Having finished making the rounds of the Golden Deer household, Robin had noticed that the Blue Lion classroom was rather empty for some reason. Aside from a few students, Robin didn't see anyone familiar faces nor the house leader of the classroom. He moves on to the Black Eagle classroom which held a few students. He had noticed Edelgard, making his way over to her as she begins to rise and turn over.
"Ah. You're Robin, correct?" Edelgard greets the tactician which catches a few glances from some of the other students in the classroom. Not wanting to bring attention to the obvious sensitive subject of Robin's new role, she decides to lower her voice a little. "I heard that you accepted a teaching position at the academy with Byleth. I was hoping that you two would lend your strength to the Empire."
"To be honest, my teaching role here was placed on me rather suddenly. Nevertheless, I'm honored that my skills were enough to earn a position at the Adrestian Empire." Robin smiles coyly at his newly found reputation.
"It is not a job that anyone can fulfill. Only the very top are considered for the position. Perhaps you'll reconsider." Edelgard offers before frowning a little. She swiftly recovers with a bow. "I never properly introduced myself, did I? My name is Edelgard von Hresvelg. I am the princess and heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire."
"Robin Tacticus. I hope that what I teach on tactics will be used with someone as esteemed as the heir to the empire." Robin returns his bow, out of habit from his multiple introductions in the academy. "I'm going around to see the different classes to teach. Before I came, I saw the Blue Lions classroom was empty. Did I miss something?"
"I believe that they went to the training grounds of the academy. Someone challenged Byleth to a sparring session. They were curious of his skills." Edelgard explains, both unsurprised about the popularity that came with the mercenary that is the son of Jeralt the Blade Breaker. "Not just the Blue Lions but students from the other classes wanted to see as well."
"Is that so? Then, once I'm introduced to the members of the Black Eagle class that are here, I'll head to the arena." The two walk over to greet the members of the house. "I must say. The members of the Golden Deer House gave quite the impression. I'm curious to see who I'll be teaching during my time here. Especially if they're from the Adrestian Empire."
"The members of the Black Eagle House are a unique bunch themselves. I hope you'll become closer with them over the year." Edelgard smiles softly at Robin's interest in her nation. She leads Robin to a tall dignified man who holds an ominous aura around him. He was talking to a purple-haired woman, with a marking under her eye of the same color. Edelgard calls out to him. "Hubert."
Hubert turns over to Edelgard, bowing in respect to the princess out of habit. He notices Robin standing next to her, raising an eyebrow of curiosity. "Lady Edelgard. I do not recall seeing this man in the monastery before."
"This is Robin. He was one of the people that saved me from the bandits. I believed I've told you about him." Edelgard said, introducing the tactician. Hubert recalls for a second before acknowledging her statement. She turns her head to Robin to introduce the two members of the Black Eagle House. "This is Hubert. He's the heir of Marquis Vestra. He has served me since I was a child."
"You have my most sincere thanks when you came to aid Her Highness. Lady Edelgard has told me you are quite gifted in tactics." Hubert bows in respect to Robin, leaving him quite embarrassed by the fact. He motions to the woman that he was talking to. "This is Petra. She has come all the way from Brigid to study in the empire."
"I'm afraid that I'm unaware of Brigid seeing that I am a foreigner. Sorry." Robin comments apologetically by the fact.
"Brigid is an archipelago to the west of Fodlan. Petra is the granddaughter of their king." Edelgard explains.
"Hello. I am called Petra. I am pleased to be meeting with… no, I am pleased to have met you." Petra bows after she readjusted herself from the small language hiccup.
"Pleasure to meet you both." Robin smiles before returning the bow of greeting to the two.
"Now then. Please excuse us. I want him to meet the rest of the class." Edelgard states, noticing a few key members of the class have gone missing.
"Only Linhardt is still here. Almost everyone else went to the training grounds." Hubert emphasizes the "almost" part of his statement. Edelgard, understanding what Hubert was talking about lets out a sigh.
"To be expected I guess…" Edelgard takes a look around to see a green-haired man snoozing away soundly at his desk. She shakes her head before turning to Robin. "Perhaps another time then. For now, shall we head to the arena?"
"Good idea." Robin follows Edelgard as they make their way to the arena. The lingering feeling of being watched returns to Robin as he turns around to see nothing. Finding it bizarre, he brushes it off, not noticing the shadowy figure watching over him from the roofs of the classrooms.
The training grounds of Garreg Mach Monastery were more packed than usual. Rumors of the son of the famous captain of the knights had spread throughout the school. Students from the three houses of the academy gathered when rumors popped up that Byleth would be demonstrating his skills in a training session. Members of the lower division courses also showed interest, wanting to see the fighting skill that a mercenary possessed.
"Felix… Asking to fight someone the first moment that you've met him." A blond-haired student groans with her hand on her face for the way her friend is acting. "This isn't the first time that you've done this as well! Can't you be civil for… I don't know, five minutes?!"
"He's learned from the former captain of the Knights and Seiros. I'm interested in his technique as a warrior." Felix comments, simply brushing off her friend's annoyance on the subject. The two looked over at the new professor standing next to Dimitri and a studious man from afar. "He has already agreed to the sparring session. Surely you don't have any more issues with this."
"That doesn't matter!" Ingrid exclaims how her childhood friend was acting. It felt like she was talking to a head-strong child.
"This wasn't how I expected things would have gone after meeting again," Dimitri said with a faint chuckle to Byleth who simply adjusts the training sword in his arm.
"I wanted to assess the skills of the students of the academy before I started to teach. I'm able to get a better grasp through sparring." Byleth readies the sword at his side before making his way to the middle of the training ground. The students that have gathered to view the mercenary's skill grew silent.
Felix makes his way over, holding a worn-out training sword in front of him similar to the style used by the knights of Faerghus. Scratch marks along the blade and edge of the sword didn't go unnoticed in Byleth's examination of the student. In fact, the amount that the sword has been used told everything to the mercenary about what to expect. Byleth gripped the training blade in an overhead stance, patiently waiting for Felix to make the first move.
As Byleth expected, Felix was the aggressive type. Felix charges forward, going for the first strike. Byleth slowly retreated backward, appraising how Felix fought. Felix swung rather predictably in Byleth's eyes. Byleth parries the attack, swinging upward to create some distance. Felix jumps back to barely dodge the strike. Not wasting a single second, Byleth charges with a follow-up strike. Unprepared, Felix barely musters up a guard, getting sent backward by the blunt strike of Byleth's sword.
Felix recovers quickly and charges at Byleth once again. Byleth prepared for Felix to strike with his sword once more. Before he noticed, Felix had stomped on his foot, holding him in place, limiting his movement. Felix uses the pain as a distraction, readjusting his sword for a swift blow. Not enough time to use his sword, Byleth uses his arm to block Felix's sword hand. Felix anticipated this, by following up with a punch to Byleth's stomach, knocking the breath out of the mercenary. Byleth pushes himself away from Felix, stumbling backward slightly to regain composure.
'He's doing better than most people I've faced.' Byleth rubbed his stomach, feeling the weight of Felix's blow with a grunt. He looks at the student, showing a slight reaction to managing a blow. Byleth readjusts his stance, readying his sword in front of him. He had expected students from royalty to fight honorably. He was wrong.
Byleth clashes blades with Felix. Felix smirks, using the clash to angle his sword to thrust his blade forward. The blade barely misses Byleth as he sidesteps away, putting some distance between the two. Felix unleashes a flurry of attacks, hoping to catch Byleth off-guard. Instead, Byleth ducks under Felix's sword. Using the opportunity, Byleth twirls his blade in a reverse grip, smacking Felix square in the chest.
Felix grunts, placing his hand on his chest from the pain. Turning back to Byleth, he maintains his stance while catching his breath. Byleth's grip reverts back to normal, holding his sword in front of him. Felix recovers, readying his sword. Both swordsmen locked eyes, circling each other steadily. The next move will be their last.
The two charged at each other, clashing blades at a standstill. Breaking apart, their swords clash multiple times. Neither one lets up a single opportunity for the other to take advantage of. Byleth slices upward, disrupting Felix's flow of moment. Felix stumbles backward, an opportunity that Byleth uses to strike with an uppercut. Felix regains his footing, countering Byleth's attack with a downward swing. Felix raises his blade meters away from Byleth's neck.
"It would seem that you weren't all that special, after all. Yield." Felix comments, letting out a heavy breath. The crowd, amazed by the student's display of swordsmanship against the mercenary whispered to each other. Members from all of the houses saw the display Despite his advantageous situation, Felix saw a determined look in Byleth's eyes. In a desperate situation, Byleth raises his sword to push Felix's blade arm aside. Felix retaliates with a punch. Byleth dodges aside, before punching Felix in the face. Felix shoots back, startled from the sudden pain in the face. Byleth kicks Felix, sending him backward. With a downward swing, Byleth smacks Felix's head, knocking him down.
"Felix!" Dimitri and Ingrid rush over to a friend who pulls himself up with a groan. Wincing at the pain, Felix rubs the top of his head, the area that Byleth had smacked with his blade.
"I'm fine." Felix brushes off the others with a groan. He walks over to Byleth, somewhat satisfied with the way the battle went down. "You fight like a mercenary, not a knight. You hungered for victory, pure and simple."
"You were the same as well. No hesitation in using cheap tactics for victory." Byleth sheaths the practice sword before turning to Felix. In the new light, he once examines the student while folding his arms.
"Victory is all that matters, not the method of achieving it. Knights rely too much on their tools. Only when they're wrested away do they consider their hands and feet as weapons." Felix said, explaining his thought process on the matter. He rubs his forehead where Byleth had just punched. "I detected that in your style during the fight. It is plain to see."
"It sounds like you're insulting the way I fight." Byleth raises an eyebrow at the comment.
"Take it however you like. I believe the difference between us lies within is the hunger of victory." Felix sheaths his sword before turning his back to the mercenary and walks away. "I look forward to sparring with you again. And beating you, Byleth."
"What's your name?" Byleth asks.
"I'm Felix Hugo Fraldarius." Felix answers, waving the mercenary off.
The crowd surrounding the training grounds made way for Felix to leave the training grounds. Some of the students were still in awe of the skills that Byleth showed while enamoring Felix's own swordsmanship. Others were rather hesitant about the "dishonorable" way they fought during the training session.
"I've seen enough." Byleth lets out, holding his usual deadpan expression. Dimitri, having walked up to the mercenary gave a rather confused look.
"What do you mean by seeing enough?" Dimitri was curious about the way Byleth was viewing the students of Garreg Mach Monastery.
"I was asked to watch over the students. I've narrowed it down, who I want to teach." Byleth walks off, leaving the leader of the Blue Lions standing alone, bewildered about the nature of the mercenary.
"Seems we missed the session. I would have liked to see Byleth's performance outside of the battlefield." Edelgard comments, noticing the massive crowd leaving the arena.
"It's a shame but we'll be able to see more of his skills throughout the year. However, one thing at a time." Robin and Edelgard enter the arena after the people who leave starts to die down. On the way, the two notice a familiar figure walking towards them. "Ah. Byleth. How was your sparring session?"
"It gave me adequate detail about what I needed to know. How did your meeting with Seteth go?" Byleth asks rather curiously about the reason behind the secretive meeting. Edelgard raised an eyebrow at the secretive mission as well.
"It was more of a background check. If anything, I think I may have found something quite helpful as a matter of fact." Robin smiles, settling down the house leader. Byleth thinks a little on it without prying on it.
"I see. Good that it wasn't any trouble. Since I've finished my assessment, I'll be heading to the dining hall. Excuse me." Robin and Edelgard move aside, letting Byleth pass. The two enter the arena. Edelgard notices an orange-haired, noble-looking man training against a brash teenager with short blue hair at the corner of the arena.
The students training notices Edelgard and Robin making their way over, taking a small breather to their confusion. Seeing Robin with Edelgard, the noble-looking man had a small understanding of what is going on. "Ah. You must be the tactician who helped our House Leader."
"Indeed. This is Robin." Edelgard answers before turning over to Robin to introduce the two students. She starts with the noble-looking man before introducing the brash teenager. "This is Ferdinand and Caspar."
"I am Ferdinand von Aegir, legitimate son of the Aegir family, the Empire's foremost house." Ferdinand introduces himself, proud of his noble status. Robin felt a familiar feeling with Virion from the man.
"Is it really true that you saved Edelgard? That's incredible!" Caspar was amazed by the feat that Robin has displayed with Jeralt and his mercenaries. "The name's Caspar. Pleased to meet ya!"
"Pleasure to meet you both. Being that I'm going to be staying at the monastery, I want to know some of the students of the academy here." Robin had decided to keep his role as a professor a secret temporarily. He wanted to meet the students at the academy, to talk to him as equals rather than someone of higher standing. It was the same during his job as a tactician with the Shepherds. "Sorry for holding up your training session."
"Oh? Don't worry about it. Will you be joining in some of our classes? If that's the case, I look forward to getting better acquainted with you." Ferdinand says with interest in the potential skills that he could learn from Robin.
"The same to you." Robin and Edelgard leave the two, allowing for them to resume their training session. Robin turns over to Edelgard, noticing Dimitri training himself in the distance behind her. Edelgard turns around to see the same before shaking her head in disappointment at the lack of Black Eagle members that Robin was able to meet. "Was there anyone else that I should meet?"
"Yes, unfortunately, they would seem to be missing at the moment. I apologize for taking up so much of your time for this to happen." Edelgard shakes her head on the matter. Despite this, she kept her head high on the matter. "The least I could do is talk about the ones that you weren't able to meet."
"Sure. It's rather unfortunate that I was unable to meet them properly." Robin frowns as Edelgard introduces the rest of the class. The one that was in the class sleeping was Linhardt, the songstress who used to be in the opera company, Dorothea, and the shut-in who is afraid of a lot of things, Bernadetta. Robin has also missed two members of the Golden Deer house, seeing a sort of common trend in his introductions to the houses.
"And that's all the members of the Black Eagles. Is there anything else that you wish to know?" Robin shakes his head to Edelgard's question. With a small sigh, she accepts it before bowing to Robin. "Well, I'm at least glad that you were able to meet some of them. I hope that you'll choose the Black Eagle class when the time comes."
"I will definitely take that into consideration. Thanks for introducing me and showing me around some parts of the academy." Robin gives Edelgard a bow of respect for all the effort that she put through for Robin.
"It wasn't any hassle at all. Since you'll be a professor at the academy, as heiress of the Adresntian Empire, I should see to it that you would be as comfortable as possible in your position. That way, you'll be ready to teach us when the time comes." Edelgard explains her thought process rather rationally. Finding it amusing, Robin chuckles embarrassingly at the effort Edelgard is putting for him to meet all the members of the Black Eagle house. "Is it something that you find amusing?"
"Your willingness to learn from me is rather inspiring. I'll hope to meet your expectations." Robin smiles as Edelgard exits the arena. Once seeing her off, Robin makes his way over to Dimitri who notices the tactician, waving over to him.
"Robin! Are you enjoying your time at the monastery?" Dimitri asks, bowing to the tactician with a pleasant smile.
"It's been a pleasurable experience exploring the monastery. Getting to know the students have also been quite a joy as well." Robin returns the greeting that Dimitri gave him.
"I'm glad. And I've heard word that you are to become a professor here." Dimitri says in a lower voice. The members of the Blue Lion houses interested in Robin became curious at the hidden message their house leader was saying to Robin.
"He doesn't look familiar at all… Does he work for the monastery?" A soft-spoken young woman wondered from afar, watching Dimitri talking to Robin.
"Oh, Mercie! Do you think this is the tactician that Dimitri talked about?" An even younger woman with short orange hair comments. Mercie thinks about it, recalling something about it.
"Now that I think about it, that does sound like something Dimitri may have said…"
"I'm still getting used to that. Just call me Robin in the classroom." Robin chuckles at Dimitri's failed discretion in trying to hold the rather sudden secret about his profession.
"Still. It's delightful news to hear. I still have much to learn, but I'm confident I could benefit greatly from your guidance." Once again, Robin is rather embarrassed by all the non-stop praise that he has been receiving from the many house leaders. "I'm presuming that you're also investigating the different houses, then?"
"That's right. I wanted to meet everyone from the Blue Lions. Is this all of them?" Robin asks looking at the group standing behind Dimitri.
"Everyone is accounted for, except Felix. After his sparring session with Byleth, he left to most likely get patched up. Neither one of them held back." Dimitri lets out a faint chuckle, scratching his cheek at the intensity of the sparring session went. Robin once again chuckled faintly at the common thread of not being able to meet all of the members of the schoolhouse.
"Byleth didn't seem all that fazed when Edelgard and I talked with him." Robin thinks back before brushing it off. "Sorry. I don't want to hold you guys up any longer. It's almost dinnertime after all."
"Of course." Dimitri turns around to the members of the Blue Lion houses, sidestepping for everyone to see Robin. "Everyone. This is Robin."
"We've heard all about what you did from Prince Dimitri. As a citizen of Faerghus, I thank you." A blond woman was the first from the group to speak. "Oh! And, uh… you may call me Ingrid. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Words cannot express my gratitude for rescuing His Highness." A calm and stoic man adds to Ingrid's thanks to the tactician. "Should you ever require my strength, please know that I will hasten to repay this debt."
"It wasn't any problem at all. If anything, I'd do it again, Ingrid and… uh." Robin naturally responded before stopping abruptly due to not knowing the man's name.
"Dedue. He serves as Prince Dimitri's retainer." A young man with grey hair chips in with a friendly smile. "I'm Ashe. It's great to meet you."
"If you're here, I suppose you'll be enrolling at the Officers Academy too, then?" Mercie asks with interest. Multiple comments of interest have been made on the matter.
"Unfortunately, I'm not going to be a student here. But I'll try and stay for some of the classes." Robin holds back a chuckle of amusement.
"Oh. That's a shame. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Mercedes, and this is my best friend-" Mercedes motions to the young girl that she was side-chatting with earlier.
"I'm Annette! It's nice to meet you." Annette gives a childlike smile, reminding Robin of the energetic Nowi.
"That just leaves me." An easygoing man comments with a small wave to Robin. "I'm Sylvain Jose Gautier. Feel free to say hi whenever you like."
"Definitely." Robin makes a mental note of the members of the Blue Lions, leaving quite a promising first impression on the group. Noticing the sky starting to get darker, he figures that he should wrap up the introductions. "It was nice meeting all of you. Sorry for keeping you guys for long."
"It wasn't a hassle at all. In fact, why don't you join us at the dining hall? You must be getting hungry after today. Am I wrong?" Dimitri offers, a few positive comments were made across the group.
"I don't see any problem with that. Please lead the way then." Robin follows the members of the Blue Lions class, happily chatting away.
"I've been wondering. What's that book you're always reading?" Dart takes a few pieces of chopped wood, softly tossing it into a small stack.
"It's something to help me with my reading. Well, I know how to read somewhat. There are still a couple of things that I just don't know." Nino comments, placing the book to her side.
"Oh, that's right… You wanted to learn, right? Didn't someone give ya a couple of books to help?" Dart asks.
"This is one of them, actually. After Erk helped me start, someone gave me a bunch of beginning reading material to help." Nino comments with an embarrassed smile. "As I said, I'm still struggling with some of the material. Gareg Mach Monastery is supposed to have an academy for knights and nobles, right? I was hoping that one of them could help me with some of the things while we're there."
"I see what you mean." Dart nods, setting the pieces of wood in the middle before surrounding the pile with a couple of pieces of stone. "Can you?"
"Oh! Of course." Nino takes out a small red tome from her pouch. Taking a look at the details inside the book, she chants a spell. From her hand, a small fireball manifests as she throws it at the pile of wood, igniting it.
"Thanks. I'll start warming up some of the food." Dart takes out a small pot and places it on a small ledge over the fire. Waiting for the pot to heat up, he looks at the tome that Nino used. "You weren't able to read, right? How come you are able to use those tomes?"
"I imitated…" Nino hesitated for a moment. The awful memories of the realization of the events three years ago still haunted her. Taking small breaths, she readjusted herself. "I imitated Sonia. Whenever she held a tome and chanted, I would just memorize what she said and practice them over."
"Oh? Sounds mighty impressive for a little lady like yourself." Dart chuckles, heating some of the food that he bought from the vendor. He thinks about it with a confused look. "Say, didn't that one person ask you for help with magic?"
"Hmm? Who are you talking about?" Nino's interest was piqued by Dart's question. It was a hazy memory, but she didn't quite remember who Dart was talking about.
"During our journey back then. The tactician fellow had asked you and Erk if he could learn anima magic from you." Dart explained with Nino pondering on it. After realizing who the tactician was, she immediately understood what he was talking about. "He even asked Marcus, Lyn, and a few others about learning with a sword."
"Oh! I know who you're talking about! He wanted to know some anima magic to help him with something personal." Nino picks up the book that she was reading earlier, showing it to Dart. "He helped me with my reading to pay me back. He was the one to give me these back then as well."
"Is that so? Speaking of him, I heard he's up and disappeared." Dart folds his arms with a frown. His curiosity of where the tactician may be during the three-year time period had led him to ask around multiple ports. Especially when this tactician's skills have proven to be unparalleled to anyone who has faced him. "Not as much as a single rumor about him. Wonder if he was killed…"
"Why do you have to say that?!" Nino exclaimed in disbelief at Dart's claim on the unknown whereabouts of the tactician. Dart blinks in disbelief from Nino's outburst before realizing what he said.
"Oh! Sorry…" Dart slowly trails with a frown with a small groan of frustration. Being in Fargus' crew held many days of harsh news and loss. Despite Nino having faced many obstacles, nobody would like to face the reality of losing someone. Especially in her circumstance.
The two fall into dead silence, silently watching the sparkling flames of the campfire slowly. He silently grabs out a small bowl and pours some of the cooked food on it before passing it over to Nino.
"Thanks." Nino grabs the plate, simply staring at the food without eating. Seeing the condition that Nino was in, Dart tries to think of something to help lighten the mood. A particular memory came to him.
"You know… I remember a time we were traveling to the Dread Isle, the men and I found the tactician all alone reading one of his books." Dart starts, catching Nino's attention. Chuckling softly at the story, Dart continues the story. "Think Eliwood said something about not him not being able to sleep for a couple of days. Something about studying constantly about different things and such. So the men and I picked him up and took him to the mess deck to get some life in him. You should've seen him! Wasn't able to keep up with what was going on, he tenses up with the most hilarious look on his face!"
"Really?" Nino was surprised by what she was hearing. She leans over, eating some of the food on the plate while she continued to listen.
"To be honest, we thought we killed him!" Dart's laughter roared through the vast, dark forest surrounding him. "He was able to recover and even had a laugh himself from what was going on. Being a good sport, we even let him in on a special Fargus crew special. A couple of pints of ale and he was off singing and dancing with us like he's been with us all his life."
"He sang and danced?!" Nino laughed with Dart at the story. The calm and collected tactician that had helped her three years ago was being seen in another light.
"Indeed he did. Unfortunately, Lyn wasn't having as much of a laugh as we were when she found out. To be fair, we were dancing away during the night." Dart chuckled, happily taking a bite of the contents of the pot. He's done what he needs to be done. However, the two continued to chat as they continued to enjoy their meal.
"By the way, I've been meaning to ask for a while now." After cleaning up, Nino laid down, resting on her pouch filled with tomes and books that she keeps on her. "How long will it take to reach the monastery?"
"The old man's kid said that it was about three days, travel. Tomorrow is the 25th. Since we still got about two days left, we should be there by the morning of the 27th." Dart comments settling the campfire a little while preparing a few extra things for the night. Letting out a small sigh of exhaustion, he hands Nino a small blanket to use for warmth before laying down on the other side of the campfire, staring at the sky.
Wassup my homies! This is NexusMHX here! Sorry for the late posting, I had a lot of stuff to deal with. Mostly finals and college applications. Boring stuff I know. And this chapter probably wasn't worth waiting all that time for, which makes this probably even suckier. I just simply don't know how to write introductions while trying to not sound repetitive. So I decided to do a little switcheroo with the character introductions from three houses to have some kind of natural greeting. It's okay in my opinion, but I did it to the best of my ability. Though I am planning to add a little something extra that hopefully will be up by Christmas. If it doesn't make it in time, I hope that you'll be fine with a day or two late specials. Afterward, I think I'll be able to post chapters more fluidly during 2022 now that everything has slowly died down. I even have a proper timeline of things that are going to happen during the academy area along with the time skip era and war era. This means that this fanfic will be divided into three separate arcs. I'm just as excited as you guys are!
On another note, what the actual hell is the size of Fodlan. I highly doubt that it takes only a single day for you to travel to any spot on the continent. I remember reading that the size of the area is like 2/3 surface area of Europe which is basically a diameter of 1177 miles (which will take forever for people to travel without the warp staff). So unless there's like some kind of fanfic agreed measurement of Fodlan, I'm just going to put some stuff now as a placeholder until I get actual confirmation from you guys or something.
In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter of A Second Chance at Sanctuary! This is NexusMHX signing off! And I still don't know what I'm doing.
But since that I had a bit of extra time, I decided to add on this chapter a bit more than what was originally written. Also, I'm gonna do the House Reveal now instead of when the actual choice is made in-game, cause I felt bad for the wait and bad quality.
"You four are childhood friends?" Robin was amazed of the shared history of Dimitri, Ingrid, Sylvain, and Felix held together. Sitting with the Blue Lion house in the dining hall, the group was able to meet Felix and sat together. Few whispers were made around the dining hall, mostly focusing on Byleth who was eating food with Jeralt at a corner table of the hall.
"Ever since we were kids. We would play around when we were kids. Felix and I would train together under the same instructor." Dimitri explained giving a small explanation of his past.
"Enough about us! All we've done is talked about ourselves! You're the man of the hour. Why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?" Sylvain asks with the other members of the Blue Lions house were all intrigued about Robin's past.
"Well, there isn't a lot for me to talk about. Before I came to Fodlan, I was the royal tactician for the Kingdom of Ylisse. We were called "The Shepherds" where we would watch over the citizens." Robin explained, wanting to save some of the more impactful stories during his lessons to demonstrate proper strategies. His role of being a royal tactician was quite fascinating at the level of power that Robin was in.
"Ylisse... The name of the land doesn't sound familiar to me." Ingrid ponders on the idea, shaking her head. The group had already learned that Robin was a foreigner and they wanted to learn more about this unknown land across the ocean.
"You must have done a lot as a royal tactician. You're not even that much older than us." Annette begins to imagine the possible things that Robin had to do during his role.
"Well, I was in this position for about three years. The story of how I became Ylisse's tactician is more interesting than my time in the role." Robin chuckles, thinking about his first time meeting Chrom, Lissa, and Frederick on the plains. It was a nostalgic memory that has been burned into his head, forever.
"Really? I'm interested to hear about this story." Ashe comments.
"The story begins when I first met the exalt of Ylisse. He had found me unconscious on the plains without being able to remember anything about my past." Unsurprisingly, this came at a shock for everyone.
"My goodness! Being unable to remember anything about your past? That must has been dreadful." Mercedes said in awe of the story. Robin would tell his story of becoming a member of the Shepherds. Fredericks suspicions on Robin being Plegian caused a hint of inner conflict to Dedue as he silently listened to the story. While telling the story, Robin decided to leave out small tidbits like the Risen and the conflict with Plegia for another part of the story.
"Robin." A voice calls out to the tactician in the dining hall, putting a pause to Robin's story. Robin turns away to see Byleth standing next to the table.
"Byleth! Is there something that you need?" Robin asks, standing up. Byleth looks at the members of the Blue Lions before motioning Robin to a separate location to speak in private. Finding it odd, Robin nods before turning back to the group. "Please excuse me for a second."
"Take your time. Oh but please hurry. I heard that the deserts prepared for you guys will be astounding." Dimitri smiles, catching Robin's attention. Robin follows Byleth outside of the dining hall, the two stop at a small area filled with an outdoor picnic area, surrounded by tall green bushes.
"So, what is it that you wanted to ask me?" Robin looked at Byleth curiously. The mercenary was silent for a few moments with Robin starting to get a bit uncomfortable from the sudden silence.
"I want to know which house you're going to pick. My choice shouldn't be the same as yours." Byleth explains with a shrug, obviously having thought about the subject for a bit. He takes a look at the dining hall. "You've spent a long time with the Blue Lions. Am I to believe that you're picking them?"
"I believe so. They remind me of the army that I was in before I came to Fodlan. Though I'm still getting to know them, I believe that's the choice I've made." Robin said with conviction in his answer. Byleth ponders on the idea before slowly shrugging.
"Good, then there isn't an issue at all. After my analysis of the multiple houses, I've deduced that the Golden Deer House is simply too chaotic for anyone to make anything functional out of." Byleth remarked rather coldly on the group. Thinking about it makes him shake his head. "While the members of the Blue House are well-trained in being knights, that's also their biggest issue. While they are formidable warriors, their style of fighting holds a major weakness. Something that Felix said during our training session together."
"Being a knight is a bad thing because the way they think is too close-minded in comparison to a mercenary?" Robin deduces with Byleth nodding to the fact.
"They aren't as willing to fight for victory as those of a mercenary. Coming from a land hailed for their military might of noble knights, even a member from their kingdom has pointed an issue in their way of fighting." Byleth folds his arms, closing his eyes. He recalls what Felix had said to him. "Victory is all that matters, not the method of achieving it."
"That's a rather close-minded attitude that you have." Coming from his own experience, Robin smirks a little at the explanation that Byleth gave.
"What exactly do you mean?" Byleth raises an eyebrow at what Robin is saying.
"The tide of a battle will shift constantly. Like mercenaries, knights must know how to adapt if they want to ensure victory." Robin explains coming from his own experience with the Shepherds. Even situations where he had to use desperate actions to get out of tough situations. "So while you may say that knights are close-minded, everyone wants the same thing. To be victorious on the battlefield."
"Interesting words from a tactician. Your role is to strategize and use tactics to plan ahead... yet you say that the main deciding factor is adaptability." Byleth ponders on that thought with a small nod. Being a mercenary, he had seen many things ranging from all over. And yet, he's learned quite a few things over the past few days that seem to be the opposite of what he's come to know. It's distracting, yet peculiar that makes Byleth actually look forward to his time at the monastery.
"Exactly. I can't foresee everything that will come on the battlefield. Despite that, I will continue to learn more about strategy to help lead those in battle." Robin pats his pouch, containing a new book on tactics that he had found during his time at the library.
"Perhaps I shall take a look at one of your lectures during the school year. Your way of thinking may be quite enlightening." Byleth folds his arms, taking a mental note of it.
"You're welcome anytime to come to my lectures. And I hope that your offer will be the same as well." Robin smiles.
"Definitely. But for now, I've taken too much of your time. Shall we head back?" Byleth nods, turning around to the dining hall.
"Yeah. Lets." Robin smiles as the two make their way back to the dining hall.