Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Silver Snow} Chapter Twenty: Writhing Shadows II

At the end of the moon, You begin to prepare for the battle ahead, and Seraphine manifests beside You.

Seraphine: Gronder Field... It's still so strange to me to think that we're going to be back there after all this time. I never imagined we would end up in a place like that again.

You nod your agreement.

Seraphine: It's ironic, isn't it? This is the closest we're going to get to a full reunion with the rest of the group who lived at the monastery five years ago, and we're right back to the same field where we fought in the Battle of the Eagle and Lion... Who would have thought?

You open your mouth to respond, but You are interrupted by knocking at your door. Seraphine falls silent as You ask who it is.

Janae: It's me. I'm so sorry to interrupt you this morning, but...

You open the door for Janae as Seraphine melts back into your mind. Janae looks at You anxiously, her eyes overflowing with nerves.

Janae: The monastery is under attack again.

Seraphine: Is it Samiya? It has to be, right?

You ask if Samiya is responsible for the strike.

Janae: No, not Samiya... It's the emperor himself.

Your eyes go wide.

Janae: Everyone else is already off preparing to face the onslaught, but there are so many more of them than we could have ever imagined... I wish there was something I could do to help you, but...

You shake your head and say that You will take to the battlefield as soon as You can.

Janae: Please... Do what you can to stay safe out there, alright? I need you to come back to me when the battle is over.

You nod your understanding before leaving your room and running towards the front of the monastery.

Seraphine: I suppose the months upon months of silence from Argades really were leading up to something... I didn't think he was going to launch another attack on the monastery, but here he is. We're just going to have to fend him off again...

You notice that she is hesitating, and You ask what is wrong.

Seraphine: I hope this battle doesn't cost us the monastery or the lives of any of our allies... That was how it ended last time, and while we're stronger now than we were before, I can't help but be worried... Though we won't be able to say for sure how all of this ends until after we've begun the battle to begin with... Unfortunate, isn't it?

You arrive at the front of the monastery soon afterwards, and the rest of the Church of Seiros' main members are gathered together and looking out over the hoard of attackers.

Cordelia: No matter how I think about it, I can't find a way to make sense of any of this... Why would Argades attack now of all times?

Herwig: He could have very easily heard that we were heading to Gronder and decided to fend us off before we could cross the border.

Reese: If that was his plan, then he could have gotten rid of us after we arrived. He would have had us boxed in if he gave it a bit more time, but he chose not to.

Niko: This invading force is even larger than the one Samiya brought to fight us before... We'll need to be careful and plan everything out as far in advance as we can.

Nesreen: If you ask me, we're not going to be able to cut a way through the battlefield this time without a bit of outside help.

Roy: In other words, we're going to have to stall for time and wait until our allies from Faerghus and Leicester show up to offer us a bit of extra support.