Archive of Our Own

“Ah, my child,” Rhea greeted Byleth as they entered her room. “Thank you so very much for joining me here. Tea?” she asked, pointing to an already-poured cup.

Byleth looked a bit surprised.

“There is no need to look a bit surprised, my child. Please take a seat,” Rhea said, gesturing to the tea.

WIth a nod, Byleth did what they were told. They noticed Rhea visibly relax when Byleth drank her tea.

“Do you like it? It’s Tea of the Saints, my favorite. Is it to your liking?”

A nod.

“Excellent. Let us not dally on important matters: there’s something I need to ask of you.”

“Oh?” Byleth asked, in between sips.

“We have many soldiers here at the monastery, but I need to find dissident information. Here.”

Rhea handed Byleth a strange-looking device.

“This is an Orange Watch. You wear it around your wrist and it shows you a map of Garreg Mach and who you have yet to have a conversation with.”

Putting down the teacup, Byleth strapped the device around their wrist; they noticed it had a few buttons on it.

They looked up and Rhea answered their thoughts: “There are several buttons to change the zoom on the map, that is all.” She smiled. Byleth almost felt something.

“Will this be doable for you?” Rhea asked.

Byleth nodded, finishing up their tea.

“Most excellent. Thank you, my child. You are free to go.”

Once outside, Byleth checked their Orange Watch. The entire blueprint of the monastery was filled with blinking white dots.

The closest one was a Knight of Seiros by the Officer’s Academy. Byleth approached them.

“Oh, so if it isn’t the newest professor! You know, I didn’t say anything, but Zanado was a place I use to drink with my buddies after work before we scored this job looking after the archbishop. It was kinda creepy, actually. Don’t do that.”

Byleth blinked, then moved on. Did… did that count as dissident information? No use but to continue trying. The next blinking dot was outside the Knight’s Hall.

“Oh hey pal,” came a familiar voice behind Byleth. It was Balthus! “What’re you up to?”

Byleth held up their Orange Watch, showing him the blueprint.

“Whoa, fancy stuff, friend. Too fancy for my blood. Although…” he said, starting to think. Byleth decided to strike up a conversation with the Knight before Balthus suggested pawning it off.

“Oh, hey Professor! Once, I rode my horse through the libraries in Abyss and messed them up. Heh, stupid Abyssians. I hate when people try to live their lives through obvious persecution and oppression!”

“Is that right?” Balthus muttered, pushing up his sleeves. Byleth left the area as quick as they were able.

The next blinking dot was in the dining hall; it seemed they were in line.

“Professor! Ugh. Did you try the Zanado cakes today? I hate them, but I can’t help myself, I just have to have something else to clear out the awful taste of plot armor.”

Byleth nodded. Plot armor was the worst.

“Oh, yeah,” said the Knight in front of the first one. “Can you imagine how awful it would be if  half of the plot armor was stuck within you as a disembodied voice?”

The first Knight shuddered. “No way, don’t freak me out like that.”

Byleth continued: the fisherman’s wharf.

“Ah, hey Professor, did you know? The bandits at Zanado were originally figure skaters in Enbarr, the Adrestia capitol. It can get warm there, so magical ice was always used to keep the skaters afloat if you know what I mean.”

Byleth didn’t.

“...Well. I guess anyone can be a professor nowadays.”

Shaking their head, Byleth left. The marketplace was next.

“Professor, are you sure you’re okay with going to Zanado ? I hear it’s important, and going to important places in a Fire Emblem game usually means your dad’s going to die.” After Byleth made a face and put their hand on their hilt, the Knight backpedaled. “N-not there , of course. It could be anywhere, don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry ?” Byleth challenged.

“Oh, no, I mean, your dad is going to die and it’s likely because in the Imperial Year 1152 he lost a bridge game with the Great Archduke of Fraldarius. What, you didn’t know that?”

Byleth glared at the Knight, but they sounded as if they were just talking nonsense anyway. They pressed onto the other side of the marketplace.

“Professor! The Goddess Tower is the place to be after the ball. Did you know when it’s happening? It’s when you dance and then sit and make out in a musty tower. Lots of bats in those belfries, if you know what I’m saying. Anyway, we’re being deployed to find Lord Lonato. Apparently, he had been locked up for being in poverty and has now escaped. You should find Ashe.”

Byleth nodded, knowing Ashe’s favorite word was “Lonato,” so that had to be relevant.

Fast traveling to the chapel, five different iterations of Ashe sat at a pew. He looked to be phasing in and out of existence with the other interations.

“Hello, Ashe, I wasn’t aware interdimensional travel was a facet of Garreg Mach,” said Byleth.

All of the Ashes spoke at once:

“Oh, Lonato, why would you do this?”

“What would spark Lonato to do something so horrible?

“It’s because of Lord Lonato that I’m even here!”

“Lonato once beat me in tic-tac-toe.”

“You can speak full sentences ?”

Byleth decided to leave all five Ashes to figure themselves out and which timeline they wanted to belong to.

A few other blinking dots were left, most in the cathedral, so Byleth waved one down.

“He- llo .”

That was all they said; the tone was suggestive, but they walked away first. Byleth shrugged. The next Knight was a bit more talkative.

“On the Imperial year 1175, Brigid joined Dagda and invaded the Empire, crushing Houses Nuvelle and Ochs. Isn’t that strange? I’ve never heard of poorer countries used in untold proxy wars except in the hidden cache of Church Wrongdoings Seteth keeps buried. Heh, that’s an endless stream of chronicled documents circulating in Abyss, did you know that? Anyway, we didn’t even need another rich country, we just forced Dagda and Brigid to fight each other for provisions! Weird that they attacked the Empire after that…”

Byleth left. Was that the dissident information? If it was and Byleth didn’t report it, would Byleth be excommunicated from the Church?

“No, we’ll probably kill you,” said Catherine, reading Byleth’s thoughts in an outstanding display of the fourth wall crumbling. “Anyone who disobeys the church deserves it, after all! I’d be a better character if I could think for myself.”

Byleth nodded, noticing Shamir walking outside.

“I hear someone’s gay in the Church,” Catherine whispered, leaning over. “It sure as heck isn’t me, but Goddess I hope it’s Shamir. Isn’t she so hot with that look on her face?”

Before Catherine started talking about how lightly done she wanted her “toast,” Byleth walked to another Knight.

“Greetings, Professor! I have to ask: how does the Blade Breaker like his meals? I made a Duscar boarsteak in the shape of a heart for him the other day, but he was on a mission and couldn’t access it. Anyway--”

Byleth walked away before they could finish. Looking at their Orange Watch, Byleth noted their mission was done.

Back in Rhea’s room, Byleth returned the Orange Watch. Rhea couldn’t help but notice the mixed expression on their face.

“What’s wrong, my child?

After trying to formulate the right words, Byleth asked, “What’s a Fire Emblem?”

“A miserable pile of secrets, my child.”

Byleth nodded sagely. After all, only a vania of castles could be stranger.