Robin's Room, Dormitories 2nd Floor
Robin collapsed on the bed of his room. The room he was given sat between the dorms belonging to the students Ferdinand and Lorenz. Robin took several slow, deep breaths.
So... even in death, the Fell Dragon will curse him for the rest of his life.
He raised his right hand, clenched his fist, and willed power to rise up. There. A pale purple shadow of what it once was, but the Mark of Grima was still there. He released his fist and the faint mark vanished.
You are of sacred blood, the blood of Grima.
Naga help him.
He turned onto his side, trying to busy his head with plans. Plans on how to be a good teacher, on his first day teaching, tomorrow.
15th Day of the Horsebow Moon,
Black Eagles classroom
Edelgard sat down at her usual spot as everyone else filed in. Ferdinand took his place at the table to her right.
"Any idea who they got to be our substitute?" Ferdinand asked as he situated his paper, quill and books.
"None at all," Edelgard admitted. She already had a sheet of parchment ready amidst all the heavy books on her table and was about to begin habitually tracing Adrestia's Eagle from memory. "Maybe they got Alois to stand in." She drew a near-perfect oval.
"I hope not," said Ferdinand as she started outlining the right wing within the oval. "No offense to the man, but I highly doubt he can actually teach us anything." Bottom of the right wing.
"Hmm..." she moved on to the right leg, "I did say maybe."
"I don't think it's Alois," Dorothea chimed in from the table behind and to the left. First talon. "For one thing, I think Alois is more hands-on." Second talon.
"What do you mean?" Ferdinand asked. Dorothea gestured to the teacher's desk. Third talon. The desk at the front of the room had upon it two stack of ornate books in addition to the usual paper, candle, ink and quill.
"You think Alois would utilize books that much?" Dorothea pointed out. Edelgard started on the tail feathers.
"Good point."
"Maybe it's a guest of the monastery," Caspar suggested from his adjacent table, "maybe a scholar from the Kingdom or the Empire?"
"Not likely," said Ferdinand, "since they're only filling in until Manuela recovers." She finished the tail as the bell sounded. "And they are late. Probably still learning the monastery's layout-" The room's double doors closed and strong strides sounded off the floor.
Edelgard cocked her ear, listening to the steps. They weren't heavy; around maybe average height with a slender build, probably. The steps were distinct, but not sharp, they didn't snap with every step; his shoes were sturdy but well-worn, not expensive or brand new. And the slight flutter of fabric, a cloak? She glanced up from her drawing to see the new arrival walking past, garbed in black robes with surreal wisteria inlays and sunglow trim. Her eyes shot up to his face, only to see his face was hooded. He strode to the front of the class and round to the other side of the desk.
"Morning everyone," greeted a pleasant sounding voice, lowering his hood, "and a pleasure to meet you all." Silver white hair, a firm but friendly face and observant onyx eyes. "I am Professor Robin, and I'll be your teacher until your regular professor returns."
This was the young man she saw yesterday! He was their temporary teacher?
Professor Robin removed the scabbard from his belt, setting it on the table with the ornate books and brandished a sheet of paper.
"Ferdinand von Aegir, which one are you?" Huh?
"Here Professor," Ferdinand answered. Was he taking role? Edelgard wondered, If so, why didn't he start with her, as Manuela and other teachers usually did? She was the Imperial Princess after all.
"Dorothea Arnault?"
"Here." White hair. Did he go through... that? Is he stating that he's partial to the Prime Minister over the Imperial House?
"Caspar von Bergliez?"
"Here." Or is he just going right-to-left?
"Linhardt von Hevring?" He skipped over her again! "Linhardt?" Hubert turned to the sleeping Linhardt and nudged the possum's seat with his foot.
"Wh-wha what?"
"Are you Linhardt?"
"Oh, yes sir, um, teacher..."
"Edelgard von Hresvelg?" Oh?
"Here Professor," she said clearly.
"Petra Macneary?" Just what order was he going in?
"Here." Ferdinand, Dorothea, Caspar, Linhardt...
"Bernadetta von Varley?" Oh, wait, he's just going by last name.
"..."
"Um... what was that?"
"H-here!"
"Oh, okay. And Hubert von Vestra?"
"Here."
Robin put aside the sheet of names and turned back to the students. In hindsight, this is sort of like a strategy meeting with the Shepherds; easily within his element.
"I have spoken with Professor Manuela and she filled me in on what you were all currently working on. Any questions before we begin?"
"Yes," said Dorothea, raising a hand, "if you don't mind me asking, where were you before coming here?" He expected the question, and had prepared for it. "You are quite exotic after all." Say what?
"Um... pardon?"
"Aside from you're apparel, your hair is especially extravagant." Is it? Robin had to raise an eyebrow at this, looking at the one named Edelgard; her hair was obviously whiter than his.
"I doubt my hair is that exotic." He looked back to Dorothea. "In answer to your question, I am a new arrival to Fodlan. Before I lived in Archanea, far west, beyond Dagda." The dark-skinned girl, Petra, cocked her head at this. "Truth be told, I'm only teaching because Byleth invited me, and I'm already walking on eggshells as is with Seteth breathing down my neck. So unless there are any other questions-" More hands shot up.
Oh well.
"Yes... Caspar."
"You're the one who helped defend that caravan yesterday, right?"
"Yes." Not that it matters, it wasn't like he killed those giant lizards all by himself.
"I heard you killed two monsters on your own!" Good grief!
"No, I did not. The knights did most of the work, I landed a finishing blow on one, and Byleth killed the other."
"Do you fight often where you're from?" Ferdinand inquired.
"Not too often. We have wars, of course, but they are few and far between. On the other hand, there's always trouble with bandits, so-"
"How many duelists did you take on?" Caspar shot in. Duelists, really? "And who gave you your toughest fight?"
"My most difficult fight involved 4900 allies and 6700 foes. However, my toughest opponent was a monster, so I can't really speak to individual fighters."
"Do maidens often compliment your hair?" Dorothea asked again. Naga help me, this is getting ridiculous. He opened his mouth-
"Where is your homeland exactly?" Hubert probed, his visible eye narrowing.
"Roughly west-by-northwest of the land you know as Dagda-"
"Do you have an estate in your homeland?" Dorothea asked again.
"And what are interactions with other houses like where you're from?" Ferdinand tacked on.
Naga's breath!
Robin closed his eyes, took a deep breath and exhaled.
"Alright then," he opened his eyes and crossed his arms, "so be it:
I was born in the country of Plegia, made a home in the Halidom of Ylisse, studied swordplay and magic in the capital of Ylisstol, served the Halidom in two wars as a strategist for a royal militia under the command of the Prince and future Exalt, witnessed the death of four rulers, landed the killing blow on a monstrosity known as Grima (good riddance!), traveled here via ship- no, I can not accurately tell you about the voyage on account of us being hit with, not one, not two, three freak storms that blew us far off course- and the only achievement I have to speak of in this land is nearly losing my sword in the neck of a giant lizard yesterday; that being said, unless there is anything else you want to ask, I would very much like to move on to what matters, that being: passing on what knowledge I have to you lot on behalf of... well, hopefully you're future! So..."
An intense silence enveloped the room as all the students stared at him. Finally, he got them to stop-
Edelgard snrked, despite her intending otherwise, and some of the other students began laughing as well.
"Naga's breath, what now?"
"A-*ahem*-apologies," Edelgard explained, waving an apologetic hand, "they aren't usually this rowdy. To be fair, you are the first man from outside Fodlan that they've encountered in a long time." She smiled at him. "Nevermind one so forthright and earnest." Robin sighed.
"Um... you all realize that I've been given a job to do, and do it well?"
"Did they tell you your job would be easy?" Hubert asked with a smirk. Robin rolled his eyes.
"Luckily, no, they did not." I guess I should just wait for the ruckus to die down. The laughing students eventually quieted, only for Bernadetta to raise her hand.
"E-ex-excuse me... Professor?
"Yes?"
"What are those books on your desk? They are quite ornate to be normal books." Wait, what? Does she not recognize them?
"That's because they're tomes, not just books."
"Tomes?"
"Yes, tomes." Robin blinked and looked around at everyone. They all looked back with perplexed or puzzled expressions.
"Those 'tomes' are not just fancy books, are they?" inquired Linhardt, now fully awake with a hand on his chin in thought. Do they really not know? They're definitely familiar with magic, so how do they not recognize tomes?
"Okay then," (nevermind that they are no doubt going way off topic here) Robin selected one of the tomes, the "weakest" one by most reckoning, "how many of you have heard of tomes?" The students just looked at each other.
The tome Robin had chosen had a blue cover, same dimensions as most other tomes (9 by 6 by 1 inch), and the script inscribed in-between the bronze-gold inlays invoked attributes of wind. He placed his right palm on the tome's elaborately-vivid-feeling cover. He reached for power, breathed in-
-Edelgard perked up, seeing a slight shimmer around the "tome" and seeping up the teacher's hand-
-held his hand up and exhaled. Magic-infused air swept across the room, rustling papers and startling the students.
["Of Untold Wonders" (Mystic Destinies: Serendipity of Aeons) - PLAY]
"What in the-?" Linhardt wondered, "that wasn't Cutting Gale, was it?"
"No, it wasn't," said Hubert, sounding impressed, "besides, I doubt even you can cast that quickly." Stepping around his desk, Robin picked up the blue tome and held it before everyone.
"This is a Tome of Elwind; slightly stronger than your basic Wind spell, mainly in terms of volume rather than power."
"Hold on!" Edelgard stood up, gloved hands on her table and eyes wide. "Did that spell come from you or that book- tome?" Robin smiled and nodded slightly.
"I can see why you're the head of your house, maiden Hresvelg." Edelgard's face adopted an odd expression as he put the tome down and opened it up to somewhere in the middle. "The answer is two-fold. Yes, that spell, the attributes, the desired realization, the invokation, originated from the tome. However, the one who uses a tome needs to actually direct the magic, otherwise said spell would remain inert."
"So..." Linhardt started, "if the magic is in those books, does that mean anyone can cast using those?"
"Technically yes," Robin raised a finger, "technically. You still need a sound understanding of fundamentals, but once you do, then you can easily use most of tomes. That being said: I will maintain that it's advisable to know the magic you plan to use, so that you can better control it."
"Is this," Edelgard started, "is this magic from your land?" Robin had to shrug.
"I have only been to three continents in my entire life. Tomes are common in both Archanea and Valm. This land, Fodlan, is the first place I've been to where that isn't the case, apparently." He took a quick look-around again before continuing. "I'll be honest, I went through some of the textbooks after speaking with Professor Manuela. While the information within isn't wrong, a good degree of the information was... well... foreign to me. I was going to stick to the notes for the most part, but... if you lot want t-"
"Yes!" Edelgard answered before he could finish, "please Professor, teach us your Archanean knowledge."
"Oh, are you sure?"
"Absolutely! After all, you are a temporary teacher. When you inevitably leave, all the knowledge in your head goes along with you."
"That's right," Ferdinand concurred, "we'd be fools not to learn all that we can from you."
"Indeed," Hubert added, "what men would we be if we didn't take advantage of the opportunity?"
"Take advantage," Petra repeated aloud, "yes, it would be foolery to not learn something new from a foreign warrior."
"Not to mention the magic," Linhardt tacked on. It seems like the whole class was in agreement.
"Right then," said Professor Robin with his arms crossed, "now how do we begin?"
