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Leicester had always been a strange territory, different than Adrestia or Faerghus in many, many ways. Their government was one, nay, perhaps was the biggest push to their differences: their lands were governed not only by the Five Great Lords—Riegan, Goneril, Edmund, Gloucester and Ordelia—but also by minor gods and goddesses.
From the northwest, the Assassin of Leicester and art laid his claim to the lands, protecting nature with his sword. Along the east, near Fódlan’s throat, the Beast of Leicester protected the weak with his gauntlets of steel. In the south, bordering on cruel Adrestia, the Archer of Leicester took control. In her past life she had been only a young huntress from Sauin Village, a woman by the name of Leonie. She had dedicated her mortal life to protecting the villages nearby and a sacred forest home to Golden Deer, Leicester’s representative animal. Upon her death, the Goddess Sothis blessed her with immortality, as she had done for the Assassin and the Beast.
While the rest of Leicester called Leonie as the Archer, Sauin titled her as the Blade Breaker.
Sothis proclaimed that she was the goddess of the hunt and of archery, marking the grove and forest near Sauin village as her personal home. Many young girls and women devoted themselves to Leonie, calling themselves her honourary daughters.
Leonie cared deeply for Sauin, as she did for all of Leicester.
However, war loomed between the Kingdom and the Empire, and Leicester found themselves in the middle of it. The Assassin and Beast refuted the idea of war, as did the five Great Lords. Leonie herself detested it too, preferring instead to protect Sauin and southern Leicester from threats. The three demigods agreed to withhold from the coming war, using their influence upon their respective lands.
But when the war came, it shattered through Fódlan, breaking the borders between Leicester and Adrestia and finding its way into the land of the Golden Deer. The demigods all did well to protect their lands, as did the five Great Lords. However, positioned on the front line with her bow and arrow and steed of gold, Leonie left Sauin open to attack.
The Count Varley, a cruel and incorrigible man happened upon the grove where Golden Deer came. He was one of the seven powerful lords of the Empire, and home to the largest munitions maker and armoury for the Empire’s war. The grove, home to a wealth of diversity, offered lumber and minerals for the taking.
Leonie’s daughters did all they could to protect the lands, but failed to secure the grove, which Varley’s soldiers claimed as their own. They almost cleared the area before the Blade Breaker returned in the nick of time. Rapt with anger, she threw her sword to the Count and scared his men away. But before they left, Count Varley himself killed a stag, a Golden Deer, out of spite and domination.
At the death of such a beautiful creature, Leonie’s sorrows bled through the lands. All her daughters mourned with her. To Sothis, Leonie pleaded for revenge, and as merciful as she ever is, the Goddess agreed to it.
When Varley returned to his territory, his new stag in his cargo, he called for his daughter Bernadetta to gaze upon it. The gruesome sight was almost too much to bear for her. Varley bitterly laughed at his daughter, he jeered:
“Wretched girl, try to paint it,
I bet you could not raise a brush, not even a bit!”
Bernadetta answered with silence and watched as a servant began to skin and clean the glittering Golden Deer. That night, in the silence of her room, she sketched it’s likeness, it’s lifeless eyes and glimmering antlers came alive on her parchment.
When the Count attempted to leave for Leicester once again, a storm closed in on his territory. He and his soldiers were enclosed inside. When he prayed to Sothis, Leonie answered in an apparition before him.
“I answer not to the man who killed my Deer;
For such a sin, he must give me the one he holds dear!
Nothing else will suffice,
I demand your daughter’s sacrifice!” Leonie cried.
“Until you give me her
You will have no part in this war!”
Count Varley attempted to send his troops out into the storm and fog, but Leonie had called upon her daughters to sit as snipers. Blood stained the arid lands, their weapons left idle. Days at standstill passed before the Emperor demanded a reason as to why Count Varley had pulled his troops from the assault.
He pondered the choice: his daughter Bernadetta had only been a thorn in his side since the day she was born. She was anxious and withdrawn and refused to sit still; often he had tied her to a chair as a tactic to improve her posture and make her calm, but it has only resulted in injury and screaming. Eventually, he gave up on her, and often refused to even acknowledge that she existed. Silence only broke when he wished to jeer upon her, and even then, Bernadetta would never dignify him with an answer.
However, she was the only one of his children to bear a Crest, and for that, she was the rightful heir to House Varley. But even with such a saving grace, it was not enough for Count Varley to hold back. Finally, the Emperor demanded that he fight or offer his title and head. In cruel choice, he relented and prayed to the demi goddess Leonie. When she appeared before him, Varley scowled upon her.
“I offer my daughter, Bernadetta
As sacrifice, who will be tangled in a fetter.
She is yours for the taking,
And should she run, her legs will take breaking.”
Shocked by his cruelty, Leonie relented and called for Sothis to ease the storm.
“Come to the Grove,
And let history be wove.
Let Bernadetta not know her fate,
Of which she will be loved, by late.” Leonie commanded.
The Count agreed to the conditions and cruelly summoned his daughter, under the guise that she had a match for marriage in Leicester. The parade of horses and guards made Bernadetta nervous, and suspicious of her father’s plans. She had been placed in a fetter to restrain her from moving, and rested in a locked carriage, rather than a palanquin. On the trip over, while Bernadetta fell asleep, Sothis came to her in a dream warning her of what would happen.
“Look for lilies, the sign of death;
And should you see them, hold your breath!” She cried out.
When she was woken by her father’s cruel hand, Bernadetta noticed the lack of groom, dress and wedding procession. And most shockingly, she noticed a lily on her father’s breast. The Count and his daughter fought, shaking the carriage until he dragged her out, her screams calling the attention of the entire forest, including Leonie who hurried with her bow from the dense woods. Those to witness her death watched on as the Count thrust the chains to his guards for them to drag her to the altar. But as they moved, Bernadetta cried out:
“Wait! I’m aware of what is happening.
I will go and leave willing
To the Goddess for sacrifice,
And pray that my body and soul will suffice.
Father, I ask one last thing of you;
These words from my lips are a curse, and I mean them true.
I curse you for your insolence,
I curse you for your ignorance,
I curse you for all your cruelty,
And to the Emperor, who you swear fealty!”
From her spot in the trees, Leonie watched as Bernadetta cursed her father with newfound strength. Fearless and brave, all the while shaking and teary-eyed. In her ears, the Goddess Sothis whispered:
“Save this girl, this poetess
Save her as I did you, Leonie the huntress.”
Bernadetta was forced to her feet by Varley’s soldiers. She stepped towards the altar, pressing her head to the stone, her tears staining the surface. The sword raised and glinted in the sunlight before coming down. And just as it did, Leonie sped to the altar, bringing the Count down in Bernadetta’s place. With godly speeds, she stole the heiress and fled into the cover of the woods. As Leonie hurried away, she heard the screams of the Count, presumably meeting his end.
With the thrashing girl under her arm, Leonie sped to an enclosed waterfall, sitting the crying Bernadetta down. She broke her chains and tether with her bare hands before searching for food and water for the countess. With shaky breath, Bernadetta cried out:
“Who are you?
Tell me now! Who?!”
“Leonie, of Sauin. The Blade Breaker.
And Sothis’s daughter, Fódlan’s maker.”
Bernadetta gasped as she fell to her knees, sputtering apologies. Leonie raised her head, pulling her from the sand. To her she spoke:
“Sweet girl, sweet waif;
You should have better faith.”
The Goddess Sothis appeared calling the girls’ attention. She smiled between them, pulling Bernadetta’s hand from the sand and placing it in Leonie’s.
“Young Bernadetta will be hidden here,
And she shall have no fear.
For Leonie shall protect her,
And always be near.” She commanded.
Aghast, the two women gazed upon each other as Sothis faded from their eyes, returning to her heavens above. And from that moment on, wherever Leonie went, Bernadetta followed. She stayed close by, as though they were connected by hearts and hands. As time passed, Leonie learnt of Bernadetta’s artistic talents and writing; and Bernadetta learnt of Leonie’s huntresses and skill with the bow. Bernadetta became as beloved as Leonie in Sauin.
The two grew as close as lovers, being tenderly remembered in each other’s embrace and by hands. Leonie would do everything to protect Bernadetta, donning a blade and hiding her as a priestess in her followers. And the first gift, which Bernadetta held fast to her heart, was a lyre that Leonie had crafted by her own hands. The lyre sang only the most beautiful music, which Bernadetta crafted the kindest lyrics for the goddess who saved her.
However, such happiness can only last so long. Infuriated at Leonie’s trick and belittled by the Adrestian noble houses, Count Varley sent his soldiers out to find her. Gruelling years passed until they happened upon the priestess in Leonie’s followers, before setting a bait.
Every night before slumber, Bernadetta would play her lyre and sing for Leonie upon her balcony of the treehouse where she lived. Her voice would carry out into the night, mimicking a siren’s call. Count Varley then set his plot into motion.
On the last cool night of the Ethereal Moon, before the snow would dust Leicester’s lands for a short time, Bernadetta and Leonie took to the balcony, gazing at the stars. As Bernadetta began to play her lyre, Varley ordered for his warriors to take aim at his daughter and the demigoddess. Their arrows flew, piercing Leonie and Bernadetta’s hearts, killing the latter. In a rage, Leonie drew her bow and arrow, shooting down Count Varley and sending his men running.
However, revenge could never bring back her beloved. She cried out for Bernadetta, cradling her in her arms and holding her tightly. With her dying breath, Bernadetta held Leonie close.
“Kind goddess,
I must confess
I—”
But Sothis is ever merciful. Seeing Leonie mourn her lover, she gave the demigoddess a miracle. She appeared before Leonie and knelt down to Bernadetta. With her powers, she removed the arrows from her body, pressed a kiss of life upon her forehead and spoke a prayer to revive the countess.
Holding her breath, Leonie watched as Bernadetta returned to her, now as the demigoddess of the lyre, art and the written word. And because they were both immortal, Sothis married them, rejoicing in their union. To this day, the people of Leicester claim they can see the goddesses walking through their lands together, hand in hand.