The Bright Star [Fire Emblem: Three Houses AU]

Prologue

Emperor Ionius IX had finally declared an heir to the throne the Garland Moon of 1162, and since then the news and Adrestia's celebrations had reached continent-wide, as Princess Edelgard von Hresvelg, the first of House Hresvelg to bear her name, was the ninth child of the emperor, though the only one who was eligible to inherit the throne, bearing the Crest of Seiros passed down through the imperial family.

Lady Anselma's life had been getting better ever since she met the emperor at the Goddess Tower when they both were members of the Black Eagle House at the Officers Academy. Already married to Empress Mechthild for political reasons, the closest thing Anselma could do to be married to Ionius IX was to become one of his consorts, where she fell pregnant and gave birth to Edelgard.

Empress Mechthild a couple months prior succumbed to her illness when she was infected with a virus, leaving Ionius IX widowed at the time of Edelgard's birth. After her birth, Ionius IX asked Anselma to marry him. She said yes, and the news of their engagement spread, prompting them to hold a history-making wedding at their imperial palace in Enbarr that would be held in a few months.

Ionius IX sent out several letters to the church to ask for assistance in planning. When Rhea unknowingly received the letter sent out, she was dealing with many papers being sent in and asked Sitri to assist her, giving Sitri a stack of letters that were sent in to the church, including the letter asking for the church's assistance in wedding planning.

Sitri was sorting the papers by their purpose on a desk in the small, apartment-like complex that she shared with her family, whether it be a minor assistance request, Officers Academy applications, or something else, when she grabbed the last letter, the letter sent in by Ionius IX. She was about to read it when by coincidence, Rhea knocked on Sitri's door.

"Sitri," Rhea said. "Have you finished sorting those papers?"

Sitri got up and opened the door for the Archbishop. "Affirmative," she said to Rhea. "Most of them are minor requests asking for the assistance of the knights, but there are also Officers Academy applications. But the most important of all is from Emperor Ionius." Sitri handed Rhea the letter that she received from Ionius.

Rhea read the letter aloud:

"Dear Her Grace Rhea,

As you may have heard, Empress Mechthild had died from illness a couple months back. While I am currently widowed, I am planning to marry myself to one of my consorts, Lady Anselma. Her brother is Lord Volkhard, the lord of House Arundel which is minor in the Empire. Lady Anselma has agreed to this marriage.

This will be a history-making wedding, so we ask for you to be affiliated with its planning. If you could report down to Enbarr soon to help us, it would be greatly appreciated.

Much thanks,

Emperor Ionius von Hresvelg IX of House Hresvelg, Enbarr, the Adrestian Empire."

"Emperor Ionius requests your presence, but what will you do while you're gone, Lady Rhea?"

"I'll find something," Rhea said to Sitri. "Reminds me, your son wanted to see you. He's with Jeralt in the courtyard."

Sitri nodded. "Thanks for letting me know, Lady Rhea. I appreciate your work." Sitri immediately left the third floor of the monastery to travel to the first floor to see her son and her husband in the monastery courtyard near the classrooms of the three houses.

Sitri and Jeralt Eisner's son was Byleth Eisner, who had an aptitude to wield a sword from the moment he was able to wield it properly within his grasp. Whenever Jeralt had free time, he would spend time with his son in the training grounds to help him master his swordwielding, though if the two weren't at the training grounds then they can't be practicing swords. Currently Byleth was about three years old, so Sitri wasn't expecting dramatic news from her son if he wanted to see her for that reason.

Jeralt was with Byleth in the courtyard when Sitri entered. Jeralt was teaching Byleth how to spot an enemy on a battlefield, using the courtyard as an example battlefield. He would hide his broken weapons in several spots within the courtyard and ask for his son to find them and bring them back to him. When Sitri arrived at the scene, the young Byleth just gave his father a sword with a rusted, broken tip that would no longer be effective in battle.

"I found the last one, did I?" Byleth asked his father.

"Seems to be so," Jeralt said. "Let me just count them all. I don't want one of the priests to come by and see all these broken weapons hidden everywhere."

"Would that mean we wouldn't be able to do this anymore?"

He knew his son was having a fun time doing this. "It's possible, depending on how Lady Rhea reacts. But don't worry, she knows we do this and she approves of it. But if a priest were to see this and think that something else has happened, Lady Rhea would probably be frightened and forced in to an investigation. I just don't want to scare anyone."

Byleth gave a slight nod towards his father as Sitri came over. "I heard from Lady Rhea that someone requested my presence," she said.

"That someone was me!" Byleth said cheerfully, forcing himself into his mother's arms to receive a hug from her.

Sitri allowed Byleth's actions. "And what would you like to receive from me?"

"Well, Dad hid one of his weapons very well and I couldn't find one and was having a difficult time. I saw Lady Rhea pass by earlier so I asked her to ask you to come over here so you could help me, but I think I found it already."

"Yep, you did," Jeralt said. "I just counted the rest for you. Every broken weapon was returned to me."

Sitri laughed. "If you do this for a living for the Knights and the Monastery, they'll probably call you something like The Scavenger."

"That sounds like a fun job to take!" Byleth said enthusiastically. "Dad, can I join you and the Knights?"

"At your age, not yet. Though if you would like to take the path you can start by being quite active in the church like your mother is. If you want to help, talking to Lady Rhea for suggestions would be a great start."

Byleth turned to his mother. "You were just with Lady Rhea, right? Is she busy?"

"Not exactly busy, but she will be soon. The Emperor requests her to help him plan for a wedding in the Empire."

Byleth got excited. "Will I be able to go?"

"I'm sure that you'll be able to." Sitri paused. "Though maybe not me."

"Why?" His excitement went away from his face.

"I'm too frail, which is why I rely on your father to protect me. For my own safety I can't go beyond the walls of Garreg Mach. But your father can go, and maybe I could try and convince Lady Rhea to let me go as well if Jeralt is able to protect me."

"Oh, and one more thing, Byleth," Jeralt said to his son. "If you still would like to join the knights, there are several things you need to be aware of. One is the dragon that guards the monastery, who lives within the hearts of the people who serve the Goddess."

"Oh Jeralt, you're quite poetic at times!" Sitri laughed.

Byleth, being nearly three years old, wasn't the best at interpreting comparisons and the poeticism that his father tended to have at points. But the dragon of the monastery was a thought that remained forever in his head, and no matter what, it would never leave.

Just what was Jeralt saying when he said that a dragon lived within the hearts of people who serve the Goddess?