["Learning Lessons" - Fire Emblem: Three Houses]

Blue Lion classroom

As they filed into the classroom, Robin just had to awe, if only a little bit, at the grand glass window and the vaulted ceiling (and this is just a classroom). He found himself shuffling to a spot in the back of the room while the remaining students came in and situated themselves; the last two being a tall girl with a long blonde braid and a smaller girl with hair near the same shade as Lady Rhea.

"Felix... Ingrid... Flayn- good," Byleth said to himself at the front of the class, "we're all here." He stopped to situate a handful of papers on the desk before resuming. "Once again, congratulations on everyone's part earlier. That being said, what thoughts does anyone have in regard to that?"

"Well, it was dark," said a youth with big eyes and ragged gray hair.

"Some of those corridors were definitely crowded," said a serious looking young man with raven black hair.

"Agreed," said a laidback redheaded young man, "I would prefer to fight in a field, or at the very least, outdoors."

"Why is that?" Byleth posed to the class. "What was so difficult about indoor fighting that most of you would rather fight anywhere but?"

"Mainly lack of space," answered the young lady with the blonde braid. "My spear kept hitting the walls."

"And yet..." Byleth added, "it is inevitable that we will no doubt have to fight in such circumstances again. With that in mind, how can we impro- no, better yet, what can we do so that we are 'more comfortable' with indoor fighting?"

A few moments of silence hung in the-

"Perhaps- no."

"Yes Annette?" A little redheaded girl flushed a little but responded regardless.

"Ah... well... I was wondering, maybe use of magic, but that could cause more problems, right? Like, if you use fire to push back some enemies, but then risk the building catching on fire."

"That's true," said Byleth, "not necessarily magic itself, but fire especially, both natural and magic, will always be more difficult to work with. Generally, keep fire away from anything flammable and you should be alright. How else could we amend our indoor fighting? Perhaps, positioning? Should we alter how we bear our weapons under such circumstances?"

"Heavy shields could be useful," said Dimitri, "but that would drastically reduce our mobility."

"Not to mention we're already hampered by narrow walls," the raven-haired youth added.

"So? How do we maintain our mobility in tight spaces or..." Byleth raised a finger, "perhaps compensate for the lack thereof?"

"Generally," said the laidback redhead, "I would think you place the shield in front, then spearmen behind followed by archers- wait."

"You realize the problem with that Sylvain?" said the girl with the blonde braid. "You can't exactly resort to archery indoors."

"That's not it," Sylvain said back. "Besides, speaking of archery, how did Mercedes and Ashe fair?"

"Not bad, I think," answered gray-haired Ashe, frowning in recollection. "It was difficult, but I was able to get a few shots in."

"Same here," added Mercedes, the young woman who greeted him earlier, "but we still couldn't do much. Not unless we can figure a way to loose arrows around corners."

"And it will take more than magic to achieve that," Annette pointed out.

"Do you have any ideas Flayn?" the blonde with the braid inquired of the green-haired girl sitting next to her. So that's Seteth's sister.

"Well... nothing in particular comes to mind. But maybe..." she rested a cheek on her right hand, "maybe we could blind the enemy-ah, but that would only work if its dark."

"No," Byleth urged, "that is something we can do. Indoors, even in well-lit halls, light is often diminished to the extent where a sudden brightness could knock anyone off balance. The cinch, is to keep your allies from being blinded in turn."

"What if we did the opposite?" wondered the raven-haired youth.

"What do you mean Felix?" asked Annette.

"What if we found a way to darken the area?"

"But wouldn't that make it worse to fight in?" asked Ashe.

"Yes," said Byleth, "reducing the amount of light is still another tactic, and arguably easier to achieve, depending on how you do it."

I see, Robin thought as he looked on, these kids are actually pretty smart on their own. Byleth got everything going by stating a problem to work on. Then he would offer some vague suggestions, and then he would step back and only step in again to keep the conversation going. As the discussion continued, Byleth would sometimes stop everything to explain a particular aspect or he would note some stuff on the blackboard, prompting the students to write down the notes in their journals.

He should probably make some notes too.

["Learning Lessons" - END]

Some hours later, Robin stayed by the door as Byleth chatted with the students who stayed to talk to him. They weren't just having small talk with him either. Byleth is a very good teacher, for his students to continue seeking knowledge from him when class was over.

Not long after that, the last student left and Byleth gathered up some papers before striding to the door.

"Not too boring I hope?"

"Not at all," Robin replied earnestly. "I was actually more interested with how the students were learning. Are they usually that lively." Byleth shrugged.

"Usually. Sometimes it just depends on the day. Come on, let me show you around."

The dorms, the bathhouse, cafeteria, armory, the aforementioned greenhouse, Byleth showed Robin around just as he promised, sometimes pausing so Byleth could converse with the random staff member.

"You do more than just teach here?" Byleth shrugged again.

"People just like to talk to me. I'm not sure why. I was known as the Ashen Demon before coming to work here. But, then again, not many know of me from that time. But all that matters- now what?" They both stopped as a dusk-skinned boy hurried up to them.

"Professor Byleth, Professor Robin."

"Cyril," Byleth greeted coolly, "has something come up."

"No, not in that sense." He nodded toward Robin. "Professor Hanneman wants to speak to you; you can find him in his office."

"Professor Hanneman..." Robin repeated before nodding back. "Okay, I'll go see him then." Cyril bowed his head and hurried off.

"That's Cyril," said Byleth, jerking his thumb at the boy. "He's from the land of Almyra. Lady Rhea saved his life, somehow, and now he's her loyal errand boy."

"He seems dutiful enough."

"Ah," Byleth waved his hand, "anyone can develop a serious work ethic, but Cyril would labor to divert a river if Lady Rhea asks for a glass of water. I often wonder whether or not he thinks of anything else of his own volition."

"So he's a juvenile 'yes man'?"

"More or less. He's also the one who was pointing an arrow at your head on Seteth's orders."

"Oh, I see." So... Cyril would basically do anything as long as Rhea or Seteth orders it, even fight. "And what about this Professor Hanneman?"

"Oh he's harmless. Hanneman is one of the primary teachers and an avid crest scholar."

"Crest scholar?"

"Yes, he's very knowledgeable."

"Okay, I definitely want to talk to him then." Robin then faltered. "Where is his office?"

"In the same building as Lady Rhea's office; second floor, down the hall, second door on the right. Stay away from the first door, that's Seteth's office."

["A Dark Sign" - Fire Emblem: Three Houses]

Robin found the room easily enough and was greeted by a tall man with grey hair, mustache, goatee and a bronze framed monocle.

"A pleasure to finally meet you," the man received him, offering a hand which Robin shook, "Professor Hanneman von Essar at your service."

"Professor Robin, nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Who moved back to his desk, moving stacks of papers he was no doubt scrutinizing before Robin entered. "I apologize if you're still settling in, but there's just something I need to know about our new professor."

"I'm an open book, what do you want to know?"

"I want to know if you bear a crest." Uhh...

"I'm not exactly one of grand prestige." Hanneman looked genuinely puzzled at Robin's remark before arriving at an epiphany.

"Oh, I'm not referring to heraldry. I mean the crest in your blood."

"Beg your pardon?"

"Crests are power incarnate, said to have been bestowed upon humans by the goddess countless ages ago. They exist within the flesh, and are passed down through bloodlines. Those who carry Crests may excel at magic, display exceptional strength, or any number of boons. Each Crest has its own power, the nature of which is beyond mortal understanding. Though said understanding is slowly growing."

"I don't suppose you have an example so I can tell what exactly you are talking about?"

"The cheek! Of course I do! See here." Hanneman held up a gloved hand, palm inward, and made a light fist. A minute circle of light appeared on the back of his hand, within was a trio of symmetric squiggles in the vague shape of a bird or dragonfly. "This is my crest, the sigil of the water dragon, or the Crest of Indech. A minor crest, but a crest nonetheless."

"I see. And you think I have one as well?" The crest vanished as Hanneman lowered his arms.

"Well, I don't know. Most people don't, but some do. You are, according to Lady Rhea and Seteth, a foreigner, so chances of you having one are rather nil. But, Byleth was also a shot in the dark and he has a very potent crest. If you do have a crest, then all the better our knowledge of the subject. A worthy gamble, wouldn't you say?"

"Given what you told me, yes, absolutely. Just... how do we check?"

"Just hold your hand over the circle here." He motioned to the purple diagram on the floor of his office. Sounds simple enough, assuming nothing sinister leaps up and grabs him. Robin stood in front of the circle and held his right hand over the markings.

Nothing...

"Umm... I can't see my shadow. Is this norm-" a knarled set of wings, each with three eyes. Robin instantly recoiled.

"Don't fret, that's normal," Hanneman explained, struggling to contain his excitement. "Please, put your hand back." Does he NOT know that accursed symbol? Robin obliged. He put his hand back, and the sign reemerged over the purple diagram.

"Absolutely astonishing," Hanneman breathed, adjusting his monocle, "at first I thought it was a Crest of Timotheos, which would be rare enough on its own account. But upon an actual look, I must admit I do not recognize this crest. At least its small enough to fit on the circle itself, unlike Byleth's enormous mark. As far as I know, it's a brand new crest, a-where did you come from?"

"Archanea."

"The first Archanean crest. I hesitate to even try and put a name to it."

"I know what it is."

"You do?" Robin withdrew his hand.

"But that's impossible!"

"Pardon?"

"This is no mere mark of power," Robin explained, his voice low somewhat as he began rubbing his right hand, "this is a curse."

"Oh come now, a crest is a crest. An indicator of devine power, not an indication of a person's character."

"This is anything but devine, Professor. This is the Mark of Grima."

"Grima..."

"But that's impossible."

"What do you mean by that?" Robin forced himself to take a deep breath.

"Grima was the Fell Dragon. His followers were responsible for much death and destruction in Archanea."

"Fell Dragon... so my instinct wasn't far off. Timotheos is known as the Sign of the Dark Dragon."

"But Grima is dead-should be dead."

"Is it?"

"It should be, I should know; I made the killing blow!" Robin ran his fingers through his hair. "The Mark used to be on my skin, the back of my hand. It vanished when Grima died, so Grima should be dead!"

"Hmm..." Hanneman stroked his chin. "Maybe, assuming this is a curse, as you say, perhaps the curse is merely diminished. Maybe the curse remains, but is no longer powerful enough to be hazardous." Robin took another deep breath.

"That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"But it is a possibility, yes?"

"Yes."

"And also, crests are passed on by blood."

"Ah, that makes sense."

"You get what I'm saying?"

"I do." Robin had started to pace a little bit. He turned to Hanneman. "Can you do me a favor?" Hanneman crossed his arms.

"Depends."

"Can you keep this... Crest of Grima secret?"

"Does it pose a threat to the students or anyone else here."

"No; not to my knowledge, now that the dragon is dead."

"Then I will keep your secret." Robin sighed in reli- "In exchange," eragh! "allow me to study your crest-curse-mark and record it in my private writings." *sigh*

"Of course, feel free Professor."