Chapter 24: Distant Troubles

"It is merely a curiosity on my part how the practice of familiars have not become common." Goetia went on with his query, riding alongside Byleth and Flayn as the group made their way back to the Monastery "I am more puzzled as to how the practice was not even debated until I brought the subject up."

"I...was not aware you could do that though." Flayn rebutted, a puzzled expression on her face "I was under the impression that such magic resided only in fiction."

"It is a remarkably simple procedure, one which most magi learn." Goetia frowned "With the Crest of Maquis granting an individual a basic level of animal communication, one would have expected their House to produce the most well trained animal familiars."

"You can...train animals?" Byleth looked at him, tilting her head with a somewhat confused look on her face "What is a familiar anyway?"

"You have different categories." Goetia explained "However the most common is a familiar used for spying or delivering messages." the tanned man gave a small frown "Certain familiars are summoned through rituals, although that process is far more complicated and time consuming. Not to mention a continuos drain on magical energy to fuel their existence."

"Really?" Flayn leaned forwards, her posture indicating she was now very interested in the conversation "How so?"

"The summoned familiars are drawn over from another plain of existence, therefore they require an anchor of magical energy to maintain their existence." Goetia explained "Or they are crafted by the magus themselves. Dolls, golems or apparitions would fall into this category."

Flayn let out a small giggle "Apparitions? You suggest such things as ghosts being real?" she smiled at him, said smile quickly tapered off into a look of horror when she noticed that Goetia was, in fact, quite serious "Y-you mean ghosts are-"

"You have differing levels of spirits. The most common would be the left over thoughts that are strong enough to find root in the world, normally found in surroundings which have stored memories of the individual. However, considering they have little presence in the world, they cannot interact with the physical plain and only those with strong spiritual ties would even be able to perceive them."

"So...They are invisible ghosts?"

"That is just an apparition." Goetia dismissed "I have yet to encounter any here, however. As I was saying, the most common are animals as they are easy to control and quick to form bonds with."

"So, you could turn a cat into a magical companion?"

"For a time." Goetia admitted "However, continued contract with a magi will eventually allow the animal to evolve into 'Monstrous Beasts'"

"Really?" Flayn gaped at him "Then the Demonic Beasts-"

"Are phantasmals, not Monstrous Beasts." Goetia explained "'Demonic' Beasts, as I have witnessed here, fall within the second ranking when referring to magical creatures. Monstrous Beasts, that I describe, are the lowest category and are typically far weaker than what I have seen thus far even capable of being taken out by a common human. Phantasmals are far more hardy and pose a greater risk. The wolves the Golden Deers encountered were on the cusp of transitioning from Monstrous Beast to Phantasmal. The lizard type was a low class phantasmal."

"You've mentioned two." Byleth pointed out "What's the third?"

"Entirely irrelevant." Goetia shrugged "As they have long since died out, or departed to another land."

"Huh...What were they?"

"Divine Beasts-" Goetia's eyes briefly flickered over to Flayn, gauging her reaction. She seemed to freeze for a barest hint of a second before relaxing, however her eyes now held a certain tint to them. "-Primarily because of their power." a lie, normally they were described as such because of their relation to Divine spirits, but he was curious how Flayn would have reacted to the wording, and the fact the girl herself would fall into this category.

"Really?" Flayn titled her head "How powerful were they?"

"Entirely dependent on their species." Goetia explained "The lowest class was still far above in scope to the highest of Demonic Beasts. The Nemean Lion was one such Divine Beast, with a hide which was impervious to any projectile."

"Really?" Flayn blinked "Were they all like that?"

"No, the Nemean lion would rank quite low on the spectrum of Divine Beasts." The man dismissed "However, in relation to Familiars, the most common are animals, the most useful would be Golems."

"Golems?" Byleth asked in a puzzled tone "What are they?"

"Creations fuelled my magical energy." Goetia explained "They are usually quite sturdy, but only capable of simple tasks. For the most part."

"Golems…" Flayn tasted the word "I believe I have heard of those before. They are constructed with metal and stone, are they not?"

Goetia slowly turned his head to her, giving a blank expression "That is their most common make up. You are familiar with them?"

"Only in passing." Flayn dismissed "I believe my brother would know more, he was the one who spoke of them, once I believe."

"Hmph." Goetia grunted "Curious…" he turned back ahead "Regardless, it is odd that none could see the value of forming contracts with animals."

"Why don't you just teach them to do it?" Flayn asked "...Wait, let me guess, they didn-"

"Didn't ask." Goetia explained "Once again, I am not here to fix the mistakes in the Fodlan system of magic. Should someone make a request of me, I shall consider obliging it. However, I will not actively attempt to advance the magecraft at an unnatural rate. It is the people of Fodlan's responsibility to evolve their own spells, not mine."

"I suppose…" Flayn shrugged her shoulders "However, I am somewhat saddened, I think it would be quite cute to have a small bird as a companion."

"You do not need to be a magus to own a pet."

Flayn sent him a dry look "That was not even remotely close to what I was referring and you know it."

"Do I? How curious." Goetia mumbled "I am not as skilled at Telepathy as one would expect."

"...What do you mean expect?"

"…"

"What do you mean expect Goetia?" Flayn sounded more panicked now "Can you rea-"

"-d minds? No that would be an absurd thought." Goetia dismissed her concerns "Mental magecraft requires a great deal more preparation and cannot be enacted without the proper rituals in place."

"...But you could do it?"

"I could do a great many things. That does not mean I will." Goetia replied with a small frown "I have never personally used telepathy."

"Oh, but others have?"

"They have attempted it." Goetia responded "It is entirely dependent on the connection between the two individuals. You can choose whether or not to convey thoughts to an individual based upon a link with them. Volunteering thoughts is not uncommon, usually done through contracts with a familiar."

"So, you can commune with animals?"

"You can relay basic instructions which they will carry out." He paused for a few moments "It is also possible to briefly use their senses as if they were your own. An example would be using the eyes of a bird familiar to visualise what they can currently see."

"You can literally give yourself a birds eye view?" Flayn gaped at him, Goetia nodded once.

"Useful for spying." Byleth nodded to herself.

"Some also use apparitions for such things." Goetia shrugged "However, they use varies and often the spirits may prove difficult to manage, or are lacking in use." his eyes briefly met Byleths.

Sothis took that as an insult against her, evidently, as she chose that moment to manifest in front of Goetia. Glaring at him "I was awoken from my nap for the strangest of reasons. Almost as if someone was about to say something stupid." cupping her ear, moving it towards him "Go on, finish your sentence?" she then paused, sending a smirk his way "Oh, silly me. You can't really talk right now because then you would look quite the fool, wouldn't you?"

The amused smile on her face seemed to grow at his silence, especially at the way his eyes seemed to intensify with what could only be described as annoyance. Sothis turned back to Byleth, throwing a thumb over her shoulder at the one armed man "I must say, I am quite pleased that more than one person can see me. It makes these types of conversations far easier." she sighed "Although I suppose he would not be my first pick, but he will have to do. At least he is mysterious enough." her head turned back to him "And I will discover what it is that makes you so different to the others!"

Goetia's lip twitched in response "Indeed."

"Goetia? Did you say something?" Flayn looked back at him with a raised eyebrow.

"No." He replied instantly, pointedly ignoring the smug look that Sothis was throwing his way.

Seteth was waiting at the front gate, idly tapping his foot as the Blue Lions returned. Flayn froze at the blank look he sent her way, she began whistling as she suddenly found the clouds over her head very interesting to look at.

The man stared at his family member for a few moments more before his eyes trailed over to Byleth, then to Goetia who was riding alongside her. "Professor. Goetia." he nodded to the pair of them as they disembarked from their mounts. Byleth turned to her class, gesturing for them to go on ahead.

"Flayn." Seteth called out, the green haired girl flinched, stepping away from the retreating Blue Lions. Her attempt at an escape thwarted before it had a chance to even take shape. "Please stand right there." he pointed to the spot just left of Goetia, who was stood just left of Byleth.

She shuffled along to where he gestured, leaving the rather unfortunate image of the three individuals stood in front of Seteth, much in the same way a parent would make three unruly children line up in order.

"Professor." Turning to the teacher, Seteth rubbed the bridge of his nose "I would like to know why you felt it best to take Flayn on a training excursion."

"She was supposed to be bait."

"...I beg your pardon?" Seteth asked, cleaning out his ear with his pinky finger "I don't believe I heard you correctly that time, please repeat what you said."

"Bait." Byleth repeated "For the Blue Lions."

"I see." Green eyes flicked over to Goetia "And your role in this?"

"Her captor." He pointed at Flayn, Seteth slowly turned to Flayn.

"And your role?"

"I was the princess." Flayn coughed into her hand "I mean I was-"

"Flayn." Seteth cut her off with a dry look "I would like you to understand something. While I am fully supportive of you attempting to branch out and try new things, that do not involve sneaking out of the Monastery leaving only the gatekeeper-"

"Harold." Goetia corrected, Seteth squinted his eyes at the man, who gave no reaction.

"Harold." Seteth went on "To deliver a message to me that you have gone with the Professor of the Blue Lions who has absconded with our Assistant Librarian for a training exercise and telling me that it in some way revolves around role play." he held up a single finger to cut off whatever she was going to say in response "We will continue this discussion later. For right now, I must deal with your co-conspirators." he turned his head towards Byleth and Goetia "And why, may I ask, did you allow Flayn to join you and what exactly was her role? In more specific words than simply 'bait' and 'princess' please."

Byleth nodded her head "Felt that the Blue Lions class needed to fight different opponents. I'm not good at magic."

"And Goetia is." Seteth acknowledged "So you secured his help to fulfil the role of an opposing magic caster. That I can understand, and Flayn?"

"I heard from Professor Manuela that role play makes people happy." Byleth replied "Came up with a scenario where Flayn was held captive by Goetia and the Blue Lions had to rescue her."

"I see." Seteth sighed, rubbing his brow "And?"

"They lost."

"Well, considering Prince Dimitri is currently sporting a black eye and young Ingrid appeared to be nursing a bruise of some manner while Goetia appears to be virtually unharmed, I would assume so." He frowned, turning to the man "If I may be so bold, what manner of spell did you use to inflict such injuries? Nothing to dangerous I hope."

"I punched them." Goetia replied instantly.

"You...punched them?"

"Yes."

"You...a caster of Magic, who specialises in ranged combat, got close enough to punch them."

"I did."

"You are aware of the power of the Blaiddyd crest, are you not?"

"I am." Goetia nodded his head "I was confident in my ability to match him."

"Very well." Seteth was still staring at him for several moments before he eventually asked his next question "Did you punch any of the other students?"

"Just Ingrid and Felix."

"I see." The man wasn't sure what else he could say in regards to that, it was a training exercise so injury was to be expected. He just wasn't expecting to be told that a one armed man got into a fist fight with students and apparently won. Either he was more skilled than he was letting on or the students were hopeless at hand to hand combat. He wasn't sure which possibility he was more comfortable with.

Dismissing the thought, he turned back to Byleth "In future, please remember that Flayn is not a student of the academy and as such, does not fall within your responsibility. As her guardian, any and all future trips outside the Monastery grounds must be met with my consent first, understood?"

"Yes." She nodded in response.

Flayn widened her eyes and stepped forwards "But brother-"

"Flayn, it took a great deal of restraint on my part to not grab a Wyvern and ride out to retrieve you the moment the message was passed along." Seteth cut her off "You forget that, as your brother, your safety is my responsibility. I am not barring you from any future trips but until you become a student of this academy, you must remember your place."

"...Yes, brother." Flayn muttered under her breath, looking away. Seteth nodded his head, turning to Goetia.

"Now that you are back, I believe it would be best for you to return to your assigned duties. I believe there are some Black Eagle students ready for you in the Library." The man nodded his head in response "Another thing, while you are not responsible for this situation, I ask that you ensure that such an event does not occur again."

"Very well." He nodded, walking away and further into the monastery.

Goetia strode into the library, immediately raising an eyebrow at the two individuals in front of him. Or rather, the one individual stood up while the second was sat at the table with his eyes closed. His expression making it difficult to discern whether he was thoughtful or merely asleep.

The more obviously awake student had a far more gaunt expression on his face as well as sporting a seemingly perpetual scowl. Dark hair loosely hung from his head like a mop, hiding away the right half of his face, exposing only a single pale coloured eye which locked onto him with a certain intensity.

"You are the Assistant Librarian, Goetia." He called out in a hushed tone of voice, sounding somewhat sinister to the average person. His eyes turned to the boy currently resting, a look of disgust came to his face as he gently prodded the boys leg with his foot.

The boy with dark green hair jolted, eyes opening and blinking rapidly as he returned to the waking world. "Wha-…" his head span around, eyes squinted as they fell on the other boy "Hubert? What is it?"

"Your nap has officially come to an end." Hubert replied "The Assistant Librarian is here to meet out our task, I will not have Lady Edelgard's reputation embarrassed by your narcolepsy."

Goetia had no idea why they even knew what that was. Perhaps it was merely a common trend between the two worlds.

"It's…" The boy yawned, stretching his arms as he got to his feet "It's fine, isn't it?"

"No, it is not."

"We can't all be as dedicated as you, Hubert." The boy retorted "Some of us need sleep to rest our brains."

"It is only because you are of the Black Eagle house that I consider allowing you to wake from that sleep. Linhardt."

"And there is the threatening remark." Linhardt sighed "Honestly, if you keep talking like that, I am inclined to believe that perhaps the Assistant Librarian will believe us to be bloodthirsty savages."

"I sincerely hope you are not implying that Lady Edelgard is nothing more than the leader of a band of barbarians, for your own sake."

"I'm curious as to at what point I mentioned Edelgar-"

Goetia coughed loudly, cutting the argument short before it could escalate further. The two turned to the man, quickly composing themselves or in Linhardt's case, dragging himself to his feet so that he was no longer slumped over a chair "I assume you are here for the weekly aid within the Library?"

"We are." Hubert nodded his head, eyes flickering towards Linhardt "And we shall ensure that it is completed to a satisfactory level. I am Hubert von Vresta. Vassal to Lady Edelgard."

"Ah yes." Goetia nodded his head "The one who has been spying on me for the past month."

"Indeed." Hubert nodded back, not even denying the accusation. He was already aware that Goetia knew, considering that Edelgard had asked him to avoid bothering the new librarian in case he felt threatened. Hubert merely told her he was ensuring the man did not represent a threat.

Linhardt raised an eyebrow "You seem unusually calm at the prospect of meeting your stalker."

"Would you rather a response of violence?" Goetia responded with a raised eyebrow "In any event, his recent activity is well within the bounds of his role as a Vassal. He was merely investigating any possibility of a threat to his Lord."

"I still am." Hubert replied, never losing the sinister look on his face. Linhardt looked between the two of them with a flat expression before he let loose a tired sigh.

"I am beginning to wonder if my penchant for sleeping frequently is actually the strangest behavioural quirk in this academy." He mumbled under his breath before turning to face Goetia fully "Linhardt von Hevring." introducing himself quickly "I won't be all that useful in this role."

"I can tell." Goetia replied instantly "However, your skill at the task is not my concern. I am merely here to direct your efforts."

"Well, as long as you aren't disappointed by the end of it." Linhardt yawned a second time, his eyelids fluttering as he seemingly fought to keep himself awake.

"Of course, I am obligated to inform your house professor of any and all issues that should arise, as well as failings on your part." The man went on, stepping past the pair and towards the desk "As such, it would be in your best interests to perform your assigned task to the best of your abilities."

"...I suppose." The green haired boy mumbled under his breath "Where do we begin then?"

"That's a nice shiner you're sporting there, your Princeliness." Claude joked as soon as he spotted the Blue Lion leader, the blonde boy winced at the jab "I suppose training with Teach went well?"

"Claude." Dimitri nodded back "I am happy to see you so concerned with my health, and no...it was not the Professor." the boy rubbed the back of his neck "It was actually Goetia."

"Sparkles?" Claude blinked "Huh, never would have pegged him for actively participating in a training exercise."

"I believe that the Professor was able to secure his help…" He paused "And well, the situation rather escalated from there. Suffice to say, it highlighted a number of issues for our class to work on."

"Work on?" Claude gave the Prince another quick examination "Dimitri, I saw that Ingrid, Felix and Ashe seemed to be sporting bruises of their own…"

"Yes…" Dimitri winced "Goetia decided to...um...engage in physical exercise."

Claude snorted, covering his mouth with his hand "Dimitri...th-the...Sparkles has one arm and he's a mage to boot. I thought you were gonna tell me that he used some fancy magic to beat you…"

"Well, he did for some of us." Dimitri shrugged, continuing his walk to the cafeteria "Others were...less fortunate."

"I'll bet." Claude shook his head "Although Sparkles is just full of surprises, isn't he?"

"I will admit that Goetia is a remarkable individual, much like the Professor." The Prince acknowledged, then paused and sent Claude a flat look "I suppose you are looking to recruit them into the Leicester Alliance after you graduate?"

"Now Dimitri, do you truly believe I would attempt to form a friendship with someone like Sparkles with the sole purpose of inviting them to join me in the Alliance?"

"Claude, I am certain you know my answer to that particular riddle, so I will save us both the time."

"Alright, that's fair." The Golden Deer shrugged his shoulders "Well, at first that was kind of the motivation. However, he's now a kind of mystery I want to unravel...Also he's got Lysithea and Leonie in his class already. He's basically a Golden Deer in all but name."

"Ah!" Dimitri raised a single finger, a wry smile on his face "But he also has the Professor and Mercedes in his class as well, and the Professor does seem closer to him than Lysithea."

"Are you implying that Teach is actually going to seduce Sparkles into joining the Blue Lions." Claude gaped at Dimitri, then furrowed his brows in realisation "I...crap, I didn't account for that at all. Damn, Dimitri...You thought this pretty far ahead, were you manipulating them into forming a relationship just so you can grab the only two interesting people in this Academy and horde them for yourself?"

"Claude, that is completely untrue and far too complicated a strategy." Dimitri rolled his eyes at his friend "I am merely pointing out that if the Professor and Goetia are indeed forming the relationship that you seem to envisage them having, then it would not be beyond the realm of possibility that he would end up joining the Blue Lions...perhaps as an Assistant Teacher?"

"Goddess…" Claude widened his eyes "I'm now torn between rooting for them because how funny it looks, or secretly dreading losing our secret weapon."

"Secr-Claude!" Dimitri frowned "Were you planning on having Goetia join the Golden Deers just in time for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion?"

"Well, I had been thinking on it." The boy admitted immediately "But after witnessing the state that your class is in after that fighting him, I'm now convinced."

"Claude..."

Neither of them noticed the form of Dorothea sat near the entrance of the Cafeteria, having overheard some of their conversation. Or at least, that parts of it she felt were the most important to her at the time.

"So…" A tiny smile made its way onto her face "The new Professor and Gotie might be a little closer...that sounds like gossip to me."

"The plan has proceeded better than I could have envisaged." Thales nodded his head "With the rebel army posing a credible threat, the Church is less likely to dismiss the threat."

"Their fanaticism was always going to ensure they approached the evidence with a degree of zealotry. Now they will devote greater resources towards protecting the Phantasmal." The figure turned away, moving back towards their table and staring down at the body present there "And your associate? She believes that the remains of Seiros are within the tomb?"

"She foolish girl is not as aware as she is yet to be. Still believing that Seiros and Rhea are different individuals." Thales waved his hand "It is a necessary ruse, for now."

"Hmph. Her obvious hatred of you is a future liability. She will turn on you."

"Obviously, however she will remain unaware of our true capabilities until it is far too late. So long as you fulfil your end of our agreement, we shall fulfil ours."

"As you say…I have made improvements to her method of disguise. She will be difficult to discern from the original." Straightening themselves up, the figure turned back around to face Thales. The figure towered over the Agarthan, the wings on his back splayed out, revealing their make up of diamond shaped gem like scales, the centre of which contained eyes. The featureless humanoid face stared down at them "I would advise she be placed under a greater level of training. Her personality is temperamental and likely to give her away."

Thales frowned, but eventually nodded his head "Yes, Kronya has always been...careless and it would do us no good if she were to expose herself in a fit of misguided arrogance."

"Her arrogance is as misguided as it is pathetic. Inform her that when she awakes she is to refrain from speaking to me in that tone of voice again."

"I doubt she will listen." The Agarthan scowled "...You have begun examining locations for the next experiment?"

"I have. But it will require the genetic material of the Nabateans, even if the Seiros tomb is empty, it is likely that some material will still be present. If it is not, the young Phantasmal girl will suffice."

"Very well then." Thales nodded his head "I will leave you to your work."

The figure made no attempt to reply, merely turning around and resuming their work.

AN: We get another look into the Agarthans. And our first description of the Demon God who is working with them…

Oooh.

Yeah, they have facsimile of wings. If you want something to imagine it, just look at the ring which surrounded Baal, but imagine that as wings instead. Pretty nifty.

Also! We now have a TV tropes page! Yay!