Lunearc had made his way back to the castle from the garrison with no issues, due to the absurd size of the royal palace, but finding the specific location of the library was not quite so simple a task.
Once more, the complicated hallways, stairwells, and accompanying courtyards all meshed together into a blur, and a complete navigational nightmare.
"Ugh… how many hallways do I need to run around through before I can flop into a pile of books…?" Lunearc grumbled to no one in particular.
He'd ask a guard, but he hadn't yet been approached by one. Plus, who knows if they'd even be literate?
...Okay, that was a bit mean. Perhaps he was just a little grumpy from being lost.
He was sure at least HALF of the guards were literate. See? Much more generous. Glass half full, not half empty, right?
As he continued to walk through the seemingly never-ending hallways, Lunearc was beginning to lose hope of finding a good book to throw himself into.
At least, that was until he spotted a rather peculiar fellow walking in the same hallway from the opposite direction.
On first glance, the fellow looked to be a young boy with red-brown hair, but what made him stand out was his wizard-style attire. He sported blue and white robes, and the rest of his gear seemed to be similarly lightweight and conducive for magic casting. And he simply looked so young, on top of that.
"Excuse me there, boy. Would you happen to know where I could find the library?" Lunearc addressed the child, attempting to be polite.
"Oh, the library is right behind me and to your right. And… hey! I'm not a child!" the child totally, definitely, without a doubt, grown man retorted.
That line about the mage being an adult was sarcasm, if you couldn't tell. By looks, no amount of objection would convince Lunearc that the mage was not a young boy. But he wasn't about to get into a pointless argument about a topic so juvenile, as he had books to read, and things to learn!
"Oh, it's this way? Thanks for the tip!" Lunearc exclaimed, energetically following the instructions that had been given.
….….….….….….
The library was extravagant.
It was built into its very own tower, separated from the rest of the royal palace at large, and it consisted of multiple floors, which could be traversed by climbing the spiral staircases in the tower's center.
Each floor contained a vast collection of printed works, which spanned the gambit in central topics. And near the stairwells there contained quality tables and seating, clearly designed for sustained reading.
However, Lunearc was only there to read about a single subject, one that seemed to be exceptionally rare to find.
The library itself had been separated into multiple wings, and Lunearc was searching the nonfiction section for a book which covered the basic of battle strategy.
In his search, he had eventually found a pair of tomes that seemed to fit the general mold of what he was searching for.
The first of these was a small, worn book he had found in a rather obscure location, which when opened, was dusty to the extent that he believed that it had not been read in years.
When Lunearc looked at the title, the novel was authored by a man named Caedes, who had chosen the rather eye-catching title of "Total War: Advanced Strategies to Decimate All Opposition".
It definitely looked to be an interesting read in the future, but its complexity of subjects were still far beyond the baseline Lunearc currently possessed.
The other book he had found was "Battle Tactics: A Tactician's Primer" by an author whose name was completely and utterly illegible. However, the subjects presented in the tome fit quite well with what Lunearc was looking to learn, as a complete beginner .
Bringing the highly relevant novel with him to the nearest oak wood table, Lunearc flipped "Battle Tactics: A Tactician's Primer" open, and started to read. The book itself was extremely dry, and devoid of any sort of humor, as it decided to deliver information in a way that was simply factual.
Reading at a certain page, Lunearc found a subject that seemed to be particularly important.
"Swords have an advantage over axes, thanks to the sword's ability to defensively parry the overly reliant on offense axe. The axe has an advantage in combat over the lance, due to the sheer power the axe possesses, as it is able to overpower the long, yet skinny lance. However, the lance is highly effective against the sword, due to the length of the weapon. Together, this group of strengths and weaknesses make up the Weapon Triangle. Tacticians should keep track of each weapon's role in an army, and the balanced deployment of each in different situations."
Highly interesting subject, and something to keep in mind in battles going forward. Yet, also highly worrisome. If Lunearc had such difficulty against foes using axes as a sword user, how would he fare if put into a similar situation with foes who primarily make use of lances?
"While not a part of the Weapon Triangle, the bow is a highly notable long-ranged physical weapon. It's power is typically lower than the other weapons, though its range makes it effective against enemies with low defense."
This was Virion, or as he calls himself, "The archest of archers".
"There are three archetypes of non-mounted soldiers. First, the normal soldier. They are often the most numerous and least expensive to train, as they typically only need a weapon that is included in the Weapon Triangle to perform in battle. The amount of armor is typically lighter in weight, though can still be substantial. In many cases, this type of unit is well rounded in most regards, but lacks in areas such as magic and magical defense, and the amount of movement they have is restricted by human limitations."
The Shepherds seemed to have a few members of this variety. Chrom and Vaike certainly fit the mold exactly—especially with how they each had areas of their body that no armor at all.
"Second is the mage. This type of unit uses a magic tome to decimate their foes. Wind magic can sweep foes off their feet, Fire magic can burn opposition to a crisp, and Thunder provides raw power to even the most inexperienced of casters. Dark magic pulls its power from sources that the author of this book is reluctant to speak of…"
Lunearc hadn't yet met someone who fit within this role. Miriel, perhaps? Stahl had mentioned her prior.
"A subset of the mage is a healer. These can come in various varieties of classes (see chapter 4 section 3 for more information on that subject) but the most numerous is the cleric, who uses a stave to disperse energy into afflicted or injured patients. With a skilled healer, they can return a broken body back to what it had been prior."
Lissa. No doubt whatsoever. He'd felt her healing firsthand, multiple times already. If that wasn't healing, he wouldn't know what was!
"Thirdly, the armored soldier. These units tend to gravitate towards the lance, though other weapons in the weapon triangle are not out of the ordinary. They will often have the defense of an iron wall, yet the magical defenses of a wet tissue, and also sporting the speed of molasses. Keep them away from any mage, at all costs."
Kellam. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to keep him away from magic casters, as the true challenge with him was spotting the guy.
Time for the next section…
"For mounts, there are three types of units. The most numerous are the cavalry, which has the highest mobility of all land-based units. Despite their high movement, they actually do not possess the highest speed in close quarters combat. They also have difficulty moving around in cramped and unstable terrains such as forests and deserts."
Frederick, Sully, and Stahl all were on horseback, so this was them.
"The other two types of mounts are able to traverse the skies, and have little issue with terrain penalties. Pegasus Knights ride pegasi, which are highly resistant against magical attacks. Due to this, they have come to be known as "Mage killers"."
Okay, so maybe this book had a sense of humor after all! Mentioning mythical creatures as an effective mount for war? It must be a rather tongue in cheek Ylissean running gag if everyone kept speaking about these fictional winged horses without breaking a sweat.
"The other variety of winged mount is the Wyvern Knight. These small dragons are physical specimens, capable of physically wrecking opposition. Unlike the Pegasus, a wyvern has little resistance against the mage."
So now this book had decided to take the joke too far, officially jumping the shark—or perhaps dragon, in this case.
"Both aerial mounts have one shared, glaring weakness: the bow. A stray arrow can lay waste to them in multiple different ways. The arrow could strike a vital point or wing of the creature, causing both it and the rider to be knocked out of the sky. A well placed arrow would also be able to hit the rider directly, causing them to be knocked off of the mount, causing them to plummet from their current altitude."
That was certainly a fatal flaw… Lunearc did not wish to imagine how worried he'd be on such a fictional mount with those drawbacks!
Deciding that this had been enough reading for the time, Lunearc made to check out both the book he had been reading, as well as "Total War: Advanced Strategies to Decimate All Opposition" by Caedes, for later reading. Neither book seemed to have been used for quite some time, so he doubted that anyone would mind him borrowing them.
The lessons on unit classes had been interesting to read, but there was one glaring omission that still had Lunearc rather confused: there was not a single mention of swordsmen with magical capabilities!
Whatever his sword was, it didn't seem to fit cleanly in any specifically named class. He'd have to keep looking...
Leaving those queries for another time, Lunearc began to make his way down the spiral staircases in the center of the library, quickly spotting a familiar face from the day before: Sumia. She was currently sitting next to a table, enamored by what she was currently reading. She also had… a massive pile of books to her side. Was she planning to read all of that?
Deciding to set aside some time to chat with her, Lunearc placed himself on the chair opposite where Sumia currently resided. She did not seem to notice, continuing to read her story with the utmost focus.
"Hey there Sumia, that's certainly a lot of books you have there. Seems like you've found a favorite, too!" Lunearc spoke, after deciding that he'd not be noticed before he'd done so.
"Hmm? Oh, hello there." Sumia replied, surprised by the appearance, "You seem to have found yourself a pair of novels to read as well, Lunearc."
"Yeah, I thought I'd get started on learning the basic of tactics. I want to be well prepared for the mission." Lunearc explained, as he gestured at his pair of books, "What are you currently reading?"
"Oh, this book? It's "Winged Heart of Talys"! It's about a pegasus knight princess from the distant past, who would do anything to be with the princely man she had loved for her entire life, even going as far as volunteering to fight with him through multiple continent-spanning conflicts. It's based on a real story from actual historical figures!"
"Oh, so it's a romance story? Or does it cover other aspects as well?" Lunearc questioned, intrigued.
"Well… while it does touch upon other aspects, it's primarily about the romance of Caeda and Marth. And I wouldn't have it any other way! It's one of my favorites!" Sumia responded, her mind seeming to move at a thousand miles a minute in her explanations of the story.
Marth? The same Marth that Chrom had said to be the heroic king of old? The name that the masked figure had given themselves?
"That name is beginning to make me curious… Marth. Who was he, really? And how is he still so relevant in this land's culture, despite the great passing of years?" Lunearc inquired, tapping his head to try to find any past remembrance of the name. Unfortunately for him, he could recall nothing but what he had already been told.
"Marth is the Hero-King of old, and the first king of the Archanean Alliance! Oh, and husband of Caeda! It's actually well known that the Ylisse's first exalt is directly descended from the two." Sumia exclaimed, giving many of Marth's great accolades.
"So if Ylisse's first exalt is descended from Marth, and Chrom and Lissa are descended from the first exalt… then Chrom and Lissa are directly descended from Marth?"
"If you think about it that way, yes!" Sumia nodded.
To think that Lissa and Chrom would have such an ancestral history. I can't help but wonder if such exploits of their ancestors makes them place greater stress upon themselves in their daily lives...I know I'd feel pressured.
"Well, I'll say that story of yours' certainly sounds much more stimulating than what I'm reading. Can't exactly go to bed reading a book of tactics." Lunearc dryly joked, as he glanced at his informational tomes.
"Oh, I know! You can borrow one of the books I have here." Sumia suggested, sorting through her books as she looked for something in specific, "Hmm… let's see, how about this? "How to Herd Your Ovis, a Shepherd's Tale"!
"What exactly… is an Ovis? And why would someone want to herd it?" Lunearc asked, narrowing his eyes in confusion.
"It seems to be the scientific nomenclature of "sheep"! Are you interested? Should I reserve it for you right away?" Sumia answered, nearly handing the story to Lunearc before he could respond.
"No. Please, no. I don't wish to read about those horrible, horrific, horrendous things." Lunearc waved his arms in denial, letting it be well known how much he feared the dreaded enemy of mankind.
"Oh, okay. No sheep, then. Then how about a story for another animal?" Sumia inquired, holding out another book she had selected, "A Simpleton's Guide to Pegasus Care"!"
"I'm not really sure I wish to read about fictional creatures…" Lunearc answered, not too interested.
"Awh, pegasus poop. What do you mean by that? Pegasus are as real as you or me!" Sumia exclaimed, confused at Lunearc's declaration.
"Sure sure, whatever you say. I still find it rather difficult to comprehend." Lunearc waved off, clearly not convinced by Sumia's declaration, "I do find it interesting that you mention them so often. Do you have an interest in these "pegasi"?"
"Oh, goodness, yes! I've actually had some training under Phila, the captain of the Ylissean Pegasus Knights. Cordelia and I trained side by side, and she even went on to join the nation's official knights. I, on the other hand, decided to join Chrom—err, I mean the Shepherds, that just so happen to be captained by Chrom! Sadly, there weren't enough pegasi to spare for those not in the official brigades, so currently I don't know if I'll be any help in a fight…"
"Sounds to me like you joined the Shepherds primarily to be around Chrom. Almost like a certain pegasus knight princess of the distant past, hmm?" Lunearc teased, beginning to make a connection, which seemed to have made Sumia's cheeks redden, "Can't say I blame you for joining under that reason, seeing as how he and Lissa single-handedly recruited me."
"Haha, yeah… right. I'm not nearly good enough to be compared to anyone so illustrious and beautiful and amazing as Caeda." Sumia responded, not wishing to directly compare herself.
"I feel a similar way in my current role, to tell the truth. When I look at everyone in the Shepherds, I'm clearly the least experienced. Even you at least have past training and your memories… all I have is my sword and unanswered questions. I'm certainly not qualified to be the hero I aspire to be." Lunearc self-reflected aloud, "But… that's the reason I have for continuing on, and working as hard as I can. Just for that chance to make a difference."
"Right, you mentioned that hero aspiration before." Sumia recalled, once more going through her pile of books, "On that note, I think I know the perfect book for you! Just to be safe, I chose two. "Fates: Revelations" and "Echoes of Valentia"!"
"Oh? Interesting. Can I have a synopsis of each?" Lunearc responded, perking up at the mention of "hero stories".
""Fates: Revelations" follows the prince—or sometimes princess, depending on the author and publication—of a nation who must choose between the family they grew up with, or their true blood-related family, as war escalates between the two. Not wishing to harm either, Corrin splits off on their own, attempting to convince them to unite against a shared enemy. This is a rather well-known myth, but doesn't have much basis in reality."
"That sounds decent, but I have the strangest sinking feeling that this premise has the potential to go off the rails in ways that are too bizarre for my tastes… How about the other story?"
"In "Echoes of Valentia" a village boy from a quiet town joins the resistance to drive out the Chancellor who had overthrown the Kingdom of Zofia, the dastardly Desaix! Meanwhile, his childhood friend, an exiled and secret princess of Zofia, embarks on a pilgrimage to find the nation's deity, Earth Mother Mila! It's such an interesting story, and the best part is the fact it is based on actual history! In fact, across the ocean there is a continent called Valm, which received it's name from this very story."
"That story sounds much more up my alley! I'd love to read about that." Lunearc exclaimed, taking the book, "I'll be sure to read this and tell you what I think about it. See you around, Sumia!"
Exchanging goodbyes, Lunearc ended his detour, and exited the library without any further notable events, with his three borrowed books in hand.
….….….….….….
"Let's see if you've learned enough to keep up with Teach!"
In a rather complicated turn of events, Lunearc found himself once more facing off against Vaike in a sparring match, with the Shepherds' garrison as the setting once more. It had only been a day since the last set of bouts in which he had been routed repeatedly, but Lunearc was eager to see if his lessons from the past day had been able to stick, and perhaps change his fortunes.
"Even with the weapons being wood, I should still have Weapon Triangle advantage… I'll find a way to win." Lunearc spoke in reply, readying himself for the avalanche of axe-wielding muscle ahead.
"Triangles have nothing to do with combat!" Vaike exclaimed, as he began to stomp forwards, preparing his right-handed wooden axe to strike downward, clearly completely unaware of the existence of the weapon triangle.
Lunearc matched the movements, deciding to also go on the offensive. It had given him the best chance to win previously, and he had been stewing over some ways to follow up the strategy.
Closely watching Vaike's movements, he waited for the exact moment when Vaike would let loose a downward strike. Sure enough, Lunearc did not need to wait long.
Pivoting to the left to stay clear of the falling axe, yet remain within melee range, Lunearc then swung his sword downward to hit the axe's handle.
He wasn't going for the immediate win, not just yet. Disarming his opponent was the plan.
The sword knocked into the axe's handle just as planned, yet Vaike's firm grip allowed him to keep control.
Damn. If this had been a fight with actual weapons, there was a real possibility that the diamond sword would have been able to destroy the axe by splitting it in two. But, one can only work with what they have available.
Still holding down Vaike's axe with the wooden sword, Lunearc leveraged his entire body's weight to the left shoulder, preparing to rumble into Vaike with his momentum.
With both of his arms trapped into holding the axe, Vaike was powerless to counter the heavyweight blow, which knocked him back a few feet, yet he was still barely able to hold on to his weapon.
So close… I can finish this now!
Keeping every word of advice Frederick had given him on his form into account, Lunearc focused on delivering a strike that allowed him to keep a strong base, and the best technique he could muster with his current skill level.
While he had been using the sword with a single-hand prior, Lunearc now opted to additionally grip the very end of the sword with his left hand, to make it a two-handed hold, for maximum power.
Gritting his teeth as he put all of his strength into a leftward horizontal slash, Lunearc's sword smashed into Vaike's torso from the right side, mainly landing upon his upper-body armor.
The already off-balance Vaike was thrown off of his feet by the superb smash, sending him flying into the dirt, his axe landing a number of feet away.
This round was over. Lunearc had… won…‽
Unable to hold in a huge grin, Lunearc felt giddy processing the victory as he extended an arm to pull up his fallen competitor.
"I can't believe I actually won…" Lunearc disbelievingly said, smile never leaving his face.
"You got me fair and square! I'd expect nothing less from a pupil of Teach!" Vaike asserted, wildly shaking Lunearc's shoulder as a way to congratulate him, "That means Teach'll have to turn it up to eleven out of ten from here on!"
Surely enough, Vaike kept his promise, and absolutely whooped Lunearc the next round. Lunearc had gotten far too large of a head after the first victory, and his hubris lead immediately to his crushing defeat. Just as a God would will it!
After that, the bouts continued on for quite some time. Lunearc managed to win six rounds, but was defeated by Vaike in eight. A losing record, yet it was far better than anything he had managed to do in the prior day! That in of itself was a victory for Lunearc. A moral victory! Too bad it didn't count in the final standings.
Once the two combatants had completed their bouts, each were covered head to toe in rather gnarly bruises from the physical struggles they had put each other through in combat. Thankfully, the wooden weapons stopped there from being any major structural damage, so while the two may have been limping and exhausted, they were most certainly not broken.
Having put the training weapons back to where they had been found and retrieving their usual weapons—and yes, Vaike had to be reminded to not leave behind his axe again—the two had sat on the floor in the main room of the garrison, drinking from their individual water-skin flask as though they had been deprived of fluid for days.
"I've gotta tell ya, that was some real fun! There's nothing like a hard fought duel!" Vaike opened up conversation, popping the flask out of his mouth lackadaisically.
"Haha! I didn't know you could talk in the first person, "Teach"." Lunearc laughed, rather surprised to hear the man not talk in his usual speech pattern, "But you are definitely correct. It really is fun when the matches are actually competitive and the results can go either way! Getting unequivocally clobbered every round really pales in comparison to today, in terms of enjoyability factor."
"Har Har! You said it, highly valued pupil! All Shepherds have their own preferred way of fighting, but I'm just thrilled to have found another person who fights using their pure power and grit first and foremost, and refuses to hold back! Chrom fights somewhat similarly in that way, you see, and he's my main rival! Sure, I've never been able to beat him… but that changes nothing. I'll win some day, mark my words!" Vaike proclaimed, shaking his fist in the air.
"Chrom's swordsmanship really is on a whole other level from anyone I've met. Granted, the only swordsmen I've come across are him, a gaggle of bandits, and myself. Ugh. That amnesia showing its pesky face again… Every time I forget about having that condition, that fact comes roaring back whenever I try to think about the past. Ironic, isn't it?" Lunearc lamented, knowing that the only thing he had not forgotten was the fact he had amnesia.
Following Lunearc's comments, Vaike seemed to think deeply, a rare occurrence for the burly man. But, eventually, he spoke.
"Gotta say, that's a real downer to think about. But hey, on the bright side, it lead ya to the Shepherds, right? The past is the past, and for many in this world, it is something that is best left forgotten, you get me? Mine certainly wasn't all sunshine and beaches. I grew up poor in this Podunk little village in the middle of nowhere, a place which had been devastated by the war with Plegia, and I had no ideals for the future at all. I'd even taken to forming my own little gang, with all the other local kids who were in the same situation as me."
"That's… insane. I didn't know how tough it had been for you in the past. How did you go from street gangs to the Shepherds?" Lunearc inquired, intently listening.
"So one day, Emmeryn herself came and said, "I seek to bring prosperity and equality to all the people of Ylisse!", and just like that, I knew what my mission was. I trained up for years just for the chance to be a part of that positive change. I then went through some of Frederick's rigorous recruiting roastings, but ya have already heard all about that. And now I'm here!"
"I see… that's certainly an impressive career pathway." Lunearc responded, now looking at Vaike's actions in a whole new light, "Would you want to forget your youth if you had the chance to?"
"...Despite the challenges, no. Those streets raised the legendary warrior you see today, and I made it through life just fine! But I'm sure many out there would disagree with that notion, and I wouldn't blame them one bit for it. But they ain't Teach, that's for sure!"
"I think I see what you are getting at, though. Your point is that the present and future are what we can control. I get that, I really do… but I can't just help but think what if I had left behind some thing important? Some one important?" Lunearc spoke, concerned of what he had left behind.
"You'll only get a headache thinking about such things when sober." "Speaking of, Teach has a great idea! I'll gather the usual crowd and bring you with us to one of my favorite taverns in Ylisstol! Just meet me back here at sunset and we'll all head out as a squad!"
"You know what? That sounds great. See you then, Teach!" Lunearc lit up, eager to get to know the Shepherds better.
….….….….….….
As Lunearc arrived back to his room, he still had a couple of hours to kill before sundown, judging by the sun's current location in the sky.
The past is the past, huh…?
Whatever the past was for Lunearc, it was not something he had an ability to access, or remember at this time.
But, thankfully, it seemed he would at least be able to hold on to his memories from the time Lissa had awoken him until present.
Though the memories he had gained in that span of time may not have been the most extensive… Lunearc's stomach still churned with worry at the thought of losing them.
He couldn't just wait around and hope he didn't lose his memories, that much was clear. Fortuitously, Chrom had given him the notebook for precisely that reason.
Sliding the drawer under his desk open, Lunearc plopped the leather-encased notebook atop the hardwood desk, and began to write.
He endeavored to write about everything that had happened to him up to now, starting from the very beginning.
He wrote about all of it. His awakening at the hands of Lissa and "The Shepherds", and the initial behaviors of all parties, and how he had thought himself to be a "prisoner". The battle of Southtown against the bandits with the axe and snake tattoos, where his diamond sword proved itself to have blazing magical abilities. About Lissa's healing, and the way it felt when cast upon his body. The bear hunt, and the ensuing feast. The undead Risen threat, and the fearsome chief that still haunted him. The conversation with Lissa at the statue of Osric. And everything that had happened since officially becoming the Shepherd's tactician.
Striving to write all of his thoughts down in a single go, the hours passed by in a flash. He only had noticed the passing of time once he had heard a knocking on the door to his humble office.
"Hmm? Who's there?" Lunearc inquired, pulling his eyes away from the notebook for the first time in hours.
"Who else? It's me!" Lissa vociferated, letting herself into the room without waiting for a response.
It had been proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that neither Lissa nor Chrom would let themselves be stopped by a closed door, so Lunearc did not even bother to voice a complaint over the sudden entrance.
"Oh, Lissa. Hello, what have you been up to?" Lunearc nonchalantly conversed, asking about Lissa's day as he placed his notebook back into the drawer.
"Oh, my day's been good! Woke up late, studied some books about healing, then fooled around some! How about you? Getting settled into the tactician life?" Lissa cheerfully responded, turning to face Lunearc only to immediately white out in emotional concern, "L-Lunearc…! What happened to you? Are you hurt?!"
What? What could she possibly be talking about? I feel totally fine…
"Lissa? Calm down. I'm perfectly healthy." Lunearc answered, completely bewildered by the sudden shift in conversation.
"Don't try to hide your injuries by playing them down. They are nothing to joke about, got it?" Lissa retorted, clearly becoming upset by whatever nonexistent injury Lunearc had.
"I'm being serious… You're looking too deeply into your healing studies." Lunearc tried to calm the situation, despite being rather confused.
"Oh yeah? Then what are all those bruises all over your body, including your face? Should I assume that is your normal appearance? Because I know for a fact that it's not!" Lissa objected, pointing at a point on Lunearc's arm that looked rather black and blue.
Oh, right. Bruises. They are something one does not necessarily feel while idle, but when moving around they can be quite discomforting. Taking a short gander at his arms, he could indeed see that he had amassed a not so nice collection of them.
"Okay, so maybe you're correct about me being bruised. I suppose I simply hadn't noticed how bad they looked." Lunearc observed, lightly chuckling to himself, "I promise there's nothing worse than that."
"I'll be the judge of that. Take your shirt off and hold still." Lissa commanded, whipping out her staff, almost in a menacing manner due to her uneven temperament.
Not wanting to go against her, Lunearc followed the instruction and placed his shirt on top of the desk. He could only hope that no one else would come into his office during this time, or he'd have to answer far too many uncomfortable questions, at best. At worst? Death penalty.
Doing a simple once-over of his body, even the nearly-blind could discern that he was covered in large, black-and-blue bruises all over.
"I knew it. And you wanted to keep walking about with those as if they weren't an issue? Absolutely not, especially when I'm around." Lissa declared, as she readied her staff. As she did, it looked almost as though the staff began to dazzle with a growing, glimmering light.
Thinking back on it, Lunearc had never actually seen the process that a cleric went through to heal their patients. The only times he had been healed so far, he was either otherwise occupied, or out cold. So this was a novel experience.
"Ack…! T-that still feels rather strange, even if I was expecting it this time..." Lunearc flinched at the cold yet warm feeling the healing staff exuded, still completely unaccustomed to the sensation.
"Tell me, what were you doing to have all of this happen to you? Don't tell me… you got into a fight…?!" Lissa theorized, concerned for the goings-on of Lunearc in his unstructured time, "Or… are you being bullied by someone?!"
"No! No, nothing like that at all. I've just been training really hard with Vaike and Frederick on my swordsmanship over the last day. I swear, nothing unsavory is happening to me, and I've been treated well here."
At this comment, Lissa momentarily paused the process of healing, and seemed to quickly piece together what had happened.
"Let me guess… these bruises are mostly from Vaike, aren't they?" Lissa inquired, hoping to hear the truth directly from the source.
"I can't deny that. We were practicing rather hard against each other… That man has the strength of a bull, and the temperament of one as well." Lunearc laughed, thinking back to how bullheaded Vaike had been during battle.
"Oooooo! I knew it! Vaike's the exact person that always takes his sparring much too seriously! This happens all the time with Chrom, when he has duels with him as well! I keep telling my brother to tone it down and fight safe, so neither he nor Vaike get hurt. The same goes for you!" Lissa exclaimed, curling her lower lip into an unintentional comically angry frown.
"But if I were to tone down my training, I won't be able to become strong, not at the pace I'm going. I'm already far behind where I want to be as is." Lunearc refused the request, giving his inexperience as a reasoning, "And we are fighting safe! We're using wooden weapons only!"
"That mentality won't do you right if you injure yourself badly, and aren't able to train at all due to it." Lissa objected, poking one of the remaining bruises on Lunearc's body that had not been healed, as if to rub in the point, "Even weapons made of wood can cause some serious damage. Though I am glad to hear you at least had enough sense to not practice with your real weapon."
"Welllll… I was actually gonna use my real sword, but Teach taught me the error of my ways on that one before anything could go sideways, hahaha…" Lunearc laughed nervously, playing with his hair as if to distract himself.
"...For someone who has such a knack for tactics you can sure act like a fool at times. Never thought I'd see the day when Vaike was the safer of a pair!" Lissa gave a short, concerned laugh, before returning to her previous subject, "But seriously, tone your fights down."
"Like I said before, I can't. To do that would be tantamount to—"
"Lunearc, listen to me. Tone. It. Down. Please…?" Lissa pleaded with wide eyes as she continued to heal him, immediately deterring Lunearc from finishing his sentence.
"...Fine. I'll be more careful when training. But… I won't stop. I need to grow, and if I don't train, I'll never be a useful member of the Shepherds. I'll just watch my health as I do so." Lunearc stated, giving some ground to Lissa's demands, but not folding completely to them.
"Good. I can live with that compromise." Lissa smiled, moving her staff away from the shirtless Lunearc, "And there, all done. Body fully healed up and good to go, now without a single nasty bruise!"
She was right. Every bruise was gone! Healing magic was simply an incredible thing.
"I'll never get over just how quickly you can heal ailments, all with just a staff and a bit of magic…" Lunearc commented aloud, complimenting the job Lissa had done, and then threw his shirt back on his body.
"Well, when you've got yours truly around, such a task is a cinch. Sure, I may be relatively new to all this healing theory and hubbaboolah, but I've got a knack for it, apparently!" Lissa rightfully claimed, as she was quite a competent healer in Lunearc's eyes, "Oh, and also, take this. It's a Vulnerary, it can be used to heal you up a bit if I'm not around to heal you."
"A Vulnerary? Interesting, thanks. And as someone who has now been your patient three times, I must agree that you've been a lifesaver." Lunearc concurred, "By the way, did you come here with anything specific in mind before the whole incident?"
"Oh… yeah! That's right!" Lissa seemed to recall her original purpose, as she whipped out a sizable object, "I brought dinner! You seemed to enjoy the sandwich last time, so this time I just did that, but with extra stuff. Like salami!"
"Ah, yum! That's really kind of you. You know, I was able to find the dining hall this morning, so you don't have to keep doing this if you don't want to." Lunearc explained, not wishing to be a burden on the princess's time.
"Don't you worry about it at all! This is the least I can do for someone who volunteered themselves to be on our side with the Shepherds!" Lissa responded, rejecting the notion, "I do this because I want to!"
"Well, if you say so…" Lunearc relented, catching the sandwich that had been tossed to him by Lissa, very quickly digging in to the food, "Thanks for the meal!"
Instead of taking a bite out of her own sandwich, Lissa seemed to prefer watching Lunearc go at it, smiling as she very clearly saw him enjoying the meal.
"Hmm… looking at you closely, you look a little different than usual. How do I say this… cleaner… or perhaps more kempt and tidy?" Lissa observed, tilting her head.
Placing his sandwich on the table as he returned a questioning gaze, Lunearc thought to himself why Lissa would make such an observation.
Then, he realized.
Lissa had never actually seen him relatively fresh off of a bath, had she? The only times they'd been together up til now, he'd been covered in dirt, grime, and blood—both his own and those of his unfortunate opponents.
Or today, when he had been covered in bruises. He had plenty of those until Lissa placed it upon herself to goad him into a physical checkup.
But now?
With the combination of the healing magic and the recent bath, Lunearc's body had never been so spotless!
"Well, I have the pleasure to inform you that I have taken a bath recently." Lunearc responded, showing mock pride for his feat, "Sure, it's not that big of an accomplishment, but I sorely needed one. You can thank Vaike for showing me the way to a public bathhouse."
"Oh! So my intuition was right." Lissa lit up, seemingly proud of herself for her observation skills, before doubling back in delayed surprise, "Wait—what was that part about going to the bath with Vaike…?"
"It was my suggestion. I needed someone to lead me to one, didn't want to keep being a mud-pile in the presence of, well… literal royalty, inside a royal castle. It's not really a good feeling, let me tell you that. And no, we didn't spar in the baths." Lunearc casually explained, before returning to absentmindedly chewing on the sandwich.
"I hope you wouldn't spar in the baths! What would that even accomplish?" Lissa laughed, smiling wide as she did so.
"Probably would just splash the water out of the bath, honestly!" Lunearc replied, laughing as well.
These types of jokes and conversations went on for some time longer, the sandwiches long consumed. After some time, Lissa brought up a new subject.
"Oooh. Looks like the sun is beginning to set." Lissa observed, glancing at the window at the edge of Lunearc's office, "You know, the castle gardens are really pretty at this time of year, especially at sunset. Wanna go check it out?"
"Castle gardens? That does sound interesting—wait, did you say it was sunset?" Lunearc replied, surprised at how much time had passed, "Oh, darn."
""Oh, darn" what, mister?" Lissa repeated, flabbergasted by the sudden shift in Lunearc's reactions.
"I just remembered I needed to meet Vaike at sunset!" Lunearc exclaimed, hastily packing up a few important possessions, including his sword—just to be safe.
"Huh? Vaike? Again…? Where are you going? Are you going to fight in more duels, already?! Even after our whole conversation about being safe?"
"I'm pretty sure he wanted to go out with a lot of the other Shepherds as more of a social thing. So I doubt there'll be any swords and axes involved!" Lunearc answered, hoping to assuage Lissa's worries of him getting covered in bruises so shortly after being healed, "Sorry Lissa, but I gotta run. Thanks again for the sandwiches! See ya around!"
"Wha-huh?!" was all that Lissa could muster in reply as the rushed amnesiac made himself scarce, leaving Lissa as the only person inside of the office.
….….….….….….
(4/29/23) As always, thank you for reading!
Had a lot of different members of the Shepherds have their own portions this chapter, and ten points to anyone who recognizes the person who went unnamed.
Been having a busy month personally, raking the lawn to remove thatch is quite a tiring job! (Especially when I was working out most other days.)
Super looking forward to Zelda Tears of the Kingdom coming out! Looks like it'll be a long game, so if you don't hear from me at all... you'll know what I'm doing.