Great Tree Moon, Imperial Year 1180

Three months of successful campaigning concluded, the Broken Blade came back round to Remire Village again. The people were all familiar smiles once they saw them walk up to the village's reaches. A small feast was put together, paid for with all the coin they'd earned putting down brigands in the Empire. It was a relaxing time for all of them. Even Byleth. Getting out and doing something had completely erased all the tension that he'd been building after the Ochs abduction. Hopefully it wouldn't return when they got back tomorrow.

Tomorrow. Back to royal heirs and noble brats. They'd been gone a bit too long and the school year was underway by now. Not good for ingratiating them to the future political elite. But it'd work out. It always did.

They retired for the night, sleep passed and dawn came. A rare dawn that Jeralt awoke to under his own power rather than Byleth interrupting him.

Course, his son came right after Jeralt put his equipment on. "Something the matter?" Jeralt asked.

"The girl… talked."

Jeralt had to blink at the words. Fifteen years (give or take) of her on that throne without a single word. "What did she say?" Too curious to ignore.

"I… can't remember." Byleth actually looked down at the thought. "And the war. There was a woman. And a man. And Heroes' Relics?"

"You need to stop reading the books of Seiros before bed."

"I saw Thunderbrand. And Aegis Shield. And the lances."

He'd never personally seen Areadbhar, the Lance of Ruin, or Lúin. Was this the result of whatever Rhea did to him? "What did they look like?"

Seth burst into the room, desperation between pants. "Jeralt, sir! We've got trouble out front!"

Dammit. "Let's get going."

The three of them ran out into the still dark dawn. At the wall the rest of the Broken Blade had already gathered in their full kit. Alongside them were nervous, jittery Remire militia with makeshift weapons and cloth armor. And in the center of it all were... Officers Academy students?

Two boys and a girl.

"Knights of Seiros, what luck!" said the boy in the middle. Blond hair, blue eyes. Blue cape. Blue Lions. Crown Prince Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd. "We require your aid, good sirs."

"What's the matter?" Jeralt asked.

"Our camp nearby was attacked by bandits," said the boy on the left. Darker skin, golden cape and a look of confidence despite the odds. Claude von Reigan. "We managed to give them the slip but they're right on our tail."

Bandits? In the Empire? so close to Remire and the monastery? Something was off about this. "Where's your escort?"

"Dealing with the bulk of the group," said the girl on the right. White hair, clear purple eyes and a red cape. Princess Edelgard von Hresvelg.

"Why'd you run instead of standing your ground?"

"Well," said Claude, "with the darkness and confusion going on I thought it better to get my bearings away from all the fighting."

"And we followed when they broke off to pursue him," said Dimitri, with Edelgard nodding in agreement.

This would be a pain. "Do you have a head count on the bandits?"

"My best estimate was thirty following us," said Edelgard. "None of them equipped for indirect combat."

He had a breath of relief at that. Thirty wasn't gonna be a problem. It could even be an opportunity. He looked at Byleth. "All right kid, take point. Leave some bandits up so the students can get a swing in." He looked back at the students. "You three follow in behind him. The Broken Blade and I will cover the flanks and rear so nothing gets the drop on you, or gets into the village." Byleth moved without a word.

"You're asking us to fight?" said Claude. Not that the kid seemed surprised.

"You didn't come to the Officers Academy to avoid fights, did you? Think of it as your first unofficial mission."

Claude laughed. "So our first official mission will be heading back to Garreg Mach then?"

"This is no laughing matter, Claude," said Dimitri. "Captain Jeralt, is it wise to have your son take the vanguard alone?"

Did he...? "He's more than capable. If things go badly I'll ride right in."

Edelgard looked at his son. "You have a strange aura about you." What did she mean by that? "I look forward to seeing you in action." The way she eyed him was strange. Even for people who eyed his son.

"I profess my most sincere thanks for your assistance," said Dimitri.

"Yeah! You guys have really bailed us out of this mess," added Claude.

This year was gonna be a fun one. "Get going, kid."

Byleth nodded and took the lead. From the darkness came the bandits, dressed in ratty black and illuminated by the few torches nearby. Some blowheart in the distance was bemoaning his luck but it didn't matter.

Byleth was like lightning. Three quick cuts and his first foe was down. "Hurry up before he leaves you behind," Jeralt advised the students. They'd not waited dumbstruck but they hadn't been expecting the quick, lethal efficiency of his son.

The next three bandits to emerge were left merely wounded rather than corpses. The students followed in right after. Claude's arrows the first to score a kill. Accurate fire but the kid flourished like nothing else. That could be a bad habit later one. Dimitri was fast and powerful. He utterly overwhelmed his injured foe and stabbed his spear halfway down its shaft with a thrust. A damn lot of power but a lapse in self control. That would need to be tempered. Edelgard aimed a single chop at her enemy's neck and moved on. Top marks on the kill, but she didn't ensure her enemy was fully down before leaving. They all had a lot to learn.

The Broken Blade cautiously followed after the young, making sure nothing popped up from the pitch-black brush surrounding them. A second wave of bandits weaved around the watchtower in front but Byleth was carefully able to wound them and let the house leaders finish them off at their own pace. It was almost routine, so Jeralt expected some nasty trap was waiting on the far side.

On the far side of the watchtower a dozen of the bandits were gathering around a big man, large as a bear. That had to be their boss. Byleth was already leading the students to the right, through some thick brush so Jeralt brought the Broken Blade around the left. They'd pincer and crush the bandits without much effort.

The bandit boss ran in, got completely outfought by Byleth, and kicked aside effortlessly. The bandits panicked around their defeated and unmoving boss. His son continued on, sending the remaining bandits fleeing backwards and letting Edelgard handle a single bandit by herself. She took a bad exchange, but overpowered her foe and left her ax embedded in him as he staggered back and fell. Claude and Dimitri had gone far afield chasing another two. Their attacks quickly earned them a victory and Byleth had two more dead at his feet. This was gonna wrap up soon.

The remaining seven or so bandits gathered around their dead boss—who suddenly sprang to his feet! He saw the unarmed Edelgard and rushed at her immediately with a mighty cry and an ax held high! Like a fool she stood her ground and pulled out a dagger to protect herself. Jeralt and everyone moved full speed but they had no way to intercept—

Byleth could.

His son shoved the girl aside and the ax—

AN: Since I have no idea what exact time Cindered Shadows is dropping have the finale now before I go to sleep. Then Ashen Wake when I "wake" up!