Byleth orders his students in the chaos of the burning village.

"Dorthea!" He exclaims, "Take out those archers! Caspar! The mage! Handle it!"

"On your six!" Jeralt exclaims, stabbing villager maddened by the disease that infected the villagers and made them hostile, Solon watching with glee as Ferdinand charges towards him on horseback.

It's then they hear a cry. A cry that echos in the madness, as mad if not more than the infected around what appears to be a mundane villager, with tired, sunken eyes, dirty brown hair, messy, and a ragged and worn appearance.

"Impure bastards!" The villager cries out, wearing a pair of makeshift gauntlets, that appear scraped together from random bits of metal, as if scrounged together during the battle itself. The young man strikes one of Solon's gaurds, who responds by impaling him with a sword, missing any vital organs as the villager responds, "It's gonna take more than that you impure little shit!"

As he bashes in the skull of the guard, Ferdinand gets an opening to attack Solon, who flees after being overwhelmed.

As Byleth calms down the village with his students Ferdinand takes note of the young man and greets him, "Well, thanks for your help. I guess. Who... are you?"

But the man does not reply as he finishes off the guard he speaks to someone who isn't there, "Purified..."

He goes silent as if someone replies to him.

"Of course I know what I'm doing," he growls to this spectre.

He waits once more.

"Oh like you can do a better job!" He growls at the being, "Look! I can't talk to you right now! That guy with the church is in ear shot!"

"Can't talk to who?" Ferdinand inquires.

Shocked the villager collects himself, and clutching his wound in his chest, greets the man, "Oh, no one important, my name's Richard. Richard West."

"You... charged into battle without hesitation," Ferdinand comments, "Are you alright?"

Richard doesn't reply and looks behind the young knight, before shoving him aside and casting fire at a mad villager who was about to kill Ferdinand by stabbing him in the back.

"You OK?" The villager inquires.

"You..." Ferdinand replies, "Saved me..."

The man sits down with a sigh, "You're pure. They're not. Of course I did."

"Pure?" Ferdinand inquires.

Richard sighs, "Don't worry about it. Do you maybe have a priest or... I... I'm gonna sit down I'm bleeding pretty bad."

"Here," Ferdinand offers a seat on his horse, "I owe you a debt and you need medical attention. Come with me."

The young man turns towards nothing and whispers, "Yes he's trustworthy will you shut up?"

"You say something?" Ferdinand inquires.

"Nope," Richard lies as he's taken to see Byleth.

As the classmates clear out Ferdinand approaches with an injured Richard in tow.

"Where have you been?" Dorthea inquires.

"Who's the kid?" Caspar adds, as the two stand next to a distracted Byleth, who is deep in thought.

Dorthea notices the wound and comments, "He's hurt lemme just..."

With a cast of a spell the wound closes.

"So who are you?" Caspar inquires.

"Richard," he replies, "Nice to meet you guys."

"This guy created an opening for me to attack and saved my life. I think he could be an asset to us," Ferdinand explains.

"Isn't that my call?" Edelgard inquires.

"Ah," Richard greets her, "Nice to meet you. I'm Richard."

"Nice to meet you Richard," Edlegard replies with a smile, "I am Edlegard, leader of the Black Eagles. May I ask, why did you not flee?"

Richard smiles, an evil, broken smile, a smile of insanity, "See, evil people like them are impure. Now they have been purified. I seek a pure world. A world free of evil. Any evil, any impure, I purify. I grabbed some scrap metal from about the battlefield put it together with rope and leather, and attacked."

"I see," Edlegard replies, "You're certainly... eager."

"A little to eager," Dorthea comments, "It's creepy."

"Hey better eager than hesitant," Caspar replies, "Also would be nice to have a brawler to spar with."

"I would like to offer my recommendation he joins is at the church," Ferdinand elaborates.

"I don't know," Edlegard sighs, "Dorthea has a point you are a little... eager to kill people."

Richard shrugs, "Hey, they killed my friends. Who wouldn't be eager to get even?"

"I suppose," Dorthea sighs, "But..."

"I don't get your suspicion," Caspar sighs, "He's tough and on our side."

"What if he's not though?" Dorthea inquires, "Tomas was a traitor he could be too."

"Who?" Richard inquires.

"If he was he wouldn't have helped me," Ferdinand responds.

"I'll see what Byleth thinks," Edlegard replies before going to speak with him.

"You know I half expected that we would run into Purity," Caspar comments.

"Purity?" Dorthea inquires, "I don't know who that is."

"Legend says he wanders the land," Caspar explains, "A man with two fists and a white mask. Heard a rumor he was seen here."

"Creepy," Ferdinand replies, "But never heard of him."

"Yeah I think that's a myth," Richard lies, hiding a white mask in his pocket...

"So you think he would be useful?" Byleth inquires.

"I believe so yes," Edelgard replies, "We could use the extra set of hands in battle could we not?"

"He acts strange though doesn't he?" Byleth inquires, watching as Richard now makes lively conversation with Caspar.

"Yeah he does say some odd things," Edelgard explains, "But I don't think he's dangerous. At least not to us."

"Well," Byleth sighs, "Bring him along if he saved Ferdinand I guess. Can't leave a debt like that unpayed."

Edelgard nods in agreement and goes to inform Richard he will be joining the Black Eagels as Byleth thinks to himself, "Just who is this Richard?..."

Richard arrives in his room at the monastery, led inside by Ferdinand, "And that's everything. You sleep here. Any questions?"

"Those Golden Deer," Richard asks, "Does anyone of them bear the name Lily?"

"Can't say they do," Ferdinand shakes his head, "Why do you ask?"

"No reason," Richard shrugs, "Anyways I best set up."

"Set up?" Ferdinand asks, baffled.

"Oh yeah I'm handling some crime ring shit," Richard explains, "You're not from where it is but-"

"Hey new kid!" A voice exclaims.

"Oh hey Claude," Ferdinand greets as Richard examines papers he kept in his pocket, "How goes it? I'm just showing Richard here around."

"Richard eh?" Claude replies, "Well, welcome. It's nice to meet you."

Richard clenches his fist in rage and glares at Claude for a moment, before forcing a smile, "I'm sorry I don't have time to talk right now."

"Alright," Claude shrugs, "But if you ever wanna talk I have time for tea most days of the week at sunset."

Claude leaves, and as soon as he's gone Richard growls, wrath in his voice, "Impure fucker."

"You uhhh..." Ferdinand asks confused, "Got a problem with Claude?"

"Fuck all of the Golden Deer," Richard hisses, "Look, I have good reason but... I need you to keep a secret."

"Hey you saved my life of course," Ferdinand replies.

Richard shuts the door and looks out the window to make sure none are watching before he reveals notes on a crime ring, an opium trade.

"Those nobels form the Alliance," Richard explains, "They're impure. Because they're involved in the opium trade."

"What are you saying?" Ferdinand inquires.

"I'm saying," Richard smirks, "That you and me, my new friend who will tell no one, are going to stop the opium trade..."