isleofavalon | Newly Arrived and Looking for Answers

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Newly Arrived and Looking for Answers

🧙 WHO: Dimitri & Open
⚔️️ WHAT: Dimitri just arrived in Avalon and is getting his bearings. Expect lots of training.
🕒 WHEN: June 14
🗺️ WHERE: The Red Spring
⚠️ WARNINGS: None

1) Training

[Dimitri has known something felt off ever since arriving in Avalon. He has no way to test it, but he can't help but feel like his physical strength has diminished ever since he arrived. Between scrambling to shore, climbing the White Cliffs, and getting a carriage ride he simply hasn't had a chance to test his strength. But now that he's in The Red Spring, where there's a training ground, he can do so. And really, even if there had been no change, he would have made a beeline there, anyway. He has a lot on his mind, and training has always helped him clear his thoughts.

Dimitri pulls out a silver sword from behind his back and under his cape. He approaches a wooden target and lifts the sword into a fighting stance. Then, he raises the sword with his right hand, and brings it down upon the target. The blade embeds itself into the wood at the top, but comes to a stop just shy of the bullseye.

Dimitri pries the sword loose and frowns. With the amount of strength he had put into that swing, he should have cut the whole way through the target. So his suspicions had been correct. If he had to guess, he'd wager that he lost the strength granted to him by his Crest. It would be worth looking into how to use this magic he received, after all. In the meantime, he could continue to train his body, which is exactly what he does. At various points, Dimitri can be seen training with a sword, a lance, or a throwing spear. With the former two he trains his technique, and with the spear, his accuracy.]

2)Break Time

[Eventually, Dimitri reaches the point where he needs to take a break. He had seen some signs endorsing the spring water here, and how drinking it was supposed to have restorative properties. His interest piqued, and a good bottle of water sounding really good to him right now, he goes into the inn to get some spring water to drink.

Once he has his water, Dimitri takes a seat in the lobby and pulls out his phone, fiddling with it. He's never seen anything of the sort before, and so he hasn't the faintest clue on how to use it -- other than that one of the buttons on the side turns it on. It's a rather amusing sight, this tall man wearing an eyepatch and intimidating, black full-body armor hunched over a device gripped in his hand with the other holding a bottle of spring water. He looks quite out of place.

But he also looks like he could use some pointers on his phone. Care to offer any?]

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A moment after Dimitri's sword strikes but fails to cut through the dummy, a familiar voice calls out.

"Powers unique to our own worlds don't work here in Avalon. That includes our Crests." Edelgard steps forward onto the training ring. She's not armed, save for the dagger tucked into the sheath on her lower back, hidden by her cape.

"Dimitri." She says evenly, keeping her eyes on his back. She's come arrayed in her full Imperial regalia, including the crown, wishing to test Dimitri's reaction by appearing exactly as he likely remembers the version of her from his world. This meeting was inevitable once she'd heard he was in Avalon, or had come back after being gone. No sense putting it off any more.

Edited 2021-06-15 02:43 (UTC)

[Upon hearing that familiar voice, Dimitri's blood turns to ice within his veins. In his shock, he releases his grip on the sword's hilt and turns around, his good eye open wide. Sure enough, the person standing before him was none other than...]

Edelgard...!

[Dimitri speaks her name in a hushed tone. There she is, looking exactly the way she did on the last day of the war, and very much alive. His mind is blank from shock; he knows she's dead, as he did the deed himself, so how could she be standing here before him, now?]

Just what...what is going on here?

[There's no hint of any animosity in Dimitri's voice as he speaks. He's astonished, almost in disbelief...but not hostile.]

She notes the lack of hostility, both in his tone and actions. He's confused certainly, surprised most definitely. If Claude's world is any indication, she has a fair idea of what became not her counterpart in Dimitri's world too. His shock all but confirms it.

"I was in the last batch of new arrivals." She explains matter-of-factly, as calm and collected as ever. "I was brought here for the same reason as you; to save our worlds by learning to tap into Avalon's magic and push back the calamity that has them frozen in time."

She steps further into the training arena. "Since we're both here now, a clearing of the air between us seemed in order. Too much is at stake for us to continue fighting a war that is already over." She's already killed Dimitri herself, and has no desire to do so again; the Tempest King of Faerghus had only ever been another obstacle between Edelgard and her true enemy, the Immaculate One.

"Crests have no power here. The reduced strength takes some adjusting to, but acclimation happens quickly." A pause, and then she shrugs. "At least if I'm any indication."

[Dimitri listens quietly, wanting to hear Edelgard out. That wasn't quite the answer he was looking for, and he still has questions. Above all, though, he's definitely surprised that she is approaching him diplomatically. Not that that's bad; he much prefers it to fighting.]

I have a lot of questions now that I know you're here as well as I. However...

[He takes a deep breath as he collects his thoughts and tries to figure out how to phrase what he wants to say.]

However, I agree. The war is over, there's too much at stake, and I will under no circumstances jeopardize the innocent people here by pursuing a conflict from a world that isn't even theirs. I'm willing to set aside our differences.

[He shows no signs of reaching back to pick up the sword. Edelgard came here unarmed, so it's important to him that he reciprocate her good faith gesture.]

"I suspected as much." Edelgard replies. "Given that we have both fought very different wars." It's plain enough to see just by looking at him, to see the war he fought left a much deeper, more visible scar on him than it did the Tempest King in her world.

"Good. I'm glad we're in agreement." Edelgard replies briskly, with a nod. He's already proving himself more reasonable and sensible than the Tempest King of her own world. Her conflict with Dimitri, such as it was, was already ended anyway, on the rain-slicked Tailtean. She has no interest reigniting it with another version of him. "Then, perhaps you'd be willing to tell me how the war was progressing when you arrived here." That's as good a place as any to start.

[This keeps going deeper and deeper than Dimitri previously thought every time Edelgard says something. Different wars? How it was progressing for him? He has more questions, but he can certainly answer her question before asking his.]

The war is over. My army emerged victorious, and all of Fódlan has been united under the banner of Faerghus. The lords of the Alliance ceded control to me of their own volition after I came to their aid, and we...

[He pauses. This next part won't be pleasant for Edelgard to hear. He takes a deep breath and continues on.]

We conquered the Empire. Right now reconstruction is beginning all across the land.

Now, I have a question of my own. What do you mean that we fought very different wars?

As expected, the story Dimitri tells isn't surprising. Disappointing perhaps, in its own way, but not surprising. He neglects to speak of his Edelgard's specific fate, but with the Empire having fallen, the lack of Byleth's influence to keep her worst tendencies in check, and Dimitri's reaction upon seeing her...the answer is obvious.

"The war is over. We have that in common." Edelgard answers. "Beyond that, little else. Where I come from, the Alliance and Kingdom have both fallen, and the Empire is ascendant, restored to its ancient borders." She pauses, considering her next words, not sure how Dimitri will react to hearing them.

"I took the life of the Tempest King of Faerghus, Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, on the Tailtean Plains when he led a combined Kingdom and Church army to stop my advance following the fall of Arianrhod and the death of Rodrigue Fraldarius. Rhea had already quit the field and the Knights of Seiros had withdrawn with her, leaving only what remained of the Kingdom army to be dealt with. We chased her back to Fhirdiad where she refused to surrender, so we entered the city, fought through what remained of the Kingdom army and the Church forces, and Rhea...that is, Seiros the Immaculate One, died by my hand. My hand, and also that of my general, my former teacher Byleth Eisner, who left the Church and joined the Empire at the war's outset." She watches Dimitri very closely as she divulges this information. Her tone is not boastful or arrogant; she speaks as though this is simply established fact, which to her, it is. She's curious what Dimitri's reaction to hearing this will be.

[The words to describe the depth of Dimitri's shock simply don't exist. Edelgard is dropping bombshell after bombshell to the point that a group of mages might as well be raining meteors upon them. He falls silent for a full minute, needing time to process everything she had just told him. A completely different war, where the Empire had won...where he had died on the same field as Nemesis had a millennium ago...Rhea was Seiros and the Immaculate One...Byleth was on her side... Suffice it to say, it's a lot. He runs his left hand through his hair, briefly pulling his bangs away from his face, as he tries to process it all. Eventually, he manages to let out a single, short, bitter laugh.]

I ask you to answer you a question, and you oblige...but your answer still leaves more questions in its wake. That is perhaps the one thing here that doesn't surprise me.

[He takes a deep breath and lets his arm fall back to his side.]

Professor Byleth was a part of my life, as well...but he had been the Blue Lions' teacher, and fought by my side during the war. I once told him that I would be dead without his influence. It sounds like I was right.

I think I understand what you're getting at. The professor is the key to it all. That choice of which house to teach...that is the choice that changed history, isn't it? And you spoke with someone else from Fódlan to figure this out. Someone from my history...or perhaps a history where Professor Byleth chose to teach the Golden Deer.

What Dimitri tells her is expected...or so she thinks. Her head turns sharply when Dimitri refers to his version of the Professor. "He?" She asks, and this time it's her turn to be surprised by something unexpected. "Your professor was a man?" Now that's a surprise. Something unique to Dimitri's world. "That is...a divergence I was not expecting."

But the rest of what he says lines up with what she's already discovered, from talking to Claude and the other Golden Deer who have arrived. "I once told my version of the Professor something similar." Though she does not elaborate, merely carrying on. "But yes, you are correct. The fate of Fódlan rests entirely on the choice of what house Byleth chose to lead after Rhea brought her onto the staff at Garreg Mach."

If the repercussions were not so serious, so wide-reaching, it would seem almost farcical. The fate of the world hinging on so small, so seemingly-trivial a decision? It defied all reason. And yet, not so small after all; Edelgard is well aware that her life would have taken a different path without Byleth's support, and her love. A harder woman, who would pursue her goals at any cost, to others and herself, only to fail and die in the end, alone and quite possibly unmourned. Edelgard didn't like to think about how close she'd come to being that woman, that only a decision made by someone else long ago, determined the course of her life, and quite possibly the shape of her death. Without thinking she raises one of her gloved hands to the other, fiddling with something under the red fabric on her finger, something hidden, and precious.

"I'm sure Claude will be all too happy to fill you in on the details of his Fódlan." She carries on, confirming the existence of that third alternate world. "He is here, as are a handful of other Golden Deer, and his circumstances are the same as ours. As for me, the only other Black Eagle is the professor herself." Still such a strange difference to think about...what would a male version of Byleth even look like? She can't picture it. And what a story this will be to tell her. "I...had heard something about other Blue Lions being here when I first arrived, but I've heard nothing in some weeks. It's possible they may be gone, but I can't be sure." Perhaps they're simply avoiding her. And one of those Blue Lions had been Dimitri himself, or at least a Dimitri. Yet another different reality? Or something else? A complication this conversation does not need to be burdened with, at least not right now given everything else Dimitri is having to absorb.

Edited 2021-06-30 03:46 (UTC)

[Once again, Dimitri looks surprised, though at least this time he's not the only one. Byleth was a woman in Edelgard's world? And if this is the first she's hearing about it, it was also true in Claude's. So many differences, and so many vastly different effects of those differences. Dimitri can't help but wonder if other worlds have such issues, or if theirs is just a special case.]

I...I would say I'm as surprised to hear of a female Byleth as you are a male Byleth. But, ah, yes, I'll make sure to speak to Claude when I have the chance. Though knowing him, he'll seek me out the moment he finds out I'm here.

[He lifts his right hand to his chin, thumb and index finger making contact with it.]

So, nothing about the others from Faerghus recently... Hopefully they haven't run into trouble. I'll ask around. Do you know who they were? Or was it all of them, perchance?

[Claude isn't at all surprised to spot Dimitri hunched over his phone looking at a loss -- when he was here previously, he was just as confused by the technology. He grins to himself and takes a moment to enjoy the comedy of the sight, before he sidles up beside him casually, peeking at the phone.]

Have you tried giving it a poke or two? You're not gonna get very far just standing there and staring at it.

[Though he at least figured out how to turn it on, which is a start.]

Wha--Claude!?

[Dimitri jumps out of reflex. He had been so focused on figuring out how to operate his phone that he had stopped paying attention to his surroundings. He tries to ignore the pounding in his chest as he speaks.]

I didn't even hear you coming. How long have you been here?

Sorry, old buddy! I didn't mean to sneak up on you. [That's a lie.] I literally just got here. [Also a lie, but who's keeping track? This dubiously innocent smile would never deceive anyone.]

Anyway, do you need a hand? Maybe I can help.

[Dimitri is...well, he tries to be trusting. But that trust still has its limits. Even moreso regarding a person like Claude. But it serves no point to question the truth of his claims, so he may as well not bother. He just takes a deep breath and replies to his question.]

Have you had more experience with these? Because if so, I'm happy to take you up on that.

[Dimitri tilts the smartphone to give Claude a better look at the screen. He's managed to get past the lock screen, but has no idea where to start with all of the icons now visible.]

Sure! Each of those little pictures corresponds to something you can make the phone do. The obvious one to start with is the little envelope picture -- give it a little poke and it'll let you write messages to people. Just like a letter, but instant!

[He'll let Dimitri figure out how to tap the touchscreen and access it before he goes any further.]

[Dimitri taps the envelope...but nothing happens. He tries again. Nothing.

He tries taking one of his gloves off. That time, it works, and the messaging app opens up.]

There, that time it worked. It's a bit frustrating that I have to remove a glove to make it work, though.

Woah...

[Izzy's barely begun to learn to fight, so seeing him cut that deep into wood (which she knows is tougher than it looks) impresses her. Her target has several divots in it, gashes where the wood has indented from a raw force but she doesn't appear to have a weapon. And she's attacking it from about four feet away.]

Guess you do a lot of that at home, you seemed sure of yourself taking that swing.

Hm?

[Dimitri turns around, taking his hand off the sword's hilt. It remains stuck in position in the target.]

Oh, I apologize. I didn't see you there.

But, er, yes, I've trained with weapons all my life. I know blades better than I know books, even.

I'm not sure if that's a good thing?

[Izzy was as anti-school as the next bullied kid with issues, but she was pretty sure reading books was very useful to knowing things.]

So... did you mean to get your blade stuck like that? Like, it was really cool to cut into it like that but...

[It also felt kinda like it might not be the best plan.]

Sorry. I didn't mean for it to come off as a good thing or a bad thing. Where I come from, it was just a fact of life.

[He looks back to the sword.]

Oh, that won't be a problem.

[Dimitri grabs the hilt and pushes upwards. It takes a bit of wiggling the weapon, but the sword rotates upwards, with where it was sunk into the target acting as the pivot.]

Edited 2021-06-20 01:40 (UTC)

I guess that's a lot of worlds that aren't mine. Why I need to work on learning how to hold my own against monsters and kidnappers.

[Izzy is a sheltered kid, when it comes to danger. Less so when it comes to emotional things.]

I still need to figure out if learning a blade would be good for me. I don't think I could do something like that even with my magic.

Is there someone offering lessons?

[The topic sets Dimitri's own mind into motion. He assumes he'll need to find a way to earn an income. Combat instruction could be a way to do just that, but he'll have to get a greater understanding of how things are here first.]

I know someone who knows how to use twin blades. But not... No, nobody I've met is just offering lessons.

[Izzy relied heavily on being cute and helpless, meaning people just gave her stuff. Like training in how to fight.]

I should learn a little about knife safety before I try to use it to throw magic around.

Yes, I agree. If you want to learn, you should seek out someone who is willing to teach you. But first, you should determine whether or not it would be necessary or helpful to learn.

I probably need any skill I can get to defend myself.

[She's still a little uneasy after the underground fight club slash kidnapping thing. They managed to hold magic users so it might be nice to have non-magic ways to hurt people. Bad people.]

Why did you learn to fight?

[Dimitri frowns, and his gaze falls.]

My homeland doesn't have an easy time of it. Our growing season is short, our winters are long and harsh, and one of our neighbors likes to attack us whenever they feel like it. We learn how to handle weapons from childhood because we have to in order to survive.

You don't have enough, they probably don't have enough either... so it's just a choice of killing or dying...

That sucks.

“Ah! Dimitri! You have returned!”

Flayn doesn’t spend that much time at the training grounds, but ever since she helped Claude investigate the murders, she realized that she should probably shake the rust off of her spear skills, just in case - especially since her magic here is much more difficult to attack with than her magic at home was.

So when she spots Dimitri, she jogs toward him with her javelin in hand, newly cut hair bouncing in curls falling just above her shoulders - and revealing her pointed ears.

“I am so pleased that you are all right! I was worried that something terrible may have befallen you, when I heard that you were missing.”

Edited 2021-07-02 01:31 (UTC)

[Dimitri turns at the sound of Flayn's voice. It, plus the face of the girl approaching him, haircut or no, he would never fail to recognize. But hang on -- did she always have pointed ears? They'd always been covered by her hair back home, so he'd never seen them until now. Odd.]

Flayn -- wait, what? I've returned...and missing? What are you talking about?

[The look of confusion on his face is genuine. He really doesn't know that he was here previously.]

"Hm? You were here when I first arrived, we gathered cookies together." Her face falls a little. "You do not remember? Ah, and a friend of yours named Jade contacted everyone on their devices to ask if anyone had seen you, because you disappeared. Have you spoken with her? I am certain that she would wish to hear you are safe."

I...I do not. I'm sorry.

[It absolutely kills Dimitri on the inside to make Flayn of all people sad; it feels like being mean to a puppy. Unfortunately, it's the truth, and not telling her the truth would be an even worse disservice.]

Jade? I have yet to talk to anyone by that name. But thank you for letting me know. I'll try to get in contact with her.

[Even though it might not be a fun encounter, given he has no memories of anyone other than the people from Fódlan here.]

[Flayn sighs, but shakes her head and waves a hand.]

Do not apologize. It is not your doing. However, since you do not remember our first conversation here, I wish to tell you again.

[She smiles, a bit sadly, and rests a hand on his arm.]

I am so very, very happy to have the chance to see you again, alive and well.

[Flayn's response leaves Dimitri a bit confused initially. What did she mean by that? But then he recalls the conversation he had with Edelgard not too long ago.]

The way you say that... I take it we're not from the same version of Fódlan, then. Things must have gone differently for us after our days at the Academy.

Yes, that is so. In the Fodlan from whence you have come, Professor Byleth led your class, did they not? For me and Claude, and the other Golden Deer in Avalon, the professor led ours instead. We believed you to be dead for quite some time, as the Empire claimed that you were executed. And when we saw you again, at Gronder Field, I fear you were...much changed. We were unable to save you from the Empire's spears, and there you...you perished. I am so very sorry, Dimitri.

...I see.

[Dimitri had known deep down that Byleth was the reason why he was still alive. Even so, hearing about his death in another possible series of events is sobering and uncomfortable.

Now it's his turn to be sad.]

...Ah, but to answer your question. Yes, Professor Byleth was my teacher in the Blue Lion House. I suppose that this is proof of what I told him once -- that he saved me.

[The look Flayn gives him seems much too knowing for someone who looks as young as she does. She reaches out to take his hand between her own.]

We can never know what might have been had we made different choices. Not even this turn of events can tell us for certain. Do not be so hasty to judge yourself, or to give the credit for your own survival to someone else. It takes great inner strength to live and grow in such a terrible time as our war has been. Please do not believe that you could not have saved yourself, given the opportunity.

[She pats his hand and lets it go, then smiles.]

And in any case, we need not dwell on such things here. We are free to begin afresh, are we not? Here, there are no houses or armies. There is only each of us and who we wish to be. But ah, how does your training fare?

[If there had been any previous doubt that Dimitri was talking to Flayn, it's gone now. It was very much like her to be so compassionate, and despite her naivete, her insights could hit home when they mattered. As it is so here and now. He allows Flayn to take his hand, and as she releases it, he nods.]

You make a compelling point, Flayn. Thank you.

As for my training...well, the first thing I've noticed immediately is that I can no longer tap into my Crest's power. That was the first thing I tested, and I've been trying to figure out how to compensate for it.

[Flayn nods.]

You are not the only one. All of our Crests have ceased working here in this land. But I have found that with the healing magic I was given when I arrived and a bit of practice, I am able to recreate the effects that my Crest had on my magic.

[She tilts her head, curious.]

What manner of magic do you now possess?

I...

[Dimitri looks a bit worried.]

I'm afraid I have yet to find out what mine is. I was hoping something might emerge while training here, but so far, I haven't been so fortunate. I would try attempting what worked back in Fódlan, but I was never very good with magic back home, either.

I see. I have heard tales of some visitors taking longer than others to discover their new abilities. For instance, perhaps yours has not manifested during training because it is not suitable for battle. However, if you like, I would be glad to train with you; perhaps sparring with another person rather than a simple dummy may help.

[She pulls her javelin from her back and then seems to remember something, whistling off to the side. After a moment, a white pegasus the size of a large dog comes swooping down out of the sky to land beside her. She gives it a pat.]

You may find it helpful to ask your familiar, as well. Although I do not see them here; are they nearby?

My familiar? Oh, yes. He's in my room in the inn. He seemed to want to curl up on my bed and sleep rather than train with me.

[There's a hint of disappointment in Dimitri's voice as he says that, but no anger or frustration. He figures that if his familiar isn't ready to train, it can't be forced.]

However, I would certainly never say no to a sparring match. Even if it doesn't help me figure out what my magic is, it still helps me stay in shape.

[Of course, that's due in part to his love of sparring.]

Perhaps he is simply not one for combat, then. Feada here is, unfortunately, too small to carry me into battle, but she is capable of fighting and makes quite a fierce defender.

[The pegasus tosses her mane proudly.]

What form has your familiar taken?

[Flayn smiles, then, and assumes a ready stance as her pegasus trots off to the sidelines to watch.]

Do not go easy on me simply because you are a more accomplished lancer! I shall hold my own just fine.

A griffin. Anyway, I suppose that I'll need to learn more about familiars, too. If he's not suited for combat, then there must be something else he is suited for.

[Dimitri puts his sword away. Instead, he takes out a training lance. If Flayn wants to pit spear against spear, he'll oblige.]

But, very well. Whenever you're ready.

[Dimitri assumes his own combat stance.]

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Newly Arrived and Looking for Answers

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