🌹 the caravan to camelot

[ well, today has been full of surprises. byleth leans on a length of driftwood that had looked suitable for a makeshift cane—her injuries from the last battle may have been dealt with already, but even a few weeks out she finds herself exhausted more easily than she'd like, and weaker than she once was. she stands there in a dark suit of armor as she hauls herself away from the water, seemingly near brand-new before it became so waterlogged. already, she unclasps the cape, folding it roughly and holding it under her arm—it seems better than letting that hang heavily against her back as it is now.

she looks over the smartphone with a faintly perplexed expression, a black eagle perched on her gauntlet. she... definitely has no idea what she’s looking at. someone has at least explained how to use the earbuds, even if a lot of the whys and hows still escape her. the false pointed ears attached to the things raise more questions than they answer, but she goes along with it without any complaint beyond a raised eyebrow. two swords hang at her waist once she’s retrieved her things: one a finely crafted rapier of silver and gold, the other an almost wicked-looking longsword, apparently carved of bone. a shield that appears to match the rapier hangs from her back now.

byleth is generally good at intuiting things, but this really is leaps and bounds past anything she’s familiar with. even after getting into the (very strange!!!) carriage, she still doesn’t quite understand. perhaps this is a dream? that would serve to explain some things. it can hardly be real, she has things to get back to—her fingers go, idly, to a gold pendant of a twin-headed eagle around her neck. that, and the now-familiar presence of the gold ring on her finger, serve to steady her in all of this.

finally, she glances to the person nearest her with a sigh, placing the phone into one of the pockets of an outfit she reclaimed from the shit box and reaching for a nip bottle from the mini bar. the eagle perched on her knee squawks once to greet the other person as well. ]

Have you followed any of this so far? [ she knocks back whatever she just picked up. please help. ]

🌹 the red spring

[ now, this is marginally more familiar territory. a lot of the devices in the room are, once again, alien to her, but! inns! modest rooms and warm beds! that’s more like it. byleth finds her placement before whoever she’s been put with does, taking a seat on the bed to try to steady herself. the eagle flutters away, perching on one of the room’s light fixtures. she finds the tv remote and, curiously, presses the power button, turning it on and landing on some navigation screen. when she hears the door start to turn, she’s still trying to work the thing. what the hell is a movie. what’s a video game????

the spring confuses her much less, and is much more welcome. a pang of nostalgia for the baths at the monastery strikes as she settles into the water, letting the warmth flow through her. she sees sparks of flame flicker at her fingertips as she brings her hand up out of the water once, brow furrowing. she’s used magic before, but that’s… new. if she's joined by someone else, she likely doesn't pay them much mind if it's a stranger, but doesn't seem as if she's opposed to the company either. who knows? maybe she's a great conversationalist, actually. give it a whirl.

so, given the weirdness with the fire, she finds it prudent to stop by the training grounds to familiarize herself with this new magic. by now, she's changed from her armor an outfit from home. she’s told of her apparent proficiencies—elemental and green magic—and finds herself enjoying both prospects. fire magic is nothing new to her, after all, and she’s no stranger to using magic to accelerate plant growth. people might find her practicing conjuring balls of fire or miniature wind vortexes in her hands, or springing forth carnations and moonflowers from handfuls of soil. the eagle remains curious, largely watching byleth and whoever she is with from a nearby perch. ]

🌹 a balanced approach

[ byleth may be newly arrived and unfamiliar with the political situations here, but from what she has understood so far, she can see no current justification for an attack on celliwig. if diplomacy is a viable option, it should be followed—even if she’s sure some would be surprised to hear that from one of the leading generals of an empire that just fought a five-year campaign of unification. the roundabout dealings with the queen of elphame do sound worth pursuing, but she sees no reason that celliwig’s trials would be mutually exclusive.

but more than that? catching insects is nothing new to her. especially when the point of the catch is to land a larger one later. bait for a fish, bait for celliwig—it’s the same difference, isn’t it? she’s changed into local clothing for this, all functional in dark tones, but the rapier stays strapped to her waist along with a net. byleth looks to whatever outworlder is nearest, as she starts to tie her hair back with a purple ribbon: ]

How about we lend each other a hand?

🌹 network. un: b.eisner

[ by now she's figured out how to use the phone decently enough, at least. ]

Hello. This is General Byleth Eisner of the Imperial Adrestian Army, Marshal of the Empire and Commander of the Black Eagle Strike Force in the service of Her Imperial Majesty, the Emperor Edelgard. [ it feels deeply unnatural to introduce herself so formally over text, to use this diplomatic song and dance even here. to speak of her connection to her emperor in such a detached way. but it seems like a neutral enough way to open things, and that's enough for now. ] I realize those words won't mean anything to most of you, but if they do, please reach out to me.

[ fódlan gang sound off ]

Secondly, I hear that there are efforts underway to coordinate training in magic and combat among outworlders. I have a background as an instructor in such things, and I would be happy to offer any assistance I can. I’m more than willing to offer personal combat instruction as well.

One last thing. Do any of you know nice fishing spots near Camelot?

[ well. that’s a swerve. ]

🌹 wildcard

[ wanna do something not listed here! go for it!

also, byleth is from a few weeks after the crimson flower route. to plan out anything specific, feel free to hit me up at clockworkbrain or hexennacht#7576 on discord. ]