I’m plotting out a crossover with Fire Emblem Three Houses where I drop Dimitri and Byleth into Essos around 196 or 197 AC right after the two reunite post-timeskip.

For those without knowledge of FE: Dimitri Blaiddyd is a prince with a tenuous grasp on his sanity due to his family being massacred in front of him as a child, and then his support network being kicked out from under him as a teenager, losing an eye and being accused of killing his uncle/regent as his kingdom is taken over by an empire, and living alone on the run as a murder-hobo for five years. And he’s very fixated on cutting off his step-sister Empress Edelgard’s head to avenge his dead family and friends. So Dimitri is solidly in his Feral Dimitri era—yelling about rats, muttering to ghosts, and being mildly suicidal and very murderous. Did I mention he has super strength? He can crush skulls and break metal spears with his bare hands.

Byleth is a mercenary turned teacher and master strategist whose heart is actually the core of a dragon goddess. She was Dimitri’s professor at the Military Academy For Nobles. She was a major support pillar for Dimitri and he repaid that by being there for her when her father was murdered. And then the Empire attacked, she got thrown off a cliff and into a magic coma for 5 years before reuniting with her very unwell favorite (ex)student.

Byleth is already basically an artificial Manakete without the ability to transform into a dragon in the game, so I’m going to give her that ability. She can turn into a dragon now.

So with the background established…

We have a minty green Meleys who sometimes takes human(ish) form and half-mad man with super strength dropped into Essos.

I have plans for their initial escapades, but the end result is Dimitri is mistaken for a descendant of Maelys ‘the Monsterous’ Blackfyre. He’s got the built to sell it (6’2 + super-strength), passably Valyrian coloring (blonde with blue eyes), and rampant Targaryen madness. And a dragon following him around! That Dimitri is of presumed bastard descendant doesn’t mean much when there’s a dragon involved.

And Byleth would absolutely be down for impersonating deposed royalty if she thinks it would help Dimitri. Wandering murder-hobos do not have long life expectancies. Deposed royalty have supporters who can provide money, food, a roof over Dimitri’s head, top quality medical care, and men willing to die for him. Blackfyre supporters can provide stable environment for Dimitri which hopefully will be good for his sanity.

Dimitri doesn’t care about much beyond killing Edelgard to pacify the angry ghosts hallucinations haunting him at this point. Byleth can probably sell him on the plan arguing that it’ll get them a larger army to kill Edelgard with and they don’t know where or how to get to Enbarr right now and as the Blackfyre King he’ll have resources to find and get there so he can kill Edelgard. Rather one track mind that one.

Now the plan is for the Golden Company to crown Dimitri as their King Dimitri Blackfyre as they gear up for a new Blackfyre Rebellion.

Dimitri is a wonderful figure head for them in the sense he looks the part of a perfect dragon king—handsome, passably Valyrian, physically powerful, an unparalleled fighter who can armored knights around with raw strength, and of course that Minty Meleys. An inspiring king to rally support around…when he isn’t raving to his hallucinations, refusing to change out of his armor for days on end, or covered in gore after a battle/slaughter. ‘Mad King Aerys II with a Dragon’ is not the reputation the Golden Company want for their Blackfyre King.

There a set of scales balancing Dimitri (and by extension, Byleth’s) use to the Golden Company as a symbol and weapon against the problems ‘Maelys the Monsterous’’s bastard grandson’s rampant Targaryen madness causes. The Golden Company are a pragmatic lot…and King Dimitri Blackfyre can always have an accident once they’ve secured Westeros.

The Blackfyre’s have had less and less Westerosi support with each Rebellion so I imagine a dragon would be a massive thing for the Golden Company. Houses that would otherwise never turn, turning on House Baratheon out of fear of dragon fire. And holding up a Valyrian Dragon King so soon after the Targaryens were deposed might entice Targaryen loyalists to the Blackfyre cause. A Dragon—Red or Black—over a Stag.

Though, I’m not sure how aware the Captain-General Harry Strickland is of the Faegon Plan. Feral Dimitri is an atrocious team-player and worse leader. The only reason to prefer Dimitri over Faegon is Byleth, but depending on how Byleth plays her role, it’s not unreasonable to think Faegon could Dimitri’s dragon after his death. If Harry is unaware, then Dimitri is the best bet. If he is aware, then Faegon is the more appealing long term option even with the complication of having to arrange Dimitri’s death (and Dimitri will not die easily).

Does the Golden Company choosing to crown Dimitri ‘Blackfyre’ sound reasonable? And how about Strickland?

FE3H Xover: Golden Company crowning a fake Blackfyre