When Lysithea had been told she would be hosting a lecture on magic she had been expecting maybe a few Magic focused students to attend her impromptu seminar. She did not expect a full house. All the seats were filled and there were even people choosing to bring in their own stools or remain standing for the lecture.
It didn't help that Alice, Marisa, and Flayn, because apparently Seteth's sister was a package deal with Marisa at this point, was also there to attend.
Lysithea took a deep breath. This wasn't the first time she held a presentation. She had done this before during the bi-monthly exchange of research between the Magicians and Magician hopefuls of Gensokyo, so this shouldn't be harder than it had to be. Just pretend she was back in Gensokyo and focus on dispensing knowledge.
"My name is Lysithea von Ordelia… or perhaps you best know me as Miss Library." Humor was an excellent way to get the attention of others and her joke was received positively judging by the chuckles she got from the audience. Hah! And Marisa said she didn't have a sense of humor. "Now tell me. What do you think magic is?"
Felix, who had surprisingly attended this lecture, raised his hand first. "As a tool and weapon on the battlefield."
"That is its most common application in Fodlan, yes, but not what I was asking. What is magic truly as a whole?" Lysithea asked again.
Annette raised her hand this time. "It's a career and occupation. It's a field of study like any other with more… visual and explosive uses."
"Magic encompasses many fields of study," Lysithea replied. "But in its essence, magic is knowledge. It is the understanding and unnatural processes of worlds and manipulating that to our will. Like knowledge it is ever growing and developing. By learning from their predecessors, a magician will know more about themselves and contribute their own knowledge to be passed on. The magic they learned and the magic they created will define them. The magician gives form to magic, and the magician is formed by magic. That is the essence of magic."
Lysithea looked out at the crowd and was satisfied to note that she still had most of their attention. "Today we will be having a lesson on Spell Cards and Wu Xing, that is what I will pass on to you, including my relatively meager contributions on both fields. I'm sure many of you have seen me and Marisa use the former in the past."
Annette raised her hand. "You mean when you shout out the name of your attack and create a bunch of magic symbols to appear?"
Lysithea nodded. "Yes. A Spell Card is a sort of contract of sorts. A combination of magic and religion or this land's equivalent of Faith and Reason. And even a bit of a curse actually."
Hubert raised an eye. "A curse?"
"Yes. Not a curse as in rotting flesh but a curse as in a limitation you temporarily put on yourself in exchange for equivalent power." Lysithea pointed to the words she had written on the blackboard. "Think of it this way. The effect of a curse is often stronger when the victim is made aware that they are suffering from a curse and have knowledge of the sort of curse that it is. It's a trade-off of belief and knowledge, more immediate effects but at the risk of it getting countered or purified with the extra knowledge a victim is given. Spell Cards of course rely on a similar principle."
Lysithea lifted her hand and displayed the Spell Card she had made floating above it. "I do not shout out the name of my Spell Cards to show off, rather I am making the conscious decision to announce my move and intent because it is part of the contract to use a Spell Card. To attach this contract to any spells, technique, or weapon art that I know completely. Of course I must have mastered said technique, otherwise it won't work."
"If we already need to know the spell then what's the use?" Hubert asked.
Lysithea crushed the card in her hand and activated it. "Shimmering Ice: Permafrost."
Suddenly the entire classroom was covered by a thin layer of ice, the occupants included. Lysithea let them shiver for a few minutes before the Spell Card finally timed out and the surrounding frost quickly disappeared.
"Powerful, complicated, and intricate spells or techniques can be used in an instant or a fraction of the usual casting time. And time is a very important resource on the battlefield."
Lorenz, who had been shivering from the cold, raised his hand. "So we should put all of our spells and skills in these Spell Cards? Perhaps there is a merit to it then, that all should be aware of the might and knowledge of Lorenz-"
"Spell Cards allow for speed and power but they're also less efficient," Lysithea interrupted him as she shook her head. "Spells use more mana and weapon arts would put even further strain on the body and weapon you're using. There's no point in wasting a Spell Card on a low-level spell you can already cast quickly like a Fireball. Additionally, once you use a Spell Card you have to commit to it. There is no stopping it mid-way and though some spells will allow you some level of maneuverability you are still incredibly vulnerable during its duration." She reached into her sleeve again and placed a pile of Blank Spell Cards down in front of her. She spent the entirety of the last night preparing them for this occasion.
"But don't you like casting a bunch of Spell Cards one after another?" Claude asked with that frustrating smile of his.
"I can handle the mana consumption and I make sure to calculate the risks before I commit myself to a Spell Card," Lysithea replied, annoyed. "Anyway, the point is that Spell Cards should be reserved for your best, most useful, or most powerful techniques. Your trump cards that will shift the course of an encounter or even decide the fight, or simply an emergency move if things are going badly."
"How long will it take to create one?" Dorothea asked.
"Depending on the technique, how complicated it is, and whether or not you actually have mastered it, the time could easily range from days to weeks to months. In fact, busy as I was at this Academy, I've only been able to finish two and make progress on a third during these last few months." A timeframe that was nothing for most Youkai but certainly a lot for humans like her and Marisa. "For your first Spell Card I'd suggest a technique that is straightforward and practical."
"How many do you have?" Claude asked.
"Not enough." Lysithea returned to the front of the classroom. "Anyway, Sensei says you should not attempt something unless you're prepared to commit to it, magic especially. If this seems daunting then leave, I don't want to waste any blank Spell Cards on you. They aren't easy to come by or make here."
Most of the people attending ended up taking a card. Even Felix who a had glint in his eyes as he stared almost eagerly at his blade. Apparently his conversations with Marisa had given him more than a few ideas.
"Now despite the complexity of their creation, Spell Cards can be surprisingly simple in practical use and application. There really isn't much else I have to explain about them… nor would I be able to," Lysithea admitted. Only the Hakurei or Yakumo could give you enough information about really delving into and adjusting the Spell Card system, but good luck getting either group to talk. Even if they did, the price they would ask would simply never be worth it. "So now we move onto the next most requested topic. Tell me. How much do you know about the Wu Xing? The five Chinese elements along with the phases of the Sun and Moon. Do you know how to order those elements accordingly to the days of a week of a foreign calendar?"
Everyone in that class just stared at her blankly.
"Exactly. I'm using a completely different system of magic from the magic of Fodlan. It would take too long to teach you a new method of magic from scratch. Besides, my Sen- Master would kill me if I thought I was good enough to teach you the Wu Xing at my current level."
"And yet you still study Fodlan magic?" Hubert asked.
"I spent my life dabbling in both fields," Lysithea admitted. "Perhaps to my detriment. There are advantages to dedicating yourself to the mastery of a single field just as there are advantages to branching out and expanding your field of influence. Doing the latter though drastically increases the complexity and difficulty of spells you're trying to create by mixing two magic systems together. Something I still haven't figured out despite my efforts."
"Surprised that you can admit that," Claude commented. "Normally you're pretty proud about your magic."
"A magician needs to know their limits. Else they'll probably blow themselves up in an experiment."
"What's wrong with that," Marisa commented for the first time. "I mean I blow myself up all the time and look how I turned out!"
Lysithea stared at Marisa blankly. "So unless you want to end up like Marisa-"
"Hey!" Marisa shouted as Alice smirked lightly next to her.
"Don't try to experiment with multiple magic systems without supervision. Knowing this, if you still want to practice with the Wu Xing, then you'll have to appeal to my Master if you ever meet her. She's a notoriously stubborn, stuffy, and short-tempered recluse though so even if you do find a way to meet her she's more likely to greet you with a spell than accept any requests for mentorship."
"Sounds like someone I know," Claude commented.
"Oh, Who?" Lysithea asked with genuine curiosity. She would actually like to meet someone who was a lot like Sensei.
"Someone we're familiar with. I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Lysithea began to mull over that and sort through all the people that she and Claude would both know, before setting that aside for later. "Anyway, remember this warning. Mixing magic systems never ends well unless you're a master magic-user and even then, it must be done cautiously."
It was surprising that the lecture had gone well. No complaints really. The class listened and Lysithea knew she performed well as a temporary lecturer. She had even gotten praise from both Alice and Marisa… and Sensei who had apparently been watching from a crystal ball that entire time. Thankfully Sensei didn't take Lysithea's comments about her personally, but she'd probably want to be careful about what she said about her in the future.
In the end Lysithea was in a good mood when she received a sudden invitation once she arrived at the Mess Hall.
"Yo Lys!" Catherine shouted from her table. "You wanna have lunch with me and Shamir?"
"Shamir and I," Shamir corrected.
"You know what I mean."
Lysithea's first instinct was to refuse, even with her Crests suppressed and hidden she wanted to avoid Thunderbrand and its user. However Catherine had always been more than polite with her and respectful of her capabilities on the battlefield.
"Why?" Lysithea eventually asked.
"Can't I say hi to a fellow future alumni?" Catherine replied.
"I'm surprised you even know what that means," Shamir commented.
"I'm simple and blunt, not stupid Shamir."
"I… sure," Lysithea replied before taking the seat next to Shamir. She didn't want to be within touching range of Thunderbrand after all.
"So speaking of alumni, what are your plans after you graduate Lys?" Catherine asked.
"Return home to finish some loose ends with my family's territories and go to Gensokyo to further my studies," Lysithea replied honestly. Once the Ordelian house was officially dissolved she would make sure that her parents could retire peacefully. There were even plans to bring her parents to Gensokyo and let them live under the protection of the SDM. It would be a fresh new start for them, away from all the memories and trauma that those… experiments had brought to their family.
"Yeesh more studying? You don't do things by half Lys."
"Said studies wouldn't have anything to do with you becoming a Witch would it?" Shamir asked. "The same sort of thing that your… Sensei and her friend are."
"It would, yes," Lysithea confirmed. "There are several reasons why such an end goal is desirable for me. But enough of that for now. What are both of your plans for the Rite of Rebirth?"
"Me? Probably just stick around Rhea. She probably doesn't need the protection herself, but it would be a failure on my part if she did have to fight," Catherine replied.
"And you Shamir?" Lysithea asked.
Shamir took a sip of her drink before replying. "What I have to."
"Aaaanny more details Shamir?" Catherine asked.
"Everyone has different duties for the Rite of Rebirth. Some plans, like mine, are best kept in the shadows or compartmentalized on a need-to-know basis," Shamir replied.
Lysithea nodded. "Makes sense. Reduces the chance of certain plans being leaked to the enemy."
"I'm pretty sure Shamir can trust the two of us though," Catherine said.
Shamir raised an eye. "Even when you're being captured and tortured for information?"
Lysithea flinched. She couldn't help her reaction. She knew logically that something like that could happen during any of the missions that the Academy sent them, but just the very thought of being locked away again…
"Yo Lys! Made some new friends?"
Once again, Lysithea was very much grateful for the arrival of Marisa Kirisame. The blonde Magician would come to their table too, though she didn't have anything that could be traditionally called food.
"Marisa… what is that?" Lysithea asked as she stared at a peculiar glass on Marisa's tray.
"Apparently this is a peace offering from Seteth?" Marisa replied as she sat down next to Catherine. Inside it was some sort of thick green substance that resembled slime or algae. The stench of it was especially strong and filled Lysithea's nose even from her seat on the other side of the table
"Oh no," Catherine commented, something that made Lysithea a bit nervous. This was the first time she had ever seen fear on the Knight's face. "Shamir is that?"
"It is," Shamir grimaced. "The Seteth special."
"The Seteth what now?" Marisa and Lysithea both asked as they looked at the drink curiously.
"The Seteth special. An unholy amalgamation of kale, spinach, celery, beet greens, lima beans, Dagdar watercress, and Brigid brown beans all roasted and blended together into the vilest concoction that you'll ever see," Shamir stated.
That sounded… interesting. Hardly the worst concoction that Lysithea and Marisa had to eat during expeditions.
"I can smell it from here," Catherine replied as she looked away from it with her eyes closed.
"Indeed. It's still as horrifying as I remember it," Shamir commented.
"Why did Seteth create this?" Lysithea asked.
Shamir shook her head. "Because despite it making you wish for death-"
"It's also one of the best things you can ever put inside your body," Catherine admitted. "A few of those and you'll be getting twice as much done in training."
"Really?" Now Marisa was looking very interested at the drink. "And you two drank this?"
"It is considered a… rite of passage among the faculty. To receive one of these from Seteth means that he considers you important enough to consider your dietary needs. This is the first time I've ever seen it given to a student though," Shamir replied.
"Any advice?" Lysithea asked, mostly for Marisa's sake. She reached over to touch the glass and was surprised that it was actually quite warm. In fact the temperature of the thing was rising even though it had just been sitting there.
"Pray to the Goddess," Catherine replied before grabbing her hands and bowing her head in prayer.
"Oh come on it can't be that bad, I mean Lys and I had to eat some crazy things to survive in the Forest of Magic," Marisa replied as she brought the glass to her lips.
"We've eaten ground up bugs, poison mushrooms, and gods only knows what that mystery meat was while you stranded us in the Forest of Magic! How could this possibly be what does you in!" Lysithea shouted at Marisa's rapidly retreating form. She then looked down at the glass of… constantly changing liquid… solid? On one hand it had proven itself dangerous, but on the other hand she did have a Witch's curiosity and a need to prove herself superior to Marisa for once.
"I'm impressed," Catherine commented as she watched Lysithea run off in the same direction Marisa had gone. Definitely going to need someone to clean up after them. "Between the two of them they finished the glass."
"Almost, there's still a bit of it left," Shamir replied as she poked at the leftovers. "They certainly fared better than you your first time, didn't you throw up immediately?"
"Never going to let me forget about that, are you Shamir?"
"I rarely forget. Especially when it took me a week to wash off the smell."
"That's what you get for not warning me about it beforehand."
"You said that you would accept any challenges given to you." Shamir pointed to the almost empty glass. "That was a challenge. One of the greatest that either of us will take."
Catherine nodded. She still wasn't entirely sure whether or not Seteth had created that drink as a form a torture. It said a lot about how the majority of the Knights of Seiros had been conditioned to flee at the very sight of the thing. "Seteth must like her if he's willing to offer that though."
"Or he's getting revenge for the Mess Hall incident."
Catherine rolled her eyes. She remembered that incident. Honestly most people were being overdramatic about Marisa's cooking. Spend enough time out in the field on campaign and you'd be happy to eat anything that you could get your hands on. "Always the pragmatist Shamir."
"I go where the money is."
"So, what do you think about Lysithea?" Catherine asked. It would be good to hear Shamir's opinion on the young girl.
"Her magic is strange, the company she keeps is strange, and she herself is strange… but she's a hard worker," Shamir admitted. "Almost as bad a workaholic as Cyril. If you wander around at night you'll likely see in the library, on the training grounds, or in her working toward something. Any rumors of white-haired ghosts can also likewise be attributed to her."
"And here I thought I could go ghost hunting," Catherine joked.
"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts?"
"Well according to Lys and Marisa they exist and if anyone was going to be haunted it would be me," Catherine replied honestly. Everything she did was for the sake of Rhea and because of that she knew how bloody her hands were and could potentially become. There were many people that would be justified in cursing her in the afterlife just as she justified her faith in Rhea.
"As long as it doesn't affect your performance on the field," Shamir replied. "How old is Lysithea by the way?"
"Fifteen I think."
Shamir raised an eye. "She's small for her age."
"She still has time to grow." Catherine herself hadn't gone through her growth spurt until she was sixteen. Was bit of a stick before that happened
"Maybe. Though there's also a chance that she won't grow much at all. It'll be difficult for her to wield a blade if she maintains her current physique."
"Well physical deficiencies aside, she's a hard worker, is insanely gifted at magic, and she wants to get strong quick. I can work with that."
"What are your plans for her? You're clearly spending more time with her than is necessary."
"Yes. What plans do you have for my student?" Suddenly a petite, young looking woman in pajama-like clothes, floated onto the empty seat that Lysithea had vacated. Standing nearby was said woman's red-haired bat winged… companion? Servant? Homosexual life partner?
"Yes," Koakuma whispered loudly.
"Ah… you can read minds?" Catherine asked.
"No. But she's intuitive and likes messing with people," Patchouli replied. "Now back to my original question."
"Oh I just felt a certain kinship with Lysithea," Catherine replied honestly to the Witch. "It's weird though, I always had this knack or a sense for detecting… certain things about people just by looking at them. In Lysithea's case though it feels like there's something covering it up, sorta like a fog you know." A fog that seemed to be really concentrated on that ring she wore.
Patchouli raised an eye and began muttering to herself. "Pure instinct or sensitivity to…" the rest of it was unintelligible.
"What I can tell though it feels like there's two opposing… somethings fighting with dominance in her. It's all very muted though, I really have to squint to see it," Catherine said. "You would probably know about that, wouldn't you?"
"I would," Patchouli admitted. "But that is our business alone."
"Yeesh. A bit possessive, aren't you?"
"I'm a Witch we're very much inclined and encouraged to be possessive of the things we value." Patchouli narrowed her eyes at Catherine. "And trying to take those things from us is a good way to get cursed."
Shamir tensed, but Catherine immediately waved her off. "I'm not stealing your student. Just feel like she could use another friend ya know. Someone she can talk to. I am very easy to talk to. Shamir can vouch for you."
"I will not," Shamir replied blandly.
"See! Roaring endorsement right there."
Patchouli stared at Catherine blankly for some time before eventually just shaking her head. "Koa, just get me some lunch."
"On it Patchy!" Koa, who had clearly been hovering nearby to act as another threat, replied cheerfully before walking away.
"Oh so you're joining us for lunch?" Catherine asked.
"Too much trouble to find another table," Patchouli muttered, apparently content to eat with them when a familiar red-haired womanizer approached the table
"Hello, you three," Sylvain asked as he was followed by a clearly impatient Ingrid behind him. "Might I join you three ladies for this meal?"
Before Catherine could refuse, Shamir put a hand on her arm. She also shot Patchouli a look to tell her to play along.
"Sure," Shamir replied quickly, much to Sylvain's surprise.
"Really? It's never that eas- I mean I happily accept."
"One condition though. You have to help to finish that." Shamir pointed to the leftovers of the Seteth Special. "We don't want it to go to waste."
"Sounds easy enough," Sylvain smiled as he grabbed the glass. "What's in this anyway?" He took a sniff of it.
Another strange thing about the Seteth special was that when it was left sitting for too long it lost most of its scent and peculiar colors. He likely wouldn't notice anything suspicious about it.
"A protein shake"
"Well a bit more muscle wouldn't hurt." Sylvain tilted the glass into his mouth and drank what remained of it in seconds.
"Alright Sylvain I've watched long enough, stop bothering them already," Ingrid sighed as she walked up to drag Sylvan away. She grabbed his shoulder only to receive no response. "Hello?" She waved her hand in front of his face. "Sylvain...?"
Sylvain fell face first onto the floor with the glass still in his hand. His body laid still on the ground, a finger pointed squarely at Shamir denoting the perpetrator.
Patchouli's eyes widened. "A curse? Poison? I didn't detect anything and yet it took a close to grown male out so easily. Humans are fragile but this is-"
"You're evil Shamir," Catherine commented. Another thing with leaving the Seteth special sitting out for too long. It tasted twice as worse.
"I know," Shamir replied.
"Uh… should we be worried?" Ingrid asked.
"I would also inquire the same," Patchouli replied as she started tapping Sylvain's body with her foot. "Would you have more of this concoction available? It has piqued my curiosity."
"You'll have to ask Seteth, and also you can leave Sylvain there," Shamir replied as she turned to Ingrid. "You want to join us for lunch?"
"… That sounds good." Ingrid stepped over Sylvain's prone body and joined them at their table.