Link had decided that the students needed to improve their weapon skills if they wanted to survive in Hyrule. Quite frankly, Hubert agreed. It was clear that they were liabilities. Even Lady Edelgard, much as he hated to admit it.
As it turned out, Link was familiar with Hyrulean sword, spear, axe, and bow fighting styles, and would be drilling the students for two hours in each per day for the next six days. The students didn't have to participate in all five drills, but they would each have to participate in two. Mages, however, were an exception and only had to participate in one, but would be expected to teach each other anything they could, mainly spells.
Hubert was struggling with the lessons. "I don't get it."
"It isn't that hard to 'get,' Hubert," Linhardt said. "Faith magic is easy."
"For you, maybe," Hubert said. "I have never kept the Faith, Linhardt. How can I have faith in a Goddess that I do not believe exists?" That was bending the truth a little, but Hubert's feelings on the Goddess probably wouldn't go over well, and there was no point in causing conflict unnecessarily.
"If you don't believe our Goddess exists, you can try having faith in Hylia instead," Linhardt suggested.
"I don't know anything about Hylia," Hubert said. "And in any event, how can I have faith in her and face Calamity Ganon when I know she's losing the contest of power between the two of them?"
"Then have faith in yourself, I don't know," Linhardt rolled his eyes.
In himself? There was a better chance of Hubert becoming a devout follower of Seiros. Any chance of Hubert having faith in himself died in the Insurrection of the Seven.
"It's okay," Mercedes said. "Maybe you're not meant to be a Faith Mage."
Hubert gritted his teeth. He hated being the least helpful mage of the group. Every other mage in the party was able to use faith magic. Even Dorothea, who had been a slow learner at first, was starting to get it. The party needed healers, and he couldn't deliver.
After bow practice came to an end, Claude decided to talk to Cyril. "Hey, Cyril."
"Whaddaya want?" Cyril asked.
"I just want to get an idea of who you are," Claude said. "I don't know you very well, so...why don't you tell me a little about yourself?"
Cyril shrugged. "Not much to tell, really. Lady Rhea lets me stay at the Monastery, and I do chores around the place. She wants me to go to the academy in a few years."
"Are you happy at Garreg Mach?" Claude pressed.
"More than I've been anywhere else," Cyril said.
"I noticed you're actually pretty handy with that bow," Claude tried. "Where did you learn to shoot?"
"Got drafted into the Almyran army when I was twelve," Cyril said. "And after I got brought to Garreg Mach, I started squiring under Shamir."
Claude frowned. Either Cyril was a lousy conversationalist or he was intentionally trying to frustrate Claude into giving up. Probably the latter option, to be honest. In any case, the fact that the Almyran army was drafting twelve-year-olds...he wasn't too pleased with that.
He decided to try something else. "How did you and Lady Rhea meet?"
Cyril took a drink from his canteen. "Well, back in my first battle, I was taken prisoner by Holst Goneril. Me an' some of the other prisoners, the ones who weren't important, got put to work. Holst was fine, I guess, but his father didn't treat us very well.
"Lady Rhea noticed me when I was serving drinks. She asked me if I wanted to come and live with her at Garreg Mach. I said yes, and she took me with her when she left Goneril. I asked her why she wanted to take me with her. She said, 'Because I know what it's like to be feared and hated for the crime of being different.'
"So, since then, I've lived in Garreg Mach." Cyril said. "So, are ya going to tell me your story? Because if ya do and it's just a list of big important people ya know, I'm not gonna listen."
Claude chuckled. "Nah, I'll spare you that." Internally, however, he was thinking. The Church in Leicester wasn't very friendly to foreigners, and he knew the Western Church was the same way. He had assumed that such attitudes had spilled down from the top. But Cyril's story seemed to contradict that completely.
Maybe he had been too quick to judge Rhea. It was possible the general xenophobic attitudes of certain parts of the Church were the fault of the bishops of the Western and Eastern Churches instead.
Maybe he was too quick to jump to conclusions. It was something to think about.
Night had fallen, and Marianne was keeping vigil for the souls of the people of the town who had been turned into ReDeads. She didn't know whether to pray to Sothis or Hylia for their souls, so she compromised by praying to both.
Dimitri came and knelt next to her. He didn't interrupt her. Dedue was there too, and he began saying something in the language of Duscur. Possibly a funeral prayer.
When she was finished, she and Dimitri simply knelt in silence for a short while. Eventually, Marianne spoke. "Thank you for keeping vigil with me."
"Innocents like the people of this town should not go unmourned, any more than they should go unavenged," Dimitri said.
Marianne hung her head. "I shouldn't be here."
"What do you mean?" Dimitri asked.
"Wherever I go, misfortune follows," Marianne said.
"Misfortune? Marianne, you cannot possibly blame yourself for this," Dimitri protested.
"I don't mean what happened here, but in the general sense, my presence brings only suffering," Marianne said.
"Suffering is an inevitable part of life," Dedue said.
"Dedue is right. Everyone suffers, Marianne. I have suffered. Dedue has suffered. And that was before we ever knew you," Dimitri told her. "Someone is trying to kill us. We will suffer in Hyrule either way. The only difference is that if you stay with us, you can help heal the resulting wounds."
Marianne wasn't sure whether she believed Dimitri, but she wanted to.
Kronya noticed Ashe looking dejected. Normally, she would have decided that it wasn't her problem, but if he was demoralized he would be useless. Plus, he had sort of saved her life, even if it was humiliating and she would have had that assassin had she been wielding a knife like she should have been.
Which she would have. Really.
"Something on your mind?" she asked.
"No. I mean, yes. I mean...that assassin I shot? That was my first kill," he explained.
"And?" Kronya asked. "He was trying to kill me."
"I know," Ashe said.
Kronya sighed. "Ashe, you're going to have to kill if you want to be a knight or something."
"I know that too," Ashe said, not looking as if he felt better.
Kronya looked at him. "Then I don't know what to say."
"You've killed before, haven't you?" Ashe asked.
"Yes, many times," Kronya admitted.
"Does it get any easier?" Ashe asked.
"Yeah, discounting killing people you know, the first one is the hardest," Kronya said. "But you did save my life. You did it for a good cause."
Ashe nodded. "Thanks, Monica."