Rise of the Adrestian Empire

Chapter 3

Garreg Mach Monastery. Ethereal Moon, 1185.

I looked in the mirror and studied the face in front of me. Five years of war. Five years locked in stalemate. Five years of searching. When I was reassigned to Garreg Mach, Hubert was assigned with me following the injury I sustained during the heavy fighting against the kingdom during a battle that took place on Gaspard territory. One of the kingdom soldiers stabbed me in the eye with a dagger.

"AAAAAAAHHHH! MY EYE!"

"Enjoy having one less eye, imperial dog!"

"I got you Leo! Someone put pressure on the wound!"

"He will recover but the eye is gone"

"I'll watch over him"

Getting used to live with one eye wasn't easy in the beginning but luckily I was not hit in the eye I needed the most, so I was able to manage. As time went on, everyone else in the Black Eagles Strike Force was also assigned to Garreg Mach. When I left my room, I realized that the Millennium Festival would have been celebrated had it not been for the war. After wandering for a bit, I climbed up the Goddess Tower and watched the sun rise.

Suddenly I heard footsteps and looked at the stairs. I couldn't believe my eyes when I laid eyes upon her. "B-Byleth?" I asked in a low voice as she approached. "Is it really you? Where have you been all these years?" I asked with tears forming in my remaining eye. "I was sleeping. I know its hard to believe but I just woke up at the bottom of the valley and made my way up here" she replied and then noticed my eye patch. "What happened to you?" she asked and I looked down. "A fight against a kingdom army. One of the kingdom soldiers stabbed me in the eye. Dorothea helped patching me up" I replied and was swiftly hugged by Byleth.

"I've missed you..." I whispered and hugged her tightly. After hugging for a few more minutes, we broke away and looked at each other. "I'm a bit hungry..." Byleth said after a bit and I gently grabbed her hand. "Let's go and get you something to eat then" I smiled, and we made our way down the tower. "Teacher?" we heard someone behind us say and when we turned, we saw Edelgard. After hugging each other for a bit, we sat down in the cathedral to eat before moving to meet the others and discuss our next move. "And that is the current situation" Edelgard finished when we reached the audience chamber after explaining the current state of the war while we walked.

When we entered the audience chamber, everyone greeted Byleth, joyful that she was still alive. After leaving the others, me and Byleth were alone and walking around. "So, you made it into Kingdom territory only to be forced back out?" Byleth asked and I nodded, "We got pretty far too all things considered, but after we got pushed back, the front remained in a stalemate. The Kingdom has concentrated so many of their forces on the front against us that we are in a way evenly matched. I should also mention that Rhea is also in the Kingdom with King Dimitri. The Knights of Seiros and Kingdom Army have joined forces and I must say, I'd rather not meet the knights in combat.." I added.

Later, we attended the meeting where we decided to conquer the Great Bridge of Myrddin and invade the Alliance. "It will be heavily fortified, I have received word that Judith will be there defending it. She is famous for being a good fighter, so engaging her will be tricky" I said while we looked at the map over Fodlan. "I heard Ignatz will also be present at the bridge" Ferdinand added and I saw a shocked expression on Byleth's face. "I don't want to fight our old friends..." she muttered and I gently laid a hand on her shoulder and gave her a sympathetic look. "I had to fight Sylvain, Felix and Ingrid at the start of the war and later during various battles, I fought the rest of the Blue Lions" I replied.

After the meeting, me and Byleth walked around the monastery with me telling her what had happened after the battle five years ago until now. "We've made some progress on repairing the monastery, but we are still far from finished. However, Manuela and Hanneman have been of big help and yes, they are here at the monastery" I said with a smile. After walking for a bit, we arrived at her old room and when we opened the door, we saw that the room was very dusty. "I kinda imagined you would clean my room" Byleth teased while I looked at her. "Yes because I would totally not be taken for an obsessed moron" I said while rolling my eyes, making Byleth giggle. "Jokes aside, could you help me clean my room?" she then asked and I nodded and went to get cleaning supplied.

"It was dustier than I imagined" I said after removing the cloth that covered my face when we were done. "Yeah, but it took less time than I imagined, though its likely because it was two of us and it was a small room" Byleth replied. After finishing with her room, we left for dinner in the dining hall where we sat down and conversed with the others. Alois was quite happy seeing Byleth again after five years. "I promised the Captain I would look after you!" he exclaimed much to Byleth's embarrassment and our amusement. Earned me a chop on the head afterwards from an angry Byleth.

In the following days leading up to the battle, me and Byleth practiced a lot at the training grounds. I was mostly fine in my swordplay and magic, but Byleth had not been doing anything for the past years while she slept so she needed a refreshment to get back into shape. After training until the evening came, we retired to our rooms for the night. After waking up the next morning, I attended the strategy meeting with Hubert and Edelgard regarding our planned attack against the Alliance and helped Byleth with her training. It was in the evening we finalized the attack and we decided to march the next day.

The next day, we reached the bridge and as we suspected, Ignatz were there alongside Judith. "This won't be easy. A lot of armored knights fortress knights. No doubt, reinforcements have been called, so we must be quick if we hope to avoid having to fight on two fronts" I said while we looked at the map of the bridge. "If Judith falls, the bridge is ours. The south of the Alliance is friendly to us, House Gloucester included" Hubert explained. After concluding our briefing, we marched towards the alliance front line. "So you have come at last" Judith called from the stronhold on the bridge, "know that the bridge will not fall as long as we stand!" she said as the soldiers readied themselves for the fight. I saw Ignatz preparing his bow and raised my arm and pointed forward signalling our troops to attack.

Taking on the fortress knights was a hard task as their armor was extremely thick, so I ordered our magic soldiers to take them down while we pushed forward. Suddenly, an arrow flew past me, barely missing. "Ignatz. You're fighting a losing battle. If you surrender, you will be treated well and allowed to return to your family" I said, attempting diplomacy. Ignatz shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't surrender. I'm helping Claude build the future of Fodlan!" he replied and fired another arrow at me. "As you wish" I replied and charged at him. Our swords clashed and I was surprised to know that Ignatz was using a sword.

While we fought, the others were advancing around us, pushing the alliance soldiers back. While Ignatz's swordplay was good, he was still making mistakes which I exploited and managed to knock him out. Then I noticed Leonie arriving with reinforcements. "Ferdinand, Caspar and Linhardt. Deal with the reinforcements but do not kill Leonie" I ordered and they moved to attack them. "All that's left is Judith" Byleth said as she caught up to me. "As long as I live, you shall not pass" Judith said as me and Byleth attacked her together. Her quick movements made hitting her difficult, but Byleth not being as exhausted as me, managed to outspeed her and kill her with her sword.

"Judith has fallen! The bridge is ours!" I shouted and our troops celebrated in victory. "The road to Derdriu is open" Edeglard said as our troops moved deeper into Alliance territory. "Ignatz and Leonie have been taken prisoners. We'll have to decide what to do with them" Hubert added. "We'll deal with them back at the monastery. If we cannot turn them to our side, then we should alteast be able to convince them not to take up arms against us" I replied.

When we returned to the monastery, we had Ignatz and Leonia placed in a cell until they woke up. When they came to the next morning, they were brought to the audience chamber where I, Byleth, Edelgard and Hubert waited for them. "Are we to be your prisoners now?" Leonia asked, angrily. Edelgard shook her head. "We are willing to let you go. We'd prefer if you were to join us, but if you won't, we'll allow you to return to Alliance territory if you swear to not take up arms against us" she explained. "I swore that I would be a great mercenary, and I can't keep the promie I made to Jeralt if I'm dead, so I'll join" Leonie said. "I need to help my family, so if I join, we can trade with Garreg Mach. I'll join as well" Ignatz said. "Your old rooms from the academy days are still here so you can use them. Mind, they might have gotten a bit dusty in the years" Byleth said smiling.

"That went well" Hubert said while I sat down and let out a breath. "Yes, it did" I replied.