𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 [ 𝚆𝙾𝚁𝙳 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂 ] / wrote @wandersinger / CLOSED.
snapdragon : is your muse merciful ? why or why not ?
THAT IS quite the complicated question , with an equally complicated answer. byleth has shown BOTH SIDES of that coin. on the one hand , she grew up as a mercenary. giving mercy was a luxury she likely didn’t have very often. likewise , when push comes to shove she is MORE than capable of hunting down foes like prey when they have committed an egregious sin against herself or those close to her. (see: kronya , after murdering her father , all routes) and although much harder for her , she is capable of putting her own feelings aside to do what she must. (see: killing edelgard in the silver snow route.)
HOWEVER , as far as a certain AU warriors installment is concerned , byleth even at her most cold will STILL grant mercy when death is not a foregone conclusion. and , as far as the base game is concerned , at even her LOWEST POINT (the crimson flower route) byleth is the only. person. capable of sparing seteth and flayn. and this is even AFTER edelgard’s entire spiel about the nabateans being , and i quote , “. . .creature[s] that can merely masquerade as a human at will. . .” / “monsters that have controlled fódlan in secret for far too long” - AND AGREEING WITH HER. so , too , even when she is wholly convinced to fight against what remains of her own heritage , byleth is capable of granting mercy and willing to. even if it means this mercy is gifted in complete secret. (if edelgard or any other non-byleth unit faces the nabateans , they’re slated for death. it’s actually only byleth who can have the option to spare them.)
that is also not accounting for the fact that in her most compassionate route (azure moon) , byleth goes out of her way to grant dimitri mercy by killing his hostage before he can continue to taint himself with more bloodshed. she took that burden upon herself - but in doing so also committed a war crime against a defenseless enemy. so , really the question is not only if that was MORALLY CORRECT but if it was , in fact , truly merciful. in the long run it worked out in her and dimitri’s favor , but that was still a life lost.
all that in mind , i would say that byleth , INNATELY , is one who values mercy more than death and war. i’d go as far as to say that giving grace (especially to those she holds dear) may even be one of her core values. she , of course , also understands the importance of a fight - especially for one’s own beliefs. she may even consider it a necessary part of life , even if it OUGHT to be a last resort.
- so is byleth merciful? i would say , YES. over-abundantly so. but she can also be merciless. and if you VALUE your life it would be well within your best interests not to cross her.
