Aaand here we are with Chapter 5.

I decided to hold off on Silver Snow and instead replay all three routes first, if only just because I want to see the small little differences there are when you have the Ashen Wolves in your party. I have finished the DLC and am currently going through their Supports.

Speaking of the Ashen Wolves, I can safely say that they will play a role in White Horizon now that I've played the DLC. However, you will have to wait a long time since the events will take place between Chapters 8, 9 and 10.

Also, my friend and fellow author TheStrangerThatCameFromNowhere, who you may know as the author behind Fate/VRAINS, has posted our newest work, "Ashen Wolves." As the title implies, it is a fanfic where the Ashen Wolves are the prime focus of the story and a legit house at the Officer's Academy instead of a house in the Abyss.

Enough of that, though. On with the chapter!

Fire Emblem Three Houses: White Horizon

Chapter 5:
Maiden Battle II – Golden Deer Part

Devrim had been in Jeralt's service since the day the Sword Bearers were formed twenty years ago. At the time, he had been a simple farm boy who had dreams of grandeur. Like any boy his age, he wanted to become a Knight of Seiros like his dear old pa. That dream, sadly, didn't come to fruition on account of his poor status. While his father became a Knight, it was only because he was lucky enough to have caught the attention of a noble willing to sponsor him. He had no such luck and would have spent the rest of his days living in a small village in the frigid south of the Holy Kingdom.

Then came the day he met Jeralt.

At the time, he had yet to earn the nickname Blade Breaker. Back then, he was simply Jeralt. A wandering mercenary who carried a small boy on his back. He had arrived in the village by luck, asking for a place to sleep and a meal for himself and the boy he carried with him.

The details as to how the Sword Bearers first began shortly after Jeralt arrived in his hometown escaped him, despite how profound and significant those memories were, but what he did remember was seeing Jeralt in action when a couple of brainless dastards thought they could take the village over. He remembered the sight of that one man swinging his sword and dancing around the bandits like a hurricane. A waltz of steel if such a thing ever existed, and it was the most beautiful thing Devrim had ever seen.

He knew then and there that he wanted to study under this man, this master of the blade. Surprisingly, Jeralt had accepted his request without suspicion or fuss. To this day, Devrim could proudly say that he was not only Jeralt's first employee, but also the first member of the mercenary band whose names would be touching the lips of all of Fodlan.

The years had been good to them. The jobs they received paid well and they got to travel all over the continent, but there was this feeling and sense of wanderlust that he had recently developed during their last job in the Leicester Alliance. Oh, how his blood boiled in excitement when he remembered his clash with the Almyrans.

Perhaps one day, they would set sail to foreign lands and see new sights. But for now, Devrim put those dreams on hold and focused on the present.

Today, he and some of the men under his command were asked by the Captain and Byleth to test a bunch of kids from the Officer's Academy as part of their first assignment. He had no qualms about the mission and was in fact looking forward to it. Not every day he got to fight with a bunch of blue bloods, after all.

Regardless if they won or lost, Devrim was certain that this was going to be interesting. All Byleth told him was that the ones leading the enemy force were the future rulers of Fodlan; the next Emperor, King and Duke. He didn't ask for any further details except when this mock battle thing would start. He was growing more restless by the second, his hand itching for the spear on his back. He wanted so badly to set foot on the battlefield and test these three, but he had to wait.

Not until they made the first move.

"Lieutenant!" Devrim craned his head slightly. One of his men approached. "Our scouts returned. The enemy is making their way towards the crossroads."

He narrowed his eyes. "Strange they would be willing to fight out in the open. Know which one it is?"

"There were four, all wearing yellow capes. It's the Golden Deer, sir."

Devrim smirked. "Aah, the new Riegen. This should be interesting… Tell the archers to wait until I give the signal. Watch them closely and report to our man out in the woods. If they look like they're up to something, let them have it."

"Yes, sir!"

"Are you out of your mind?!"

Claude grinned at the utter look of disbelief and anger on Dimitri's face. He had never seen the prince's face turn so red. In fact, it was starting to look like the Black Eagles' color too! "Wow, had I known I would have gotten this reaction, I'd have done this months ago!"

Leonie groaned. "This plan is insane. Completely, and utterly insane."

"And yet, it's arguably our best chance at succeeding." Hubert rubbed his chin. "The risk of failure is high, and we're taking quite the gamble here. However, if this plan does manage to go off without a hitch, we will have effectively corned and cut-off a good portion of Devrim's forces."

"That being said…" Dedue frowned heavily. "If this plan fails, we will be the ones to suffer and cut-off from reinforcements. I am surprised you are willing to take up the front lines."

"Well, I am the one who came up with this crazy plan in the first place." Claude shrugged. "So unless somebody else wants to be the bait, be my guest."

Lysithea sighed. "Or we could try another plan altogether. We could go with Edelgard's suggestion and bombard the forest with fire magic. Smoke out Devrim's front-line soldiers and take them out in the confusion."

"One, I would rather not have Seteth and possibly the archbishop roaring in my ear about the destruction of the land, thank you. And secondly, while that would work in theory, we would have to navigate through said burning forests. The smoke would provide us cover, but then comes the risk of us being the ones caught in a trap. If even half of what Leonie says is true, Devrim is smart. He won't just be hold up in one of the citadels. He'll be armed to the teeth and prepare for every kind of possible invasion. Counter measures against mages, archers and even us."

"And that is assuming he hasn't already planned for us setting the forest ablaze." Edelgard pointed out. "Still, are you sure this will work? What you're suggesting is one of the most classic strategies known to warfare. Devrim is experienced and seasoned. What makes you think he won't see through your plot?"

Somehow, the smile on the future Duke's face unnerved her. "Why, thank you for asking that, my dear lady Edelgard~ For you see, the second phase requires you and our lovely prince charming."

"This can't possibly work…" Marianne whimpered.

Leonie sighed. "And if it does, it will officially prove without a doubt that Claude is a madman."

"You say that as if he wasn't one already." Lysithea glared.

Claude kept his smile up, but inwardly he was nervous. While it was true he suggested the plan and was willing to make up the bulk of the first phase, he was sure as hell not confidant. If his opponents were Edelgard and Dimitri, maybe, but he was up against seasoned soldiers. Men who had fought against actual flesh-and-blood murderers and killers.

Up until that horrid training exercise, Claude never would have imagined himself in such a position so soon. He knew it was coming, but he sure as hell would have loved for him to be the one to decide when and where he would set his feet into hell, not be grabbed by the balls ala Judith and thrown headfirst into it.

No matter how he looked at it, nothing short of absolute teamwork and faith in one another would ensure that this plan worked. Along with luck. A lot of luck.

Oh, who am I kidding? Chances are, one of us is gonna screw up when something important needs to go off without a hitch.

Cynical as that thought may have been, Claude was no fool. This was the first time the three houses had been gathered and tasked with facing a challenge as a team. On paper, this idea sounded wonderful and right up his alley, but in practice, it was anything but. Claude could trust Edelgard and Dimitri to perform their duties, and fight with the intent to kill if it came down to it. He could even trust them with his life, but he could not bring himself to trust them the way they trusted their comrades in their houses.

He closed his eyes and slowly inhaled. He couldn't afford to get distracted right now. He had to focus. Clear his mind and do what had to be done. He had to think about what was happening right now and what he had to do in order for everyone to win.

He exhaled, then opened his eyes again. He pulled an arrow from his quiver and knocked it back.

"On my mark!"

Lysithea readied herself as she felt power rush through her, her hands radiating a sinister dark glow. Power began to take shape and promise destruction to all it touched at her command.

In the thicket of the forest, in the treetops and in the bushes, motion occurred.

Claude would never give them the chance. He let the arrow fly and soar through the air. Lysithea threw her ball of destruction forward.

The second it touched the tree, its bark shattered to pieces. Flames began to seep from the gaping crater and quickly climbed up the tree. At that exact same time, Claude's arrow fell through the air and struck its target.

The citadel on the left.

"CHARGE!"

"Why in the blazing hell would they set fire to one of the trees?"

Devrim wondered if it was some sort of secret signal or the like. He sincerely doubted that the girl failed to strike her intended target, but he also doubted the up and coming Duke of the Alliance was an idiot. He had to have had a brain somewhere in that mess of hair, so why was he rushing headfirst into battle?

His eyes glanced to the arrow that he had shot. The citadel where some of his men were stationed, lying in wait. Waiting for when those nobles sprung his trap.

"Have the rearmost guard move to the left citadel." the aging Lieutenant told one of the soldiers at his side. "The men here remain. I smell a plan in the works. Tell the archers to move in and sneak around to the side. Show the kid why the Sword Bearers are not to be underestimated."

Leonie wasn't sure if she should be excited or worried that this was going to end badly. On the one hand, she was finally getting the chance to show Jeralt, the man who introduced her to the mercenary lifestyle and taught her everything she knew, just how far she had come since the last time they met. But on the other hand, Claude's plan was having them act recklessly to the point of being suicidal.

Case in point, them charging headfirst blindly into the forest whilst being surrounded on all sides. Lysithea was dodging swings from a blunted ax madly, having little time to concentrate and cast a spell in retaliation. Marianne was not much better as she lacked the amount of magical prowess Lysithea had, though whereas Lysithea was able to defend herself somewhat the resident white magic expert had aid in the form of Claude, who was demonstrating that he wasn't good with just a bow. He stood in between her and their enemy, ax blocking every strike.

Meanwhile, she was stuck fighting someone who was not only light on their feet, but very deft with a sword. Frustration was quickly mounting in that, no matter how many times she swung her spear, it always missed its mark and was parried with frightening ease.

She knew the gap was big. That they were mere students who had barely seen any battle, save perhaps the aggressive spars between the students from the other houses. And yet, she was beginning to see just how wide the gap was. The difference between someone who knew how to fight and someone who lived by fighting was staggering.

The mercenary pivoted on his foot, evading the thrust of her spear and countering with a kick to her side. Leonie felt her body hit the ground, but used the momentum to quickly roll away when he tried to stomp on her and quickly pull herself back on her feet. The mercenary was already in motion. Sword in mid-swing when she readied her spear. The blade met her shaft. She pushed back and quickly put some distance between her and him before risking another glance at her comrades.

That proved to be a fatal mistake as the mercenary took advantage of her momentary weakness. Leonie had little time to ready her spear before the mercenary was already within range. He swung his sword at her and knocked the spear right out of her hands. It spun in the air before it came back down, impaled in the earth.

The next second, the sword was aimed at her throat. Though its edge was blunt, she could still feel a certain sharpness to it.

Leonie stared at the mercenary in shock. All of that in just a few seconds…?!

"Yield," the mercenary advised.

The girl bit her lip in frustration. She had hoped she would have lasted long against her opponent, but that was wishful thinking at best. With regret she opened her mouth to concede…

"Leonie, get down!"

Only to immediately pull back when a black orb crashed into the mercenary, knocking him to the ground. Though initially stunned, Leonie quickly took advantage of this and slammed her boot into the mercenary's face. She swore she heard something crack, but the man went still after the blow.

She looked back and saw Lysithea with her hand outstretched, faint black wisps flowing off of her hand. Her face was caked with sweat, shoulders shaking and her uniform cut in several places. It was clear that she had the fight of her life while Leonie was defending herself, and Marianne wasn't much better. She was lying on the ground, panting heavily while tending to her own injuries. Behind her were two other mercenaries, both laid out flat on the ground. Not far away from either magic caster was Claude, who had just finished his own battle by ramming his head into his opponent's head after having backed him into a tree. The force of the headbutt, along with the fact that his skull was pinned to a tree, had effectively knocked the mercenary out cold and slumped to the ground in a heap.

"Okay…" Claude wiped the sweat from his brow. "That was brutal. If this is how strong the regular men under the strongest knight's command are, I really don't want to think about what it'll be like when we run into Devrim."

Leonie smiled weakly. "No kidding."

"Is now really the time for idle chatter?" Lysithea grimaced. "The enemy could be here any-!"

She was cut off when an arrow plummeted straight into her chest, knocking her off her feet and towards the ground. "Lysithea!" Claude's eyes widened before looking ahead. "Dammit! Archers! Behind the trees, now! Leonie, grab Lysithea!"

The orange-haired girl nodded and quickly grabbed the younger girl, pulling her into safety while avoiding the hail of arrows. Farther up the path, perhaps halfway towards the citadels, were a small group of archers. At the front were men with tower shields and axes, all of which took up a defensive formation.

"N-now what?!" Marianne asked.

Claude poked his head out and quickly pulled it back, narrowly avoiding an arrow hitting his face. "Now?" he sighed. "We wait until either Edelgard or Dimitri makes it. I know I'm the one who volunteered to be the bait, but this is ridiculous!"

"Sucks to be on the receiving end, doesn't it?!" Leonie growled. "This must be the Goddess' way of payback for all the times you played pranks on the others, and we ended up being the ones to suffer for your mess!"

"Is now really the time?!"

"A pincer strike?"

Claude nodded. "Facing the Sword Bearers head-on is pretty much asking for us to get the crap kicked out of us. Instead, we should focus on thinning their numbers. Teach said we were allowed to use whatever we could to our advantage, and we should do just that. One group will act as a distraction and head towards the path leading to the branching paths, while the other two Houses will go after the strongholds."

"Hold, Claude." Dimitri immediately intervened. "While this plan does seem sound, if we follow this plan as you say, then that will leave one of the Houses to fight Devrim. If he is as strong as Leonie claims, either the House Leaders or all the Houses must be there to face him."

Edelgard nodded in agreement. "I concur."

"Oh, you misunderstand, princess. This isn't just a pincer strike." Claude winked. "It's also a feint."

Lysithea frowned. "A faint?"

Surprisingly, it was Hubert who caught on to Claude's schemes and chuckled. "Ah, I see. Devrim will believe the Three Houses split among themselves and assault the strongholds separately. In actuality, you want to use us as bait ourselves to draw him out into the open. We don't need to attack him head-on. We simply need to flush him out."

"Give the man a prize. You catch on quick, Hubie." Claude smirked at the annoyed look on Hubert's face upon being referred to by Dorothea's nickname and continued. "Myself and the Golden Deer volunteer to be the ones to act as a distraction. This leaves our lovely royals here to attack the strongholds and lure our enemy general out. After that, whoever finds him has to run like a bat out of hell."

"In other words, a hit-and-run tactic." Lindhart surmised. "Not bad, I suppose. Though this sounds like an awful lot of work."

Felix scoffed. "Sounds perfect for us. Why not just take the stronghold that our enemy isn't in for ourselves?"

"While having a base would be advantageous, we should follow Claude's plan." Dimitri suggested. "As hazardous as it sounds, it is better not to bite off more than we can afford to chew. Not to mention there are only four among our number. Even if Devrim isn't there, we will be fighting well-trained soldiers."

"At any rate…" Edelgard said. "The plan itself is sound. The only question is whether or not we can put it into practice."

On the surface, the plan was simple if dangerous. The problem that she saw was that the plan required on communication and faith. In other words, everyone needed to completely trust in each other's abilities in order for the plan to succeed. That was easier said than done, given their apparent motley crew.

Edelgard had faith in the abilities of Claude and Dimitri, as well as those in her house, but Hubert didn't trust easily. Dimitri was simple enough to read, confident and willing to fight alongside others, but trust could easily be abused. With Claude, Edelgard could rarely ever understand what was going through his head. She also knew little about their own house members in spite of the session they had the other day.

A feeling of unease began to emerge in her stomach. Somehow, she knew that a complication was going to emerge.

She just hoped she was wrong.

Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. I was busy catching up with both Case Closed and other anime series, as well as getting hooked on a isekai story binge. Recently got myself "Reincarnated as a Sword" and "So I'm a Spider, so what?" Fantastic reads, both of them.

My all-time favorite, however, is without a doubt Saga of Tanya the Evil. Y'all can expect a fanfic of that sometime in the future, just not anytime soon. I'm trying not to do what I did last time and just bloat myself with stories I will likely never touch or finish within a reasonable timeframe.

Anyway, the next chapter will cover the Blue Lions and their part in the Mock Battle. Hope you guys enjoyed it. Also, Fire Emblem Three Houses: White Horizons has a TV Tropes page! If you'd be so kind, check it out, edit and add to it!

Side note, don't expect very many updates this month or next month. I'm going to be ripping and tearing the second Doom Eternal drops.