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ANCIENT MEMORY
War. Nothing but endless war. Thousands of soldiers - on horseback, on pegasi, on foot. You are the knight meeting his death at the end of a lance and the soldier who killed him. Blood turns the soil into a red muddy paste, and explosions of light leave nothing of their victims but blackened skeletons.
YOU
More war, please.
ANCIENT MEMORY
Oh, my friend, you know there’s more war where that came from. There has never been a time before war, and there will never be a time after it.
The moment stretches eternal. You die a hundred times and you watch the life drain from your eyes from the perspective of your killer. For some, it’s a holy war, but for most, it’s animal cruelty. It’s shaking knees and the stench of death and the cold realization that this inhumanity is the last thing you will ever see.
YOU
Wait, I don’t want to die.
ANCIENT MEMORY
‘You’? There is no ‘you’. You are the fire that turns this land to ash. You are the sword that flies out of a recruit’s hands. You are the cloak billowing on the holy woman who witnesses it all.
A powerful man swings his sword outward like a chain. Souls snuff out one by one. Hearts stop beating. Dreams die here.
YOU
(Continue watching.)
ANCIENT MEMORY
The holy woman is charging now. Blades clash. Her heart thunders in her ears. You recall searing white animalistic rage. You recall vengeance. Vengeance for what? For whom? Each strike of her sword against the man’s is sacrilege. She wins the bout, but there’s a pervasive feeling of loss.
HOLY WOMAN
“Tell me, Nemesis. Do you recall the Red Canyon?”
ANCIENT MEMORY
His eyes twitch in recognition - but not quite in fear. The look of a man long past his due when death has finally come calling.
HOLY WOMAN
“You’ll die for that! Die! Die! You took everything that I loved!”
ANCIENT MEMORY
She stabs him once, twice, again and again until you lose count. She stabs him long after he stops moving. This isn’t justice - this is vengeance, cold and bloody.
The knights on her side raise their weapons in a cheer as if something righteous has happened on this day. People they once called friends are half-buried in the mud that will become their forever resting place. Rotting. Decomposing. Awaiting the day their goddess gives them their promised reward.
Ignoring them, she takes his sword and cradles it with familial warmth.
HOLY WOMAN
“He’s gone now, mother.”
YOU
I want to stop remembering this.
ANCIENT MEMORY
Oh, come on. This is your favorite part. See the blood on her cheek? Does it belong to the man she slayed or the thousand he killed before she arrived on the field? Does it matter? Friends, foes - it all runs red into the soil.
There’s no ‘you’. There’s no ‘body’. There’s nothing except war.
YOU
I want to be someone. I want to be ‘me’.
ANCIENT MEMORY
You’re the strong man laying dead in the soil. You’re the sword in the holy woman’s arms. At least, that’s all of you that matters.
YOU
This is a dream. I want to wake up.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Godly: Failure]
Yes, it’s just a dream. It’s not as if this actually happened.
HIPPOCAMPUS
No… you recall it as clearly as when you received your first sword. This is a memory. It just doesn’t belong to you.
YOU
Who does this memory belong to?
ANCIENT MEMORY
You, by inheritance. Oh, I suppose there is a ‘you’ after all. It’s the worthless meat around my friend, here.
CREST OF FLAMES
You awaken before a throne. She awakens, too.
-
???
She yawns and rubs her tired eyes almost childishly. She looks young. Appearances can be deceiving.
“Oh, my. What could have brought you here?”
SHIVERS
Not quite awake. Not quite asleep. But somewhere in between.
The girl is a stranger to you in the same way you might not recognize your own heart if it were forcibly removed from you - but you’ve always felt it nonetheless.
???
“I wonder how you got in here… It is most rude to interrupt a moment of repose.”
She yawns again. She’s been asleep a long, long time. As have you.
“Very rude indeed. Now, come to me. I wish to have a look at you.”
YOU
What’s this awful feeling?
PARIETAL LOBES
Welcome to the wonderful world of ‘having a body’. It’s a groaning, aching piece of meat full of slime. You will be in it until you’re not.
YOU
Actually, I want to go back to the dream.
ANCIENT MEMORY
Oh, now you come crawling back. Well, you’ve missed your chance, fairweather friend. Try again another night.
???
As you regain your sense of self, you’re aware of the girl looking at you.
“Hmm… I’ve not seen the likes of you before. Who are you, anyway?”
YOU
“I’m a mortal.”
INLAND EMPIRE [Formidable: Success]
You’re not sure what prompted you to answer in such a way - except the growing feeling that the person you’re speaking to is not a mortal.
???
“I see. Then you must have a name of sorts. Go on.”
Name. You do have a name, don’t you? It’s got to be rattling around in there somewhere.
YOU
“Byleth.”
???
“Huh. I shall not ever grow accustomed to the sound of human names.”
She seems amused, the way a child would when a pet dog barks on command.
“You must possess a day of birth as well. Beneath which moon and on what day were you born to this world?”
HIPPOCAMPUS
Oh, we know this one! This is a memory that belongs to us!
YOU
So we know the moon and the day… what about the year?
HIPPOCAMPUS
Well, don’t get greedy, now.
???
You tell her your date of birth.
“Well, wonders never cease! It seems we share our date of birth. How strange!”
She leans to the side in her throne.
“Hmm. It all seems so… familiar. I think it may be time for yet another nap… It is almost… time to… begin…”
Soon, she is asleep again.
-
JERALT
“Hey. Time to wake up.”
YOU
Stand up.
EMPATHY [Easy: Success]
He’s looking at you with a furrowed brow. Depending on the time of day, this either means quiet pride, long-suffering tiredness, or - in this case - fatherly concern.
JERALT
“Were you having that dream again?”
YOU
“I was dreaming about a young girl…”
VOLITION [Easy: Failure]
This is such a normal sentence to say. You are doing so good at normal sentences this morning.
JERALT
“You’ve described her to me before. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone like that.”
He shrugs it off. “In any case, just put that out of your mind for now. The battlefield is no place for idle thoughts.”
YOU
Put it out of your mind - at least, for now. It will be back.
JERALT
“Risking your life is part of the job for mercenaries like us. Letting your mind wander is a sure way to get yourself killed.”
ESPRIT DE CORPS [Medium: Success]
He’s wondering if the life of endless fighting has affected your psyche. At the same time, the other mercs will think you’re going soft if you show worry now.
JERALT
“OK, time to get moving. Our next job is in the Kingdom.”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Trivial: Failure]
Right. The Kingdom. You’ve killed some guys there. Some guys in fur coats. Because it’s cold. You think.
JERALT
“I’ve told you before. It’s far from here, so we’ll need to leave at dawn.”
YOU
“Of course.”
PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]
Your battlefield-honed senses detect some type of commotion outside. Stamping feet, shouting voices.
INLAND EMPIRE
Looks like the fight came to you.
REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success]
Your hand is already reaching for your sword. You may have just woken up, but you’re itching for battle. It’s what you were made for.
MERCENARY
An armored man bursts in to the room. You don’t remember his name, but you remember how you knocked him flat when you sparred.
“Jeralt! Sir! Sorry to barge in, but your presence is needed!”
JERALT
“What’s happened?”
YOU
You find them waiting for you outside, trying to keep their composure despite the emergency.
DIMITRI
“Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn’t bother you were the situation not dire.”
JERALT
“What do a bunch of kids like you want at this hour?”
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success]
They’re wearing matching school uniforms, save for the color of their capes.
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Failure]
Uniforms from... something. And the cape colors mean... something. For sure.
SAVOIR FAIRE [Normal: Success]
Who cares? School is for suckers, baby! Everything you’ve ever learned was from the school of hard knocks! Reading? Who’s she?
DIMITRI
“We’re being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only help that you will be so kind as to lend your support.”
JERALT
“Bandits? Here?”
EDELGARD
“It’s true. They attacked us while they were at rest in our camp.”
LOGIC [Challenging: Success]
The mercenaries secured the area just hours ago before setting up camp. You hadn’t heard word of bandits when entering the area. Jeralt prefers to avoid them - not your job, not your problem.
AUTHORITY [Medium: Success]
They must be either desperate for gold or just plain stupid to incite a battle by moonlight. Show them why you’re called the Ashen Demon.
CLAUDE
“We’ve been separated from our companions and we’re outnumbered. They’re after our lives… not to mention our gold.”
EMPATHY [Formidable: Failure]
His hand is on his hip in an easy, calm pose, as if he doesn’t care at all.
JERALT
“I’m impressed you’re staying so calm considering the situation. I… Wait. That uniform…”
MERCENARY
“Bandits spotted just outside the village! Damn… there are a lot of them.”
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success]
You’ve almost certainly fought more. You and your father share a knowing look.
JERALT
“I guess they followed you all the way here. We can’t abandon this village now. Come on, let’s move. Hope you’re ready.”
HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success]
Your pulse quickens. Animal instinct kicks in. It’s fight or flight time, and you’ve never picked flight.
JERALT
“Let’s take care of those thieves before they overrun the village. Take down the enemies in front first. That should take the wind out of their sails.”
AUTHORITY [Challenging: Success]
Nothing demoralizes the enemy faster than seeing their front line shredded like paper, realizing they’re next.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success]
You easily charge forward and cut down the bandit in front of you. He doesn’t even have the chance to parry. He collapses into the ground.
YOU
“Each battle, a chance to grow.”
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT
Growth is good! Growth means stronger! Stronger means more fighting!
VISUAL CALCULUS [Challenging: Success]
You direct the students with practiced ease. Your father will recommend you stick to the forest to advance while under cover - a sound plan.
EDELGARD
“You say you’re a mercenary, so show me what you can do.”
SUGGESTION [Easy: Success]
You having drawn first blood didn’t go unnoticed. She seems the type to recognize merit, and she’s impressed.
DIMITRI
“Thank you. We are in your debt. It wouldn’t do for us to fall in a place like this.”
He smiles. “Please, lend us your strength. Let’s work together to drive out these thieves!”
DRAMA [Challenging: Success]
The good sir sounds like he’s reading from a book, perhaps one called: “How to Sound Normal for Dummies”. And he’s failing.
EMPATHY [Easy: Success]
It could be endearing, but it’s a little concerning. His grip on his weapon is a little too tight.
VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success]
These students have seen training, but they haven’t seen battle. Nevertheless, they follow your commands with ease. Bandits are dropping like flies.
KOSTAS
“Damn. Why are there mercenaries in the village? Guess we’ll have to deal with them too.”
AUTHORITY [Formidable: Success]
You recognize him from across the battlefield, commanding the bandits. He thinks he has safety in numbers. Prove him wrong.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Challenging: Success]
Combat arts and battle tactics come back to you in sheer muscle memory. You fight like your blade is an extension of your arm.
CLAUDE
“It’s because of you guys that I’m not dead right now! Thanks for that!”
SUGGESTION
His smile puts you at ease, just for a moment.
CLAUDE
“I didn’t expect to run into mercenaries like you in some remote village. The gods of fortune must be smiling on me!”
RHETORIC [Challenging: Success]
“The gods of fortune”? You’ve never heard anyone around here say that. “Thank the Goddess this” or “Praise the Saints” that. You’ve never known what those phrases meant, but you’ve never known why you say “bless you” when someone sneezes, either. It’s just one of those things you say.
INLAND EMPIRE [Heroic: Failure]
Maybe he's just weird.
PERCEPTION [Easy: Success]
Your father charges forward on horseback, eager to kill the bandits’ leadership.
KOSTAS
“What the?! Aren’t you Jeralt the Blade Breaker?!”
COMPOSURE [Challenging: Success]
Panic ebbs into his voice. He expected farmers with pitchforks at best. If he knew Jeralt’s Mercenaries would be here, he wouldn’t have come.
KOSTAS
“What’s a legendary mercenary like you doing here?!”
JERALT
“I’m the one who should be complaining. I’m caught up in the mess you started!”
REACTION SPEED [Medium: Failure]
As you and Jeralt flank him, Kostas gets a lucky hit in on you.
PAIN THRESHOLD [Medium: Success]
Blood drips hot and syrupy down your skin. You won’t give up when you’re so close.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT
Put him down! His body is weaker than yours! Crush him!
KOSTAS
The mountain of a man roars as he falls. The world shakes. Birds fly out of the nearby trees.
Then, unleashing a primal scream, he charges Edelgard. If he’s going to die, he’s taking at least one of them down with him.
PERCEPTION [Medium: Success]
She quickly draws a dagger, caught like a deer in front of a hunter’s bow.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success]
It was pure instinct she went for that instead of her axe. She won’t do a thing with that butter knife and she knows it. But, in her dying moments, she reached for it.
REACTION SPEED [Heroic: Failure]
You’re across the battlefield in seconds. There’s no time to parry. The most you can do is throw yourself in front of her.
KOSTAS
“YOU’LL DIE!”
He brings down his weapon.
PAIN THRESHOLD [Godly: Failure]
You’ve survived wounds that should have killed you. You’ve stitched up your own skin with a spare needle as you bled out in the mud. You snapped your own dislocated bones back into place. You know pain like you know a lover. You’ve never known this.
ENDURANCE [Impossible: Failure]
You know what you can take. You knew this would be the death of you. You reacted anyway.
If you’re lucky, his axe will only chop off your head and spare Edelgard from everything except the spray of your blood.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Impossible: Failure]
Your years of training, your hundreds of battles, all culminate in this. The same fate that you’ve given so many others. Death.
DRAMA
You always knew it would end this way. You just didn’t know when. The wait is over; the curtains draw to a close.
COMPOSURE [Heroic: Success]
Or so you thought. That cold metal hasn’t carved your flesh yet. It’s certainly taking its time.
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Failure]
Maybe it’s savoring the moment?
SHIVERS [Godly: Success]
You are not on the battlefield. You’re before the throne. Your senses are dulled by a green glow.
???
“It’s like you’re trying to get me killed, you fool!”
It’s the girl again. She sighs in disappointment.
“Well, it’s fine. After all, if you don’t know the value of your own life, you’re not going to protect it very well, are you? Of course not.”
INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success]
You’re not fated to risk your life for coin. You’re meant for more. Your soul is only on loan - you can’t cash it in just yet.
???
“Well, then. I guess it’s up to me to guide you from now on. Right?”
She rises.
SOTHIS
“You can call me Sothis… but I’m also known as ‘The Beginning.’”
After her triumphant moment, she looks overwhelmingly confused.
SOTHIS
“Hm… Sothis… that’s it. Yes. My name is Sothis. And I am also called… The Beginning. But who once called me that?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Godly: Failure]
Maybe it’s a band name? It’s kind of cool.
YOU
“Sothis?”
SOTHIS
“I was not able to recall my name… until just now. Just like that, it came to me. How odd.”
COMPOSURE [Formidable: Failure]
She forgot her name? What is she, 12? Did she have it sewn on the inside of her clothes?
SOTHIS
“That look upon your face… Did you think me a child? A mere child who forgot her own name?!”
She glares at you.
“Phooey! That ‘child’ just saved your life! And what does that make you?”
YOU
“I’m less than a child?”
AUTHORITY [Medium: Failure]
Kneel down to the little girl, wimp.
SOTHIS
She gives a sardonic smile.
“Correct! You understand. You threw yourself before an axe to save just one young girl. Yet, all is well, as I have stalled the flow of time for now. You would have died had I not intervened.”
YOU
“Thank you.”
SOTHIS
“There now. Is gratitude so much to ask? I did deem you worth saving, after all.”
She returns to looking puzzled. “Though it is only momentary, time has stopped. However did I manage that…”
LOGIC [Godly: Failure]
You have just as little idea as she. It should be impossible.
YOU
“What will happen when time resumes?”
SOTHIS
“When time begins again, the axe will tear into your flesh, and you will surely meet your end.”
VOLITION [Medium: Failure]
That sounds bad.
PAIN THRESHOLD
Really bad.
SOTHIS
“How rude of you to drag me into this. Now what to do…”
INLAND EMPIRE [Legendary: Success]
If she can pause time, what else can she do with it? Can she go back? Undo the mistake that leads to your - should I remind you, extremely painful - death?
SAVOIR FAIRE
Hey, it seemed like a good idea at the time.
YOU
“Turn back the hands of time?”
SOTHIS
“Of course! I must turn back the hands of time!”
Ancient runes and sigils manifest in front of her. She looks over them as if they’re familiar.
“Yes… I do believe it can be done. You really are quite troublesome. I cannot wind time back too far, but all is well. You are aware of what’s to come, which means you can protect yourself this time.”
ENDURANCE
You’re getting another chance - a kindness none of your foes received.
SOTHIS
“Now, go… Yes, you who bears the flames within. Drift through the flow of time to find the answers that you seek…”
-
KOSTAS
The mountain of a man roars as he falls. The world shakes. Birds fly out of the nearby trees.
Then, unleashing a primal scream, he charges Edelgard. If he’s going to die, He’s taking at least one of them down with him.
PERCEPTION [Medium: Success]
She quickly draws a dagger, caught like a deer in front of a hunter’s bow.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success]
It was pure instinct she went for that instead of her axe. She won’t do a thing with that butter knife and she knows it. But, in her dying moments, she reached for it.
REACTION SPEED [Heroic: Success]
You draw your blade and sprint across the battlefield in seconds. You stand in front of her protectively.
KOSTAS
“YOU’LL DIE!”
He brings down his weapon.
HAND-EYE COORDINATION [Medium: Success]
It’s a desperate strike, not a calculated one. He projects it practically ages before he swings. Parrying it is child’s play.
PERCEPTION
His axe slips from his hands, flying away. This time, he really and truly falls.
AUTHORITY
And that’s how it’s done!
CLAUDE
“Hey, over here!”
Claude and Dimitri catch up with the rest of you. They’re both impressed and relieved.
JERALT
“Hey, did you just…”
EMPATHY [Medium: Failure]
He’s so shocked that he can’t complete the sentence.
ALOIS
A man in full plate armor approaches. His white cape bears a sigil you don’t recognize.
“The Knights of Seiros are here! We’ll cut you down for terrorizing our students!”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Easy: Failure]
Knights of who?
LOGIC [Easy: Success]
He’s a little too well-equipped to be another merc. He said ‘our students’ - he must be responsible for these three.
ALOIS
“The students seem to be unharmed. And… who’s this?”
JERALT
“Ugh… why him?”
COMPOSURE [Medium: Success]
There have been infections that Jeralt has been happier to see.
ALOIS
The man beams.
“Captain Jeralt?! It is you! Goodness, it’s been ages. Don’t you recognize me? It’s Alois! Your old right-hand man! Well, that’s how I always thought of myself, anyway.”
EMPATHY
It didn’t seem to be mutual.
ALOIS
“It must have been 20 years ago that you went missing without a trace. I always knew you were still alive!”
SHIVERS [Formidable: Success]
You’re not more than a newborn, clutching to your father’s heaving chest. He’s coughing from all the smoke, keeping his head low as he flees the fire. You do not cry.
JERALT
“You haven’t changed a bit, Alois. Just as loud as ever. And drop that “captain” nonsense. I’m not your captain anymore. These days I’m just a wandering mercenary.”
He turns to leave. “One who has work to do. Goodbye, old friend.”
ALOIS
“Right… Goodbye, Captain.”
REACTION SPEED
Processing… processing… any minute now…
ALOIS
"Wait! That isn't how this ends. I insist that you return to the monastery with me!”
REACTION SPEED
You have to wonder how he’s a knight if this is his reaction speed.
EMPATHY [Trivial: Success]
He’s still in shock. He is speaking to a man he thought 20 years dead, after all.
JERALT
“Garreg Mach Monastery… I suppose this was inevitable.”
His shoulders slump. He’s resigned to his fate.
ALOIS
“And how about you, kid? Are you the captain's child?”
RHETORIC [Easy: Success]
Oh, happy day! He’s talking to you, now.
YOU
“That is correct.”
ALOIS
“Is that so? Well, physical differences aside, your mannerisms do remind me of the captain.”
COMPOSURE [Medium: Success]
You’ve never looked like your father. People have doubted you’re even his child, Ashen Demon. Not that you care. You have nothing to prove.
ALOIS
“I’d love for you to see the monastery too. You will join me, won’t you?”
JERALT
He closes his eyes as if falling into a deep depression. He knows it’s not a question.
AUTHORITY [Godly: Failure]
Nobody makes demands of the Blade Breaker and the Ashen Demon! We go where we please, and we have a job to do. This guy can stuff it.
INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success]
“Hi, it’s me, Alois’s axe,” says Alois’s axe. “I can be very persuasive if I have to be.”
ALOIS
“What's troubling you, Captain? You aren't about to run off again, are you?”
JERALT
“Even I wouldn’t dare run from the Knights of Seiros.”
Glumly, he follows Alois.
SOTHIS
“The Knights of Seiros… They do seem rather skilled.”
PERCEPTION [Impossible: Failure]
Gah! Where is she?!
HALF LIGHT
Sword! Grab your sword!
LOGIC [Easy: Success]
There’s nobody around, you nitwits. She spoke to us from inside our head.
AUTHORITY
What?! That’s our space! When did we start leasing the place out?
SOTHIS
If she notices this internal debate, she doesn’t seem to care.
“Ah, it seems your presence is required. Get going!”
REACTION SPEED
I guess we’ll go.
DRAMA
For now.
-
EDELGARD
“I appreciate your help back there. Your skill is beyond question. You’re clearly an experienced mercenary.”
EMPATHY [Medium: Success]
She’s looking you up and down in a way that isn’t quite just assessment.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
Oh, we’re experienced, alright.
EDELGARD
“And your father...that would be Jeralt, the Blade Breaker? Former captain of the Knights of Seiros. Oft praised as the strongest knight to ever live. Have I missed anything?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Heroic: Failure]
I’ll be honest. I have no clue.
YOU
“I didn’t know he was a captain.”
EDELGARD
“How curious. I’d wager the explanation for that is fascinating indeed.”
CLAUDE
“Hey! You are coming with us to the monastery, right? Of course you are. I’d love to bend your ear as we travel.”
He fixes his easy smile on you. “Oh, I should mention that the three of us are students of the Officers Academy at Garreg Mach Monastery. We were doing some training exercises when those bandits attacked. I definitely got the worst of it.”
EDELGARD
"That would be because you ran off.”
CLAUDE
“Too true! I was the first to make a strategic retreat. Everything would have worked out if these two hadn’t followed me and ruined everything. Because of them, every single one of those bandits chased after us. Utterly ridiculous.”
DRAMA [Challenging: Success]
This man is quite the actor. It’s as if he wasn’t afraid at all. Quite a performance.
DIMITRI
“Ah, so that’s what you were thinking, Claude. And here I thought you were acting as a decoy for the sake of us all.”
EDELGARD
“His intentions were as clear as day. You will prove a lacking ruler if you cannot see the truth behind a person's words.”
SUGGESTION
She’s right, you know.
DIMITRI
“Hm. You will prove a lacking ruler if you look for deceit behind every word and fail to trust those whom you rely on.”
SAVOIR FAIRE
Fight! Fight! Fight!
CLAUDE
“Oh, joy. A royal debate between Their Highnesses. I wonder how being completely predictable affects one’s ability to wield power. Personally, as the embodiment of distrust, I’d say your little exchange smacks of naiveté.”
EDELGARD
“Me? Naïve? Tell me, are you actually incapable of keeping quiet, or is your lack of self-awareness a condition of some sort?”
REACTION SPEED
There’s no love lost between these three. The line between ‘banter’ and ‘argument’ is paper-thin.
DIMITRI
“In any case, forgive our digression. I must speak with you, if you can spare a moment. The way you held your ground against the bandits’ leader was captivating! You never lost control of the situation. It showed me I still have much to learn.”
EDELGARD
“Your skill is precisely why I must ask you to consider lending your services to the Empire. I might as well tell you now. I am no mere student. I am also the Adrestian Empire’s–”
DIMITRI
“Halt, Edelgard. Please allow me to finish my own proposition. The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus is in dire need of exceptional individuals such as yourself. Please, do consider returning to the Kingdom with me.”
CLAUDE
“Whoa, there! You two sure are hasty. Trying to recruit someone you just met. Tactless, really. I was personally planning to develop a deep and lasting friendship on our journey back to the monastery before begging for favors. But it seems there’s no time for niceties in this world. So, capable stranger, let’s get right to it. Where does your allegiance lie?”
SOTHIS
“Hmm. It seems one's place of birth is quite significant to them. Yet they are so impressed by you, that you may take your pick. Well?”
ENCYCLOPEDIA [Heroic: Failure]
It’s not like you really know where you were born. Might as well just pick one.
ELECTROCHEMISTRY
Get in good with the babe who has the hots for you!
RHETORIC [Easy: Success]
You’ll be able to warm up to all of them later, regardless.
YOU
“The Adrestian Empire.”
PERCEPTION
Edelgard allows herself a private smile.
EDELGARD
"A wise choice. Though the Empire has fallen from its former glory, the other regions are merely offshoots that pale in comparison.”
REACTION SPEED
Another dig at the other two! It never stops with this girl!
ALOIS
“All right, that's enough with the small talk. It's time to head back to the monastery.”
CLAUDE
“Looks like we'll have to pick this up another time.”
Claude leaves with Edelgard and Dimitri.
SOTHIS
“My, my. They are in such a hurry. You know... Each of the three is most unique.”
RHETORIC
That’s a polite way to put it.
VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success]
Better to size them up now. You’ll be spending quite a bit of time with them going forward.
YOU
“Edelgard…”
CONCEPTUALIZATION [Easy: Success]
Everything from the way she walks to the way she speaks says “refinement.” She just went through a battle and a near-death experience, but there’s not a smudge of dirt on her.
SUGGESTION
You saved her life. She won’t forget that.
HALF LIGHT [Medium: Success]
But her eyes never left you. When you succeeded, her brow twitched; when you failed, she frowned. It’s like a constant evaluation, one with no end in sight.
YOU
“Dimitri…”
SAVOIR FAIRE
Talk about sincerity on sincerity. This guy would write you a thank-you card for saying hello to him in the hallway.
PHYSICAL INSTRUMENT [Medium: Success]
He enjoyed slaying those bandits a little too much. He wielded that spear with a gung-ho the others didn’t have.
INLAND EMPIRE [Challenging: Success]
You sense a great darkness inside him. A beast strains at chains within his soul, and they’re starting to snap.
YOU
“Claude…”
SUGGESTION [Easy: Success]
He’s certainly the most easygoing of the three.
PERCEPTION [Challenging: Success]
Or so it seems. His smile never once met his eyes.
HALF LIGHT
He’s a competent fighter, sure. But when he has to choose between you and him? You’d be a fool if you think he wouldn’t choose himself, every single time.
SOTHIS
She patiently hears your evaluations.
“Yes, I thought the same. I am so sleepy once again… I may be sleeping… but I…”
ENDURANCE
Get ready. There’s a long road ahead.