in the other. It was also looking right in their direction. The skeleton's eyes met Claude's.

"Oh. Uh. Whoopsie?" The tree thing said nervously before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Despite not having vocal cords, or any internal organs for that matter, it let out a mighty cry and began charging at them.

"Ashe! Shoot the damn thing!" Claude shouted, grabbing a terrified Ignatz by the arm and running for where the rest of the team was. An arrow zipped out of the foliage and, much to Claude's dismay, went right into the skeleton's chest... and sailed right through without hitting any of the ribs.

"THERE! YOU SEE? I TOLD YOU THERE WERE SKELETONS!" Ashe blurted out in sheer terror.

"GO FOR THE HEAD!" Claude screamed at his follow archer while physically dragging Ignatz to safety, "THE STORIES ALL SAY YOU SHOULD GO FOR THE HEAD! SHOOT THE HEAD"

"IT'S DARK AND WE'RE IN A FOREST! INSTRUCTOR SHAMIR SAID WE'RE SUPPOSED TO GO FOR THE CENTER MASS!" Ashe fired back.

"YOU TWO ARE USELESS! WATCH THIS" Leonie, swearing in words most unbecoming of a lady, had a very different fight or flight response. She was actually charging the damn thing with her spear outstretched like she was Thunderstrike Catherine herself. Claude desperately wanted to call her back and chastise Leonie for her brazen stupidity, but there was no time for Claude to-!

Leone slipped past the skeleton's clumsy thrust with skill worthy of a student of Garreg Mach and, with a triumphant howl, thrust forth with her own weapon!

Right into the Skeleton's chest.

Missing all the ribs and its' spine.

Which meant it did basically nothing.

"Oh. Uh. Whoopsie?" Leonie gulped, now right in the face of a very annoyed looking Skeleton. Then three more skeletons burst into the clearing.

Well, that settled it.

"RETREAT!" Claude bellowed.

And so they did.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

What followed next was a blur of frantic running, confused yelling and sheer utter terror for Claude and the others as they ran for their lives, the living dead hot on their heels. Thankfully, Petra had been good on her word about knowing way out, leaving Claude the unfortunate duty of keeping the group together while the whole lot of them were sprinting through the darkness. No easy task when the Brigid Princess moved so much faster through the woods than the rest of them.

"Claude! Claude my glasses are dirty! I can't see!"

"I got you, Ignatz! Don't let go of my hand!" Claude continued to hold his housemate by the arm to make sure Ignatz didn't stray, and was thankful that his classmate at least was running on his own power. However, an arrow whizzing right by Claude's ear quickly reminded him that as fast as they were running, it wasn't nearly fast enough.

"They're shooting at us! The undead are shooting at us!" Ashe cried out in terror as anow arrow whizzed by him and embedded itself on a nearby tree branch.

"Why did I throw my spear? I didn't hit anything the first time, why did I think throwing my spear would do anything different? Stupid, Leonie! Stupid! Jeralt would never had made such a mistake!" Leonie shouted from somewhere behind Claude, anger at being forced to flee in such an undignified manner taking precedence over her fear, "This is bullshit! Ghosts aren't supposed to be able to use bows!

"These are skeletons, not ghosts!" Flayn corrected from up far ahead.

"Same thin-! Ah, that one almost hit me!" Leonie hissed as the party escaped another near miss.

Thankfully, it seemed that the darkness and the foliage was making it as difficult for their pursuers to hit them as it was for Ashe to do the same earlier. However, the Skeleton's poor aim did nothing too lesson the terror they felt at the fact death was nipping at their heels. Seriously, Claude would have rather fought one of those demonic beasts than these damn Skeletons. At least demonic beasts were something Claude had seen before and could understand.

Then the shadowy forest gave way to light. With an alarmed cry, all six students broke out of the tree line into the bright open night air of the Great Plateau plains. However, much to their dismay...

"Claude, there are more of them!" Petra gaped at the sight of another dozen of these skeletal horrors charging across the open grasslands at them. Illuminated in the male moonlight with farming implements raised high, the scene reminded Claude of a macabre painting he'd once seen while in Alliance territory.

"How many of these things are there?" Claude gaped in disbelief.

"We're doomed! The dead are everywhere!" Ashe despaired.

"Back to the Temple!" Claude ordered quickly, thankful that the new hostiles were not in the way of their escape route. "Run for the temple! Go!"

Petra leading the way, the students sprinted as fast as their legs could carry them back for the base camp with a small army of these monsters chasing after them. Thankfully, the arrows had stopped flying, telling Claude their adversaries were reliant on ammunition just as regular , still living archers were. Still, with little cover and concealment, it was no secret to where the students were headed. It was literally a race for survival.

The temple came into sight. In the distance, seated next to one of the windows Claude had designated as a lookout point, Claude could see an open mouthed Dorothea looking on in shock. Granted it was still so far away that he'd had to imagine the rest of her expression due to the distance and poor lighting, but from what he could tell the songstress turned sorceress had noticed them coming.

Well, them, and the skeletons right behind them.

"OPEN THE DOORS! OPEN THE DAMN DOORS!" Claude bellowed.

She disappeared from the window, the boarded up window slamming shut behind her. He hoped she got the message. The six students bounded up the ancient stone steps, praying to whatever goddesses that were listening they wouldn't trip on the way… especially since the clacking sound of bone upon stone could be heard uncomfortably close from behind him.

"Wind!"

"Fire"

"Thunder!"

Much to Claude's surprise he could hear explosions and lightning sounding off behind him, followed by collapsing stone and inhuman shrieks of rage. Someone was firing off spells? Well, it seemed like the mages in the temple were trying to cull the numbers of their pursuers. Well, hopefully the mages would have better luck then the archers had!

"Everyone, in here!"

Claude, still pulling Ignatz along, jumped up the last few steps and found the two large temple doors were open, Raphael and Sylvain holding them open on each side. Claude felt a burst of energy rush through his body as he all but threw himself through the doors. Funnily enough, he was moving so fast he couldn't stop himself in time before he half bowled over a waiting Hilda on the other side.

"Claude you-you-!" Hilda screeched as she all but shoved Claude's face off her chest, "Why I oughtta-!"

Claude did not need this right now.

"Is everyone through? Is everyone though yet." Claude clambered to his feet while all but handing an exhausted and drained Ignatz off to a waiting Mercedes, the Blue Lion having cleared a space for any injured they might have had upon their return.

"I'm through!" Leonie bolted past Rapheal and Sylvain, Dorotea, Linhardt and Annette, hands still sizzling after having let loose a their most recent spells, right behind her. "CLOSE THE DAMN DOORS!"

Claude didn't waste any time in running up to the temple entrance and, with a mighty heave, helped Sylvain close their side of the door while Raphael took care of his side. And then Claude and Raphael grabbed a nearby tree log to bar the thing for good measure. It was only after he had done both, that Claude allowed himself to bonelessly slump against the stone walls of the temples.

"I am going to have nightmares about this for the rest of my life." Claude decided, allowing exhaustion to finally take hold of him. Then Hilda was in his face.

"Claude, you ass!" Hilda growled, face red with fury, "You touched m-!"

"Not now, Hilda. You can slap me senseless for touching your boobs tomorrow. But for now, just let me rest in peace." Claude groaned as he leaned back... just as a loud thump sounded from the temple doors, and coincidentally his own heart. And then again. And then then those thumps became a full on rattle as the skeletons began their assault.

"Oh, come ON!" Claude groaned while he tiredly pushed himself back to his feet. Unfortunately, it seemed like his night wasn't over yet.

"Damn it, not even a moment to rest! Fine. Spears don't work? Get me one of those clubs." Leonie all but marched over to the part of the room that was their designated armor and snatched up a wooden log with nails driven into it, "Those dastards want round two? Fine, I'll give them round two!"

"W-What are these things!? Guh-Guu-Ghosts are not real!" A trembling Lysithea, cowering behind one of the temple pillars, pointed at the barricaded doors with a trembling finger, "This shouldn't be happening! This is a nightmare!"

"Y-you're telling me! I was chased by these things all night," Ashe reiterated as he went over to where Petra had lined up all the stone tipped arrows to re-arm himself in an effort to remain calm, "I fired an arrow at these things, and all it did was sail right though!"

"D-did you aim for the head? You should arm for the head! All the s-stories say aiming for the head issss-EEEEEEEEK!" Lysithea screeched as a bony arm suddenly poked its' way through a small opening in one of the barricaded windows near her and began groping around for a victim. Namely, her.

"Oh, no you don't!" Raphael raced over and with a mighty roard brought his arm down upon the ghastly appendage. A loud crack echoed throughout the room as Raphael's might prevailed, snapping the arm just above the elbow and letting it fall to the floor… where it flopped around like a beached fish.

The damn thing was still moving. Lysithea and Raphael took a few steps back away from the still moving severed appendage, faces frozen in expressions of absolute terror. In fact, everyone in the room was looking at the skeletal arm in horror. Well, almost everyone.

"Oh great, Bernadetta's fainted again." Caspar sighed.

Then a very angry Leonie Pinelli stalked over.

"This is for chasing me around all night, you dastards!" She growled, raising her spiked club and brining it down upon the animated bone in a powerful overhead swing. The mighty crash splintered the bone against the stone at the elbow. Unfortunately, this attempt to avenge her earlier humiliation and rally the student's morale didn't work out very well.

"The hand is still moving. Why is the hand still moving?" Annette cupped her fingers over her mouth to hold back a scream.

"Brother's stories never said anything about undead being this resilient," Flayn mused curiously, "None of the evil dragons I have heard of had minions that could function after sustaining damage like this."

"These skeletons do not die when they are killed," Petra agreed somberly, "My people back home are not going to be believing me when I tell them about this."

"Okay. That rules out brute force, arrows and spears. Did anything we threw at these guys work? Magic?" Claude turned to the three mages that had provided covering fire for the rescue party's final approach earlier, hoping they would have some good news for him.

"Well, Claude dear, I have good news and bad news," Dorothea said with shaky smile, "While I only had a moment to see what happened after our spells hit, the good news is blowing them apart with magic seemed to work just fine in scattering them all over the place."

"That's great!" Claude let out a breath of relief, thankful that something they had tried had actually worked, "but I get the sense there's bad news."

"Bad news is that I don't think it is going to be safe firing off our magic in here. Especially since most of our barricades are wood," Dorothea pointed out. "Unless you want the risk of blowing more holes in this temple, then we can't use most of our spells."

"On the upside, I hypothesize our spells' explosive nature might have hit a weak spot that eliminated out the Skeletons. If we can identify what those weak spots are, I think our regular weapons would function us fine in defeating these enemies." Linhardt helpfully added.

"So this club of mine will work if I just know where to smash these things? That's good to hear." Leonie asked, hefting the weapon over her shoulder. "Great. Tell me were to swing."

"It's the head! It's the head! That's how it is in all the stories right?" Lysithea babbled out tearfully, so frightened she had literally fallen to her knees. "I-I-I Linhardt, you say this temple was holy ground right? You said they couldn't get in here right? We're safe in here, RIGHT?"

"Well, that was my hypothesis earlier. However, even I am not sure if I want to test that theory," Linhardt motioned to the still moving hand on the ground, "At very least, we know they can stick their limbs in here. Perhaps that protection has since faded due to the state of disrepair the temple is in?"

The pathetic mewl of terror that escaped from Lysithea's throat would have been something Claude would have found hilarious in any other situation, but now it was a sound that pretty much summed up the entire situation the students were now in.

"So, uh, you got a plan for this or what?" Raphael nervously turned to Claude, causing all eyes in the room to shift to their Reigan heir, "Please tell me you have a plan."

"How sturdy did you make those barricades?" Claude asked simply, turning to the gaping hole in the table that had been flocked by piled up furniture and hastily built fortifications.

"Pretty well, I guess." Raphael replied.

"That's our plan." Claude answered honestly... just as seemingly every opening in the barricade suddenly sprouted skeletal arms, trying to reach past the fortifications into the temple beyond.

"Well, now. That ain't scary at all." Sylvain laughed fearfully.

"Shut up and help me repel them." Ingrid snarled, as she and Sylvain grabbed their spears in an attempt to drive the skeletons from the makeshift barricade.

"I wanna go home." Hilda whimpered. Claude couldn't help but agree.

This was going to be a long night.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

THE BIRTH OF NEW LEGENDS

LEGEND OF ZELDA: BREATH OF THE WILD/FIRE EMBLEM: THREE HOUSES CROSSOVER

By Sasahara17

Prelude of Light, Chapter 3

Disclaimer: The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem Franchises belong to their respective copyright holders, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, and this work is strictly a not for profit fanfiction.

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[Dizzy]

Really curious about Flayn's opinion in regard to the 3 divine dragons.