Fanfic / The Emperor and the Goddess

The Emperor and the Goddess is an ongoing Fire Emblem: Three Houses fanfic written by Captain_Flash that serves as a re-telling of the Crimson Flower storyline route with some twists. The story is predominantly told from Edelgard's perspective.

The primary draw of the story is the deep exploration into the characters of Edelgard, Byleth, and those who join them, and in its analysis of the more unsavory aspects of Fodlan's Crest-dominated society.

The story is currently sixty-seven chapters long and updated regularly.

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Tropes found in this fanfiction:

• Adaptational Alternate Ending: In the Crimson Flower route in the game, the story ends with Rhea's death at the Kingdom Capital. In here Rhea survives the Kingdom Capital battle thanks to Flayn healing her, Byleth, and Edelgard, and is subsequently spared by the latter two. Additionally Nemesis has been released by Cornelia, which follows the Verdant Wind ending.
• Adaptational Expansion:
  • We get more background in regards to Byleth's emotionless past, and we see more of Edelgard's interactions with her co-conspirators. A remarkable detail to mention is that this story fully embraces the Teacher Theory, with the nameless professor being the main objective behind the Flame Emperor's vague order to Kostas to attack the nobles in Remire.
  • Chapter 31 gives a more expanded look at various student’s reaction to Byleth’s transformation.
• Adaptational Heroism: Kronya goes from a one-note Hate Sink to a tragic pawn who reclaims her humanity as a member of Byleth's class.
• Adaptation Deviation: Ashe is fought at Arianrhod in this fic when he makes no appearances until the final battle in canon.
• All for Nothing: In the Silver Snow timeline that occurred before Byleth rewound time, Edelgard's entire war becomes moot. The corrupt nobles like Count Varley immediately reclaim power and prevent Byleth from enacting any reforms, and the years of loneliness and the burden of rulership nearly corrupt Byleth into someone just like Rhea before she realizes what she's become and flees into seclusion.
• An Arm and a Leg: Hilda loses her left leg protecting Claude from an explosion during the Battle of Derdriu.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Byleth poses this question to the Flame Emperor when she asks if the Flame Emperor merely came to feel sorry for herself or genuinely wishes to offer help.
• Ascended Extra:
  • In this story, the transfer students from different houses get more of a role. In the original game, transfer students were never featured in the group meetings with the Black Eagles (or the other houses’ meetings). By comparison, transfer students are just as likely to be involved in meeting as the original members.
  • Kronya was originally a minor character who hung around for three chapters, murdered Jeralt, and died in the next chapter. Here, she has far more screentime and development leading to a Heel–Face Turn.
  • Count Bergliez goes from The Ghost to an actual character with screentime.
• Bond Villain Stupidity: Gwendal isn't evil enough to be called an outright villain, but spending time yakking about how he's going to remove the Emperor's malicious shadow from the world and giving him the opportunity to blow his head clean off is certainly worthy of any Bond villain.
• Covered in Scars: This story goes along with the fan speculation that Edelgard's body is been cut a large number of times due to the experiments she went through.
• Cynicism Catalyst: Thales describes his to Edelgard. According to him, he was once a peaceful idealist like Edelgard, but when Sothis redirected the javelins of light against his people and killed his daughter, he snapped.
• Dark Fic: Played with; the fic doesn't actually make the game's story particularly darker and edgier than it already was in Three Houses, but it highlights a lot more of some of the most fucked up aspects of the setting.
• A Day in the Limelight: Chapter 36 is the first chapter to not have Edelgard as its protagonist, in this case being Byleth. It's also special for featuring Second-Person Narration.
• Death by Adaptation:
  • In canon Crimson Flower, Raphael disappears after the timeskip if not recruited. Here, he launches a suicidal attack on the Imperial-controlled Great Bridge of Myrddin and is killed by the Empire.
  • Downplayed by Ashe, who dies in the siege of Arianrhod rather than optionally being killed in Fhirdiad as in canon.
  • Thales is killed by the Empire at Arianrhod when in canon he is still at large at the end of the war.
  • Downplayed by Cornelia, who perishes on the Tailtean Plains after barely escaping death at Arianrhod.
• Didn't Think This Through: The Flame Emperor quickly realizes that she did not consider how hostile Byleth and Jeralt would be to her.
• Dies Differently in Adaptation:
  • In canon, Jeralt was stabbed in the back by Kronya. Here, he takes a magical attack for her at the cost of his own life.
  • In canon, Edelgard executed Dimitri after the Battle of the Taltean Plains. In this fic, wounds from battle do him in after he performs a Heroic Sacrifice to ensure Cornelia doesn’t get his Hero’s Relic and he goes out peacefully.
• Dramatic Irony: Because Edelgard is the primary viewpoint character, there are occasional moments where she misinterprets other characters' motivations because of her lack of knowledge (for example, assuming Hanneman would oppose her due to her hatred of Crests).
• Et Tu, Brute?: Hilda doesn't take the revelation of Claude's Almyran heritage well, although she still can't bring herself to abandon him afterwards.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: Thales once had a daughter he loved very much, but she was killed in the conflict between ancient humanity and Sothis. Nowadays, his love has warped into heartless vengeance; he creates clones in her image and uses them as disposable attack dogs with the promise of love and affection if they succeed. Kronya is one such clone.
• Everyone Can See It: Everyone who isn't Byleth is able to see Edelgard is madly in love with her; Dorothea even plays match-making with the two of them.
• Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Downplayed. Claude is less "evil" and more "selfish neutral", and it's pointed out that without Byleth's influence he cannot comprehend why his friends would throw away their lives for his sake.
• Eye Scream: Byleth gouges out Kronya's left eye during the Holy Tomb battle.
• Flash Forward: Edelgard on several occasions can see What If? scenarios which she believes are a prophecy of her future. It's eventually revealed that these visions are triggered by Byleth's Divine Pulse. These visions are likely actually remnants of the previous timeline, product of Byleth's going back in time really hard.
• Flash Sideways: After the Holy Tomb battle, Edelgard's occasional visions shift to show her an alternate Crimson Flower timeline where Felix won the coin flip to accompany Edelgard to subdue Lonato's rebellion.
• For Want Of A Nail: It's eventually revealed that Ingrid and Felix flipped a coin to decide who would accompany the Black Eagles to defeat Lonato. Had Felix won, he, Annette, Mercedes, Leonie, Alois, and Flayn would have joined the Black Eagles; Ingrid, Sylvain, Marianne, Shamir, and Kronya would have remained loyal to their original factions, while Lysithea would have done the same initially but eventually become the Eagles' Sixth Ranger.
• The Ghost: Due to this story taking place purely from Edelgard's perspective, Sothis has yet to make an appearance. While her existence is confirmed by Byleth, we are unable to see what she is saying. Sothis' physical debut happens in Chapter 45, this is because half of the chapter's story takes place in Byleth's dreams.
• Good Costume Switch: Kronya dumps her canon outfit for some new clothes after joining the Black Eagles for real.
• Heel–Face Turn: So far there have been several characters that have abandoned their group to join Byleth and Edelgard.
  • Kronya is forced to face up to the fact that Thales only sees her as a disposable grunt, and ultimately turns to the Empire's side.
  • Shamir is already hesitant towards attacking Byleth and Edelgard due to their ideals, and ultimately is swayed into defecting.
  • After defeating them in the siege of Garreg Mach, Edelgard convinces Seteth and Flayn to join her.
  • Mercedes joins her brother midway through the battle of the Taltiean Plains, and remains with the Empire afterwards.
  • After surviving the same battle, Dedue is convinced to stay by Ingrid.
  • During the battle of Fhirdiad, Edelgard saves Annette from a burning building and (after initially failing) convinces her to stand down.
• Heroic Self-Deprecation: Due to being left to rot in Enbarr's dungeons by the Goddess as far as she knows, Edelgard's self-esteem is in the dumps. Even after Byleth joins her for good in the Holy Tomb, she is still prone to the occasional bout of self-loathing.
• Hidden Depths: This story provides more insight regarding Sylvain's viewpoint and reasoning to support Edelgard.
• Holier Than Thou: This remains Faerghus' Fatal Flaw. Since Byleth did not side with the Blue Lions this can be seen especially in Dimitri; his justifications for hating Edelgard are flimsy at best but in his own mind he is the archetypical Fire Emblem hero and Edelgard the unredeemable villain, both for the blood that she has spilled in her war, but far more importantly for the blood he thinks she spilled in the Tragedy of Duscur. Even when shown ample justification as to why Edelgard's rebellion is happening he refuses to see Edelgard as anything but a monster, and even when others point out that he has behaved similarly in the past with other rebellions he ignores the arguments and continues to espouse that it doesn't matter how noble her ends are, she is still willing to commit mass murder...Which he is just as willing to commit in the name of a Tragedy Edelgard had no part in.
• I Cannot Self-Terminate: Byleth was a mess in old timeline wishing for death that can never come thanks to her Divine Pulse.
• I Have No Son!: After the war starts, Count Galatea and Margrave Gautier disown their children for siding with Edelgard.
• Innocently Insensitive: Marianne accidentally gets under Sylvain and Ingrid's skin with her comments.
• I Regret Nothing: The last thing Gilbert tells Annette before committing Suicide by Cop is that he doesn't regret abandoning his family after the Tragedy of Duscur.
• Irony: Out of Dimitri's childhood friends, Felix easily has the worst relationship with him. When the war starts, he's the only one to remain by his side.
• It Sucks to Be the Chosen One: A view that both Edelgard and Sylvain share.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Non-romantic version. In Chapter 36, despite knowing that it would likely mean her demise, Rhea encourages Byleth to go back in time to be with Edelgard.
• Jumped at the Call: Several students join the Black Eagles because they share Edelgard's views, such as Sylvain and Lysithea.
• Love Confession: Edelgard outright confesses to Hubert that she is in love with Byleth.
• Love Transcends Spacetime: In Chapter 36 it is shown that Byleth managed to overcome the normal limits of her time power through concentrating heavily, purely out of love for Edelgard, resetting the timeline with some minor side-effects.
• Meaningful Rename: After meeting Baron Ochs, Kronya takes up Monica's name in honor of her memory. She later takes Eisner as a surname, becoming Byleth's adoptive sister.
• Mêlée à Trois: The Battle of Arianrhod turns into a three-way fight when Cornelia betrays Faerghus and starts killing Imperial and Kingdom soldiers alike.
• Mercy Kill: During a flashback to the rebellion that tore apart Felix's friendship with Dimitri, Felix found Dimitri torturing one of the rebels to death and put said rebel out of his misery.
• Mythology Gag:
  • As expected of fanfiction, elements of the game are incorporated into the story.
    • In the game, Sylvain joins Female Byleth's class immediately. In this story, he expresses interest early on only to be temporarily denied by Edelgard. It isn't until Chapter 11 that he is allowed to temporarily join the class, and he officially joins in Chapter 13 following his brother's death and Edelgard seeing there is more to him.
    • In a reference to a feature that was cut in the original game (Edelgard being able to interfere with Byleth's Divine Pulse), Edelgard is somewhat aware of what happens when Byleth uses the ability.
    • The parley scene in Derdriu acts as Crimson Flower's equivalent to the parley scene late in Azure Moon, where Edelgard and Dimitri confront each other and realize their differences cannot be settled off the battlefield.
  • When Edelgard is knocked on her rear at Arianrhod, Ingrid tells her that "there are better places to take a nap than on the ground".
• New Transfer Student: Several students from different houses have been recruited into the Black Eagles, including Sylvain, Ingrid, Lysithea, and Marianne.
• Oblivious to Love: Byleth is both is unaware of Edelgard's feelings nor is she aware she is developing mutual romantic feelings as well.
• Oppose What You Suffered: Edelgard's hatred of the Crest system stems from her and her siblings being victims of the experiments meant to enhance their Crest-bearing capabilities.
• Orphaned Etymology: Ingrid refers to herself as "a filthy Imperial Quisling" in spite of the fact that Vikdun Quisling almost certainly doesn't exist in Fódlan.
• Parental Incest: A nightmare strongly implies that Dorothea slept with her own father to get into Garreg Mach.
• Reset Button: Chapter 36 ends this way. Unlike straight uses of the trope, it's the context behind the story of this fanfic as well as the changes it has compared with the game's canon, like Edelgard being the person that is described in Byleth's dreams instead of Sothis.
• Saved by Canon: In Chapter 39, Byleth is defeated in a very similar fashion as she did at the end of White Clouds (CF) Chapter 12, with added drama in the mix; because this is a re-telling of the original story, it's quite obvious she survived.
• Secret-Keeper: In Chapter 31, Edelgard shares some of her plan with Lysithea about how she wishes to change things after she becomes Emperor.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: Downplayed. Chapter 36 reveals that Byleth comes from the Silver Snow route and she overcame the limits of her Divine Pulse. While she doesn't remember anything from the old timeline, there was one thing she does know: she has to stay by Edelgard's side, no matter what.
• Shipper on Deck: It would be easier to list who does not ship Edelgard and Byleth together.
• Spared by the Adaptation:
  • In canon, Monica (or more specifically Kronya) meets her end by Solon's hands as part of his spell to banish Byleth to Zaharas in the events leading to Byleth fusing their soul with Sothis. Here in this fic however, she survives past these events and pulls a Heel–Face Turn joining the Black Eagles in the process.
  • In canon, Baron Ochs' paralogue inevitably results in his death. Here, he lives to see the inter-years and even gets to confront the woman who impersonated his daughter for three months.
  • Ladislava survives the siege of Garreg Mach.
  • Cornelia escapes the siege of Arianrhod, though her luck runs out at the Battle of the Taltiean Plains.
  • Dedue is prevented from becoming a Demonic Beast like he did in canon, and outlives Dimitri.
• Star-Crossed Lovers: The nature of Byleth and Edelgard's relationship in the original time line.
• Suicide by Cop: On two separate occasions, a knight of Faerghus attacks Edelgard in order to fulfill their knightly duty, and is killed for their trouble. First is an alternate Ingrid in the Flash Sideways who is killed by her Felix, second is Gilbert who is killed by Byleth.
• Thanatos Gambit: Lonato sparks his revolt knowing full well it's going to get him killed, and is perfectly willing to lay down his life to destroy the Church.
• That Came Out Wrong: Marianne's comments regarding the will of the Goddess greatly offends both Sylvain and Ingrid despite it not being her intention.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: During the mission to Brigid, Petra throws her sword into Catherine's shoulder to free Shamir, whom she has taken hostage.
  Petra: [O]ne of the things a sword can also be...is an arrow.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: In-universe, Seteth once wrote a fable about a diligent squirrel who survives winter while a lazy fox starves. Hilda found the squirrel to be a callous prick who abandoned another being to die.
• Villain Protagonist: Technically, Edelgard starts as this. As in the game, she takes the role of the Flame Emperor and does put her love interest/teacher along with her classmates in danger.
• Wham Episode: Chapter 36: Turns out the events of Silver Snow happened, but in the aftermath things fell apart. The Black Eagles grew distant, some of the other students lost it when they learned the truth behind crests, and Byleth was ultimately unable to reform Fodlan due to corruption among the nobles. She ultimately went into isolation after realizing she was becoming Rhea in trying to find a way to resurrect Edelgard. Centuries later, when Edelgard had gone down in history as a mad emperor struck down by the second coming of the Goddess, Byleth receives a visit from Rhea who encourages her to be with Edelgard. Byleth then manages to reset time to the beginning of her journey, with only vague memories of Edelgard and that she must protect her no matter the cost.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Both Edelgard and Lysithea confirm to each other they are not long for this world. They will be lucky to reach their thirties.
• Your Head A-Splode: How Gwendal goes out; he wastes time monologuing about how he's going to kill Hubert, giving the latter time to grab his head and blow it off with a powerful dark magic spell.