Day 21, Early Morning


The day was upon him, and Robin was thankful to see the camp already in its usual hustle and bustle even before breakfast. Nodding to some of the Hoshidans who were sparring in a makeshift sand-pit, he stopped briefly by the mess hall to check on the day's food.

"Not quite ready yet, Commander. Come back in a few minutes and you'll get the first taste!" Niles greeted slightly provocatively.

"...Sure. Say, have you seen Lord Leo?"

"I do, many times a day. He was just here, doing the same as you and looking for food. He must still be training though."

"I see. Much appreciated, Niles."

"Of course, sir."

Not entirely off-put by the retainer, Robin made his way towards another site. While the Shepherds had set up a training ground, Lucina still preferred to take her training to an isolated and secluded area. There weren't many trees about here by the river, but this far away from camp, the princess wouldn't be bothered except by the one looking for her. It took all but a minute to find her just finishing her morning routine, and she didn't seem to react to Robin's intrusion. Shoving an object into her hands, he greeted his slightly sweaty friend with a mischievous smile. Looking at the object in her hands, Lucina's interest was immediately piqued.

"Is this... a Mastery-Class Seal? If I recall correctly, you tried to use one of these right before my Father's coronation... in this timeline, I mean. Pardon my... spying."

"It's quite alright, you're not wrong. But... as far as your assumption goes, not quite," Robin clarified. "But it looks like a Mastery-Class Seal, which had me confused as to their true purpose. And before you ask, no, Commander Corrin doesn't know a thing about what these can, or should, rather, do."

"But why would Corrin... Ah. So... these are Hoshidan or Nohrian in origin then?"

"Corrin thinks so," Robin explained. "They looked like the Mastery-Class Seals that I distributed to our more veteran-soldiers during the early stages of the Valmese invasion, but upon trying to use these on others who I deemed ready, we didn't quite get the results we were expecting." Lucina tilted her head, curious as to what results Robin was alluding to.

"What... exactly do the Seals do? I have never had the opportunity to use such a device in my timeline, nor this one."

"It's..." Robin paused, trying to think of an appropriate word. "They're like some sort of training manual. You've looked into those skill books and arms scrolls in the armory, haven't you?"

"I have," Lucina nodded. "I experimented with the techniques shown in them and I think my form with lances and bows has improved considerably, all in a short matter of time."

"The Seals work something like that," Robin explained. "Except instead of reading and learning... all the knowledge is just... engraved into the user."

"Engraved?"

"So, let's use Lissa as an example. She's pretty handy with a staff because of how much we needed her during the Plegian war. But aside from bopping Plegians or Risen over the head with whatever staff she had on hand, she had no means to defend herself. Considering that our current foes are going to put up a much bigger fight than Plegia, not to mention the Risen still roaming about, I made the call to use one of our Mastery-Class Seals on her."

"Is that why she suddenly became handy with axes?"

"Yep. Figured I'd take a little weight off Lon'qu's shoulders and give her a means to defend herself. With all her experience as a front-line cleric, the Mastery-Class Seal unlocked her 'potential' - meaning her growing abilities as a cleric and a soldier in general. Once she used the Seal, she went from a simple cleric to someone who, despite her small frame, could haft around a Vaike-sized ax and throw it fifty feet into the air and take down a wyvern rider."

"Just in that instant? No training was needed?"

"Well," Robin clarified, "Lissa still needs practice with axes to get really good at using them, but as far as the lighter axes are concerned, I'm expecting good results from her and Lon'qu on the field."

"So how come it worked on Lissa but not on you?"

Robin's face deflated from embarrassment, but he shrugged it off and just gave a slight grimace in return.

"Lissa saw constant action on the front-lines, but me... not so much. Being a tactician, I can't always be in the thick of things and I hate to say it, but my experience on the battlefield simply doesn't amount to that of Lissa's. Mastery-Class Seals only work on those that know combat like the back of their hand. I may be proficient with tomes and swords, but as far as raw experience goes, I simply didn't have enough to work with the Seal."

"Even after besting me in Ferox and taking down Gangrel's Plegian army, you still lack the experience that Lissa had?"

"Apparently," Robin shrugged. "It baffles me, but that's just how it is. You saw how Corrin kicked my ass when we first met. I know my form and technique could use a bit more work before I try using the Seal again."

"...I see," Lucina pondered. "So seguing back to the object in my hands, what are you trying to accomplish?"

Robin chuckled, his plans for the day getting set into motion.

"Contrary to your opinion, the general consensus here is that you're one of our best swordsmen in the camp. Sure, your Father, Say'ri, Ryoma, and a very few others still have an edge over you, but like it or not, that's what I think as well."

"...Oh." Lucina stood there a minute, enjoying the subtle compliment before returning to the issue at hand.

"You said this was no Mastery-Class Seal though. Are you trying to ascertain its value by experimenting on me?"

"Not just you," Robin clarified. "Prince Leo, the Nohrian Mage Knight, concluded that this certain Seal, a 'Buddy' Seal as he coined, could only be used between two people."

"Two people?"

"I don't quite understand it too," Robin admitted. "But he theorized that if two people of similar experience used the Seal, or perhaps one person in proximity to another of similar experience used the Seal, we could elicit some curious results."

"So... you just want me to get this in close proximity to him?" Lucina asked, not really understanding her Commander's intent. Robin nodded, pointing at the blonde prince in the distance, just emerging from the chow tent.

"I need to know what these things do, but these 'Seals' don't work like our own, that's for sure. So I don't know, spar with him?"


The prince of Nohr was currently in a state of despair, holding what was the last of the Shepherd's tomato cache in his hands. Thanks to those barbarians who insisted that food was a training implement, there existed naught but two tomatoes in the entire storehouse, which Leo made the decision to eat before they too disappeared.

Footsteps. Leo quickly hid the spoils.

"Prince Leo, I heard you wish to train," a voice called from Leo's right. Flinching visibly, Leo sighed reluctantly and turned at whoever- Oh.

Princess Lucina stood behind him, a poor attempt at a genuine smile on her face. Leo wasn't sure whether this was just a farce or whether the Princess truly could not line her lips properly. Her right hand rested casually on the hilt of Awoken Falchion, while the left held her hip like she normally stood. Strapped to her belt was one of the Seals. Was she running experiments for Robin? He supposed this was what was due for encouraging the curious tactician.

"Training? I believe you are mistaken," Leo replied confidently, to which Lucina's slight smile turned into a bitter scowl. To be honest, Leo did not mind training, but most of his true learning came from reading and watching, not from the actual physical practice (and disgusting sweat) of live combat.

"Tsk, then why are you out here if not to scout or train? And... are those tomatoes? What are you going to do with those?"

Oh, I don't know, Eat them, maybe?

Leo laughed nervously, waving it off as if tomatoes were the norm to carry around.

Shit, my cover is blown. Think think think!

The perfectly oiled and maintained gears in Leo's head turned at maximum efficiency, cranking out a valid excuse in optimal time.

"Well, it's not really training, but you could call it that," Leo offered. "Hana and Frederick were using them as targets, and well... I guess target practice is training, I suppose."

"Fantastic!" Lucina exclaimed, drawing Falchion eagerly. "If that is the case, then I wish to train with you!" Leo paled, a genuine fear growing for his tomatoes. Would he ever get to eat them?

"I-uhh... Are you sure you wish to use your holy sword as a... vegetable cutter?" Lucina frowned as the joke flew over her head, and all she traced was another excuse to escape. Likewise, Leo felt disgusted in using his beloved tomatoes as a mere... training implement. He would rather eat them. Lucina thought otherwise.

"Allow me to be clear. I wish to train with you, and when I say with you, I mean I wish to spar." Leo noticed that she was unconsciously toying with the Seal on her hip the whole time, but even now, nothing had happened that was out of the norm.

Leo sighed as the thoughts of tomatoes were now all but gone, so he set the two in his hand down on a nearby barrel before opening up Brynhildr. Lucina shook her head, instead pointing at the unused blade at his side.

"Commander Corrin says even though you're a capable mage, your swordsmanship is what truly sets you above and beyond the Nohrians. I wish to see this myself."

"Capable..."

Leo made a quick mental note to curse Corrin's smallclothes with a burning spell tonight.

We'll see who's 'capable.'

But the second part stung a little bit more. Swordsmanship? Leo gagged on his laugh, and silently cursed Corrin for spreading such rumors. Him? A swordsman? Truly she insisted on rubbing salt in the wound of their last duel. He sighed quietly as he remembered his beloved sister beating him relentless with a wooden stick, forcing Leo's innards inside out just like his cloak.

Hmph.

"I... She means to disgrace me! She knows I never use swords!" he cried, trying to get away from Lucina, a futile attempt as the swordsman blocked his path with crossed arms.

"You mean to say that your rumored skill with a sword is based on fallacy?" Leo frowned and pointed at the iceblade on his belt.

"Do you see this? It hasn't seen maintenance, let alone combat, since I got here," To prove his point, Leo tried drawing his sword, only for the rust on the blade causing it to get stuck about halfway out the sheath, "And I'm pretty sure I would do more harm beating you with this tome than I could swinging this blade."

Lucina rolled her eyes and drew Falchion, the smooth gliding of metal slightly unnerving Leo.

"Prove it!" Lucina exclaimed, eager to spar and getting quite annoyed that the prince would not draw.

"I can't! Corrin always teases me about my poor swordsmanship! I'm a spellcaster through and through, truly! She is merely disdainful of my talents and wishes for me to... embarrass myself..."

"Is that it?" Lucina asked curiously. Leo scoffed.

"What do you mean 'is that it?' She probably set you up, knowing that you like to spar with everyone, and she got you to think that I'm an actual swordsman. Tsk, I would've guessed she would insult my pride like that."

"Pride? I do not wish to harm your honor," Lucina stated with relative discomfort, "I only wish to improve my own skills. And what's the point of wielding a sword if you cannot swing it!" Leo laughed in response, waving around his tome.

"I have this, the holy tome of Nohr! What good is a sword when both my hands are taken?" Lucina considered it, but stood her ground.

"But, if you were to be set upon by an enemy at close range, what good is a tome?" Leo scoffed and surrounded himself with vines and branches, creating a barrier "Oh."

"On the other hand, what good is that blade if you are beset by archers or mages?" Leo retorted. The princess stopped, at a loss for words.

Suddenly, an idea struck Leo like a brick. Grinning madly, Lucina was caught off guard at the sudden change of heart.

"I guess we shall settle this ourselves. We shall train yet, Princess of Ylisse," Leo exclaimed. "Now give me Falchion!"

"Excuse me!?" Lucina yelled, unwilling to let go of her Father's sword. Leo sighed and tossed her Brynhildr, which she barely caught.

"Give me your sword, and I'll give you my tome. This will truly be a fair spar, if that's what you so desire." Leo grinned on the inside. If I'm going to get embarrassed, then at least Corrin's buddy here will sink with me into this pool of mortification! Genius!

Lucina appeared distraught, twirling her Falchion slowly, before handing it to Leo with a slight grimace.

"I'm not too sure... I haven't used a tome in... My whole life, really. Neither of my parents use magic, and sorcery has not really been taught to me..." Leo laughed, a plan already made.

"Then it will be a fair duel! My swordsmanship is on par with your magical proficiency, therefore it will be a true battle of combat intuition!" Leo's smile grinned as even though he was a shit-poor swordsman, he could definitely beat a first-time caster like Lucina. Especially with a tome as difficult as Brynhildr, who, by title alone, was only usable by him.

Likewise, Lucina thought the same. Falchion would only cut when held by a worthy heir to the Exalt. Of course, Leo, not even being of the same bloodline, would have much difficulty breaking her defense, let alone best her at her own game. Even without a sword, she was a swordsman. Disarmed combat was merely excellent training, despite the poor opponent. She would tire him out just by dodging his blade, at least by the time she would figure out how to... tome... stuff. She could just bash him with the tome, but that would defeat the purpose of learning.

Little did the two notice that the Seal by Lucina's hip started to glow.


Chrom and Robin looked in interest at the two, who were circling around each other uncertainly holding each other's weapon.

"What's Lucina doing with a tome?" Robin laughed. Lucina didn't notice but Brynhildr was upside down in her grip.

"And what does that boy think he's doing with Falchion?" Chrom joined in, clearly amused at Leo's poor form and footwork.

Deciding to initiate, seeing as it wasn't much mental effort to swing a sword, Leo sloppily lunged forward, which was easily sidestepped by Lucina. Having nothing better to do, she beat him over the head with Brynhildr, causing him to yelp in pain.

"Ow! You're supposed to cast spells with a tome, not use it as a club!"

Robin cracked up again, not sure who to root for.

Lucina stopped, feeling a strange coursing of power when she exerted effort with Brynhildr. Perhaps spells were cast by the mind, and channeled through the book! Lucina had always thought it was the other way around.

"Is that... I think I got it!"

"Huh?"

Leo on the other hand felt something much stranger; Phantasms of what appeared to be royalty across the ages. Dozens of warriors, all the way to a blue-haired prince, one of the first, it seemed, who bore a similar hairstyle and headband that the prince did. If Leo wasn't blonde, he would've sworn that this king bore a very uncanny resemblance to him.

"What in the hell is this?" Leo gasped, backing up from the phantoms which were seen only by him. Chrom and Robin looked at each other before laughing, the mage clearly delusional. Lucina did likewise, clearly not seeing what Leo saw. Was this the power of the Seal?

"I think I may know what those new toys of ours do now," Robin decided quietly.

Who...

Leo thoughts flew at a mile a minute, the visions appearing as mirages in front of him as his blurry subconsciousness continued providing this incredible feedback. Watching the prince from before materialize right where his feet were going to be, Leo's form seemed to improve a hundredfold, his actions now being guided by the unwitting hero-king himself, and with a diving spin, sliced the air surrounding Lucina's neck as she backflipped away, at a loss for how Leo pulled off that maneuver.

"Horse dung, useless with a sword," Lucina muttered, rubbing her almost-eviscerated neck gingerly. Trying again with Bryndhildr, her fingers in her right hand were now tingling as if she lost blood flow to the digits, but she could tell that this was something far more powerful.

"Let's see if this works..."

Leo's eyes were focused not on Lucina, but on the people manifesting on the ground within him. Like he preferred, he was a visual learner. Not only that, but when he mimicked the royalty in front of him, it seemed to be that his body was being guided by an unknown power.

"Is the Falchion..." Leo started, before becoming lost in thought once again.

Seeing a new prince appear this time, and being guided by a force far more recent than the previous, Leon flew into the air at least ten feet and flipped forward with his blade outstretched, a whirling blur of black and blade as Lucina rolled out of the way. His impact with the ground met a hollow thud as the blade clanged harmlessly against the dirt, echoed closely by cursing from Lucina of some 'lying swordsman.' Chrom took a stronger feeling to the move, clearly interested in the fight now.

"Hey! That's... my thing?" a voice yelped from the sidelines.

Leo stopped, noticing Chrom watching, and how similar he looked to the mirages...

"You're the one that taught me that," Leo called to Chrom."I saw you do that move and suddenly I could do it too... but how?"

Could it be, that whoever wielded the blade bore the strength of the heroes before him? That could explain the legacy behind Falchion, he wondered. Or perhaps... This had nothing to do with Falchion, but with his own aptitude for learning? Or...

Leo looked down at Lucina's hip, where the Seal was glowing quite vividly now. Meeting Lucina's gaze, they both realized that this fight was going to become much more intense.

"I think I know what those seals do now..." Lucina hypothesized aloud, in awe of seeing Chrom's own move being performed by someone who wasn't him or his daughter. After all, he was just a mage! That move took her father ages to perfect, and more so to teach to her!

Actually, he had never taught that to her, but she sort of figured it out after the tenth or so flip onto her back.

Was he 'engraved' with Lucina's aptitude for swords? If so, would that make her aptitude for tomes...

Her left hand clutched Brynhildr as her right seemed to be outstretched, trying to cast. After ducking from another close-call with her blade, Lucina finally got some feedback, her fingers glowing with power.

'H-how... Un-Ah!" Lucina couldn't even feel her own hand anymore, a foreign feeling gripping her entire arm. With a shout, she somehow exerted that energy, causing a massive tree to sprout up right underneath Leo's feet. Both fighters and certainly both spectators were caught off guard, Leo not so nimbly back-flipping off the tree and stumbling on the landing, cursing all the while.

"Did I just..." Lucina said with excitement. She could pull off magic after all! And with a Holy tome of Nohr, was that even possible?

"Did she just..." Leo said with panic. That was his tome! No one could use it except for him! Was it something she did? Or did the tome pick a new favorite? Or did the Seal... give her his abilities?

"Did my daughter just..." Chrom said with shock. Since when could the future princess wield magic? Let alone something as powerful as that?

"Those seals the Nohrians brought... They are so different from our own." Robin theorized quickly. Even if no magic potential existed in Lucina's blood, here she was, casting spells out of one of the most powerful tomes in the army.

The Shepherds could always use more mages, Robin devised.

Half the army used swords on the battlefield, anyway.

In a roar of frustration, and with no predecessors guiding him, Leo struck the tree Lucina created, cleaving clean through the trunk with a horizontal blow from Falchion. Chrom and Lucina held their breath as the blade visibly went through the tree, waiting for something to happen.

No cut was visible, and Chrom sighed in relief. Robin already knew this from before but never actually saw it in action: someone unworthy of using Falchion trying to strike something. It would appear as if there was a cut, but then nothing would actually befall the target. The only time the blade felt resistance was from another blade, so flesh or an otherwise inactive opponent would be as indiscernible as air to the unworthy hand.

By this time, several more people that were standing around started taking interest in the battle, including Corrin and Xander.

Leo sprung off the tree with a leaping strike, once again mirroring Chrom before barely missing Lucina's legs as he rolled into another series of rapid slashes.

"What the hell?" Corrin wondered in confusion, not exactly believing that Leo could pull off such impressive swordwork.

"The holy tome of Nohr, only able to be wielded by those that prove themselves righteous of its power..." Xander whispered, noticing who was holding Brynhildr with awe. Also, his brother seemed to develop exceptional skill with the blade, it seemed.

Hearing a huge snap behind them, Lucina and Leo turned to see that the tree Leo had just jumped off from had, thanks to the force from the jump, started to break where Leo had sliced. With a loud thump, the newly bisected tree lay on the ground.

"No way in hell," Lucina and Leo muttered simultaneously. Chrom hurried over to the tree, feeling the wood against his palm: It was as smooth a cut as if it had been sanded a thousand times by an expert craftsman. Only a cut from a worthy wielder of Falchion could have done that...

"Falchion is... Naga's tooth..." Leo whispered with reverence. Turning to Lucina, he held up Falchion, which was glowing a very faint but barely discernible purple in his hands.

"And only the descendants of Naga can wield it?" Lucina finished, uncertain now. "Or has it deemed you worthy, just as Bryndhilr has done for me?"

"Lord Leo," Chrom concluded, gesturing for the two Nohrian princes and Lucina to follow him, "I believe some research is in order. Those Seals seem to be quite the interesting devices."


Corrin walked up to Robin who still appeared awed, rubbing the tree's cut with a sense of admiration. The young man's face was lined with both shock and immense discovery.

"Can you believe it? Those Buddy Seals... as long as two soldiers are compatible and experienced, we can fill any role the army needs! Can you imagine how versatile we could be?" Robin announced, sensing his Co-Commander behind him.

"And I was just teasing when I told Lucina he was a skilled swordsman among us in the camp," Corrin grumbled, feeling the cut as well against her palm. Sighing in contempt, she drew Yato, envying the clean incision that she could have never pulled off with her own sword. And here was her younger brother, invading her and Xander's realm of combat expertise oh so nonchalantly. "Ever the natural..."

"You know what? Why not? There's no reason a Dark Knight like Leo can't use his sword every now and then. I'll put him on the vanguard, along with Xander," Robin decided, drafting more battle plans for the upcoming fight in his head.

"As long as he gets to use magic, I'm sure he won't complain," Corrin countered.

"I'm going to talk Leo into letting Lucina keep Brynhildr, as well."

"Ah, now you're really pushing it." Corrin teased. Her smirk never failed to be contagious, and Robin nodded along to her complaining.

"You know, perhaps we should try that out. I m-mean, the Buddy Seal, that is," he added quickly.

"Oh, you think you can run around with my skills now that Leo is a better mage and swordsman than you?" Corrin smirked.

"If we use that Buddy-Class Seal, maybe you might put up a fight in chess," Robin grumbled.

"As if," the princess waved with a scoff. "Though, I am curious to see how long you'll last as a dragon," she retorted.

Robin chuckled, sitting atop the log to stare at Corrin's pouting face.

"About as long as you would without boots," Robin replied with his trademark bow. "All the tacticians I know love their boots."

"Tsk, I think I'll wear your cloak when I'm Grandmaster of the Shepherds."

"And I think a Grandmaster wears boots."

"...I just want to wear your cloak."