#unless its made in a place with well-upheld OHS laws

[urmotherwasahamster]

so many people are reblogging that post that says like "a vegan would rather wear all plastic than leather which is part of our symbiotic relationship with cattle" without an ounce of critical thought i wish these conversations could be had with more nuance

[randomnameless]

I don't know if this has been asked before, but I was wondering what your thoughts on Rhea are.

Oh, I don't think someone asked it, but I remember a character meme.

Rhea's in the Julia tier : you're expecting things and the game doesn't give you any.

you asked for thoughts so this is long and rather unorganised even if i tried a bit and i feel like i repeated myself a lot so meh

If Edel and Rhea have one thing in common, it's being shafted by the need to make Billy the most special being every with the monstrous "I was lonely before you player-chan uwu".

Seteth'n'Flayn ? In the same trashcan Hubert went in.

Catherine, Shamir, the randoms living in the monastery? Dgaf but still she's willing to die for them so does she really gaf or not? Rhea's willing to give her blood and crest stone shards (to this day I still don't understand what those are) to trusted randoms who would become cardinals? "uwu player-chan". I know I've written a bit about it with the seirelm anon, but with the Canon-ish info? Post Zanado Rhea told a random dude she could turn in a dragon, gave her blood to the same dude and remained in his empire/fighting by his side for at least 30 years. Still “lonely without U Billy <3″

I've written this in the meme entry, but Rhea has her own net of relationships. They're not as important as Dimitri and his childhood friends, but erasing them for the sake of "player-chan" feels wrong.

Role and goals

Rhea's in an interesting place, being a former "legendary hero" like Athos, Sephiran etc.

Still her fight isn't over, she only defeated Nemesis and couldn't end the mastermind behind (a bit like Seliph if you only kill Arvis or Roy when you forget to pick up every legendary weapon). Also, if Seiros killed Nemesis, she hasn't won. In the current Fodlan, she still has to pretend to be a human, the Nabateans as a culture/population are dead. They're still 5 (ish? I think the apostles are lizards), she's still afraid humans will dice them if they learn the truth. Has she won? Idk. Could she win and make a Fodlan were lizards and humans could live together? I don't think so.

Her role as the Archbishop? Well, the game really liked Rhea as a red herring during white clouds and the way FE16 is built, around the monastery, reinforces it. Rhea's the head of the monastery, so she's the head of your world. Everything wrong with the world is automatically linked to Rhea.

So, when Marianne complains about people wanting to kill/ostracise her because of her crest, thinking it's a curse, we of course wonder "why Rhea can't tell to the randoms that no Marianne shouldn't be killed/shunned because of her crest?". Completely forgetting that, hey, Marianne's from the Alliance and heiress of Edmund, so if some people should intervene, it should be her dad "why the fuck are you trying to kill my daughter" or the Alliance council "Duke Riegan, could you please make a public statement about my daughter and how she isn't some sort of demonic beast so stop throwing rocks at her?".

Same thing with the Empire, why should you blame the church and the crests instead of the people doing shit? Hanneman's brother in law? Like is marriage so absolute that a husband can force multiple pregnancies on his wife to the point of literally killing her? The von Essar aren't as important as the Bergliez, but Hanneman's sister dying like that should have rang some bells? Hanneman's dad didn't care? No one wanted to appeal to the Emperor or something? If Jane the random or Karen the peasant died this way, it’d be usual class nonsense. But a noble woman??

Rhea should have done more to prevent crest abuse. She wrote tenets in her Bible and apparently doesn't discriminate in her monastery. But in the other countries? Idk. Her tenets are interpreted like your shopping list by Gloucester Sr "and add a part where interacting with foreigners goes against Seiros's teachings what yes I know better than those dunces from the eastern/central church".

It's not because Riegan Sr and Ionius aren't doing shit that she should do nothing too, but ultimately it falls on the usual landmine about Rhea's influence and power over Fodlan and if we consider Fodlan isn't just the Monastery we see but a continent made up of 4 autonomous states...

The so-called status quo isn't upheld by the church alone (if it is upheld in the first place!), but also by the empire and the Alliance... Lambert was toasted before making any changes, the Alliance is that weird thing where money is anything and crests/old nobility doesn't matter anymore, and the Empire is... Well. The Empire.

Regarding this, I find it really strange that Rhea went to Goneril and rescued one of their slaves, with how much she cares about protecting her monastery and not antagonising anyone, picking Cyril up, risking the ire of house Goneril, feels really risky from her perspective.

Imo WC doesn't sell me the "church rules over the continent" take.

Ultimately it doesn't matter because Rhea thinks she should have done more, and abused her position as the archbishop to rez her mom - I understand the "abused her position" as regretting her various omissions, like helping more people around etc etc.

I also feel like Rhea’s got a big survivor complex, and tries to fulfill impossible tasks. "leading/guiding the world?" she won't take an active role in it, but still resents the state of current Fodlan and wishes Sothis could restore some order (crest abuse? Or relics popping up right and left meaning more sibs dying). She wants to :

1/ guide the world and make it a better place (why complaining about the wayward Fodlan otherwise?)

2/ protect randoms who live under her protection

3/ make sure no one learns the truth about her appearance and relics at the same time.

I don't think it's possible given her current role and especially not possible on her own.

About 3/, call back to FE9 or not, but Rhea's paranoia is... Actually, not proven to be exaggerated in the game.

Ranulf was lynched in Crimea when he was discovered to be a laguz? In a certain route, Rhea's called a cruel beast due to her appearance, accused of not having "human" feelings and is depicted as a creature masquerading as a human. Hate and attack the woman all you want for things she did or might have done, but getting rid of her because she's not human? Rhea's right about not revealing her true nature, because, relics notwithstanding, humans will try to kill her for being a nabatean. Relic wise, in the DLC, we learn Aubin was recently turned in a relic, so that's even more reason to hide.

On 1/, wanting to promote peace in the land? National bias at play with rewriting history “to promote peace” issue. Rhea also built the officer's academy (if nobles from different states can live and study together surely they won't try to kill each other when they return home because they might have become friends?) and with help from the everyone in Fodlan (even the empire iirc?) built the locket to fend off Almyrian invasions. Not saying this is the best way to protect your borders but at least she tried to help instead of staying holed in her monastery.

Imo if Rhea didn't care about Fodlan, she'd have followed her bros and fortified herself in her monastery without accepting random humans to live with her, wouldn't have written a book about how everyone had to get along "unless it goes against the goddess" and wouldn't basically run what seems to be the biggest orphanage/place for the needy/and whatever is the abyss in the continent.

Not saying she doesn't have a priority, but Rhea tries to care, on her scale, about Fodlan's randoms.

About said randoms (and 2/)...

Well there's this bout with Lonato's rebellion and another herring where Rhea's all "I will destroy anyone who takes arms against the church and its believers" and it's extreme, I can’t deny. But if Lonato took arms and mounted a militia to attack Ositia's castle and its randoms? Hector'd have Armads'd Lonato without a second thought. Elincia had qualms about taking her weapons against her own countrymen who were used by Ludveck, but in the end, she took up her weapons to defend her castle, even if it meant she had to kill militiamen. Rhea's line seemed random and cold in the context, but it's the same general idea, attack her people and she will kill you. Still, if you don't take weapons against her, she won't react violently. Duke Gerth is apparently dick waving with Aubin's relic, but Shamir wasn't sent to recover the thing or to get rid of Gerth.

Ultimately Rhea blows her cover and abandons her dream to reunite with her mother to protect the monastery and its inhabitants in 3 routes (arguably in CF too). Someone once made a post about the differences between Seiros's and Edel's crowns and the symbolism of wings - the IO's wings are meant to protect. The IO is the guardian/protector. Rhea tanks missiles and buys time for the students to escape at the cost of her life.

Relationships

Rhea and Sothis? someone made a post summarizing my thoughts about their relationship, or lack of, and if we can argue Sothis was shafted by the devs like Rhea and Edel, ultimately the only important person to Sothis is Billy.

Billy doesn't warp Sothis's preexisting net of relationships, Sothis doesn't have relationships with anyone save for Billy. Rhea wants to meet her mom more than anything else (save for protecting randoms) but Sothis will never address that plot point. She only does in SS and off screen, and it ends up with Rhea wondering if she should live... so take it as you want, but to me it mustn't have been the "hug and pat on the head" kind of reunion.

Ultimately we see Rhea is able to let go of her dream (rez mom) in several routes, she understands and acknowledges Sothis will never return and Billy has her powers now, so either she dies more or less at peace knowing she can trust Billy with Fodlan's future, or she can return to Zanado and live peacefully with Catherine.

Which leads me to the Billy relationship,

As much as I hate player pandering, it makes some sense that Rhea would support Billy and not, let's say, Caspar. I still hate it though because Billy exclusive support means we were robbed of Rhea's other supports with, idk, her fam, Cyril, Catherine, Shamir, Alois, Hanneman, Manu etc etc.

In the beginning of WC, Rhea's pretty sure Billy's Sothis but without memories. Then in the non-cf chapter 12, she tells Billy they know what they are and thus must guide Fodlan, also telling Seteth Billy's a vector for sothis's powers, but not Sothis herself. In SS's finale she calls them "mother" but in her S-support finally acknowledges Billy's their own thing.

In CF Rhea's vicious in her trash talk but immediately jumps to the conclusion that Billy cannot be or hear Sothis, because, to her, logically, Sothis wouldn't side with Edel and her Agarthian allies (stealing the crest stones, Flayn, etc etc). Billy is something that stole Sothis's crest stone and sword and wants to finish what Nemesis started. I don't think CF Rhea snaps because Billy isn't Sothis, CF Rhea snaps because, again, someone is using her mother to kill her.

Rhea's also supposed to have been fond of Citrus to the point of talking to her remains (something she does with her mom) which could explain her sympathy for Billy regardless of the Sothis project.

Jeralt's a different issue, apparently they worked together for more than 100 years but Rhea never told him the truth about her nature, only about how he was saved. Still, Jeralt betrays when his baby is "weird" and unlike regular human babies so... Would he have ran away if he learnt what rhea was? Dumped Citrus if he knew she was an artificial being? Idk.

Catherine Shamir cyril and pals (Alois)? We don't know bcs the game dgaf about anyone not named Billy. As I said above, It’d have been nice to get more interactions with randoms she is working with, or at least showed some care, but nope. “Player-chan uwu” strikes again.

Seteth'n'Flayn? Rhea's close to them, she gets out of her room to look for Flayn and Cyril and Catherine note how she seems close to Seteth (who's totally her bro), but again, the game hates us. FFS don't think she has a line with Flayn!

Secrets and explosions

Tied to 3/ and 1/ from earlier, Rhea keeps a lot of secrets which could justify her lack of relationships/supports with the others... but this argument falls flat, because she’s not the only one with a secret and if Flayn doesn’t seem to care that much about hers, Seteth does and is still able to support students and staff members. Which leads to tragedies.

The Christophe incident is not well documented, and while we learn Rhea was the target of Christophe’s attempt because Western peeps told him so, it is not very well explained why she didn’t execute him on those grounds instead of falsifying charges about involvement with the Regicide. We are told it was to stabilise the Kingdom, but I still don’t know how the Kingdom would have suffered backlash if Rhea told the truth (maybe it would have led to open conflict between the western church and the central church in the kingdom, when the kingdom needed stability at that point? idk).

Still, Lonato wants revenge for Christophe, not because he was executed on false charges, but because he died ; imo, if Lonato learnt the truth, he’d still be out for Catherine and Rhea’s head.

Aelfie’s gambit is more of a direct result of Rhea’s secrecy, because she had “no words” for him about why Citrus was still in pristine condition, he gave up and tried to rez her. Would it had been different if she told him what Citrus was (and by extent, what she was)? Idk. Maybe, maybe not.

Still, Rhea doesn’t keep secrets from everyone every time - she once trusted Willy and told him about her alternate form and it exploded 1k years later, when Willy’s descendants are out for her head because she’s a creature masquerading as a human (I know mole people also played a part, but I guess it sticked more with Edel and the gang who already knew Rhea was a dragon ; trying to convince a random that “hey, this woman is a dragon !” would be more difficult). CF-wise again, Rhea trusts Billy with the SoC and, again, it explodes. In CF Rhea feels betrayed, she trusted some people and now the very same people (or their descendant in Edel’s case) are trying to kill her.

So it’s not a case of someone never trusting anyone, it’s someone trusting some people and regretting it afterwards (in both routes + CF at least, even if I firmly believe the “evil lizards ruling over the world” spiel doesn’t come from Willy, but from later emperors influenced by mole people).

There can also be a point made for Aelfie, who might have been able to merge with Citrus to create an umbral beast because he had Rhea’s blood and a crest stone shard - Citrus being a fake Nabatean and Aelfie having a crest stone + blood might have produced CS’s final boss? Rhea trusted Aelfie with a crest stone shard and her blood, and he became an umbral beast.

Interestingly, Rhea is hell bent on keeping her secrets regarding her identity, in SS Seteth has to beg her to reveal everything to Billy when Billy is the most important person in the world “uwu” or at least, the only person Rhea supposedly opened to. Even the “uwu” factor isn’t enough, on its own, to make her reveal the truth about her identity.

She gives Claude half-truths, and has to be on death’s door to tell him everything - still occulting Seteth’n’Flayn, to the point where Claude later wonders if there are other children of the goddess around.

Vengeful Rhea?

Rhea isn't a stale piece of bread like Julia. She says mean words to Nemesis but also brutally kills him. Rhea cannot forgive the Elites. I know it's very different, but Julia "dad is the kindest man I ever knew" making a 180° “i must atone for what dad did eff him” will always make me throw up - she doesn’t have to be vengeful or try to stab Seliph with a butter knife, but no acknowledgement of “dad’s the bestest” after his death, or even, of his death is meh.

To Rhea, Nemesis and the Elites are a trigger point, and everything related to Zanado. CF!Billy using her mom’s powers is like Nemesis, CF!Billy + Edel pillaging what remains of her siblings in Nemesis’n’Dudes. Flamey doing his shit with Flayn also parallels that. There’s the usual “vengeance sucks” speech to be given, but also the Tellius verse where Laguz aren’t depicted in a bad light when they want to destroy Izuka or when Tibarn learns Lekain was responsible for Serenes’s massacre.

Still, unlike Tibarn’n’pals, Rhea, unlike Macuil, doesn't seem to hold a grudge against descendants of the Elites. Maybe she had faith in them when she told them not to abuse the power of their crests, but then their descendants forgot or didn’t care and we’re in the so-called crest system.

In SS, Seteth asks the BE students if they want to return home to the Empire and how he won’t hold it against them. Seteth’s being Rhea’s right hand bro in this situation, I doubt he’d have proposed this solution without her approval.

She is vengeful and ready to pursue for more 90 years someone to kill them, but she won’t target that someone’s descendants or potential allies. I’ve read some takes about the Western Church being razed to the ground after Catherine’s paralogue, but iirc, Rhea’s only going to execute the Bishop there ; they appoint a new bishop in hopes to ease the relationships between the central and western church. There’d be no point to appoint someone to rule over a body that doesn’t exist...

Grey waves

Wave 1 : Another parallel with Edel is the will to sink in troubled waters to reach their goals.

However, Rhea stays on the surface.

Aelfie thinks Seiros failed to rez Sothis with the chalice because she didn't take more blood from the apostles. Blood rituals are creepy and gave an umbral beast. Seiros didn't pursue and sought another mean to rez Sothis without killing her bros. Rhea makes homunculi to host Sothis's soul? It fails but the homunculi isn't destroyed asap to make another one, hell, Rhea cares about them (which is all kinds of fucked up on its own).

AM wise, iirc, Seteth and Catherine say Rhea'd never forgive them if they run to save her instead of saving randoms first.

Still, making homunculus to create a vessel for her mom - making artificial lives - is problematic, she’s ashamed of it “i did questionable things” and Seteth berates her on her “questionable” experiments.

CF!Rhea eats babies during the final map. She burns the city to make her last stronghold and refuses to run away. CF!Rhea, at the end of this route, completely abandoned goal 1 2 and 3. She wants to survive, yes, but to recover Sothis, no matter how. She still seems to care about humanity, but takes everything too literally and is persuaded humanity and humans are after her to hurt her and her mother (i’m pretty sure uncle Arry was waiting with his Agarthan tech suitcase for Edel to deal with the beast in the background). Contrary to CF’s chapter 12, Endgame!Rhea doesn’t have lines when Catherine and Cyril fall. She’s still siding with humans, but she’s in this for herself now.

Of course, CF!Rhea is special, because CF!Rhea lives again through her trauma, CF!Rhea lost her home, her bro and niece a few chapters ago, she lost her human allies, apparently some peons from her church are deserting and Uncle is waiting with his portable electric saw to turn her in a shiny sword, because she trusted a corpse with Sothis’s heart and spine and trusted a human 1000 years ago with her secret. And now said corpse follows someone who rings at her door with an army, wishes to obliterate her unless she surrenders (?) and works with Uncle and his dubstep pals.

In the other routes, Billy doesn’t want to killer her with her mother’s spine and tries to defend her home, Seteth’n’Flayn aren’t forced into exile or dead and depending on the route she gets to see Uncle and his dubstep friends being buried under rubble.

Troubled waters to reach her goals also include slowing Fodlan’s technological advancements (but was it really slowing down Fodlan’s R&D’s department or cliking “no” when Mole People offer a free (for now) new technology that makes you advance from bronze age to the industrial era in one go?)

Wave 2 : Rhea’s anchored in the past, she wants to return to happier days with her mom and her family, but also wants to help randoms in Fodlan

She doesn’t seem to mind the present where humans do whatever they want, and yet will protect her people and tries (or tried since it’s history) to keep Fodlan safe.

I think the game wanted to tell us Rhea’s stuck in the past, but she also manages to form bonds (albeit fickle) in the present with Catherine, Shamir and, arguably, Cyril. Seteth’n’Flayn accept the past and try to move forward, Rhea cannot and yet is making baby steps forward, or at least to live in the present. “uwu factor” is supposed to mean Rhea’s stuck in the past and can only see Billy for what they are once she accepts to live in the present, but Rhea’s already fond of Catherine, calls Aelfie her child, was fond of Citrus and Jeralt, makes time for Cyril, etc etc. It’s not as clear cut as drinking tea with them but it’s still something that quashes the “lonely B4 U player-chan uwu”.

Rhea thinks her biggest grey wave is how she didn’t do enough for Fodlan and feels inadequate to walk in Sothis’s shoes as the guardian/protector of Fodlan - she could have done more, but she’s busy juggling with three goals, rez mom, protect fodlan, protect the fam.

I think one of her main issue (but the game was also made this way so) is to try to reach those goals alone, save for the “rez mom” goal, everyone in Fodlan, especially the heads of the three states should be concerned with keeping peace in the continent!

Lambert was BBQ’s, Riegan’s busy shitting on Gloucester and Ionius is... well, Ionius. Add to that Mole People starting up shit all around the continent and you have the recipe for a disaster. I’m not saying Lambert and Ionius should have participated to the “protect her family” goal, but at least not trying to eradicate them to turn them in relics would have been nice, sadly Ionius’s bro in law was an Agarthan.

Even if she is nearly immortal compared to a human, Rhea can’t do everything on her own. That’s why I ultimately think a SS ending is doomed to fail, Billy will try to be Rhea 2.0. and in 1000 years it will fall apart again.

AM ending? Billy will become like Rhea was post War of Heroes, but when Dimitri’s descendants start to do shit, his Kingdom disappears and humans start to return to their usual shitty selves, what will Billy do?

VW ending is kind of the same, Claude wants to open the borders and make everyone able to live regardless of their differences, but what if 940 years later an Almyrian president decides to build a wall between Fodlan and Almyra and make Fodlaneses pay for it? What is immortal Billy, who knew Claude and his ideals, going to do?

Wave 3 (lol i nearly forgot but remembered when i was rambling in the tags) : Rhea and technology !

The DLC book and Word of God said she slowed advance of technology in Fodlan to protect peace etc etc. But there’s a book where a cardinal said “eff to autopsies else people won’t rely on us with faith magic” which is... kind of weird. There’s a reason why Rhea might have approved that ban (Why does Freikugel look like a hip bone?) but it still deprived Fodlan’s randoms from the scientifical advance of autopsies... and made people reliant on faith magic.

Actually, the book goes

“Though it is widely believed that this is medically relevant, such actions upon a corpse are considered desecration of the dead. Since white magic can be used to a similar end, autopsies were deemed taboo. A notable cardinal asserted that if medical science were to excel over faith-based white magic, it would destabilize the foundation of the church “

I already pointed out the WTF between faith and white magic (Seteth doesn’t believe his mom is real so he has no faith boon) but interesting to note “desecrating the dead” is still something of an argument nowadays, not regarding autopsies but other practices like anatomical theaters etc etc. Maybe White Magic isn’t intrusive and yields the same results? idk.

Interesting to note, it’s a cardinal who edicted/justified that ban (Rhea as the head of the Church would have given her approval oc). As pointed out with the Freikugel example, Rhea’d have a personal interest in preventing humans to know more about anatomy (goal 3/). Would people stop looking to the church to be healed if “medical science” progresses too much? Maybe. From what we see in the curren Fodlan, it doesn’t.

Also, French version translated the “foundation of the church” as “stability” of the church - would the church become unstable or challenged if people could heal without using white magic? Again, we ultimately know that it doesn’t, magical science and medical science coexist, Manuela gives a short summary of the two - they have different effects.

As for things Rhea herself banned : Telescopes, Oil exploitation and Printed Press.

Telescopes were banned because Rhea thought it would increase violence during wartimes and would make it too easy to snipe from afar (TFW mages with bolting can do the same without telescopes, but they’re limited by their range and if they have a gloucester’s crest by Rhea’s sister’s femur’s range or whatever is Thyrsus). We know the mole people use (and most likely used before during the Sothis war) this technology. The “lessening the mystery of the goddess” thing is noted by Edel herself who wonders if the Goddess could really have come from space since it’s super far away. Edel doesn’t know the Goddess is an alien dragon-thing though.

Oil exploitation : “Misuse could result in accidental death” tfw random Faerghus countryman thought it was water and died :’(

Used tactically by those lacking magical abilities - like gambits? Was Rhea thinking that a random human cannot set fire to an entire city (lol) on his own with his limited spell pool/uses, but if he uses oil then he would only be limited by the quatity of oil? So it’d be easier to cause mass fires? Or whatever Robin did in FE13 with the ships and the Valmese army? Also, if Rhea thought oil could replace humans with magic, does it mean humans with magic were supposed to do everything oil can do? Like making a lamp or they still used something else as fuel? “Competition for it could cause strife” Rhea acknowledged that if humans discovered this ressource they’d deem it as essential and try to get their hands on it, even if they had to wage war?

Metal molding Printing Machine : “after careful consideration” Rhea banned it because it’d be useless for illiterate randoms - well yes, but why should this be an argument? You don’t ban something because it’s useless, look, no one banned airpods - risk of mass circulation of false information or rumors : rhea wanted to prevent redshit from existing This is a way to control information, but funnily enough in the game, we see the results or someone deliberately using manifestos spreading misinformation - risk of “increasing disparity between church branches” (fr version has “rivalry” instead of disparity) what does it mean? The central church would have more means to print books than the eastern church so the eastern church would be jealous? Or the Western Church could mass print its doctrine and have more zealots than the central or the easter church?

Ultimately, all those bans were lifted with time, Manuela performs Jeralt’s autopsy, Edel’s imperial science division managed to guess the distance between the Blue sea star and Fodlan, Oil is apparently used in several gambits, Edel’s able to send manifestos around the continent and Seteth can write children books and sell them without difficulties. Hilda can also lose books which would be a big no-no even if you are a noble if books weren’t, kind of, mass printed.

So why those bans? To protect Fodlan and the fam, but since they were lifted with time, I don’t think Rhea abandonned her goals, most likely, she thought humans were making small steps to discover those technologies, slowly learning about them so they won’t have them when they’re not “ready enough” to use them.

The “ready enough” thing sounds paternalistic or what can be expected from a more technologically advanced alien, but technically Rhea’s part alien and she lived through (or not?) an episode where humans received technology and did shit with it (mole people) so maybe she won’t hand them the car with the keys this time, and instead let them figure out how to build the car.

Still, this is HC because, as usual, the game doesn’t let us talk or question Rhea about those things, so we can only infer, read between the lines or between pixels.

****

TBH, I didn’t care a lot about her when I played, but when she had to eat babies in CF I grew more interested. Other bloggers already pointed it out, but Rhea’s a Tiki, but also a “traditional FE lord” in the sense she avenged her mom who was killed by the king of another kingdom, lived in exile and raised an army to fight against the King.

Still, Rhea didn’t end up as the leader of the world, or as the first Empress of United Fodlan, or something like that. She let Willy do his thing. Why? How? Why didn’t she became an integral part of the Empire, if she had been politically important, or a kind of seer/oracle, it would have been difficult for the Empire to go against her!

But nope, Rhea figged away in her mountains to rez her mom, sprout some “doctrine” (she could have done the same as an Emperor/Seer/Oracle) and watched over randoms who made up her “church”. She sometimes tries to intervene in Fodlan’s best interests, but it failed. Because Rhea doesn’t want to rule. She feels like she has to be a guide, but when humans don’t follow her? Well, what can she do? FE16 doesn’t show us Rhea sending her knights against the Empire when the Empire kicked out her Church and basically said “fig” to her face. FE16 doesn’t show us Rhea being angry and punching Gloucester in the face because he doesn’t show “real piety” and sprouts doctrine out of his rear.

Still, when she has to take a more hands-on approach and cannot be a distant figure/guide, she complains about maintaining a certain image as the Archbishop and how she cannot socialise with students or even walk around without Seteth randoms guarding her. She feels her mother would do a better job and tries to act as a proxy. Imo, Rhea’s bound by duty to her mom, to her sibs dead and living, and to Fodlan. She doesn’t reject her role, she accepts it, she doesn’t like it yes, but if going Gandalf in non-CF chapter 12 shows, she will fulfill it.

What’s most saddening though, is how her duty is a self-imposed one. Rez her mom? She personally took the challenge, because she misses Sothis the most and feels ashamed of this feeling to the point of not telling Seteth about it (interesting enough, Indech seems to be aware Billy’s Sothis incarnation and didn’t jump to the “Billy must be one of Nemesis’s kids with the crest of flames” conclusion, as if he knew Sothis could “incarnate” one day, but was he thinking Sothis would incarnate on her own or Rhea would trigger it? Flayn also suspects a thing about Billy being related to them because of Rhea). Rhea personally thinks she has to lead/guide Fodlan and make it a better place, ignoring the heads of the 3 states who should also be concerned with this goal. Rhea will create a false history to protect her living siblings when Macuil and Indech won’t give a fuck and live in their bestial forms somewhere, and when Seteth hides, but made it clear his only wish is to protect Flayn and the apostles, if they were really lizards, disappeared in random villages.

FE16 isn’t interested by Rhea’s story though.

That’s why I’m desperately waiting for a War of Heroes DLC or prequel of BSFE or whatever because I don’t really care about Fodlan in 1180 and who can have a perfect tea time with Billy or not.

I’d like to know why Birdie and Indech figged away, why Rhea thought letting Willy control the entire continent when he knows she’s a dragon was a good idea, why the Apostles didn’t take part in the Nemesis fight, why Fodlan’s humans decided to side with Willy in his brand new Empire instead of staying with King Nemesis, did Sothis have a previous faithful and what happened when she disappeared, were the Nabateans tyrannical rulers over humans which made some with Nemesis’n’pals, what were they supposed to do when they left Zanado, etc, etc.

So just like Julia and the baijilions AU ideas I came up with, Rhea’s a fuel for AUs because her base game dgaf about her.

[giftfromthesleepprincess]

Chapter 7-Gift From the Princess Who Brought Sleep; Scene 2

Gift from the Princess Who Brought Sleep, pages 269-278

Of the land of Elphegort, one fourth of it was taken up by forest. The largest of these forests was the “Millenium Tree Forest” to the southwest. As the name implied, there had once been an enormous tree there that was called the Millennium Tree. The people worshipped it as a god, and it was known as a pilgrimage site for the disciples of the Held sect of the Levin faith.

But a terrible event occurred eighty years ago.

The Millennium Tree that had been the forest’s symbol suddenly withered and died.

When the nearby residents realized this, there was a great uproar; however, at the same time they had discovered a new large tree growing right beside it. The people then decided make that great tree a new target of their faith as the reincarnation of the Millennium Tree.

Sister Clarith, the founder of the Sisters of Clarith, had published this sermon in her last years:

“We all must honor the Millennium Tree. All people must protect this sacred tree, not just the followers of Held. For to us she is a most respected god, our most precious friend, and our most cherished love.”

It wasn’t something set in law. But it had become taboo to thoughtlessly touch the new Millennium Tree or damage it. Particularly as Held followers were terrified of losing their subject of worship again, they came to very rigidly safeguard the forest. A new church was founded by the forest’s entrance, and people who tried to enter were strictly inspected and restricted. That was certainly effective in protecting the Millennium Tree, but it also amounted to an annoyance for residents of the nearby village and a large portion of travelers.

The Sisters of Clarith started issuing a travel pass. You could enter the forest even without being inspected by the church at the entrance as long as you had it, but you needed to undergo a different examination in order to receive that pass, which was also extremely bothersome.

Elluka and Gumillia had travel passes (they had been given to them special by Sister Clarith herself during her life), but they’d long since expired. Thanks to that they’d kept their distance from the Millennium Tree lately.

Using an animal path that Egmont had told them about, they were able to successfully enter the forest without going by way of the main entrance. Elluka knew many other methods and back roads for getting in, but it seemed this path was the closest.

Eventually they came out into a clearing. Nearby the enormous tree that was growing in the heart of it was a visitor who’d gotten there first.

Puerick Rogzé. Unlike Elluka and Gumillia, he had come here using an official travel pass.

“Oh, I was waiting for you.  Miss Hanne—I was investigating a little until you got here.”

“Make yourself at home, Doctor…So then, what’s your opinion?”

“I can’t be certain without inspecting it more thoroughly with my tools at home, but…It does seem that this tree’s sap has extremely strong poison-counteracting properties.”

“Then you can make an antidote that will have an effect on the sixth ‘gift’ poison?”

“I can’t say. I still don’t know all the details on the sixth ‘gift’ in the first place. I wasn’t able to detect anything like it in the corpses at Toragay. –Only, I did find some peculiar antibody-like components in the blood of the survivors, so I’ve been looking into it with that as a foothold. If all goes well, I might be able to develop an antidote without having to go to the trouble of taking tree sap from the Millennium Tree.”

“Let’s hope so. The people in the Held sect aren’t likely to keep quiet if we end up continually damaging the Millennium Tree for the antidote.”

It wasn’t just Freezis Fairytales that were being sold in the black market held in Toragay. That white energy tonic that Egmont had purchased was another one of its products.

What it used as a primary ingredient was sap taken from the bark of the Millenium Tree. Strictly speaking, damaging the tree wasn’t against the law. It was just something the Held sect forbid on their own.

Despite that, naturally you couldn’t publicly sell Millennium Tree sap. If someone was discovered doing so they would incur the animosity of all the Held devotees in Elphegort.

“It’s fortunate that Egmont heard the ingredients from the seller,” Elluka murmured while touching the Millennium Tree’s trunk.

It seemed that Egmont was little more than a customer, unaware that Pere Noel was running the black market. He may have been a target for being cracked down on by the World Police despite that, but Elluka had no inclination to hand him over to them when he was the hero who saved Toragay. She wasn’t a reporter anymore, and Gumillia was no longer an officer.

“So, I will head back home for now. I plan to analyze this sap as soon as possible. …What do you two intend to do?”

“We—will stay here for a while. This forest is my girl here’s home,” Elluka replied, putting her hand on Gumillia’s head.

“Oh, I see. …Well then, take it easy.”

“Take care, Doctor. Try not to get caught by the people at the church.”

Elluka pointed to the bottle with the tree sap that Puerick was carrying.

“Oh yes, I know. I won’t let them confiscate my precious research subject without resistance,” Puerick said, walking towards the entrance to the forest.

“…What blockheads, ‘Pere Noel’,” Gumillia muttered as she watched Puerick leave. “To think, that the poison they made, would be cured by the medicine they made.”

“—Or maybe that was their aim all along.”

“…? What do you mean, Elluka?”

“They set loose a mysterious pathogen. The people are in a panic. But after a short time, a medicine that cures the disease is discovered. –But the only one who knows how to make it…”

“…Is ‘Pere Noel’.”

“Yes. They would have a monopoly on the cure. Think of the killing they’d have made if they’d managed to pull it off.”

“So then, the energy tonic Egmont bought, was the prototype, you mean?”

“Perhaps so. Maybe that was something that Shadow or Kaspar as ‘Second, Dealer’ had Margarita make in advance.”

Now that all three were dead, the truth was lost to them.

“Anyway…” Elluka once more put a hand on the great tree’s trunk. “Long time no see—Michaela.”

She spoke up to the Millennium Tree. When she did, a change began to occur.

The multiple layers of the bark on the trunk shifted, and finally created a small gap. It looked like a human mouth.

“…Honestly, what was with that geezer! Mercilessly scratching at a person’s---ah, no wait. A spirit’s—not that either. A god’s body! It’s inexcusable!”

The voice could be heard coming from the gap in the trunk.

Elluka and Gumillia were the only ones who could hear it. It was the voice of the Millennium Tree—or rather, the inheritor of the great land god Held, Michaela.

Michaela was a former spirit, and had also been once reborn into a human by Elluka. She had been felled with an assassin’s dagger a hundred years ago, and lost her life. After that, she had been chosen as a successor by the Millennium Tree—the land god Held—after he’d carried out his life span, and then finally been reborn as the new Millennium Tree.

“It can’t be helped, Michaela. It’s to save, people’s lives,” Gumillia said, trying to pacify her best friend as a fellow former spirit.

“Oh ho. I guess, yeah, people’s lives huh? Even though you got so ticked off at me when I extended Shaw’s life. But using Millennium Tree sap to save people is alright, huh? Wow,” Michaela griped with a sulking tone.

Shaw Freezis had once been tormented by a fear of dying of old age. He had begged Elluka to tell him how to become immortal, but she had refused him.

Though, Elluka’s immortality was an incidental side-effect of the “Sin”, and so it wasn’t something she could cause in the first place.

And there, as a last entreaty to god, Shaw had prayed to the Millennium Tree—in other words, Michaela—for immortality.

When Michaela had been human, she had worked under Shaw’s father, Keel Freezis, and so knew Shaw when he was little.

She sympathized with Shaw. She had listened to Shaw’s wish, and using her powers as god tried to make Shaw perpetually youthful.

But as an inexperienced god Michaela wasn’t able to do such a thing, and so couldn’t make him ageless as per Shaw’s wish. Even so, Shaw had gained a much longer lifespan than the average person.

Later on, once Elluka found out what she’d done, she’d been enraged at Michaela.

This was because gods weren’t supposed to interfere in human society unless absolutely necessary—a rule that Held had obstinately upheld, and Michaela as his successor had completely broken.

That was one of the reasons why Elluka had stopped visiting the forest much.

Gods were forbidden from intervention with humans—and in that case, what did that mean for using her tree sap?

“Well…how about we just put that in the purview of human intelligence, hm?” was all Elluka could reply. “Counteracting a poison created using the power of a ‘demon’ with the power of a ‘god’—I don’t see a problem in that.”

“Hah… Still as big a burden as ever, those ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’.” A gentle breeze issued from Michaela’s mouth. “You stiiiill haven’t gotten all of them? Good grief, you’ve gotta step it up, Elluka.”

“Tch…You got real cheeky the moment you became a god. My incompetent former apprentice.”

Elluka prodded Michaela’s trunk with all her strength.

But Michaela calmly replied, “That doesn’t huuurt.”

“I would think not.”

“So then, what actually happened? From beginning to end.”

“…The ‘Red Cat Sorceress’. I told you about her before, yes?”

“Yeah, she’s the one who was manipulating the girl who killed me and her mother.”

“There’s that, yes. That sorceress has been active again recently. If she’s following her usual pattern then she’ll have several ‘Vessels of Deadly Sin’.”

“She’s quite spectacular, unlike you, Ellukaaa. This ‘Red Cat Sorceress’ I mean.”

“Oh shut up…So, we were tracking down someone who seemed to be her…but unfortunately it was a fake. In the end we couldn’t find any vessels either.”

“A fake, huh? So then you’re saying you were completely deceived.”

Deceived…hm.

Elluka had taken on a different name and fooled the whole world herself, yet she had still been deceived by someone else.

“We…everyone…was deceived.”

That was what Marx had said at his moment of death.

--Who in the world had he been deceived by?

--Who did he mean when he said “we”?

“You’ve been completely fooled anyway.”

Shadow had said that.

That was what she’d replied when Elluka mentioned that Margarita had contracted with a demon.

“I haven’t made any contracts. I’m me. From the moment I was born, I’ve always been myself.”

Those were Margarita’s words.

Elluka had thought she was trying to obfuscate matters. Or maybe someone else had gotten her to contract without her intent. There had in the past been some contractors of that pattern.

But—supposing that wasn’t the case.

.

Marx’s words.

Shadow’s words.

Margarita’s words.

A human who didn’t sleep.

A doll they couldn’t find.

Kaspar’s face which had so resembled someone else’s.

Margarita Blankenheim’s face.

The Phantom Thief Platonic’s face.

Eve Zvesda’s face.

And—the doll’s face.

.

Various things suddenly raced through Elluka’s mind.

When they melted, swirling together into one--

Elluka finally arrived at a single answer.

Impossible...The Sleep Princess...The true meaning of that...Her real identity--

“—-Elluka. Hey,

Elluka!

” Michaela was calling Elluka’s name.

There was a bit of anxiety in her tone.

“I can sense someone. Someone’s come here—It’s…that’s…”

Michaela was astonished. And Gumillia’s eyes opened wide.

But Elluka wasn’t surprised.

She’d said that, hadn’t she? “I’ll go to the forest”.

And that had been this Millennium Tree Forest.

.

“—-It seems we have met again, hm, Miss Elluka?”

Standing there was the woman who had died, Margarita Blankenheim.

<<prev------directory------next>>

[writingmyselfout]

Because I Could Not Stop for Death - Chapter Six

Language: English

Rating: Teen+

Pairing: Hermione Granger/Harry Potter

Tags: AU - Canon Divergence, Reptilia28′s Don’t Fear the Reaper Challenge, Manipulative Dumbledore, Black Hermione Granger, Slight Ron Weasley Bashing

Prologue 1 2 3 4 5

Chapter 6: Just As Well Be Blind 

Summary: A conversation.

MINERVA McGonagall is not at all surprised when during dinner, Albus asks her if she would join him for tea in his office later. She doesn’t need him to expand into the reasoning why, only agrees once she’s ensured that her prefects have the first years well in hand, she will join him. They discuss the upcoming school year briefly, he mentions some new ordinances the Board of Governors were considering, and just general things, but all the while she knows what he wants to discuss is one of her newest lions.

    Once the students are dismissed, she goes to her Gryffindors, instructing the prefects to lead the first years up. She stands in the Great Hall as the students disperse, going off to find their own houses, and is equally unsurprised when Severus Snape comes to stand at her side. Neither says a word until the last of his Slytherins has gone down the hall leading to the dungeons.

    “Mr. Potter has followed in his father’s footsteps,” is the first comment from the Potions Master.

    “And his mother’s,” she reminds him. “Albus wishes me to join him for tea.”

    Snape looks over at her. “To discuss the boy, no doubt.”

    She nods her head in agreement. “Almost certainly.” She starts to head for the stairs, and he follows. “He and Draco Malfoy seem to have remained friends. I thought he might end up in your house after all.”

    “Yes, well it may have been better for their friendship if he had,” Snape replies. “We both know they’re unlikely to remain friends.”

    “You’re too much of a pessimist, Severus,” she admonishes. “They might surprise you.”

    He looks unconvinced, but changes the subject. “Have you spoken with him about the stone?”

    “Yes.” McGonagall’s frown makes it perfectly clear how that discussion went.

    Snape notes it, and adds, “I take it he is determined to keep it here at the school.”

    “He isn’t entirely wrong; it’s likely safer here than anywhere else,” she concedes. “But I’m not keen on the idea of bringing something to a school that is likely to attract dangers that might harm the students.”

    Snape’s reasoning is different. For him, it’s just stupid to try to protect something that they would be better served to just destroy. It is the more logical solution, in his mind, and would save them all the trouble of having to worry about safeguards at all. He doesn’t share that, though, knowing the deputy headmistress is a true educator, through and through, whose students would always come first for her. He doesn’t quite share that passion.

    “Yes, well, the man rarely thinks himself wrong,” he says instead.

    “That’s the problem with rarely being wrong. You don’t recognize when you are.” They reach the gargoyle statue on the third floor that guards the entrance to the headmaster’s office and McGonagall gives it the newest password. “Curly Wurly.” The statue jumps aside, revealing the moving staircase up to the headmaster’s office, and McGonagall turns to her colleague. “Care to join us?”

    Snape shakes his head. “No, but I admit to some curiosity. Let me know what happens.”

    She nods her head in agreement then bids him goodnight as she heads up the stairs. She enters the circular room, eyes moving as they always do over the tables about. McGonagall recognizes the Pensieve tucked away in a recess between shelves of books. There is an identical recess on the other side of the room between more shelves, this one with a moon globe. The nearest window to that has a table next to it with a lunascope atop its surface, and some papers. The rest of the tables, of which there are probably about a half dozen or so in varying sizes, hold various silver instruments, many of which are constantly spinning or emitting the occasional puff of smoke, and almost all of them unrecognizable to McGonagall. She assumes more are for show than anything. Granted, Dumbledore knows many people, so perhaps some were inventions he’d been gifted or older magical items generally no longer in use, but her curiosity only goes so far as to wonder the point of having them, as she has yet to ever see him actually use any.

    The man himself is standing at his desk, a pleasant smile on his face as she meets his gaze and he motions for her to take a seat across from him. There is a cup of tea waiting for her, steaming rising gently from it as she takes a seat.

    “Thank you.” She picks the cup up, sniffs the pleasant aroma and takes a sip. She doesn’t say anything, curious as to how he’ll bring the subject up, and not inclined after this summer to make it easier for him.

    He took a seat as she did so, and now picks up his own cup of tea. There’s quiet for a moment as they both drink some of their respective drinks, before he finally sets his cup back down and speaks. “I thought Harry might end up with you in Gryffindor. The boy would be the spitting image of his father were it not for having his mother’s eyes, and the scar, of course. Uncanny, the resemblance.”

    “Of course. Although I’d say he favors his mother’s personality more,” she tells him. “Even made friends with one of the new Slytherin students. Can’t say that’s something James Potter would have done his first year.”

    “I did see he was standing next to Lucius Malfoy’s son,” Dumbledore notes. “Friends, you say? I thought they had simply ended up next to each other coming in from the train.”

    McGonagall nods her head. “Oh no, the boys met in Diagon Alley when Severus and I took Mr. Potter to get his school things. Hagrid got him an owl for his birthday, so I imagine they kept in touch.”

    “Ah, interesting.” He seems to think about this for a moment, before he continues. “In any case, I wanted to speak with you on another matter concerning Harry. More specifically, his magical guardianship.”

    McGonagall sets her cup down. “Yes? What about it?”

    “I believe it would be in his best interest if I remained his guardian, considering his unique circumstances.”

    “They’re hardly that unique,” she argues. “Hogwarts has had orphaned students before, and their Head of Houses have stepped in as magical guardians since the early days of the school. I am surprised, though, that full guardianship didn’t go to his Muggle family. Shouldn’t that have been the case, with the Ministry assigning someone to assist in any magic related circumstances, like helping them access Mr. Potter’s Gringotts vault and such?” She has had a month to wonder about these things. Nothing about Harry’s situation seems to adhere to how she knows these things are supposed to be handled.

    “Minerva, you have met Harry’s family; would it have been wise to give them access to the Potter fortune?” She can’t argue that he has a point there, and he takes her silence as agreement so he continues. “Cornelius and I discussed it after placing him with the Dursleys, and since we had no way of knowing if Voldemort was truly gone, we thought it best to keep Harry’s whereabouts on a need-to-know basis so if he should return, the child would be safe.”

    “And after? It has been a near decade, Albus. I have never understood the decision to leave him there indefinitely. There’s been nary a sign of him ; the Ministry could have resumed their responsibilities to the boy. Even so, James and Lily Potter surely named a magical guardian if he was going to end up with her Muggle family; why not have them check on him if neither you nor the Ministry could?”

    Dumbledore sighs. “Unfortunately, Sirius Black was the appointed guardian. You know he betrayed the Potters. Even if he were not in Azkaban and therefore incapable of performing those duties, he clearly would be unfit to do so. There was no one else named, so I stepped in.”

    It all sounds so reasonable, but McGonagall can’t help the feeling that things were not done the way they should have been, and thus Harry had suffered the consequences.

    “Very noble of you,” McGonagall finally says, and if she sounds a little sarcastic, well, she is around children all day. “Well as you said, you’re a busy man. So respectfully, I think it best I take over his guardianship as his Head of House as I’ll have the ability to take on a more active role than your duties have allowed. Especially since as deputy headmistress, it is in the school’s best interest that you continue to be able to perform all your duties as headmaster. Unless there’s another reason you feel I am not up to the task?”

    It is so rare for them to disagree like this, that she’s not sure she’s ever outright challenged him on something the way she is now. In fact, Dumbledore is no longer smiling at her, and instead seems to be studying her, taking her in as he forms a response.

    Everything from her tone of voice, to the way she’s seated in her chair ramrod straight, to the very tilt of her chin makes it obvious that this is a challenge she will not back down from. Whether it’s the approach he’s miscalculated, or simply the level of which her visit to the boy’s family this summer upset her, he isn’t sure. One thing is certain, though, and that is that as he was not legally appointed by the Potters, he cannot override the old magical laws that govern the school and is upheld by the Ministry without additional intervention that would require the involvement of the Board of Governors, the Department of Magical Education, and either the International Magical Office of Law--which technically was also the Domestic Magical Office of Law--or the Wizengamot itself, if not both. It would turn into a grand spectacle and raise questions as to the necessity of it, and would it really be worth it in the end?

    McGonagall meets Dumbledore’s piercing gaze, unmoved, and unbothered by the silence. Her intention is not to question his motives; the man is powerful, not perfect, and things were getting dark by the end of the war. Whether what he’d done was actually for the best is debatable, but she thinks he truly means it when he says he believed it was. It just wasn’t enough. After all, she had seen with her own eyes the conditions Harry had been raised in. On the surface, from the outside looking in, it seemed fine. But a closer look revealed an upbringing no child should have to endure, famous or not, whether magical or Muggle. It is unconscionable to her that Albus, her one-time mentor and friend, continues to make excuses as if she hadn’t already told him what her and Snape’s visit had revealed. That his pride would come before that knowledge, keeping him from seeing why things had to change for Harry’s sake, frustrates her to no end.

    Finally, Dumbledore smiles at her. “I would never question your ability with any task, my dear. If you are certain, I will say no more on the matter.” With that, he picks up his tea and seamlessly changes the subject.

Story Notes:

Chapter title is from Billy Joel's "Honesty".

[lord-moch]

Here is the story of Meira in written form if you’d like to read it. Hope you all enjoy it!

Meira, Brightmaid Healer

Make sure we have all the preparations ready for the festival of tales, OH! I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice you there. My name is Bendus Silverheart, a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Have you come for the festival? Oh, it's a wonderful time of year, were we exchange stories from all over Amanlashe, learning of legends, myths, heroes, and villains of our past. Stories like the legend of the talking halberd, the myth of the Bjorn the Battleheart, or the dark legend of the evil Lich sorcerer Pucrex. Would you like to hear a story now? Ahhhhh, your in for a treat. Prepare yourself, for the story of Princess Meira. Long ago, on a moonlit night, the cries of labor pains could be heard throughout the castle.

Queen Mother Isilynor laid back in the most dignified pose one could muster while birthing. With an almost eerie calmness about her, the Queen Mother breathed slowly and deeply, pushing when told and relaxing when her contractions ended. You would think this wasn’t her first child with how composed she has been throughout the whole process.

Isilynor: She should be crowning now.

Firbolg Midwife: Queen Mother, are you alright? 

Your handling the birthing process well, but I fear that your demeanor shows a detached empathy for the child.

Isilynor: Know your place feylf, and deliver the child. My demeanor means nothing at the moment, just bring my daughter into being.

Firbolg Midwife: Yes your highness. 

The racial slur stinging the firbolg midwife, she continued her work feeling the full weight of the derogatory statement. Fake Elf, feylf, a slur name given to firbolgs because of their elf like ears, a ridiculous attempt to feel superior over others, to make others feel subservient to the elves. Even with the foul comment fresh in her mind, the firbolg midwife continued working. Sometime later, a healthy baby girl was born and named Meira by the Queen Mother. Refusing to hold the infant, the Queen Mother ordered that the baby be taken to its quarters. It would be some time before the Queen Mother would ever be parental towards her child, in her own way. 

89 Years Later

A young maiden looks out over the battlefield seeing the carnage of war and what it brings to the realm. The rhino-folk and elephant-kin have been hunted like animals by the dragonborn for centuries. While, for the most part, the ivories tend to hold their own in battle, they’ve managed to gain support from the dwarven stronghold of Kunnenat. The dwarves of Marr Karitat rarely leave their mountainous homes, or their civil war, unless it is for the benefit of their clan or stronghold. The rhino-folk will make excellent shock troops for Crystalbeard Clan, and will bolster their claim for the throne amongst their stronghold. In the distance, an attack formation of elves moves in on a detachment of ivories for the kill. The maiden riding a hippogriff lands and bars their way.

Meira: I order you to cease this attack and move on with your platoon. They are injured and cannot defend themselves. 

Woodelf Sergeant: Princess Meira, we are under orders to leave no quarter, and show no mercy.

Meira: As princess of Glorandal Taure, I order you to return to your platoon. These people are under my protection now. You two, you will stay and assist the wounded.

Woodelf Soldiers in unison: Ma’am!

The 2 rhino-folk, 1 elephant-kin, and 3 children appear frightened by the arrival of a royal member of the thorned throne. The Princess lower herself down off of her hippogriff and kneels down exposing the horn on her forehead.

Meira: Do not be frightened children, I am here to help. Please, allow me to heal your wounds and bring comfort to your young ones.

Rhino-folk 1: The horned elf mocks us and wants to heal our afflictions. We would not be suffering if you had kept your noses clean and left the scales to their own battles.

Meira: My people only intervened because of our treaty with the Fanged State. If your people wouldn’t have seeked the help of the Karit-rukum, we’d be in the forest right now minding our own business.

Elephant-kin: If we hadn’t begged the dwarves for help, our herd would have been wiped out!

Meira: You don’t understand! I don’t want this, but I’m just as helpless as you. I may be a princess, but I have to follow the same orders issued by the Queen Mother as every other elf.

Rhino-folk 2: You don’t know what helpless is!

Elephant-kin: Helpless is watching your children be slain, skinned, and devoured by monsters. Helpless is knowing that no matter how much you beg, threaten, or order, you bare witness to the complete destruction of your kind!

Rhino-folk 1: Enough of this! Kill the pointy-eared devils, and capture the horned one!

With that, the 2 rhino-folk rush the elf soldiers left behind to assist Meira, and quickly brought them down. As the 2 rhino-folk slowly advanced towards the princess and her mount, 2 arrows shot past the maiden and struck the second rhino-folk. After the creature fell, a loud horn erupted from behind the princess, as a giant stag exploded into the area and gored the remaining rhino-folk. Riding the great beast was none other than the Queen Mother, Isilynor, her glittering gold and emerald leafed armor reflecting the sun as if it had just been polished, shone, and never worn. She wielded a great lance with deadly precision in one arm, and a leaf shaped shield in the other. Hair the color of wheat in autumn flowed from her head, with a battle helm framing her face. A small contingent of dragonborn astride drakes circled around the remaining elephant-kin and children, surrounding them.

Meria: Mother, Queen Mother, I appreciate the assistance, but it wasn’t necessary. I was about to…

Isilynor: Why was my sergeant ordered to return to his platoon before handling these people?

Meira: Mother, you don’t understand! They were helpless, and the children. They were going to kill the children!

Isilynor: So helpless that they killed 2 of our own, and threatened your safety?

Meira: They did so out of fear! Please Mother, spare the ivory and her children. Allow me to bring them safely to the forest.

A green scaled dragonborn astride a drake rides up to meet the argueing elves. A snake like tongue tasting the air as he moves his head, taking in the conversation, and responding with calculated words.

Talon: Queen Mother, I must remind you that according to our treaty, it is unlawful to allow refugees of the ivories safe haven in Glorandal Taure.

Isilynor: I am well aware of our laws and customs, and you would do well not to assume my intelligence or memory.

Talon: Of course Queen Mother, we will dispose of them now. My kin, feast!

Meira: NO! I claim them by right of capture, they are mine to do with as I see fit!

Talon: You have no right of capture. You belong to no brood, which means you have no hunting grounds to make prey of them.

Isilynor: Actually Talon, upon the signing of that treaty, my family and I were officially recognized as our own brood in the Fanged State. And since I rule all of Glorandal Taure, then the forest acts as my hunting grounds. Also, since I am Queen Mother of all elves, all my children have full rights to claim capture against any remaining ivories. Lieutenant, let it be known to all commanders, that they are to capture all defeated ivories, and arrange transport for them to Glorandal Taure.

Talon: You have made your point Queen Mother, the Princess may take the meat with her.

Isilynor: And I will be taking 50 of the finest bulls captured, along with 100 cows. A gift, to show your appreciation for all the assistance the emerald forest has given you.

Talon: Queen Mother, surely you must be jesting?

Isilynor: Lieutenant!

Talon: No, no, no, no, of course. A gift, to the thorned throne and our great friends of the forest.

Isilynor: Belay that order lieutenant, take these 3 too our healers. Finish assisting the Fanged State in their endeavors, round up our assets, and move for home. I grow tired of these scales and their hunts. Meira, come with me.

After all the orders are issued, elves and dragonborn begin moving about handling various odds and ends. An estimated 400 rhino-folk, 500 elephant-kin, and 150 dwarves were captured by broods of the Fanged State., with over 1,000 dead enemy combatants. About 1,500 ivories were allowed escape behind the Crytalbeard’s boom wall. The Queen Mother and Meira ride silently towards the command post, the smell of death and decay heavy on the field. The clerics of the Fanged State will be hard at work to prevent the rise of undead. The more likely outcome is that a mage of some kind will pay for the rights to any dead enemy combatants, while the other will be treated and mourned by their compatriots. The Queen Mother and Meira arrive at the command post, entering Isilynor’s private quarters.

Meira: Mother, thank you for sparing their lives and saving as many as you could. I know you're under pressure to apeas the Fanged State, but it was the right…

Isilynor: I grow tired of you ignoring my orders and doing as you wish. What you did out there caused the deaths of two of your brothers, my children. The only reason you haven’t been banished, or even killed, is because of who you are. I’ve granted you this small act of kindness, but the traditions of the Fanged State must be upheld. 

Meira: What do you mean mother?

Isilynor: You and I will hunt down the mother elephant-kin, and serve her as we receive Talon and his attaché. We will observe the traditions of the scales, and hunt the ivory, bringing her down together.

Meira: I… I won’t. I can’t. You can’t expect me to do something so heinous? What about her children? What will you do with them.

Isilynor: They will join the others as troops loyal to me and the thorned throne. At this moment, my men are preparing for the hunt. You have no more authority, so do not attempt to use your position. We will hunt in the morning, and you will slay the beast, along with any thoughts of not following my will in the future. Do I make myself clear!

Meira: But mother, you can’t do this! This is monst…

Isilynor: DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!

Meira: Ye… yes, Queen Mother.

Isilynor: Good. Sergeant!

Wood Elf Sergeant: Yes Queen Mother.

Isilynor: Take the princess to her quarters. Confine her there till I come for her.

Wood Elf Sergeant: Yes Queen Mother!

After entering the quarters of the Queen Mothers, the Wood Elf sergeant escorts Meira out, and to her own quarters. Guards posted at her tent, Meira begins pacing anxiously around, racking her mind with options. What will she do? Will she stay loyal, and go through with the hunt, murdering an innocent, or will she flee under the cover of night. How will the story of Meira, brightmaid princess of Glorandal Taure, heir to the thorned throne, and daughter of Queen Mother Isilynor end? A roll of the dice awaits my friends, and now the story is yours to tell.