"Since it's still the first day of class, I thought it'd be best if we get properly situated," Robin calls out to the class before taking a look at the chalkboard and writing a few components on it. Once he finishes, he turns back to the class while dusting his hands off. "From what I recall, we will be having two different styles of class sessions every week. The first will be where you and members of the other households will be learning from my strengths: strategy, battle tactics, and mini-war demonstrations. The second will be prioritizing what you want to improve on during your time in the academy. Any questions?"
"I have a question!" Annette raises her hand. Robin points over to her, giving her permission to speak. "How exactly will you be teaching us about these aspects of strategy and tactics?"
"Great question! The best way of understanding tactics and strategy is through studying based on history and books. Seeing how they worked with the results have shown." Robin explains showing a book that he had borrowed from the library to share with the class. "For example, books that cover strategies are able to show what to do when you want to succeed while also showing how other ideas may fail. There are also varieties in what type of combat you may want to proceed in, how to adapt while under pressure, types of combat that would be the most favorable, and others. Circumstances on the situation may have some strategies work while others may fail and vice versa."
"What about issues where you may be outnumbered? What would you do then?" Ingrid speaks out loud which did attract interest in the idea.
"Well charging in headfirst into battle while outnumbered wouldn't be a reasonable idea. If you have a smaller army, you'd need to fight smart to survive." Robin comments while answering Dimitri's question. He turns the chalkboard around showing a quick stick figure diagram of two separate groups with one being much smaller than the other. There are multiple arrows pointing toward both forces with an arrow crossed out the method of a straightforward approach.
On another part of the board, Robin draws two groups towards the side of the smaller army and an even smaller group in between the two opposing forces. Once he finishes, he moves aside and points to the group with a small smile. His hand waved towards the board, inviting someone to make a guess.
"From what I can tell, one group is baiting the opposing forces forward so that the members of the other group surround them, and attack from all sides." Dimitri tries to guess, receiving a small round of applause from Robin.
"Exactly! For a keen strategy- sneak attacks, pincers, and diversions are great tools to help even the odds. I would love to discuss more on how we can go over different strategies, but let's save that for another time." Robin flips the board over, preserving the contents of the makeshift battle scene that he created for a future lesson. He erases the things he wrote at the beginning before motioning the group to come over to the top of the class. Once the members of the Blue Lion house reach the board, he looks over towards the class. "This is the only class before the mock battle so how about we give you guys about ten minutes to see where you're at."
"This is basically war counseling..." Felix reminisces a little about a few of the strategy meetings that he would secretly attend when he was a child. It made him scowl a little, bringing back bitter memories.
"Correct. But we can also call this portion, your assessment. By going over what we know, you all will try to format a strategy that you believe will lead your team to success!" Robin declares with an anticipated smile at the potential that this group could bring. "First, think about the fundamentals, then everything should flow naturally. Please feel free to use the chalkboard to help visualize your findings."
Robin takes a backseat in the preparation, choosing to simply watch closely how the members of the house will properly prep for the mock battle. He'll take a more hands-on approach later once he knows how everyone thinks.
"The location of where the mock battle would be is essential. From there, we can deduce how we can utilize our surroundings." Dedue comments on taking a piece of chalk and creating a small box to use.
"Well, isn't it going to be at the same spot as it usually is? You know, the one area with the multiple temple ruins surrounded by trees." Sylvain chips in.
"That's right! There are a couple of small ruins near the monastery. After all, the mock battle itself is a game of capturing the other classes' base. In this case, it would be the ruins that we are assigned to." Ashe deduces from the information. He takes a look at the box with a small frown. "But I don't seem to recall how this looks though."
"I don't think anyone leaves the monastery to go to the ruins. So I don't think that anyone will have an accurate layout of the area." Mercedes comments, leaving a small air of silence in the room. A few of them look over at Robin for guidance who is simply staring at the box on the board that Dedue drew earlier.
"Well, perhaps we don't need to have an accurate layout. As Professor Robin said, we need to adapt under pressure, right?" Annette realizes before taking a piece of chalk and writing three different Xs on different sections of the box. "We could use these Xs as the bases for each class. From there, we can use potential layouts to formulate our strategies."
"Great idea, Annette!" Ashe smiles at the idea, drawing a few trees in between the multiple Xs that Annette drew.
"Trees, stones, and even the high ground. We can use pretend scenarios for how we deal with them." Dimitri said chipping in towards the planning. Though compared to the others, his drawing is much cruder. "For example, when the bandits attacked us, Robin used a forest to make them have a harder time seeing us."
"It's harder to hit a target that you can't see. The space is also smaller, making bigger soldiers a harder time. It also might cause some men to separate from others or even be outnumbered in disadvantaged situations." Felix chips in finally when the more in detail combat analysis is made.
"And that's about time!" Robin claps, bringing all eyes onto him. He makes his way to the board with a small nod. He writes a few things on a piece of parchment before turning back to the class. "This is a rather good start that all of you have. While I would normally rate this not passing remarks, this is a fantastic starting point! You know what needs to be written!"
"But we barely got to write any actual strategy to use in the mock battle!" Annette proclaims, disappointed that all the prep work was seemingly going to waste in this endeavor.
"I'm sorry to hear that. But I don't want you guys to plan too much. After all, this is supposed to be a mock battle to assess your initial abilities on the battlefield." Robin chuckles at the ambition that Annette has on the subject matter. He makes a small mental note about her diligence. "But despite having a bit of prep on the layout, I'm willing to leave it here if you want. After all, you're free to do what you like in your free time. That will be all for today! Class is dismissed!"
For a moment, Robin felt a small bit of weight off his chest. He has a history of teaching lessons on tactics and strategy to some of the troops back at Ylisse. Those memories made Robin feel nostalgic like when he would teach Severa about certain simulations of the multitude of war counseling sessions against Gangrel, Walhart, and Validar. Yet the pressure of a formal teaching session was still quite disorienting.
Yet a lingering thought for teaching resonated even further down Robin's mind. Small thoughts, maybe fragments of imagination from a time before Ylisse. Instead of teaching people, he was being taught multiple people that he didn't seem to recognize. But it seemed all too real to him, almost like being here was tugging his brain a little as time went on. Pondering on these thoughts brought Robin a small return of comfort from familiarity.
"Robin!" A voice from reality causes Robin to snap back. He looks up to see Dedue standing tall in front of him in his usual stoic demeanor.
"Oh, Dedue! Was there something else that you needed?" Robin asked with an interested glance.
"I wanted to personally thank you for your insightful lesson. I look forward to the many lessons that you have in store for us. His Highness also wished to speak to you." Dedue politely relays with a well-mannered bow.
"Thank you, Dedue. I'm glad that you liked it. I'll head on over in a second." Robin thanks Dedue. After grabbing a few books, Robin puts them in his side pouch before walking over to Dimitri who is still collaborating with the other members of the Blue Lion house over the diagram that the class drew together.
"Ah, Robin. We were still working a bit more on the diagram. I know that you said that we shouldn't overprepare but it was rather fascinating when placed in a tactician role. I like to speak for my peers, but thank you for this insightful lesson." Dimitri smiles a little at the collaborative effort that the class was putting into the project.
"I'm glad that you guys are enjoying yourself. Part of me was wondering if I was doing a good job in a teaching role. Though, it seems I made quite a good first impression. Just make sure that you aren't overconfident just because you have a well-thought-out strategy. It'll help but it won't fully decide a battle." Robin chuckled a little at how much effort was being put onto the chalkboard. A huge jumbled mess of markings and arrows covered the whole map layout, it was a wonder how anything there was still visible.
"Of course. It was a brief but rather insightful lesson. If anything, it seems that you made quite the lasting impression on Annette." Dimitri couldn't help but laugh at the enthusiasm of his classmate. The two take a look to see the young girl diligently putting all of her efforts into the project. "I know that overconfidence can be quite disastrous. None of us are perfect, but it can never hurt to have a little confidence in yourself."
"You do have a point. Someone who doesn't have confidence in their abilities will probably flop even harder." Robin felt a bitter taste in his mouth, reflecting on a moment where even he doubted his confidence in tactics. Wanting to move away from the topic, Robin remembers the reason why he's here. "Ah before I forget. Dedue told me that you wanted to speak with me?"
"Ah yes. I was hoping that we could train together. I would love to test myself against your sword skills." Dimitri offers an invitation to Robin.
"Sure, I'm interested to see how you manage yourself in a battle. Do be warned. I won't go easy on you." Robin lets out a cheeky smirk. He turns and walks over to pick up a book on tactics that he has taken everywhere with him. With a smile, he places the book into his pocket before rushing to catch up with Dimitri as the two make their way to the arena.
A red-headed figure, covered in a badly torn cloak glares over at Robin from the roof of the main hall of the Monastery. Examining the tactician with a close eye, a thought ponders in his head, trying to figure out this mysterious figure.
"Hmm?" Robin looks around with a bizarre look. He felt someone staring at him but no matter where he looked, he couldn't find anything. But no matter how much his eyes deceived him, Robin's intuition said otherwise. Suddenly he looks high up at the rooftops, only to produce the same results. Nothing.
"Robin? Is something the matter?" Dimitri calls out from behind him.
"It's nothing!" Robin responds with a sigh. Seeing that he couldn't find the mysterious stalker, he drops searching for now and follows Dimitri to the training grounds.
"I will say... Some of the war treaties here in Fodlan are rather fascinating." Inside his quarters, Robin stretches as he places the book he was reading on his desk. He turns to his open window, emptily staring at the blanket of stars over him. His mind wandered back to the nostalgic memories that engulfed him earlier today.
Robin simply shakes his head violently bringing himself back to reality. He lets out an exhausted sigh at the situation he's in. He wishes to see all of the members of the Shepherds again, but the length was continuously plaguing his mind and he couldn't fall asleep. He had to find some way to distract himself from all of the past memories.
Robin frantically searches for something to distract him. His attention turns to a small book sitting at the edge of his desk. Almost like something calls to him, Robin picks the book up. Wanting to know more about the world, Robin decided to pick a few books relating to Fodlan and other countries around the world. But there was a nation that truly came to him.
Pherae, the nation that had suddenly popped into Robin's head while being questioned by Seteth. His curiosity was attracted there, ever since that day. He had picked up a book going over their history in hopes of finding any memories of himself of the gap years in his life. It had to be better than the memories he had as a child while in Plegia. He let the sadness of wanting to go back to Ylisse disappear as he divulges into his book.
After a while, Robin's eyes slowly drifted off. He rested on his desk, the world falls into darkness.
A young man opens his eyes, finding himself inside an unfamiliar tent. He quickly pulls himself up from the bed that he was sleeping at. Uncertain of where he was, he frantically started to search the area around him looking for some clues to where he was at. The tent was supported by wooden planks that held up the whole shelter together. Noticing the many chests and crates, he figured someone had taken him in. He tries to recall the memories prior to waking up, but a split pain jolts in his head.
"Oh! You're finally awake! I'm glad that you're alright!" A voice catches the young man's attention as he turns to the entrance of the tent. A young woman around his age walked in with a pitcher of water in one hand and a bundle of firewood in the other. She had long green hair, tied into a ponytail with an outfit that was foreign to the young man. "I found you unconscious on the plains. That was three days ago. I was worried that you weren't going to make it."
"W-What?" The young man was bewildered by what the woman said. He tries to recollect what happened before he was unconscious but nothing came to mind. Only a sharp pain ached in his head. He holds his hand over his head, wincing in pain.
"It's fine! You can relax! You're safe now!" The young girl called out, bringing the tactician a bowl of water to drink. She takes a seat on a small wooden chair, slowly handing the bowl to the boy.
"T-Thank you." The young man accepts the bowl, his hand shaking softly from his lack of strength. He drinks everything, feeling the cold, refreshing water in his mouth. He places the bowl on his lap with a sigh of relief as the pain in his head slowly disappears.
Noticing that the young man's pain has subsided, the girl gives a look of relief as well. Given that it was better than nothing, she decided it best to introduce herself and get to know this mysterious person. "I am Lyn, of the Lorca tribe. Who are you? Can you remember your name?"
"My name?" The young man pondered a little, trying to see if he could recall his name. After a few moments, he's able to remember. "Robin. My name is Robin."
"Robin? Is that your name? It's rather odd-sounding to me..." Lyn comments to herself at the unfamiliarity of Robin's name. Noticing the bizarre look from Robin, Lyn quickly finishes her thoughts. "Pay me no mind... It's a good name. Can you stand?"
"I think so..." Robin pulls the covers off himself, slowly lifting them off the bed. His legs were a bit shaky, weak from the lack of strength he has but is able to walk. "Yeah, I'm good."
"Great! Why don't you take a seat while we have breakfast?" Lyn stands up, walking to the counter of the tent. She begins preparing some food as Robin walks to a table, continuing to look at the insides of the tent. Lyn walks over, with two servings of meat from a previous meal probably. "It's cooked bear. It might be gamey but this was the only thing that I was able to hunt."
"It's fine... At this point, I'll eat anything. Thanks." Still, Robin felt a bit hesitant to eat something like bear meat. It just didn't seem right. Things like pork, beef, and chicken were familiar but he had never heard of them. Still, he was offered food from someone who saved him so complaining wasn't an option for him. He takes a mouthful of the meat and immediately, his eyes glistened at the taste of the meat. Lyn was definitely correct about the gaminess of the meat, but Robin didn't really mind. In fact, he rather enjoyed it not because he hasn't eaten anything recently. In awe, Robin said, "It tastes amazing."
"I'm glad that you enjoyed it. Even some of the people in my village weren't as big of a fan as you are." Lyn chuckled sadly at the thoughts of bringing up some of the people from her village. She takes a moment to reflect before trying to change the subject. "From your attire, I can tell that you're a traveler. What brings you here to the Sacaean Plains? Would you share your story with me?"
"Why am I here?" Robin tries to think about what happened before he fell unconscious once more. Only a few select things come to his mind, being in a tent with a few men in armor as he was giving directions. But the memories were far with nothing in between. After thinking more about it, the sharp pain from before had returned as he winces in pain.
"Are you alright?! What's wrong?" Lyn asked in distress to see Robin acting like this. The tactician shakes his head letting out a deep sigh.
"I don't know. I can't remember..." A chill entered the air when Robin said those words. Both of them stopped eating as the heavy air. Lyn was processing what she had heard.
"You can't remember anything? Do you have amnesia?" Lyn asked with a concerned look. Receiving a nod, Lyn couldn't help but frown at Robin's ill circumstances. Before she could say anything, rowdy noises could be heard from outside drawing both of their attention outside. Wondering what is going on, the two swiftly leave the items on the table to look outside the tent.
For a moment, Robin's eyes are blinded by the sun after sleeping for a long time. He wasn't able to see anything the cause of the noise until his vision recovered. From a bit distance away, he sees a party of bandits dashing down from the nearby mountains, cackling in laughter. In the shock of what was going on, Robin stood still as Lyn had to hurriedly pull the tactician back inside the tent.
"Bandits! They must have come down from the Bern Mountains!" Lyn exclaimed, grabbing her iron sword which is sitting near the entrance of the tent. "They must be planning on raiding the local villages! I have to stop them!"
"There were many of them out there! There's no way that you can take them out all by yourself!" Robin exclaimed with a worried expression, watching Lyn preparing the neccessary items for battle.
"It's fine. I only saw maybe four at most. If that's all o them, I think I can handle them on my own!" Lyn pockets a vulnerary before looking back at Robin with a hint of confidence. "Stay here, Robin. That way, you'll be safe from them in case something goes wrong."
"I still don't think that I can sit around doing nothing! I want to help you after all that you've done!" Robin states putting away some of his anxiety aside.
"Well, are you able to use a weapon?" Lyn questions.
"Well... no. But from whatever little memories that I have, I'm a tactician by trade. I can help out on the battlefield in some way!" Robin claims, not backing down aside from his utter lack of skill in combat.
"A tactician by trade? That's a rather odd profession but I think that you can help." Lyn ponders a little before nodding with an affirmative smile at Robin. She takes out another vulnerary and hands it to Robin. "Very well then! We'll do this together! On the battlefield, I could use some advice. Stay close to me and I can protect you!"
"Got it!" Robin nods as the two exits the tent looking to see the bandits prepare their weapons for an attack on the nearby village. The two kept their movements swift with Robin having to try his hardest in order to keep up with the swordswoman. Noticing that the bandits were prepping for their assault near a forest, Robin pointed to it as a good point to make it difficult for the bandits to spot them.
"Time to close in for an attack!" Lyn exclaimed, drawing her blade. She jumps out of the forest, slashing one of the bandits in the back before the others had a chance to react.
"What the?! Who the hell is this brat?" One of the bandits exclaimed as three of them started to surround Lyn, readying their axes to avenge their fallen comrade. Lyn simply returns her blade into her sheath, readying to draw it again. One of the bandits' charges in, swinging his axe downward. Easily seeing his movements, Lyn draws her blade, faster than Robin could see parrying the blow before spinning around to slash the bandit in the chest. The act of killing someone always had the stigma of a heavy burden in Robin's eyes, yet the girl who is his age held no qualms about taking the bandit's life.
"Behind you!" Robin calls out as he witnesses one of the bandits taking advantage of the opportunity that Lyn is distracted slicing his comrade. Lyn swiftly turns around, going low for a swift blow to the stomach with her blade's hilt. Gripping his stomach, the bandit flinches with the swordswoman walking behind them, slicing their blade down. The second bandit drops to the ground with a yell of pain which left Lyn facing the third bandit.
"Who do you think that you are?! Do you really think that you can stand up to Batta the Beast?! I'm going to make you pay for what you've done!" The bandit clashes weapons with Lyn, who was able to match her speed but held the strength advantage. Unlike their companions, this bandit also held some actual skill in combat that made it difficult for Lyn to get in a proper attack. She was forced on the defense, having to dodge the onslaught of attacks the bandit exclaimed. The bandit swings their axe, cutting a bit of Lyn's arm while she jumps back. She looks to her arm, groaning in pain.
"Lyn! Retreat into the forest! We need to confuse him!" Robin calls out, rushing Lyn to follow him. Noticing her wound slowly bleeding away, she takes the moment to retreat back to Robin with the bandit chasing the two.
The two manage to take some cover behind two trees to catch their breath with the bandit searching frantically for the two. Robin already felt exhausted from simply running away, noticing Lyn groaning in pain as she drinks a little bit of her vulnerary in order to numb the pain. That was when he noticed how extreme her wound was when seeing it up close. The consequences of fighting were terrifying to the tactician, seeing how easily two lives were taken by Lyn's sword. His first time actually being in a fight for his life had his breathing accelerate from the stressful event. His vision starts to get shaky, his whole body was trembling as he couldn't focus on anything.
"Robin!" Lyn calls out shaking Robin out of his panicked state. He slowly turns over to her, with his hands still shaking in fear of everything going on. "Calm down! Take a deep breath! You need to get it together!"
"Lyn?" Robin blinks. His mind was still out of it as Lyn walks over with eyes of determination. How could she still be so confident despite being in a disadvantageous state? She's the one who is injured and yet hasn't given up at all.
"As a tactician, you must have overseen battles, but this is probably your first time actually being in a fight, right? You need to be composed or else your foe will take advantage of it!" Lyn states, grabbing his shoulders, and reassuring Robin. No matter what, she maintained eye contact with him throughout the whole time. "Think of this situation like how you would normally be when you're strategizing. How would you get out of this?"
Lyn's confidence through the battle was almost contagious. Slapping himself, Robin steeled himself out of his frantic state. Still, the two were in quite a predicament. Robin had to swiftly come up with a plan in order to help Lyn beat the bandit. He couldn't physically kill the bandit, but he didn't necessarily have to as he came to realize.
"Lyn! Are you able to fight?" Robin whispers to the girl who quietly nods, pulling herself up using the tree as a bit of leverage. "Good! Wait on standby!"
"Wait... Robin! What are you doing? You can't fight!" Lyn exclaimed but Robin had already jumped out into the opening, seeing the bandit a bit away.
"Hey! I'm over here!" Robin picks up a rock and tosses it at the bandit, smacking his face a little. The bandit turns around, enraged by the act and unaware of what the young man was planning. The bandit simply charged in, blindly swinging as Robin barely dodges to the side. The bandit was frustrated by the tactician dodging all of his attacks that he laser-focused on hitting him in any means possible.
This would be the downfall of him as Robin would be pushed back against a tree. Sees the bandit in front of him, readying his axe for one last strike. Robin takes the opportunity to drop down to the ground, the bandit missing Robin as he smashes his axe against the trunk of the tree. He tried to pull away but he had struck too hard that his weapon was stuck. Taking the chance, Robin leaps in front, grabbing the bandit by the leg with the two toppling to the ground.
"Lyn! Now!" Robin exclaimed, holding on for dear life trying to keep the bandit down with all of his strength.
"Bastard! Let go of me!" The bandit started to violently push back against Robin. Punching, trying to kick him off, but no matter how much he tried, Robin wouldn't let go. Looking up, the bandit would see Lyn standing over him with his eyes open wide in fear as Lyn plunges her blade through his head, ending his life in an instant.
Lyn wipes the blood off of her blade before putting it away back to its sheath at her side. Afterward, she immediately goes to Robin who slowly lets go of the bandit's legs. He slowly lifts himself up. His face was covered in bruises with bits of blood trickling out of his mouth from the bandit's desperate assault. Despite it, Robin was able to produce a small smile at the victory the two held.
"Are you alright?" Lyn asks with a mix of concern and relief at the same time, looking at the tactician's face. Robin slowly nods before dropping down in front of her. She immediately rushes over, checking up on him to see that he had fallen unconscious. Lyn let out a small sigh before picking up the tactician from under her arm and making her way back to their tent.
The next morning, Robin could feel the soreness all over his body as he barely opens his eyes. He finds himself back in the tent that he woke up in the previous day. He pulls himself off the bed. He picks up his coat that is sitting on the chair and puts it on.
"Good morning, Robin! Are you awake yet?" Lyn enters the tent, relieved at the sight of seeing Robin standing in the middle. "Ah good! The fight must have taken a lot out of you. You've been out since yesterday."
"Since yesterday?!" Robin exclaimed before looking at Lyn's arm. "What about your arm? Is it aright?!"
"It's fine. Nothing too bad. The vulnerary did a lot to help me. Thank you." Lyn expressed, thinking back to not only the concern but also what Robin did yesterday. "That was your first time in a fight, correct? I wasn't expecting you to just go out there like that."
"I don't know... I think after your pep talk, I felt compelled... I get thinking. My train of thought was that the best way for you to deal with the killing blow is by pinning him down. What actually happened was a bit of a blur. Possibly all the adrenaline." Robin comments not having much recollection of what happened, only remembering that he held for dear life against the bandit to keep him in that one spot.
"You did an amazing job... Thank you, Robin." Lyn ponder on the thoughts that transpired the day before. Something comes up before turning to Robin. "I've been meaning to ask. It's obvious that you're experienced in the ways of war. But right now, you're simply traveling around?"
"Only small parts, mostly leading soldiers from the backlines. Though in terms of actual combat experience, I have none." Robin comments with an embarrassed look, being the unqualified fighter compared to the swordswoman. "As for now, I guess I'm just searching aimlessly, hoping to be able to perfect my craft. And I guess to learn a bit about my past."
"Then, if you are willing... Would it be alright if I accompanied you on your journey?" Lyn offers to Robin's surprise.
"Traveling with me? I don't mind at all. If anything, the more the merrier. But a thought comes to mind." Robin has been pondering a little about something revolving around Lyn. They're both of the same age yet her parents were nowhere in sight despite evidently being natives to the land. A part of him wanted to ask. "What about your parents? As much as I would be alright with you coming along, would they be okay with you going?"
"Would my parents be willing for me to come along with you?" Lyn's expression immediately grows darker. Laughing. She could hear the waves of laughter while recalling the faithful night from her past. Clenching her hands into fists, she barely let out one sentence. "My mother and father... both died six months ago."
"What?" Robin was taken aback by the statement, having heard of Lyn's parents being dead. He could see Lyn's darkened expression on the subject as she simply looks down.
"I come from a tribe... The Lorca." Lyn continued, barely able to retell the events that happened six months past. Bandits trampling down the hills, making their way through her village. Tears started pouring down her cheeks while her story pours out to Robin, who looked in horror at the experience she encountered. "A group of bandits attacked and slaughtered all of my people. The sudden attack left us scattered. My father was our chieftain and I inherited his sense of justice. I wanted to protect my people... But, me... a young woman while everyone was old-fashioned, nobody would follow me. I am the last member of my tribe."
"Lyn... I'm so sorry that you experienced that... I don't know what to say." Robin searches around, grabbing a piece of cloth from the counter to hand to Lyn. He didn't know how to process it, simply sitting next to her while trying to comfort her.
"I'm sorry... I've been alone for so long." Lyn wipes her tears away with the cloth that Robin handed to her. Taking a deep breath, she stands up, giving Robin a determined look. "Thank you, Robin. I'm better now. I won't shed tears anymore."
Robin looks up, seeing the determined look in her eyes. The same ones that he saw before that resonated with him so much. The confidence and determination were almost alluring to him, a person's determination to grow stronger. It was inspiring for him as well.
"I have to become stronger, so that I may avenge my father's death! Yesterday's battle was something that taught me an important lesson." Lyn clenches her fist before putting it over her heart. "I won't be able to get stronger if I simply do nothing. Robin! Let me travel with you so that I can train with you watching me until I'm ready!"
"Of course! You can travel with me!" Robin smiles, standing up to match Lyn. He gives the same determined look that she had. "You helped me during my time of need, the very least I can do is help you with what you want to do!"
"You will? That's wonderful! Thank you!" Lyn couldn't help but hug the tactician out of excitement. She jumps a little before pulling away with a smile. "We'll be better working together! I just know it! You'll be my master tactician, and I'll be your peerless warrior! We can do it, right?"
"Absolutely!"
Robin's eyes slowly creep open. He fell asleep at his desk and can feel an aching pain in his neck. Must've been why Chrom would always force him to go to bed rather than staying up late, continuously working. Taking a moment to stretch, Robin stands up and puts on his coat. Going through the usual process of getting ready in the morning, his mind wandered to the dream that he had last night.
It didn't feel like a dream, but a repressed memory of the period that he wasn't able to recall. If that was the case, then what happened that led him to Lyn or what happened after. Unlike Ylisse, Pherae is a nation that exists in the world. This means this isn't the first time that he was transported to this world... But, what in the world happened that would lead him to Ylisse where he would wake up, once again without any memories. No matter how much he thought about it, Robin couldn't find any answers.
He exits out of his dorm room looking around at it. Thinking on the subject with no real sense of direction wasn't going to get him anywhere. While his curiosity was at an all-time high, he decided to simply drop it, for now, hoping that something like this happens tonight as it did during the first night of Fodlan as well. He makes his way to the mess hall, greeting students who are going through their introductory classes.
"..." Robin stops abruptly in the middle of the courtyard. He had a feeling that he was being watched. He starts frantically searching around him. It's happening again. This wasn't the first time where he had felt this. Almost like someone is actively spying on him without his knowledge. It was ever since he arrived at Garreg Mach. It felt like he was under some sort of constant surveillance but he could never understand where it was coming from.
People who were coming through the front entrance gave Robin a confused glance while passing by. Noticing all the stares, the tactician takes a moment to compose himself before running into the main cathedral. He turns behind, hoping to look for some strange figure that is trying to catch him, unaware of what was in front of him. A voice calls out in front of Robin, turning to see a familiar-looking young girl with dark green hair and a mage outfit standing with a rugged older man, startled by him rushing over to them.
Realizing the people in front of him, Robin tries to stop himself, tripping in the process. Letting out a distressed gasp, he pummels to the ground. Wincing in pain, Robin sees a hand extended out to him. He looks up to see the young girl crouching a bit down.
"Are you okay?! That was a nasty fall." Nino exclaims with a look of concern. Robin takes her hand, pulling himself upward as he brushes dust off himself. Getting a good look at the tactician, Nino's eyes widened in awe. She couldn't believe who she was looking at that she couldn't help but hug Robin without warning.
"W-What?!" Robin was caught off-guard by the sudden embrace. He had no idea what was going on, looking down at the girl with a confused glance. He turns to look at Dart, only to receive a bizarre look from the pirate. A small throbbing pain appears in the back of his mind as Dart walks over.
"Alright, that's enough. What's the matter with you?" Dart pulls Nino away from Robin. He gives Nino a weird look before turning to Robin. That's when he grabbed a good look at Robin. Examining him from top to bottom, he couldn't believe who he saw. "Ho? Now I understand why the lass was so excited to see you! Is that you, Robin?! It's been ages since I've last seen ya! It must've been about years by now!"
"Huh? Do you know me?" Robin questioned, giving the two figures a blank stare of disbelief.
"Is something off with your noggin? Don't you recognize us? It's Dart!" Dart exclaimed with a confused frown. He folds his arms, pondering about it before looking at Robin. "You are Robin, right?"
"I am... My name is Robin." Robin could definitely tell that these figures were familiar to him. But no matter how much he thought about it, a massive blank appeared in his head. "I'm sorry... You two are definitely familiar to me, but I can't seem to remember."
"..." Nino blinked emptily from what she had heard. She had heard from one of the others that Robin has had memory issues before she met him. But the occurrence of it twice definitely came as a shock to her. He was definitely the same man that she met all those years ago. Nino looks up to Dart who pondered on it.
"Well then. I ain't about to give up on this just yet!" Dart declared with a smirk on his face. He wraps his arm around Robin's shoulder. "We danced and sang together! That means we're friends for life. And friends help each other when they're in trouble! I don't care if we have to beat the memories into you, we'll make you remember our journey all those years back! Ain't that right, Nino?!"
"R-Right!" Nino looks up to the man who helped her all of those years ago. One of the people that she looked up to. A few tears dropped from her face as she walks up to the young man. "Robin! I'm glad! I'm glad that I get to see you again! I'll do whatever I can to help you remember."
The opportunity that Robin had been thinking about had arrived in front of him. People that he had called friends from the past. Seeing how the two people reacted when he saw him gave Robin a bit of comfort. He wasn't alone in a place that he didn't know but rather a place that held many friends from his past. A part of him still wondered about why this occurred to him, but that didn't matter right now.
The shadowy figure from the rooftops oversees the event, nodding in approval. He takes a look at Nino, staring at her with longing. A part of him wanted to rush over to her, but another part wanted to keep hiding away for leaving without a word. He disappeared from the rooftop, biding his time until it was the right moment. Only then, he'll make his appearance to her.
Wassup my homies! Remember when I said that I was going to be posting more frequently in 2022? Well, that was a flipping lie. Wait, I already made this joke. Turns out that life has been super hectic and that I didn't really get an opportunity to write over the past few months, sorry! With a transition in my life, I had bigger priorities but I managed to get something out with the occasional free time that I had.
So I thought to make up for it is to make a massive chapter in order to make things up for all of the content that I've missed for four-five months! It isn't a lot but I hope that it is a start of some sort. At this point, I can't keep up with promises that I have a hard time keeping, so I just hope that you liked what I had and hope you look forward to the next chapter.
Also, I wanted to try out and see if the content that was being used in Three Hopes was going to influence my ruling on how this story is going. And my ruling on whether that is the case so far is yes and no. On one hand, I really like the things that they are doing in this game is actually really fascinating. It's a nice spin on the routes from what I've seen. (I actually like some tidbits of Scarlet Blaze and I feel like they do a nice spin on Edelgard's character). I feel like I can use certain parts of the story for this but other parts, but I choose to not use them. There are a lot of things in Azure Gleam that I really enjoyed and I can see myself using. Seeing that game is still freshly new, I won't say what some parts I'm talking about but I'll just say to look forward to what is in store. I think you're going to like it.
With that being said, thank you so much for reading "A Second Chance at Sanctuary"! And I still don't know what I'm doing!
(Also seeing Constance and Yuri's design in Three Hopes is making me really consider buying Ashen Wolves. Considering only though. Heard that the map design is still shit despite having more experience in the older games. And also, my wallet took a massive hit with Three Hopes and Xenoblade 3. But for now, we're about to reach the end of the prologue.)