Edelgard nods when Dimitri mentions the name of her uncle. "Then yes, she did. Volkhard Arundel died shortly before I was taken to Faerghus." She explains matter-of-factly. "Since then, the Lord Regent of the Empire, has been Thales. Of all those who slither, he is their leader, and his crimes are unforgiveable." No salvation...yes, she remembers speaking those words, as Dimitri remembers, though in his arrogance Thales had simply waved them off as merely Edelgard letting out some steam, a childish tantrum not to be taken seriously. But she would make good on it, and there would be no shadow deep enough for Thales to hide from her.
"If Arundel is dead, then your Fódlan is in better standing than you realize." She carries on, somewhat relieved. "And you have accomplished what I currently have been unable to." Thales still carried a great deal of influence within the Empire, and could not simply be removed by force. To do so would tear apart the Empire at a time when unity was needed more than ever. "Unfortunately, I will require a more...surgical approach in removing him." Surgical. For a moment, a look of disgust crosses her face. She hates that word. "Those who slither will be lost without his will to guide them and their powerbase in the old Empire smashed. You would do well to capitalize on that when you return, if your Fódlan is to have any chance of prolonged peace. You must run them down to their lair, before their forces have a chance to rally and regroup under someone else." It's strange, to speak so clinically, in so detached a manner, about a world in which Edelgard had died, her dreams unfulfilled, to the man who killed her. And advising him on how to proceed, even. But it was what it was. His Edelgard was dead, and Dimitri and his Byleth left to pick up the pieces. Edelgard would give what advice she could, if it gave them more of a chance to build something better. "Had I the location of their base I would give it, but Hubert has so far not been able to run it down, though he believes it may lie somewhere close to Alliance territory, somewhere in the Empire's eastern borders."
She takes a sip of her drink. "Intentionally so, I imagine." She replies, before squaring her shoulders. "What I am about to tell you is an intensely private matter, known only to a handful of people." In Avalon, only Byleth knew. "I am trusting that this will remain so, Dimitri." There's a great deal she will not discuss, but after everything he'd been through, after he'd tried to reach out to another her, and in memory of what they had once been to each other, she will allow him in, just a little.
"I called myself the Flame Emperor, because I bear two Crests within me. The Crest of Seiros that runs in the Imperial bloodline...and the Crest of Flames."
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2022-02-25 03:08 am (UTC)"If Arundel is dead, then your Fódlan is in better standing than you realize." She carries on, somewhat relieved. "And you have accomplished what I currently have been unable to." Thales still carried a great deal of influence within the Empire, and could not simply be removed by force. To do so would tear apart the Empire at a time when unity was needed more than ever. "Unfortunately, I will require a more...surgical approach in removing him." Surgical. For a moment, a look of disgust crosses her face. She hates that word. "Those who slither will be lost without his will to guide them and their powerbase in the old Empire smashed. You would do well to capitalize on that when you return, if your Fódlan is to have any chance of prolonged peace. You must run them down to their lair, before their forces have a chance to rally and regroup under someone else." It's strange, to speak so clinically, in so detached a manner, about a world in which Edelgard had died, her dreams unfulfilled, to the man who killed her. And advising him on how to proceed, even. But it was what it was. His Edelgard was dead, and Dimitri and his Byleth left to pick up the pieces. Edelgard would give what advice she could, if it gave them more of a chance to build something better. "Had I the location of their base I would give it, but Hubert has so far not been able to run it down, though he believes it may lie somewhere close to Alliance territory, somewhere in the Empire's eastern borders."
She takes a sip of her drink. "Intentionally so, I imagine." She replies, before squaring her shoulders. "What I am about to tell you is an intensely private matter, known only to a handful of people." In Avalon, only Byleth knew. "I am trusting that this will remain so, Dimitri." There's a great deal she will not discuss, but after everything he'd been through, after he'd tried to reach out to another her, and in memory of what they had once been to each other, she will allow him in, just a little.
"I called myself the Flame Emperor, because I bear two Crests within me. The Crest of Seiros that runs in the Imperial bloodline...and the Crest of Flames."