Fire Emblem Three Houses: Wanderer

Byleth's Madness

The air is still in this moment as Byleth tried to make a plan. He looked at the situation and evaluated his options.

They want him, so he can lure them away if he can make an escape, but Catherine is blocking the only exit with the two archers on her sides. A frontal assault on will end up with the death of Byleth and all his allies. Catherine's only weakness is her inability to attack at a range. However, the mage covers this weakness by standing beside the two palidians with magic at the ready, as the swordsmen block the left exit and the armored knights block the right escape route.

Byleth quickly took a look at as own allies.

Dimitri may not be useful without a weapon, but he can take a beating at the very least. If anything he could draw fire from the archers allowing the others to focus on the palidians and knights. The mage may be of concern though.

Dorthea can handle the mage, but with the only magic user aside from himself, Byleth had to ask how to handle the knights.

However, the knights were big and slow, and it may be possible to avoid them at least long enough to handle the others. The paladins would fall to magic easily enough, and Ashe could  take out the mage with a curved shot. Linhardt could take out the archers with Dimitri which would buy time for Dorthea to and Byleth to then turn their attention to the knights as the rest ganged up on Cathrerine.

Yes. That plan would work.

Byleth shouted orders, "Dimitri! Charge!"

Dimitri complied, ready to beat his enemies to death.

"Ashe!" Byleth cried out, "The mage!"

"On it! Ashe responded, letting an arrow fly that impaled the mage through the skull and killed him, the caster falling to the ground with a loud thud.

Byleth cried out, "Dorthea! The paladins!"

Dorthea responded by casting Thoron to take out the first paladin, electrocuting him, which killed him instantly as Byleth struck with Nosferatu, which decayed the other from the inside out.

"Linhardt!" Byleth demanded, "Prepare to assist Dimitri!"

Linhardt nodded and complied as Catherine charged with the archers, the armored knights closed in as well as Dimitri was pelted with arrows, which he brushed off as if they were mere gnats.

"Ashe!" Byleth demanded, "Handle Catherine!"

Ashe obyed, and impaled Catherine with a decisive strike through the chest.

"Curse you!" Catherine cried out retreating, "Lady Rhea will hear of this!"

From there Dorthea and Byleth finished off the knights with magic, defeating the enemy.

"What now?" Dorthea demands, "Rhea is gonna come for you!"

"We can't let her do that!" Ashe exclaimed, "There must be another way to..."

Dimitri thinks before he realized and spoke, "Claude. You're still buddy buddy with Claude right?'

Byleth nodded.

"We will cover for you," Dimitri explained, "Go to Claude and seek refuge for now."

"I'll write when I arrive," Byleth explained, "Tell everyone I wish them well."

"You're not going alone!" Dimitri demanded, "You are in no mental state to travel alone! Let alone Rhea trying to kill you! You have to leave now. Ashe will accompany you. Take this so you don't go hungry again. It should cover food and travel. Lay low and get to the Alliance."

"Go hungry?" Dorthea inquired as Dimitri handed Byleth a sack of gold, "Byleth... are you OK? Mentally?"

Byleth was not OK mentally. Byleth's mind had begun to break and Byleth was slowly losing the will to live. Byleth slowly inched towards the edge of self destruction, and if he lost one more person...

There wasn't time to think about that, as Byleth and Ashe snuck out of the castle. Catherine reported to Rhea, kneeling, "I'm sorry, but Byleth escaped."

"Then find her," Rhea demanded, "If you care about me at all you will succeed."

"As you wish lady Rhea," Catherine replied leaving to hunt Byleth down.

Rhea turned towards the sky, looking into the Heavens, "I promise mother, I will get you back..."

Weeks went by as Ashe and Byleth avoided detection by the church. Ashe knew many shady shortcuts through the underground connections he made as a child, which allowed the duo to cross Alliance borders where they set up camp, hoping to reach town the next day.

Byleth cooked the meat of the deer Ashe had shot with the heat of his sword, roasting it as he cut, taking only a meager portion for himself as Ashe chowed down on the fresh game.

"You sure you shouldn't eat more?" Ashe inquired.

Byleth finished his small, and frankly inadequate meal and explained, "Since Jeralt died I haven't been eating much. Food just... slowly began to lose flavor."

"What do you mean?" Ashe inquired.

"I mean..." Byleth sighed, "I can't taste things anymore. Nothing has taste. It's all bland no matter what I eat. I keep thinking of Edelgard and my friends and everything loses flavor. I sometimes wonder if it's better to let go and surrender to Rhea. I feel like I'm losing my mind..."

"Byleth..." Ashe replied with concern in his voice.

What Byleth has experienced are symptoms of severe depression, which if left unchecked will only worsen. The loss of taste is a very severe symptom that can occur in some and Byleth neared a point of no return in his mental state.

Before Ashe could console him, there was a cry, and the duo rushed to see an ambush on the Alliance border.

Hilda cried out, leading soldiers as houses burned around her, "Take out the left flank! Don't let them by!"

Caspar countered, leading Edelgard's forces, "Don't let up the attack! Archers! Fire!"

Byleth gripped his sword, ready to fight.

"Byleth it's to risky to-" Ashe pleaded, but Byleth, in their poor mental state didn't care if he lived or died, and thus charged into battle right at Caspar...

"Professor you idiot!" Ashe cried, following his friend into combat, bow and arrow at the ready...