Fódlan Alternative II

{Part Two: Ascendent Star} Chapter Twenty-Six: To Distant Wing I

When the next month arrives, You rise from your slumber and begin to prepare for the day to come. Seraphine speaks to You all the while.

Seraphine: I suppose this will be it for real... We're actually going to attack the Empire when the end of the moon comes around.

You nod and say that this has been in development for a long time, and You are glad that You will finally be able to lay all of this to rest soon.

Seraphine: You're right about that... I don't know what to think about all of this, but I'm hoping it ends as painlessly as possible. We spent the entire last month gathering information, and I can only hope all of that will go to good use when it comes to us planning out our next few moves as well.

You nod and say that You are certain it will.

Seraphine: All that remains is to see for sure... And that starts with going to talk to the others. Maybe Liram will finally be ready to talk to us about what he knows about the Empire since there's no more holding off what we need to do next. It's time to attack, and he has to know it.

You tell her that there's no way to know for certain but to ask him, and You start walking up to the cardinals' room. When You arrive, the leaders of your faction are gathered around as is to be expected. You greet them and look down at the table at the center of the room, your gaze catching the map placed there.

Liram: There you are, Professor... We were just starting to think about our next few steps.

Magnolia: This is going to be it without a shadow of a doubt... There's no way we can hold it off any longer. We have to attack the Empire and get rid of them once and for all.

Raithius: I'm sure we'll be able to do this... Once we meet up with the Adrestian rebellion and see what their plan is for all of this, that is.

Liram: I have no doubt they'll be happy to see all of you. I know they've been looking forward to being able to meet with the rest of you when the attack on the Empire started, so this will be a fine chance for us all.

Calypso: Speaking of the rebellion, why don't you finally tell us who's behind it? I understand that you want to keep it a secret, but we're going to find out soon no matter what. Why not spare us the trouble and just be honest now?

Liram: You make a fine point... And you're right. I've been keeping this a secret for far too long, and it's high time all of that finally changed.

Morgana: Does this mean you're finally going to...?

Liram: Yes... If you really want to know who's behind the rebellion in the Empire, then I would be more than happy to tell you.

Cordelia: We're all ears then. It's been far too long, and you still haven't told us the truth behind it all.

Liram: The identity of the leader specifically must remain a secret until we can meet with them during the next battle, but I can tell you that most of the Black Eagles are involved with the rebellion. They don't want to see their home crumble because of the current emperor, and as such, they have vowed to take a stand against him no matter what.

Cordelia: That makes sense... None of them have been accounted for since the start of the war, so if anyone was going to be behind this...

Liram: It would be them, yes. They've been working hard to make small attacks against the greater Empire without putting themselves at risk, but because of the nature of this work, they've had to keep a lot of secrets.