New chapter, finally! I don't have an excuse for this one taking so long, it was just hard to write, I guess. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 12: Lesson Plan
I don't know what the general consensus is amongst trained soldiers, but if you were to ask me what the most important thing to have in combat is, I would say "options." Skill, strength, speed, all are useful, but nothing is more important to me than having the tools for any situation. This has become all the more important to me since my last disaster of a fight.
If I had some sort of ranged option, I wouldn't have done something idiotic like throwing my battle axe. If I hadn't thrown my battle axe, I might have been able to fight that swordsman off without nearly maiming myself. I look down at my hands and wince, the pale lines of scarring still clearly visible against my palms and fingers. Any worse damage and I'd have never been able to draw again, let alone fight.
Still a little odd to me how that last point has become such a priority in my life.
I mulled it over for a while, and asked some of the other Shepherds, and in the end decided on a pair of hand axes. Virion offered to train me in archery, but the success of my gambit to save Donnel is still fresh in my mind. And the idea of throwing axes at my enemies is just cool as hell to me.
Khan Flavia was generous enough to provide equipment for any Shepherds who require it, so getting the axes was easy. I also managed to get some armored gloves, so that my hands won't get so fucked next time I'm caught off guard. The armoring is on the back of the gloves, mind you, but it should still be good to have some sort of protection.
Less easy than obtaining the axes has been learning how to properly use these things. There's a short list of people in the Shepherds who can use a throwing axe. Vaike has the most experience, but he still pretty much hates my guts. And Frederick…
I'm not really ready to face him one on one yet. Not after that shit show three days ago.
I consider using the training grounds in the keep, but there's far too many soldiers around who know of me. The thought of trying to learn anything while they're all standing around judging me is far from appealing. And if they see me practising the same thing I used to kill one of their men I'll probably get fucking lynched.
So in the end I bundle up in my Canada clothes and practise throwing axes in the middle of the woods. I head out early in the morning, and work my throwing arm until my fingers go numb. It takes several hours; the Feroxi make damn good gloves. Of course wearing the gloves means my hands get blistered as hell, since the gloves rub against areas I don't have calluses built up yet.
Which means that in the interest of continuing the practise I have to see Lissa during lunch. As tends to be the case with Lissa, things get out of hand rapidly after that.
"So… is there anyone in the Shepherds you didn't invite?" I look over at Lissa, who beams at me from beneath the hood of a vivid blue parka.
"Well Chrom, Robin, and Frederick are busy finishing the details for our job, so they were out. But other than that I invited pretty much everyone!" Lissa replies, proudly looking around the clearing I've been practising in. "Miriel and Vaike said they were busy though. And I couldn't find Kellam."
"Really?" I look over Lissa's head and see Kellam chatting with Sully a short distance away. "Well looks like somebody picked him up along the way. That or he just happened to be nearby when you were inviting somebody else."
"What?" Lissa turns around in bewilderment, looking around the clearing for several moments before she finally notices him. "Oh geez, well at least he isn't left out."
"That's Kellam for you, rarely noticed, but always present." I chuckle. "So, I get why Vaike isn't here, but what's Miriel doing?"
"I think she's studying some type of spellcasting, something about infusing magic into something? I dunno. You know how hard she can be to follow when she gets all worked up. She strings so many crazy long words together you can't understand a word she's saying."
"I hear you. Gotta really work my brain to keep up." I nod along, readying my axes. "Alright, let's see here…"
My target, a section of the tree where I scraped the bark off, rests on the far side of the clearing. I take my time lining up the shot, while Lissa shoos the others out of the way.
"Okay, before I throw this, I'd like to remind everyone that I have never done this before today. Sorry Donnel, saving your life doesn't count."
"Well gosh Mister Benjamin, I hope you don't mind if I disagree on that one!" Donnel replies with a grin, sending a wave of chuckles through the group. I grin at the rebuttal, an effective way to hide the cringe that always threatens to break free when I'm called 'Mister Benjamin'. Goofball kid just can't seem to drop that habit.
The clearing goes quiet in anticipation. I line up the shot once more for good measure, raise the axe, and take three steps. I bring my arm down and release the axe just above eye level. It flies across the clearing, veers slightly right, and shaves another chunk of bark off the side of the tree.
I click my tongue in annoyance, ready my second axe, and throw it the same way. This time the axe hits the target, but with the eye rather than the blade. It bounces off the tree with a loud thump, falling in the snow.
"Damn." I sigh, running a hand through my hair. "Not my best performance."
"Oh I don't know about that. For your first day that's not bad." Stahl replies with a grin. "Mind if I have a try?"
"Not at all man, go for it." I pass him the axe that bounced and go further in to retrieve the one that missed. Once that's done I take a turn on the sidelines, settling in next to Donnel and Severa.
"He's not wrong, you know." Severa remarks as I walk up. "You seem to have the fundamentals at least."
"You know how to do this stuff?" I look over at her curiously.
"My uncle taught me." She replies, looking aside with a scowl.
I should have figured my future self would pick up a skill like that. "Damn, should have asked you, I guess."
"Obviously." She grumbles, frowning as Stahl's toss sends the axe straight into the ground in the middle of the clearing. "Geez, he's holding on to it for way too long."
"Want to show us how it's done then?"
"What?" Severa looks up at me, surprised.
"Show us how to do it." I nod at her. "You know what you're doing, so I'm sure we could benefit from your example."
"Or I could not, how about that?" Severa blushes and turns away. "I don't like being the center of attention."
"Fair enough." I shrug and look to Sumia as she lines up a throw. "It's hardly something I'm the most comfortable with either."
"Really?" Severa looks up at me dubiously, before muttering quietly enough that only I can hear her. "You always seemed to like attention when you were teaching us."
"Guess I'm just not… Huh. Probably shouldn't tell you this, might be weird again." I pause and think about it for a minute.
"Weird how?" Severa gives me a curious look.
"Well, last time I mentioned my self-image issues you weren't a fan. Not that I can fault you for that." I frown and turn away to stare studiously at the trees across the clearing. "Not like it's a fun topic."
Severa looks stricken, like she desperately wants to argue with me, but in the end she can't seem to come up with a proper rebuttal. She gives up, turns back to the group, and winces as Sumia trips with the axe and nearly takes Stahl's eye out.
"Holy shit, Sumia, you need to talk to Flavia about getting those damn boots replaced!" I exclaim in horror, running over as Stahl lies back and takes gasping breaths. "You're gonna get somebody killed at this rate."
"I'm sorry! I've been so much better lately, I just got a bit careless!"
"Geez girl, just because you're a badass Pegasus Rider again doesn't mean you have it all together, huh?" Sully chuckles nervously. "Ben's got a point about those shoes, might want to switch them while we can."
"I know." Sumia sighs despondently. "I'm just rather attached to these boots. They're the same pair I wore when I was first training."
The way she always seems to fall over while wearing them makes me wonder if they weren't another assassination attempt in disguise.
"You can keep them if they mean that much to you, but if you wear those in a battle on the ice you'll break your neck for sure." Sully claps Sumia on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go find you some now, I've gone through enough riding boots to know what to look for."
"Ohh… okay." Sumia sighs and lets Sully lead her back to Gelida Dominus.
"How you doing there, Stahl?" I look down in concern at the still-hyperventilating knight.
"Oh he's fine, that axe didn't even touch him." Lissa waves a hand dismissively.
"Easy for you to say! I saw my life flash before my eyes!" Stahl moans piteously.
"I'll defer to the doctor's expertise on this one." I reply with a smirk, rolling my eyes at Lissa as she giggles. "But in the meantime, I'll take another crack at this."
"Feel free." Stahl replies. "I think when it comes to ranged options, I'll stick to bows."
"Indeed?" Virion looks over in sudden interest. "Stahl, my good man, I never realized you were a man of such refined tastes!"
"I actually did a lot of hunting when I was a kid." Stahl explains, sitting up. "I fell out of practise a bit when I became a knight, but the skills never leave you really."
"Like riding a bike." I comment.
"What?" Stahl looks up at me blankly.
"Oh, uhh, just a saying from back home." I clear my throat awkwardly and take my throwing stance again. "Don't mind me."
Stahl seems to take my words to heart, going to chat some more with Virion, and I start throwing axes again in an attempt to feel less out of place. Learn to fight like a proper soldier, learn to fit in to this society, learn to stop referencing a world only I know.
It works quite well, as per usual. Training always seems to serve to keep my mind occupied. I improve more as the day goes on, taking breaks to let the others learn as well. Donnel takes to it immediately, clearly comfortable with splintering trees into mulch, and displaying his godlike propensity for learning. Others, like Stahl and Virion, figure out the basics of the technique after some practise, but lack the interest to pursue the talent further.
The biggest surprise has to be Lissa, who accurately throws axes despite having what must be the worst form I've ever seen. The girl hardly even aims, and leans into her throw so hard that at one point she literally somersaults as the axe leaves her hand. Every single one of her throws hits the target near the center, and I find myself exchanging looks of dismay with Severa at the weird talent she has for nailing the target.
"Woohoo!" Lissa cheers triumphantly, even as she struggles to pull herself out of the snowbank she rolled into. I walk over to help her, but find to my surprise that Frederick has materialized out of the woods to come to her rescue. "I'm amazing at this!"
"It's certainly some kind of amazing." Sully replies, walking into the clearing with a bemused grin, "Hey team, found a few newcomers while we were out shoe shopping."
"I was wondering where everyone had gotten to." Chrom says with a grin as he walks into the clearing, Robin and Sumia close behind him. "Practising with ranged options, are we?"
"It was mostly Ben's idea, but I figured, the more the merrier!" Lissa replies, bouncing in place as Frederick dusts her off. "And now I'm winning! Chrom, can I have an axe?"
Chrom and I share a mutual look of horror, and the princess immediately begins pouting. "What the heck is that look about? I've been hitting the target every time, it's not like I'm Sumia!"
"Excuse me?" Sumia replies indignantly.
"You know what you did!" Stahl yells across the clearing, causing everyone present to burst into laughter.
Lissa isn't so easily sidetracked though (at least not this time). As soon as the laughter dies down she turns back to Chrom and starts demanding her own axe again. After a minute or so of largely one sided arguing he sends me a desperate glance, prompting me to sigh and step in.
"Lissa, throw the axe one more time, will you?" I say, taking the axes from an eager-to-help Donnel and passing one to her.
"Alright!" Lissa beams, accepting the axe and turning to Chrom with a grin. "I'll show you what I'm made of, just watch!"
She lifts the axe with both hands, winds up, and hurls her whole body forward into the toss, falling flat on her face in the snow. Once again the axe strikes the center of the target. Lissa whoops, eying the target from the ground and moves to get up, but finds herself unable to move.
This is because I've placed the back of my axe firmly against her shoulders. "You're dead, Lissa."
"What?" She looks back at me with a grin. "Come on, stop goofing off Ben, let me up."
"Nope, you're dead, you have to lie still now." I shrug.
"What are you talking about?" her smile fades, shifting into confusion.
"He's applying your throw to a battle scenario, my lady." Frederick answers, giving me an approving nod. "If this were a proper fight, your manner of throwing would undoubtedly result in your death."
"What, no, come on, I hit the thing!" She waves at the tree. "I killed the enemy!"
"You killed one enemy, and in return, left yourself so wide open that I didn't even have to try to kill you." I reply. "A battle is not a series of one vs one fights. Focus only on the enemy in front of you and you'll be struck down by their companions. Remember what happened to me the day we first met?"
Lissa gulps at that, no doubt remembering the sight of my bloody body slumped against a wall. "There's no guarantee it'll go like that, though." She protests weakly.
"No guarantee it won't, either." I lift my axe from her shoulders. "Can't take that sort of risk in a fight. Bad things happen even if you think you're being careful. Remember our last big mission? Donnel and Maribelle almost died because I wasn't being careful enough, and that was at our own base of operations. Even the smallest risks can lead to death. And that face-plant is what we call a big risk."
Mentioning Maribelle's close call seems to seal the deal for Lissa. She sighs heavily, and holds up a hand in surrender. "Alright, point made." She hangs her head in defeat, even as I pull her out of the snow. "I just wanted to help protect you guys."
"Help? Lissa, you are without a doubt the most important member of the Shepherds." I reply with a laugh. "There is nobody less expendable in any army than the healer. Hell, since you're royalty as well, I'd say even Chrom is less crucial."
"He's right, Lissa." Chrom jumps back in at this point. "You don't need a weapon to prove your worth here."
"I know that, really! I just… I want to help you guys! I can't stand waiting around while you risk your lives, I've been doing it for years now and I hate it!" She stomps her foot sulkily, and I grimace.
"I agree with Lissa, to a point." Robin cuts in. "She should receive more training in some sort of weapon."
Frederick, Chrom, and I look over at Robin in dismay, while Lissa's head jolts back up in sudden hope. Robin backtracks hastily at the reactions, waving his arms in a placating manner. "Okay, hold on, don't look at me like that, there's a perfectly logical explanation."
"Self-defense?" I reply after a moment of thought. Robin snaps his fingers and points at me, nodding emphatically.
"Hell yeah!" Sully chimes in at this. "Women should always be trained to kick ass."
The thought seems obvious now that Sully says it. I've always thought that if I were ever to have a daughter, I'd have her trained in self defense. "The world is a dangerous place, especially for women. So women should learn how to fuck people up just in case." I muse.
"What do you mean, 'especially for women?' You saying we're weak?" Sully steps towards me angrily.
"I'm saying men have a tendency to be entitled dicks, especially about where they want to stick it." I reply, smiling mirthlessly. "Consider my vote changed. Let her fight." I look down at Lissa's scrawny frame and blanch. "Maybe start her with a ranged weapon first though, at least for battle situations. We don't want to send our healer on the front lines."
Sully regards my words carefully, then shoots me a smirk. "You're alright, Ben."
"Glad to have been judged worthy." I grin back. "Anyways, what do you two think?" I turn back to Chrom and Frederick, who both look very unhappy with the turn the conversation has taken.
Frederick breaks first, looking down at Lissa with a frown. "I think you've all made your point, however crude some of your points may have been. We shall decide a proper training plan for you then." Lissa whoops in triumph at the announcement.
"Very well." Chrom sighs, looking down at Lissa with a sad smile. "I'd hoped to protect you from all this, you know."
"I know." Lissa replies, running up to her brother and grabbing him in a hug. "But we both know I can't stay out of this forever. I'm a Shepherd, just like you. Fighting is kinda normal for us."
"You're right." Chrom hugs Lissa back, then hauls her off the ground. "Don't think for a second I won't still look after my little sister though."
The two share a chuckle, and I turn away, feeling the weight of nostalgia at the tender scene.
"You alright, Ben?" Sully asks, giving me a concerned look. "Not having second thoughts already are you?"
"No, just… thinking of my sister back home." I sigh, trying not to tear up.
Sully claps me on the shoulder, her default way to show support, and I give her a grateful nod. I take a moment to compose myself again, and check back in on the conversation.
"-we'll have to talk to Miriel about it." Robin is saying, before looking over at me. "Do you think she'll mind?" It takes me a moment to put the context together before I realize what he's asking.
"Teaching Lissa magic, you mean?" I smirk. "She'll probably be thrilled. Miriel may be incomprehensible at the best of times, but she does love teaching. With Ricken back in the capital she's only got me to bounce ideas off of, and I still can't cast for shit. Having somebody else to work with who can actually use magic will make her day."
"Well, maybe you two should go ask her then." Chrom replies with a nod, looking around the clearing. "In the meantime, we'll carry on here."
"Indeed." Frederick nods curtly, surveying the Shepherds gathered. "Really, this is a dreadfully inefficient set-up for a training exercise as is. What was the plan here exactly?"
"It was meant to be private practise, actually. Everyone else just sorta… showed up." I shrug helplessly.
"I see. Well I suppose you've been doing your best." Frederick huffs, looking at the two throwing axes and shaking his head. "Woefully lacking in equipment, though. I shall remedy this. Donnel!"
"Yes sir?" Donnel snaps to attention.
"Head to the armory at once and fetch us as many throwing axes as you can safely carry." Frederick scribbles out a note on a pad of paper he pulls out from… somewhere, and hands it to the kid. "If they protest, show them this."
"Yes sir, Mister Frederick Sir!" Donnel salutes, and rushes towards the gates at top speed.
Frederick notices me still standing and watching, and nods curtly. "Worry not Ben, I shall carry on with this exercise in your stead."
I see the other Shepherds look on in dread as they realize what Frederick is planning, and can't help but grin. "My thanks, Frederick. I leave them in your capable hands." I nod to the man firmly, wrap an arm around Lissa's shoulders, and lead her out of the clearing. "Let's go Lissa, these soldiers are in Naga's hands now. Nothing we can do for them."
"Hopefully Frederick won't leave too much for me to clean up." Lissa replies with a conspiratorial grin. The two of us chuckle and head back to Gelida Dominus.
It's hardly a surprise when Lissa leads me into the depths of Gelida Dominus' extensive library on our quest to find Miriel. What does surprise me is the amount of research she seems to have done in the past few days.
"Christ Miriel, can you even breathe behind all that?" I stare in awe at the absolute mountain of books surrounding her. The woman has an absolute fortress of books, walls stacked taller than I am all around her, casting the table she's working on into darkness, save for a small magical ball of light she seems to have trapped in a jar. I make a mental note to ask her to teach me that spell later, I hate relying on candles for light all the time.
"Quite. There is ample ventilation." Miriel nods distractedly, flipping through her books and marking small scratches on a diagram beside her.
"Turn of phrase." I smile and roll my eyes, and Miriel looks up at me, blinking curiously.
"Indeed? Ah, I see, an exaggeration intended to express surprise at what you perceive to be a surplus of books. How quaint." She gives a small smile, then turns back to her book.
"Is this common with you two?" Lissa looks up at me curiously, "That seemed almost, rehearsed."
"Pretty much happens at least once every session we have together." I reply, smiling.
"As a traveller from the Outrealms, Ben has a wealth of interesting phrases unlike any in our world." Miriel says, scratching away with her quill. "It has been a most amusing field of study."
"Huh." Lissa blinks. "I guess I never thought about it, but you do have a weird way of putting things sometimes, don't you? Robin too, come to think of it."
"Probably my fault." I shrug. "Since we talk so often he's picked up on it."
"Presumably a result of his amnesia. His mind is quick to pick up on all sensory inputs around him, perhaps in a subconscious effort to replenish the numerous lapses in his memory." Miriel pauses in thought for a moment, "I'll have to discuss the subject with him at a later date." She returns to her notes a moment later.
"That makes sense… I think." Lissa frowns thoughtfully.
"His head is empty so he's learning whatever he can." I supply.
"Okay, that's what I thought." Lissa smiles up at me in relief, then turns back to Miriel. "So, what are you working on, Miriel?"
"I am attempting to create a new variation of fire spell." Miriel sketches out a few more lines on her diagram, and I realize she's drawing a magic circle. I stare blankly at it, and Miriel catches my eye. "This could be a valuable teaching experience, Ben. Tell me, what can you discern from my work so far?"
"Oh geez." I grimace at the question. I'm even worse at reading spell circles than I am at casting. "Give me a second here."
Magic in this world is nothing like the games portray. While practically all mages use books, the books are not the source of magical power like you'd think. Books are only useful for allowing a mage to remember the spell they need to access.
Magic is kinda like the force, in a way. It flows through all living things, a natural energy that mages call upon. To do this, they rely on circles to focus the energy in a way they can use. The spell circle acts as a sort of lens, like a magnifying glass, which focuses magical energy within a mage's mind. And spell books are used to form a magical link to the mage's mind that let's that circle be brought up accurately.
Casting a spell is a four part process. A mage learns the spell circle for the spell they want to cast. Then they painstakingly etch that spell into their book, allowing that spell to be correctly remembered. Once the spell is marked down correctly they can use the spell to shape the magic around them to their desired form. Finally, once the magic has it's desired shape, it can be directed based on the caster's gestures.
I've managed to correctly draw three spell circles in my book, the basic fire, lightning, and wind attacks. None of them really work properly though, since I can't focus enough magical energy to send it away. I always summon a tiny version of the spell, which dissipates the instant I send it away.
Miriel has yet to figure out exactly why I can't gather enough magical energy, and I've kept my personal theory (my magic stat is too low) to myself. So she's had me working on learning magic circles in the meantime. Unfortunately reading circles requires a proper grasp of the language, one which I don't really have yet, so figuring out any circle can sometimes take days of work.
"Let's see…" I gaze over Miriel's latest work curiously. "You already said it was a fire spell, so that narrows things down a lot… I don't see any of the usual signs for combustion though. Wait, the fuck?" I blink in confusion as I squint at the paper. "There's no words for burning, just a mess of different marks to regulate intensity." I look over at Miriel curiously. "Are you trying to maintain a certain temperature?"
"You are getting warmer."
"Was that a joke just now?" I give her a lopsided grin.
"Indeed. It was a play on words, referencing the current topic in a thematically relevant manner by using a turn of phrase that I know you to be fond of." Miriel beams proudly.
I can't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm. "Not bad at all, Miriel. We'll make a comedian of you yet. Back on topic though, from the look of things this spell is meant to keep a contained area at a certain temperature… But I'm not sure yet what the area is… Not a room… but…"
Words are often distorted based on how they are required to fit within the circle, which can make them damn near impossible to understand with my still-limited grasp of Ylissean writing. "Okay, gonna have to work based on context clues from here, I guess. What would be useful for a spell like this? I don't think it's food, that symbol looks totally wrong… uhh, a person? Yeah, that fits!" I look up to Miriel triumphantly. "You're creating a spell to regulate body temperature in cold weather!"
"Correct. Well reasoned, Ben." Miriel nods her head, causing me to swell with pride. "It took much trial and error to acquire the correct temperature."
"Wouldn't a spell to contain heat within the body be more efficient?" I frown.
"That was my initial thought as well, but that leads to a great risk of heatstroke. Dictating an appropriate temperature has less risk. It also interferes less with latent magical energy, meaning it takes little energy to maintain for an extended period of time."
I guess bottling the heat up inside a person is kinda dangerous. "So does it only work on the caster, or can we cast it on multiple people?"
"The design allows multiple people, but quantity is still limited." Miriel frowns, staring at the page she's drawn up. "I shall have to ask Robin if he can shoulder some of the burden."
"Ooh, that sounds like it might be my cue!" Lissa pipes up from behind me, and I jump in alarm. "… Did you just forget I was here?"
"No," Yes. "I just wasn't expecting you to yell like that." I smile back at Lissa. "This is a library, you know."
"Oh, sorry!" Lissa frowns guiltily. "But still, I bet I can totally help you out with this heat spell thing!"
"I was unaware you had knowledge of anima magic." Miriel looks over at Lissa curiously.
"Well, I don't. Yet." Lissa replies. "But I can totally learn!"
"That's actually why we're here." I explain. "Frederick and Chrom have decided it would be good for Lissa to train in something she can use to defend herself. We figured magic would play better to her skills, since she has some experience with it already."
"A logical decision." Miriel nods thoughtfully. "Indeed, this spell would be an excellent start for you, Lissa. It will allow you to acquire a proper sense for casting anima magic while we prepare you for battle."
"Cool! So how do I learn this thing?" Lissa bounces in excitement, and I smirk at the answer I know is coming.
"We must first go book shopping." Miriel replies, rising from her chair.
"Aww, what? That sounds so boring though!" Lissa looks over at me, crestfallen, and I chuckle in response. I had a feeling she wouldn't be thrilled about this part of the process.
"It's the most important part of the process, sorry Lissa. Without the book you won't be able to cast anything." I hold up my book for reference. "All spell books are linked directly to the caster, so it's pretty important to get your own."
"Huh. Well I guess when you put it like that it kinda sounds cool." Lissa mumbles, still pouting.
"Very good then." Miriel packs her bag swiftly, then gestures to the spell circle still on the table. "Ben, while I am taking Lissa to get her spellbook, please mark this circle down."
"Huh." I look down at it and frown. "You sure? I can barely conjure a fireball, so I doubt I'll be able to maintain this long enough to be useful."
"On the contrary, I believe this spell will be critical for your growth as a mage." Miriel nods. "I have developed a theory on your magical skill, or lack thereof. I will go over it with you at length later, once you've prepared that spell for casting."
"Well that sounds… interesting? Yeah let's go with that." I shrug, flipping my book open to a blank page (which doesn't take long since I know like, three spells). "I'll eagerly await your news."
Since I already figured out how to read the tome properly copying it into my book only takes half an hour or so, which is by far the fastest I've ever managed it. It's nice to see my magical ability raising in at least one way. This does leave me with a bit of a conundrum.
Miriel is very particular about spellbook materials. The woman is a stickler for quality, which makes sense since the quality of a book affects the quality of its mental link. Those two are probably going to be shopping around for a few hours at least.
I try entertaining myself by looking through some of the books Miriel has accumulated, but they're really not for beginners. And I was never one for school books even back when I understood how to read the language. If I had my sketchbook this would be such an easy problem to solve, but I'd have to walk all the way across the keep to get to our rooms. And the keep is pretty much hostile territory for me right now.
So with no real way to occupy myself I decide to do something I… probably shouldn't. I try out the spell. There are rules against this of course; Miriel has often told Ricken and I not to go casting any new spells without her supervision, but this new spell is so frigging weak I don't expect much of a problem.
It's pretty easy to cast, as far as I can tell. Looking at Miriel's notes tells me that the spell doesn't even require motions to direct, since the point is to regulate how magic circulates in the body. This means that as soon as I look at the circle in my spellbook and call on the power the task is done.
My body immediately explodes with pain.
I yell in shock as the magic flows through me, a fire burning beneath my skin. The flow of magic in my body is tangible in a way I never experienced before, and holy fuck does it hurt! I manage to call off the spell easily enough with a thought, and collapse against my desk, taking deep breaths as the burn rapidly fades.
"What the fuck was that?" I gasp out, staring at my hands in horror. There's no sign of anything wrong with them, but that much pain had to mean something went badly, right?
"You have broken my rules Ben." A voice calls out behind me. I look back and see Miriel and Lissa rushing towards me.
'That… that obvious, huh?" I groan, sitting back up in my seat. "Yeah, consider this a big learning experience for me. I think your spell might be dialed a bit too high, Miriel."
"Unlikely." Miriel sniffs, pushing her glasses up her nose. "My math is without flaws."
"So what the heck happened then?" Lissa asks in shock, looking me over. "Ben looks like he just ran a marathon!"
"Any physical injuries?" I ask her nervously. Don't want to be bedridden so soon before we march.
"No, it looks like you're just tired." Lissa sighs in relief. "Tired, and a bit flushed."
"As I expected." Miriel rushes to her scattered notes and starts looking for a blank page. "I do believe this spell will have several extra benefits for you, Ben."
"Keeps me warm, lights my skin on fire, yup, I can see the perks." I deadpan, as Lissa fusses over me.
"Is that what it felt like? Fascinating." Miriel's hands are a blur as she scribbles notes across the page.
"That's a word for it." I roll my eyes at Lissa and the girl lets out a muffled snort of laughter, trying to hide her reaction from Miriel. "Seriously though Miriel, what was all that?"
"Ah, my apologies, I have much to take note of here." Miriel glances up at me, quill not leaving the page. "Allow me to explain, though I must stress that this is all conjecture, and therefore many points may be subject to change at a later date."
"Duly noted."
"Very good. Now then, as I mentioned before, this spell is related to a theory of mine on your lack of magical power. I have not mentioned it before, but you are in a rare situation as a magical caster. Your grasp of theory is sound, and your spell circles are pristine, no doubt due to your artistic experience. In most situations, this would lead to a powerful ability as a spell caster."
"But I can't cast for shit."
"Quite." Miriel nods curtly. "I have been struggling to learn the nature of this restriction for some time, and believe I have found the answer. While your mind has all the makings of a capable mage, your body is currently incompatible with magic."
"Incompatible?" I sit back in confusion. "I didn't know that was a thing. Like, I know some people just don't have the talent for casting, but…"
"Talent is not the issue here. It is purely a physical matter." Miriel shakes her head, cutting me off.
"Oh, I get it!" Lissa says, pointing at me excitedly. "It's because your world doesn't have magic in it!"
"Precisely." Miriel gives Lissa a pleased smile. "Or at least, that is my theory. An excellent deduction, Princess."
And with Lissa's realization the rest of the pieces fall into place for me as well. "That makes sense. So the reason I can't cast well is because I don't have any magical energy in me. I guess what little I can do is just drawing from an outside source?"
"Essentially, that is correct." Miriel nods. "Magic is a natural part of our world, as omnipresent as the air itself. But unlike any of us, your body is not equipped to use it. Your developmental years were spent without it, and so you do not hold it within as other mages do. The spells you cast draw magic from the world around you, as is the case for any mage, but because you don't have magic within you, it does not respond properly."
"It's like trying to teach a deaf person to sing." I frown. "It's doable, but will never be on the level of somebody who can hear the music for themselves."
"An apt metaphor." Miriel gives me a determined smile. "But not without its flaws. After all, I have already discovered a probable treatment for your condition."
"The heat spell." I look down at my arms. "You think it'll fix the problem by drawing magical power into my body."
"Precisely. The spell uses a minute amount of magic, which means it will fill you with power in small doses, allowing your body time to adapt."
"Will that be safe though?" Lissa asks nervously. "It looked like it really hurt Ben to use this spell."
"This is unfortunate." Miriel frowns. "But I feel that the only alternative is to simply… not cast spells."
"I'd rather not go that route." I grimace. "This isn't something I want to quit. Especially not after everything I've done to learn magic already. You sure I can't just wait it out? Like, I've gotta be taking magic into my body just by breathing and eating, right?"
"It's… possible." Miriel pauses thoughtfully, before shaking her head. "But I don't imagine it to be very likely. If you were still pubescent then perhaps it could develop, but as I said, those years are far behind you. The amount of growth necessary for this far beyond what your body can undergo at your age."
Well don't I feel like an old fucking man now. "Cool." I grimace. "Alright, let's embrace the pain."
"What the hell have you three been doing?" Chrom asks as Miriel, Lissa, and I trudge into the hall for dinner three hours later.
"Embracing pain." I deadpan, collapsing into my seat.
Chrom's eyes drift behind me, where Miriel and Lissa are making a point of not looking anywhere near each other. Lissa's hand is wrapped in bandages, and Miriel has a black eye. "So I see. I take it the magic lesson didn't go well then?"
"The lesson was sufficient." Miriel replies irritably. "Once your sister could be bothered to cease her assault of my person."
"You tried to maim me!" Lissa shouts back.
"If I have to hear this argument again you will not like the direction things take!" I interject angrily. Bad enough I have to light myself on fire for this new exercise, hearing them bicker the whole time was a whole new form of torture.
Miriel and Lissa take my words seriously, splitting immediately and sitting on opposite sides of the room. Chrom watches the two of them in bewilderment, then looks back at me. "What in Naga's name happened?"
"You want the long or the short version?" I look up at him blearily, then blink as a bowl of stew appears in front of me. "Thanks Kellam."
"You're welcome!" A voice replies from somewhere out of sight. He's probably right next to me, the bugger.
I grab a loaf of bread and start digging in as Sumia and Frederick approach the table, no doubt also looking for answers. Chrom sees the audience growing and sighs. "Guess I'll hear the long version of things."
"Cool." I dunk my bread and grab a mouthful, gesturing the others to take a seat. "Okay, so things were going pretty normally for the first bit. Miriel got Lissa a spellbook, we came up with a possible solution to my magic problem, found a spell that keeps the cold away, everything was sunshine and rainbows."
"Okay…" Chrom nods along. "That all sounds very productive. So…?"
"The solution to my magic problem involves channeling magic into my body, which hurts like a sonovabitch. So I decide to separate myself from the girls and do that while they get Lissa set up for spellcasting. Which means activating the spellbook."
"Oh dear, I think I know where this is going." Sumia winces. Chrom and Frederick look towards her questioningly, and she explains with a sigh. "In order to link a spellbook to a caster's mind, a drop of blood is required. It creates a magical connection between the caster and the book itself."
"Yup." I chime in. "And before you ask, yes, it has to be blood. There's a very specific spell circle in place that is used to form the link. From what I've read it used to just require a… piece of the caster, like hair or something, but spellbooks kept getting linked to the wrong people by mistake. Hell, Miriel tells me a guy linked a book to his cat once."
"I see. So Lissa didn't take well to the bloodletting." Frederick nods in understanding.
"Yeah, well it's not quite that simple." I sigh. "Miriel was so excited to start teaching another student that she… pretty much completely forgot to explain the process beforehand. She just pulled out a knife, grabbed Lissa's wrist, and said 'let us commence!'"
"Oh boy." Chrom groans.
"Yeah, Lissa freaked out and started flailing, which meant that instead of nicking Lissa's finger Miriel accidentally sliced her palm open. And Lissa doesn't have the right tools to heal herself, so she flipped out even more and punched Miriel in the face."
Frederick and Chrom sigh in unison. Sumia… looks like she's trying hard not to burst into a fit of giggles. Fair enough, it's a pretty ridiculous story, when you don't have a front row seat to the shrieking.
"Was the injury serious?" Frederick asks after taking a moment to collect himself.
"Nah, barely a scratch." I wave my hand dismissively, then pause. "Though I suppose my perspective on hand injuries is pretty fucking skewed." I grin and hold up my hands as evidence, showing off the white scars left from grabbing that sword last week.
"Right… maybe I'll ask her later." Chrom looks aside uncomfortably. I grimace, knowing his thoughts have probably drifted to my… episode… with the Kahn.
Fucking fuck bugger fuck shit balls. I know I need to talk to them about this at some point but the thought of going into the topic is just…
I can't fucking do it. I can't talk about this. I feel like I'm going to be sick.
"It would seem your training was harder on you than we realized." Frederick suddenly says in a loud voice, rising from his seat. "Understandable, from what you've told us. Thank you for explaining the matter, rest assured I will have a word with Miriel concerning her lack of tact."
"I guess we'll take Lissa then." Sumia smiles brightly. "Don't worry Ben, we'll have things patched up with those two by the time we march tomorrow. Come on Chrom."
Chrom looks over at me and frowns. "Actually, I was hoping to talk to Ben about-"
"Later, honey." Sumia's grip visibly tightens, and she pulls Chrom to his feet. "Family comes first."
Chrom blinks at Sumia's persistence. "Uhh, right then, some other time then."
"Good luck." I wave them off, then look back to my bowl with a melancholic smile. "God damn, subtlety is not their strong point."
"No, but at least they're trying, right?" I look to my right and see Robin standing awkwardly to the side. "I uh, I thought Sumia was doing a good job."
"…She wasn't there." I grunt, finishing my stew.
"She still knows about it. Chrom confides with her for just about everything." Robin replies, watching the two as they sit across from a still pouting Lissa.
"Nice to know I'm such a reliable source of gossip for you guys." I mutter, glaring at my empty bowl.
"Ben, that's not- you know I didn't mean it like that!" Robin replies pleadingly, and the desperation in his tone drains the anger from me almost as quickly as it appeared.
"Yeah, I do." I look over at him wearily. "My bad. Shouldn't be snapping at you like that."
"No, I get it, really." Robin waves his hands furiously. "I just… Oh boy, I should have listened to Frederick and not brought this up."
"Probably." I reply, despite the curl inching across my lip. The guy is so earnest it's hard not to find it endearing.
"Okay, I won't talk about it again, unless you want to that is. I just…" he pauses, trying to figure out what to say. "I just want you to know, that no matter what you say, or do, or- or think… you're still my friend. Okay? That's not going to change."
I don't really know how to respond to that. Heartfelt declarations of friendship are really not something I have much experience in. It's always been the sort of thing I see on TV and dismiss as schmaltzy nonsense. Yet here we are.
I dab at my eyes with my sweater sleeve, grimacing as they water up. Come on Ben, manly man machismo, don't start crying.
"Yeah." I croak out. "Back at you, man."
Robin/Ben: ultimate bromance. Let us all join hands and bro-ship them until their inevitable deaths to the dragonpocalypse. Hoorah!
Anyways, glad to get this out finally. Sorry if it was a little exposition heavy, but I've been waiting to go over the rules of magic for my interpretation of this world for a while. I wanted spellbooks to still be a thing in this world, but thought the idea of spellbooks being expendable resources was a little silly, especially when you consider how rare paper was back in the day. So this is what I decided on in the end, a system that any DnD wizards should find very familiar, though perhaps with less circles.
A few extra notes on spellbooks for those interested! The books have been around for centuries, but the mental link they have to their owner is a relatively new development. Back before the link was made mages had to just memorise spells the old fashioned way, and the book was only helpful as a visual reference. Now it's like a google search engine, but you have to fill out the results yourself. Then when you cast your spell it looks it up for you and helps your mind fill in the blanks. Learning spells may still be a pain in the ass, but casting them has never been easier!
Here's your friendly reminder that I like reviews and they keep me motivated. Seriously, last two chapters have only had one review each (thanks Maridus, you're a champ!) and I know you all can do better than that! I believe in you!
Next chapter, more Paralogues!
