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Claude considered himself a tactical genius. He had finally united the Alliance into a Federation, gotten a foothold in Almyra thanks to Nader, talked an elite merc company into working for him, all while still having the best card in the deck in his hand: Shez. He was always two steps ahead, and that was something he took pride in.
But this? He never could have seen this coming. Those Who Slither in the Dark taking over Edelgard, throwing the Empire into chaos and destruction, burning Adrestia to ashes. And as if that weren't enough, Shez had gone berserk from a voice in her head taking over her body, which was only dealt with once Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude, and Shez all came together to defeat the strange mage. And while he had heard that Edelgard was no longer being controlled, the Empire was still broken beyond her own repair. Not to mention the continued existence of Those Who Slither in the Dark. Something had to be done, and it had to be done now.
Which is why he and Shez were sitting in the common area, the doors locked and no one else in the room, awaiting the arrival of the King of Faerghus. Looking over at Shez, he saw that she was currently staring off into space, her eyes unfocused. She'd been zoning out like this a lot lately, even more than usual. It was as if she were lost deep in thought, her mind somewhere else entirely. He had asked her if Arval was still in her head, but she continued to insist that they were not, to the point that the last time he asked, she was reduced to tears. That day he vowed never to ask again. He'd be worried if she lost focus like this on the battlefield, but that was never a problem even in the years that Arval was still with her, so he just chalked it up to a habit from having a person inside your head telling you what to do sometimes. She still showed signs of trauma, though. Always on high alert, moving quickly from place to place, as if she was afraid someone was following her. Claude supposed that was only natural when being betrayed by essentially your own conscience whom you had trusted with your life countless times.
Claude hoped one day she would talk to him about it. His to-do list as king was long, and he hoped he would be able to have someone as dependable as her with him as he slowly checked each item off. There would be time for her to heal, time to come to terms with what happened, time to recover and move on. Claude knew she could; Shez could do almost anything she put her mind to. That much he had learned over these two and a half years, if nothing else. She would pick herself up again, he knew she would.
A sudden knock on the door ended the silence, and sure enough Shez immediately snapped out of it and stood up quickly, gripping the hilt of her physical sword. Claude, however, stayed put as a voice from outside announced, "Your Majesty! King Dimitri has arrived!"
Shez glanced at Claude, who nodded, giving permission to unlock the door. Once it was open, in walked a tall blonde man that Claude immediately recognized as the King of Faerghus, followed by a much shorter man with a jet black ponytail that could only be Felix, Dimitri's right hand. It made sense. Claude had Shez in case things went awry, and Dimitri had his own bodyguard for the same reason. But Claude had no intentions of fighting with Dimitri because 1) he wouldn't win and 2) that wasn't what they were here for. Quite the opposite in fact. Putting on an easy smile, Claude rose from his seat and extended a hand for his old classmate to shake. "Been a while since we just sat down and talked, eh? Welcome to our humble camp, your Majesty!"
Dimitri sighed at Claude's theatrics, but still shook the offered hand with a small smile of his own. "It does feel good to take a break from the fighting," he admitted. "I hope we do come to an agreement today."
"Well then, get comfy! I've got a lot to say."
Once they were both seated, Shez and Felix standing silently behind their respective leaders, Claude thought about where to start. He had to navigate this conversation carefully. The scheme he had come up with clashed with a lot of Faerghus values, so if he wanted Dimitri to agree, he would need to frame his idea in a way that highlighted the benefits for the Kingdom. "We both know this war has gone on long enough," he began. "I think I have an idea for how to end it, but you'll have to hear me out. It's a lot."
Dimitri nodded before giving his response. "I expected as much. I'm listening."
"I'll start with the Kingdom's role: dedicating all its efforts to the Western front, with the end goal of securing Empire land under its rule," Claude explained. As Dimitri's eyebrows raised, he quickly continued. "Sounds like a lot, right? But think about it. Faerghus lacks natural resources and barely has the gold to sustain its people. But the Empire has none of those issues. They're swimming in money and have fertile land like Gronder Field. Uniting the two powers would help balance that all out, especially if you establish trade routes through the mountains. And if you're worried about revolts, I'll have you know that my scouts have discovered that it's really only the greedy nobles who stand with the current power structure. The people are in dire need of help, and many are already fleeing to the Federation or Kingdom." Claude paused for a moment to let that all sink in before concluding. "Now. I've talked your ear off. What are your thoughts?"
Dimitri rubbed his chin, clearly turning Claude's words over. "I do like the idea of having those benefits for my people. The war has destroyed and ruined so many lives… the resources in the Empire would certainly help in recovery. But how do you suppose my army would get the stamina to march all the way across Adrestia to secure the land? We are not as large a force as the Imperial Army.”
Claude smirked. “I expected you to say that. I’m also giving you the Ashen Demon. She's decided she needs some time away from Shez. If you haven’t seen her in action, let me tell you, it’s almost frightening. If you didn’t think one soldier can change the course of an entire battle, she will change your mind. Also, I think you’ll get along."
Claude felt a bit bad just saying it so plainly when Shez was standing right behind him, but it was something she had already been made aware of and agreed to. After a long talk with profuse apologies on Shez’s end, the two mercenaries had agreed to part ways for a while. Meanwhile, Dimitri seemed to be thinking it over. “A soldier that can change the course of an entire battle… that is something I would like to see. However," Dimitri's eyes raised from the floor to meet Claude's. "I know you well enough to know that somewhere in here is a catch. You must be benefiting from this too, somehow."
Claude chuckled. "Got me cornered, huh? Well, you might not like this part as much. I aim to destroy the Central Church. While you focus on fighting the Empire, I will focus on drawing the Church east and taking them on full force.
Dimitri's eyebrows all but vanished into his bangs, but he didn't seem angry, which was a relief. "So… you don't hold any animosity towards the Kingdom at all?" he asked. "But then what do you have to gain from taking out the Central Church?"
"Think about it. While I don't agree with Edelgard's methods, I do agree that the Central Church is a problem that needs to be dealt with. And really, it's not even the Church as a whole that is the problem. It's the people at the top who are controlling it, namely Rhea. If people find hope in their faith, that's a good thing. What's not a good thing is the fact that Rhea has never left room for other people's faiths, people outside Fodlan that are kept away by the teachings of the Central Church. It's wrong to look down on people for how they look, what they believe in, or where they come from, and it's an ideology that I want to wipe from the continent — the whole world if I can. And the only way to bring about that kind of future is to unleash ourselves from the only thing holding us back: the Archbishop. That is what I want gone, not the Kingdom."
It was then that Claude realized his tone was starting to get too firm, and he willed himself back into his normal calm demeanor. Dimitri didn't seem to notice though. Once again he seemed lost in thought, and Claude decided to give him time. That was a lot to dump on him all at once, so it was only fair to give him a second to digest it all. Finally the other king took a deep breath. "I do understand where you are coming from," he mused. "And I do agree that a world without those ideologies would be a good thing. However, I have two major problems with your plan. First, the Central Church is what gives Faerghus its authority. I have been trying to enact reforms myself, but to destroy the very power that gave us our name… it is far too radical for a stubborn people like mine. They would brand me a traitor. Second, I fear that such actions are too rash and quick, and would open up an enormous power gap that those with ill intent would be eager to fill. That would cripple any kind of good we would be trying to bring about."
Claude leaned back in his seat with a confident smile. "Ah, but your Majesty, I have already considered these things. I've thought a lot about this plan, and when I say a lot, I mean a lot. First," Claude began to count off his points on his fingers, "You wouldn't be betraying anyone. All you would be doing is focusing all your efforts on fighting the Empire, rather than splitting your resources trying to protect the Church Leaders at the same time. Which is completely fair, considering the tide the war has taken. I'd be doing the dirty work, not you. I plan on taking her out personally, anyway, so the blame for it would be on me. Even you have to agree that it's become more trouble than it's worth to harbor the Church. The longer you shelter Rhea, the longer this war will drag on and the more people will die. You can't justify that, not when your people are taking the slings and arrows for the bigwigs in power.”
Dimitri sighed at that. "You have a point. When the war started, the nobles were divided on whether or not offering asylum to the Central Church was worth going to war with the Empire. In the end, I believed accepting them was the right thing to do. I still think it was, at least at the time, despite all that has happened. But things have changed. I can no longer avoid making a choice between ensuring the safety of my people and allowing the Church leaders to continue to take shelter in their lands."
Claude had to contain his excitement. He had been worried Dimitri would be more opposed to this, but it was starting to look like they might actually come to an agreement. It was frankly a miracle. "Exactly. I'm impressed, Dimitri. I was afraid you'd storm out the minute I started talking about my side of the deal," he joked.
Dimitri gave a slight smile and let out a huff through his nose that almost sounded like a laugh. “Have a little more faith in me, Claude. I’m stubborn, but I’m not blind.” His smile dropped after that though. “What is your second counterpoint?”
“Glad you asked. Taking out the Central Church would create a power gap… if it had any authority right now. At the moment, Rhea’s power is exclusively an abstract concept. Any real political influence was taken from her hands when Garreg Mach fell. The only power she has is taking advantage of your sense of duty and your people’s resources and energy to ensure the Church’s survival. The power gap would be filled by Faerghus as it takes the majority of Fodlan under its authority. Then-”
“Which gives me another question.”
Claude stopped as Dimitri butted in, and he couldn’t help but be slightly unnerved at the way the other king was looking at him. His blue eyes seemed to be staring straight into his soul, piercing through him like an ice-cold lance. “Go ahead,” Claude responded, his smile disappearing.
“What do you, personally, have to gain from this?” When Claude just blinked, struggling with thinking of a response, Dimitri smirked. “Don’t bother lying Claude. We both know you’re terrible at it. That’s why you never tell anyone anything.” Frowning, Dimitri continued. “So what are you gaining from this? The way you're saying it, there seems to be almost too much benefit for the Kingdom. You’re not a selfless person, so what is your leverage?”
Claude sighed, briefly wondering how he didn’t expect this. Dimitri wasn’t stupid, so he should have been more prepared for him seeing through his spiel. “Well then, I’ll be honest. I don’t actually have my sights on Fodlan anymore. The reason I’m giving most of it to you is because I plan on uniting Leicester and Almyra into one united Federation.” As Dimitri’s eyebrows skyrocketed, Claude held up his hands. “I know, that probably sounds crazy to you. But that’s part of my plan to break down the walls between Fodlan and other nations. Almyra is sorely misunderstood, and I happen to be uniquely suited to fix that, due to… connections I have there. It's quite personal, to be honest, and it's time I confront it.”
For a moment Claude thought Dimitri would press him to elaborate, but thankfully he didn't. He merely sighed again. "So if I have this correct, your plan to end the war is for the Kingdom to take over the Empire, and for the Federation to dissolve the Central Church?"
"Precisely," Claude confirmed. "Again, I've thought a lot about this whole thing. How to end this war swiftly while ensuring the least loss of life possible. And this is the result of all that brainstorming. I think I can trust you to carry out your part of the plan in a way that involves the least casualties. Me? The only person I need dead is the Archbishop. The rest of the Central Church will lose its power without her, and the Empire's whole justification for this war will be obsolete, which will-"
"-lower its army's morale and cause the citizens to turn to the power working to liberate them," Dimitri finished, his eyes shining with realization.
"And now you see why the Central Church is a problem that needs to be taken care of," Claude pointed. He was kind of proud of his old classmate; Dimitri had really opened his mind. "So, now that we're on the same page, what do you say? Shall we work together to put a stop to all this fighting?" Claude held out his hand again, hoping against hope that he had managed to really get the other king on board with this.
Dimitri furrowed his brow as he stared into Claude's eyes again, that chilling blue gaze searching again, searching for some kind of unsaid catch or hidden trap. But just when Claude was beginning to think it was a lost cause, Dimitri finally accepted the gesture, giving Claude's hand a single firm shake. "I'm tired of this war, Claude," he admitted, his voice holding an exhaustion beyond his years. "I have never seen a longer two and a half years. It has felt like twice that much. If this plan of yours can really stop it, then I will do what I must to make it so."
Claude nodded, working very hard to keep his glee in check because this couldn't possibly have gone better. He settled for giving his old classmate one of his signature friendly winks and another confident smile. "It will. Let's end this, Dimitri."