Chapter 23 Back to the Monestary
"We are finally back." Dimitri said as the Blue Lions entered the Monastery once again. "I'll leave the report to Lady Rhea to you." Byleth nodded.
"What a waste. The enemies were weak and I didn't find a Djinn." Felix grunted
"And yet you got hurt out there." Sylvain laughed as Felix glared at him.
"I'm certain you will find one soon." Byleth assured
"I hope so. I want to see how well they can perform as a boast to my strength." Felix said as he left.
"To be honest, I hope to find one soon as well." Dedue admitted as he left as well. The others left just after.
"Seems like you and Professor Isaac will be quite busy with students asking for help finding Djinni." Dimitri laughed
"So, it would seem." Byleth said
"Ah, Edelgard." Dimitri said as he noticed Edelgard and Hanneman walk by. "Did the Black Eagles have a mission to see to? Remember that on the battlefield, one can never tell what is to come. You can never dismiss the possibility of the worst-case scenario."
"There is no need to state the obvious Dimitri. But tell me, why the sudden concern? Do you doubt my abilities? If so, your lack of insight is disappointing." Edelgard said
"That is not what I meant. If I offended you, then I hope you can accept my apologies." Dimitri said
"Don't worry about it." Edelgard dismissed. "By the way Professor, have you seen Professor Isaac?" Edelgard asked Byleth.
"We just got back, so no I haven't seen him." Byleth answered
"The Golden Deer has yet to return from their assignment yet." Manuela said walking up to the group.
"I see. Then may you please relay a message to him when you see him? There is something about Psynergy I wish to talk to him about." Edelgard said. Byleth nodded. "Very well then. Professor, I will be on my way." Hanneman nodded and Edelgard left.
"Try not to let her get to you Dimitri. She maybe stubborn, but she is pretty skilled. You have nothing to worry about." Hanneman said as he left. Dimitri just sighed
"Puppy love?" Byleth asked and Dimitri chuckled.
"Quite a lark. I didn't know you had a sense of humor professor. But I will tell you about it…some other time." Dimitri said
"Quite a predicament I see." Manuela chuckled.
"Anyway, you said the Golden Deer haven't reported back yet?" Byleth asked
"No, and I am a bit worried. We lost track of the group of solders that were sent ahead of time to get a clue to the bandit's location. And now we also lost contact with the second group as well. I hope the students don't get into a dangerous situation." Manuela said
"I'm sure Professor Isaac can handle it." Dimitri assured
"I'm sure he will be fine as well, but the students are another story." Manuela said
"I wonder what Isaac is doing now?" Byleth wondered
"And that should do it." Isaac said. Upon waking up, Isaac decided to give a burial to the solders that were killed by the Poison Toad. Or what was left of them. Their armor was to be taken to Garreg Mach so he can tell Rhea of their fate. His father, Marianne and Raphael were thankfully giving him a hand.
"May the Goddess allow them to rest in peace." Marianne prayed.
"So, what's the plan professor?" Raphael asked
"We're heading back to the church after lunch. So, make sure you eat well." Isaac said
"Don't need to tell me that twice. Or at all actually." Raphael laughed as he went off to eat.
"You should go get something to eat as well Marianne. Thanks for your help." Isaac said
Marianne just nodded and left.
"Not much of a talker, is she?" Kyle said
"No, she is not." Isaac said
Felix just exited the Inn with a belly full of food.
"Now I just wait for everyone else to get ready and we head off for this Garreg Mach place." Felix muttered to himself. "Still, Isaac is a professor now huh?" He couldn't help but chuckle.
Not that he found it impossible for Isaac to be a teacher, he was a smart kid, and he could see him teaching Psynergy, as he was a hard worker in his studies. But a Professor to one of the three houses? What happened the last three years?
Speaking of Isaac's class:
While there were apparently quite a few adepts for each of the houses that Isaac would teach on Saturdays, his Golden Deer class was definitely something.
Hilda was pretty lazy. She would try to trick others to doing her work, like when they had to move the treasure in the hideout back to the village, she called herself a "Delicate Flower" and got Raphael to do her work. Which was strange since she was clearly holding her own very well against the bandits yesterday.
Lorenz was honestly pretty annoying to Felix. It seems like every other time he spoke was about his "Noble Obligations" and it was starting to grate on him.
Leonie was a pretty hard worker. Felix would see her training when she was not doing anything else. She is also a big fan of this Captain Jeralt guy that Isaac traveled with before he arrived at Garreg Mach Monastery. When Felix asked Isaac about the man, Leonie jumped in with her praise for the man.
Raphael was a nice simple guy. He sure did love eating and building his huge muscles. Still, Felix didn't see anything wrong with him. He kind of reminded him of Garret, but less hotheaded.
Ignatz was a rather quiet and shy person. He also seems to like taking in the scenery around him.
Then there were the new adepts.
Marianne he probably knew the least about. She was even more quiet and shy than Ignatz and would usually look for an excuse to leave if anyone ever tried to strike a conversation with her. From what Isaac said, she was a water adept, and she likes animals. Other than that, Isaac is still trying to figure more out about her himself.
Lysithea was a hard worker. Despite looking no older than Ivan and Sheba did during their quest to light the lighthouses, she was always trying to learn more. She seemed to take an interest in Kraden for his knowledge in Psynergy. Lysithea also took an interest in Felix himself for more pointers on Psynergy, but he would tell her, he's about as knowledge in Jupiter Psynergy as much as Isaac was. Felix couldn't help but wonder what she would do when they find Ivan or Sheba. From what Felix gathered from Isaac, neither she nor the other wind adept of the Golden Deer Claude had the ability to read minds.
Then that brings him to Claude. Felix wasn't sure of what to make of the House Leader to the Golden Deer. It wasn't so much how he acted that bothered Felix, but rather his face. His face usually would speak differently when he spoke. There was just something about his eyes that rubbed Felix the wrong way. It kind of reminded him of Alex. Still, he and Isaac get along pretty well, so maybe he can't be a bad guy, but Felix decided to play it safe and keep an eye on the young future duke just in case.
Either way, Isaac had surely found some interesting people.
Once lunch was eaten and everyone was all packed up, the group of now fourteen headed back to Garreg Mach Monastery.
"By my guess, we should be back in time for dinner, hopefully." Ignatz said
"Ugh. Professor? Can't you use the warp thingy you used back at the hideout?" Hilda whined
"If I would, I could but Retreat doesn't work like that. I would need the warp gem to do what you want and sadly, neither me nor Felix had it on hand when we arrived in Fodlan." Isaac laughed as Hilda groaned
"Well, here we are. Garreg Mach Monastery." Isaac said as the church came into view.
"It's huge." Felix said in awe.
"I said the same when I saw it." Isaac laughed
"You guys don't have something like this back home, do you?" Claude asked
"There will small sanctums in many towns that would house healers to heal travelers buts that's it." Isaac explained
As they walked down the marketplace of the Monastery, they approached the door, only to be met with the gatekeeper.
"Professor Isaac! You're okay." He said excited
"Why wouldn't I be?" Isaac asked
"Well, two groups of knights head to your mission and have gone missing. Some people are saying you killed them." The Gatekeeper said
"Why would they think that?" Hilda asked
"Because some think I'm a danger due to Psynergy." Isaac said
"That's stupid." Leonie said
"Regardless, we better get with the Archbishop and explain things." Isaac said
"I'll go as a witness to help stomp out those rumors." Claude said
"Same here." Hilda added
"And as I professor." Lorenz said
"Thank you." Isaac smiled
"Regardless, I'm glad you all made it back safely." The Gatekeeper said with a smile.
"Thank you. Take care." Isaac waved as the group headed inside.
"Nice guy." Kraden said
"He is." Isaac agreed
"Still though. Rumors about my son is rather vexing, but sadly not unexpected." Kyle muttered
"Why is it not unexpected?" Ignatz asked
"People tend to fear that of which they do not understand. For the average people, those with Psynergy are seen as dangerous. That's why Adepts normally keep their powers a secret." Kraden explained
"But with the amount of people that got it, including the three heirs to the three nations of Fodlan, keeping it a secret is impossible." Isaac added
"Regardless, let's go see the Archbishop." Felix said
Isaac had dismissed his class minus Claude, Lorenz, and Hilda. He had Felix and the adults wait outside as he entered the Audience Chambers with the three nobles.
"Lady Rhea." Isaac greeted as he and the three nobles approached the Archbishop and Seteth speaking to Byleth, Hanneman, Manuela and Jeralt.
"Isaac. You've returned." Rhea greeted warmly
"Sorry for the delay, it was more difficult than expected that we had to spend a longer time at the village to rest." Isaac said
"What happened to the solders?" Seteth asked
"They were killed…brutally." Isaac said sadly.
"What happened?" Seteth asked
Isaac explained the details of the mission and the fate of the poor solders.
"Death by acid? How brutal." Manuela said shocked
"We can vouch for the solders fate." Claude said
"Yes, it was a very gruesome scene to see of their corpses." Lorenz added.
"Granted, we didn't see them actually die, but we did see the monster shoot acid." Hilda said
"I take it that you heard the rumors then." Hanneman sighed the four nodded "Ridiculous claims some of the knights guessed."
"Still, with three words of three high nobles of the Alliance, they won't be able to take any drastic actions." Manuela noted
"I will be sure to inform the public of this information." Rhea assured
"Thank you, Archbishop." Isaac bowed
"Now then, since you are finally here, can you please give us a detailed report of your mission?" Seteth asked
Isaac nodded.
"Aside from finding the corpse of the first batch of Solders on the way to the village, we arrived smoothly and without issues. The town itself was thankfully untouched. We ran into the second group that Seteth dispatched gathering information. We told them what we saw and they ordered us to stay in the village while they returned to the Monastery to report." Isaac said
"And they got ambushed on the way back." Seteth guessed and Isaac nodded.
"The bandits had a monster with them like the bandits from Remire did. Their corpse was left in front of the village with a note." Isaac said handing Rhea the note.
Rhea read the note and looked shocked
"I don't exactly know why, but I am thinking that whoever gave those bandits the monster wants us Adepts dead. Not only that, but I have seen the type of monster before in my journey and it looked different." Isaac said
"Interesting. Combined with the bandits from Remire that were clearly targeting the students, we will definitely investigate into this." Seteth said
"Still, I am glad to see that both you and the students are safe." Rhea said
"Yes and the bandits are taken care of." Isaac said. "But, I do have more to add."
"What is it?" Rhea asked
"Come on in!" Isaac called out.
Felix, Kyle, Felix's parents, and Kraden all entered the chamber.
"While on my mission, I ran into my father and a few others." Isaac said
"So, your father was alright. Glad to hear it." Jeralt said
"And you are?" Kyle asked
"My name is Jeralt." Jeralt introduced.
"Oh yes, Isaac told me about you. Thank you for helping my son." Kyle greeted
"Not a problem. He was a big help to me and my daughter as well."
"I take it that you are Byleth?" Kyle asked turning to Byleth who nodded.
"This is my father Kyle, my childhood friend Felix, his parents, and Kraden." Isaac introduced
"It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Rhea, the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros. This is my adviser Seteth." Rhea greeted as Seteth nodded.
"I am Hanneman. I currently teach the Black Eagle class and a scholar of Crests.
"Nice to meet you. I am Kraden. I am a Scholar to Alchemy." Kraden greeted
"Are you now? There is quite a lot I wish to ask you about in regards to Psynergy." Hanneman said excited
"Is that so? Well then…" Kraden began as everyone else backed away slowly from the two scholars and exited the room.
"Great. Now there is two of them." Manuela sighed annoyed
"Anyway, Isaac, was there something you wanted to ask?" Rhea asked getting back on track.
"I was wondering if you had a place and position for my father and Felix's family?" Isaac asked
"We can make some arrangements for staying, but in terms of a position here, I will have to think about it." Seteth said "For the time being, I have two empty rooms available at the moment ready for use.
"Why don't my parents have a room while either me or Kyle bunk with Isaac for now?" Felix offered
"I can fit another." Isaac said
"What about Kraden?" Hilda asked
"He can bunk with Hanneman. He has the room." Manuela dismissed
"Very well then. It is getting late so take the evening to rest. Tomorrow will be a day off from classes so we can discuss more on that then." Rhea said
"Very well then." Isaac bowed
"If that will be all, dismissed." Seteth said as he and Rhea left with Manuela following suit.
"Well, I'm going to see if I can still get a bite to eat. Later Teach." Claude waved as he left.
"Food sounds really good right now." Hilda said following Claude.
"I will take my leave as well Professor." Lorenz bowed and left.
"Well, we better find our rooms now." Kyle said.
"I believe the dorms are that way." Byleth said pointing.
With that, everyone was adequate. Kyle ended up with the last spare room and Felix would bunk with Isaac. Isaac Felix, and Byleth decided to grab a bite to eat themselves before bed.
"So, you actually used a summon?" Byleth asked
"Yeah, we needed to deliver enough power for a final blow on the monster, so Felix and I pulled our Djinni together to unleash a powerful attack. And now, I'll have to teach it next class." Isaac sighed
"I am so watching that." Felix laughed.
"So, your name is Felix?" Byleth asked
"Yes, why?" Felix asked confused
"Well, I have a Felix in my class. With the two of you together, it will likely get confusing." Byleth said
"What is this other Felix like?" Felix asked
"Rude, a bit arrogant, has good skills, and a bit of a short temper." Byleth listed off
"Also, a fire adept." Isaac added
"Interesting." Felix said
In the training halls:
"Ah-Choo!" Felix sneezed. "Okay, Who's talking about me?"
Back at the dining hall:
"So you became a water adept?" Felix asked
"That's right. Around the time my father and I found Isaac, I got hit in the head by one of those Psynergy stones and gained water Psynergy." Byleth said
"I taught her Psynergy, and she helped teach me tactics." Isaac said
"Tomorrow, I will be happy to help give you a tour of Garreg Mach Monastery." Byleth offered
"Thank you." Felix said.
"So, what was Lady Rhea talking about with you?" Isaac asked
"She was telling me about the Goddess and Zanado, the place where I had my mission. Apparently, according to legends, a goddess alighted upon the world in that very canyon and it was a temporary Haven." Byleth explained
"A Goddess?" Felix asked
"The Church of Seiros worships this Goddess." Isaac said
"Oh right, I did hear something about that." Felix realized
'That story also ha made Sothis rather curious as well.' Byleth mentally added.
"It's getting late. I'll show you to my room." Isaac said and Felix nodded.
"One last thing Isaac. Edelgard said she wanted to speak with you when you get a chance." Byleth said
"I'll seek her out tomorrow then." Isaac said.
Isaac guided Felix to his room.
"Here we are." Isaac said
"Not a lot of space here." Felix commented
"True, but you and I don't have a lot of stuff." Isaac said
"Good point." Felix admitted
"Anyway, you can have the bed for the night. I have to do some patrols before I can sleep." Isaac said
"Are you sure? It's your bed." Felix asked
"I'll get a sleeping bag before I turn in." Isaac assured as he left before Felix could protest.
Isaac walked down the Noble bunks for anything suspicious.
"How much longer before we can sleep?" Flint asked
"This is the last spot Flint." Isaac assured quietly.
"Uhh…Agh…Fath…Save…" A familiar voice cried out.
"What was that?" Flint asked surprised
"Let's go find out!" Isaac said as he followed the voice to Edelgard's room.
Isaac gave a soft knock.
"No…Agh…Huh? Who's there?" Edelgard asked waking up. A second later, the door opened.
"Professor Isaac? Wht are you doing here?" Edelgard asked surprised and a bit exhausted
"I heard a noise coming from here and thought you were in trouble." Isaac said
"Oh? Perhaps I was just talking in my sleep." Edelgard said
"Bad dreams?" Isaac asked concerned
"Oh, so you heard me then." Edelgard muttered. "Yes, it was a nightmare I've had since I was a child. Stupid, pointless dreams that I can't control. It's terribly frustrating."
"You need any help?" Isaac offered
"No. They're just stupid pointless dreams of the past. Talking about them won't change a thing." Edelgard said
"Talking can help you." Isaac offered
"I appreciate the concern, but I don't feel comfortable talking about them." Edelgard said
Before Isaac could respond, Hubert walked in.
"Lady Edelgard, are you alright?" Hubert asked
"I'm fine Hubert. Just another nightmare." Edelgard assured
"I see." Hubert sighed before turning to Isaac. "You have my thanks Professor, but I will handle things from here."
"Professor, I appreciate the concern, but I am fine. Please continue on your business." Edelgard said
"All right, but remember, I am here for you if you need anything." Isaac offered
"I will remember that." Edelgard nodded.
"One last thing, if you are feeling up to it, you can find me at the pond tomorrow after breakfast to ask me whatever you need. Byleth said you had a question for me." Isaac said
"I do. I will see you tomorrow then." Edelgard said
"All right then. Try and get some sleep." Isaac said as he left.
"Were there any problems?" Hubert asked
"No. He just overheard me talking in my sleep and came to check on me." Edelgard said
And that's a wrap!
So with that, Isaac and Byleth have done their first class mission and now Felix, Kraden, Kyle and Felix's parents (I really should come up with names for those two) are staying. As for Felix himself, I was planning on him joining Jeralt, but depending on the DLC, I might have him added to that if it becomes needed. Nothing is set in stone yet since I obviously haven't played the DLC yet so we'll see.
On a side note, I did see some asking about Felix joining the Black Eagle as their professor. Sadly, that won't happen. If you guys want, I can let him join for the Battle of the Eagles and Lions, but as a Professor? Unlike Isaac, he hasn't studied tactics and such like Isaac did under Jeralt. Sorry.
Now as for the Edelgard scene. From this point on, Isaac and Byleth will interact more with students outside their classes and that includes the House Leaders. Edelgard will be trying to convince Byleth and possibly even Isaac to see her points of view. (Seriously, the game makes it sound like she tried in the Blue Lions and Golden Deer path, but she never really did.) Though as for not telling Isaac about her nightmares, there is a theory that Crests can help affect a persons personality and Edelgard's obsession with Byleth likely came from her and Byleth having the same Crest. Now I am NOT saying that is the only reason Edelgard likes Byleth at the end of their paths, (Heck, with what happens to Byleth at the end of Black Eagles would make their relationship impossible if it was the only reason) but it is likely what starts it. Isaac has no Crests so she doesn't open up to him as quickly as she did with Byleth. She is still interested in him and would like him to join, but it won't be as fast as it was with Byleth.
One last note is that not every interaction Isaac has will be ripping off a Byleth support, but I did this one to show a bit of where their relationship currently is.
Either way, This story will be on a short break now for the upcoming DLC. I will still answer any questions through PM (And hopefully the email problem will soon be fixed) When I do come back though, we will diverge into some filler for bonding moments, and the second part of Isaac's story to his students. Stay tuned.