Yes, they gain experience even while in mid battle I believe!

I just finished P3P and decided to look up what happens in FES since I'd never get to play it myself. I'm kinda confused about the difference between Death (Ryoji) and Erebus. Death was supposed to be the Appriser that told Nyx it was time for the Fall, but when I read about Erebus....it seems like its purpose was to do the exact same thing.....why are they both needed for the Fall?

Shortly after beating the game, I noticed the bonus content "Lineage and Legacies". I saved over my beaten save file when starting this thinking it wouldn't be a problem, but I'm kind of worried I may have skipped over some things on accident. For instance, the whole quest with Lord Aston's sword getting refurbished was something I nearly had completed at the end of the game, and though Lineage and Legacies seems to just be a continuation of the story 6 months after the game (characters in tact and all), it doesn't seem like this quest is active anymore.

I was told to speak to Duke Dalen about fixing the sword, but he says nothing about it when I see him. Is this just because I'm in a new game mode, or am I just missing a quest deal (in which case just tell me I may want to think a little harder about what I need to do =P). On top of that, the summoned dragon fight at the Strahta Desert Ruins seems gone now, but I'm just wondering if that has to do with the fact that Pascal wasn't with me at the time.

These may just be silly questions, but I was just nervous that maybe I'd accidentally frozen my progress regarding certain aspects of the game. All help is appreciated!