Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Ascendent Star} Chapter Twenty-Four: Poisonous Silhouette I

At the start of the following moon, You awaken from your slumber and begin to prepare for the day. As You ready yourself, Seraphine speaks to You.

Seraphine: This will be our first time enjoying the company of the Blue Lions in years... I imagine now will be the perfect time for us to catch up with them fully.

You nod your agreement.

Seraphine: I wonder what all of them have been up to over the last five years... I suppose there's no way to find out other than to ask them. It's nice to see they didn't end up in too much trouble after the monastery fell though. The fact that they're all alive is enough of a positive to me starting out.

You make your way up to the cardinals' room, and You find Magnolia there for the first time. You greet her and the rest of your allies with a soft smile.

Magnolia: Good morning, Professor... It's certainly nice to be able to say that again after all these years.

Raithius: I know, right? It's almost hard to believe we're back here after spending so much time on our own fighting in the war.

Novalee: I think it's safe to say we're going to work better as long as we're together. All the more reason for us to continue collaborating in the future.

Luciana: I must agree. I look forward to seeing where this path will take us now that we have dedicated ourselves fully to sharing it.

Cordelia: First things first, it's going to lead us to the Faerghus side of Goneril territory. They're one of the largest houses in the continent, and we have to be ready to get rid of them so we can proceed with the rest of our plans.

Magnolia: You're right. House Goneril has just a bit too much power, and they use it to take over all the territory they can get their hands on. Leaving them be for too long will only come back to bite us.

Raithius: It wouldn't surprise me at all if they decided to turn down the path of Houses Ruden and Admoderor. As soon as they realized I had left the capital to come here to the monastery, they tried to lash out at Derdriu to take it for themselves. For all we know, House Goneril could try to do the same.

Eli: Then we will simply have to stop them before that.

Reed: And once that's over, we'll only have one destination left... The Imperial capital.

Quinn: The emperor was the one who started all of this... I have to wonder if defeating him will be enough to end it.

Reed: It probably won't be until we can find Lady Aisa and figure out just what she's been hiding. I know she hasn't been here to listen to just how much we're fed up with her secrecy, but she's going to have to hear about it soon.

Liram: We'll still have to plan to march south as soon as we finish up everything in the Kingdom.

Calypso: Maybe you'll finally tell us what you know about the Empire when the time comes for us to march on Enbarr.

Liram: ...I can tell you there's a rebellion that should be willing to ally with us when the time finally comes for us to march south. That's about all I'm at liberty to share.

Calypso: You've been dragging everyone along with that little detail for months. Until you can actually share what you know, people are going to keep doubting you, myself included.

Liram: I can't blame you. Still... I need you to trust that I have a reason for keeping things hidden for the time being.

Magnolia: What's going on?