16th Day of the Horsebow Moon,
Black Eagles classroom
"You think his tardiness is going to be a pattern?" Ferdinand wondered as Edelgard sat down.
"He still has a few minutes," she pointed out, looking over her shoulder. "Besides, his knowledge alone is enough to get everyone here early."
"What do you mean?"
"Bernie," she explained softly. Ferdinand looked toward Bernadetta, who usually didn't show for class until five minutes before, and often kept her head in a book during class. Now though, she was sitting upright in her seat. She still had a book, and the book was open, but her head was fully visible.
"I see," he consented, "now if only we found a way to get her out-and-about outside of class."
"Let me know if you find it."
Soon afterward, Professor Robin entered the classroom right as the bell rang, sword on his belt and a satchel slung over his shoulder.
"Morning everyone!" He went to the desk, quickly called role (only first names this time), and that was when Edelgard noticed that the desk was devoid of tomes. "Right then, hope you lot don't mind stretching your legs. We'll be doing some field practice today; little break from the spell-work." Not that they needed a break, but Robin was their teacher. "Fetch some iron weapons and gather by the eastern gate."
Everyone in the class strode across the field where the students had a mock battle 5 months prior. Robin eventually halted and dropped his satchel on the ground before brandishing a small mahogany box.
"Are we having a war game?" Ferdinand wondered, a frim grip on the spear he was armed with.
"I thought about it," Robin admitted, "but no, this is just an exercise."
"We came all the way here for an exercise?" Linhardt asked incredulously, sounding somewhat out of breath.
"Well, I figured Seteth wouldn't want me making a mess of the practice grounds."
"Make a mess, how exactly?"
"Well..." he motioned Linhardt forward, gingerly holding the box aloft. He carefully cracked open the lid. "Are you familiar with this?" Linhardt frowned, leaned forward with the intent to-
"YEEACK!" He didn't even lower his head before reeling from the wave of odor that creeped from the barely open box. "THAT REEKS! WHAT EVEN IS THAT?!" Robin had to laugh.
"Would you be surprised to know that this is, in fact, known as a reeking box?"
"No," Linhardt answered, holding a sleeve over his lower face, "I would not be surprised." Robin looked over the throng of students, now all armed with iron weapons.
"Ferdinand, how are you with that spear?"
"With the spear," Ferdinand answered with a pompous shrug, "very skilled. At least, that's what I would say."
"Fair enough. Come up here." Ferdinand stepped ahead of the others, recoiling somewhat as the reek hit his nostrils. Carefully, Robin reached into the box, pinched some little granules of leafy particulates, held said hand out, then dropped the three grains of reek. "If you have any doubts, aim for the head."
"The head of what?" Robin stepped back.
"You'll see." The ground where the granules landed began to turn black, a tendril-like circle appearing like the iris of an opening eye. Then, rising from the ground like a pustule bubble in a marsh, a corpse-like molted purple torso, then a head with red eyes, lumbered upright. Ferdinand, of course, staggered back a bit as the rest of the Black Eagles leapt back in shock. But then the young von Aegir snapped out of it and lunged forward, thrusting his spear into the monster's chest. The thing made a blargging noise, but remained standing. Ferdinand quickly wrenched his spear out of the thing's gut and spun around, bringing the spearhead across the things' throat. Black bile spilled out, the thing gurgled, collapsed, and dissolved into smoke and sludge.
"Well done," Robin congratulated, "I understand facing an unorthodox foe is jarring to just about anyone."
"What, was that?" Ferdinand asked, almost demanded. Robin held up the box in answer.
"They are called Risen, bit of a misnomer in my opinion. They first appeared two... almost three years ago, as a new weapon of the Grimleal. After a while, and after seizing some of these," gestured to the box, "we began to use them ourselves to give new recruits combat experience. Hence why I have it here, in a field, and not within the monastery walls."
"Interesting," Hubert commented, "so we can have actual combat experience without hunting after bandits."
"Well, that too, but I also want the chance to see how each of you fight. Also, I should point out," he raised a pointed finger, "the Risen are slow and mostly mindless, but they are tough and normally takes twice as much effort to kill than your average swordsman."
"So I've noticed," Ferdinand noted.
"Right then. Everyone get ready. You're going to fight these things one-at-a-time, one-by-one."
"Alright," said Caspar, brandishing his sword, "let's get started then!"
["Prelude (Ablaze)" - Fire Emblem Awakening]
They were all actually pretty good. Robin was actually more than impressed as he looked on.
Caspar was first, and very quick. Instead of thrusting at the torso like Ferdinand, Caspar brought his blade across his Risen's belly as he lunged off-line. The Risen lumbered round as vapor poured from the gash. Caspar didn't waste any time, slashing at the Risen's legs as he continued around his foe. The Risen staggered, stumbled, and fell to it's knees. Caspar swiftly swung his sword up, slicing the Risen's head clean off.
"Good, next."
Hubert was next. As the second Risen writhed up, Hubert immediately cast Miasma Δ, which made the Risen stumble, but nothing more. That didn't faze him though, quickly brandishing his bow and placing a well aimed shot into the Risen's chest. It staggered. Hubert pulled back a second arrow, aimed, then loosed. The arrow's shaft imbedded in the Risen's head, it gurgled, then fell and dissolved.
"Yeah, be careful with dark magic around these things. I probably should've mentioned that earlier."
Linhardt was next. He brandished an iron sword, but then stuck it in the ground while readying his own spell. Robin saw the tell-tell drift of magic energy from the Risen to Linhardt, just not much. The Risen didn't even flinch as it lumbered forward. Linhardt picked up his sword and side-stepped the thing, then lunged forward, thrusting his sword into the Risen's back. The Risen lurched and Linhardt was able to wrench his sword out and thrust again. The Risen was defeated.
"As I said, dark magic is not the best weapon against Risen."
"What? Oh, right."
"Good recovery though," he congratulated, though Linhardt still looked a tad confused. "Next."
Dorothea held her sword aloft as her Risen lumbered toward her. She let it throw the first strike, easily swatted the blow away and stepped around her foe, slashing at the torso. She repeated this a few times before the Risen, smoke wisping from its wounds, lurched toward her. She quickly threw her hand out and a bolt of lightning blasted the Risen, which collapsed in a heap.
"Very good. Bernadetta next."
Robin actually paused before summoning the next Risen. Bernadetta was visibly shaking at the knees, bow clutched tightly and eyes focused more on the ground than the upcoming threat.
"Breathe," he said. Bernadetta perked up.
"W-what?"
"Don't forget to breathe." She gave him a somewhat confounded look, but he dropped the pinch of reek regardless. Bernadetta resorted to her bow right off the bat. Loosing one, two, three shots before running around the Risen before shooting another three shots. This continued until a twelfth shot brought the Risen down and a thirteenth shot to the head made it dissolve.
"Not bad."
Petra charged toward her Risen, plunging her sword deep into the torso. A bit too deep. The Risen looked down at her as she struggled to pull her sword back. She had to jump back when the thing reached toward her. She nimbly circled around and, as the Risen slowly stomped around, leapt for the sword's handle. She grabbed it and wrenched-nope. She was able pull the blade out half-way before the Risen reached for her a second time. She leapt back again.
"Petra!" Edelgard tossed a spare sword over, Petra caught it, then split open the Risen's head. It made an grotesque gurgling noise, collapsed, and dissolved, leaving nothing but the first sword laying in the grass.
"Whew, those things are stronger looking," Petra commented, retrieving the first sword. What?
"Pardon?" Robin asked. Petra blushed.
"I mean: stronger than they look," she corrected.
Now it was Edelgard's turn, hefting an iron axe and adapting a strong stance. Robin made one last drop of reek. The Risen writhed up and lunged. She side-stepped the attack, deflecting the strike before spinning around- slight stumble -and brought the head of her axe down on the Risen's neck. The Risen dropped to its knees and Edelgard, making a face of disappointment, tried to pull the axe back, kicked against her foe's torso, wrenched the axe out of the neck, then finally swung again, splitting the thing's skull open. The Risen dissolved.
"Hmm..."
Edelgard fixed Robin with an inquisitive look.
"What is it?" Robin, frowning somewhat with his arms crossed and head cocked to one side, brandished the reeking box once more.
"One more time." Another Risen sprouted from the ground and Edelgard readied herself. The Risen lurched forward. Edelgard stepped to the other side. She swung her ax low and struck one of the Risen's legs, knocking her foe off-balance. She then brought the ax back- subtle stumble -paused, and swung.
"Rah!" This time she lopped the head of the Risen clean off.
"Now that was flawless." Edelgard couldn't help but smile at the modest praise. Professor Robin turned back to Ferdinand. "You ready for a second round?"
"What? Oh, yes Professor."
"Well then, let us continue."
["Prelude" - END]
The students were all tired when they returned to the academy proper; not exhausted, just tired. Truth be told, it wasn't as tiring as the bandit and monster hunts they had taken part in, but it was still an exercise. As the class strode back through the monastery gates, Robin finally spoke what was on his mind.
"Why do you use that ax, Edelgard?" Edelgard was surprised by the question.
"Pardon?"
"Your weapon? Why do you use an ax?" Her eyes narrowed.
"Does it matter?" she asked, suddenly defensive.
"I was only curious?" Hearing his frankness, her tone softened.
"It was my father's choice of weapon, and I am my father's daughter. What worked for my father will work for me."
"Hmm..."
"What?"
"Nothing, except that you are clearly not your father."
"What do you know about my father?"
"Absolutely nothing," he said with an open shrug. "I assume your father is, or was, a strong and savvy man of great stature. A mighty man of a decisive nature, such a man is well suited for the ax. Furthermore, I gather he is, or was, also of a balanced temperament. Such is expected of a ruler and such I glimpse in you, if only barely (I only know you for two days after all). Also, at least in Archanea, ax wielders are often regarded as gruff, stubborn and simp- single-minded individuals. Therefore, your father would need a balanced temperament, otherwise he'd be a poor ruler." Edelgard was surprised once more by this statement. He could just as well be praising her father in her presence, but if he was he was putting a lot of thought into it. His assumptions were actually based on reason. "But you are not your father."
"Excuse me?" That perceived barb stoked her ire.
"You are not your father. You are Edelgard, and I saw Edelgard stumble as she tried to maintain her balance." Her face reddened and she quickly glanced about, relived somewhat as the other Black Eagles were talking amongst themselves.
"I just need practice, I'm fine with the ax." Robin frowned at this.
"You may be strong, but balance is more than vital. Honestly, I think you would be more formidable with a spear or sword or even a bow." Edelgard forced herself to take a breath, the new professor was only trying to help after all.
"I will keep that in mind, Professor." Keep in mind that swords generally lack both reach and power whereas lances are easily shattered.
"That aside, there's not much I can say about you lot," Robin continued, "for now at least."
"For now..."
"Well, I've only known you for two days."
