The God-Emperor Byleth sat upon the throne he had erected in the holy shrine of Garreg Mach with an elegance that was said to have never before seen in Fodlan. The God Emperor, in his infinite wisdom, had overthrown the tyrant Edelgard Von Hresvelg and united the continent under his single theocratic rule. The Empire of Adrestia, now that its noble families were dismantled and powerless, was in the process of becoming a theocracy under his command. The King of Faerghus and the Duke of Riegan, who controlled the territories under his rule on his behalf, kneeled in front of him, head bent.

"The Goddess Speaks." The God Emperor said, his eyes closed. This was his way of communicating messages from the progenitor goddess Sothis directly to her subjects. "The Flame Emperor Edelgard Von Hresvelg is already marching south, to claim King's Landing for herself. Within the year the region of continent of Westeros will be engulfed in war. She must be destroyed."

The God Emperor opened his eyes and glared down at his subjects. "Have our forces made contact with the rulers of Westeros?"

"Ingrid has." King Dimitri said, his head bent. His hair, bright gold and wild, made him strongly resemble a lion. His single eye bent to the ground out of respect for his God Emperor, and his former teacher. "Her opinion is that the Continent was already heading for disaster. The tyrant Aerys the second, the last of the Targaryen dynasty, fell to the new King, Robert Barratheon fifteen years ago. The new king has failed to maintain the kingdom in any way, shape, or form, and many in his court vie for his position. It is only a matter of time until other powers in the seven kingdoms attempt to claim the throne for themselves."

"Edelgard will claim the throne for herself in a matter of weeks." Byleth remarked. "I daresay the only reason she hasn't done so yet is to minimize casualties among the population that she will be ruling over."

"Is there nothing that can be done?" Claude asked. "Hilda and I could lead a squad of Wyvern Riders there tonight. If Ingrid were to vouch for us, we could-"

"We cannot simply march into Westeros." Byleth said, his voice sharp. "The last thing we want is to make the Seven Kingdoms believe we are the enemy."

"Perhaps we could seize the Iron Throne for ourselves." Dimitri suggested. "Simply to prevent Edelgard from taking it."

"That could potentially destabilize the region." Byleth said. "No, Barratheon will have to fight Edelgard himself, to the best of his ability."

There was a very defining silence.

"He will be massacred." Dimitri said. "Westeros will not have an army."

"That is, unfortunately, the best possible outcome." Byleth said. "Edelgard will conquer a country that cannot provide for her interests. When she takes over, we will march upon the Seven Kingdoms and seize them all in the name of the Goddess."

The King and Duke knelt.

"My God-Emperor."

When they had left him, Byleth closed his eyes.

"We should simply destroy Westeros now.' Sothis demanded. "Unleash my wrath upon these heathens, and let me hear the lamentations of their women and children."

"I will not." Byleth said, his voice firm. "We cannot make ourselves an enemy of Westeros at this stage. They may come to believe that they need Edelgard's protection from us."

"Edelgard cannot hope to kill me." Sothis hissed. "I am the Almighty Goddess… the creator of this world! The blood of my armies shall flow like water until the entire world bows down to me!"

Byleth opened his eyes.

…

The Court of Robert Barratheon was a poorly run one, Ingrid thought. Most of the nobles in Faerghus had a true, devout loyalty to Dimitri, the Kingdom, and the Church, but very few seemed to respect King Robert, or even like him all that much. His court was infested with politicians and backstabbers… all of whom were scheming for power and wealth for themselves. She found herself thankful that she had no claim in this country.

"Milady."

She looked up from her work to see the hand of the King, Eddard Stark standing over her.

"Milord." She said formally, as she set down the brush. Her Pegasus let out a whinny of discontent… she was not satisfied.

"Easy." Eddard murmured, as he raised his hand to the Pegasus.

"Don't." Ingrid said sharply. Eddard stopped.

"Pegasi don't like being touched by men." She told him. "They're not horses. If you touch her, she'll panic."

"Forgive me, it slipped my mind."

Ingrid looked away from him. She had to remind herself that the people of Westoros had never even heard of Pegasi."

"It is no trouble." She said at last. "You wished to speak with me?"

"I wanted to thank you for showing my daughter your Pegasus."

It took her a moment to remember what he was talking about. There had been so many awestruck people surrounding her as she cartwheeled through the sky that they all sort of blended together. And then it came to her. That little, apprehensive girl who wanted to be a knight.

"Ah yes." She said. "Arya. I quite liked her. She has the makings of a fine knight."

She spoke without thinking, but she noticed an odd twitch in Stark's face.

'You do not wish her to become a knight?"

"Girls in the Seven Kingdoms are not expected to serve in that way."

"I see." Ingrid said. "That is a shame. I told her that she could be a wonderful knight."

He smiled.

"I know. It's all she talks about."

Despite his clear misgivings about the whole situation, it was clear that he personally didn't disapprove of his daughter's interests. Ingrid laughed.

"In Faerghus we greatly value knighthood." She said. "Perhaps if she were serious about becoming a knight, she could marry a lord there."

"It certainly is not impossible." Stark said. "Have you a husband?"

"The man I was engaged to from birth was killed in battle while I was still a child." She told him. "I was never… I have never been able to seriously consider marrying anyone else."

She spoke matter of factly. It was common knowledge among Fodlan's nobility but Stark looked somewhat surprised.

"We have been at war since before I even graduated from Garreg Mach." Ingrid admitted. "There has been very little time for romance."

"Perhaps you too should be looking for a match."

"Perhaps." Ingrid said. "I have spoken with my King… he believes that we need stronger ties if we are to challenge the Emperor."

They chatted about for quite some time after that, and by the time he left her Ingrid felt a strong feeling of contentment. Perhaps not everyone in Westeros was as callous as the King.

…

For months the bandits had made a habit of raiding the small northern town. Far too far from Winterfell to expect any assistance, the people in the south end of the Northern Kingdom were robbed, beaten, and raped of their pride and dignity. The men were slaughtered, and the women were raped…. Sometimes multiple times a raid.

There was no resistance. There was no hope.

Until the Emperor came.

Like a gleaming beacon sent straight from the gods, her axe tore through the oppressors. The men who had managed to slay entire militias that were formed to protect the town were completely helpless against this one woman. Her axe Aymr tore through whatever weapons and armor they possessed, and when the fighting was done corpses littered the streets.

"Who… are you…?"

Edelgard raised her weapon high.

"I am Edelgard Von Hresvelg!" She cried. "And I claim this land in the name of the Empire!"

She stared down at the people amassed below her.

"And my first order for you all… is to live."

Word of the great Emperor that came from the North the warrior that slaughtered all that opposed her march on King's Landing spread… perhaps far faster than it should have, due to the whispers of Hubert. The People of Westeros, poorly educated and downtrodden as they were, quickly took to the legend of the Emperor, and had no problems whatsoever in her destruction of whatever armies and men that Barratheon threw her way. For them, Edelgard was real… a person that had actually appeared in small communities and showed them that she cared about them. For them, that was more real than any claim or title given by a court full of Nobles could ever be.

Many men offered her their swords, but she refused them all.

"Prepare for battle when the time is right." She said. "Barratheon is not my enemy… but he is sitting on one of my thrones. I must remove him alone.

The legend of Edelgard Von Hresvelg spread so wide, and so quickly, that Barratheon unleashed a force a thousand strong to apprehend her.

When only a single man returned to him, the metal from his armor burned into his skin, he could only pass on the message that she had left for him:

"The Emperor approaches!"

…

"Such a dire situation." Saint Seiros noted, as she watched the proceeding rush of soldiers to barricade the city. "An entire army lies in fear of one stupid little girl."

"That girl removed us from power." Saint Cichol reminded her.

"Removed?"

Seiros laughed. "Mother is sitting on the throne of Fodlan, exactly as I always intended her to. Fodlan has been saved. It is time now to focus on saving this land… this continent that had never known the name of Sothis."

She had been rambling like this for quite a while. The Dragon Degeneration, that had long since set in even before Edelgard had defeated her in combat, had only gotten worse over the past few years. The beautiful Lady Rhea had once again reclaimed her name as Seiros… and, despite her dwindling sanity, had begun to establish Westeros' fastest growing religion… the Church of Sothis, with the aid of Cichol and Cethleann.

"If only we had the numbers to crush her." Seiros said, snarling. "And grind her to dust."

"She will take the city very soon." Cichol said. His mind was already racing. Fighting Edelgard to the death over a city that they had very little roots in was not his idea of a sound plan. "We must flee."

"No." Seiros said. "We must make this place inhospitable to her."

"What?"

"The Godless Emperor Edelgard will attempt to crush the established religion of this place." Seiros said. "The people will become uneasy, and wary of this new ruler. It will be up to us to provide spiritual guidance and help these people follow in the ways of the goddess."

Cichol placed a hand on his chin.

"You believe we can use religion to undermine her absolute authority as King of the Seven Kingdoms?"

"We have already done so once." Seiros said. "She toppled the Chuch, killed hundreds of thousands of loyal followers, and declared us to be the root cause of evil… but in the end Sothis sits upon her throne still, guiding Fodlan to a bright new future. What happens here is of no consequence. My Mother will strike Edelgard down. I have absolute faith in her."

"If she is to act, it must be soon." Cichol told her. "It will be dangerous for us to preach her gospel in the streets of a city controlled by Edelgard."

Seiros' eyes gleamed.

"There is nothing great about this city." She said. "There is nothing in the Seven Kingdoms that the Almighty Sothis cannot destroy. Edelgard may conquer this entire continent, restore the honor of the disgraced Targaryens, and unite the entire world against us. But like Nemesis before her, she will fall to the sword. In the end, she is only human."

As the city prepared for an invasion by a single person, as Robert Barratheon began to fear that his reign was about to be cut short, as the armies readied their weapons and prepared to attack… only Seiros was confident that in the end, it would be the Goddess who decided just what should happen to this place.

The Emperor approaches!