Lysithea had fully healed and the bandages had finally come off it, yet she wasn't very happy that they were gone as she stared at her arm. Grey skin was the result of scarring left behind by Dark Magic. Even if a person survived the corruption, that patch of pale grey would serve as a reminder of what had once wracked their body.
That was what Lysithea was looking at her arm now that the bandages on it had been removed. It was small, but it was a constant and permanent reminder of her failure to control the magic that she had once so confidently harnessed. A patch of pale grey, just like those mages that had experimented on her.
Darkness wasn't evil as many would say, but it was magic at one of its purest forms. It consumed, or perhaps accepted, everything that it touched yet the body nor most of the world would be able to handle its influence. Many of its practitioners were killed, laid comatose, or simply lost their identity and sense of self as they become one with the dark.
She shuddered and quickly pulled her sleeve back over her arm. With the reminder of her recent failures still fresh in her mind, she continued to pour over the tomes on Dark Magic that she had… borrowed from Hubert's room while he was occupied.
The only thing she ever had control over in her life was magic and she wouldn't let lose herself to it now. She needed to work harder. She needed to be better. There was no way she would let herself become anything like them.
Death was a strong spell with plenty of range to it. Perhaps it would be best for her to learn that first before she got into Hades.
"As studious as always." Lysithea looked up to find Seteth standing across from her once more. "Take care not to let your body suffer because of your studies though."
"Hmph," Lysithea replied as she looked back down at her book. "Believe me the Seteth Specials you've given me are making sure my body stays fit." Perhaps it was a sense of familiarity or it perhaps it was that she no longer had much to fear from him in particular, but she had come to a point where she no longer had to feign much politeness around him. She could be herself, express her annoyance at his meddling, and know that he wouldn't hold it against her
"The Seteth Special? Is that what the staff call my signature dish?"
"They do. And they fear it."
"I should have you know that Flayn has been drinking it since she was a baby and she quite enjoys it."
"You can add ground up fish skin and broth to anything and she'll love it. Besides if Cyril is proof of anything it's probably a taste that can only be acquired if people are exposed to it in the first few years of their lives." Not even Petra could stand up to the might of the Seteth Special when she and Shamir had decided to experiment its effects on her.
"You seem to have acquired a taste for it. The dining staff has told me that you've been emptying your plates for the last few weeks."
"Just because I can drink it without collapsing doesn't mean I like it. If anything, I'm almost afraid of how resilient my body is to it now… among other things. Anyway, is there something you need from me?"
"From your Professor actually. I was having difficulties finding him and your House leader for that matter, so I came to see if you knew where they went."
"I'm not entirely sure where they went," Lysithea admitted. "But I can assure you'll that they'll be gone for some time. A week or so I'd assume."
It wasn't just the Professor and Claude either, both Edelgard and Dimitri had been last seen with the two of them. She also hadn't seen Ashe, Hilda, or Lindhart either, so it was safe to assume that they had also joined the Professor on this excursion.
Lysithea herself didn't really mind being left behind, if their mission was something that required her skills than either Claude or the Professor would've taken her. They didn't so it probably wasn't that important, besides it gave her some more time to focus on her studies while they were away.
"That is an issue," Seteth replied somberly. "I have urgent need of him."
"Why is that?" Lysithea asked.
"Though the Western Church has received a new bishop there are still radicals that have emerged to take the sacred ground of the Rhodos Coast by force. Time is of the essence and I'm going there to do battle, which is why I considered going to the Professor for help."
"Couldn't you mobilize the Knight of Seiros to help?"
She had never seen him fight personally and could only assume he was a bishop or magic user of some sort. If that was the case, he could certainly use the strength of the Knight's to escort him there.
"It would take too long to deploy them and many of their numbers are unsuited for the environment."
Though Lysithea had never been or heard of the Rhodos Coast before it was easy to assume that it was a beach. And beaches meant sand, plenty of it. Sand would cripple the mobility of mounted and regular infantry that built the bulk of the Knight's forces. Only those on a flying mount or skilled in magic would be able to traverse the area with ease.
"So, you need a strike force made primarily of flyers and magic users, to strike the invading force while they're inhibited by the sand," Lysithea observed as she set her textbooks aside, tore out a fresh page on her notebook, and began to write down on that. "Something that the Professor would be able to provide among our class."
"Indeed. You have the right of it."
The solution was simple then.
"I'll come with you and bring the troops you'll need," Lysithea promptly replied as she began to write down a preliminary roster.
"Are you certain that is a good idea?" Seteth asked.
"I am skilled in magic and the Professor has taught me considerably in battlefield tactics. I am the best in the class behind him and Claude for such matters." It was not really boasting to say that considering her grades on tactics and the responsibilities the Professor would dole to her on missions.
"Your grades in tactics have been impeccable," Seteth admitted, "though your experience is where I worry."
"I have fought in plenty of battles."
"Battles where you were being led or you led under the auspices of your Professor. Can you truly lead an entire strike team without his guidance and shoulder the responsibility of those under you?"
"I've already led small groups before, so a strike force is just the next logical step. I have to try, and you don't have time to be very picky anyway. I can gather the people suited for this mission at the very least and if you have any issues with my leadership then you can advise me or take command of the situation." If there was anything that Seteth was good at, it was criticizing a person severely whenever he felt that something was wrong or taking charge of something when things were going seriously wrong. Hopefully things wouldn't ever go to the latter, but it was something to fall back to in an emergency.
"Those are… acceptable terms," Seteth agreed and took a seat across from her. He looked less doubtful of her now and more engaged in their conversation. "Who would you be bringing along then?"
"Myself, Lorenz, Marianne, and Flayn."
Seteth flinched at the mention of his sister. "Must you bring her along? I would be beside myself with worry."
"Without Lindhart we're going to need another dedicated healer."
"Then I can ask for the assistance of the other Houses."
Lysithea suppressed a sigh. She could understand Seteth's worry but his overprotective nature of her was starting to go a bit too far. "She performed well in the last battle, providing excellent healing to the class and saving my life by the way. She is fully capable of holding herself on the battlefield and we need as many spellcasters as we can spare."
"It would be easier to fight if I knew that she was safe," Seteth argued.
"With the Professor and Claude gone she'll probably be safest with you and I than at the Monastery. Wouldn't it allay most of your fears if me and the class were there to protect her. It's what you have assigned me to do here anyway."
Seteth sighed, reluctant, but seemed convinced. "That is true, and your aid would be useful, yes."
"Good," Lysithea said as she began to write down the names of those who would be coming along on the mission. "If we're recruiting from other houses then we might as well take along Dorothea, Annette, and Mercedes. Is Hubert still in detention?"
"He is," Seteth confirmed.
"Could you also bring him along? Give him something productive to do instead sitting in a room and pining over Edelgard just because she left him behind to do something with the professor."
"Just… keep him and Sylvain away from Flayn," Seteth grimaced as he agreed.
"Will do." Lysithea marked their names on her form. "Bowmen might have their mobility reduced but we can put them on more defensive positions to deal with any fliers the enemy might bring. Bernedetta and Ignatz are the only dedicated snipers that come off the top of my head. On that matter though we'll be lacking flyers ourselves." She began to scratch her head as she pondered the issue. "With Claude and Hilda gone the only one in our class with some flying experience would be Cyril. If we could get Ingrid's assistance that would make two, but we'll need another at a minimum to apply most tactics that involve flyers."
"That won't be an issue. I ride a wyvern," Seteth informed her.
"How good are you?" Lysithea asked bluntly. It was a necessary question considering she had never seen him fight, despite how confident he was.
"Skilled enough that I had originally considering routing the Western Church myself. It is not entirely outside my capabilities though I do risk heavy injury going about in that matter."
Seteth was a lot things, but he was most definitely not a liar. If he said he was capable of doing that, then he probably was.
"You'll do then, but you'll have to be coordinated with the other flyers since there are so few of you. That would mean following my commands," Lysithea told him.
He reached over and took the finished roster out of her hands. "You've put considerable planning into this, and you haven't done anything yet to for me to doubt you. I'll take any risks unto myself so long as you promise me that you'll keep Flayn safe."
"I will," she held her hand out. "Could I get that back though? Nothing's confirmed until we actually get them to agree to come and Hubert might be difficult to convince."
"How will you convince him then?"
"I have my ways."
"No," Hubert replied promptly.
"Why not?" Lysithea raised an arm in frustration. "If you come with us on this trip I can have Seteth cut your punishment by half. You'll be able to run off back to Edelgard that much sooner!"
"She has already run off with that Professor of yours… it is clear that she has no need of me now due to my recent failures."
The man was moping. Hubert was actually moping, to the point where he'd prefer to waste away in detention hall alone then actually do something productive.
"You are acting like a child," Lysithea replied exasperated. She tried to tug at his arm only to find that he remained firmly seated at his desk with his head buried in his arms.
"It takes one to know one."
She let go of his arm, stepped back, and took a deep breath. Don't get mad, nothing would get achieved if she started flinging spells in this room and ended up in detention like he had.
"You're not helping anyone by just sitting here and doing nothing until Edelgard comes back." Lysithea didn't simply have the time to wait for him to stop beating on himself. Besides it would be a pain of Edelgard came back to this and Hubert ended up spiraling down even more.
"And what good would coming with you do?"
"Seteth would probably hate you less for flying on a Pegasus with his sister and throwing a deadly spell into his face. Honestly I'm surprised he still let you continue being a student here considering what you did to him so far."
"Is this your attempt at comforting. Because if so, you are absolutely terrible at it."
"Like you need any comforting. Look we're both people who desire strength to do the things that we need to do for ourselves or others. This is a good opportunity to test that strength and even gather a relic or two in process."
"Relic's that will likely be given to your Professor. He has amassed quite a collection of then."
That was true, one way or another the Professor would consistently receive relics from his own students that he had helped to distribute accordingly to his will. It was rather frightening to think that one man would take control of so many relics at once, but somehow that was what happened. He was definitely special, that much was clear by now, and Rhea's fixation on him only became more understandable as time passed.
"That's true but think of it this way. You help me and the Professor out and you'll make Edelgard happy. Even if it's not exactly conducive to whatever the two of you are planning in the future she would still appreciate the effort you put in. I mean she appreciates everything you've done for. You have no idea how much she talks about you when we have tea."
"Truly?" Hubert perked up.
"Well yea. She likes me but I could never get that same level of unconditional trust that she has in you. Even when you were stuck in detention there was a part of her that assumed you did it to help her in some way. Helping her gain favor with Seteth and Flayn like this would certainly prove that assumption true." Lysithea leaned in and began to whisper in his ear. "Besides the Rhodos Coast is Sacred Land that is normally forbidden for outsiders to enter. Who knows what secrets you could learn there that could be of use to you?"
Hubert crossed his hands and seemed to consider her words. "You make a rather interesting point. Fine, I will attend this little excursion of yours."
"Great," Lysithea clapped her hands. "Now the roster is finally confirmed. You'll be in the same group as Annette, Flayn, Felix, Bernadetta, and me."
"I'm sorry, wait what?" Hubert stuttered.
"It'll be fine as long as you don't ride on another Pegasus with Flayn. Seteth has already banned for riding those for the time being."
"Except Bernadetta has fainted due to my presence on at least two occasions."
"Oh, she faints to anything and honestly from what I've heard she actually gets better at fighting when she's stressed and cornered, or at least that's what Felix told me."
"And why is Freldarius coming?"
"Because when I invited Annette, Felix insisted on coming. He's going to have a hard time moving in the sand, but I figure we can have him stick next to Bernadetta and Flayn while the rest of us move up."
"And he's trustworthy?"
"More than you."
"Fair point."
Lysithea straightened up and prepared to leave the room. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'll need to confirm everything with Seteth. We'll be marching tomorrow at dawn so get plenty of rest while you can." Finished with that she turned around and walked toward the door. She had only gotten halfway there when Hubert called out again.
"Please return the books you took from my room,"
"Fine."