I didn't intend to let Yima provoke me... but I understand. I'll be careful.
[...he abruptly huffed out an amused noise.]
This was meant to be an outing where I would support you for once, Claude, but again it's you looking out for me. [He tilted his head slightly.] Are you certain I was your teacher, and not the other way round?
Ahaha. I did wonder why they hired you to begin with when you had to be taught a lot yourself. Honestly, by the end of the war, we were less like teacher and student, and more like... [A lot of things, really, but he won't go too deep into it again when it can still be a sticky subject for this Byleth. So he says simply:]
Fellow knowledge seekers, I'd say. Equals. Learning is a lifelong effort, after all, and Fódlan had plenty of mysteries to uncover.
Claude, when we met at the tavern, us and Dimitri, to discuss our respective timelines, you mentioned that you discovered many secrets about Fódlan, the Church and... me. Am I safe to assume you know about...
[He didn't say it, in case Claude didn't, and he was referring to something harmless like, he didn't know, Byleth's great love for pressing his face into fluffy cat bellies or something. Instead, Byleth patted his chest - where the Crest Stone sat.]
[Claude's eyes travel down, his expression becoming more serious as he nods. But he also doesn't know how much Byleth knows -- Jeralt's diary said a lot, but not the full story -- so he decides to clarify.]
Yeah, I know -- well, just about everything. Just how much do you know about yourself, exactly? [He doesn't want to jump him with any surprise information, so that might be helpful to establish first.]
[Byleth was hesitant, unsure if Claude was trying to bait him into saying more than he should. But at this point, if Byleth couldn't trust Claude, then he couldn't trust anyone here.]
...I know that I have a Crest Stone implanted into my chest, and that is what's functioning as my heart. I also possess the Crest of Flames, passed down to me from my mother, Sitri. Jeralt faked my death as a baby, so that he could take me away from Garreg Mach and Rhea, because he didn't trust her. We've avoided the Church ever since.
[Safe, easy answers. There was a pause, one where Byleth gave Claude a long stare, weighing his words.]
I also know that I'm not entirely human. [His voice is quieter here.] Not even Jeralt could accurately say what... I am, exactly.
[Jeralt had admitted his ignorance when finally telling him about everything - including his own long lifespan and convoluted history with Rhea. Jeralt had known what Sitri was - a vessel, created by Rhea, but what that entailed... Rhea was skilled at blood magic, transfusing it, creating homunculi, and it was likely Sitri shared Rhea's blood and flesh. Jeralt didn't know, could only speculate.
But it didn't matter, Jeralt had said, at the end of the day, Byleth was himself, and that's all that mattered: "Even if you sprouted wings and turned into a Divine Beast right in front of me, you'd still be my kid, got it?" Byleth had believed him - still did.]
I'm also the vessel for Sothis. That's... all I'm aware of. I think.
That's also what I know about it, yeah. [Claude's expression is grim. He's interrupted only by their orders arriving -- with almost comical timing given the seriousness of the subject matter -- and Claude easily thanks the server and leaves his tea to steep, while he waits for her to fall out of earshot again. This is private, even if none of it would make sense to anyone from another world anyway.]
I got a lot of answers out of Rhea herself, including about that... and including about why she did it. Her entire past. I can tell you, but only if you're prepared to hear the full truth.
[While he didn't know the full story, he already knew and understood Rhea's motivations, and that was enough. She had wanted her mother back. Were Byleth in her position... he likely would've done the same, had he the means.]
Sothis and Jeralt told me enough. Rhea wanted her mother back, and so she crafted multiple vessels to achieve that aim. I don't need to know any more than that. Her past is her own business.
[He had those dreams anyway. Rhea - Seiros - standing beneath the rising dawn, crazed grief and fury in her eyes. The rawness of it still struck him, from time to time.]
Fair enough. I'm surprised Sothis told you anything, though... When I asked you about it, you said that she couldn't remember anything, and that it wasn't possible to talk to her any more, so I couldn't ask her anything either.
[Claude pours some of his tea from the teapot, taking a sip to test the temperature before letting it sit a bit longer.]
Hm. Her memories are fine in my timeline, and she's still able to speak to me. On occasion, possess me too, though that's something we've negotiated not to happen anymore.
[Not unless Byleth's sense of self suddenly imploded and she was left as the only one at the steering wheel, then she could have his body for all he cared. Dismissing all worries about divine bodysnatching, however, he tugged one of the cakes towards him - the chocolate overload one - and began to plan his approach. It looked like it'd be messy to eat...]
But here, she hasn't said a word. I think she must be asleep, rather than completely absent, as I still have access to her temporal powers. [He took the plunge, carefully using the side of his fork to cut a small piece of the chocolate cake, just large enough for a mouthful.] Albeit very weakened.
[Claude definitely does not like that mention of possession, obvious in the way his eyes narrow and he sets down his cup. He has a lot of questions, but what Byleth adds next only throws up more.]
Temporal powers? Can you... elaborate?
[His Byleth had told him a lot of things, to the point there were few secrets left between them. Still, this is news even to him.]
[Byleth paused his careful excavation of the cake at Claude's question, and looked at him, blinking slowly.]
...you weren't aware?
[He had assumed Claude would've known, since he knew about Sitri and Sothis and everything else. On the ranking system, the temporal powers were pretty low on what Byleth considered private or difficult to talk about. Well, it was difficult to talk about, but more in terms of having people believe him, rather than it being emotionally difficult.]
Sothis has the ability to manipulate time as she fits. As her vessel, she has gifted me with some of that power, though it's only a sliver of what she can achieve.
[She said she could reverse time, yet oddly barred that from Byleth's access. Not that he was complaining: being able to stop time whenever he pleased was just as advantageous.]
I can briefly exist outside of time. Usually, I use this to either cross distances instantaneously - a form of teleportation - or to kill my enemy whilst time is frozen for them. Here, however, that power is greatly diminished. I can only stop time for a handful of seconds, and it takes minutes for me to be able to do it again - whereas before I only required half a minute's pause, if that.
[Claude usually prides himself on his quick mind, but even he's visibly struggling to grasp this.] Either I'm a lot less observant than I thought I was, or... I've never seen you do that.
[The teleporting thing, anyway. As for his combat prowess, Claude chalked it up to pure skill... but what if a lot of it really was interfering with time all along?]
Maybe because Sothis seems to have more power as you are now, that in turn gave you greater abilities. The Sword of the Creator is one thing, but altering time itself... That really is the power of a god.
[What was that? The only sword Byleth had was the one Jeralt gave him, and it was the only one he'll use.]
I'm unfamiliar with that weapon... but yes, the time manipulation was what convinced me of Sothis's claims. Initially, I assumed I'd simply lost my mind and was hallucinating her.
Oh, ah... I guess you wouldn't know what the sword is. It's one of the church's relics, and it was originally in the Holy Tomb below Garreg Mach, where Sothis was laid to rest. Really, you could say the entire monastery is just one big facade to guard the tomb.
[How should he put this...] The sword is missing a Crest Stone, so it was useless to most... except you. Knowing what you know, I'm sure you can guess why that is.
[He knew Sothis held a visceral dislike for the Relics, but she had never shared the reason for that dislike with him. She had only said it was a "suspicion she had" when he queried her, and Byleth hadn't wanted to pry on a subject she was obviously discomforted over.
...he could make educated guesses, however. The Crest Stone in his chest functioned as his heart, and had been Sothis's heart, and it stood to reason that was the same for all Children of the Goddess. If their 'hearts' were embedded in weapons - Relics - that corresponded with a specific Crest, and were crafted out of bone and sinew... well. Claude was right. Byleth could make a guess as to why.]
[Claude doesn't say anything, leaving Byleth to draw his own conclusions as he pours more tea into his cup.]
There are all kinds of crazy stories about the sword, you know. Stories about how it was so powerful, it could cleave a mountain in two. I've seen the other you use it to cut through reality itself.
To be honest, I was kind of hoping you had the sword here with you, then you could... I don't know, do something crazy like cut your way back to our world. Maybe it's farfetched, but it's good to have something to pin your hopes on, right? [He gives a self-deprecating smile, taking another drink of his tea.]
...I'm not particularly comfortable in wielding a blade forged from the bones of a once living person, no matter how powerful it may be.
[Byleth's tone is subdued. As if dying wasn't bad enough, Sothis's corpse had been violated and her bones forged into a weapon. Who would even do such a thing?]
In any case, cutting through reality... perhaps it wasn't the blade, so much as the Other Byleth having a more refined control over Sothis's divine powers, as it sounds she was indisposed in some way. Perhaps I should investigate why my Sothis is silent... if I could wake her up, perhaps allowing her control of my body once more will grant us the power needed to cross the dimensional boundaries back to our world.
Just don't push yourself. Our world is important, but so are you. [And letting Sothis take over completely... What if she locks him out forever, and he really does just become the vessel Rhea wanted all along? It repulses him to think about it, so he discards the thought as quickly as it comes.]
Besides, all our allies in Meridian... They need a way to go home, too. I'm not about to abandon them to all this.
I'm certain I could negotiate something with Sothis to help them too.
[But, as benevolent as Sothis could be, she could be capricious as well. Additionally, he was leery of relinquishing control to her, even if it could lead them back home, because selfishly, it terrified him. To feel something beneath his skin puppeting him from within, blind, deaf and mute to what was happening... even if it was Sothis, there was a visceral wrongness at being so thoroughly locked out of your own body.]
...but, I agree it would be something used more as a last resort. If it's even possible. [He didn't even know where to begin to try and boot Sothis awake.]
Yeah. I personally wouldn't be too happy with myself for putting a crazy idea in your head if we didn't think it all the way through first, so let's put a pin in that for now. This might be something too big for even Sothis, considering there are other gods dragged into this.
[Like Set. Seemingly stripped of any godlike powers, he doesn't seem to have much choice but to depend on the rest of Meridian -- and apparently to some degree, Zenith -- too.]
[Byleth sounded distracted - if only because he was thinking: if he had a shard, then wouldn't Sothis have one too? Or were they sharing? He made a mental note to inspect his shard later, which he... really hadn't done in great detail before. A great oversight on his part, admittedly...
But, as Claude said, it was something to consider much later, after all other avenues had failed. With that whole subject set aside, Byleth refocused on Claude, idly spinning the wheel of "questions I have and want to ask but can't think of an appropriate time to ask them".]
I have a question. I was speaking with Set at the Communion, and something he said brought to light an oddity I had observed...
[He forked up a piece of that decadent chocolate cake.]
Why have so many people bonded so fiercely with Manon when they haven't even exchanged words with the man?
Well... That's a good question. [Claude swirls his tea in its cup as he thinks about how to answer.] I can't answer it for everyone, since people will all have their own reasons. But I think people like Dextera or Vander, who experienced his memories, read his journal, or even saw what he'd turned into firsthand, couldn't help but empathise with him a bit. Or maybe it was just pity that makes them want to protect him... I don't know.
Personally, I think prolonging his life is in all our interests, but I can't say I have any real attachment to him as a person. He was an assassin, after all. While I don't advocate for anything that was done to him, I can't imagine he'd have much pity for them if their roles were reversed.
[As Claude spoke, Byleth shoved his forkful of cake into his mouth. Even when trying to be neat by using a fork for once, he still got chocolate icing, cream, and crumbs around the corners of his mouth... which he was oblivious to or uncaring of.]
Hmmm... [And swallow - Jeralt taught him not to talk with his mouth full, at least.] He's a valuable source of information into the workings of Zenith, as well as this mutual threat we may be facing... but yes, he's not to be trusted, that much is clear.
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leicesters) wrote2022-12-06 08:26 pm
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[...he abruptly huffed out an amused noise.]
This was meant to be an outing where I would support you for once, Claude, but again it's you looking out for me. [He tilted his head slightly.] Are you certain I was your teacher, and not the other way round?
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Fellow knowledge seekers, I'd say. Equals. Learning is a lifelong effort, after all, and Fódlan had plenty of mysteries to uncover.
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[Which reminded him. Byleth sobered slightly.]
Claude, when we met at the tavern, us and Dimitri, to discuss our respective timelines, you mentioned that you discovered many secrets about Fódlan, the Church and... me. Am I safe to assume you know about...
[He didn't say it, in case Claude didn't, and he was referring to something harmless like, he didn't know, Byleth's great love for pressing his face into fluffy cat bellies or something. Instead, Byleth patted his chest - where the Crest Stone sat.]
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Yeah, I know -- well, just about everything. Just how much do you know about yourself, exactly? [He doesn't want to jump him with any surprise information, so that might be helpful to establish first.]
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...I know that I have a Crest Stone implanted into my chest, and that is what's functioning as my heart. I also possess the Crest of Flames, passed down to me from my mother, Sitri. Jeralt faked my death as a baby, so that he could take me away from Garreg Mach and Rhea, because he didn't trust her. We've avoided the Church ever since.
[Safe, easy answers. There was a pause, one where Byleth gave Claude a long stare, weighing his words.]
I also know that I'm not entirely human. [His voice is quieter here.] Not even Jeralt could accurately say what... I am, exactly.
[Jeralt had admitted his ignorance when finally telling him about everything - including his own long lifespan and convoluted history with Rhea. Jeralt had known what Sitri was - a vessel, created by Rhea, but what that entailed... Rhea was skilled at blood magic, transfusing it, creating homunculi, and it was likely Sitri shared Rhea's blood and flesh. Jeralt didn't know, could only speculate.
But it didn't matter, Jeralt had said, at the end of the day, Byleth was himself, and that's all that mattered: "Even if you sprouted wings and turned into a Divine Beast right in front of me, you'd still be my kid, got it?" Byleth had believed him - still did.]
I'm also the vessel for Sothis. That's... all I'm aware of. I think.
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I got a lot of answers out of Rhea herself, including about that... and including about why she did it. Her entire past. I can tell you, but only if you're prepared to hear the full truth.
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[While he didn't know the full story, he already knew and understood Rhea's motivations, and that was enough. She had wanted her mother back. Were Byleth in her position... he likely would've done the same, had he the means.]
Sothis and Jeralt told me enough. Rhea wanted her mother back, and so she crafted multiple vessels to achieve that aim. I don't need to know any more than that. Her past is her own business.
[He had those dreams anyway. Rhea - Seiros - standing beneath the rising dawn, crazed grief and fury in her eyes. The rawness of it still struck him, from time to time.]
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[Claude pours some of his tea from the teapot, taking a sip to test the temperature before letting it sit a bit longer.]
How about now? Can she talk to you here?
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[Not unless Byleth's sense of self suddenly imploded and she was left as the only one at the steering wheel, then she could have his body for all he cared. Dismissing all worries about divine bodysnatching, however, he tugged one of the cakes towards him - the chocolate overload one - and began to plan his approach. It looked like it'd be messy to eat...]
But here, she hasn't said a word. I think she must be asleep, rather than completely absent, as I still have access to her temporal powers. [He took the plunge, carefully using the side of his fork to cut a small piece of the chocolate cake, just large enough for a mouthful.] Albeit very weakened.
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Temporal powers? Can you... elaborate?
[His Byleth had told him a lot of things, to the point there were few secrets left between them. Still, this is news even to him.]
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...you weren't aware?
[He had assumed Claude would've known, since he knew about Sitri and Sothis and everything else. On the ranking system, the temporal powers were pretty low on what Byleth considered private or difficult to talk about. Well, it was difficult to talk about, but more in terms of having people believe him, rather than it being emotionally difficult.]
Sothis has the ability to manipulate time as she fits. As her vessel, she has gifted me with some of that power, though it's only a sliver of what she can achieve.
[She said she could reverse time, yet oddly barred that from Byleth's access. Not that he was complaining: being able to stop time whenever he pleased was just as advantageous.]
I can briefly exist outside of time. Usually, I use this to either cross distances instantaneously - a form of teleportation - or to kill my enemy whilst time is frozen for them. Here, however, that power is greatly diminished. I can only stop time for a handful of seconds, and it takes minutes for me to be able to do it again - whereas before I only required half a minute's pause, if that.
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[The teleporting thing, anyway. As for his combat prowess, Claude chalked it up to pure skill... but what if a lot of it really was interfering with time all along?]
Maybe because Sothis seems to have more power as you are now, that in turn gave you greater abilities. The Sword of the Creator is one thing, but altering time itself... That really is the power of a god.
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[What was that? The only sword Byleth had was the one Jeralt gave him, and it was the only one he'll use.]
I'm unfamiliar with that weapon... but yes, the time manipulation was what convinced me of Sothis's claims. Initially, I assumed I'd simply lost my mind and was hallucinating her.
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[How should he put this...] The sword is missing a Crest Stone, so it was useless to most... except you. Knowing what you know, I'm sure you can guess why that is.
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I can?
[He knew Sothis held a visceral dislike for the Relics, but she had never shared the reason for that dislike with him. She had only said it was a "suspicion she had" when he queried her, and Byleth hadn't wanted to pry on a subject she was obviously discomforted over.
...he could make educated guesses, however. The Crest Stone in his chest functioned as his heart, and had been Sothis's heart, and it stood to reason that was the same for all Children of the Goddess. If their 'hearts' were embedded in weapons - Relics - that corresponded with a specific Crest, and were crafted out of bone and sinew... well. Claude was right. Byleth could make a guess as to why.]
I see... so, the Relics, they're...
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There are all kinds of crazy stories about the sword, you know. Stories about how it was so powerful, it could cleave a mountain in two. I've seen the other you use it to cut through reality itself.
To be honest, I was kind of hoping you had the sword here with you, then you could... I don't know, do something crazy like cut your way back to our world. Maybe it's farfetched, but it's good to have something to pin your hopes on, right? [He gives a self-deprecating smile, taking another drink of his tea.]
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[Byleth's tone is subdued. As if dying wasn't bad enough, Sothis's corpse had been violated and her bones forged into a weapon. Who would even do such a thing?]
In any case, cutting through reality... perhaps it wasn't the blade, so much as the Other Byleth having a more refined control over Sothis's divine powers, as it sounds she was indisposed in some way. Perhaps I should investigate why my Sothis is silent... if I could wake her up, perhaps allowing her control of my body once more will grant us the power needed to cross the dimensional boundaries back to our world.
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Besides, all our allies in Meridian... They need a way to go home, too. I'm not about to abandon them to all this.
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[But, as benevolent as Sothis could be, she could be capricious as well. Additionally, he was leery of relinquishing control to her, even if it could lead them back home, because selfishly, it terrified him. To feel something beneath his skin puppeting him from within, blind, deaf and mute to what was happening... even if it was Sothis, there was a visceral wrongness at being so thoroughly locked out of your own body.]
...but, I agree it would be something used more as a last resort. If it's even possible. [He didn't even know where to begin to try and boot Sothis awake.]
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[Like Set. Seemingly stripped of any godlike powers, he doesn't seem to have much choice but to depend on the rest of Meridian -- and apparently to some degree, Zenith -- too.]
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[Byleth sounded distracted - if only because he was thinking: if he had a shard, then wouldn't Sothis have one too? Or were they sharing? He made a mental note to inspect his shard later, which he... really hadn't done in great detail before. A great oversight on his part, admittedly...
But, as Claude said, it was something to consider much later, after all other avenues had failed. With that whole subject set aside, Byleth refocused on Claude, idly spinning the wheel of "questions I have and want to ask but can't think of an appropriate time to ask them".]
I have a question. I was speaking with Set at the Communion, and something he said brought to light an oddity I had observed...
[He forked up a piece of that decadent chocolate cake.]
Why have so many people bonded so fiercely with Manon when they haven't even exchanged words with the man?
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Personally, I think prolonging his life is in all our interests, but I can't say I have any real attachment to him as a person. He was an assassin, after all. While I don't advocate for anything that was done to him, I can't imagine he'd have much pity for them if their roles were reversed.
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Hmmm... [And swallow - Jeralt taught him not to talk with his mouth full, at least.] He's a valuable source of information into the workings of Zenith, as well as this mutual threat we may be facing... but yes, he's not to be trusted, that much is clear.
[And another forkful of cake...]