Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Ascendent Star} Chapter Twenty-Five: Uneasy Alliances I

At the start of the following moon, You awaken from your slumber and begin to prepare for the day. Seraphine offers her usual commentary along the way.

Seraphine: I wonder where this next battle is going to lead us... I doubt we have anything of particular note left to do in Faerghus. I don't think so, at the very least.

You say that You do not know, but You are certain that disposing of House Goneril was a massive boon to your forces.

Seraphine: I agree. Unless someone else tries to step up to fill that power vacuum, I would say we're in a good position... Though we won't know for certain where our foes want to take this next until we give them some time to figure out what to do next. I don't like the idea of giving them a chance to cause any issues for us, but...

You tell her that it is important to keep in mind regardless.

Seraphine: Exactly... Though I suppose that as long as we have no other problems with the Kingdom or the Alliance... Our next target is going to have to be the Empire.

You hesitate for a long moment before nodding, agreeing that You will need to march south soon.

Seraphine: We've been viewing that as a distant goal for so long... I almost don't think we'll know what to do about it until we go in there to fight the enemies waiting there. The Empire has been a thorn in our sides for so long, and now... I don't know how we can get rid of that obstruction.

You tell her that You intend to give the march south every bit of strength You can find.

Seraphine: I had a feeling you would say that... And I know we're going to need that power. I can feel it already.

You nod and say that You will ask the rest of your allies if they are ready to march south when You meet with them shortly.

Seraphine: Good... Though I'll admit that I don't know which answer I want them to give us most.

You start up toward the cardinals' room, and You find that a majority of your allies are already there waiting for You. Upon your arrival, You greet your allies.

Raithius: Hey, Professor... I'm glad you're here.

You look around the room, sensing the tension in everyone's hearts and on their tongues. You ask what everyone is thinking your next step is going to be. You can already tell what the answer is going to be before they can even think of responding to You.

Magnolia: As of now, it seems as if we have nothing else to take care of in the Kingdom or Alliance... And that means we have only one destination left to march toward.

Novalee: The Empire has been causing issues for us for quite some time. So long as the current emperor still sits on the throne, there will likely be infinite reinforcements to many of the other strongholds in the area.

Luciana: I know the purpose of everyone meeting up like this was to prepare for the day when we had to march on the Empire, but... The idea of actually committing to it frightens me, I must admit.

You nod and say that You can only hope You are ready for this battle.

Cordelia: We will be. We've been readying ourselves for this from the beginning, and now that we have a sufficient army put together... We can do this. All that remains is to put the plan into motion.

Eli: Unfortunately, we won't be able to do it quite yet. Right now, we need to gather information. We can't exactly march on the capital as we are right now. We don't know enough about what to expect on the path leading there.