"Yah!"

"Hiyah!"

Rean's tachi clashed with Laura's bastard sword.

"You've gotten stronger," Laura remarked.

Rean flashed a grin. "Coming from you, that's a compliment."

"Then how will you respond to this?"

Abruptly, Laura jumped backwards to break away from the clash. As soon as her feet touched the ground, she jumped high into the air with her sword poised to make a downwards swing.

Rean knew that he had no chance of withstanding the attack head-on, so he momentarily withdrew, leaving Laura to strike empty ground.

An idea started to form in Rean's head. 'Maybe if I try that form…'

He changed his stance so his knees and left elbow were slightly bent and his sword arm was by his side. After a few moments of concentration, he leapt forward, hoping to catch Laura off guard.

Unfortunately, Rean wasn't quick enough. The moment he brought his tachi forward, it clanged with Laura's blade. Having entered a defensive stance, the blue-haired swordswoman easily parried his attack and knocked his sword out of his hands.

"That's the match!" Morgan shouted from the steps of the Old Schoolhouse with her hand raised. "You almost had her, Rean!"

Rean sighed in concession. "I guess I still have a ways to go before I can use that in an actual fight…"

"I don't think I've ever seen that particular stance before," Laura remarked. "Is it perhaps a different form of the Eight Leaves?"

He nodded as he retrieved his tachi. "Yeah, it is."

"Does that mean that you've overcome your slump?"

"Well, I'm not sure if I've completely overcome it," Rean clarified, "but I'm finally starting to pick up where I left off. This past field study helped me realize that if I'm going to keep up with the rest of you, I need to start taking things seriously again." He gave her an earnest smile. "In a way, I've got you guys to thank for getting me back on track."

Laura chuckled lowly, returning a smile of her own. "Even if our contributions were small, I'm glad we were able to play a part in assisting you."

"Stance? Form?" Rean and Laura looked to their confused classmate. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, sorry. I'm guessing since you don't use a sword, you wouldn't know about those," Rean figured. "Basically, I tried using a different technique from the Eight Leaves One Blade school."

"By 'different technique', you mean something that's different from your Autumn Leaf Cutter?"

"That's right. It's sort of difficult to explain, but if you want, I can give you a basic explanation my sword style."

"Ooh! Yes, please!" Morgan practically jumped at the opportunity. "I can never pass up a chance to learn something new."

"I must admit, I am also curious," Laura added. "However, is it wise for a student of the Sword Hermit to casually disclose his master's secrets?"

"Well, you aren't wrong about that," Rean conceded. "But if we're being honest, the Eight Leaves school takes inspiration from several well-known Eastern styles of combat. Anyone can learn about those without Master Ka-Fai's guidance. Think of this as a sales pitch for the school, and if you want to learn more about how everything works, you can join it."

"I see." Laura nodded in understanding. "Then I will also partake in listening to this...sales pitch."

"Alright. Though, before we start…" He looked at both of his classmates. "Do any of you have something to write with, by any chance?"

"A writing utensil?" Laura shook her head. "I'm afraid I don't."

"I do." Morgan retrieved a small notepad and pencil. from one of her pouches. "It's not much, but at least it's handy."

"That's perfect, thanks." He took the objects from Morgan's hands and started flipping through the notepad for a blank page. "Wow, you wrote down a lot of stuff," he commented.

"I like to experiment with tactical orbments in my own time." Morgan puffed out her chest with pride. "You could say it's my way of training!"

Eventually, Rean found a blank page and proceeded to list the eight forms of the Eight Leaves One Blade school. Additionally, each form was preceded by one or two foreign characters. Once he was finished writing, Rean showed Laura and Morgan what he wrote.

螺旋 - Helix
疾風 - Gale
業炎 - Karmic Flame
紅葉 - Autumn Leaf
残月 - Morning Moon
緋空 - Scarlet Sky
無 - Void
無手 - Weaponless

"These are all of the forms that make up the Eight Leaves One Blade school," he said. "The core of the school is comprised of different martial techniques originating from the East, as I mentioned earlier. However, only those who receive instruction from Yun Ka-Fai, also known as the Sword Hermit, can draw out their true effects. All students are taught the basis for these forms when they first start out at the Beginner level. From that point onward, they can choose one of the first seven forms to study and eventually master."

Laura nodded in understanding. "So you must master the fundamentals first before learning more advanced techniques. Am I correct in assuming that choosing to study one form does not limit you from learning techniques from the others?"

"That's correct," Rean affirmed. "There's a reason it's called 'Eight Leaves One Blade'; once you learn one form, it's possible to apply the concepts learned from that form to use the rest. The basis for the sixth form, for instance, involves building up enough force to attack someone from afar using your sword. Since I'm already familiar with using the fourth form…"

Rean handed Morgan her notepad and turned away from her and Laura. With his tachi in its sheath, he adopted his familiar stance and prepared to draw his sword. Focusing a fraction of his energy onto his weapon, he drew it with enough force to send an arc-shaped wave in front of him. He also deliberately aimed it lower to the ground so the wave would eventually hit the earth.

"...I can use that as a basis to use the sixth form."

"So it's like...mixing and matching different stances and skills together to get different results?" Morgan asked.

Rean sheathed his tachi. "You could call it that, though right now I'm still in the process of applying all the concepts my master taught me. It'll take a while before I can start combining different forms, let alone choose a path of my own, though there is one exception to that."

"And that would be…?"

"The eighth form, which involves fighting with no weapons." Rean adopted a fighting stance with both hands open, one hand in front and the other beside him. "This is in the event where we lose our weapon and have to fight empty-handed. Students are expected to train with and without a weapon regardless of what form they decide to master."

"It definitely makes sense…" Morgan murmured to herself. "Hey, Rean? Do you know about a technique called blade grasping?"

Rean didn't recognize the name. "Blade...what-ing?"

"You know, where you can grab a sword by clapping your hands? Like this?" She gave a demonstration by bending her elbows and clapping her hands above her head.

"Oooh, now I know what you're referring to." Rean shrugged his shoulders. "I've seen my master use it a few times, but he never showed me how to do that, so I'm assuming it's an advanced skill. I'm surprised you know about it."

"Well, you did say that you don't need the Eight Leaves school to know about those techniques," she joked. "But moving back on track, which of the forms are the ones you think you know the best?"

"Which ones I know best?" Rean repeated. "Well, I'm sure this comes as no surprise, but the fourth form, Autumn Leaf, is the one I use the most. It was the first form I learned successfully, so it's sort of a comfort pick for me. From there, the next one I would say I know best would be the sixth form, and there's enough similarities between the fourth and fifth forms for me to know how to use the latter. And finally…" He paused for a moment. "I understand enough of the third form to replicate some of its stronger techniques, but I was introduced to it around the time I first stopped training, so I'm hesitant to say that I've actually learned it."

Morgan glanced at her notepad. "It says that the third form is Karmic Flame…oh." She connected the dots fairly quickly. "Your Flame Slash."

Rean nodded. "I can't go too much into detail on how it's done, but the reason it's called Karmic Flame is because the way the fire manifests itself differs from person to person. There can be good flames as well as evil flames, so if mishandled properly, the power could overwhelm you."

"A high amount of risk to offset a high reward," Laura commented. "I assume that is why you refrain from using your strongest attack for the most part."

"Yeah…" Rean clenched his fist and grimaced. "That's one reason for it."

Laura looked like she wanted to ask more, but after noticing his expression, she abstained her comment and switched the subject. "So, the technique you attempted during our spar…"

"...It belonged to a form I haven't used before," Rean finished. "Specifically, the second form, Gale. It's supposed to allow the user to close the gap between them and their opponent in an instant, almost like they were one with the wind."

"Supposed to?" Morgan asked.

"Well, I'm still in the process of figuring out how to do that," he admitted. "I've seen how my master used it, and it's just...there's just such a notable difference in our speed that I can't help but feel I'm missing something important. I know what to do; I'm just having trouble figuring out the how…"

Rean lost himself in thought for a moment, trying to look for possible solutions to his current roadblock, until he heard Morgan ask a very peculiar question.

"Hey, you mind if I see your sword for a sec?"

Rean looked at his classmate, confused. Laura was similarly perplexed by her question. 'I guess it can't hurt for her to have a look…' He unsheathed his tachi and offered it to Morgan, who took it with careful hands. She closely inspected the blade before turning around and taking a few practice swings.

"It's light," she remarked. "Feels like I'm cutting through air."

"It was forged with quick, precise swings in mind," Rean said. "It's really sharp, so be careful."

With a small nod, Morgan held the sword in an upright position with both hands on the handle. Then, she lowered her head, exhaled through her mouth, and maintained her position.

"Um…Morgan?"

Morgan didn't respond.

"Could it be that she put us out of tune?"

Rean looked at Laura oddly. "You mean, 'tuned us out'?"

"O-Oh, is that what it is?" For once, Laura's stoic demeanor faltered. "My apologies for saying that wrong."

Rean couldn't resist cracking a smile. 'She's cute when she's embarrassed…'

Quickly shaking the thought off his mind, Rean inched closer to Morgan, who still had not moved from her position. Upon closer inspection, he observed that her eyes were closed and her breaths were low yet deep.

'Is she...concentrating?'

Before he could think any further, Morgan's eyes slowly opened as she raised the tachi slightly. Then, with a grunt, she forcefully brought the sword back down. As she did, a gust of wind suddenly burst forth around her, catching Rean and Laura off guard.

"Keep your eyes open!"

Rean wasn't sure who Morgan was talking to, but he kept his eyes open regardless. She brought his sword to her side and bent her knees. Then, in the blink of an eye, she dashed forward at lightning speed, leaving a trail of dust and grass in her wake, before skidding to a halt and slashing horizontally. Immediately after, she crouched down and performed a rising upwards strike that Rean recognized as her "Dolphin Slash" attack, with the only difference being that she gained significantly more height than what was normally possible. Eventually, gravity took its hold her and she started falling back to the ground, but instead of sticking the landing, she touched down with a sloppy somersault and collapsed into a tired heap.

"M-Morgan?!" Rean and Laura went to kneel by their fallen classmate. Considering how far she fell, she looked surprisingly no worse for wear; however, her heavy breathing indicated that her last attack had left her exhausted.

"Huh…" Morgan panted. "Didn't think that was actually going to work."

"What was that technique?" Laura demanded to know. "I have never seen anything like it!"

"You and me both." Rean retrieved his tachi, which Morgan had dropped when she landed.

"It's…I guess it's…" Morgan was struggling to speak as she breathed heavily. "Sort of like an...improvised skill?"

"Improvised…"

"...Skill?"

"Okay, how do I explain this…" Morgan murmured as Rean and Laura helped to move her over to a nearby bench so she could rest. "Do you two remember our first field study? The fight against the giant bird?"

Laura nodded. "That I do. If memory serves correctly, its name was the Zwordar, correct?"

"You put in a lot of extra work during that fight," Rean recalled. "I was surprised that you were able to kill all those monsters and still have enough energy to act as a diversion."

"That's the thing," their classmate said. "I was able to last that long because I had accumulated a lot of excess energy from killing that group of smaller monsters."

"You...accumulated energy?" Laura looked even more intrigued. "I'm afraid I don't quite understand."

Morgan held both her hands up. "Say two people are fighting, right? What usually happens is that one person attacks, the other either tanks the hit or dodges, then responds with an attack of their own." She moved her hands in tandem with her words to represent two people fighting. "Let's call that the equivalent of one turn on the person who initiated the exchange. For me, if I manage to defeat my opponent before the end of the turn, I get rewarded with a rush of energy that allows me to act again. That way, I can take a unit down and then back out of harm's way, or I can simply move on to another opponent."

"So you attack an enemy, and every time you defeat one, you're rewarded with an...energy rush that allows you to move again?" Rean recited.

"Yeah, that's right." Morgan nodded. "That's the basic application for my skill, but…"

"You refer to it as a skill…" Laura interrupted. "However, it doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of. Where did you learn such a technique? Did someone teach you?"

"Whoa, now. One question at a time please!" Morgan waved her hands frantically. "First off, you're right. I call it a 'skill', but it's probably different from the kind of skill you guys are familiar with. Second, it isn't really something that can be taught; it just sort of...happens." She shrugged her shoulders. "Heck, these days it doesn't even activate half the time unless I'm on my own."

"So what does that have to do with what you did just now?" Rean questioned.

"I'm glad you asked! I was just getting to that. Theoretically, all the energy that I gather up gets used up after taking another action, whether it's through retreating or attacking, but that's all within the confines of combat as a series of turns, or turn-based combat, as it were."

"But didn't you say-" Rean was about to say.

"I know what I said," Morgan interjected. "I used that to explain how my skill works on paper. The problem is, real life doesn't always work that way. Sometimes you defeat an opponent with only a weak stab and you're awarded with energy that's proportional to a jumping attack. Sometimes you get rewarded with two turns' worth of energy just for slaying two enemies with one swing. Basically, there are times when I receive more energy than I spend. When that happens...well, it's not like I have to use up all that energy at once, so I just let it store up over time. Eventually…"

"I get it." Rean stroked his chin. "Basically, all that extra energy gets stored up as potential energy that you can use at a later time. When that happens, it results in a burst of kinetic energy that increases your body's overall performance, hence that increase in speed."

"Furthermore, if we are to continue observing this from a turn-based perspective…" Laura continued. "Expending excess energy at the start of a turn would result in the strength of the ensuing onslaught equating to at least two times the normal amount."

Morgan opened her mouth to speak, but then she stopped to think. "Actually...yeah, that does make sense…"

"You mean you don't know?" Rean half-exclaimed.

"Well, this is the first time I've actually tried it, like, ever," she answered. "Everything's still conjecture at this point; that's why it took me so long to try it. I'd do more testing if I could, but every time I do it I...you know…"

"Ah…" Laura nodded in understanding, as did Rean. Putting in all of one's energy into one attack would certainly put a lot of strain on the body, not too mention it would leave very little room for error in a practical fight.

Then, a question popped into Rean's head. "So, why are you showing it now?"

"Ah, that's right." Morgan looked like she had almost forgotten the reason she had performed her feat in the first place. "You said you were having trouble figuring out what to do with your second form. I thought that by showing you something similar, I could, you know...inspire you with a possible solution?"

"Inspire me…?"

She nodded. "See, my skill has a name. It's called Galeforce."

"Gale… Force?"

"No, Galeforce," Morgan corrected him. "One name. Singular. There's a difference. Normally, it functions as a supporting ability, but I was able to improvise so it could become a combat technique instead. To do that, I gathered all the energy I had collected up to this point and used it to briefly enhance my body's capabilities. In doing so, I was able to cross a certain distance at very high speeds." She crossed her arms. "Sound familiar?"

Within moments of her saying that, everything clicked in Rean's mind. "So you're saying that…"

"Well, I'm not sure if that's the solution your master is looking for," Morgan admitted, "but from the looks of things, I'm guessing the second form can't be performed the same way as the fourth or sixth forms. Instead of focusing your energy outwards to boost your attack like how you did with those forms, maybe you can, I don't know, direct it inwards this time?"

"Direct it inwards…" The more Rean thought about Morgan's conjecture, the more it made sense. The ultimate goal for the other forms was to build up enough focus to empower the next attack or perform a certain technique. When looked at from an objective standpoint, it was clear that the second form, Gale, didn't similarly fall into those same categories. The objective of the form was simply to close the gap between an opponent as quickly as possible; the strength of the attack was merely secondary compared to the practitioner's movements. Though with that said, if a person was moving fast enough, the strength of their attack would already be amplified since a change to a greater acceleration naturally leads to a greater force.

"It's definitely worth a shot." He nodded at Morgan. "I'll be sure to try that next time. Thanks, Morgan."

"Don't mention it!" With that, she jumped up from the bench and landed on wobbly legs. She would have fallen over were it not for Rean and Laura catching her.

"You mustn't be so careless in your movements," Laura scolded her. "Especially not when you're still visibly fatigued."

Morgan laughed in response. "Wow, this really IS a blast from the past! You told me to watch myself back then, too."

"I'm being serious, Morgan."

The black-haired girl relented and stood upright on her own. "Yes, Mother…"

Rean couldn't help but chuckle to himself at that. Considering how close Laura had been keeping an eye on Morgan's performance, he supposed it wasn't too hard to envision their relationship being like that of a parent and child. "Anyways, we should start heading back. The sun's starting to set. Thanks again for staying behind to referee our match."

"It was my pleasure!" Morgan bowed slightly while her left arm made a curtsying motion, making her gesture something of an odd cross between the two. "I wonder what's on the menu tonight."

"Alisa and Fie are on cooking duty this week, right?" Rean recalled. "I'm just as curious as you are. But before we go, Morgan, could I borrow your notepad again?"

"Huh? Oh, sure." Morgan retrieved her notepad and pencil and gave them to Rean. He flipped to the page where he had listed the eight forms of the Eight Leaves One Blade school. Underneath the small list, he wrote down four foreign characters and drew an arrow that connected it from the second form.

"My master had a phrase to describe the ultimate goal of the second form." He showed Morgan and Laura the characters he had written:

"疾風迅雷"

"Shippujinrai," he read. "'As swift as the wind and as sudden as thunder.' From the looks of things, I think you've already accomplished that."

"Shippujinrai." Morgan's lips curved into a smile as she read it. "It has a nice ring to it."

"Are students of the Eight Leaves school expected to understand Eastern calligraphy as well?" Laura queried.

"To an extent," Rean replied. "My master often had me paint characters on large pieces of paper to practice precision and patience. After that, learning to recognize certain characters came naturally."

"So the Sword Hermit employs unorthodox methods to train his students…" The blue-haired swordswoman chuckled at the revelation. "Fascinating. Simply hearing about your experiences has made me even more eager to learn about it."

"Does that mean we can expect the daughter of the Radiant Blademaster to join our school?" he joked.

"A tempting offer…" Laura mused with a grin. "However, my loyalty will always remain with the Arseid school."

"Well, it was worth asking…" He then turned to his other female classmate. "What about you, Morgan? Care to give swords a try?"

She replied with an awkward chuckle. "Yeah...not happening. We've already got enough sword users in our class."

Laura gave her an odd look. "I fail to see how that is an issue. You already seem to possess an understanding of the basic fundamentals. In fact, I would wager that using a sword would benefit your fighting style more. With enough practice…"

"I have my reasons," Morgan hastily interrupted. "Maybe sometime later down the line, I'll give it a shot, but for now, I want to stick with axes and lances."

"And I'm guessing you won't be telling us why?" Rean asked to make sure.

Morgan nodded and made a zipping motion with her hands towards her mouth. "Lips. Sealed."

Truth be told, there were several things Rean wanted to ask Morgan, like where she learned her Galeforce skill or whether there was some other reason she seemed averse to using swords, but then again, it wasn't like he was any better at disclosing his own secrets. Prodding any further would be hypocritical on his part.

"If that is her decision, then I suppose we can't force her," Laura complied. "But at the very least, you are welcome to join us for our training sessions if you so desire."

"Provided George doesn't have any jobs for me, I don't see why not." Morgan shrugged. "By the way, Rean?"

"Yeah?"

"If you wanted to know what it would feel like to be one with the wind, couldn't you have asked Gaius?"

Rean cracked a smile, envisioning how he would go about doing such a thing. "As much as Gaius likes talking about the wind, I'm not sure if spiritualism can help with this gale."

Morgan gave a playful sneer. "Can't hurt to give it a try, right?"

"Well, I guess you're right…"

The three of them continued their long trek to the dorm, all the while making small talk on their various fighting styles. When they entered the dorm, they made their way to the dining room, where most of the other classmates were already gathered. Today's dinner was salad paired with potato soup and…

"Is that Kirsche's pizza?" Morgan asked.

"Hey. You're back." Fie raised her hand to greet them. "And technically, it's flatbread."

"Flatbread…" Morgan looked unconvinced. "Flatbread that just so happens to be circular, is covered in tomato sauce and cheese, has a raised crust, and looks like it came out of a brick oven?"

"There's fruit on it," Fie pointed out the sliced apples that were scattered throughout the dish. "Can't forget the fruit."

"Your point?"

"It looks like it's restaurant quality, but the fruit makes it completely fall apart," commented Machias. "No store would have the gall to serve this."

"You must admit, it does make for an interesting change of pace," added Emma. "It's very...Fie-like."

Morgan left her jaw hanging open for a moment before mumbling to herself, "They're fools…"

"Want to give it a try?" Fie cut a piece of flatbread and handed it to Morgan, who didn't hesitate to take a bite. "Well?"

Morgan chewed slowly, with the sound of the apples making an audible crunch in her mouth. Eventually, she swallowed, gave Fie the biggest smile she could muster, and said, "Fie, Fie."

The silver-haired girl tilted her head in confusion. "Huh?"

"It means, 'It's disgusting, Fie.'"

Instead of being disheartened, Fie replied with a dry smirk. "Glad to hear it."

"C-Come on, Morgan…" Though Fie had taken it in stride, Alisa was still slightly appalled at Morgan's honesty. "If you don't like it, you can always scrape the apples into the salad."

"I think I'll do that. I prefer fruit salad to fruit pizza anyday."

"Flatbread," Fie insisted.

"Whichever!" Morgan handed Rean and Laura each a plate. "You two are joining us, right?"

"Yeah, we are," Rean responded.

He and Laura set aside their belongings and went to retrieve some food. Rean was served a portion of salad and a slice of flatbread with no qualms, but when it came to Laura's turn…

"...What?"

Laura was looking at her with an impassive, silent glare.

"If you've got something to say, spill it."

Eventually, the blue-haired swordswoman gave her response: "Scales need not fall from my face for me to understand your ruse."

"...The only word I understood from that was 'ruse'."

"Then you understand enough."

Rean looked on in silence. 'It's like Machias and Jusis all over again…'

"You've noticed it too, haven't you?"

He turned to Alisa, who had finished pouring him a bowl of potato soup.

"Yeah…" Rean took the bowl. "They've been like this since the beginning of the month, but I can't put my finger on what caused them to act this way. Do you know?"

She shook her head. "Not really, and I haven't worked the courage to ask them either…"

Rean hummed to himself and took a sip of the soup. To his surprise, it was cold.

"H-Hey! You should sit down if you want to drink that!" Alisa said.

"Sorry…" Rean apologized. "I couldn't help but notice that the bowl wasn't hot. It's really good, though!"

"R-Really?" Alisa's eyes lit up.

He nodded. "I'm not used to potato soup being cold, but this is really delicious."

"W-Well, um…" Alisa looked away, a blush coloring her face. "Glad you enjoyed it! Also, it's not potato soup. It's called vichyssoise."

"Fishy what?"

"Vichyssoise," she said again. "That's just the name of the dish, according to Sharon."

"Who's Sharon?"

"She's, uh…" Alisa started fumbling over her own words. "A family friend of mine! Who likes to cook! She sent over a recipe from Roer for me to try!"

"Huh." Rean looked at the white-colored soup in his bowl. "Must be a close friend if she's willing to give you a recipe."

"Yeah, she really is…" Alisa poured another bowl of soup. "Here you go, Laura! Sorry for the wait."

"No need for apologies," Laura replied calmly. "But I must inquire: Alisa, what would you call a soup made from onions?"

"That would be onion soup, but…"

"Then fundamentally, is this not the same as potato soup?"

Given Laura's friendly tone, Rean figured that she was probably jesting, but it seemed that Alisa didn't quite catch on. "Were you not listening? It's called vichyssoise!"

"Hey, Morgan!" Fie yelled abruptly. "What would you call this soup?"

Morgan, who had yet to try it, took a sip and responded from across the room, "Tastes like potato soup!"

Needless to say, Alisa was not amused. "Why won't any of you call it what it is?"

Rean and Laura shared a laugh at their classmate's expense. Fie looked about ready to start laughing as well, but then she locked eyes with Laura once again, and her face returned to the same stoic visage it always wore.

'A rising knight and a former jaeger…' Rean compared in his mind. 'I have the feeling that this is going to be a tough one…'

Author's note: This chapter more or less functions as an explanation on how I'm going about incorporating certain elements from Fire Emblem into this story. In this case, it answers the question of how Skills work. As Morgan herself mentioned, it normally wouldn't be too bad if things stayed in a turn-based environment, but since I'm treating combat as something that happens in real time in this story, some creative liberties have to be taken to make it work. Basically, they still exist and function as normal, but since Morgan's been transported to a different universe, any skills that were carried over would behave a bit differently in this new environment. Why Galeforce? Well, Morgan had it during my playthrough of Awakening, so I wanted to keep it as a little nod.

Now for the details. For Galeforce, I decided to make it so that it will activate after Morgan defeats ANY enemy, which rewards her with a set amount of energy that allows her to act again. Observant readers may have noticed that this "rush of energy" has been around since the second chapter. There is no limit to how many times it can activate, but there's a catch: it will only activate if Morgan is not linked up with someone via an ARCUS (similar to its Fates iteration where it won't activate if a unit is paired up). As for Morgan's new technique, I looked to Fire Emblem Warriors for inspiration and based it off of Marth and Celica's basic Strong attack, with the difference being that it uses up excess energy accumulated from Galeforce instead of light orbs and only has one use. This application may come off as a stretch, not to mention that Galeforce doesn't stack in Fire Emblem, but it was one of the ways I felt could best show that this is taking place in a different universe; Morgan's in a different world, so there are new rules she gets to play by. Plus, I figured that since Morgan is technically Marth's descendant in this story, she would be able to use a technique similar to that of the Hero-King, albeit less refined. Fortunately, the rest of the skills I have planned for Morgan are fairly straightforward in comparison and will be shown in due time.

Another thing I provided my own explanation on was Rean's Eight Leaves One Blade sword style. Most of it was drawn from what little information there is in the games and on the wiki page, but I also added some headcanons of mine. The "Shippujinrai" part is wholly original and largely serves as a language joke, since the Japanese name for Galeforce is...Shippujinrai. Of course, Morgan doesn't know about this.

Lastly, the scene with the pizza is indeed a reference to a certain meme while the scene with the vichyssoise (yes, that's the actual name) is taken from a skit in Tales of Vesperia. I've been playing the latter a lot recently and after I came across that skit, I just had to incorporate it somewhere while Class VII still has to cook for themselves.

That's all for this chapter. A bit long for an intermission chapter, but I still hope you enjoyed it regardless. If you didn't...eh, I tried. See you all next time, and I hope those of you who have bought Fire Emblem Three Houses are enjoying it! ｖ(⌒ｏ⌒)ｖ