Chapter 13 Psynergy 101
The first full week of classes went on as Isaac took notes on the interactions his students had with each other. He did notice some aggression with Lorenz when he interacted with Claude, but that wasn't surprising to Isaac. Still, he would have to see what that was all about sooner or later. There was also some teasing to Lysithea, though it didn't result in the same aggression that Lorenz had. Hilda had a tendency to pass her work on others and Marianne and Lysithea didn't interact too well with others. Marianne was just shy, and Lysithea would rather spend her time with her studying. At the very least, Isaac knew where to start now.
But that was going to have to wait a bit. Because today was Friday and his first Psynergy class would be starting soon.
Isaac was once again feeling nervous, but for different reasons than when he was assigned as the professor for the Golden Deer. Unlike with tactics, Isaac was great with his Psynergy. He had spent most of his life learning about it, especially the last six years ever since that one night.
No. Isaac's concern was the other elements. Isaac was a Venus Adept. He can show that off far better than the other elements, and he didn't have other Djinn with him to better show those elements. Still, he did know the basics of unleashing Psynergy so it should hopefully go well.
Isaac had just finished his lecture for the Golden Deer as the time for dismissal was here.
"Alright. For homework, I would like you write how you would fortify your troops from today's lesson to defend themselves and a village from bandits. The paper will be due Monday." Isaac said.
Most of the class got up and headed out, but Claude, Marianne, and Lysithea stayed behind and Isaac knew why.
"I suppose you three are excited for Psynergy training?" Isaac chuckled.
"Of course! I've been waiting all week for this!" Lysithea stated.
"What she said." Claude shrugged while chuckling.
"I…I guess so." Marianne muttered.
"Alright then. I told Byleth and Hanneman to meet me at the gate in fifteen minutes after class was done. Bring your preferred melee weapon." Isaac said.
"Wait. It's going to be outside?" Claude asked.
"Sort of. Not outside the walls fully, but in between the walls here. Shamir said she uses the spot for personal training. Still, better safe than sorry." Isaac said.
The three nodded and headed out to get their weapons.
Flint then appeared on Isaac's shoulder.
"You ready for this?" Flint asked.
"As ready as I'll be." Isaac sighed. He grabbed the Sol Blade and his Steel Sword that was laying against the wall behind his desk and headed out.
Isaac arrived at the gate to spot those that would be joining him for this class. Hanneman and Seteth were also there, though Isaac was already expecting them as Hanneman asked if he could, and Flayn warned him about Seteth earlier this week.
"Everyone is here?" Isaac asked.
"Yes. We everyone is accounted for." Byleth said.
"All right then. Let's head out." Isaac said.
The area was a nice opening in the forest-like area. Isaac had stood in front of the students who all took a seat on the grass aside from Shamir that was standing in the back.
"Since we are all already familiar with each other, we might as well get started. I want you all to start by breaking into groups." Isaac said.
"Based on class?" Caspar asked.
Isaac shook his head. "Based on Elements."
Most of the students didn't seem to mind, but Bernadetta and Marianne weren't too thrilled.
"First, I want Dimitri, Edelgard, Claude, and Byleth to step forward." Isaac said.
The four Isaac called did as they were told as they now stood in front of the class.
"I'll start by going over the elements. Psynergy is broken into four elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. We'll use the House Leaders along with Byleth as an example for this. I want you to go to the person that holds the same element as you." Isaac said as the four he called upon stepped forward. Isaac then walked to Dimitri.
"Dimitri here is a Venus Adept. Much like myself. Our powers consist around the manipulation of the Earth and plants. Venus Psynergy is capable of many things such as attacking with rocks and the lands, to summoning plants upon enemies. We also posses some healing capabilities. If your powers are similar to Dimitri, please join him.
Dedue and Shamir went to join Dimitri. Isaac then approached Edelgard.
"Edelgard is a Mars Adept. Their powers revolve around fire, lava, and heat. Mostly their powers are straight forward in attacking enemies with fire, but they can also manipulate the heat to mess with their opponents as well. If your powers are like Edelgard's, please join her.
Caspar and Felix joined Edelgard. Isaac then approached Claude.
"Claude here is a Jupiter Adept. Their powers are based on wind and thunder. Kind of like weather in a way. They can also call the wind to assist their allies in times of need. If your powers are like Claude's, please join him." Isaac said keeping the Mind Read power a secret. To his knowledge, none of the three had that power as Claude and Lysithea would have ether used it or asked about it by this point if they did. There was the possibility of Bernadetta, but considering how paranoid she is, she likely would have used it by now, and the others would have noticed Psynergy being used on them. Plus, in all fairness, Isaac really didn't understand the power all that well. If there was ever a need for an explanation, it would better be handled by ether Ivan or Sheba.
Lysithea joined Claude, but Bernadetta stayed put.
"Bernadetta, didn't you once tell me that you had powers like that?" Isaac asked.
Bernadetta shyly nodded.
"I need you to join Claude and Lysithea then. They won't bite." Isaac assured.
"I-I don't know…" Bernadetta muttered.
"Bernadetta." Edelgard called out making the girl jump. "I understand your fear of strangers, but if you are in this class, you must participate. Nothing bad will happen to you I will make sure of it."
"Yeah, come on Bernadetta, you can do it!" Caspar cheered.
Slowly, Bernadetta approached the two members of the Golden Deer, but she still kept a distance from them.
'About as best as I will get for the first day.' Isaac thought as he moved towards Byleth.
"By process of elimination, I'm sure you two can tell were you should go." Isaac said and Flayn and Marianne nodded. Flayn approached Byleth happily, but Marianne was hesitant.
"She won't hurt you Marianne, I promise. I trust Byleth with my life." Isaac assured and Marianne reluctantly agreed approaching the Blue Lion's Professor.
"Byleth here is a Mercury Adept. Her powers are of controlling water and ice that can be used to attack the enemies. Mercury Adepts are also capable of amazing healing powers." Isaac said.
Isaac looked at the four groups and nodded.
"These people in your groups will be your partners for this class. When your skills with Psynergy has improved, we will partner you up with others outside your elements." Isaac said. "Now let us begin training. Who would like to go first and show what they know?" Isaac asked
Lysithea immediately jumped at the opportunity much to Isaac's non shock.
"Alright Lysithea. Step forward." Isaac said and Lysithea did. "I want you to start by using a simple Whirlwind spell on this target."
Isaac set up a basic training dummy that he brought with him from the Monastery.
Lysithea nodded and held up her hands. "Whirlwind!" She called out.
To Isaac's surprise, Lysithea pulled off a great Whirlwind spell, blasting the dummy by sending it flying back a bit.
"Very impressive. You've definitely been practicing well on it." Isaac said.
"It wasn't easy. For a while, I wasn't able to do it no matter how hard I tried. I kept using it like I did reason magic, but it wouldn't work." Lysithea said.
"Yeah. Much like how Reason and Faith magic are not exactly the same thing, Psynergy isn't the same as Fodlan magic." Isaac said.
"Yes. My father gave it as a suggestion one day, and I decided to try it. I don't know how, but soon I was able to unleash it. Though I only just recently mastered that spell." Lysithea said.
"Well, that's what this class is for. Though your control is still a little lose, you did very well." Isaac smiled before turning to Claude. "Why don't we continue with the Jupiter Adepts first."
Claude stepped forward and raised his hand. "Whirlwind!"
Claude's Whirlwind was almost perfect. Much to everyone's shock.
"Th-That's amazing Claude." Isaac said surprised.
"Yeah. I've had some pretty good practice with it." Claude boasted. 'Helps when one of your best warriors back home also gets hit and picks it up rather quickly.'
Lysithea was also shocked by Claude's performance. "Was it because of that Djinn you did that so well?" Lysithea asked.
"Nope. Teach taught me yesterday how to put him on standby for this class." Claude said.
"Standby?" Lysithea asked.
"Later. Okay Bernadetta. Let's see what you got." Isaac said.
Bernadetta shyly stepped forward. "Wh-Whirlwind."
Bernadetta's whirlwind was rather weak and the wind barely stirred.
"I-I'm sorry it was pathetic!" Bernadetta cried.
"Hey, it's okay!" Isaac assured gripping Bernadetta's shoulders, trying to calm her down. "Look, not everyone is going to get it on their first try. Keep practicing and pretty soon, you'll be just as good if not better than Claude and Lysithea."
Bernadetta calmed down a bit at that as Isaac let her go.
"Y-You're not just saying that, right? Trying to soften me up and lead me into a false sense of security?" Bernadetta asked fearfully.
"I'm not. I'm telling the truth. If you work hard, you can accomplish great things." Isaac said.
Bernadetta slowly nodded, though she still felt unsure.
"I'm not expecting perfection on your first day here. Psynergy is still new to you all. Sure, some of you seem to pick it up better than others, but this demonstration is just to see where you're at. I'm not going to fail anyone for being unable to perform perfectly on their first try." Isaac said. He then turned to the Venus Adepts. "Why don't we have the Venus Adepts go next? Any volunteers?"
Dimitri stepped forward. "I would be honored to demonstrate."
Isaac nodded as he picked up the training dummy that was ripped from the wind. "I want you to use Move."
Dimitri nodded as he put his hand forward. "Move!"
A ghost hand appeared and pushed the dummy quite farther away.
"Impressive." Isaac praised as he picked up the dummy and placed it back to its original place. "Dedue, you're next."
Dedue stepped forward and thrust his hand forward. "Move."
The dummy didn't move as far as with Dimitri, but still pretty far.
"Not bad." Isaac said as he picked up the dummy and turned to Shamir. "You're next."
Shamir nodded and thrust her hand forward. "Move."
Shamir sent it flying quite a distance.
"Amazing." Isaac praised. Shamir smirked but said nothing.
Isaac then picked up the dummy and turned to the Mars Adepts. "Which of you want to be first?"
Felix turned to Edelgard. "You mind?"
"Not at all. It would be good to see how well you stack." Edelgard said.
Felix said nothing and stepped forward.
"I want you to use a simple Fireball spell." Isaac said and Felix nodded.
"Fire!" Felix called out as a fireball was shot at the dummy. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great ether. The fireball left a scorch mark on the dummy.
"Not too bad, but could use work." Isaac said.
"I usually train with my sword. This is the first time I started to train something else." Felix said.
"It would be a good idea to train with both. My friend Garet was great with a weapon and his Psynergy." Isaac said.
"Interesting. I kind of want to meet him now." Felix said thinking it would mean more people to train with.
"Sadly I have no idea where he is at the moment." Isaac admitted feeling concern for the man that was almost like a brother to him.
Edelgard then stepped forward. "I believe it is my turn now."
Isaac nodded.
"Fire!" Edelgard called out. She shot a strong fireball that blasted the target.
"Impressive Edelgard." Isaac praised.
"I will master any skill at my disposal to the best of my ability." Edelgard proudly declared.
"I will not deny that. You did wonderful." Isaac said with a smile.
"All right Caspar, you're next." Isaac said.
"All right!" Caspar cheered. "Fire!"
Caspar's fireball was a bit too big and unstable that it simply exploded knocking everyone back.
The Dummy was completely destroyed by the blast and the surrounding grass was on fire.
"Looks like it was a good idea for him to go last." Isaac muttered standing up and turning to Byleth who was also getting back up. "Byleth!"
Byleth nodded and stepped forward already knowing what to do. "Douse!"
A rain-cloud was summoned and poured water on the fire quickly putting it out.
"Impressive. Wish we had you back then." Hanneman chuckled as he picked himself up.
"This is why I'm glad we did it out here." Seteth muttered while placing a hand over his forehead.
"Is everyone okay?" Isaac called out.
"A little shaken, but we'll live." Claude said as everyone else picked themselves up.
"Caspar, that was reckless!" Edelgard scolded the blue-haired student.
"Sorry." Caspar muttered sheepishly.
"Your control is way too lose. You need to put more focus in your attacks, or you can end up hurting your friends and yourself." Isaac scolded.
"Sorry." Caspar apologies again.
"Well, may as well continue. Flayn, Marianne, use Douse on the burned area." Isaac instructed and the two nodded.
Flayn stepped forward. "Douse!"
Flayn's Douse was able to form this time, but sadly, the rain was nowhere near as powerful as Byleth's.
"Oh darn." Flayn muttered feeling dejected.
"Hey, it's like I told Marianne, just keep practicing." Isaac assured putting a hand on Flayn's shoulder.
Flayn smiled and Isaac smiled back.
Seteth coughed getting their attention.
"Er sorry." Isaac chuckled awkwardly as Seteth glared at him. He then turned to Marianne. "You're turn."
Marianne placed her hands in front of her. "Douse."
Some raindrops fell, but not much.
"Not bad for a first try." Isaac smiled.
"Sorry." Marianne muttered.
Alright. So, it seems that many of you do have a good hold on Psynergy, while some of you still need work. So first we are going to spend some time working on basics." Isaac said as he leaned towards Byleth. "Stay close to Caspar." He whispered.
Byleth nodded.
Time went on for the class as everyone kept practicing. Thankfully, Caspar didn't explode anymore fireballs like before, but his control was still lacking. Isaac walked around giving any assistants he could. Thankfully, the House Leaders and Byleth had a good grasp on their element, but they were still beginners themselves. When it would soon come to learning more powerful Psynergy, they would likely be of little help themselves and Isaac could really only help Dimitri, Dedue, and Shamir. He really hoped that he could find the others soon, for many reasons.
Isaac noticed that his class time was almost up thanks to Seteth, but there was still one more thing he had to teach this class.
"Okay everyone. Gather together again." Isaac called out and everyone did. "Class is just about over, but I do have one more thing for you to learn, but I won't be teaching it."
Everyone looked confused.
"And why is that?" Edelgard asked. If Isaac wasn't teaching then who was?
"Because it's better left in the hands of an expert." Isaac said as Flint appeared right in front of him.
"Hi there!" Flint chirped.
"You. You're that creature we saw in the Mess Hall before." Dimitri said surprised.
"This creature has a name! I'm Flint!" Flint retorted.
"Err, sorry." Dimitri muttered embarrassed.
"Anyway, Flint here is going to explain to you all about Djinn." Isaac said as he stood aside for Flint to take the stage.
"Right. So, I am what is called a Venus Djinn. We Djinni are elemental entities that contain pure Psynergy. We are also an Adept's greatest ally." Flint explained as he took out his white teaching stick.
"I fail to see how something so small and weak is supposed to be our greatest ally." Felix dismissed.
*WHAM*
"As you can all see, an attack from me is really strong." Flint said as he stood over Felix that laid sprawled over the ground with a bump on his head.
"Yes, I see." Dimitri said rather surprised.
"I'm going to kill that thing." Felix groaned on the ground.
"Anyhow, we Djinni can boost the powers of an adept, and even allow them to unleash even more power. My Djinni brethren were separated when the Sol Sanctum was robbed. Isaac and his friends found most of them, but they seem to have gotten lost upon our arrival here. If you do see one, I would suggest bonding with them. Some of us are rather peaceful, but others would like to have you prove your strength first." Flint said. "When we bond with an adept, we can increase their powers and even help them unlock access to even more Psynergy that they wouldn't normally be able to do."
"Like Flint said before, he's a Venus Djinn. There are Djinn for the other three elements as well. The ones you saw yesterday was a Jupiter Djinn with Claude, and a Mercury Djinn with Byleth. Sadly, we don't have a Mars Djinn to show, but the affects you will see will applies the same none the less." Isaac said.
"So, I should be on the hunt for these Venus Djinn to help get stronger?" Shamir asked.
"Yes and no. You can bond with any type. In fact, sometimes, bonding with Djinn that aren't your element can produce different affects. Mainly the whole unlocking Psynergy you wouldn't normally use." Flint said.
"Before I arrived here, I had more Djinn than just Flint as did my friends. We would swap Djinn every now and then to try and get a feel to what they can help with. That's how I had practice on Mars, Jupiter, and Mercury Psynergy." Isaac said.
"You can even mixed Djinn with different elements on you as well. You aren't limited to only one type of Djinn at a time. In fact, there are actually pros and cons to using multiple types of Djinn as opposed to using only one type of djinn." Flint said.
"And those are?" Claude urged for an answer.
"You'll have to figure that out yourself. It's better to learn them from a first hand experience." Flint said much to the class's disappointment.
"That and we don't have enough Djinn with us to even demonstrate that." Isaac added.
"Now, one last thing. We don't like to be piled on one person. We like to be shared evenly among your group." Flint said a bit sternly.
"Is there a reason for that?" Claude asked curiously.
"It seems more of what they prefer, but do keep in mind that Djinn do offer to help us. It wouldn't hurt to follow along with some of their rules." Isaac said.
"I guess that's fair." Dimitri admitted.
"Now then. Byleth, step forward. We are going to give a demonstration of Djinn use in battle." Isaac said. Byleth nodded and stood forward facing Isaac. Both had a training sword in hand.
"To call upon a Djinn, simply say its name. Like this. Flint!" Isaac called out. An image of Flint appeared above Isaac as his sword glowed with yellow energy. Isaac charged forward and attacked Byleth. Byleth met the blade with her own, but the extra power of the Djinn, caused Byleth to fall back to the ground.
"Professor! Are you okay?" Dimitri cried out in concern.
"I'm fine. That is not the first time Isaac and I did this." Byleth assured getting up. "You ready for me to try mine now?"
Isaac nodded.
"Claw!" Byleth cried out. Like with Flint, an image of Claw appeared above Byleth as her sword glowed blue. She charged forward and attacked Isaac. He blocked the attack, but the force sent him skidding back.
"Impressive. Is that all Djinn can do?" Edelgard asked.
"No. Some have different effects. Some can make shields, some can heal, some can mess with your foes, and some like you saw, can attack." Isaac said and Edelgard nodded.
Byleth looked concerned.
"Is something the matter professor?" Dimitri asked.
"I-I can't feel Claw." Byleth said much to everyone minus Claude and Isaac's surprise.
"Hey, I'm not complaining." Sothis commented rather happily from inside of Byleth's head.
"When you use a Djinn, they enter what is known as standby mode. When they are in this mode, you don't gain any benefits from the Djinn. To return them to set, just focus on the Djinn." Isaac instructed.
Byleth nodded and did just that. Soon enough, she was able to feel Claw inside her again.
"Did you miss me?" Claw asked in her head.
"With every kick so far." Sothis grumbled in annoyance.
"When a Djinn is in standby mode, you can also use them to Summon, but that is not something we are going over today." Isaac said.
"Summon? Summon what? What is that?" Caspar asked.
"Sorry but, you guys aren't ready for summoning yet. It's too dangerous." Isaac said firmly. The others groaned.
"Now one final thing before we head back." Isaac said taking out a Psynergy crystal from his pocket. Some got worried.
"Are you sure you should be holding that thing? It caused a lot of people to get sick hen they fell. Myself included." Shamir asked.
"Not to worry. Those Psynergy crystals were a different matter. Now they have cooled off and are safe to touch." Isaac assured as those worried breathed a sigh of relief.
"I remember Hubert picking one up before, and nothing happened to him." Edelgard reminded Isaac.
Isaac nodded. "It would actually be wise to grab some when you find them. Psynergy crystals can actually restore your Psynergy power rather quickly when it runs out. They can really save you in long fights, but you need to be careful. They can only be used once as they break after use. So don't use them recklessly." Isaac instructed as he put away the crystal.
"I do believe that time is up. We should head back to the Monestary now." Seteth called out.
Isaac nodded as he turned to his class. "I don't have any actually homework for you, but I do want you to keep practicing when you get the chance. Next week, we will go over Utility Psynergy."
"Utility Psynergy?" Lysithea asked.
"Psynergy that is really useful outside of battle." Isaac said.
With that, the class got up and started to head back. Though Caspar headed right up to Isaac with an eager look on his face.
"So, where can I find a Djinn?" Caspar asked Isaac excited.
"I don't really have any advice other than keep your eyes peeled." Isaac said much to Caspar's disappointment. "Djinn are living creatures, and they tend to just go where ever they want. I honestly don't have any idea that can guarantee where one could be."
"I already found my first Djinn, so that puts me ahead. You two jealous?" Claude asked Edelgard and Dimitri with a smirk causing the two to glare at him. This caused Claude to laugh in response. Those two were just too easy sometimes.
"I would like to find one soon." Flayn smiled before turning to Seteth. "You'll help me, right brother?"
"We'll…talk about it later Flayn." Seteth said unsure how he felt about having these Djinn with them.
"If you three don't mind, I would love to study one if you can find one." Hanneman said to his students.
"No problem professor! I'll find one faster than you know it." Caspar declared.
While some like Felix and Shamir stayed quiet, the rest of the new Adepts started talking about finding Djinn when they got a chance. Isaac had other things in mind though.
'Well, now that that's out of the way, back to my other missions. Find my friends, find the rest of my Djinn, figure out how to get back home, and prepare my students for their first mission.' Isaac thought as they headed back to the Monastery. Though as they walked, Isaac couldn't help but feel someone was watching him the entire class time.
A figure in a cloak ran off before he could be spotted by the returning students.
Djinni Fact of the Day!
Flint: Hi, I'm Flint! This here is my new segment where I talk about a Djinn and what it can do. So, for my first Djinn, I'm going to do...me!
Name: Flint
Attribute: Earth
Stats: HP +8 / PP +4 / ATK +3
Origin: Golden Sun.
Original Location: Right outside of Vale
Flint: When in battle, I can boast my partner's physical attack with the power of Venus, increasing their power by 60%. I'm also one of Isaac's best friends! Right buddy?
Isaac (Squealing): Like totally! I knew that when we met that we would be BFFs for life!
Flint (Squealing): Like totally!
Isaac and Flint: Are you two jealous?
Garet and Forge (Flatly): As if!
Flint: This has been Flint's Djinni Fact of the Day! Thank you for watching!
And that's a wrap!
In case you couldn't tell, I love the Golden Sun 4 Koma.
Now as for the thing with Claude, I don't fully know why, but when I think of Almyra, I kind of think of Goku and how quick he can learn new techniques. Maybe because I watched a lot of Dragon Ball Z as a kid. Still, I kind of went with that for Almyra. We only got so much on them, so there is quite a bit of creative liberties to take here.
Anyhow, as you can see in this chapter, others along with the students were hit by the crystals. (I mean aside from the Ashen Wolves as well) This means allies and enemies that will appear later in the story will also have Psynergy. Not all of them obviously, but do be prepared to see some Psynergy fights in the future.
As for first Djinn, Edelgard and Dimitri will get their first Djinn before the first mission just like in the original.
And speaking of Djinn, I did mostly decide on the classes for everyone. All the Golden Sun characters will stick with mono classes, but the others will have a mixture of mono and multiple element classes. This will also help cover the elements the classes won't have, since I know some were concerned about that in the original. So don't worry. Each class will eventually have access to all four elements regardless of which adepts they have in class.
As for the changes I am making to summons, I will go over that when Isaac teaches them in class.
Anyway, next time, Isaac continues his time as a professor while trying to get his students to bond better. Be sure to follow and review and I will see you guys next time.