IC Inbox - Isle of Avalon

[asaviorshand]

[For now, you just get the default automated message. Dimitri will need some time to figure this out.]

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[hegemonwings]

[ he really doesn't understand. byleth takes a breath, fingers tensing on her own teacup. to distract herself, she plucks a macaron from the center of the table and takes a bite out of it. she forces down the slightly ridiculous impulse to reach across the table and shake him by his shoulders.

if they were talking about almost anything else, dimitri's answer would be perfectly reasonable. it's honorable, while leaving room for the realities of a situation. the fact he's using that answer, however, indicates she hasn't made the severity of any of this sufficiently clear. finally, after a moment, she speaks up. ]

Dimitri. These are not common criminals, or nobles with a hidden agenda. They kill highly placed subjects and replace them by taking on their appearances. They have technology beyond anything Fódlan or its neighbors can muster, and destructive might beyond our understanding. They wield the same weapons that created the Valley of Torment, and do not hesitate to use them if they think it necessary. Javelins of light from the sky.

[ she looks levelly at him, wanting to be sure that what she has to say sinks in. byleth doesn't need him to agree to handle it her way—at the end of the day, it's his world, not hers, and it doesn't affect her. but he needs to know what he's dealing with. ]

In my own memory of the war, they destroyed Arianrhod after we defied them and captured it. In Claude's, it was Fort Merceus. [ she huffs out a soft breath. ] For all their power, they're arrogant, and prone to underestimating humanity. But you've already backed them into a corner by defeating the Empire, and nothing is more dangerous than a cornered beast. If you give them any reason to see you as a continued threat before you can cripple their forces, they won't hesitate to destroy all of Fódlan. You must be decisive and careful, or all may be lost.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri listens in silence, dumbfounded. Even if she's not the same Byleth he knows, the fact that she's this adamant about them speaks volumes. Also this talk about their weaponry. It's that in particular that really gets Dimitri's attention.]

They...they created the Valley of Torment? And they've destroyed both Arianrhod and Fort Merceus?

[Those especially hit home because Dimitri himself fought to take both places.

He takes another sip of tea, his gaze cast down at the table, and speaks with a reluctant tone.]

Then perhaps...perhaps I was underestimating them.

[He then lifts his gaze toward Byleth again, and this time his eye is filled with determination.]

Do you know where I can find them? I will lead an assault on their base of operations myself when I have the chance to return home.

[hegemonwings]

[ it's a relief to see that he's beginning to understand. the tension slips from her shoulders, as she takes a long sip of her own tea. byleth only nods to confirm the initial dumbstruck questions, keeping her eyes on him. ]

I'm glad to hear it. Good hunting. [ she pours another cup, stirring it, before looking at him again. ]

We... believe their main stronghold to be somewhere in Hrym, underground. It's called Shambhala. Some of the Golden Deer will have more detailed intelligence for you about that... Flayn and Lorenz, at least. We haven't yet made our move against them in my memory, but they come from after their own raid.

[asaviorshand]

Shambhala.

[Dimitri says the name aloud himself to help him commit it to memory. The name is alien to him, and doesn't match any linguistics he's aware of. But he trusts what Byleth has to say on this issue, so it further serves to reinforce how foreign these foes are.

He takes a sip of tea before continuing.]

I didn't know Lorenz was here. The others failed to mention him, unless he just arrived.

[Given that it's, you know, Lorenz, it's just as likely they considered his presence not worth mentioning as it was that he just arrived.]

I have met Flayn here, though. This topic didn't come up, but we had other matters to discuss. I'll certainly ask her for more details. Thank you.

[hegemonwings]

I... think that should settle that bit of business, then. [ she smiles at him, faintly, nodding once in satisfaction. ]

We can talk of lighter things, if you like. Or if you have questions for me, I'd be happy to answer. [ she reaches out for a scone from the tray, a flash of ruby and gold shining on her finger as she does so. as she spreads a bit of lemon curd on the pastry: ] I may not remember us as allies, but... there was still a time we were friends. I would like us to be again.

[asaviorshand]

Yes.

[Dimitri doesn't specify what he's saying "yes" to, but really, it could fit all of what Byleth has just said. He takes a sip of tea before speaking again, noting the jewelry again. He could ask about that, and he might.]

I have to admit, it's...still rather strange to me, to see you as a woman here...and furthermore, I see that your hair and eyes have returned to their original colors. That being said, I...

[His breath catches in his throat for a moment. He quickly resumes speaking.]

I would also like to return to those days. At this point in time, I see no reason to antagonize anyone, anyway, and honestly, I've had enough hostility to last a lifetime. I would like to make friends with people while I'm here -- and you are no exception.

[hegemonwings]

[ she nods again, smile warming a touch. ]

I'm glad to hear it. Claude and I have... made a habit of not discussing much about the war or Fódlan, in the interests of getting along, and it might be wise for us to do the same. [ she indicates her own hair by pinching a lock between her finger and thumb—really, she'd expected him to comment on it sooner. but then, it was probably secondary to... everything else about her appearance. ]

All the same, I changed back, after the final battle. After El and I killed Seiros... that is, the Archbishop. All that the Church did to me, and all of Sothis's power... it's gone.

[ she still hasn't forgotten him echoing that nickname. edelgard had told her she was the only one left who called her el. so what in the world...? ]

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri nods in response to Byleth suggesting they avoid talking too much about the war. He's of the same mind, especially since it's all in the past. He's done letting the past control him, and what happens in other versions of history doesn't matter much to him.

He's surprised to hear about what caused Byleth's hair and eyes to return to their original colors, though.]

So, Archbishop Rhea was in truth Saint Seiros, and after you killed her, Sothis revoked the power she gifted you? Do I have that right?

[This is still a lot for Dimitri to handle. He's at least trying to understand, though.]

[hegemonwings]

[ he's... close, apart from one piece. byleth scoffs quietly, shaking her head as she takes a sip. she doesn't get angry, at least. ]

Revoked suggests it was a punishment. I rejected divinity. Sothis was a dear friend, but... I am myself, Dimitri. No matter what the Church sought to do with me.

[asaviorshand]

...Ah. I...I apologize for my inconsiderate word choice. I meant no offense.

[Sure, she doesn't seem angry, but that's not going to stop Dimitri from apologizing for a faux pas.]

Did that affect your ability to wield the Sword of the Creator?

[hegemonwings]

It's fine.

[ she pauses, not sure how to answer that question. ]

I can pick it up and swing it, but its power vanished with the Crest Stone. It's just old bone... and it ought to be either destroyed, or laid to rest where no one will ever find it. With the rest of the damned things, one day. [ another sip, as she glances out the window. ] I've taken up Seiros's sword as my weapon of choice. It only seems fair.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri can't help but find the way she refers to the Sword of the Creator odd. Old bone? Apparently there's something else he doesn't know. However, something even more odd pops up and grabs his attention.]

Crest Stone? But the Sword of the Creator didn't have a Crest Stone in it. It always resonated when in your hands without one.

[hegemonwings]

[ she shakes her head. ]

... Seiros put that stone inside my chest, after I was born. As part of her plan to make me into Sothis's vessel. [ it's something she's had to deduce, but it's the only explanation that makes sense. ] The relics are made of the bones and hearts of Sothis and her children.

[asaviorshand]

[Well, Dimitri didn't expect to hear anything like that. Like either of those things. His eye is wide open, and his cup of tea, which he had been in the process of raising to his mouth, is now back on the table.]

Bones and hearts of... I'm sorry, when you say Sothis and her children...

[hegemonwings]

... Seiros, Seteth, and Flayn's people, [ she confirms after a moment, nodding once, ] yes. Very little of the official story about the War of Heroes is true, and... the so-called Goddess that Seiros turned her mother into is largely a fiction. She's been dead for over a millennium, and I don't believe she was ever as the Church says.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri is stunned into silence. A person who merged with the goddess, claiming she doesn't exist as depicted? Granted, Dimitri had his own disagreements on the goddess's portrayal in Church teaching, but to go that far...]

I...you...but...but you yourself received her power...

[hegemonwings]

It isn't that simple.

[ she shakes her head. ]

I was the vessel to a ghost, Dimitri. Sothis as I knew her was... incomplete. Without memories, unaware of who and what she was. But if the Church lied about her presence, about how she watches over the world... if they lied about the Saints, and the Crests, then... [ byleth's quiet for a moment. ]

Nothing that Seiros or her Church claimed can be trusted. The entire organization is built on a self-serving lie. I won't try to take the faith from those who find comfort in it, but... [ well. it is what it is. ]

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri doesn't reply right away. Honestly, he isn't sure what to say. It does fit his own belief that Sothis wasn't capable of affecting the world on a large scale from her current situation, to an extent. But, at the same time, he can't just discard the church. For all of its flaws, he is also able to see the good that has come from it.

He sips his tea.]

...It seems the Church was either destined to change, or be abolished altogether.

[hegemonwings]

[ she takes a sip of her own, not quite meeting his eye. ]

It never would have done either willingly. You did enough of that monster's dirty work to know that.

[ it comes levelly, in that all-too-neutral tone she defaults to. it isn't a question, and it isn't an accusation. dimitri might be more self-righteous than she strictly likes, but he's too smart to not at least understand, isn't he? byleth knows that this isn't how they'd agreed to approach this, but even so. ]

The Church will endure, in some new form and with no special status, with all of its temporal power stripped from it. But there was no fixing what Seiros built... only burning it away to build something new.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri visibly cringes when Byleth refers to Rhea as a monster. It may be a version of Byleth he never imagined could exist, but to see Byleth, of all people, talk that way about Rhea was incredibly jarring. While Dimitri has a more neutral opinion toward Rhea, he also doesn't want to hear that language used about her.]

I would not go that far. The Church in the version of history I hail from still exists, with its knights, but Rhea is no longer the archbishop. The professor Byleth that I knew has now assumed that role.

[hegemonwings]

Rhea is a fiction.

[ she can't stop herself from interjecting that, icier than she'd like. she's gotten better about not letting a kneejerk reaction slip to people using that false name for the former master of fódlan, but she feels like she's talking to a stone wall. of course he didn't listen. byleth lets out a breath, processing what he'd said regardless. ]

That person your Professor became is someone I would not recognize. I used the power Seiros forced on me to tear everything she built to the ground. It sounds like your Seiros has exactly what she wanted. [ she pauses, jaw setting, trying to collect her thoughts and keep herself diplomatic. ] I've seen where Faerghus in lockstep with the Church ends up... and I hope you don't repeat those mistakes, for your people's sake.

[ she presses her fingertips to her right temple, taking a steadying breath. best to try to change the subject. ]

In any case... you should know that Edelgard and I consider ourselves to be wed. [ it's somewhat abrupt. best to just get it established. ] I've wondered why you use her nickname, when she told me I was the only one left who called her El.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri is taken aback by the interjection. He merely used the name "Rhea" because that is what he's used to. That, and he hopes to find out for himself, independently, of what Byleth has spoken here today.

As for the rest...there are a lot of things Dimitri could say. A lot of them he wanted to say. But he knows he has to pick his battles. Gone are the days when he would blindly run into a fight, great or small. He settles on one thing to say before moving on:]

The people are why I still live and breathe. Not just of Faerghus, but of Fódlan in its entirety. My life is devoted to them.

[When the change of subject comes, he's glad to take it. The news that Byleth and Edelgard are an item surprises him, for sure, as he had no idea she felt that way about women. His face shows he wasn't expecting that news.]

You are? I have to admit, I never would have seen that one coming. But as long as you can make each other happy, well...then I hope you live a blessed life together.

[Though he's quite surprised, he does seem to be sincere in his desire for them to be happy together. There's no signs of ill will or prejudice in his voice or his body language. He does, however, follow it up with more tea.]

During the Insurrection of the Seven, Lord Arundel took Edelgard and fled to Faerghus with her. They spent a year living in Fhirdiad, and the two of us spent much time together.

[This time, as Dimitri speaks, there's a wistfulness in his voice. It was an idyllic time, and one he has occasionally wished he could go back to.]

It was El who taught me how to dance, in fact. It was only ballroom dancing, but it was a skill I...well, that I did my best to keep. And at the end of that year, before she left Fhirdiad, I gave her a parting gift. It was a dagger. I told her to use it to cut a path to the future she wished for. It was an odd gift, I know that now, and Sylvain has never let me live it down. But my sentiment was genuine.

...I admit that I don't know what happened to her between her return to Enbarr and when we met again at the Officer's Academy. She has yet to tell me. I only know that she had forgotten who gave her the dagger, but that she had kept it with her all the same. And that she had remembered my parting words to her.

[hegemonwings]

[ she nods acknowledgement at the initial—platitude, frankly, but she'll keep her mouth shut. when he goes on to express that hope, again, she nods in thanks.

but then he keeps talking, and that's... all a great deal to take in. she's quiet for a long moment, eyes wide in obvious surprise. ]

She... I can tell you now that she doesn't remember that time with any clarity. It would... make sense, with some things I know, but... [ she pauses, hesitant. ] What happened after she left Faerghus isn't my story to tell, but it badly affected her memories of her life beforehand.

[asaviorshand]

[Dimitri nods after taking another sip of tea.]

I wouldn't ask anyone else to tell it for me. That is her story and her choice to share it. I can only surmise that it was terrible...so much so it changed who she was. It even changed the color of her hair.

[hegemonwings]

[ byleth frowns, very slightly. ]

... She is the girl she always was. Despite everything. [ she may not have known edelgard before the experiments, may have only known the broken and angry girl she'd been left as, the girl who wore her heart on her sleeve and tried to bury it all at once, but—

she knows what it looks like, when the self shines through. ]

She's just... had to pick up the pieces. I would think you could understand that better than most.