Chapter 9 Free Day
As soon as he grabbed a bite to eat, Isaac headed straight to library of Garreg Mach and started to look through multiple books on the History of Fodlan, to see if there was anything to do with Psynergy. Isaac was at one of the tables with Flint sitting in front of a bunch of books that Isaac was going through.
"So, 41 years before the Empire, a man named Nemesis, that was this 'King of Liberation' led an army to concur all of Fodlan. Saint Seiros appeared and performed miracles to the people giving hope. The Church of Seiros was created in honor of her. In Imperial year 1, The Adrestian Empire was found. Its name was gifted by an oracle, and it's future blessed by the Goddess. The first Emperor Whlhelm Paul Hresvelg led an army to unify Fodlan against Nemesis." Isaac summarized.
"In Imperial year 46, The Battle of Gronder, Nemesis's forces and the Imperial army clashed, resulting in the Empire being victorious. And in Imperial year 91, Nemesis was finally slain by Saint Seiros, ending the War of Heroes, in the Battle of Tailtean." Flint added. "This Nemesis was apparently once a hero. I wonder what happened to him?"
"The years of 721 to 731, had the Empire face off against Dagda and Brigid, resulting in Brigid relegated to a life of Imperial subjugation. The Empire tried to then invade Dagda, but failed." Isaac summarized from the next part.
"In Imperial Year 747, Loog, a descendant of one of the first houses to quarrel with the Empire, raised an army to demand independence from the Empire. This fierce clash became known as the War of the Eagle and Lion. I guess that's why the calendar makes a big deal about that later." Flint said "Anyway, in the year 751, Loog found the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and his resistance were victorious. The Holy Church of Serios mediated between the two and Faerghus got its independents. But in 801, a rebellion broke out in Leicester, which the Imperial Army could not subdue. The Holy Kingdom took advantage of this to increase its own political sway, occupied the Leicester region as part of Faerghus."
"When King Klaus I passed away, his three sons became the archdukes and split the Holy Kingdom, but when the prince ruling Leicester fell to illness, the people refused his heir and instead plotted to rule as an alliance. This spark the Crescent Moon War until 901, when the Leicester Alliance was formed after the subjugation of hostile nobles, and the removing of all opposing forces in the regions of Faerghus. Duke Riegan was inarguable the heart of the newly formed Alliance." Isaac continued over what he had read.
"In 961, the eastern nation of Almyra crossed through Fodlan's throat and invaded alliance territory. The Empire retaliated, and the attackers were barely held off. In the year 980, the Officers Academy was created to train heirs on the art of Warfare to protect from future invasions. Along with that, Fodlan's Locket was made in 1101 by the combined efforts of the Empire, Kingdom, and Alliance to defend against future invasions of Almyra." Isaac finished as he set the books down and leaned back in a sigh of relief. "Man, that was quite a lot of reading."
"Well, now we understand the basics of Fodlan's history." Flint said.
"Yeah, but even after all that reading, we didn't find a single clue to link with Psynergy or Fodlan. Looks like Lysithea was right about there being no information here." Isaac sighed.
"There are plenty of other books here, but none of them look like they would hold any information we're looking for ether." Flint sighed.
"Damn." Isaac mumbled.
"Well, keep your chin up. We'll find something soon. Now how about you go get some air. We've been in here all morning and you could use it." Flint said.
"That…actually sounds really good right now." Isaac said getting up. Flint vanished back into Isaac as Isaac returned all the books he was looking at to their proper shelves. Once that was done, he headed out.
Today was his first free day and Isaac had spent the entire morning reading up on Fodlan's history while looking for some kind of connection to Psynergy as it was now noon.
"Lunch should be starting in a little while. Might as well take a walk." Isaac said heading down to the fishing spot.
At the fishing spot, Isaac spotted Byleth sitting down on the dock with a fishing pole in her hands.
"Catch anything?" Isaac asked walking up to her.
"No, nothing. Flayn gave me some bait to try and catch some fish for the mess hall, but nothing's biting today." Byleth sighed.
Suddenly, the fishing line was moving away.
"Looks like you got a bite." Isaac said pointing to the line.
"Yeah, and it's putting up quite a fight too!" Byleth grunted as she stood up and started to pull on the poll trying to reel in the fish, but to no avail.
"Alright, let me help." Isaac said grabbing the rod with Byleth. "On three. One, two THREE!" With a mighty pull, a blue creature came flying out of the water and landed behind the two. It had a flat looking head with some spikes on both sides of its head and a pincer-like tail.
"That's not a fish." Byleth said looking at the odd creature before her.
"It's a Djinn." Isaac said surprised.
"A Djinn?" Byleth asked surprised. "It looks so different from Flint."
"That's because that is a Mercury Djinn while Flint is a Venus Djinn." Isaac explained.
"And here I was enjoying a nice swim in the water when I was suddenly pulled out. Still, I have to admit you guys are pretty strong to pull me out." The Djinni said. "My name is Claw. You two are Adepts, right?"
"That's right. I'm Isaac, an earth adept and Byleth is a water adept. She is also the one that fished you." Isaac said.
"Nice to meet you Byleth. I think I'll stick with you for a while." Claw said.
"Uh, okay…" Byleth said unsure of what to think of this. Isaac put her hands up in the air.
The Mercury Djinn jumped into the air and turned into several blue balls that bounced down like water until they went inside of Byleth. Byleth was surprised as she felt slightly stronger from the Djinni.
"Ever since you showed me Flint, I was always wondering when I would meet a Djinn myself, but this wasn't a way I was expecting." Byleth admitted.
"Djinn can be pretty odd sometimes, and as a result, they can be anywhere. Me and my friends met Djinn in pretty strange places from time to time back in Weyard." Isaac said with a chuckle thinking back to the places he and his friends found some Djinn.
"Well, I suppose in the end, I shouldn't really complain. Now you and I are even in our Djinn count." Byleth said.
"At least until I can find the other Djinn I had with me before I came here." Isaac said.
"On another topic, how was your research?" Byleth asked.
"Not too good. I learned quite a bit on Fodlan's history, but nothing on Psynergy." Isaac sighed.
"Well, don't give up. I'm sure you'll find answers out there somewhere." Byleth assured.
"Thanks. I think I'll head to the mess hall for a bite to eat. I'm starving. You in?" Isaac asked.
"Maybe later. I still haven't caught anything." Byleth said getting her fishing rod ready for another round.
"Alright then. Later Byleth." Isaac waved as he walked away.
"Goodbye." Byleth said as she went back to fishing, though a thought came to her mind.
"Isaac said that Djinni go inside of the body. I wonder if Claw and Sothis met?" Byleth wondered.
"WHAT THE HECK IS THIS THING DOING IN HERE?! GET OUT!" Sothis shouted from inside Byleth's head.
"No way, it's spacey in here!" Claw cried out.
"Great…" Byleth groaned. She can already feel the headaches coming from this.
Isaac arrived in the Dinning Hall and grabbed his food. As he looked for a table, he spotted Claude and Hilda waving him down to join them.
"Hey Teach, where have you been? I was looking for you this morning." Claude asked as Isaac sat down.
"Sorry Claude. I was in the library all morning trying to see if I could find something on Psynergy as well as look up Fodlan's history. Sadly, no luck on the former." Isaac said.
"You spent your day off studying? On a beautiful day like today? I don't think I will ever understand you professor." Hilda gasped.
"Maybe it's a good thing he is here. If we're lucky, some of his hard working might rub off on you." Claude joked as Hilda glared at him.
"Anyway, did you need me for something Claude?" Isaac asked.
"Well, Seteth was apparently looking for you this morning as well. He told me to tell you that there is a meeting for the Professors in the Audience Chamber tonight to discuss the Mock Battle." Claude said.
"Thank you. I'll be sure to head there." Isaac said.
"So, teach, what are your thoughts on the upcoming Mock Battle? Do you think we have a chance?" Claude asked.
"I don't know. Tomorrow is when I get to observe all your skills to find out. At the moment, all I know about is you Claude from that fight at Remire." Isaac said.
"Good point." Claude admitted.
"Well, if your wondering about me, I am just a delicate maiden with little to no combat skills. I'll only hold the whole team back if I fight, so it might be best if I sit out of the Mock Battle." Hilda said.
"Everyone has to participate Hilda." Isaac reminded her.
"Aww." Hilda pouted. Then she had another thought in her mind. "By the way professor, I know you said that scarf of you meant a lot to you, but how so exactly? I mean, it's not bad…a little dirty, but it's pretty plain." Hilda asked.
"My mother made it for me when I was little." Isaac said.
"So, it's a memento?" Claude asked.
"Sort of…To be honest, I have no idea on how my mother is doing." Isaac admitted.
"Really? Why's that?" Hilda asked.
"Well, I was put onto a journey that ultimately ended up with me coming here, but the last I saw my mother, she wasn't doing too well. She was pretty sick." Isaac said.
"Then why didn't you stay with her then?" Hilda demanded.
"I didn't know she was sick when I left. When I returned to Vale for a visit, I was told by my friend Garret's mom that she was sick. But she kept insisting that she was fine. My guess is that she didn't want me to get distracted since the quest I was on was massive." Isaac said.
"Oh…I see." Hilda muttered.
"Sorry to hear that Teach." Claude said.
"Thanks." Isaac said as the three ate.
After waving goodbye to Claude and Hilda, Isaac decided that he wanted to check out the greenhouse.
When Isaac arrived at the Greenhouse, he spotted a familiar grey-haired boy tending to some of the flowers.
Ashe, right?" Isaac asked causing Ashe to turn around a bit surprised.
"Oh, yes, that's me. You surprised me professor." Ashe said.
"Sorry about that. You watering the plants?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, I thought I'd give a hand. The plants here are really incredible. There are so many flowers and herbs I never knew even existed." Ashe said.
"You really seem to know your plants Ashe." Isaac said.
"My adoptive father Lord Lanato is a real expert. He taught me everything I know about plants; like telling them apart, and making medicine. What about you Isaac? I heard your powers were similar to Prince Dimitri and Dedue, and Dedue even tried to experiment his powers on some plants he brought here earlier." Ashe asked.
"Well, I have a basic understanding of them, but in terms of knowledge like how to make medicine, that isn't my strong suit. My friend Mia might know a bit more since she's a healer. Perhaps you can show me sometime." Isaac said.
"If you wish, I would love to." Ashe smiled.
"Great. I'll catch you later." Isaac said heading out.
"Goodbye professor." Ashe waved as he went back to watering.
"Now then…let's see what else there is to do until that meeting Claude told me about." Isaac muttered as he continued to walk around.
As he passed by the first floor dorms, he spotted a girl with messy purple hair humming to herself.
"Excuse me." Isaac said approaching her.
"WAH!" Bernadetta shouted as she bolted to one of the rooms and slammed the door. A clicking sound was heard right after.
"So much for that." Isaac sighed.
"I told you she is rather shy to others. She's even like that around me." A female voice said.
Isaac turned to see Edelgard and Hubert approaching him.
"Ah hello Edelgard, and Hubert, right?" Isaac asked and Hubert nodded.
"Greetings Professor. I trust you are having a good day?" Edelgard asked.
"More or less. What are you up to?" Isaac asked.
"Nothing special myself. I was just talking with Hubert when we spotted you. By the way, I heard you spent the entire morning in the library. Is that true?" Edelgard asked.
"Yeah. I was trying to find some connection to Psynergy, but nothing was found there. Though I did read up on Fodlan's history…or the basics anyway." Isaac said.
"Such dedication. A pity you aren't leading the Black Eagles." Edelgard said.
"Hey, I did promise that I would still teach you Psynergy and I intend to keep my word after this mock battle is done with." Isaac said.
"And I am grateful for that." Edelgard admitted. "Still, don't expect things to be easy at the Mock Battle. Enjoy it while you can, but the Black Eagles will emerge victorious." Edelgard firmly declared as she walked away with Hubert following her.
"That girl is quite competitive." Isaac said once the two were out of sight.
"Uh, um…Excuse me? Did you say that you are teaching Psynergy?" A meek voice was heard behind the door Bernadetta closed.
"That's right. My name is Isaac. I teach the Golden Deer house, and I also am well knowledge with Psynergy. If I may ask, what element are you?" Isaac asked.
"Uh…I can make some wind appear…" Bernadetta said.
"So you're a Jupiter Adept. You mind coming outside though?" Isaac asked.
"Sorry but, I don't want to talk to strangers too much." Bernadetta said.
Isaac sighed. "Alright then. I guess I'll see you around then."
"Sorry..." Bernadetta muttered as Isaac walked away.
Isaac headed to the training halls. On the door, he saw a sign that said "No Psynergy!"
"Guess they don't want a repeat of whatever happened." Isaac said.
"Man. People are going to be holding that over my head forever." A voice groaned.
Isaac turned to see Caspar walking up to him.
"You were the one that caused it?" Isaac asked.
"Yeah, but it was an accident. I kind of did something that got Dorothea mad and she started chasing me." Caspar said red in the face. "After that, I panicked and shot some fireballs, and things just went crazy from there. I think Jeritza is mad at me as well."
"Jeritza?" Isaac asked.
"He's the one that runs the Training Halls as well as a combat instructor here at the Monastery." Caspar said. "He's out right now, but you should run into him sooner or later."
"I see. Well, hopefully after some lessons, that incident won't happen again." Isaac said.
"I hope so too." Caspar muttered embarrassed.
"That would be nice, but that wasn't the only part of the problem." A female voice said. Isaac and Caspar turned to see Dorothea approach them.
"Oh uh, hi Dorothea." Caspar stuttered nervously.
"Caspar." Dorothea said simply as she turned to Isaac. "So, you are one of the new professors now?"
"Yep. I teach the Golden Deer." Isaac said.
"Shame, but hopefully I'll see you around." Dorothea said.
"Same here. By the way, you weren't too hurt from that incident, where you?" Isaac asked.
"Just some burns that thankfully healed with no issue." Dorothea assured as she showed Isaac her fully healed hands to where she was hit.
"That's good." Isaac sighed in relief.
"Well, I'll just be going now." Caspar said sneaking away.
"Hang on Caspar. I need your help with something." Dorothea said as she grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away.
"That was something…" Isaac said as he headed inside the Training Halls.
"The Training halls was rather large. There were multiple rooms in the back that were a bit smaller, but they were all unoccupied at the moment. The walls though were filled with training weapons of multiple variety. Over to the side, Isaac saw Felix practicing with his sword. Though as soon as he spotted Isaac, he stopped and approached him.
"Here for some training?" Felix asked.
"Not at the moment, just walking around." Isaac said.
"I see." Felix said. "By the way. How strong are you?"
"How strong? Well, in a straight up sword fight, I usually come out on top over Byleth." Isaac said.
"Really? Interesting. I'm looking forward to the Mock Battle even more…and maybe your Psynergy class." Felix said.
"That's great. By the way. Dimitri said that you have the power to shoot fire correct?" Isaac asked.
"That's right. I have some ability over fire. I'd show you, but I can't at the moment." Felix said.
"Not a problem. I'll see it soon." Isaac said.
"What is your power by the way? I heard it's similar to the Boar." Felix asked.
"Boar?" Isaac asked confused.
"Dimitri." Felix clarified.
"Why did you call him a boar?" Isaac asked.
"Hopefully you'll never find out. But back to the question." Felix said.
"Oh right. Yes, I am an Earth Adept like Dimitri." Isaac said.
"I see. Well then, I'll catch you around Professor Isaac. Between you and Professor Byleth, I'll definitely get a good challenge here." Felix said as he went back to training.
Isaac nodded and headed out of the Training Halls, though on his way out the door, he bumped into Dimitri.
"Oh, my apologies professor, I didn't see you there." Dimitri said.
"It's fine. What are you up to?" Isaac asked.
"I was looking for Professor Byleth. I was hoping she could join me to eat as I get to know her more." Dimitri said.
"Last I saw she was fishing." Isaac said.
"Fishing? Thank you Professor. By the way, I hope you are looking forward to the mock battle. Mark my words though, the Blue Lions will not go down so easily." Dimitri said with a smile.
"I'm sure of it." Isaac smiled back.
Dimitri nodded and headed off.
There was one last place Isaac really wanted to visit. The Monastery itself.
Crossing the bridge, the building itself was massive. The inside was beautiful. The area was multi colorful with multiple rows of pews. At the front was a massive window that shined the sunlight from outside down in front of the alter. In front of said alter was Marianne praying.
Isaac approached her but didn't say a word as he didn't want to interrupt her. After a moment, she lifted her head and turned around.
"Did you need something professor?" Marianne asked.
"Just looking around. Sorry I interrupted you." Isaac said.
"Oh, it's fine. I was just finishing up. I-I'll see you later." Marianne said as she quickly left.
"She was quite in a hurry to leave." Isaac said.
Flint then appeared on his shoulder.
"Yeah but still, look at this place. We have never seen a church this big in Weyard." Flint said.
"Yeah. The Sanctums to pray for the Wise One don't even compare in size to this place." Isaac said amazed.
Isaac wondered around the monastery until it was time for the meeting. When evening came, Isaac arrived at the Audience Chamber where Rhea, Seteth, Byleth, Hanneman, and Manuela where waiting.
"Ah, professor Isaac. I see that Claude found you. Where were you this morning?" Seteth asked sternly.
"Researching and studying in the library." Isaac said as he took his spot next to Byleth.
"Well I'm glad you are taking your new position seriously." Rhea smiled. "But now that you're here, it is time we discuss the Mock Battle."
"Here are the rules of the Mock Battle. All training weapons will be provided at the start. You are to make a list of what you need tomorrow that I will collect at the end of the day. If any real weapons are found to be used, then the entire class will be disqualified. Magic spells are only allowed at a basic level of Fire or Miasma. Nothing stronger. Combat will end should you fall off your feet. Once you do, you are out. The House Leader and the Professor can be knocked out, but the class will only lose if all their members are knocked out. The last class standing is the winner. Any questions?" Seteth asked.
"No, but I do have a request. I advise that no Psynergy is used for the Mock Battle." Hanneman said as the others looked a bit surprised at him. "Now, I am not saying this because I am the only professor that can't use Psynergy, but until these students have a better grasp on it, it may not be wise for them to use it in a combat scenario. Less we want someone to get seriously hurt."
"I can see your point Hanneman. We definitely don't want another incident like that one from the other day. At least with Reason and Faith magic, the students that use it have had proper instructions and classes before attending here to have a solid control over them. Psynergy on the other hand was mainly self taught, and has had varying degrees of success. Until Professor Isaac can properly educate them to use it with better control, we will just run the risk of another incident happening like before." Manuela said.
"I guess I can't argue with that." Isaac admitted.
"That's fine." Byleth said.
"Don't worry kids. I'm sure you both can still give this old fossil a run for his money even without Psynergy." Manuela laughed as Hanneman glared at her.
"Very well. For the Mock Battle, there will be no Psynergy." Rhea said.
"Now that that is out of the way, let's move onto the training rooms." Seteth said getting to the next order of business. "Isaac and Byleth. You will be given a training room based on your house. The Black Eagles get training room A, the Blue Lions get training room B, and the Golden Deer get training room C. You will have full access to those rooms during the school year should you see the need to use them. However, if they are out of order, you will have to ether wait or negotiate with another Professor for the use of their training rooms. We usually do maintenance on Sundays though, so it shouldn't be an issue for the most part."
Isaac and Byleth nodded.
"Excellent. The Mock Battle is in a few days so get your class well prepared. I expect that you won't disappoint us." Seteth said and for some reason, Isaac felt it was directed more at him than the others.
"Understood." The three Professors said.
The Next day:
Golden Deer Classroom:
"What? We can't use Psynergy during the Mock Battle?!" Lysithea shouted rather upset.
"Sorry but that was a rule Hanneman and the Archbishop set out." Isaac said.
"Sounds to me like he didn't want a disadvantage." Claude chuckled.
"Maybe, but Lady Rhea declared it so there is nothing I can do about it. Plus, he and Manuela did make a good point. I may not have been there for this accident that Caspar did, but you are all rather new to using Psynergy. Unlike Fodlan Magic your control may not be as great and someone could get badly hurt if you're not careful." Isaac said.
"I totally have control over my Psynergy." Lysithea complained.
"I'm sure you do, but that's the rules I was given. You'll have to use Reason magic if you wish to use magic in the Mock Battle." Isaac said.
"Fine." Lysithea groaned.
"But for now, we are going to the training grounds to test your combat skills. Make sure you inform me of what weapons you want to use in the Mock Battle before the end of the day so I can give it to Seteth." Isaac said as he led the class out of the classroom.
Inside Training Room C:
"Alright so who wants to go first?" Isaac asked.
"I will. I want to see how a fellow student of Captain Jeralt does against me." Leonie said.
"Alright then. Choose your weapon." Isaac said grabbing a training sword. Leonie nodded grabbing a lance.
"Begin." Isaac said.
Leonie charged forward with her lance as Isaac dodged to the side. He then swung his sword at the orange haired student, but Leonie managed to block the attack…sort of. The force still knocked Leonie back a bit. Leonie recovered and attacked again, but Isaac intercepted every blow.
"Why aren't you using your little Psynergy?" Leonie demanded a bit insulted that Isaac wasn't taking this seriously.
"Several reasons actually. But first…" Isaac gave one final swing of his sword and knocked the lance out of Leonie's hands winning the match. "There is no Psynergy allowed in this training room at the moment, and second, I wanted to show that I have more than just my Psynergy."
"Oh…" Leonie said seeing her professor's point.
"Anyway, you're pretty skilled. Keep practicing and you'll do great." Isaac said before turning to the rest of his class. "Who's next?"
Once training was done, Isaac was sitting at his desk in the Golden Deer classroom making two separate notes. One was the list of weapons his students would require, and the other was his thoughts of each of the students fighting.
Claude: Very skilled with a bow but is pretty poor at close range fighting. Might need him to consider a secondary weapon to help with that.
Hilda: I feel she has much more potential than she lets on. Need to do something about that laziness and fast.
Lorenz: Skilled but arrogant. He cockiness might cause trouble in the future to both himself and others.
Lysithea: Incredibly skilled with magic, but there was something off about her during training. Her face kind of indicates that she wasn't thrilled showing it off. Her earlier disappointment to not being able to use Psynergy might relate. Perhaps in Psynergy class I'll see more of her skills.
Ignatz: All around all right with a bow (Still better than me) but his lack of self confidence will hold him back. Need to work on that.
Raphael: Reminds me a bit of Garret. He's incredibly strong, but he's too straight forward and reckless.
Marianne: Has worse self esteem than Ignatz. Definitely going to have to work on that if she's going to improve. Seems she can use Faith magic pretty well at least making her a good medic.
Leonie: A pretty good fighter, but still a novice. With some experience, she will definitely be a force to be reckon with.
Seteth entered the classroom and approached him.
"Do you have the list for the Mock Battle?" Seteth asked. Isaac just pointed to a piece of paper that was sitting on the side of the desk. Seteth just picked it up and left saying "Thanks."
And that's a wrap!
So, Isaac got to interact with a few students and Byleth got her first Djinn. As for the whole Sothis meeting thing, to be honest, I have no idea if that is possible or not. Djinn do apparently entered the bodies of the Adepts so maybe it's possible, but I won't blame you if you disagree. It's mainly for some humor moments with Sothis if anything.
Also fun fact: There is actually a Djinn that you get in Dark Dawn by having a guy fish it out. Granted it's not Claw, and probably Flayn would fit that better given her love of fishing, but Byleth needs a Djinn first so she got it.
But yeah. Claw is a Djinn from Golden Sun Dark Dawn that automatically joins you when Amiti joins the party.
Speaking of Dark Dawn, while there will be some elements from Dark Dawn used in this story (Like the term Jenni) I won't be using it as canon for this series. Not that I hate Dark Dawn mind you, it's definitely the weaker entry in the series, but I kind of feel it gets a little over-hated by some people. Anyway, I will likely be doing my own version of Dark Dawn following this series. Though that's not for a long time.
Anyway, next chapter is the beginning of the Mock Battle. Let's see if Isaac's team can pull off a win, or are they going to get crushed by Byleth and the Blue Lions? Or Hanneman and the Black Eagles? Stay tuned.
One last notice: If you have any requests on what character interactions you want to see in this story, speak now or forever hold your peace. You can give more than one suggestion.
On a different Nintendo note:
I did see the next Smash character...Well, this is probably the one I will care about the least since I really am not into Minecraft at all, but it is what it is.