Chapter Four: Fire and Water
Morning arrived and Byleth opened his eyes to a clear sky. There was a light breeze blowing from the northeast, and little chance of rain for the next several days. It also seemed like a perfect day for flying...
Wait a minute! As far as Byleth knew, he could not tell the weather simply by looking at the sky, nor could he fly. Maybe I'm not quite awake yet, he thought wearily.
But then again, there were two people now climbing on his roof, and for some reason he was sure about it.
As though to confirm his suspicions, at that moment two impish faces appeared grinning down at him from the hole in his roof.
"Ah… I think he's awake."
"There's no one who could stay asleep amidst all the ruckus you were making, Claude."
"Speak for yourself, Hilda."
"?!" said Byleth.
"Hey Teach! Feeling all rested up for your first day at the Academy?"
My first day...
He met his two interlopers outside his makeshift quarters. The girl named Hilda was rather pretty, a little shorter than Byleth with pink pigtails and wearing what must have been a fashionable outfit. Her frail-looking figure seemed to belie a great deal of physical ability. "We weren't actually snooping on you," she assured him cheerfully. "Just thought you might need a great warm welcome! The Monastery gets preeeeeety stuffy if the only people you ever see are Rhea and Seteth. Don't tell either of them I said that!"
"I'm sure neither of them needs to be told that, I bet they could hear your voice all the way from Rhea's bedchamber," Claude surmised. "Anyway, what Hilda said, we wanted to make sure your first day at the Academy is time well spent, so you can best prepare to teach us. That is what Rhea asked of you, right?" Claude winked.
Byleth wasn't sure how much of the conversation with Rhea and Seteth he was free to share, though he didn't see any reason to hide the fact from these two. "I don't suppose she could have been joking?" He suggested.
"I'm pretty sure telling jokes goes against the divine ordinance of Seiros or something. And I've only ever seen Seteth enjoying himself when he's chewing Hilda out about her indolence."
"He's been calling me the Lazy Fox lately. It's such a cute name that I wonder if he's actually flirting with me. It's hard to tell because he's so intimidating, you know?" She stroked her pink curls in a parody of thoughtfulness.
"Well don't be so shy, Hilda. As House leader, I'd be more than happy to break down a few barriers. Speaking of which, Teach, let's introduce you to the awesome students you'll be teaching, should you decide to join the Golden Deer family. First there's myself and Hilda, no justification needed there. Then there's Lysithea, who's the most studious and gifted student you'll ever meet. Lorenz, a really stuffy noble. There's Leonie -"
"HyaaaAHHHHHH!"
Byleth barely had time to react before a rather sharp looking bokken sliced the air he was just standing in. He spun around to see Leonie pointing the sparring weapon at his nose and wearing the same hawklike expression she had worn yesterday, not to mention the same outfit.
"Byleth! I hope you haven't forgotten about our promised duel this morning! The time has come to decide which of us really deserves to be Captain Jeralt's apprentice!"
Well, at least she remembered my name. Byleth shrugged. It would be refreshing to start the day with a duel, and he did not intend to lose in front of his potential future students.
Hilda chimed in enthusiastically. "A duel!? Sweeeeeet! I'm gonna be siding with our new professor, of course. Let's go, Byleth! You can't lose with such a pretty girl in your cheering squad, now could you?" Hilda winked in a manner that was way too much like Claude's.
…
The sparring arena was built in the style of a large amphitheatre located to the north of the monastery. The first thing Byleth noticed upon entering through its double metal doors was the sound of rocks smashing against each other. His eyes were drawn, fascinated, by the pair on the floor below. One of them was the noble from Farghus he had met earlier, the one named Dimitri. He and another, darker-haired student appeared to be throwing - no, making - stones and hurling them at one another. Both were bare chested and gleaming with sweat.
Another loud rumble reverberated through the arena as two melon-sized boulders collided with each other and crumbled into dirt. Unconsciously, Byleth imagined one of them as his head, then wondered if that's how he and Leonie would be dueling today.
"We'll be sparring in the other arena," she said. "No bending, just blades."
Byleth almost sighed with relief.
The adjacent sparring zone was centered around a fountain out of which water flowed freely onto the surrounding field, which consisted of a thin metal grating inches above a deep pool of water. The water looked just like ordinary water to him, but he couldn't help but feel something... conscious about it as he stepped over it, as though it were watching his every move. He and Leonie positioned themselves about two sword lengths apart in front of the fountain. With training sword in hand, Byleth began to feel the familiar rush of battle awareness sharpening his senses and guiding his muscles into a ready stance. Claude, serving as referee, signaled the start of the match.
As quick as a serpent, Leonie struck with a sharp blow. Byleth raised his sword to parry. Several bouts followed, with neither side giving an inch. Leonie was fast, but Byleth had trained as a swordsman for years and could defend just as quickly and precisely. He launched a counterattack after one slightly misplaced swing and Leonie had to back out of range.
"Not bad, son of Jeralt. I see it'll take more than mere swordsmanship to get the best of you."
She then launched another attack. This time, however, her stance was different. When Byleth lowered his sword to parry, the first blow seemed to melt away as though it were an illusion and suddenly a second blow struck him on his undefended right side before he even had time to react. Byleth had to blink several times to actually process what happened.
"Come on! It's Teach's first day, Leonie, don't go all out like that!"
Thwack. Another blow, blocked again by Byleth, but again, moments later Leonie was inside his guard, as though she had literally phased through his sword. He staggered sideways as her sharp blow to his chin caught him off balance.
Frustrated now, he tried to counterattack, but she danced away fluidly out of reach of his sword. He tried again but she deflected it expertly and he felt a sharp pain in his wrist.
They danced around each other several more times, but each time Byleth tried to go on the offensive, it was Leonie's sword that found its mark. His right elbow. His left knee. Again his right shoulder.
Finally, by the time he was feeling sufficiently bruised and weary, Leonie made a downward lunge on his sword hand and he heard his sword clatter onto the metal as he stared down the point of Leonie's practice blade.
The sound of slow clapping came from somewhere nearby. Byleth looked about and saw a sallow and intimidating man leaning casually against the entryway. He stood nearly a head taller than Byleth and his face was as emotionless as porcelain.
"Well now, it appears the prodigal Airbender still needs a few lessons in how to wield a sword."
"Professor Jeritza!" Leonie hastily straightened herself.
"I wasn't speaking to you, peasant," he snapped. "A crestless commoner like you may as well be good at combat, considering how few prospects you have."
Leonie's cheeks flushed and she looked about to retort.
Jeritza turned back to Byleth. "I would offer you my instruction, but it seems you've yet to master even the basics of what it means to fight with a crest."
"You sure talk big, yet you seem hesitant to draw your sword against me." Byleth blurted it out before he thought better of it.
Claude, Hilda, and Leonie all lapsed into stunned silence. Only Jeritza looked amused.
"You, challenge me? You're rather eager to have your flesh carved up by my blade. But I only fight in duels to the death. And the hour of your death has yet to arrive." With that, the ghostly man left the arena.
"What's his deal?" Byleth later asked as the four of them headed off to breakfast.
Claude answered, "He's the sword instructor appointed by the Fire Nation, or more precisely one of their top ministers. He used to be a top tier mercenary. Normally Rhea would make these appointments herself, but she's allowed this as a kind of favor to their government. At least, that's how the thinking goes. In any case, that's how we got saddled with that jerkwad of a teacher."
The four of them then had an enlightening breakfast of leek and tofu together in the dining hall. It was much better than any breakfast he had eaten in a long time, and he was satisfied that Leonie seemed just as hungry as he was. At least she's no longer glaring at me like a rhinoceros-bear, he thought.
Byleth learned that students typically had their classes in the morning followed by practical sessions in the afternoon, six days a week. The seventh day of each week was free. On this particular afternoon, there would be a mock battle, a kind of inter-house competition that happened every couple of months. Apparently, it was a big deal, as everyone seemed to be talking intently about strategies for the upcoming match. When he asked for details, however, Claude simply winked and said, "you'll see."
After breakfast, Claude and his friends headed to class, while Byleth resolved to seek out his father to get some more sword fighting lessons that day. Jeralt was easy enough to find, though, as he was waiting just outside the dining hall, wearing sword and mercenary armor and a rather serious expression.
"Father...What's happened?"
"I'll be away for a while. Something urgent came up."
"Then I'm coming with you."
"No." He looked around for a moment before continuing. "Byleth, I don't know what Rhea is thinking, putting you in charge of teaching these kids. If I were you, I'd be very careful about trusting her. But I also know the kids are going to need you here."
"That...doesn't sound ominous at all, Dad. Is everything going to be alright?"
"Don't worry, Son, it's only for a while. We'll get to the bottom of this, but in the meantime, I believe in you." With that, he said a brusque farewell and trudged off down the stone stairs towards the Academy's main entrance.
Be careful about trusting her. Byleth pondered the words. But the question is, whom can I trust?
...
The classrooms were on the northern part of campus near the church. Each one was furnished with copious writing desks for the students and a podium and blackboard for the professor. He tried to imagine himself giving a lecture in one of them, but still found the idea absurd. What would he even lecture about? Why would the students listen to him instead of one of the many professors and monks around here?
One class had just ended and students were now leaving a room in which a rather provocatively dressed female professor was lecturing. It wasn't long before he spotted a familiar face.
"Nice to see you again, Byleth," said Edelgard, a rather pleasant expression on her face. Accompanying her was a rather pale and dark-haired male student, half a head taller than she was and eyeing Byleth with suspicion. "This is Hubert, he's a childhood friend of my family's."
Hubert nodded, apparently annoyed at being dragged into the conversation. "I specialize in assassinations." He said matter-of-factly.
"Erm...as you can see, he has an unusual sense of humor. His report on the attempted assassination of Archduke Paku was just praised as an exemplar of fine research." Hubert huffed, looking a little impatient, but Edelgard said she would meet him in Hanneman's lecture and he trudged off.
"I see you've taken a liking to the Monastery after all," Edelgard continued. "Is it everything you expected?"
He thought back to his match against Leonie. "It could take some getting used to," he admitted.
Edelgard led them in the other direction towards the courtyard. She was wearing the school uniform trimmed with her house colors, red and black, while her pure white hair fell over her shoulders like fresh snow. She continued, still in a friendly tone. "I've always found it too stuffy within these classrooms. Theory has its place, but it takes courage and strength of will to apply it out in the world." She studied him for a moment. "Is that why you're here? Because you want to make the world a better place?"
Byleth was slightly surprised at the question. The truth was, he had rarely desired much at all about how things should be in the world. Life as a mercenary was hard enough without the complications of worldly affairs, and he wouldn't know where to begin.
"I've never really thought much about it," he said.
"That makes sense, considering you've spent most of your life as a mercenary fighting mainly to survive." If Edelgard was disappointed, she didn't let on. She merely considered him for a moment, then said, "It's worth thinking about, even for you. Many come to the monastery because they are unsatisfied with their world, and seek refuge from it or pray to their goddess for change. But those who actively seek the means to change the world usually find it.
"Take the academy, for example. This year, it's as much about the future political balance of Fodlan as it is about preparing young kids for offices."
"What do you mean?"
"I - we don't normally speak of this to outsiders, but Dimitri, Claude, and I are actually the crown heirs to our respective nations. For me, it's not a matter of aspiration, but of destiny that I will one day lead the Adrestian Empire, and with that comes the weight of my people's expectations."
Byleth took a moment for this information to sink in. So the girl standing before him was the crown princess of the Fire Nation, and future Fire Lord. He didn't quite register her regal bearing before but somehow it was very apparent now. The way she held her chin up ever so slightly when speaking, the commanding posture, the way she held his gaze without flinching.
"But that's still far into the future," Edelgard continued. "For now, I'm just a student like everyone else, trying to get good grades and a good reputation among her classmates. After all, what use is political power in five years when you have an exam in five days?"
That sounded like a rhetorical question to Byleth, so he simply nodded.
"As for what I would do with power. I'd begin with a more just and equal society, where nobility and common people like us can come together as individuals to share dreams and ideas for the future. That seems to be a nice place to start, doesn't it?"
Byleth was still a little self-conscious of just how unusual it was for a commoner like him to be having this conversation, so he simply nodded.
Edelgard smiled. "I have to go to class soon, but it was nice talking to you again. If you are able, come witness the mock battle this afternoon. It may give you a sense of the larger battle at stake." She walked off self-assuredly down towards the classrooms.
...
That afternoon, the entire Academy gathered itself at the outskirts of the monastery, overlooking a mock battlefield. On the eastern bank of a river grew a grove of trees, while on its opposing side stood a number of wooden forts. A single bridge connected the two halves of the field across water that looked at least several heights deep.
On the way here, Byleth had managed to strike up conversation with a student from the Blue Lions house, a rather mousy and even-tempered boy named Ashe. He explained that it would be a three-way battle, and the goal of each House was to capture something called a Hero's Relic from the other two houses and return it to their camp. He pointed to the artifacts the House leaders were carrying. They seemed to glow as though still hot from the forge.
"They're just replicas," Ashe explained. "The axe is Amyr, the Raging Storm. That's Areadbhar, the Lance of Atrocity, and Failnaught, the Fallen Star." He indicated the bow in Claude's hand.
The weapons the students wielded were dulled for training (though they still hurt, as Byleth knew perfectly well). Most carried swords, though there were plenty of lances, axes, bows, and even bare fists. Each student wore a kind of light armor bearing the insignia of their house. If it was broken during the fight, the student it belonged to was considered 'dead'.
"It's easier than it looks," Ashe said. "Sort of like cutting a potato."
Each team was composed of the 8 students voted to represent their House. Apparently, it was quite an honor to fight in this battle, and an even bigger one to win. Ashe's team had won the previous 5 matches. According to Ashe, it had all been due to Dimitri, though he mentioned that almost everyone in his class was a decent fighter except for himself.
Catherine made the ceremonial introduction of the battle. "Alright kids, the rules are the same. No maiming or killing. I'm looking at you, Hubert. That said, freezing, burning, burying in quicksand are all valid ways of defeating your opponents and are all highly encouraged. The winning House gets extra sauna time, while the losing House gets an extra assignment from Lady Rhea."
The crowd observing the match was quite large and consisted of students and faculty as well as interested outsiders. Byleth settled in among them atop a nearby hill to watch the battle.
...
Edelgard ducked behind a large oak as two large boulders flung themselves in her direction. The boyish faces of Felix and Sylvain grinned from across the river, intent on striking her down. She held her position with difficulty. While she was no slouch of a tactician, even she had to admit that finding a weakness in Dimitri's form would be difficult. Every fireball lobbed at the Lions' fortresses was answered by two stones hurled back at her team's formation.
She glanced up north to see what Claude was up to. It was then she noticed Raphael advancing towards the Lions' fortress on the western shore. Unarmed, he swatted away boulders like beach balls, while safely behind him, Lysithea performed elaborate movements that elicited water to rise from the river in serpentine tendrils. The water snaked around the earthbenders' forts and sent several defenders scurrying from the shore.
It was just the opening she was waiting for.
"Hubert, lend me your strength."
"Gladly."
Combining their chi, the two of them summoned a torrent of flame that set ablaze the nearest fort, scattering its defenders.
"Black Eagles, advance!"
Yes, all is going according to plan, she thought as Ferdinand led the bulk of the Black Eagle forces across the bridge to invade Lions' territory. Assuming nothing unexpected happened now, the victory was as good as hers.
Just then, Claude came in surfing on a wave, his face beaming a cheesy grin.
…
Bernie hid herself among the trees trying not to make a sound. It was so unfair that she had to fight in this battle just for having the best grades in botany and decent archery skills. Not that she believed it was due to anything other than dumb luck that she hit the center of the target every time. At least her only job was defense, so with luck, she could avoid fighting anyone today.
She peeked out from behind her designated safe tree eyeing the path up ahead. There didn't seem to be any enemies coming from that way, which didn't do anything to calm her paranoia. They were almost certainly moving silently among the trees and were going to sneak up behind her and do awful things to her. She considered climbing up a tree but decided she would probably fall off and be even more embarrassed. Ooh, if only she knew enough firebending to summon a Seeker, or -
"EEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKK!"
She bolted from her spot as quick as a startled rabbit as soon as she heard the leaves rustle. She continued to run fervently until she reached the river where the rest of the battle was taking place. Along the way, she dashed straight by Lorenz who was hiding among the brambles. The flustered nobleman stared after her for a moment, scratching his head and looking positively nonplussed, before venturing on to steal the Black Eagles' relic.
…
Edelgard retreated to the forest as all hell broke loose. One of Claude's arrows connected with Hubert as he dove to protect Edelgard, while the others put the remaining Lions on the defensive. The Earthbenders targeted him with rocks but Claude was much too agile on the water, gracefully outmaneuvering them.
Meanwhile, most of Ferdinand's strike team had been washed away by the wave, and the rest had made it into the Lions' camp only to be slaughtered by Dimitri, who was now joining in on the effort to tame Claude. In the meantime, Bernadetta came running out of the forest apparently very excited about something -
Edelgard summoned the fire just in time to stop Leonie as she charged at her. The fire grazed Leonie's armor but she quickly dove into the river where further flames would be useless. It was at that moment that Edelgard noticed the glow of a Hero's Relic. She watched and gave chase as the glowing relic and Leonie's silhouette got flushed downstream by the river's current, away from the Deers' territory.
Several minutes passed. By now Dimitri had managed to bury Claude beneath a pile of rubble and had noticed what Edelgard was looking at. The two eyed each other from across the river for several moments, and each prepared to dive in to retrieve the relic. Just as they were about to do so however, a gong sounded from the hills, signalling the end of the match. Confused, both she and Dimitri watched Leonie finally emerge from the water. In her hands, she carried a glowing bow.
Failnaught. It was the Golden Deers' own relic.
…
Byleth was very impressed by what he saw during the match. Dimitri had managed to get the better of the two students he was fighting as well as Claude. But in the midst of that chaos, no one kept a close eye on Leonie, who, against all expectations, rushed by the field apparently carrying the Black Eagle relic, which all along had been her own teams' relic. This was enough to completely distract Dimitri and Edelgard so that they were not watching as Hilda managed to make it all the way to the Lions' fortress, knock out the sole guard for their relic, and take it back to Deer territory, while her teammate did the same with the Eagles' relic. And since the Golden Deers' relic had never technically been stolen, the final victory was theirs.
Catherine was now debriefing the students on the match outcome. First place went to the Golden Deer for their relics retrieved, followed by the Blue Lions for their knockout score, and finally the Black Eagles.
"Congratulations Claude for your successful subterfuge," she remarked, "I think the others won't be forgetting that maneuver anytime soon. Black Eagles, you'll be receiving word of your assignment in a week's time. Until then, practice hard for your next match at Gronder Field!"
The dinner that evening was filled with students celebrating and pundits wanting to discuss the strategy, the chances of Claude's gambit failing, and so forth. Dimitri and Edelgard were among those congratulating Claude, who had become an instant celebrity at the Academy.
"It's not luck if it was based on preparation. Well done, Claude."
"If only I had anticipated your scheme, but next time it won't be so easy."
Byleth's head was still swimming when he returned to the Archbishop's chamber for their scheduled meeting that evening. All in all, he had been excited to be able to spend time with the students, but having witnessed the battle that afternoon, he was not sure how it was possible for him to teach these kids, who were both physically and tactically sharper than he was.
And so when Rhea looked expectantly at him, he found he couldn't quite meet her gaze, and instead struggled to find the words to express his reluctance. It was great meeting the students. But unfortunately I don't think I'm up to the task of teaching them. But at that moment, a new unbidden thought presented itself to him. Is that why you're here? Because you want to make the world a better place? Still not knowing how to answer, he instead asked, "What is the task you plan to give to the losing team?"
Rhea looked surprised but hardly missed a beat as she replied, "They will be assigned the task of eliminating a bandit group in the outskirts of the monastery. These missions are intended as motivation for them to improve over the next month."
Byleth gaped at her. She plans to send them to hunt bandits?! He knew first hand just how dangerous they could be. Did she not realize that one of her students had almost been killed by bandits just yesterday, had he not been there to -?
He knew then what he had to do. He thought back to his father's advice to not completely trust Rhea, and also remembered the part about the students needing him.
"Byleth, have you decided? Will you be our professor?"
This time he did not hesitate. The words formed in his mouth as though not his own, but it was his own voice which replied, firmly, "Yes, I will teach them… I will teach the Black Eagles."