After dying in an unfortunate accident, you find yourself reincarnated into the Ruined Future as part of Lucina's Generation.
Growing up once again, you shall prepare yourself and your friends for the dark future that lies ahead, all while discovering the similarities and differences of the world that you thought you really knew in the hopes of fighting for a better and Grima-less world to live in.
The night was young, as cars of all types drove along the freeway.
One of those cars was being driven by you.
Your Prius steadily drove at a good forty-five miles as some random songs played on the radio. Despite the sereneness of it all, this was an important drive. Reason being that it would be the one that would bring you from your home in Las Vegas to an apartment near Stanford University, where you'd be continuing your goal towards a hardworking but fulfilling life.
After all, you just finished packing up all your necessities and would be going for a Ph.D. in…
You can choose as many as you'd like, but only one will win
[][Ph.D.] Medical and Clinical Science (Unlocks ?, raises ? & ?)
[][Ph.D.] Psychology and Psychiatry (Unlocks ?, raises ?)
[][Ph.D.] Atomic Physics (Unlocks ?, raises ? & ?)
[][Ph.D.] Data Analysis and Geography (Unlocks ?, raises ? & ?)
[][Ph.D.] Modern Arts and Dance (Unlocks ?, raises ?)
[][Ph.D.] Ecology and Conservation (Unlocks ?, raises ? & ?)
[][Ph.D.] Business and Management (Unlocks ?, raises ? & ?)
[][Ph.D.] Modern Language and Linguistics (Unlocks ?, raises ?)
These will be revealed once the world is figured out.
But of course, something had to have happened on your way there.
Pulling your car over to a stop, you rolled down your windows and gazed at the other cars which had stopped in the middle of the freeway, blocking not just your car but many others who were just as confused.
Was... was there a protest going on? Something that you weren't exactly aware of?
Then, a strange but low rumbling noise hit your ears. It wasn't the kind of noise a car would make when speeding down the highway or noise you'd hear normally when driving. It also wasn't the noise your car or anyone else's would make when breaking down, either.
So what was it and where was it coming from?
As if to answer your question, the noise you heard earlier became louder and much more audible. From the driver's seat, you peered through the open window and looked around the area as your eyes widened in shock.
Small pebbles and bits of gravel shook on the ground along with other cars, trucks, and motorcycles that had stopped. Cars far back in the freeway screeched to a halt as they followed yours and other's gaze to a nearby mountain. Getting outside of your car, not only to get a better look but to also make sure you weren't just in a fever dream of some kind, you screamed at the sight you saw.
Rocks. Dozens of fragmented rocks from the cliff side were rolling down onto the freeway at an obscenely fast pace, the now more prominent sound of a high magnitude earthquake making everything shake and tumble despite everyone's efforts.
Scrambling into your car and starting up the engine, you slammed onto the gas pedal and tried to drive away as boulders crashed all around you.
The last thing you remember was the screams of others as they met the same fate as yours.
Oddly enough, you could remember some things. Like how you called your mother and told her that you were accepted to Stanford. The brief moment where you celebrated with all your friends at a friend's villa before heading off to pack your things. That you took a relaxing and warm shower before driving off to Stanford.
That, to all your valiant efforts, was all you could really remember of your past life before death.
This, of course, all lead to the point you were currently at right now.
You thought you existed, but you didn't have any senses. As such, you couldn't really prove you did. It was like you were alone in a dark room, with no exit or end to this mental quandary. Never have you ever experienced this, so it was kind of odd being in this situation.
You wanted to scream, but you had no mouth or throat for you to exert effort into.
You wanted to cry, but you had no sight or eyes for tears to pour out of.
You wanted to look for anyone to talk to, even if it was just a stranger, but you were all alone in this blank abyss.
You wanted to move around, but you had no limbs, arms, or even a body to maneuver around.
You were trapped here, wherever this was, forever.
At least, that was what you had thought. A moment passes, and suddenly, you can feel. You're surrounded by what seems to be an all-encompassing feeling of warmth.
You wanted to scream in happiness or jump for joy, but you couldn't do so. Was this heaven? Did you finally pass on? You began thanking whomever got you out of that place. You would take anything else over that place.
After a time of comforting silence skipped a beat, you began to mull about what happened. You positively knew you were dead, there was no arguing that. After all, how could you be alive after getting crushed by a multi ton boulder within a car?
With that thought in place, you reflected on everything in your past life. Regrets, guilty pleasures, everything that had been done before. It was then that you came to the realization that you weren't a good person, to a degree that you were also not a bad person either.
Just someone living their life to the extent that they could.
An unknown amount of time passed in the afterlife, where you eventually adjusted to the comfort of nothingness, waiting patiently for something to happen.
Then, it happened. At one point, you could see and hear again. Well, kind of. Everything you viewed was like a Rorschach blob, nearly unrecognizable to your undeveloped eyes.
It was then that the idea came to your mind with the weight of a freight train.
You were reincarnated. Given a second chance to live life once more.
In spite of that revelation though, you felt extremely out of place. Like you weren't supposed to be here.
An anomaly.
At some point, you were removed from the blanket of warmth. You don't want to think about that too much, since your certain that you just got reborn and you don't want to think about your mother, whoever she is, giving birth.
Thankfully, your undeveloped brain agrees as well, blocking out whatever had happened during that time. You felt like someone is holding you, but you didn't want to open your eyes.
After much hesitation and burying your fears deep down in your mind, you fully opened your eyes. All senses burned as you let out cries of pain, your parents to hugging and rocking you.
Time passed and with it came the much needed improvement of two key senses When your father took you around what you determined to be was a medieval castle, you also found out that the main language that was being spoken around here was, to your relief, something that resembled English.
Those were the only things you figured out at the moment. You couldn't move your limbs, your baby muscles limited to waving and flailing your arms around like a, you guessed it, newborn child.
At the very least, you could start counting the days ahead...
Although you weren't too sure on the exact timeframe, you were able to regain your sense of balance and movement once more. You also figured out that you were reborn in some sort of medieval castle that was surrounded by equally medieval structures, the discovery of which hit your anachronistic mind hard.
It sucked that you weren't reborn in the modern era, but you wouldn't throw away your new life because of that small setback. You would try to adapt and live your life to the fullest. Also, you found out that you were most definitely a…
[][Sex] Boy
[][Sex] Girl
And that you were born in the year…
[][YOB] 744 AM
[][YOB] 746 AM
[][YOB] 748 AM
Votes for the next chapter:
Ph.D.
Gender
YOB
Note from QM:
Here's the first chapter of my first ever quest, Breaking Destiny. I wonder if you've already figured out what fandom you're in. It's not Worm, and to give another hint, I (personally) have not seen a quest for it yet. (Not to say that it hasn't been done yet, but I have gone through SV and have found nothing that features a SI for this fandom.)
I will probably update this every two or three days, at least until I can get a grasp of what type of schedule I need to make.
This is what I will be writing while I take a small break from writing my Worm story, since I got burnt out writing chapters daily.
EDIT: 10/7/22, revised the flow of text in the chapter to make for a (hopefully) less painful reading experience.
[X][Sex] Boy
[X][Ph.D.] Psychology and Psychiatry (Unlocks ?, Raises ?)
[X][YOB] 744 AM
You were always going to be an intelligent person. That was prominent when you had gotten accepted into Stanford in your previous life.
So, it was no surprise that in about 6 months, you relearned how to walk without falling onto your behind. And in 3 months, you were able to speak again.
When you got to that point, there was an important decision to make. You had no clue how fast kids were supposed to learn things, or at least how fast normal kids were supposed to learn things. What you did know was that a two-year-old should not be able to speak as though they were an aristocrat in the high court.
Unfortunately, unless you accidentally skimmed through your Psychology studies in class, there were no dedicated sections to the mind of the average baby after their initial birth.
Therefore, with that in mind, you would…
[][Intelligence] Never speak. You can't reveal how smart you are if you never speak, right?
[][Intelligence] Act as if you were a regular one-year-old baby. You won't really be an 'average' baby, but you'll try your best to not raise suspicion around yourself.
[][Intelligence] Don't hide your intelligence. You are the smartest baby around the castle and you are proud of it!
[][Intelligence] Write-in
Then, of course, there were your parents.
You had both a father and mother, but apparently, your mother was always busy taking care of your sister. So, your father decided to keep and raise you.
You don't exactly remember your mother too well, with the zero amount of interactions you've had with her, but you did your absolute best to make sure that you were as small a burden as possible on your loving father. Well, as small a burden that a baby to a parent can get, anyways.
If you had to describe your father, you would describe him as the best father, doing everything he could to make sure that you lived a loving and happy life in spite of the lack of a second parental figure to look up to.
Although you were initially reluctant to accept him as your father, you just couldn't block him out due to the sheer amount of care and affection that he buried you with.
Oddly enough, you didn't know what your father did for his job. He always went out at random times of the day and would leave you with a castle maid.
It didn't really bother you, but you did wonder what his job really was.
You would always hear the sound of crows when he left, and he would always whisper something along the lines of "Ugh, more of them! I made sure I killed enough to deter them all..." before reluctantly heading off to wherever he went.
Of course, he would always give you a kiss on the forehead and tell you that he would be back after he "finished killing all those pesky warmongers once more", as if that made it obvious as to what his job was.
Additionally, for some reason or another, he never talked about your mother. You didn't know if he had a problem with her or she had a problem with him, but regardless of their lover's quarrel you desperately needed to know one thing.
You had to know just why your mother had to take your sister away. If you had been born without an adult brain or perhaps had been more ignorant about things, you could've forgotten about the matter entirely.
Yet, you couldn't. Everytime you slept, you dreamt about the sibling that you had but never knew, alongside the mother who took her away.
It tore away at you, knowing that you had a sister who maybe didn't even know that she had a brother. That she was missing a crucial and vital part of her life simply because of the actions of her mother.
Despite those problems that plagued you, your father always smiled with unusually cheerful gaiety, his grey eyes and short ash-white hair abnormally vibrant in the face of it all.
And honestly? You didn't want it any other way.
Eventually, your father had to go back to his 'job', leaving your four-year old self alone in the castle.
Occasionally, a maid would come by and check on you to make sure you weren't doing anything you weren't supposed to do. But surprisingly, no one came by today. Perfect for the plan you wanted to execute since the day your curiosity about your father's work peaked.
Slightly opening the door to your father's room, you let out a cheer in your mind. Ecstatic that you could finally explore the room without anyone interrupting you, you slowly walked over to your father's desk.
Getting onto the chair, you could see that there were four different colored books laying across his workspace, each with their own distinctive colors and, strangely, auras to them.
The first book you took notice of was a red book. It radiated a feeling of warmth, yet exuded a sense of destruction. Dragging it across the table, you laid it out in front of you before looking at another book.
The second book you saw was a green book. It was like the opposite of the orange book, radiating a cold, yet protective aura. Hesitantly, you put it down, even if you desperately wanted to open it and see what was written within the pages.
You turned your gaze over to the third book, a yellow book. With this book, it felt as if you could reach up and pierce the heavens themselves. Reluctantly, you placed the yellow book down and examined the fourth and final book.
It was completely different from the other books, being purple in color. But that wasn't what made it different. What made it different was the sheer power it emanated. Holding it in your hands, you felt like you would die just by that sense alone.
Yet, it just felt right to hold it. Like it was your birthright to do so. It was so hard to let go of it, to not hold it and make use of whatever power was within, but you eventually put it down.
Looking over these four books, you would decide to read the…
[][Book] Red Book. It feels warm and extremely comfortable. (Unlocks ?)
[][Book] Green Book. It feels cold, yet it feels like it protects you. (Unlocks ?)
[][Book] Yellow Book. It makes your hair rise up and you feel… weird. (Unlocks ?)
[][Book] Purple Book. It feels so wrong, yet so right to hold it. It was like you were meant to do so. (Unlocks ?)
Of course, the time would come that the dreaded but also equally exciting social interaction with others would arrive.
Unfortunately, that day was today.
Your father, having been given what was "a day off and away from the battlefield", wanted to bring you somewhere to play with other children.
Even though you wanted to stay inside your room and continue reading through the books within, your father was enthusiastic. Much more than usual.
It was strange, really. Rarely did you see such anticipation and excitement in his eyes, so you decided to go out to discover just what gave him that spark.
Walking along the cobblestone road with your father, you continued to mull over your thoughts before a finger flicked you on the forehead.
[][Name] Euclid
[][Name] Benjamin
[][Name] Kail
[X][Name] Leonard
[][Name] Write-In
"Come on, Leonard! You need to go out more! You can't just stay inside your room and mind all day!"
At your pout, he continued his good-intentioned advice in a lower tone of voice.
"Look, I know you want to read a lot, but you need to go out and make some friends," he stared at a group of adults walking nearby who waved at him, "you need someone to hang out with while I… go out and do my thing." He ended lamely, his cheerfulness replaced with an unwavering and extremely awkward tone.
You stared from behind your father's body, your gaze falling onto a courtyard filled with children and other adults.
A small smile inched onto your face, and you hesitantly nodded your head in acceptance. Surely, talking to a bunch of kids to make your father happy wouldn't be that hard...
Right?
He instantly beamed, his unsure expression replaced by his usual, happy-go-lucky grin.
"Great! Well, I'll be over here with my friends while you go and talk with the kids!" He finished with joy in his step, walking over to a group of adults and leaving you alone.
A moment of silence passed by as you realized that, yes, you weren't going to make any progress on the social department if you didn't take the initiative.
With that in kind, you began looking around, your analytical eyes falling onto a few potential soon-to-be friends.
On the far end of the courtyard, you noticed a red-haired girl sitting under a tree with a bored expression. Making friends with her was likely to be even more difficult than one would expect, but considering making friends was in itself a challenge, you might as well take the dive.
Nearby a banquet table, you witnessed a blonde-haired boy excitedly talking to a boy with grey hair, gesturing wildly as he posed in a dramatic fashion. Offhandedly, it reminded you of theatrical performances, with the dramatics and all that accompanied it.
Finally, there was a blue-haired girl talking to a cheerful, brown-haired girl with pigtails. They were familiar with eachother, if their casual conversation was anything to go by, though the girl with blue hair was overwhelmed by the sheer amount of excitement that was just waiting to burst from the other girl.
With your decision made, you decided to talk with...
[][Socialize] The red-haired girl sitting under the tree. She looks bored, so you should talk to her.
[][Socialize] The blonde-haired boy and the grey-haired boy. Hopefully, you can insert yourself into their conversation.
[][Socialize] The blue-haired girl and the cheerful brown haired girl with pigtails. The girl with blue hair seems a bit overwhelmed, so you might want to help her.
Votes for the next chapter:
Intelligence
Book
Name
Socialize
Note from QM:
Well, this took a little longer than usual to write. I got an assignment in the middle of writing the chapter out so that kind of impeded my writing time.
On the actual chapter, I gave a lot of things for you guys to vote on. Uh, whoops? I didn't mean to put too many in here, but it just happened this way. Also, I will do a three to four year timeskip for each chapter for the next two to three chapters, since a lot of things are going to happen during that time. The time will slow down though, when we pass your 'childhood'.
As a side note, I wonder if I gave enough clues for you guys to figure out where you are? I sure as hell thought I did, with the description of your father and all that. But then again, I'm the one writing this so maybe it's obvious to just me? If you think you've figured it out, then give me a mention and I'll see if it's correct.
Also, you are currently five years old, with you finding the books on your father's table at the age of four.
EDIT: 10/7/22, revised the flow of text in the chapter to make for a (hopefully) less painful reading experience.
[X][Intelligence] Act as if you were a regular one-year-old baby. You won't really be an 'average' baby, but you'll try your best to not raise suspicion around yourself.
[X][Book] Yellow Book. It makes your hair rise up and you feel… weird. (Unlocks ?)
[X][Name] Leonard
[X][Socialize] The red-haired girl sitting under the tree. She looks bored, so you should talk to her.
When you were two years old, you decided to be smart and try to act as normal as possible. You didn't want to put any attention on you or your father.
What if there were spies all over the castle, watching both of you? And, on the off chance that they did happen to see you doing something suspicious, what if they reported it to the king? Or maybe even the church of this kingdom you lived in?
Puritanical beliefs and religion always did crash in at the worst possible time when any signs of intelligence or revolutionary discoveries reared its head, so with that in mind you decided to play it cool.
You would try to be a normal baby. The key word being try.
The main problem was that you really didn't know how to be a baby since that was the one thing you couldn't recall from your previous life, even with the plentiful knowledge of Psychology in your mind.
With that thought in mind, you tried to be as normal as possible.
1d100 = 75 = Good success! DC = 60
And normal you were!
...For the most part, at least.
Whenever your father asked you something, you would act ignorant or pretend to not understand. Whenever he brought you to a new place, you would act amazed and distracted. Whenever he hummed a song to you, you would instantly fall asleep.
Your act was almost perfect!
Well, keyword being almost perfect.
One time, he brought you to the Castle Balcony. When you looked over the kingdom for the first time in this life, you were actually rendered speechless.
The view was, to put it into simple words, amazing.
The market bustled with activity, merchants attempting to make profit sales as towns citizens walked around with haste. Guards stood vigilant and ready to defend the city, keeping watch to make sure that no brigands or threats of any kind would invade the city. Walls stood high, fortifications ensuring that no bombardments of the usual kind would assault the halidom.
You were broken out of your amazement as your father turned you to face him. Immediately, you noticed something wrong. His face was one with an emotion you've never seen before.
Concern. Pure, unadulterated concern, presumably at the silence you had.
He stared at you for a moment, before you started babbling and pointing in the direction you were looking at before.
He moved to face the Town square, turning back with a smile of relief and realization on his face.
"Oh, so that was the caws of your silence. You got your father all worried for nothing, little Leonard."
You tried to listen to something else he whispered to you, but you barely hears him over the sound of metal boots clanging against the floor. The foreign noise stopped right behind you both, with him turning towards whoever it was behind us.
"Henry, there has been a breach in the lower entrance. As a result, many Valmese have gone through and started attacking villages in the Western Front. We need your assistance to clear them out."
As soon as the man started his last sentence, your father's hug tightened around you.
You inclined your head upwards and you could see his face. He looked… distressed? You had never seen him express such an emotion before. Why would he act like this over a simple request?
There was a brief moment of silence, the tension so thin that you felt like you could rip it apart with your child-like arms.
"Alright, Fredmeister. I'll go, but I need to go to my room and grab my Goetiatome."
Your father was somber, as if he was remembering a bad memory. Suddenly, you lurched forward, your father shoving you into the man's–Fredmesiter, as he called him–arms as he sprinted off towards your room to get Goetia, whatever that meant.
Audibly, the sounds of crows echoed in the distance, acting as if they were signalling off the beginnings of a war.
Sensing your distress, Fredmeister said, "Your father will be alright, young Leonard. Henry is the strongest Sorcerer that I know of. Very few are able to defeat him in combat, let alone come out alive when encountering him."
Skill Gained!
Skill Unlocked - Acting
With the skill of acting, you are able to build a false facade around yourself. You are also able to bluff or lie your way out of certain situations, but not all of them.
Skill leveled once due to the conclusion of this event, from Untrained to Novice.
Novice - 5/30
New Unlocks!
Father Trait Unlocked - Puns
Puns (Crows) - You've discovered that your father loves to make puns, specifically ones with crows. Do you wonder what the cawses of this are? +2 to all social rolls with your father from now on.
Secret Unlocked - Your Father's Job!
Sorcerer - With the power of dark magic, Sorcerers are feared throughout the world. They are mages able to harness their negative feelings (such as hate, envy, pride, etc) and turn them into raw, unadulterated weapons of power and mass destruction. Powerful Sorcerers are able to destroy villages in a matter of moments with the right spells and the correct amount of MAG. Sorcerers can only be promoted to this class through the Dark Mage and Mage classes. +25 to all attack rolls to those with this class, with a malus of -20 to all social rolls with people who have a conversation with whomever has this class.
Event Unlocked - Sorcerer Issues: Part 1
Event - Find out more about your father and why he becomes sad whenever someone asks for help.
1d100 = 27 + 15(?) = 42 Barely Successful! DC=40
After a small amount of deliberation, you chose the yellow book.
As you picked it up and thumbed through the pages, an odd energy coursed through your body.
Not willing to wait any longer, you hid the thick book underneath your small cloak, making sure it looked inconspicuous. With that done, you sneakily exited out of your room and made your way through the halls of the castle.
Surprisingly, you haven't ran into any maids, guards, or castle staff yet. Well, at the very least, it made it easy to locate a secret location so you could fully discover the secrets of the book.
After heading out of the castle and searching for twenty minutes, you found the perfect place.
It was a large enclosure, with plenty of shade and trees surrounding it. A perfect location for trying to do something sneaky. With a huff, you took out the book from your cloak.
You laid it on the floor, hesitating slightly before flipping it open with gusto. Skimming through the pages, you found one set of lines that intrigued you. Making up your mind, you began reading aloud.
You who shall summon the skies,
You who shall control lightning.
In the name of Naga, let loose your power,
Energy sparked around you, your surroundings getting zapped by small currents of whatever it was that exited your body. Leaves and branches on the ground got enveloped in a web of energy, disintegrating into ash as you chanted words of power.
Thoron.
After you whispered that last word, something incredible and inconceivable happened.
Looking down at your right arm, lightning funnelled itself into a large ball of electricity at the palm of your hand, almost ready to burst.
Instantly and unsurprisingly, you panicked and flailed around in shock. Without any hesitation, you aimed at a nearby tree.
At the last second, the electricity coalesced into a medium-sized beam as it left your arm with a crackle of energy.
The sound of lightning striking something and shattering it, along with the smell of burnt wood and fire, accompanied you not long afterwards.
Hesitantly, you opened your eyes, gazing upon the sight of what used to be a large tree with a plentiful amount of leaves.
Now, it was simply a pile of burnt wood and and ash.
Two emotions rushed throughout your mind, them being amazement and fear. Amazement that you were the one to perform that spell. Fear at the thought of having to or accidentally doing… that to someone else.
After hiding the book in your cloak once more, you went back to the castle, still in literal and metaphorical shock over the whole situation.
Once you sneak back into your room and plop yourself onto your bead, you decided to, after a long moment of deliberation…
[][Thoron] Keep the Book. You never know when you may need it.
[][Thoron] Put the book back where it was. You shouldn't have it in the first place and you might hurt someone else with it.
[][Thoron] Ask your father what this book is. He might be mad that you took it and almost hurt yourself, but maybe he can help you?
[][Thoron] Write-in
Magical Weapon Unlocked!
Lightning Tome - Thoron - Spell Rank B
With this lightning tome, you can cast the spell Thoron. Once you complete the incantation, you are able to release a contained beam of lightning that can travel fast and destroy many foes. It is unable to penetrate Wind Barriers and magical defenses similar to them, but it can be used to pierce enemies through metal armor.
If used against Heavily Armored enemies, gain +15 to all attack rolls.
With confidence you didn't think you had, you walked towards the red-handed girl.
Examining her a bit more closely, you noticed that her hair was styled up like twin tails and that she had dark red eyes. She wasn't paying attention, so you just sat down next to her. Surprisingly, she still didn't notice you were there! Curious about what had all her attention, you followed her gaze.
She was pointedly staring at a woman wearing red and white armor, who was having a conversation with other women. She had red hair, just like the girl sitting next to you.
Connecting the dots, you tapped the girl's shoulder to get her attention.
She jolted up in surprise, looking around herself before finally focusing on you.
"What do you want?" Her eyes narrowed together, almost like a pair of small slits, as her voice slammed into you like a freight train.
"I want to be your friend," you replied honestly.
The red-head stared at you, eyes wide with surprise. "O-oh, I'm sorry! It's just, well…"
She trailed off, giving a side glance to the woman from before. A moment passed by, with nothing said as the two of you basked in silence. Turning back to you, a hue of red blush ran across her face as she realized that you were still here and waiting to hear her words.
With a downcast expression, she continued, "Most people want to be my friend because I'm the daughter of the 'Genius' and 'Perfect' Cordelia, Squad Leader of the Pegasus Fliers, not because of me."
Huh, that's pretty cool. You didn't think pegasus's (pegasi?) existed in this world—wait… Cordelia. Why does that name sound familiar? That and the fact that pegasi apparently exist here...
Isn't she from Fire Emblem: Awakening specifically? And isn't Thoron a spell book from there? Oh right, Valmese, warmongers, were one of the main enemies too!
Curses were profusely let out in your mind as you mulled over the implications of what you were been presented with.
You couldn't believe that you were so ignorant to think that you wouldn't be reincarnated into a medieval world, nonetheless a fictional world at that.
Additionally, one of the main things about Awakening was that you can unlock units to use in your army, in the form of your child from the future.
But that would mean you were likely in the failed timeline, the one where Grima, the Fell Dragon and opposite of Naga, destroyed humanity in the years to come.
This meant that you had, at most, your childhood and a majority of your teen years before he revived himself and killed everyone you knew.
Thankfully, the red-headed child didn't notice your panic and continued to speak happily. She said something about how glad she was to finally have a friend and how thankful she is to you for putting up with her "gawds awful nonsense", but all you did was nod your head to everything she said you while you processed the revelations that intruded into your new life.
Eventually, the sun began to set and everyone had left the courtyard. As you were about to go back to your father, someone grabbed your arm. Turning around, the girl from before greeted you with an indignant frown on her face.
"Hey, you haven't told me your name yet!"
You reminisced on the conversation from earlier and realized that you did not, in fact, give her your name. Huh, the shock from your discovery must have made you forget about that detail.
With a clear voice, you said, "Leonard. My name is Leonard."
She stared at you for a moment, before nodding. "Yes, you do look like a Leonard," she said to herself.
You sent her a confused and almost offended expression, but she completely missed it.
"Well, what's your name?" you impatiently asked, the urge to to go back to your room and do some research on this place at the forefront of your mind.
"My name is Severa. I told you earlier, you dolt! I can't believe you forgot already!" she said, nearly yelling into your ears. Oh Gods, you could already tell she was going to be difficult to deal with.
Thankfully, someone came to your rescue.
"Now now, children. No need to caws some drama now." Your father, Henry, walked into view with Cordelia at his side. If their amused expressions were anything to by, then they definitely listened to that part of our conversation before interrupting you two.
Cordelia grabbed Severa's hand with slight hurriedness. "Come on Severa, you can go talk to Leonard later. It's getting late, and I need to go train the new Pegasus Rider recruits," the woman mentioned.
Severa huffed, a small frown on her face. She was extremely displeased, dare you say furious, at her mother's words. Her expression and your knowledge of what happened in the future clashed together to form an unpleasant image.
...Maybe you should talk to her about her mother.
Regret for actions taken was only one of the many things that needed to be worried about with the future to come, after all.
Mystery Unlocked
You have found out that you have been reincarnated into Fire Emblem: Awakening as a future child! What you do will change the future, relations, and outcomes of humanity.
First Friend!
Severa was the first person you've ever talked to besides your father and the castle maids. Since she was your first friend, and you her first friend, +5 to all dice rolls in anything involving her (events, social, battle, etc).
Quest Unlocked - Severe Problems
Talk to Severa about the problems she has with her mom.
You were in your room, sitting at your desk. Scattered across it were books filled to the brim with various knowledge about the world.
There were currently three books in front of you, but you could only read through them one at a time lest you missed out on key and important information.
The first was a book on how to correctly use magic tomes and their accompanying spells with and without them. Certainly useful for the path of becoming a mage, moreso to not repeat the mistkae you had ignorantly done before.
The second book was supposedly filled with tips and tricks on how to wield each weapon of the weapon-triangle correctly. If you were to travel the way of melee combat, it would definitely be a boon to read through this book.
The third book was really worn and torn, marked with a faded leather cover and bearing no title. It emanated a strange aura. Yet, something compelled you to read it. Knowledge of the truly unknown, perhaps?
With your decision made, you chose to…
[][Research] Research how to cast magic properly. You can get help from your father, too.
[][Research] Research how to use certain weapons. You could probably ask that one man named 'Frederick' to help you.
[][Research] Read the book. It seems magical with it's aura and could possibly have something to help you.
After finishing intensive research, you'd try to go and find...
[][Event] Your father. You want to find out why he gets sad whenever someone wants help.
[][Event] Severa. Best if you can talk to her about her mom now before anything bad happens.
Please note that these events will never disappear and will show up as an option later on, even if you don't pick it right now.
Votes for the next chapter:
Thoron
Research
Event
Note from QM:
This took me two extra hours to write. Uh, oops? It was supposed to be done earlier, but my notes for this chapter got deleted and I had to remake them again.
Also, other things happening. I am very tired, so I will post all the informational stuff before going to bed in a moment.
EDIT: I have posted all the information tabs, so check that out if you want to see who has certain traits, what certain buffs do, and other stuff.
[X][Thoron] Ask your father what this book is. He might be mad that you took it and almost hurt yourself, but maybe he can help you?
[X][Research] Read the book. It seems magical with its aura and could possibly have something to help you.
[X][Event] Severa. Best if you can talk to her about her mom now before anything bad happens.
After a brief moment, you chose to ask your father what this book was about. Who knows, maybe he would help you use it?
Making sure you had the book on hand, you made your way out and searched for someone who could help you in finding your father. In your search, you found a middle-aged woman, along with a young woman, scrubbing up the dirty plates in the kitchen.
Walking to the older of the two, you grabbed her sleeve and lightly tugged on it to get her attention. "Excuse me miss, can you tell my father that I have something important I need to ask him?"
The older woman stopped scrubbing mid-motion, slowly inclining her head in your direction. "Of course, young child! What's your father's name?"
"My father's name is Henry," you said with a bright smile.
As soon as you said your father's name, the old woman's body tensed up. The plate she was previously cleaning fell out of her hands, shattering into small pieces and fragments on the wooden floor.
You looked at the other girl, only to see that she was just as confused as you were. The older woman turned around, put her mouth up to the other girl's ear, and frantically whispered something inaudible to your child ears.
In an instant, the girl goes pale and immediately headed off without a word. In the meantime, the old lady paced back and forth throughout the kitchen, anxiety gripping her every movement.
A couple of minutes later and your father still wasn't here. The old woman was, oddly enough, still pacing back and forth. Except you could now see that her hands were shaking and that her eyes were widened in what appeared to be… fear?
What was she so afraid of? She was about to faint at any given moment, but for what reason?
"—and that's how you tear someone's soul out with an advanced hex!"
Thankfully, you heard your father's voice approaching.
Wait, what was he talking about there? Tearing out someone's soul? Hexes?
You weren't givent the time to think as the door slammed itself open, revealing your cheerful father along with the girl from before. Her face was paler than before, cold sweat dripping down her head with her eyes widened in pure fear.
She was like prey in clear view of a predator, afraid of being spotted.
"Hey, Leonard! I was just telling her a very nifty trick, right?"
She snapped out of her petrified state, nodding her head furiously as she muttered out a mix of answers such as 'Of course!' and 'Yes, sir!'
"Good! You were listening! That information will save your life someday, ya know!" he turned away from the girl and extended his hand towards you, "Now, come with Leonard! You have something important to ask me?"
You acknowledged his question with a small smile, which seems to make him even happier. It was a common thought that happiness held a limit, but apparently, your father held no such thing.
Grabbing his hand, the both of you walked out of the kitchen. As you made your way down the corridor and back to your room, you deigned to get the conversation over with.
The guilt festering in your stomach demanded for it, at any rate.
With remorse in your voice, you said, "Dad, I think I did something I wasn't supposed to do."
Your father paused, raising a brow. "Well, I'm sure what you did couldn't have been too bad—"
"I read this weird yellow book." Interrupting him, you pulled it out of your coat and showed it to him.
Instantly, he froze in his tracks and turned to you. More specifically, the book you were holding. In a speed you didn't know was possible for your father, he grabbed the book, shoved it into one of his coat pockets, and frantically checked your body for... wounds?
"I knew I forgot something earlier. Did you get hurt? Are you okay? Gods, if she got her hands you I'll—"
Halting his tirade, you softly pulled on his coat sleeve. "I'm fine dad. I just wanted to ask if you could, you know, teach me how to use it?"
A moment of silence passed by, and you thought you made a grave mistake. Seconds became minutes, minutes turned into hours, and hours shifted into an immeasurable amount of time. Then he answered.
"Well, since you asked me, I'll train you. But, you have to start with the beginner tomes AND you have to join me for something."
He calmly gestured towards the barracks, where many men rushed out of the doorway in a panic. They were frightened, for whatever reason.
With that in mind, you decided to…
[][Deal] You accept the deal. You aren't scared and really, what's the worst that could happen?
[][Deal] You decline the deal. You don't want to join if full-grown men are running away.
After analyzing the three options, you went with the mysterious book. The front cover was worn out, with the only thing you could make out being H-nr--s N-t-- On -an--m S--ff!.
Intrigued, you opened the book and moved the cover to the side. Flipping to the first page, you were presented with oriental and barely legible Ylissean writing.
Day One, Year 769
I just joined Ylisse's Shepherds today and they are so MUCH FUN! They let me kill so many people! My crows ate some corpses for breakfast and they even have two plegians as their tacticians! I'll have to ask them what their names are later since we're about to go and kill some more soldiers.
Toodles,
Henry the Crow Mage.
Wait, two plegians as their tacticians? What? Since when were there two? Curiosity grew like a fire that had been emblazoned as you flipped a couple of pages forward.
Day 16, Year 769
We managed to kill Gangrel with the tactics of both Robin and ------! They completely destroyed him, from what Chrom told me. I don't know how they managed to kill him, considering they both have amnesia, but this is great! The bloodshed that happened on this day was glorious and I managed to kill even more people than last time. Oh, looks like I gotta go! We're having a celebration in Chrom's castle! Hopefully, someone bumps into me so I have a reason to kill them!
Toodles,
Henry the Crow Mage.
What? Whose name was crossed out? You couldn't even read it. Shaking your head in frustration, you went over to the last legible page of the book.
Day ----, Year 7-4
Today, the greatest thing has happened! Even more so than the bloodshed from the war from years ago! My son was born. Say hi, Leonard! Oh wait, I forgot, you can't see or hear yet. Oops! Also, when ------ was giving birth to him, he released a Mana Discharge! And I could easily sense his magic, too! It was like a container of Mana, ready to burst! In other news, I managed to complete my guide, Advanced Dark Magic Tactics, a couple of days ago! I have all the notes prewritten in here, in case I ever misplace my official copy! I'm so excited, I can't wait to tell ---- about my discoveries! Oh, I still need to feed my son.
Goodbye (for now),
Henry the Father.
Closing the book shut after reading the final sentence, the horrible realization that you came out of this discovery with more questions than much-needed answers hit you.
Well, at least you learned something out of this.
Still, whose name was that? You recognized Robin, but whose name was crossed out? More research had to be done. The insatiable hunger in your mind yearned for it.
With that thought locked in, you binge read multiple books regarding Ylisse's history and the most recent wars the country has faced.
Trait Unlocked - Walking Battery
After reading through your father's book, you have realized that you are special. Special in a sense that mana pours in and out of you extremely fast. Also, you are a large Mana beacon for mages, friend and foe alike.
You are able to input and output mana out of your body to perform spells in a matter of moments, unseen in most mages. +10 to MAG attacks and to battle rolls regarding enemy magic attacks.
Due to this trait, you are unable to perform sneak attacks on any enemies who are magically inclined.
Skill Unlocked - Dark Tomes
After reading through your father's notes, you now know how to properly(read: safely) cast and perform spells with Dark Magic Tomes!
You have leveled once due to the conclusion of this event, from Untrained to Novice.
Novice - 15/30
Quest Unlocked - Names Are Important
Find out who ---- is.
After finishing your research, you decided to find Severa so you could talk to her about her problems.
Hopefully, you could find her before anything happened.
The thing was, though, you didn't know where to search. As such, you took the sensible solution and thought to ask a guard. Only the Gods knew what would happen if you asked a maid for assistance again.
A man who appeared to be in his mid-twenties that was garbed in metal plating stood off to the side. Making up your mind, you made your way up to him.
Tilting your head upwards, you said, "Hello, sir."
"Oh, hello! What could a young child such as you want from an old man like me?" the guard greeted.
He was old? He looked like he was so young! Maybe he was be lying! Or perhaps he was using an illusion spell of sorts?
Hmm... Ah! Right!
Continuing upon your current motivation, you explained, "I'm looking for my friend, Severa. Do you know where she could be at right now?"
"Ah, young Severa. A spitfire, that girl is! I'm glad she's finally made a friend. If you're looking for her, she should be in the Guest Chambers right now. Her mother is usually training new recruits at this time, so she stays in that room by herself," he explained with a thoughtful nod.
Well, at least you had a location to go to now. Wait, where were the guest chambers?
"The guest chambers are located one stairway above the Royal Library." You raised a finger in inquiry, about to ask how he knew what you thinking. "If you're going to ask how I knew what you were going to say, you voiced your question out loud, lad," he supplied with an amused tone.
Oh, that was how he knew. You felt kind of–no, very dumb.
At the very least, he didn't read your mind or something crazy like that.
"Okay! Thank you, Mr...?"
"Cohen. My name is Cohen, former Lieutenant of the Cavalry Guard, now a humble gate guard," the guard, Cohen, said.
"Thank you, Mr. Cohen!"
As you sprinted off towards the Royal Library, you barely heard him yell out a raspy, "You're welcome, lad!"
Light footsteps echoed throughout the area as you made your way up the stairs. Along the way, you pondered Severa's dilemma.
How were you going to help her? What were you going to do to stop her obsession with her mother's reputation? How would you stop her pursuit for an ideal that was objectively impossible, by all accounts?
You made your way to the entrance, pausing to collect your thoughts before entering. Closing the door quietly, you assessed the situation before you.
Severa sat on the edge of the Queen-Sized bed, her eyes puffy and bloodshot for whatever reason. A line of dried tears ran down her face as she let out a sniffle.
Something must have happened recently. But what exactly happened?
With resolve in your mind and a desire to help your new friend in her time of need, you were going to go and...
[][Severa Situation] Write-In
Votes for the next chapter:
Deal
Severa Situation
Note from QM:
Man, I'm tired. My computer blue screened on me while I was halfway through this chapter, so I had to fix my computer and finish writing this on my phone. My phone.
On the chapter itself, more things are discovered. And man, you are cutting it close on your dice rolls. If it weren't for those bonuses on the first one... anyways. Will you take the deal or not? More than one Tactician? Also, your first write-in only vote. These are going to be few in number, so better try your best on this one ! Also, I will keep this vote open for two days instead of my usual one day, in case you guys need more time to make one.
And don't worry. After this next chapter, you will be able to start doing training and such. And much, much more....
EDIT: 10/7/22, revised the flow of text in the chapter to make for a (hopefully) less painful reading experience via fixing past vs present tense issues.
[X][Deal] You accept the deal. You aren't scared and really, what's the worst that could happen?
[X][Severa Situation] Invite her to play a game of some form to cheer her up, ignoring the tears at the beginning, and then ask her what happened once you believe you've improved her mood.
You weren't changing your decision, even if you could see the grown men from before looking at you as if you were a complete lunatic.
"Yes, father. I accept your deal!"
The hushed whispers of the soldiers around barely, just barely, reached your ears.
"This child is insane! No one goes into Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour and comes back unscathed!"
"I wish I were that brave as a child. Ah, the good old days, when I didn't have to worry about brigands or Plegian scum in the humble village of Themis. Or Frederick's Fitness Hour."
"Does this child have a death wish? Does he wish to meet the Fallen One so soon after his birth?"
"I pray to Naga that this child will be the same afterward. Sadly, no man or woman comes out the dreaded Fanatical Fitness hour the same person as before, so this plea will likely fall upon deaf ears. In such a case, I wish this child a swift recovery."
"I heard that the only ones to finish and stay the same were the Crimson Cavalier, the Grandmaster of Ylisse, his honor, and Frederick the Wary himself!"
Even though the fully grown, muscular, and extremely fit men gestured for you to not accept, that didn't mean you were going to back down from this deal!
Magic was and is still a fascinating concept for you! Besides, you would rather learn to control your extremely dangerous magic and prepare yourself rather than not doing so at all.
In that end, your father was the best option for that avenue of interest.
And his response? He silently stared at you, sending shivers down your spine as your whole body shuddered with unease. Oddly, you never really felt uncomfortable when your father was nearby.
So why were you struck with this feeling now?
Cutting through the tension with a the swiftness of a madman with a knife, he approached you. With a gleeful smile on his face he said, "Since you accepted the deal, follow me, Leonard. Oh, Frederick is going to be so excited that someone new will be joining!"
You could barely hear him whisper that last sentence. Wait a minute...
Why is father bringing me to Frederick for the deal? What could he possibly do with this?
Before you could ask what was going on, he hefted you on his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Ecstatic, he began walking somewhere unknown. For the first time ever, your father ignored your questions and complaints in favor of humming a disturbingly chilling melody.
Hopefully, he didn't set up something impossible to complete or do for this endeavor.
This won't be that bad! Those guys from before were probably trying to rile me up or something. But if that was the case...
Why did some of them stare at me as if I was a crazy maniac looking to lose my life?
Finally, your father pulled you off his shoulders. With a satisfied sigh, he dropped onto the rough dirt ground. A small huff escaped your lips as you dusted off your white cloak.
The neutrality of your lips curved into a small frown as your father walked up to Frederick with a, dare you say, highly unsettling expression set in stone.
Why did he have to carry me like that throughout the castle halls? That was so embarrassing! I'm able to walk on my own, gods damn it! I don't need him to carry me like a newborn baby…
You were brought out of your thoughts by the sound of someone approaching, heavy but nimble footsteps taking your attention.
Turning to face them, you were met with a boy around your age. He had scruffy and untamed brown hair, complimented by light brown skin and odd-looking hazel eyes. Something that kind-of-but-not-really looked like a scar ran across his face, though you couldn't be too sure about that little tidbit—nor did you care too much in the first place.
He also was… scared? Of you? Perhaps that face was more representative of hesitance than fear, but still.
"So, your father dragged you here too?" His voice was oddly soft for someone with his demeanor and physique, although that may have just been you.
You nodded, meeting his uncertain gaze with your own. "Yeah, my father brought me here."
You hadn't planned on telling him too much besides that. What an embarrassing story to recount, anyway: 'CHILD STEALS MAGICAL BOOK AND PROCEEDS TO ALMOST HURT HIMSELF FROM MAGICAL BACKLASH!'
As an aside, his father brought him here? Wait a minute… was his father who you thought it was?
He motioned to the man talking to your father, "My father's name is Frederick, although you may know him as Frederick the Wary."
How did he know what you were thinking?
"Uh, you're making really weird faces… are you thinking about how different I look from other people? You probably are, huh?" His tone went from soft to accusing in mere moments, surprising you. You didn't think anyone would look so intimidating, yet afraid at the same time.
Avoiding a potential social faux pas, you quickly said, "Sorry, I was thinking about what we're going to do. Anyways, what's your name? I'm Leonard."
You were curious, to be frank. Yarne the character was someone you knew, but Yarne the person and individual was a different beast (heh) entirely. Besides that, you also didn't see him around the castle at all. Maybe he was shy or something?
Anyway, making new friends was never a bad thing.
He tapped the ground with the heel of his foot. "Oh, sorry about that. I'm not good around new people. But since you asked, my name is Yarne."
Well, it was nice to have confirmation, at least.
A voice boomed throughout the training area, getting everyone's attention with mere words alone. "Hello, all new recruits and welcome to my Fanatical Fitness Hour! We will be conducting a routine of exercises so you are ready for guard training!"
Huh, that was actually really good to hear. You worked out a little in your previous life, so this was and likely would be a nice way to get back into the swing of things.
...Though, why were all the recruits visibly shaken?
A stern expression set in stone, Frederick continued, "Today, we will start with fifty laps around the clearing. If you slow down your pace at all, I will have my friend Henry here blast you with thunder magic. Understood?"
Oh. That was why everyone was afraid.
Your father chucked, energy and power sparking at the tip of his fingers.
"Now everyone, if you don't want to get the shock, you better start running. At least, until you can't feel your muscles of your muscles and the tendons of your tendons." He said with a humorous undertone.
How do you fare during the Fanatical Fitness Hour?
1d100 = 23 + 3(Reincarnate) = 26 = Major Fail! DC = 80
Well, I tried my hardest. Naga, please give me the strength to tread forward...
You initially did well on the fifty laps, finishing before the rest of the recruits could. But when it was time to do the hundred push-ups, you couldn't go on.
You couldn't even feel your arms anymore. Muscles that you didn't even know you had were sore beyond the word soreness. It was like you were on autopilot, just moving as fast as you could to avoid your father's blasts of magic.
Ah right, your father. He was enjoying this. Maybe too much. Whenever a certain recruit would slow down, he would increase the power in his blasts. You didn't know why, but you just felt it in the air—the magical energy behind the spell turning fat too potent and deadly for a "simple" training session.
...Maybe you should ask your father or another mage about it?
Turning your head to see how your fellow compatriot was doing, you noticed that Yarne still going. He didn't even look tired! It was like he was in his element, acting like this was completely normal to do.
Well, at least your father didn't seem to expect you to pass. Which, considering what happened earlier, was expected.
Blegh, I'm so tired. You know what, I might as well finish my current sets...
You took in a large gulp of air before exhaling. Slowly, you returned to completing the rest of your push-ups.
You still had fifty more to endure, after all.
Training Action Discovered - Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour
It's a hellish workout that many soldiers, veterans and recruits alike, have failed. But it produces amazing results when completed. Have you seen Frederick's muscles?
Roll a 1d100 for training and if you pass the DC of 80, you will gain +6 STR and DEF each time you succeed.
If you fail, you will gain +1 STR and DEF instead. Milord, I've prepared the routine. Shall we start now? - Frederick the Wary to Chrom, leader of the Shepherds and current Lord of Ylisse.
Hidden Trait Discovered - Sadistic
After experiencing the hell known as FFFH, you found out that your father is sadistic, extremely so. He especially enjoys the usage of magic spells to inflict harm upon people or objects in general
With this, gain Skill: Relentless during combat, and a malus of -10 to all social rolls when doing something involving this trait.
Character Met - Yarne
You have just met Yarne, the shy son of Frederick the Wary and Panne the Beast. Although he is shy, he is not afraid to intimidate someone or retreat in the face of any sort of danger. Also, he's kind of unparalleled when it comes to strength. Compared to the other children, he's like a brick wall for any who dare to attack him.
Walking up to Severa, you sat yourself down next to her. She gazed at you with a surprised expression, but her eyes quickly began to glisten.
Oh boy. What would cheer me up if I was a child in a time of emotional distress?!?
Your purple eyes swept across the room, searching desperately for anything that could help calm her down. Eventually, they fell upon the top of a closed drawer, where a small and cute doll laid upon it.
Ribbons and various colors of all kinds adorned it, coming together to create a cascade of childish delight.
There! Hopefully, this will calm her down and make her happy…
You made your way over to the desk, ignoring Severa's curious stare, and gently grabbed the doll. Turning to face her, you moved closer until you were a couple of feet in front of her.
"Hey, want to play a game? I promise that it'll be fun!" Your false and high pitched voice annoyed you on an metaphysical and mental level, but the sadness of seeing a friend in need of help overpowered that feeling tenfold.
Her eyes shone bright crimson as she silently communicated a hopeful expression.
"You," she sniffled, "You want to play a game with me?"
She still doubted your words, so you dialed up the inner and never forgotten child within you. A megawatt smile inched itself on your face as you stared her in the eyes.
"Of course! Why wouldn't I want to play with you? You're my friend! My first friend!"
She began to cry and instantly you felt like you made things worse. After a couple moments of silence, she stopped. Silently staring at the floor. Concerned, you approached her.
Unexpectedly, she tilted her head up, revealing a small smile before lunging in your direction. With a grimace, you were tackled onto the velvet carpet below.
Landing on top of you, she stared you in the eyes with mischief. You stared back as she began to laugh in happiness. Thinking that what just happened was pretty funny, your laughter mixed in with her own.
Lightheartedly pushing her off, you dusted off your cloak before flashing her a satisfied grin.
You gently held up the doll in her direction. "So, you want to play that game still?" At your question, she stood up, the grin on her face matching yours.
"Of course, you dolt!"
Well, at least she was acting like normal again. You didn't want to know what would've happened if you didn't help her.
After playing various games with her for the last hour or so, all of them involving the doll mercilessly beating you up for miscellaneous reasons as a result of her winning said games, you finally gathered the courage needed to ask the question.
Taking in a deep breath, you turned to her. "Severa, can I ask you something?"
Severa stopped hitting you with the arms of her doll, looking at you with curiosity.
"Why," you pause, gathering your thoughts to form question, "Why were you crying earlier?"
She froze in place, her face somber. Her lips curved into a small and barely noticeable frown.
You quickly add-in, "You don't have to answer if you don't want to, but…"
You trailed off, unable to find the correct words to say.
A moment of silence passed. Then, she began to speak, her hands trembling and her voice low. "My mommy told me that she loved me more than anything."
Her hands stopped shaking, but a lone tear escaped her eye as it fell onto the white sheets below.
You stayed silent, allowing Severa the time to properly get air thoughts out. To explain her grief and the reason behind it all.
"Then, she said that she had to leave. Since she said that she would fight for the one she loves." She turned to stare at you, eyes watery and hands hovering over her chest.
"But she said she was fighting for Chrom, not me. Does that mean she doesn't love me?" The floodgates opened and she started openly sobbing.
You regarded her with a gaze of understanding. You never really had to deal with that, since your mother was never around, at least in this life. But still, to have your parent say that and then to contradict the statement they made…
Wish I knew where and who my mom was…
You frowned, before improvising an idea to cheer her up. Shifting closer to her, you took off your white cloak, revealing the black tunic you were wearing along with a pair of gray trousers.
You held out your now bundled cloak to her.
"You can use it for cleaning your, you know…" You mimicked the action of wiping your face.
She nodded in understanding and took the shorter length of the cloth, using it to wipe the old and new tears off her face.
I have spare cloaks anyways. It's not like having one less will affect me, anyways.
Once she dried off the rest of her face, you stood up and moved right in front of her.
"Severa," you started, getting her to focus on you, "No matter what your mother says, she will always love you. Even if she were in a battlefield or another continent away, she will always think about you."
She stared back at you, her face clear of tears and frown fading.
"You," She stopped to look out the open balcony door and the lively city below, "You think so?"
You shake your head, and once again her is expression replaced with worry.
"No, I know so." Your declaration made her eyes widen, her frown now fully replaced with a smile. A confused smile, but still a smile nonetheless.
Good, she's not sad anymore. Or at least, not on the surface. I need to confirm it though.
She blinked. "But, how do you know so?" Her confusion was still present as ever, but with much less confidence than before.
"I know so, because a parent would never hate their child. Just like how your mom always loves you."
Her confusion replaced itself with utter happiness from your statement.
"Really?" You nodded once more to assure her.
"Well, thanks."
She simply gazed off to the side, a small smile now present where there once was a frown.
"Thanks for, you know, cheering me up."
You shook your head. "Don't worry about it. That's—"
"—what friends are for," she finished, sending you a knowing grin.
The both of you laughed together and played with the dolls some more throughout the rest of the afternoon, but eventually evening struck.
Waving her a goodbye, you made your way back to your room with a content aura surrounding you.
Well, at least she's happy now. Though, I wonder when Cordelia is—
"Hey, Leonard!" Your father yelled through the door, muffled.
"What, dad?" He opened the door, wearing his usual cloak.
But for some odd reason, he was covered in… feathers and crimson paint? More specifically, duck feathers. The feathers of ducks that frequented the Royal Garden.
You also had a mounting feeling of unease that, upon closer examination, it wasn't red paint covering his head and the feathers all over him.
He chuckled to himself, noticing your your pointed stare. "Oh, these? I was doing a little... magic experiment. It had some weird-side effects."
So, he did dark magic on some random birds and something unexpected happened.
At this point, it was obvious that your father was doing weird things with magic. He would always come home with something off, but you didn't really question it, lest you wanted to lose your sanity in the process.
Go with the flow and all that, except your father wasn't so much a flow as he was a "hole in the ceiling letting an uncontrollable amount of rainwater in".
"Anywayyyys, what did you do today? Did you make new friends? See new things?" he asked with a raised brow.
You bobbed your head excitedly and regaled the last couple of hours to him. As you spoke, the smile on his face grew wider and his eyes beamed with radiance that you rarely witnessed firsthand.
Event Completed - Severe Situation
Rewards(based on Write-in effectiveness):
10 stat points to distribute into any stat that isn't over 15.
10 training points to distribute into any skill or weapon.
Trait: Psychology and Psychiatry has leveled once from level one to level two.
Will now provide +10 bonus to all social rolls instead of the original +5 bonus.
Severa Support Rank raised from C Rank (5/40) to C Rank (30/40) due to the conclusion of this event.
After you completed and agreed to continue your hellish training end of the deal, Henry brought you to a large and open clearing. It was similar to the one you found before, but within public view of the palace.
"What do you want to train? I'll support whichever decision you make, but I can only help train you in magic related things." He flipped through the pages of his spellbook, letting out a small murmur.
"Frederick may be able to help in terms of physical training, since he can create a custom routine and regime for you." He took out a feather and dipped it into a floating bottle of ink, writing down something on a parchment of paper.
"Though, maybe you can go explore the Royal Library or Gardens. An old colleague of mine named Miriel has knowledge that should be able to help you in some way. And the gardens are sometimes frequented regularly by another colleague, Ricken."
He dipped his feather in the ink once more, before turning back towards you with a smile.
"On the other hand, perhaps you want to socialize? Building bonds is important, after all. Bonds with people will adapt and help you, not just in battle but in other situations. I should know, considering my... eccentricities sometimes."
He placed the quill in the floating bottle of ink, staring you in the eye with an unreadable expression.
"What will you do, my little Leo?"
Pick three to focus on for the next year.
[][Training] Train in a branch of magic.
-[][Training] Train your fire magic. (+ Training Points w/ Fire Tomes, + MAG, Unlocks ?)
-[][Training] Train your wind magic. (+ Training Points w/ Wind Tomes, + MAG, Unlocks ?)
-[][Training] Train your thunder magic. (+ Training Points w/ Thunder Tomes, + MAG, Unlocks ?) -[][Training] Train your dark magic.Henry refuses to teach you Dark Magic. You are currently 6 years old and he will teach you when you become 9 years old.
[][Training] Train with a melee weapon.
-[][Training] Train with a Lance. (+ STR and SKL, Meet ?)
-[][Training] Train with a Sword. (+STR and SPD, Meet ?)
-[][Training] Train with an Axe. (+STR and LCK, Meet ?)
[][Training] Ask your father if he knows how to perform healing spells without a stave. If he does know, ask how you can do so. (Unlocks ?, Meet ? or ?)
[][Training] Practice using your lightning magic in unorthodox ways. What would happen if you casted it onto yourself? (Unlocks ?, + 2 MAG and SPD)
[][Training] Go to the library and do some research. (Meet ?, ?, and unlock ?)
[][Training] Join Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. It may be hellish training, but you can't deny that it's a great workout for you. (Guaranteed +1 STR and DEF when failing, +6 STR and DEF when Successful. DC = 80)
[][Training] Go and see if you can't make new friends. Bonds are important, after all. (Meet ?, ?, ?, and ?)
[][Training] Hang out with Severa. Maybe she could train with you? (+ Support Points, SPD, and DEF)
[][Training] Train with Yarne. Maybe he can help improve your measly physical strength and toughness? (+ Support Points, STR, and DEF)
Where do you put your recently gained 10 stat and training points into?
Note: You cannot put point increases into a weapon or skill you don't have unlocked or a magic tome that is stronger than the base tome, without leveling the base book first. EX: Thunder Tome must be Novice before you can level Elthunder Tome, etc etc.
Voting Example:
[][Stat Points] Put 5 into DEF, etc.
[][Training Points] Put 5 into Thunder Tome, etc.
Notices that it's been 6 hours since I've closed the vote. Whoops?. It was supposed to be done hours earlier, but I lost inspiration for the last 2 hours.
Anyways, your first yearly training vote. Three actions you can choose, pick wisely. These will be the main vote for the next chapter or so. Well, before things and events happen. *Laughs in foreshadowing*. Also, poor Leonard. No one has ever completed the Fanatical Fitness Hour. Well, except maybe Sully, Chrom, Robin, and Frederick himself.
I will update the all the informational sheets once I wake up in the morning, so don't worry about that. I have also increased the voting gap from one day to two days, so you guys have more time to vote on certain things.
EDIT: 10/7/22, revised the flow of text in the chapter to make for a (hopefully) less painful reading experience via fixing past vs present tense issues.
[X][Training] Hang out with Severa. Maybe she could train with you? (+Support Points, SPD, and DEF)
[X][Training] Practice using your lightning magic in unorthodox ways. What would happen if you casted it onto yourself? (Unlocks ?, + 2 MAG and SPD)
[X][Training] Join Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. It may be hellish training, but you can't deny that it's a great workout for you. (Guaranteed +1 STR and DEF when failed, +6 STR and DEF when Successful. DC = 80, will lower by 10 with each success)
[X][Training Points] Put 5 into Thunder Tome and 5 into Elthunder Tome.
[X][Stats Points] Put 5 into DEF, put 2 into SPD, put 3 into STR.
Light footfalls echoed throughout the empty halls as you made your way to the Guest Chambers. Stepping off and away from the staircase, you began your search for the room Severa was staying in.
Striding past several doors, you made your way to a door that held a piece of parchment pinned to it. Brushing it aside, you knocked on the door lightly–the harsh sound of your child knuckles hitting the wood echoing throughout the hall.
Hopefully, Severa could help improve your extremely terrible reaction time. Who knew how many ambushes you would get tangled in in the future? It was better to play it safe than assume that nothing like that would ever happen to you anyway.
A moment of silence passed by. No response.
Assuming that she didn't hear you, you pressed your ear onto the door to double check to see if she was awake. Taking in a deep breath, you yelled, "Severa, are you there?"
After another moment of silence passed by, the door slowly opened and revealed Severa. She looked like she just got out of bed, her hair all tousled compared to her usual appearance. She met your excited purple eyes with annoyed red ones, her lips curled into a small frown.
A yawn escaped her as she mumbled, "Why did you wake me up at 5 in the morning, again? I wanted to sleep some more..."
Oh, that was why she was so sleepy. You thought she had woken up already, but in hindsight this was even better for the plan in mind.
"I wanted someone to help train my reaction time."
Silently, you stared at each other. Her eyes met yours once more as she examined you for a moment, searching for... something. An irritated sigh, one borne from a clear lack of beauty sleep, left her as she absently twirled her undone hair around a finger.
"Fine, I'll help you. Just give me a moment to change into appropriate clothes," Severa said.
Not even a moment afterward, she closed the door. Locks of some kind activated behind the door as she stomped off and away to do whatever she needed.
Respecting her privacy, you stood off to the side and greeted any maids that were making the rounds. Whatever she was doing was taking a while, but frankly you didn't mind one bit. The sun barely peaked above the horizon, and there was plenty of daylight to make use of for training.
Eventually, the door swung open and Severa made her way to your side, garbed in leather armor and gripping a sheathed bronze sword.
"Follow me, I know a spot where we can start your beatdown sessi—I mean, your reaction training."
Obliging, you followed behind and let her lead the way. The two of you walked throughout the halls, eventually exiting the castle. Making your way to the training grounds, she brought you out to a small clearing.
At the center of it all, a damaged wooden dummy stood on its last legs. Adorned with scratches, scars, scorch marks, and even embedded with various other weapons, it would be no mistake to say that this poor thing had seen extreme punishment from whoever frequented this place.
The only response you could give at the sight was silent unease.
This totally isn't ominous at all. Why would she bring me here though?
"So," Severa started, getting you to focus on her.
While you were observing the dummy, she had set up a small arena of sorts. There was a small area where a large circle of logs were in place, with training weapons set on the opposite ends.
A small, smug smirk scrunched itself onto her face. "You want to improve your reaction time, right?"
You nodded, confused about where she was going with this avenue of conversation.
Her smirk grew bigger somehow, and her eye gained a mischievous glint to it. "Well, go into the circle. I'll tell you what we'll do next."
Shrugging, you stepped inside and made your way to the far side of the circle. A moment later, the wind picked up behind you as footsteps quickly approached your back.
1d100 = 61 + 3(Reincarnate) +3(C-Rank Support) + 5(First Friend) = 72 = Great Success! DC = 55
Sensing something wrong, you turned and saw Severa running up to you with the Bronze Sword in her hands, poised to stab into your torso. Pivoting your body to the left, she just as quickly slashed horizontally.
You yelped, ducking beneath the blade that barely missed you by a hair. "Are you trying to kill me?!?!"
Her smirk morphed into something menacing—dare you say downright murderous. "You better dodge faster! This is the punishment you get for waking me up so early in the morning!"
Oh. Wait...
She's serious about this? Just because I woke her up a couple of hours early?!?
You were given no more time to think or question anything, bronze mere moments away from slicing your left arm off.
Rolling to your right at the very last moment, the shortsword dug itself behind you, pinning your cloak to the stone wall.
Without a second thought, you abandoned the white cloth and svoided a punch that Severa threw. One look at her face told you all that you needed to know, her breathing ragged and face murderous as she gave up on the sword.
Good, I can take advantage of her anger. But how...?
Sprinting towards the target dummy on the edge of the circle of logs, you attempted to lodge out a weapon to defend yourself with. Fast and heavy footfalls resounded from behind and you gave up on the effort, focusing on another improvised plan. Turning around, you could only gape as she lunged at you with a bronze dagger.
Where the hell did she get that from? Does she have hidden pockets or something?!?
Pushing all of your weight into your legs, you stepped to the side and grabbed her extended arm, slapping away the dagger from her grip. With another quick movement, you took advantage of her surprise and pushed her to the ground, using your body weight to pin her down.
Severa turned her head to you, red-faced and out of breath. She sent you a hard stare, a murderous glint in her eyes and a... proud grin on her face?
"Good job, you dodged all of my attacks and did better than I expected," she caught her breath. "Nice work." She huffed out, acting as though she wasn't trying to kill you moments before or that she was pinned on the ground.
A cacophony of incoherent and incomplete words exited your mouth, unable to understand her or her complete shift in attitude. Then, after a few moments of breathing, your brain rebooted itself.
"Wait, what? Weren't you just trying to… Why and how?" you questioned.
She easily broke out of your grip and shrugged off the dirt on her clothes. "I wanted to make sure that you were serious about training. And turns out, you were!"
What. Even. How does that make any sense?
Ignoring your shock, Severa hummed happily. "Great! I have a friend and he's a training partner too!"
After that parting remark, she walked out of the training grounds and, presumably, towards her room.
Still dumbfounded, you took in the damage done to the area. The bronze sword she used was still stuck in the wall, your cloak along with it. Meanwhile, the bronze dagger that she had pulled out of nowhere was still laying on the grass.
Blinking, your gaze flickered between the direction that she went out at and the weapons she had left behind.
What just happened? You know what, I probably shouldn't wake her up this early next time we do this...
A flashback to her murderous expression resurged from very recent memory. At that, you could only grimace.
Yeah, never waking her up that early ever again. Man, I'll never know what girls ever think about...
Training Action Completed!
Gained +3 SPD, +2 DEF, and +10 Support Points.
Severa Support Rank: C-Rank 30/40 to B-Rank 0/55
Bonuses to all rolls increased from +3 to +5.
Trait Unlocked - Serious Business
Severa is serious about training and anything involving combat. If there were 3 options to choose from for training, she would pick the hardest one and stick with it. No matter how intensive or extreme it maybe she'll tread forward and complete it.
With this trait, she has the Skill - Battle Focus when in combat, boosting her STR and SKL stats by +15 in a battle, blocking out all emotion and stray thoughts.
Now that you know this, +3 to all training and social rolls that involve her.
Trait Unlocked - Sweet Dreams
Severa loves to sleep in during the mornings, usually waking up at around early afternoon. If anyone were to interrupt during her sleep, she will gain the Trait: Enraged.
Now that you know this, +2 to all social rolls that involve her.
Henry paced back and forth in the large clearing, the Thoron tome in his hands. He kept his eyes on you the whole time, making sure you weren't doing anything to hurt yourself.
Man, Dad is paranoid as hell now.
He closed the yellow book with a sigh, hesitant but also resigned. "Even though I think you aren't ready to use Magic Tomes, I'll make an exception today."
Huh, he's actually going to let me start using them. Wait...
"Which tomes will I be using? The anima ones or the dark mag—"
"—Don't finish your sentence, Leonard."
You blinked in surprise, asking, "Huh? Wait, why?"
He pocketed the book and kneeled down in front of you.
"I will not teach you Dark Magic." Father said, his gray eyes meeting your curious purple ones. His voice was somber as he turned to gaze off into the distant, setting sun.
"Dark Magic is powerful, but it comes with a heavy price. The more you use these dark times, the less emotion you feel. You will feel like a doll, just moving your limbs around because you want to. And it will kill you, just like it did to her..." He trailed off, pulling out a different yellow book from his cloak.
Is that why Father was a sociopath in the game? His constant use of Dark Magic? He used Dark Magic constantly and he literally never gave a damn about anyone he killed or could've killed. Well, before meeting and joining the Shepherds, of course.
"I will not teach you Dark Magic and that is final. At least, until you are old enough to do so."
You nodded in understanding, getting up and stretching your arms. After letting out a yawn, he extended the yellow book in your direction.
"Anyways, you can take this Thunder Tome and start practicing with it. I'll be over here if you want to ask me anything."
Excited at the prospect of casting magic–honest to god real magic–again, you nodded before sprinting your way through bits of shrubbery.
Not long after, you were greeted the clearing you had found before. The treeline blocked your sight of the sun and it's rays, but it also provided you with a location for target practice.
Your name was Leonard, and these trees would fall before your magics as your witness!
Setting down the book on the floor, you flipped to the first page and extended your left arm and hand forward. That familiar but foreign energy pooled into your fingertips as you mentally finished the chant on the page, before shooting outward. Sparks and angular beams of yellow flew off in the direction of nearby trees, striking true.
Well, that was easier than I thought. Maybe it has to do with certain Tomes and the mana needed to cast them? I don't feel tired or anything at all!
After repeating the process a few times, you quickly started to get bored. You weren't going to lie, magic is cool. But you've been performing the same thing over and over for the past thirty minutes. Standing up and during yourself off, you walked over to a pond and saw a reflection of yourself.
Your hair was as ashy white as ever, but the tips at the end began to spike out more. Additionally, you retained less body fat, taking on a slightly leaner and less pudgy form. Overall, the differences were minor, but you weren't going to complain.
Suddenly, you were struck with a thought of inspiration, staring at the rippling image in the water.
What would happen if I casted the spell onto myself?
Facepalming at your stupidity, you went back to the first page of the book.
Instead of channeling Mana to solely your fingertips, you spread it across your whole body. Closing your eyes, you imagined lightning coursing through yourself, needles of nerves charging themselves up in accordance with the spell.
Multiple images of your friend, family, and future flashed by in an instant, culminating into the sole thing that you wished to protect with your entire being.
Power, so you could attain the strength needed to defeat and protect your friends from Grima. Speed, so you could be fast enough to save the ones you loved.
Time to see if it actually worked…
Taking a deep breath, you slowly opened your eyes. You certainly didn't feel different, but just to make sure...
You lifted your arm. Electricity encompassed it like a glove of power.
Wait, I actually did it! On the first try too!
You examined the yellow reflection in the pond, noticing that your whole body–except your head–was covered in a bright energy reminiscent of the thunder spell. You stretched your arm outwards, the feeling of tense muscles far more prominent than before.
Almost instantly, an explosion of light accompanied by a loud boom resonated throughout the dark and empty forest.
I hope I didn't destroy anything important by doing that. Also, if anyone asks who did that, it totally wasn't me. Now, how do I dispel it?
Going back to the book, you closed your eyes and took a deep breath to imagine the opposite of the activation. Streams of water, each holding their own amounts of energy, all flowing into a singular lake of power.
Focusing on the lake, you felt the magic persisting within your limbs, yearning to stay free. But eventually, it relented and went back to where it came.
Glancing at your now normal and not-coated-in-magical-energy body, you could only let out a sigh of relief.
I really didn't want to spend the rest of my day walking around and accidentally blowing up random stuff.
Kneeling down and picking up the Thunder Tome, you made your back to where your father was resting. His face was buried within a book as he constantly dipped a quill into a floating ink bottle.
"Dad, look what I can do!" You exclaimed.
He halted his writing, nodding his head in your direction.
Focusing Mana throughout your whole body, you activated the spell on your body once more.
Rushing up to him, you blurted out, "I'm so excited!"
Strangely, he didn't say anything. All he has is an expression of glassy-eyed disbelief.
A few moments later, he muttered something that you could barely hear through the early evening winds.
"You did the same thing. J-just like she did…"
Just like who did? Who could he be referring to?
Suddenly, he walked away and stood in the distance for the next couple of minutes, gazing up into the sky. Afterwards, he took your hand and brought you back into the castle.
Not a word was mentioned once he muttered those words that night, complete and utter silence clinging onto the both of you like a vice.
Training Action Completed!
Gained +2 to both MAG and SPD stats.
Skill Unlocked - Thunder Armor
By pouring Mana throughout your body, you are able to boost your physical strength, speed, and magic damage.
With this Skill active, you have X 2 SPD and STR stats for 2 battle actions, along with a +5 to all battle rolls involving lightning magic when Thunder Armor is active.
However, it will drain your Mana if you are constantly dodging or tanking hits while this Skill is active.
Today was just like any other day. The sun was shining, the world wasn't overrun by an undead invasion, and it was time for your weekly workout session once again.
You made your way into the courtyard, a group of soldiers nervously waiting greeting your eyes. You walked up to one of them, tapping them on the shoulder to get their attention.
"Is Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour happening here?" You asked.
He nervously reapplied the bandages on his arms before turning to answer you. "Y-yes, it's taking p-place here."
You nodded, barely paying attention to anything he said afterwards. With nothing else to do but wait for Frederick, you plopped yourself down on one of the wooden benches, waiting for Frederick to appear.
From the corner of your eyes, you saw a girl in a set of silver-purple armor that appeared to be too big for most to use—at least within normal and reasonable human limits.
Huh, I wonder who that is?
Curious, you approache the girl. She had black hair styled into a bob cut, her gaze almost sharp enough to be weapons themselves. She didn't notice you or your examination, prioritizing getting ready for the workout over anything else.
Deciding that introducing yourself would be a good idea, you made your way over up once she finished adjusting her gear.
"Hi, my name's Leonard! What's your name!" You said, extending your hand forward.
She stayed silent, adjusting the pauldrons on her shoulders for the tenth time since you've been observing her.
Well, she's certainly a... focused and determined person. Yeah, let's go with—
The sound of a horn reverberated throughout your ears, breaking you out of your thoughts. At that, you shifted your focus over to the forefront of your motivation here today: training.
Frederick's gaze, along with the gaze of a red-haired woman sitting on top of a horse, fell upon everyone as he cleared his throat.
"Hello, all recruits and welcome, to Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour! Today, we will start with the 50 laps once more." Frederick looked over the crowd with a stern gaze.
"However, it will be different from before. Since my colleague Henry is busy, I have asked my other colleague, Sully, to assist me." He turned to look at the woman, nodding before backing up and letting her take the stage.
"So, you're all the new recruits, eh?" She stared at the crowd, but her eyes kept strayed off towards a single person every time.
Wait, I knew that girl was familiar. Is that Kjelle? But... What sane child wears armor like that during a workout like this?
"But someone does not become a Knight due to their heritage or their looks. No, they become a Knight because of their achievements during their line of duty!"
That declaration sent several of the men in the crowd reeling back, some saying comments along the lines of "A woman can't be a Knight" and other similar, oddly misplaced rhetorics.
Of course, you stayed quiet. You knew what would happen to those who made those comments. Besides, even though you desperately wanted to protest and point out that Ylisse had a full female military force in the form of Pegasus Fliers, you held off on delivering those remarks in the hopes that they'd manage to learn their lesson.
Sully stared at the crowd pensively. "Frederick, it sounds like these recruits need some extra reps. Does that sound correct?"
Frederick acquiesced silently and she gained a terrifying expression. "Did ya see that? 100 laps to be done, now.
Every person in the crowd ran off, afraid of the terrifying presence only known as the Crimson Cavalier.
You also followed along, but unlike before you adjusted your pace accordingly. You didn't want to end up like last time, where you ran out of energy the moment you entered the next set.
Speaking of, you manage to do somewhat better than last time, but ultimately end up failing due to Sully's added workouts.
She's even more of a monster than my father, and he uses Dark Magic. She only uses her intimidation and brawn to scare people to submission.
Putting aside your waterskin, you checked to see how Kjelle was faring. Unsurprisingly or surprisingly, she was doing extremely well. Even though she was hauling all of that heavy armor around throughout the exercises, she was outdoing all the recruits here.
In the corner of your eyes, you noticed that Sully had a proud expression on her face as she watched her daughter do well in the following hour.
As the fitness hour finished up, you got ready to go back to your room and continue more research. Moments before you walked through the gate, Kjelle, Sully, and Frederick approached.
"Leonard! I am glad to see you here for the Fitness Hour! How is Henry doing?" Man, Frederick seems fairly happy that you joined.
"Father is doing fine, Frederick." As you put away your waterskin, Sully's eyebrows rose with recognition.
The cavalier gestured to you, surprise in her eyes. "Wait, you're Henry's kid? Damn, I can see the resemblance, but you don't feel like him at all."
Well, that was surprising. You would think that everyone in the Shephards at least knew about their own allies' children. They did fight in wars together, which alone was probably good enough to have them know each other on the level of casual parental matters.
...Wait a minute, feel like him? What?
"Are you strong?" Kjelle suddenly asked, analyzing you curiously.
Really putting you on the spot here, huh. "Uh, kind of? I can cast Magic but—"
"Spar with me!" she interrupted, staring at her mother for approval.
"Knock yourself out kid, but you gotta see if lil' Leo will accept first," Sully stated amusedly.
Kjelle stared at you as if you were going to accept her request immediately.
Well then.
On one hand, you could possibly become a human sized pancake in the process of maybe making a new friend.
On the other, you could also not become a human pancake at the cost of Kjelle's ire.
With those thoughts in mind, you were going to…
[][Duel] Spar with her. Might as well oblige her request.
[][Duel] Don't spar with her. If she can work out in that heavy armor, she's definitely strong enough to beat you into the ground.
Training Action Failed!
Gained +1 STR and DEF.
Character Met - Kjelle
You have just met Kjelle, the daughter of Sully the Crimson Cavalier and ?????, the ??????? ?????. Although she is antisocial due to her odd way of making friends, she is an extremely strong ally. She is one of the only people who could take a full-force hit from Yarne.
Character Met - Sully
The wife of ????? and mother of Kjelle. She is a woman who was born into a long line of knights. She is brash but is always prepared to fight for Ylisse if necessary.
After waking up the next day, you put on a new set of clothes and made your way over to the Mess Hall.
Hunger ate away at both your mind and soul as you walked through the halls, but also the fact of the matter was that you were just plain hungry.
As you made your way over...
[][Odd Occurrence] Nothing happens. You make your way to the dining hall without any issues.
[][Odd Occurrence] You see many maids and the blue-haired girl from before chasing after a brown-haired girl with pigtails, who drags you along with her.
[][Odd Occurrence] You bump into someone...wait, who did you bump into again?
Votes for the next chapter:
Duel
Odd Occurrence
Note from QM: Slowly snores in the background - Nar passed out due to sleep deprivation.
Pretty sure I just wrecked my sleep schedule Also holy shit, I'm making these updates way longer than they need to be.
I'll update the Status Sheet whenever you get another training session (aka, every 2-3 chapters).
Edit: 10/7/22, fixed issues relating to present/past tense and sentence structuring.
[X][Duel] Spar with her. Might as well oblige her request.
[X][Odd Occurrence] You see many maids and the blue-haired girl from before chasing after a brown-haired girl with pigtails, who drags you along with her.
"Sure, we can spar," you answered plainly.
Upon thinking the proposal over, you accepted her request of sparring. Research could always be done at another time and there was nothing else that you considered pressing to do once you went back to your room, after all.
So, why not spar with her?
Kjelle was excited at your words, if her scrambling for training gear was any indication. On the other hand, while Sully did hold a vague sense of interest in your answer, she didn't seem to care too much about the fight in general.
Frederick, meanwhile...
"Young Leonard," Frederick glanced between you and the entrance to the enclosure with a worried expression, "You may want to reconsider accepting this spar. Kjelle is far too strong for you to face in a melee combat and while Sully may be understanding, Henry is certainly not. I don't dare think of what he shall do to whoever may harm you. Especially since she..."
He trailed off, unable to find words to say. You stood there, unwilling to back down in the face of a challenge. Even though Frederick was worried, you felt oddly confident.
Maybe it was your previous life experiences or maybe something completely different from that, but one thing was for certain...
Whether you won or lost, that didn't matter. The only thing that mattered was that you had complete and utter confidence in yourself.
Going over to a nearby bench, you took off your cloak and put it to the side in favor of the leather training armor. The armor weighed onto your body more than you expected, but it wasn't something that you couldn't get used to.
Looking over your shoulder, Kjelle was now in leather armor and holding a long wooden stick with a sharpened end.
Right, she's using a spear. I have no clue how to fight against someone with a spear, let alone in close quarters. Hmm, I should probably choose this then…
Lifting it with your hands, you examined the wooden sword. It was honestly more like two long sticks strapped together tightly with a piece of cloth than anything properly resembling a sword, but you assumed that's why it was called a training weapon anyway.
I don't know how to use any of these weapons, but I'd rather stick to the weapon that I generally know some things about. I don't even know how to grip a spear or swing an axe properly, anyways.
"Hey kid, ya ready?"
Sully and Frederick were both standing off to the side, mainly near the entrance to the inside of the castle. Turning your body to face Kjelle, you noticed something interesting.
She held the stick with her left hand only. Never did she grip it with her right hand, even when she fumbled her practice swings.
Is she left-handed? Or maybe she's used to using a shield with her right hand? Either way, I know a way I could beat her now.
"We will have multiple spars. The first to disarm your opponent of their practice weapon will be the victor of a single spar. Whoever wins two spars shall be declared the winner. Do you both agree to these terms?" Frederick explained.
You both agreed via a nod of your heads, though Kjelle's was far more subdued.
"In that case, I'll begin the countdown." Sully declared, looking down upon both you and Kjelle.
"Ten, nine, eight," You took a deep breath, gripped the hilt with both hands, and poised the sword towards her; The tip of the blade aimed at the setting sun.
"Seven, six, five," Kjelle twirled the spear a couple of times, as if it were natural for her.
She halted her movements, staring at you with an emotion that you could only know as complete and utter determination.
"Four, three, two," Your shoulders tensed up, the realization that you had never officially battled someone before slamming into you like a freight train.
Of course, you had 'fought' Severa several times before, though those sessions were more focused on avoiding with reactions than retaliating with actual attacks.
You didn't even want to know how much training Sully had already put Kjelle through. For all you knew, she could be a combat veteran of sorts, at least compared to those near her age.
Aka, you.
"One. Begin!"
Leonard Roll: 1d50 = 43 + 3(Trait - Confidence In Self) = 46! Kjelle Roll: 1d50 = 34 + 5(Trait - Restless Determination) = 39!
Leonard wins the first attack roll! Leonard Victory For First Spar!
As soon as the horn sounds off, you both stared at each other for a tense moment. Your eyes met Kjelle's, greeted with some… hesitance?
Why the hell would she be hesitant? She should be charging me right now, beating my ass into the dirt!
"Hey, Kjelle! Kick his ass for me, yeah?" Sully hollered.
That bout of encouragement snapped Kjelle out of whatever fugue she was in. She stared you before silently nodding in acknowledgment. With a wooden spear in hand, she charged at you with a face only a seasoned warrior would produce.
Gods, she's going to impale me into the wall!
Slowly backing up as she approached, your mounting panic caused you to gaze over to her left hand. It wasn't gripping the spear as hard as it should've been.
I have an idea. A stupid and probably life-threatening idea, but an idea. I swear if this doesn't work and I look like a fool...
Your back hit the castle wall and you stood still, your fingers fidgeting every now and then. In a couple of seconds, the young knight reached you and attempted to thrust into your arm. Dodging with what you could only describe as pure luck, her spear was lodged into the wall.
Here's hoping I'm strong enough to do this...
As she tried to pull the sharpened stick free from the stone wall, you closed your eyes and put your weight into the next swing. With your weak and comparatively noodle-like arms, you swung the sword downwards, causing her to let go of the spear.
Steadying yourself, you readjusted your grip on the glorified stick in your hands before pointing the tip at her.
"Yield this first spar. You have no weapon to use."
She glared at you, fists up and ready to continue the fight. Wait, fists didn't count as practice weapons.
...Right?
"Enough, Kjelle. He wins this round." Sully interrupted, stepping between the both of you as the girl threw a fist. Then, she turned to face Kjelle with disappointment.
"Come on Kjelle. Don't let him bait you anymore, alright?" She lectured, before turning to you with a surprised expression.
"And you, I didn't think you had half the mind as to use a sword. Well, since your parents are both…"
The cavalier trailed off the same way Frederick did earlier, silent with an uncomfortable expression present on her face. She speechlessly shook her head, turning around and making her way to the barracks to get a new spear for Kjelle.
What is it with people trailing off before I can even get a hint as to who my mother is. Seriously, what the hell is with that? Can't I get a single hint?!? At all!?!
Pushing aside those thoughts for now, you glanced at your sparring partner for the night. Kjelle was staring at her new spear and taking her loss with... some mixture of pride and happiness?
What?
Why would she be happy after losing? Why are all the future children so weird?
You stopped that train of thought long before it could finish it's course. After all, you were now one of the future children as well. You couldn't really say anything about the others, no matter how odd or weird they were with their respective personality quirks.
Considering you were reincarnated, it wouldn't be too inaccurate to say that you were also part of the weirdness that formed the entirety of the Future Children.
"Hey Leo, you ready for round two?" Barely acknowledging Sully's words, you met Kjelle's eyes and was greeted with a sea of respect and excitement.
Oh boy.
"The second spar will begin soon."
Kjelle tensed up, a genuine smile on her face as she swing her spear around casually.
"Ready…" Sully began, her voice betraying her with excitement. To her left, Frederick was deep in thought. Though, you didn't think that he'd be worried about you anytime soon.
It was more likely that he was worried about Kjelle and her rising level of excitement.
Kjelle Rolls:
Attack Roll 1d100 = 8 + 5(Activatable Trait - A Knight's True Strength) + 5(Restless Determination) +4(32 STR) = 22!
Dodge Roll 1d100 = 89 + 3(26 SPD) - 25(Equipment - Heavy Armor) = 67! DC = 50 Leonard Rolls:
Attack Roll 1d100 = 48 + 3(Confidence In Self) = 51!
Dodge Roll 1d100 = 28 + 3(Confidence In Self) + 1(15 SPD)= 31! DC = 65 Kjelle Victory For Second Spar!
"Start!"
As soon as she declared the start of the next round, the both of you immediately charged at each other. You with the wooden sword gripped in both hands and Kjelle with her left hand gripped tightly onto the wooden spear.
With her greater reach, she initiated the first blow and stabbed at your torso with the sharp end. Dodging to the side, you attempted the same tactic as before. You swung the sword downwards, though not as hard as last time, with enough force to hopefully break the spear or knock it out of her grip.
Surprisingly, she dodged the swing by pivoting herself backward and instantly turned towards you. Lunging forward, she thrusted the spear forward, aiming at your leg.
A grim realization washed over you like cold water.
She's attempting to drop me onto the ground.
The distance between you two was unfortunately just enough for her to play keep away with the spear, slowly whittling at your stamina while not allowing you the opportunity for a counterattack.
Trying to move your legs out of the way, you pivoted backward as she continued her relentless assault of repeated jabs, thrusts, and swipes. With the chance to take a breather, you attempted to swing at her.
At a speed you couldn't fathom, she quickly knocked your sword out of your hand. Just as fast, she poised the pointed end of the spear close to your throat once you were weaponless.
"Yield. Now." You obliged, visibly nodding but also taking care to not move closer to the spear at your throat.
She lowered the spear down from your throat, letting out a satisfied hum as she went back to where she was standing before.
Kneeling down, you found the stick hidden amongst the grass and dirt. Picking it up and gripping it with both hands since more, you made your way back to your starting position.
"Third spar. This is the tiebreaker, so whoever wins this spar wins the whole thing in general. Alright?"
You nodded, focusing on Kjelle and her weapon. She does the same as you, nodding and staring at you with self-assurance as she twirled her spear.
She seems confident, probably from how she decimated me in the last spar.
Leonard Rolls:
Attack Roll 1d100 = 93 + 3(Confidence In Self) = 96!
Dodge Roll 1d100 = 76 + 3(Confidence In Self) + 1(15 SPD) = 80! DC = 65 Leonard Victory For Third Spar. You have successfully defeated Kjelle in two spars!
"Begin!"
Kjelle immediately repeated the same strategy as before, lunging at you with a various amount of thrusts, jabs, and swipes.
This time, though, you were prepared for her to do so.
You moved from side to side, making use of the training you did with Severa to bob and weave between all of her attacks.
Suddenly, she stopped in place, deep in thought. At this, you also halted your movement cautiously, your legs ready to spring into action.
As if making up her mind, she leapt into the air and poised her spear towards you. The spear gained a bluish hue, accompanied by a blurry image of a moon glowing behind it.
If you weren't dreading just what would happen next, you could've admired the picturesque imagery for a bit longer.
"Luna!"
Oh gods, she has her attack skill already?!?
At a speed unseen to you, she threw the glowing spear in your direction. Without any prompting, you began running around like a headless chicken, endeavoring to not get skewered like a kebab.
Luckily for you, it didn't manage to hit or go anywhere near your body. The spear had dug itself into the ground, a small but noticeable divot around the impact area.
Unluckily for Kjelle, it was stuck into the ground—rooted in place. Of course, that meant that you had won, right?
"Uh, do I win this spar? I mean, you don't even have a weapon anymore…" You blurted out, confused about this turn of events.
"Ah, yes. I suppose you do still have your weapon…" Kjelle awkwardly chuckled, a sheepish expression on her face.
You laughed lightheartedly. "Don't sell yourself short. If you hadn't thrown your weapon and gotten it stuck, you would've won."
"Ah, c'mon Kjelle! I told you to not to use Luna yet. You aren't prepared to use it properly!" Sully cut in, turning to you with a scowl on her face.
"Man, I can't believe you won. Now I have to deal with these numbskull recruits for the next couple of weeks."
Grumbling, the cavalier walked off with Kjelle in tow towards the Barracks—presumably to store away the equipment brought out for the impromptu spar.
Frederick marched his way over, a pleasant and proud smile present. "Ah, Leonard. Give me the leather armor and the training sword so I can help store those away."
You obliged, removing the equipment and handing it over to him before putting on your white cloak. Once he disappeared into the depths of the castle, you decided to make your way back to your room.
Man, that was one hell of a first fight. That was for sure.
Wait a minute... How did I even win that?
First Fight Won!
You have won your first fight! To make it even more impressive, you managed to defeat Kjelle, the daughter of Sully (Crimson Cavalier) and ????? (??????? ?????) in two spars.
Due to the conclusion of this event, you have been rewarded with:
Gain increase +3 STR, SKL, and SPD.
Gain +10 points for Weapon Proficiency - Sword. Raised from Untrained 0/15 to Untrained 10/15.
Gained new Trait - Confidence In Self. For some reason or another, you will always be confident in a battle. Even in a tense and devastating confrontation, you will be confident in yourself. With this trait, gain +3 to all battle rolls.
Gained C-Rank 20/30 Support with Kjelle, due to defeating her in two spars.
On your way to the Mess Hall, the sound of laughter, frantic footsteps, and pure unadulterated chaos echoed throughout the halls you were walking through.
Can't I just have a normal start to my day? I'm hungry, damn it.
Grumbling to yourself, you just about knew that something weird was going to happen. Unsurprisingly, you were correct.
Wind billowed around you, hitting the underside of your cloak and making it float upwards without any resistance. Strange, considering that you hadn't opened or seen any windows that were open.
Turning around, you were greeted with the sight of a brunette girl with pigtails atop of a pegasus.
"Hey, wanna join in on some fun?" She asked with a smile, her voice down to a whisper.
Looking behind the flying horse, a horde of maids covered in various colors of paint were marching forward in your direction. At the front, a blue-haired girl held point at the forefront—like a king or queen directing an approaching army.
Wait, if that's Lucina, then this should be…
"Hey, is your name Cynthia?" The girl nodded excitedly, gesturing for you to go and sit behind her.
Well, this should be pretty fun just from the sheer and utter hilarity of the situation alone. ...I can eat later anyway.
You nodded, the previous excitement she held now pure happiness. Without much difficulty, you climbed your way up and onto the pegasus, the saddle far too big for two children alone to mount.
The footsteps approaching from behind halted, stopping a few paces away from where the both of you were. With swiftness, Cynthia turned the pegasus to face the horde.
Lucina was at the forefront, with the maids–who you just noticed were rather bemused than annoyed–who stood behind her in faux anger.
The bluenette glared down the brunette with a frown. "Cynthia, Princess of The Four-Legged Beast. You shall face crimes and jail time for the maids you have embarrassed on this day! These maids were simply working hard for the kingdom until you barged in and ruined everything! What shall you say for yourself?"
Although you couldn't see Cynthia's face, her giggling and uncontrollable chuckles were as clear as day.
"You dare challenge me? When I have just obtained my ultimate asset for my army! How foolish of you to assume that I would fall so easily in the face of victory, Lucina!" She exclaimed dramatically.
Lucina continued to awkwardly glare at her, silent and unmoved. Cynthia side eyed you and sighed audibly, before gesturing in your direction.
Showtime.
Clearing your throat, you stared down the confused princess. With an imperious tone, you said, "Greetings, mortals of this kingdom. You may not know of me, but I am intimately familiar with your people."
Your gaze fell upon the horde behind Lucina. "As I speak, the curse I laid upon this very foundation will seep itself into your mind. Your very own life energy will be absorbed into my soul," you raised a fist into the air, magical energy crackling at your fingertips, "now, fall."
A maniacal laugh left your lips accompanied by an equally insane grin forming on your face. Bodies upon bodies fell onto the floor as Lucina stared at them all in shock.
"Yes," you said dramatically, "fall before my all-encompassing power! Despair before the culminations of a true villain!"
Man, the amount of shenanigans these two get up to in order for these maids to instantly double up and act as movie extras must be insane.
The bluenette's fist clenched in rage and in an instant the princess unsheathed the Falchion.
"Princess Cynthia, please cease this insane endeavor. Or I may have to use force." She said, pointing the tip of the royal heirloom at the both of you.
Cynthia sent you a worried look, "Can you give me and my, uh, ultimate asset some time to converse about our options?"
Lucina nodded sternly, sheathing the Falchion. With regality, she began to help the "drained of life eenrgy" maids onto their feet.
Cynthia turned to you, a grateful smile on her face. "Thanks for playing along with me. Luci was a little sad earlier, so I decided to do something to try and get her mind off things," she glanced at Lucina, who was tapping her foot impatiently, "Also, we might want to 'surrender' before anything bad happens."
"Don't worry, I had fun too," You replied with a thumbs up.
Cynthia giggled. "At least I wasn't the only one." She turned to face Lucina, who finished helping all of the maids gather their bearings.
"Will you surrender? Or will you fight to your imminent demise?" The bluenette said, sending both of a scrutinizing gaze.
A shiver ran down your spine at her glare as you rubbed your hands together for comfort.
Why does Lucina keep staring at me? I haven't done anything… besides make a couple of maids collapse from "draining their life energy".
"You!" A finger was pointed at you. "What do you say in the face of these crimes? You believe you can drain the life energy of these maids, Sir… wait, what is your name?" Lucina asked.
Right, neither of them did ask for your name...
"My name is Leonard the Sorcerer! The one who shall destroy this kingdom and everything it stands in the name of the one whom I have pledged my allegiance to!" You declared dramatically.
Lucina silently stared at you. "Very well, Sorcerer. Can one of you maids please bring him to the dungeon? I need to talk to my sister."
A maid hoisted you off of the pegasus and she dragged you away from the two soon-to-be bickering siblings. "Follow me, I'll bring you to the Mess Hall."
Vaguely, you heard the voice of Cynthia as she yelled, "Thanks for playing along with me and being a great villain, Leonard!"
You didn't get a chance to respond as you left the room.
At least I can eat breakfast now. That was so worth it though.
Character Met - Cynthia
The second most enthusiastic Future Child. Cynthia is the sister of Lucina and daughter of Chrom (Current Lord of Ylisse) and Sumia (Her Highness). She is easily excitable, willing to try and cheer up her friends if they are feeling down.
Due to the conclusion of this encounter, you have gained C-Rank 10/30 Support with Cynthia.
Character Met - Lucina
The first child of Chrom and Sumia and future leader of the Future Children. The sister of Cynthia. Lucina is young yet following in her father's footsteps to become a leader. She is also able to wield Falchion due to the blood of Naga in her veins. She is stern, yet easily gullible due to her birth being a secret to the people.
Due to the conclusion of this encounter, you have gained C-Rank 0/30 Support with Lucina.
Skill Increased - Acting
Acting has gained +15 skill points, going from Novice - 10/30 to Novice - 25/30
Soon enough, the year passed by without much else to comment on. With the passing of another year, of course, meant another birthday. And currently, you were in the castle courtyard, celebrating your Eighth Birthday.
Severa was sitting with her mother, excitedly talking about something. Yarne and Kjelle were talking about physical training, whatever that entails. Turning your head, you saw Cynthia waving at you, while Lucina was sitting down next to her. Besides the fact that she looks mopey, she also looked really uncomfortable.
You also saw many other people here as well, some children you didn't even know, at least on a personal level. A majority of them were extremely familiar, yet you just couldn't tell for certain unless you happened to get a closer look.
With that in mind, you decided to speak with… Pick as many options as you'd like. The three most voted for options will win.
[][Birthday Guests] Severa and Cordelia. You haven't been able to sit down and just talk with Severa in a while, anyways.
[][Birthday Guests] Yarne and Kjelle. Hopefully, you can join in their conversation about fitness.
[][Birthday Guests] Cynthia and Lucina. Lucina seems down and Cynthia is failing to cheer her up, so why don't you try to help out?
[][Birthday Guests] The pink-haired boy kneeling next to a wyvern. He seems lonely, you might want to talk to him.
[][Birthday Guests] The grey-haired boy being lectured by his pink-haired mother.
[][Birthday Guests] The blonde-haired boy sitting next to his blonde-haired mother and his brown-haired father. He seems… excited? Yeah, excited is probably the correct word.
[][Birthday Guests] The brown-haired girl sitting next to a green-haired girl of similar age. They both have really pointy ears.
[][Birthday Guests] The orange-haired boy is conversing with his orange-haired mother. They are both wearing glasses, which you didn't think they had in this era.
[][Birthday Guests] The black-haired girl. She seems timid and shy, so maybe you should talk to her?
Votes for the next chapter:
Birthday Guests
Note from QM:
This took way longer than it should have taken, but at least I finished it. This chapter will be where you either raise support ranks or gain support ranks, whichever one you want.
Also, you are currently Seven years old, with this being your Eighth Birthday. After this chapter I will update all informational things, so when the next training chapter starts everything will be up to date.
EDIT: 10/7/22, fixed past/present tense issues and (hopefully) made the chapter easier to digest overall.
[X][Birthday Guests] Severa and Cordelia. You haven't been able to sit down and just talk with Severa in a while, anyways.
[X][Birthday Guests] Cynthia and Lucina. Lucina seems down and Cynthia is failing to cheer her up, so why don't you try to help out?
[X][Birthday Guests] The black-haired girl. She seems timid and shy, so maybe you should talk to her?
After thinking about who you wanted to talk to during your birthday party, you opted to hang out with Severa first. It had been a long time since the both of you talked with each other without the added aspect of training. Cordelia was with her too, so hopefully they weren't discussing anything too awkward.
Making your way over to their table, you stopped halfway and stood off to the side, waiting for Severa to finish up her current story.
Your friend was bursting with the enthusiasm you didn't think she was capable of; Her gestures were animated and performed with vigor, painting a picture of something you didn't have enough context to know about. Her mother, meanwhile, was taking in every word with a relaxed and amused smile.
As Severa finished her most recent story, a light of recognition lit up in her eyes, prompting her to regale another one. However, before she said another a word, Cordelia raised a hand up and brought her exciting storytelling session to a halt.
"Leonard, right? I think you've waited long enough to talk with Severa at your own birthday party." She said in your direction, amused.
How did she see me? I wasn't even in view of them! You know what, at least I can talk with Severa now.
Stepping into view, you made your way to their table and sat yourself down next to Severa. Cordelia's gaze fell on to you and you shifted uncomfortably in your seat.
Ignorant of your current plight, Severa faced you with an expression of excitement and happiness.
"Leonard! I didn't think you would talk to me first. There's so many other people here..." she said, trailing off. A beat passed by and her face contorted from that of excitement to one of sullenness.
What do I say? She's my first friend, and I don't want her to be sad during my birthday. Wait! I know what to say...
"Well," you drawled slowly, "I can't just have a birthday party and not talk with my best friend." A smile inched itself onto your face at your honest admission.
Severa's eyes widened slightly, a genuine smile replacing that awful frown you never want to see ever again sad expression. Side eyeing Cordelia, she had a small but proud smile on her face.
At least I didn't get Cordelia mad. Gods, the things she or any of the future children's parents could do to me make me nervous of anything and everything I say…
"Anyways, what have you been up to?" your best friend asked curiously, breaking you out of your fear-induced thoughts.
"I haven't really been doing much, just training my magic and reaction time," you replied, thoughts straying towards that one magic practice session from before.
Huh, I really need to talk to him about that…
"Weeeeellll," Severa started, "you know how we trained with each other to help your reaction timing?" You nodded, fervently remembering the face she had when she was trying to stab you.
"I c-can't join you for training because—"
"I'm going to start personally training her this year, taking up most of her time." Cordelia abruptly interrupted, finishing Severa's sentence for her.
Your eyes widened. "Wait, how long is this training supposed to be?"
Severa gazed at her mother, the latter sternly nodding in approval of her unsaid question.
"It's supposed to take around two years to complete, but Mommy says that it should take at least one year," she answered.
Huh, that's really inconvenient. How am I going to train my reaction speed now?
Even though you wanted to ask her why she had to go and start training, that would've been hypocritical of you to ask. She wished to rigorously train, as you also had done a year ago. You couldn't really fault her for wanting to train herself, as that was how she wanted to make her mother proud of her.
That aside, as much as you wanted to act like the child you were physically, mentally you knew that such a thing was petty and uncalled for. Especially to your best friend.
"That's so cool! I hope you have fun on your training trip!" you said with a smile.
Unexpectedly, Severa pulled you into a well-meaning hug. "T-thank you! I thought you'd be mad since we won't be training ask much b-but—"
Unfortunately, the hug she gave you was also very tight. Bone shatteringly so, that you felt like you were about pass out at any given moment.
Oh gods, is this how I die? A hug from my best friend?
Thankfully, someone came to your rescue.
"Well, I think Leonard should go and talk to the others at his party. We don't want to hold him back all day, right?" your savior suggested, Severa lightening the bear hug she gave you.
Oh, sweet sweet air. How I missed you so...
"Oh, sorry Leonard! Go on, talk to the others! My mommy and I will be here if you want to talk some more!" Finishing her rapid-fire of words, Severa went back to continuing her story—her movements even more energetic than before.
Well, time to talk with someone else. But who should I talk to...
Glancing off to the another table, you noticed Yarne and Kjelle holding an intense arm-wrestling match, one that completely destroyed the area around them. Wooden splinters and fragments of other items laid all around the two's forms as they each tried to make the other budge in defeat.
Meanwhile, multiple people stood off to the side, viewing the spectacle with intense vigor.
"Kick his ass for me, Kjelle!" Sully hollered, staring down a woman that, as far as you could tell, was wearing little to no clothes on.
I'm pretty sure she's covering the, erm... Important parts with some hair, but yeah...
"Yarne, beat this woman's man spawn into the ground," The naked woman commanded, staring down Sully with the fury of a thousand suns.
Out of preservation for your lifespan and health, you stepped backwards and away from the conflict that was about to ensue.
Yeah, I'm not going anywhere near… that. I'm probably going to get flattened into a premium-sized human pancake if I try to interrupt their standoff.
Your gaze swept across the enclosure, eventually falling at the entrance and the benches placed there. Two people sat on one of them, both with similar but ultimately different emotions. Cynthia was resigned with a hand palming her cheek, while Lucina glared at the dirt with contempt.
I really hope Chrom hasn't died. That would be really bad.
You made your way to where they sat, Cynthia turning to you with a slightly hopeful look while Lucina glanced at you before continuing her staring contest with the ground below her.
The brunette stood up, swiftly grabbed your arm, and pulled your body so that your ear was right next to her mouth.
"I need your help. Luci's been sad all day and I don't know why! I've tried everything and she won't even budge!" She whispered, staring at you with hope in her eyes.
Your gaze flickered between Lucina and Cynthia, before slowly trailing back at the destruction Yarne and Kjelle have caused with their brawl.
The armored girl tackled the young taguel into a nearby tree, tilting it backwards as the ground shook around them.
Yeah, I'll help them with this instead…
"Alright, I'll see if I can help her," you answered, the frown on her face replaced with a thankful smile.
You almost asked Lucina what was wrong, before you backtracked to Cynthia and questioned, "So, what methods have you tried?"
The brunette sighed, glancing at her sister. "I've tried a lot of things, like giving her favorite doll to her. It doesn't work!" She replied with a defeated tone.
You hummed and slowly trudged up to Lucina. Standing right in front of her, you lightly tapped her on the shoulder. She stopped her staring contest with the dirt below and gazed at you, annoyed.
"So, you're the Princess of Ylisse. Am I right?" She nodded, confused. The Brand of Ylisse was evidently clear to you now, the symbol similar yet foreign to your eyes at the same time.
Hopefully this works.
You flourished your cape with a knowing grin. "If you're a princess, shouldn't you send me into the dungeon?"
She tilted her head up, recognition turning her sadness into shock. "Leonard the Sorcerer..." The bluenette whispered, "How did you escape from the dungeons, fiend! Did you brainwash the maid with some form of Dark Magic?"
She stood up and met your gaze, rage in her eyes. Her face was pale, and a trail of dried tears travelled down from her left eye to her cheek. Eyes wide, she stared at her sister with confusion that morphed into shock.
"You foul Sorcerer! You have not only used dark magic on not only that poor maid but also my sister as well!" She declared.
At her claim, you confusedly turned side-eyed in Cynthia.
'Just go along with it,' the brunette mouthed. At that, you rolled your eyes, fully facing Lucina.
You know what, I might as well continue along. It's gotten Lucina to stand up, so I may as well continue.
"Yes," your voice took on a dark undertone, "I, Leonard the Sorcerer, shall brainwash everyone in this pitiful castle! However, I shall cease my domination of Ylisstol Castle under the condition of you answering one request."
There is no way this will work. She isn't that gullible, right?
Deep in thought, the princess nodded.
"What is your request, Sorcerer!" She asked, a resigned but concerned frown adorning her young face.
Wow, that actually worked. I didn't think she was this gullible, but whatever.
"Why are you having a staring contest with the ground?" You asked, dropping the evil persona.
Tense would not be the correct word to describe the atmosphere around the three of you, as that would be underplaying the sheer severity of this whole situation.
A moment of silence passed by. Then another. In the corner of your eye, Cynthia fidgeted around nervously.
"...Mommy took Falchion away from me." Lucina slowly admitted, her frown turning into a small pout.
Your reaction to that piece of information, well...
Seriously? She's sad that she lost the one thing she's guaranteed to inherit once she's older!?!
Looking over your shoulder, Cynthia also has the same dumbfounded expression.
I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thinks that's an overblown reaction.
Walking up to Lucina, you stopped right in front of her. She met your eyes as you softly placed a hand onto her shoulder.
"Look, you'll be able to get Falchion back. Your father is probably using it to fend off some brigand. You don't want your father to be weaponless, right?" Her eyes widened in understanding.
I keep forgetting they're still children, while I'm an adult in a child's body. Sometimes, that detail is hard to remember when dealing with their problems...
"Come one, Luci! There's a party to enjoy!" Cynthia yelled, a smile on her face as she ran up to a group of other children.
"Well Lucina, you should follow Cynthia."
As you began to walk off, a hand gripped your arm, halting you in your tracks. Turning around, Lucina brought your hand forward and placed a blue handkerchief on it.
"Keep it. Consider it proof of our friendship." She stated.
After a staring at you one last time with an emotion you couldn't place, she ran off towards her sister, her previous aura of anger replaced with joy.
The blue cloth wrapped and molded itself as you held onto it, and you wondered just what the significance of it really was. It certainly wasn't magical by any means, but that didn't detract from the sentimental value you could grasp from such a gift.
Breaking out of those thoughts, you delicately pocketed it and went to look for someone to talk to.
Yarne and Kjelle were still fighting, the ongoing of which had somehow broken a human-sized hole into the wall, which you did not want to be a part of. Unfortunately, a lot of the other children had joined the others in spectating said fight, so that left you with very little options of conversation.
Making up your mind without any hesitation, you made your way to a quiet and vacant part of the enclosure for some peace and quiet.
Well, almost vacant, at least.
Back laid against a tree, you spotted a girl with black hair. It was like she was almost afraid of anything coming near her. Concerned, you noticed that you didn't see any of her parents nearby.
That's weird. I'm sure father invited everyone he knew, so where and who are her parents?
With that in mind, you strided up to her and gently asked, "Hey, where are your parents?"
As she looked up to face you, your eyes widened in recognition.
Wait, isn't she...
1d100 = 33 + 5(Psychology and Psychiatry) - 10(Alter Ego Response) - 5(Antisocial Butterfly) = 20 = Alter Ego Talisman Present, Noire passes out. DC = 65
Suffocating. That word and many more were all you would use to describe the presence of magical energy exuding itself around Noire.
More specifically, her talisman.
"BLOOD AND THUNDER! YOU DARE APPROACH ME AFTER SO LONG, BROTHER!"
Well, it looks like she already has her alter ego—wait, NOIRE IS MY SISTER! WHAT?!
"ARE YOU SPEECHLESS, BROTHER! ARE YOU IN AWE OF MY PRESENCE?" Noire smugly asked, rising up to her feet.
I'm actually suffocating from the magical energy surrounding you, but speechless isn't exactly incorrect either...
"Yes, actually," you admitted, "There's just one thing that's wrong, though." You walked closer, only a couple of paces away from her.
"WHAT IS IT, BROTHER?" She asked impatiently.
Without hesitation, you lunged at your sister, tackling her onto the ground. Staring her in the eyes, you answered, "The problem is this talisman you have around your neck!"
Noire raised her arms, attempting to block your grabs for the talisman. She growled, "NO BROTHER! I WILL NOT BECOME HER AGAIN! I REFUSE!"
Unfortunately for her, Noire had little to no physical strength, talisman in effect or not. She couldn't even budge your body off of her due to the physical training you started a year ago.
Faster than she could react, you grabbed onto the necklace and pulled it off her neck. Sighing, you quickly pocketed it before dusting off your cloak.
Narrowing your eyes at the silence and lack of response your sister gave, your eyes trailed down to her unmoving, sleeping frame.
I'm such an idiot. What a brother I am, forgetting that she was anemic.
Contemplating what to do, you went over your options. Of course, leaving here out here to fend for herself was not an option. She was your sister, for Naga's sake. You had just found her and you weren't going to leave her behind.
That aside, you did have a guest room that people could only go into by entering your room, but that would also require a way to make sure no one went inside to check up on it.
On the other hand, you could ask your father for help. He was always willing to accommodate you, though considering his ire towards your mother that might not be the same case for Noire...
With those options in mind, you decide to… [][Noire Situation] Leave her out here. You refuse to leave your sister outside and by herself.
[][Noire Situation] Take her back to your room. You recently got your own room, separate from your father's that has a guest room connected to it that you could bring her into.
[][Noire Situation] Take her to your father. He could maybe help you?
[][Noire Situation] Write-in
Item of Importance Unlocked
Blue Handkerchief:
A blue Handkerchief, the same shade of blue as Lucina's hair. The proof of your friendship and how you helped cheer her up. +5 to all social and event rolls involving her.
Gives access to Lucina's room if you show a guard this cloth.
Has unlimited uses, unless you lose it or it gets stolen.
Support Points Gained!
Due to socializing with certain people, these ranks have increased:
Severa Support: Raised from B-Rank 0/55 to 15/55
Cynthia Support: Raised from C-Rank 10/30 to 25/40
Lucina Support: Raised from C-Rank 0/30 to 15/40
Gained Support Rank!
Noire Support Rank C - 15/40
Mysteries Unlocked!
Character Met - Noire:
You have found your sister, who is Noire. Noire is the daughter of Henry and Tharja, and the sister to you, Leonard. She is a timid, negative, and cowardly girl due to her unwilling participation of dark magic experiments performed by Tharja. She has an alter ego that is the opposite of Noire that is brash, violent, confident. It was formed and maintained by the Talisman made by Tharja, your recently discovered mother.
Tharja:
You have recently discovered that Tharja is your mother. She is a dark mage from Plegia, just like your father. She is the second strongest dark mage, second to only your father. However, she is an expert at hexes and curses, making her a fairly frightening person to approach. She also has an extreme obsession with Robin, the tactician of the Shepards.
The sun peaked over the horizon, greeting another new day in the halidom of Ylisse.
Having woken up early, you were in your room writing your yearly training plan. There were plenty of things to do, but so little time to do them all. Thus, you had choose carefully while also pursuing the bulwark of safety and protection you yearned to hold for the future.
So, what were you going to do?
Pick three to focus on for the next year.
[][Training] Train in a branch of magic.
-[][Training] Train your fire magic. (+ Training Points w/ Fire Tomes, + MAG, Unlocks ?)
-[][Training] Train your wind magic. (+ Training Points w/ Wind Tomes, + MAG, Unlocks ?)
-[][Training] Train your thunder magic. (+ Training Points w/ Thunder Tomes, + MAG)
--[][Training] Train your thunder Armor by increasing its durability, magical power, and speed. (+ Training Points w/Thunder Armor, + SPD and + MAG) -[][Training] Train your dark magic. Henry refuses to teach you Dark Magic. You are currently 8 years old and he will teach you when you become 9 years old.
[][Training] Train with a melee weapon.
-[][Training] Train with a Lance. (+ STR and SKL)
-[][Training] Train with a Sword. (+ Training Points, STR, and SPD)
-[][Training] Train with an Axe. (+STR and LCK, Meet ?)
[][Training] Go to the library and do some research. (Meet ?, ?, and unlock ?)
[][Training] Join Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. It may be hellish training, but you can't deny that it's a great workout for you. (Guaranteed +1 STR and DEF when failing, +6 STR and DEF when Successful. DC = 70)
[][Training] Go and see if you can't make new friends. Bonds are important, after all. (Meet ?, ?, ?, ?, ?, and ?) [][Training] Hang out with Severa. Maybe she could train with you? (+ Support Points, SPD, and DEF)Severa is doing personal training with her mother and is unavailable for this year.
[][Training] Train with Yarne. Maybe he can help improve your measly physical strength and toughness? (+ Support Points, STR, and DEF)
[][Training] Train with Kjelle. She seems to be a good and formidable sparring partner. (+ Support Points, SKL, and SPD)
[][Training] Train with Cynthia. Maybe she can teach you how to ride a Pegasus or a horse? (+ Support Points, SKL, and Unlock ?)
[][Training] Train with Lucina. Maybe she can help improve your amateur sword skills? (+ Support Points, Training Points w/ Swords, SKL)
Current Stats:
HP(Health): 17
STR(Strength): 14
MAG(Magic): 19
SKL(Skill): 16
SPD(Speed): 18
LCK(Luck): 11
DEF(Defense): 13
RES(Resistance): 14
Votes for the next chapter:
Noire Situation
Training
Note from the QM:
Man, it's been a long four days. Anyways, you found your sister. Where are you going to bring Noire? Severa is doing some training? Poor Lucina is an extremely sheltered child. Training begins once more! You are now eight-years-old, only one year away from dark magic. *Laughs in Foreshadowing*
For those wondering, if you rolled a 45 or higher on the 1d100, Noire wouldn't have passed out and you would've been able to talk to her this chapter.
If something is wrong or you have a question, let me know.
EDIT: 10/7/22, revised the past/present tense issues and fixed the structuring of the words to make for a (hopefully) better chapter to read through.
[][Noire Situation] Take her back to your room. You recently got your own room, separate from your father's that has a guest room connected to it that you could bring her into.
[][Training] Train in a branch of magic.
--[][Training] Train your thunder Armor by increasing its durability, magical power, and speed. (+ Training Points w/Thunder Armor, + SPD and + MAG)
[][Training] Join Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. It may be hellish training, but you can't deny that it's a great workout for you. (Guaranteed +1 STR and DEF when failing, +6 STR and DEF when Successful. DC = 70)
[][Training] Train with Lucina. Maybe she can help improve your amateur sword skills? (+ Support Points, Training Points w/ Swords, SKL)
After an hour of contemplation and nonstop writing in your personal diary, you finally finished drafting up your training routine for the year.
Akin to the previous years of training, you chose to continue attending Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. It was grueling, it was hell, and it was undoubtedly something that no average child should ever experience in their lifetime.
However, you were no average child. You were one of the Future Children, and with that revelation came the need for strength and power. No matter what you had to endure, even if it meant going through hell itself, you would attain what was needed to make sure that the future past's future would be safer.
...That noble thought aside, you also wanted the privilege of saying that you had fully endured the entire hour of Frederick's hellish training. Especially since you could brag about it to the some of the more physically able children who refused attend out of sheer principle.
It was understandable, but still. The moment you'd be able to hold it in their faces would be an unforgettable one. One that would, hopefully, also double as a potential motivator for them in the years to come.
But besides pure endurance and physical training, you also opted to take up learning some swordplay. You weren't deluded enough to think that magic and having good reaction time were the be-all and end-all of combat. It was an eventuality that you would end up in a situation where your magic was either simply unusable or otherwise something that would make things worse. As such, you wanted to at least learn the bare basics of swordplay–and maybe even more–before that event came to fruition.
Of course, you weren't too confident in finding a proper tutor for such a thing. If there was one thing that you learned during your time at Ylisstol Castle, it was that dedicated tutors weren't in large supply despite their overwhelming demand—let alone ones not occupied with more important matters unknown to you.
Thankfully, you did have one person in mind. One that you somewhat knew at that. Whether or not she would agree was another matter entirely, but that was something that future you would have to deal with.
Finally, you wanted to make more progress on learning about the spell that left your father almost lost in distant memories. A unique spell that, apparently, had been employed by another mage prior at that. Besides the potential discoveries that could be made in this world's history, it was a functionally unstable spell that you wanted to reign under control.
Your mana reserves, as plentiful as they were, only lasted so long while lightning coated your body—something that you wanted to completely fix or at least lessen for the years to come. Running out of mana during a battle wasn't something you ever wanted to experience firsthand, if your father's vividly morbid bedtime stories were anything to go by.
Flipping to an empty page, you moved to write a new set of sentences to detail your actions yesterday. Record keeping, droll and time-consuming it may be, was something was a habit you began upon the revelation of being in a fictional world hit you in the face. Not only to keep track of key events, but even the minutest of details in case they were the slightest bit important later down the line.
...If anyone asked you, you were definitely not paranoid; just highly prepared to take action for anything strange and unusual.
Letting out a sigh, you stretched out your arms and legs. Popping noises reverberated throughout your body, your joints and bones releasing an hour's worth of tension. Pushing your chair back with your feet, you stood and moved to put away the quill and ink bo—
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed from within the guest bedroom.
The abrupt and unexpected noise caused two things to go wrong. In your shock, the quill you were just writing with fell out of your hand, slowly falling onto the floor. The more annoying and prominent thing that happened, however, was that the bottle of ink you tried to put away was knocked down in the chaos.
The contents of which spilled onto your previously pristine and mint condition cloak.
Turning the white cloth with dread, you stared at a black streak accompanied by a very good interpretation of the Rorschach blot.
Well, at least I have tons of spare cloaks to wear...
Pinching the bridge of your nose with resignation, you took off your permanently ink-stained cloak and threw it into a large, hay-woven basket. Reaching underneath the space of your bed, you grabbed and donned a new, unstained cloak.
With a satisfied smile and flourish of movement, you made your way to the far side of the room. Taking a deep breath and preparing yourself for a potentially very awkward discussion with your sister, you slowly opened the door to the guest bedroom.
Nigh instantly, a downpour of ink fell upon you, staining your new cloak. Your eyebrow twitched as Noire, the perpetrator behind the act, stared at you wide-eyed. Eventually, she closed her eyes and stood still–trying to make herself look smaller and hide in plain sight.
What the hell is she doing? It like she's waiting for me to punish her. ...She's only an eight-year-old! What the hell, Tharja! I swear if I meet her at any point I'm going to—
Taking off your cloak again, you mentally decided to not bother to get a new one. Maybe it was the repeated ink splatters throughout this morning, or perhaps a gut feeling of a bad omen of some sort, but you didn't even want to try and get a new cloak to wear. There was a nagging feeling in your mind that it would somehow end up becoming even worse if you wore another one.
...That karmic superstition aside, you also wanted to calm down your obviously anxious sister. An ink stain, no matter the size or cause, wouldn't stop you from reconvening with your long lost sister.
Priorities for proper clothes and appearances be damned.
"Noire, I'm not going to hurt you. You're going to be fine." Reluctantly, she opened her eyes. Anxiety and fear shone within her dark pupils as they darted all over the room.
"No, I'm not g-going to be fine. M-Mother will..." Noire said, grimacing as she muttered those last words.
Extending a hand out to her, your lips curved into a small and confident smile. "Trust me, Noire. She won't be able to do anything, especially when I'm here."
She met your confident state with an anxiety induced one. Deep in thought, she bit her lip as silence brewed and boiled between the both of you. Yet in that silence, emotions danced in her eyes and contorted themselves through her rapidly changing facial expressions.
Through those emotions and much more you couldn't find the words for, you saw a small amount of acceptance and trust. However small it was, it made you happy knowing that your sister trusted you.
"D-Do you have any hexes or curses cast upon you?" Your sister suddenly asked.
Hexes and curses? Why would that matter? Besides, I don't think I have any on me…
Deep in thought, you replied, "I don't think so, but I'm not well versed in that craft. I have more knowledge in general magic than anything else, but even that is pretty limited."
Honestly, you didn't think there were any on you. Whether or not casting hexes and curses was the same as spell casting you didn't know, but you were confident that whatever poor soul did such a thing on you would meet a horrible end. Father would instantly freak out. Probably experiment on them with eccentricity, especially if they were nearby...
Straying away from those particular thoughts, you focused on your sister.
Noire's gaze travelled across the room, examining everything in it with an oddly critical eye you didn't think she had. A few seconds later, she hummed in approval and said, "Well, it looks like you're right. I can't find any hexes or curses anywhere in or around this room. So that means…"
She slowly trailed off, staring at something behind you. Following her curious gaze, you were surprised again.
On the wall laid a highly detailed portrait of your father, a blue-haired man, and two white-haired siblings standing in the courtyard of the castle. The siblings bore a great resemblance to your father, with their white hair and black cloaks. But that was where the similarities ended.
The man held an uncanny resemblance to your father, but he was far more lackadaisical in the way he held himself. The odd thing, however, were his ruby-red eyes. It was like they were staring into your very soul, judging you for all your metaphorical and physical worth before deciding your fate.
That must be Robin. Or is Robin the woman instead? Gah, this is too confusing! Why does there have to be two Tacticians!
Shaking yourself out of those thoughts, you examined the second Tactician in question. The woman didn't have anything odd about her, being extremely similar to the man beside her in all but hairstyle and build. The detail that tipped you were the same as before, them being her odd dark purple eyes. Gazing at them alone sent a clearly foreign and magical feeling coursing through you.
However, one detail that was the same throughout the whole painting is that they were all happy—joyful, even. As if they didn't have any problems or struggles. It was odd for you to see your father happy, especially when most of the time it was fake happiness for the sake of not committing any social faux pas.
It was one of the things that you were grateful for as his son, being showered with genuine affection despite his own troubles.
"B-Brother, are you listening?" Noire said nervously, waving her hand in front of your face. Shaking your head free of stray thoughts, you focused your full attention onto your sister.
"Now that I have your attention, d-do you have anything to ask me? I can answer a couple of questions you might have."
If you decide to ask Noire some questions, choose the ones you wish to ask. However, only two of those questions will win the vote.
[][Questions and Answers] Yes, you do have a question or two you want to ask Noire.
-[][Questions and Answers] Why does she have that weird necklace? Is it connected to her odd behavior earlier?
-[][Questions and Answers] How and why is she so knowledgeable in magic such as curses and hexes?
-[][Questions and Answers] Where was she this whole time? Why did Mother take her away?
-[][Questions and Answers] Write-in
[][Questions and Answers] No, you don't have anything to ask her. *QM will remember this extremely well thought out big-brain tactic*
After having a maid bring breakfast to your room and eating it together with your sister once said maid left, you acted upon your plan to train your Thunder magic. To be more specific, your recently discovered Thunder Armor skill.
You wanted to improve it. Make it harder, better, faster, and most importantly, stronger.
Wait a minute… Gods damn it, why am I thinking of Daft Punk all of the sudden? What even is going on with me today?
Bemusedly shaking your head free of those thoughts, you turned to face the person who came along for training.
Noire walked close to your side, a steel bow and a small quiver filled with arrows on her back. Strapped at the hip was a one-handed bronze axe held in a shoddy leather sheath. All of these were acquired from the armory of the Shephards.
Hopefully no one notices that these are missing. If someone does notice, well.. Sorry for making your job harder, Frederick. Because somehow all of that bureaucratic nonsense ends up looping back to you.
Your sister stared at you with the energy of an eager but exhausted puppy. Breathing heavily, she groaned, "Brother, h-how much farther u-until we reach the p-place you told me about?" she paused to steady her breath, "I want to train as soon as possible, but I don't want to be tired when I start."
Earlier in the morning, you told Noire that you would be out to train for the next couple of hours so she wouldn't be worried about your whereabouts. Immediately afterward though, she vehemently begged you to join your training session. Reluctantly, you agreed, but only on the condition that she would be nearby regardless of if you were training or not.
You didn't want her to get lost in the expanse of the forest, especially since you had just reunited with her.
"We'll be there soon, so don't worry about not having enough energy to train." You hummed, flipping through pages of the Thunder tome nonchalantly.
"Brother, are you s-sure that Father knows you're here? I don't want to w-worry him too much…" she said, her gaze trailing off to the distant castle the both of you had exited earlier.
Ah yes, your father. You had told him that you were going out, but hopefully he didn't go into your room and rummage through your things. For that manner, hopefully he also didn't check the guest bedroom.
He was a good father, that much you would definitely admit, but he would worry too much even though you weren't a child anymore.
...As much of a child that a young adult mind in a child's body could be, at any rate.
"From what I told you, father may be a little bit," You paused, trying to find the best word to describe your father while making him seem as sane as possible to your paranoid and easily frightened sister, "eccentric. But he won't follow us, so there's no need to worry too much."
"Besides, the odds we actually get hurt are pretty small." You supplied confidently, before continuing to walk.
A few moments later, the sound of Noire's footsteps crunching on the dirt combined with your own in an oddly disjointed but rhythmic way. On the way to your destination, it was the only noise present for the rest of you and your sister's peaceful and serene trek through the forest.
"B-Brother, are you sure you're okay?" Your sister asked, her face of concern blurred.
You nodded with a grimace, barely acknowledging her words through the loud ringing sensation in your ears. Thankfully, it faded away just as swiftly as it had arrived, leaving you able to clearly hear once more. Making sure it wasn't your mind tricking you, you brought your left hand to your ear and cupped it.
If I lost my hearing, that would be absolutely terrifying. I wouldn't even be able to hear anyone or anything going on. It would be even worse in this situation, considering how many fights and battles I'm probably going to have to go into. Especially the people I'm going to have to kill in the future...
Shaking your head free of those stray thoughts, you rubbed the back of your neck with your free hand. The teeth in your mouth grinded against each other as unseen needles poked and prodded into the nerves of your skin; phantom pains of a mistake left unsaid refusing to disappear.
Is this what happened when magic backfires on someone? It's like someone is shoving thousands of tiny daggers into my spine...
Taking your hand off your aching body, you moved over and sat next to Noire. Basking in the cool autumn weather, the both of you sat in silence as rain slowly drizzled across the training area. Peeking over at Noire's side of the forest, you found yourself impressed by her progress. Almost enviously so.
Looking at all the marked trees, many arrows hit their target, with her accuracy varying from the center circle to the second most outer ring. Judging by the impact area, most–if not all–of the arrows were stuck within tree bark. If you had to guess, chances were that you probably couldn't take them out even in your mildly trained state.
Wow, Noire is really good with the bow. I wonder...
Whistling in astonishment, you asked, "Hey, sis. How did you get so good with the bow?"
Her face scrunched itself into one of confusion and sullenness. "Good? I'm not that good. I'm an amateur at best..."
Oh, right. You had almost forgotten that Noire had serious confidence issues. Deeply rooted and defeatist levels of self-confidence, at that.
"Hey," you spoke up, "don't put yourself down. You're a pretty good archer, so don't say that you're an amateur."
With her attention focused onto you, you ignored the pain shooting throughout your body as you hobbled your way over to a nearby tree. Planting the heels of your feet into the muddy ground, you pulled with all of your strength. Once, twice, thrice, you tried and tried to take it out. Even trying to yank it out with your coat as an anchor, with no luck. But even with your desperate attempts, it was futile for you to try and take out the lodged-in-place arrow.
You gestured to the arrow with an impressed grin. "See, I can't even pull the arrow out. That's how good of an archer you are."
She didn't respond as you both left the damp training ground, but a small satisfied smile made itself known on her face as you both travelled back the way you came.
At least she's happy now. She should be proud of being so skilled. Insecurities that preyed on someone's weakness were the worst, and one that I vow to help her get rid of.
Training Roll Failed!
Gained +1 to MAG, SPD, and +5 to Magic Weapon Proficiency - Thunder & Thunder Armor.
Thunder and Thunder Armor proficiency has been raised, both from Novice 0/30 - 5/30
Temporary Affliction/Debuff Gained
Magic Backlash (Electrical Burn)
Due to failing in casting a spell and doing so in bad weather conditions, you have gained a 1st-degree burn on the nape of your neck. Due to this affliction, get a malus of -3 to the next two physical training rolls you attempt.
Will only gain if casting certain elemental magic in certain conditions (Example: Casting Thunder during a Rainstorm, Wind during a Snowstorm, etc)
Support Points Gained!
Gained +5 support points.
Noire Support Rank raised from C-Rank 15/40 to 20/40
Weeks passed by since that one particular incident, and today was another moment in your life where you contemplated what exactly made you decide to put yourself through this very same situation time and time again.
You stood outside the gate to hell only known as Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour. Going through your supplies, you made sure that you had all that you needed for the trial by metaphorical and literal fire that awaited you.
Water skin? Check. Spare cloaks in case they get messed up by anything? Check. Food that Cynthia smuggled for me from the Royal Kitchen? Check. My diary filled with my notes of the past 8 years? Check. Alright, I think I have what I need. Time to start another session.
Letting out a sigh of relief, you made your way through the gate. Strangely, it felt like your leg had hit something. With an odd feeling of dread welling up within, you stared downwards and noticed a torn wire. The sound of some wooden contraption filled your ears, and almost instantly you looked up to—
—immediately get bombarded by an assortment of liquids and food. The scent of coffee beans and other unknown smells hit your nose as you stood still, fists clenched together in an unruly rage.
Distantly, you heard some men snickering, "He looks like a court jester."
Seriously? Clown jokes existed here? If you weren't who you were, you would be absolutely furious and show them what a real jester looked like. Thankfully however, their laughter died down as the man of the hour appeared, cowing them into submission.
Tired of this nonsense and wanting to get some training in for the week, you quickly trudged out the assorted pile of food and wine, swapped out your multi stained cloak with a new one, and cautiously examined your surroundings. With a vigilant eye to keep track of anything nefarious, you moved forward.
Unexpectedly but also thankfully, nothing happened.
A grateful sigh exited your lips. You just wanted to train, and you only had a couple of spares cloaks on hand. Was it too much to ask to have at least one week this year without anything bad happening to you?
Walking further into the training grounds, you found a free bench and sat down with relief—
—when something slammed into your face. Wiping some of the unknown substance off of your closed eyes, you opened your eyes and lifted your fingers to see whipped cream on them.
Really, a pie to the face? You didn't even know Ylisse had whipped cream. Or the fact that it was even invented at some point.
Besides that, why use it on you out of all the people here?
Through the viscous substance, you felt your eyebrows twitch. Resigned, you thoroughly cleaned your face with your first replacement cloak and changed it out for a second one.
What was going on? Was someone trying to kill you through innocuous pranks or something? If so, was it an assassin? A spy from Plegia or Valm?
Breaking yourself out of those ridiculous thoughts, you glanced up to see that the training hour had already begun. From the corner of your eyes, Frederick approached. A mild frown on his face, he asked, "Leonard, you have seen Milady Lissa? She seems to have gone off somewhere when she was supposed to be helping me today."
You shook your soaked head, still in deep thought about who could have been the one pranking you.
Was it Lissa? She wouldn't do anything to you, assuming everyone at least knew all the future children. You didn't know many bold enough to mess with you, and by proxy Henry, considering his status as a sadistic Dark Mage.
...Was it one of the future children? That was the only logical conclusion that you could draw from. But if so, who?
Frederick hummed in disapproval, his frown deepening. "I may have to reprimand Lissa once I find her. This has happened far too much for my liking..." With his promise made, he marched off to Naga knows where and left you alone.
Almost immediately after he went out of view, the sound of twigs being crunched and leaves being rustled hit your ears. A female figure walked out of the bushes in the nearby tree line. Stretching her limbs out, her eyes glided across the training ground cautiously.
"Geez, I thought Frederick was going to be talking forever," the woman whined, partly yawning towards the end. Brushing off her yellow dress, her glassy-eyed gaze fell onto you. "Eh? Who are you?" she exclaimed.
To her credit, she attempted to hide her dirty dress and leaf-covered hair with her hands.
"Leonard," you replied, trying to figure out who this woman was. She hummed and strutted up to you curiously, a delicate hand landing onto your shoulder.
...She didn't act the way she appeared to be at all, huh.
"Your name's Leonard, huh? And you said you were getting..." she trailed off, the hidden implication of your plight making her pale, "pranked. Gods damn it, Owain. You're going to get the both of us in major trouble!" Lissa hissed.
Well, that explained the number of pranks done in succession. Gods damn it all. At this rate, you weren't going to get any training in, were you?
"Come on, Leonard. Let's meet up with my son and have a little chat," she said with a far too wide smile, gesturing you to follow her.
Not wanting to piss off the angry mother, you tiredly followed her through the forest. Silence reigned in your trek, the only noise ever present being the sounds of your footsteps hitting the ground below.
Eventually, she stopped in front of a regular tree decorated with a makeshift sign reading "Fortress of Justice". Knocking on it a few times, a blond boy leapt down from above, a makeshift sword held with a ludicrous grip.
Landing with an impressive flourish of his cape, he pointed the glorified stick at the both of you. His current pose, oddly enough, was strikingly similar in your memory.
"Who goes there, strange wanderers of the day? For I am the myth of myths, legend beyond all legends, the hero who shall slay the Sorcerer, the boy who shall save those fair maidens, and he who wields the one and only Mystl—" The boy was cut off from his spiel, with Lissa harshly pulling on his ear. He yelped in shock, turning to face her with indignation.
His mother smiled, a tight grip on his ear as she suggested, "Owain, please talk normally. You have someone to apologize to, after all."
Owain stared at her, dumbfounded as he said, "Me? I, the myth of myths and the legend beyond all legends, have to apologize to the evil Sorcerer? How dare you woman, think that someone such as I shou—GAH OKAY FINE!!! I'll apologize! Mommy, stop pulling on my ear!"
Lissa let go of his ear, a smug smirk on her face. Rolling her eyes, she pushed him towards you. The face of a satisfied mother held itself as she remarked, "It works every time."
"I'm sorry, evil Sorcerer that definitely doesn—," Owain hesitantly paused as Lissa moved to grab his ear again, "does deserve an apology. I shouldn't have done all those pranks on you."
You slowly nodded, trying to figure out what in Naga's name was happening in front of you. "Uh, thanks?"
"See, it wasn't that hard. Also, what kind of hero doesn't want to apologize to someone!" Lissa incredulously questioned.
He puffed his chest out, doing another extremely silly pose. With an ignorant smile on his face, he said, "When in the face of true evil, such as the Sorcerer, heroes never apologize!"
Lissa shook her head, grabbing his arm and dragging him away as she mockingly said, "Sure thing, 'Hero'."
"Eh? WAIT! Don't pull me away from my Fortress of Justice, Mother! Justice needs to be maintained in the lands of Ylisse!"
"It's a tree, Owain. There are more 'Fortresses of Justice' you can make that aren't in a forest, like a tree in the courtyard. Besides, you can help me conduct 'Justice' while I help Frederick him with his fitness hour."
"W-what? Mommy, b-but I don't wanna join them in that hellish trai—"
Their bickering eventually faded off into the distance as you stood still. Your shoulders slumped over as you began reminiscing about this year and just how strange it was.
I meet my sister on my birthday and accidentally knock her out. Then, everyone I know is either doing something important or starting to train themselves. And now, I've just met the most Chuuni child I've ever seen in my entire life. It's like this year was meant to be horrible.
A few moments later, you realized something extremely important.
Frederick likely already started the Fitness Hour, whether or not Lissa was there. You weren't there, instead in the middle of the forest. With a mounting amount of frustration boiling within, you yelled into the sky with literary knowledge that a child like you shouldn't know.
Upon letting out your frustrations to the world, you made your way back. Well, keyword being that you tried to make your way back to the training grounds. Noticing that walking around wasn't helping you in making progress, you began to run. Eventually, that run tilted into a full-on sprint throughout the empty forest.
But after sprinting through the forest like a drunk madman for what seemed like an hour, you gave up. No matter what direction you went or ran, it always ended up leading back to the same place. Plainly put, your sense of direction was just god awful, whether you liked to admit or not.
With that sentiment in mind, you laid you back against a tree, exhaustion and resignation taking hold in your mind. There was no way you were going to find your way back.
Well, that was what you thought, anyway. You haven't heard a noise from anything but the stomping of your boots crushing twigs and leaves on the ground. Not even the sounds of birds or any sort of wildlife. It would have honestly been frightening for any child that wasn't you, considering you didn't have much to fear.
...Besides the Fell Dragon and a few other people, to state the obvious.
Thankfully, however, you barely heard the echo of someone calling out your name throughout the forest. Filled with hope that you probably weren't lost or left for dead, you broke out in a sprint towards the voice.
Colliding into with someone covered in green armor, you gasped and tried to catch your breath. Even though they had just started to call for your voice mere moments earlier, it felt like you had been sprinting for hours on end without stopping.
The man gestured toward the saddle of his horse. "Hey kid, mind hopping on the horse? Supper is soon, and the only thing that'll hurt worse than an angry Henry is an empty stomach. Trust me, I know the feeling all too well."
Absently nodding at his words, you went onto the saddle and made yourself comfortable. With a snap of the reigns, the man's horse sped off through the forest and towards glorious salvation. The only saving grace you could think of from this was that, if anything else, all that running around made for a decent workout.
But ignoring that, you focused on the one thing you had learned from this experience. No matter the circumstances, you promised to yourself that you would never go anywhere without a map or another person to guide you ever again.
Training Action Failed!
Gained +1 STR and DEF.
Due to attempting Frederick's Fanatical Fitness Hour four times without success, DC has decreased from 70 to 60 to increase chances of success for the next attempt.
Trait Gained - Where Am I, Again?
You, after being an idiot and not following the sensible adult back to civilization, got lost in a forest and have realized how bad your sense of direction is. Seriously, your location skills are terrible.
Due to this skill, you are more likely to get lost when exploring, more so than any of the other Future Children.
Due to this skill, you shall get a malus of -10 to all exploration actions.
Characters Met!
Owain:
Son of Lissa and ??? ??, Cousin of Lucina and Cynthia, and the most enthusiastic Future Child. An actor and someone with a flair for the heroics, Owain is a child who wants to grow up and be a great hero who is remembered for centuries. You first met him during one of your weekly FFFH sessions, where he got you entangled into a series of pranks that were meant for his mother. Support Rank - C 5/40 has been gained.
Lissa:
Mother of Owain, Wife of ??? ??, Sister of Chrom, and Princess of Ylisse. A war veteran cleric who has been in the Shepherds since its founding and isn't afraid to use an axe if an enemy approaches her. She's also a prankster and isn't afraid to target anyone. Well, except Frederick and Henry, since Frederick would most likely assign her to FFFH as a punishment while Henry would probably cast some unpleasant hex or curse on her for daring to hurt you. Hey, don't ask me how a retainer can punish their royal charge! It happens.
A couple of days had passed since that previous... incident. You stayed within your room to study and hung out with your sister in favor of going out, afraid of what the world would throw at you.
The silent and hidden vulture named karma still haunted your mind.
However, once you had shaken off said fear with both Noire's reassurance and your father's assistance of checking for curses, you acted upon the next part of your training plan.
It was definitely one of the more difficult and arduous struggles alone, but it had paid off splendidly.
Now, you were within a room that was very blue, very extravagant, and very out of reach from your current and future paygrade.
"So, you want me to train your sword skills?" Lucina asked, her legs dangling off the edge of her bed.
You nodded, shuddering at her ever piercing stare, "If it isn't too much to ask, yes. I want an alternative if I ever get into a close-range fight and magic isn't the right answer to every encounter."
Sometime in the future, there would come a day where you got caught off guard by some enemy in close range combat, but you refused to let that happen. If that meant training with a weapon you knew nothing about, then so be it.
The bluenette hummed as she answered, "Hmm, very well then. Follow me, I'll bring you to the barracks so you know where to get a sword. If you wish to practice by yourself, this is the best place to get the correct equipment." She jumped off of her bed, moving to exit the room.
Not wanting to be left behind, you picked up the wooden crate you had hauled over to her room. Carrying it in a safe but comfortable manner, you caught up to Lucina. The Falchion was attached to her hip, the tip of the sword almost dragging itself on the marble flooring.
She raised an eyebrow as she examined the contents of the box. "You thought to bring extra swords. Good."
The two of you made your way out of her room as she lead you through a corridor. Guards were stationed around every corner and held their spears high up in the air, vigilant for any suspicious activity.
Eventually, the two of you stopped in front of a large open doorway with two heavily armored guards on each side. Lucina went through the doorway, turning to face you. You stepped forward—
"Halt right there, child. Entry past this point is prohibited to those not affiliated with the Royal Family or the Ylissean Army," said a guard, holding out an arm.
The other guard, an older man with visible wrinkles on his face, absently nodded as he affirmed, "Indeed. My fellow guardsmen is right, young 'un. No one is allowed except those, erm... What did ya say again, son?"
An annoyed sigh escaped the younger guard's lips as he irritatedly said, "The Royal Family and the Ylissean Army, father."
The older man snapped his fingers as he turned to you and said, "Ya heard him right there. Only the Royal Army and Ylissean Family may enter."
"Father, that's not what I said..."
"Well then, what did ya say, huh? 'Cause that's what I heard right then and there!"
Lucina coughed into her hand, their argument going to a halt as she bluntly said, "What is the problem here? Leonard is my friend. He has my permission to enter this location with me."
The younger guard's gaze fell onto you with an emotion you couldn't place. "Are you sure you trust him, young princess? He may be letting you bring him here for motives unknown to you."
Ah. After listening to him speak, you knew what emotion that was.
Disgust. Disgust for what you didn't know exactly, but you had a subtle feeling as to what it was about you that disgusted him.
The war with Plegia wasn't that long ago, after all.
She shook her head, undeterred as she continued, "I'm certain. Now please, let my friend through." At their unmoved expressions, she added, "Do I have to bring my father into this?"
That unsubtle threat mentioned, the two men stepped aside, allowing you entry. Awkwardly stepping into the room, the door behind you closed as the younger guard muttered, "Damn Plegian rat."
Ignoring that very rude and unneeded remark, you moved further into the room and admired the cleanliness of it all.
The inside of the room was almost too fresh—as though someone cleaned it at every waking moment a person wasn't occupying it. Target dummies didn't have marks or scratches of any kind, pristine beyond possibility. Weapons in the weapon racks shined with a glint you didn't think was possible of considering their average make. Tomes lined the shelves neatly, an array of powerful but assorted spells waiting to be utilized by a mage in training.
It was a paradise for anyone who wanted to train, regardless of their weaponry and specialization.
"So, what do you know about swordsmanship?" Lucina asked, unsheathing her sword.
"Uh, I think I know how to grip it?" you said, questioning yourself and your horrible knowledge of swordsmanship.
"And? Is that it?" She pressed further, an undertone of heavy disappointment present.
Well, now you felt really bad. She was probably anticipating a potential sparring partner, not a dunce in swordplay.
You held your hands up in the air, placating her mood as you elaborated, "I may not know much, but I will try my best when training. You have my word on that."
She met your panicked stare, searching for something unknown to you. Seemingly satisfied, she hefted a bronze sword from the crate you held and handed it over to you. Grabbing the handle, the weight of the sword leaned into your hand. It was far heavier than you ever expected a beginner weapon to be.
"Show me your sword stance," ordered Lucina, brooking no quarter.
Obliging her request, you quickly positioned your right foot slightly ahead of your left one and relaxed your muscles. The sword extended out from your right hand, your left hand ready to pull out a tome at a moment's notice.
She moved around your still form, examining the stance with an analytical eye.
"Your stance is good for someone who doesn't have a good amount of experience as a swordsman, but you have some things wrong," she placed her hands onto your shoulders, "Square your shoulders, that's a problem you have with your stance. Your strikes will rarely hit if you attempt to swing your sword right now."
"Also, you need to bend your knees slightly. I'm glad that you took your magic tome into consideration when making this stance, but you need to keep yourself balanced if you intend to strike someone with a sword," The bluenette added. She backed away as you performed your stance with her suggestions taken into consideration.
Then, with your shoulders squared and knees slightly bent, you swung at the dummy with a small amount of force. A visibly clear diagonal cut made itself known on the torso.
She nodded in approval. With a smile on her face, she said, "Well done! Now, attempt to do multiple slashes on the target. Even though most people will be moving, you can catch people off guard and get a quick surprise attack on them," she pointed at another pristine target dummy, "Try doing that on the target over there."
Acknowledging her words, you diagonally and horizontally slashed in quick succession. As a finisher, you thrusted it through the lower half of the dummy.
Lucina examined the dummy, sighing with a raised brow. She turned to you with a stern expression, making you flinch as she said, "Those consecutive slashes were good, but that thrusting maneuver would have gotten you killed on the battlefield. Never assume an enemy would be staggered after the first swing and instantly go for a killing blow," she easily pulled the bronze sword out of the dummy, "It's difficult to pull out a sword from a dead man's body, after all."
The way she explained all of that, especially the sort about the dead body, frightened you. The experience of death was fresh in your mind, but you never killed anyone.
If you killed someone with magic, you'd likely be far away from their corpse. But if you used a sword, you would be able to see their lifeless eyes staring back at you, crimson coating the ground and your body. Wiping the sword clean of the man's innards you just killed, you imagined a family distraught from you murdering their dear family member on the battlefie—
"Hey, are you okay?" Lucina asked with concern, waving her hands in front of you.
Clearing your head of those very morbid thoughts, you responded, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about potential battlefield scenarios." Technically, that wasn't incorrect.
At your words, she clapped her hands together. "Well, I can definitely see your potential in swordsmanship. As such, I will offer you a deal."
You perked up, carefully paying attention to her upcoming words.
"Every Saturday and Sunday, we will train your swordsmanship until I feel you worthy of leaving my tutelage. Do you accept my proposal?" Lucina explained, poking the tip of Falchion into a stray dummy noncommittally.
Every Saturday and Sunday, huh? It was tempting, very much so. The opportunity to be capable of wielding a sword with your magic was tantalizing, but that meant you had to follow up on these training sessions until you were deemed worthy of leaving her apprenticeship.
That wouldn't be easy; that would be arduous and much more to add onto your already full plate of plans. It would also undoubtedly be an endeavor and a half to accomplish.
But the results were going to be absolutely worth it once you did achieve that level of swordsmanship.
After thinking over her offer, you decide to…
[][Lucina's Offer] Accept the deal. Having some form of swordsmanship would be useful in the future. (Permanently Takes Up 1 out of 3 Training Slots until Sword Proficiency - Expert is reached, but increases SKL stat, Sword proficiency point, and support point gains by 50%.)
[][Lucina's Offer] Deny the deal. Although swordsmanship is incredibly tempting, you have other things that are higher up on your list to accomplish.
[][Lucina's Offer] Write-in
Training Roll Failed!
Gained +2 to your SKL stat and +10 to Weapon Proficiency - Sword, promoting its rank from Untrained 10/15 to Novice 5/30.
Training Location Unlocked - Royal Barracks
After being trained by Lucina, you now know the location of a very good training location. If you have either the Blue Handkerchief or ????? ?? ??? ?????, you are allowed entry into this training heaven.
Gain a permanent 25% boost to all types of weapons (magical and non-magical) training when using this location. Milord, do we already need more training dummies? - Frederick to Chrom after one training session.
Support Points Gained!
Gained +5 support points
Lucina Support Rank raised from C-Rank 15/40 - 20/40
Once again in this new life, another year had eventually passed. Another birthday party was celebrated and another milestone was hit. However, this year was far more exciting for a different reason.
For your ninth birthday, your father had chosen to bring you somewhere for a month in order to personally train your magic. To be more specific, Dark Magic. He was finally going to teach you how cast and properly utilize.
Looking through the list of locations that your father handed to you, most of them were good choices with their fair share of upsides and downsides.
The first was a very close location. Themis was particularly close to Ylisstol Castle and the home of Maribelle, so access to healing was ready and available if you happened to injure yourself. A notable thing to account for, however, was that the usage of dark magic in Ylisse was considered illegal unless permitted by someone of high status. This was in part due to the Church of Naga forbidding usage of it on the country's grounds, but also in part with citizens loathing anything associated with Plegia due to war casualties.
Another location was fairly close, though not as close as the former option. Regna Ferox was home to a nation of warriors, particularly one that determined their leaders with a quad-yearly test of both strength and political power. The problem was the same as Themis'. A smaller but still noticeable hatred of Dark Magic existed due to allying with Ylisseans during the fairly recent Plegian war.
The third option was a far more far out location. The Mila Tree was a good place since it was a fairly holy and religious site filled with Light Magic due to housing Tiki. The only problem was that the light magic may be too potent for you to cast and practice Dark Magic. Besides that, there were the facts that you needed to somehow outmaneuver Valmese soldiers and explan why you needed to go into Valmese version of Jesus' home without sounding like a profound heretic or blasphemer.
The fourth option was another far out but otherwise potent location. Rosanne was a fairly popular location due to it being home to the best Wyvern Riders in the continent. The fact that it has tons of wyverns was also a good sign as wyverns, from what you had read about in the books around your room, tended to populate around magic latent locations. However, it ultimately had the same problem with The Mila Tree, being too entrenched with Valmese soldiers and under Walhart's rule. You doubted Ylisseans were welcomed there, especially due to recent conflicts between Ylisse and Valm.
The final location, well... you hadn't noticed it until now. Though that was in part of the location and how specific it was.
"Father, why is Carrion Isle a place we can go to? Isn't it in Plegia?" you asked, wondering why he listed down a location was within country that was the sworn enemy of Ylisse.
Silence reigned the conversation until he turned away and andwered, "It's where my parents are buried."
At that information, you didn't dare to bring up that topic in conversation. It was clear that he was extremely uncomfortable about them and from what you could remember about your father, Henry was abandoned by his parents when he was a child.
Yet, as horrible as it all sounded, it forced you into your pragmatic thinking mode. Upon analyzing Carrion Isle closely, you found that it was full of surprisingly good perks.
As a potential training location, it made sense. Carrion Isle was in the desert and natives would most likely acknowledge the both of you as Plegians. They might also ignore the both of you because your clothing and appearances were similar to those of Plegian nationality. Dark Magic was also commonplace due to it being the main power force of Plegia, making it an ideal place to train and hone your Dark Magic. The one problem was that your father is famous, extremely so. He was one of the soldiers who had defected from the Plegian Army to join the Shepherds and was, in all likelyhood, universally hated by Plegian officials. Who knew if spies were watching and waiting for him to come back, only to quickly attempt murder or assassination?
After bringing up all of these points with your father and discussing with him, he brought you to...
Pick however many locations you want, but only one shall win the vote.
[][Birthday Trip] Carrion Isle, a deceptively peaceful place to rest and camp at. Located in Plegia, the western neighbor of Ylisse (?)
[][Birthday Trip] Themis, the westernmost city of Ylisse (?)
[][Birthday Trip] Regna Ferox, the warrior nation of the Feroxi and northern neighbor of Ylisse (?)
[][Birthday Trip] The Mila Tree, the residence of Tiki. Located in Valm, home of Walhart The Conqueror (?)
[][Birthday Trip] Rosanne, the country formerly ruled by Duke Virion and home to the best Wyvern Riders. Located in Valm, currently taken over by Walhart The Conqueror (?)
Votes for the next chapter:
Questions and Answers
Training Offer
Ninth Birthday Trip
Note from the QM:
You thought the story was dead but it was I, Dio! the update! Seriously, I'm glad to be back and writing this quest! Also, I apologize that this took a while to post, life came and decided to shove its way into my already filled schedule.
Onto the chapter itself, I tried to show the ramifications of bad rolls. Hopefully, I showed the consequences with them involving magic. Physical rolls won't be too bad, considering your magic is much more powerful and potent than a regular dinky sword or easily healable bruise. Well, unless you use a Levin Sword or something similar and fail the roll. Also, I decided to spoiler the training results so that the text doesn't inflate the chapter too much. Let me know if you think it looks good or if I should change it back to what it was before.
Side Note: At the request of some people, I will allow others to roll one-two of the dice when it's necessary. Just so the rolls are more random and so this is less likely to happen again.
Just a quick question to the readers: Is this a good (in terms of writing legibility) quest, considering I type most, if not all, of this quest on mobile?
I want the opinions of others besides my friends since my PC is getting fixed and I'm doing my updates on mobile for now. Because if people think the writing needs some more polishing, I can go to the local library and work on it there when I have free time. If you think it's fine, I'll keep doing it on mobile until my PC gets fixed.
Also, informational tabs will be updated tomorrow morning as I am slowly turning into my namesake .
EDIT: 10/7/22, fixed past/present tense errors and adjusted the flow of the text. Also added more meat to the text to make it less stilted overall.
[][Questions and Answers] Yes, you do have a question or two you want to ask Noire.
-[][Questions and Answers] Why does she have that weird necklace? Is it connected to her odd behavior earlier?
-[][Questions and Answers] Where was she this whole time? Why did Mother take her away?
[][Lucina's Offer] Accept the deal. Having some form of swordsmanship would be useful in the future. (Permanently Takes Up 1 out of 3 Training Slots until Sword Proficiency - Expert is reached but increases SKL stat, Sword proficiency point, and support point gains by 50%.)
[][Birthday Trip] Carrion Isle, a deceptively peaceful place to rest and camp at. Located in Plegia, the eastern neighbor of Ylisse (?)
"I might have a question or two," you admitted, settling onto the really comfortable bed sheets.
Man, you were very fortunate to live in this castle. Everything here was made with high standards. Even the guest rooms and washrooms were of quality make, surprising you when you first discovered them.
Your sister sat down, an uncomfortable expression on her face. Oh right, there were questions to be asked and they weren't being asked.
What am I doing? Why are we both just sitting here silently? This is so awkward, is anyone going to say anything?
Clearing your head of those thoughts, you scratched the side your head. "So, if you don't mind me asking," You slowly started, "why do you have this necklace?"
With your free hand, you fished out the necklace from your ink-soaked pocket. Examining it, you tried to figure out why it was so wrong to hold onto. The onyx gem shined with a dark hue of energy, a purple symbol with six eyes engraved into the jewel.
Glancing upwards, your gaze trailed off between the magic-latent item and your sister. She was anxious and afraid, but you didn't know why. The knowledge that was prominent in your mind supplied that you knew she had serious confidence and anxiety issues, but this was worse than you had ever thought it to be.
"You don't need to be so worried, sister." You spoke up, concern in your eyes. Noire briefly met your gaze before pointedly staring off to the side. She shook her head, as if she was debating something, before shuffling her way over to sit beside you. Then, she held her palm out in your direction.
"C-can you give me the necklace?" Grimacing at your reluctance, she quickly added, "It will be easier to explain anything you ask if I have it on."
Rubbing your temple with an ink-covered hand, you placed the necklace into her palm with your free hand. "Just make sure you take it off after you're done." You mentioned, worry weighing itself onto your mind.
She absently nodded, most of her attention directed towards putting on the necklace. A small clink of the talisman falling around her neck later, she turned her head to face you and wow. You didn't think her face could even form a sneer, let alone one with such hatred and ferocity.
"To answer your question brother," she said with a lazy posture, "Mother made this talisman for me. Quite a nice gift, yes?"
She tugged at the black gem, the chains rattling along with every movement. You really didn't know what to say right now. You knew it would be bad but… this was a little bit more different than you thought it to be.
"Speechless, hm? At least that coward had the right idea of letting me speak." stated the… Wait, what would you even call her? She was Noire but at the same time, not really Noire.
"Anyways, my questions," You said, trying to get the conversation back on topic, "Why did she make this for you?"
She incredulously stared at you for a moment, as if to make sure that you weren't joking. Then, raucous laughter exited her lips without any warning.
Your sister covered her mouth with a hand, almost jumping off of the bed with her erratic movement. "You thought that mother made it for me? Especially when she made it for herself?"
"She didn't make it so I could be more confident in myself, but so that I didn't run away when she did her experiments!" She continued, her laughter sounding a tad too maniacal for your ears.
That made a lot more sense than just making it so she would become more confident. Thinking back on said context of her captivity, the reasoning was very logical. Tharja didn't necessarily care about many things, but you did know that her research was one of the many things she did actually care about. Well, Robin too but that didn't really apply here.
"Do you have one last question to ask, brother?" said your sister, an eyebrow raised with her lips pursed into a small smirk.
"Yes, actually." You admitted, thankful that she finally stopped laughing. You couldn't ever imagine your shy sister conjuring up such evil and psychotic laughter.
Noire rolled her her eyes, "Hmph, ask away then. It's not like we have anything to do while we're here."
Well, at least she was honest about this.
"Anyways, where were you this whole time?" Genuinely speaking, you were very confused since in the Original Timeline–the one you weren't born in; Gods, was that confusing as hell to think about–had her escaping from Risen with Tharja sacrificing herself to protect her.
"Ah yes, my escape from Mother's lab. That was quite the opportunity that happened." She started, a wistful expression on her face.
Wait, escape from her lab? What!
Smiling at your panicked expression, she continued, "Mother kept me inside a small cottage in the middle of some sort of forest. Over time, I pretended to give up trying to find a way out. However, in reality I was waiting for the perfect opportunity to leave."
A forest? Where the hell was she at? You didn't know any places with a well-known forest! Well, maybe Valm but that was too far from Ylisse.
"At one point, Mother started making a potion of sorts. Something about finding a man named Robin, who apparently went missing some time ago. But she was missing a key component, the blood of a newborn." She explained with a distinctly nonchalant gaze.
So, that was why Noire was taken away. But wait, why didn't she just take a vial of blood and then leave?
She amusedly hummed and said, "I see your confusion brother, so let me explain further. Mother wanted to make a teleportation spell to find this Robin. However, she needed a steady supply of blood, our blood, to successfully create it. She was able to take me and not you because Father was staying with you the whole time."
So, the only reason Mother didn't take you away was because of Father? That made a lot of sense. Father was likely much stronger than Tharja herself in terms of Dark Magic power. He was infamously known throughout Plegia as someone from Validar's court, after all.
"With that, I waited until she finally completed it. My escape route. My way out of that dreaded place," Noire said with a hint of fragility.
...Even with her alter ego in control, she really was just a traumatized and anxious girl in the end, huh?
"Come here, sister." You said, not wanting to see your sister cry.
She wiped the stray tears from her face, confusedly approaching you. "What is it, brothe-oomph!" Lunging forward without any hint of a warning, you tackled her onto the bed. Your arms wrapped around her body as you gave her a warm, comforting hug.
"Brother! Get off of me this instant! There will be hell to pay for this travesty!" She roared, attempting to escape your hold. Slowly, her attempts to escape your ultimate attack slowly crumbled away.
"Even strong people have to cry, sister." Her body stiffened, going slack as you finished your statement. She reciprocated your hug, clutching onto you like a baby would.
The room was quiet, peaceful even, as silence reigned supreme within the room. Then, the sound of sniffling filled your ears. Not too long afterwards, the sobs of a girl in need of happiness overcame it. Your sister tightened her grip around your comforting hug, tears staining your undershirt as a past left unsaid made itself known.
Well, you definitely had to play the role of a brother now. Whether it be younger or older, you knew that you would be standing side by side with Noire in the near future. To fight for your life, your country, your lost future. To go and Break your Destiny, so to speak.
If only to let your alternate self live a better life, one without all of this unnecessary war and bloodshed.
Going over Lucina's deal one final time, you chose to take her up on that training offer. Having some form of close-range combat that wasn't one involving frantically fumbling around with magic was ideal.
Also, no one would expect a mage to pull out a sword in the middle of a spell fight. That itself wasn't necessarily a good tactic, but the option of even doing that to someone would be glorious for you to witness, even if it was firsthand.
"I accept your deal," you answered with conviction.
The princess raised a brow. "Are you sure?" Lucina pressed further, "Any knave could wield a sword, but only those who hold the courage and spirit necessary can fight alongside their allies on the battlefield."
Wow, she was really laying it on you. But, there was no backing down now. You wanted this.
"Yes, I am certain," you declared, the thrumming of your heartbeat drowning out your ears.
Her stoic glare turned into one of approval. "Very well then. We'll continue your lessons, starting the next fortnight." You absently nodded in acknowledgment, sudden fatigue hitting your mind. Letting out a yawn, you moved to exit the training grounds.
As you attempted to walk past her, she grabbed your arm with a vice grip. "Stay yourself, if only for a moment. I have something to give to you," she stated. Letting go of your arm, she opened a door and walked into it's depths, leaving you to stand in the training grounds by yourself.
Well if she had something to give, you could wait a bit. Maybe it was something to help your training? Perhaps a starting weapon of some sorts to support your initial swordplay sessions?
A moment that seemed like an eternity passed by and Lucina eventually came back out, a bronze sword in hand. Strutting up to you, she extended the hilt in your direction.
A small smile formed on her lips. "Take this with you. While you are still under my training and have no proper knowledge, having a blade in your possession will prove useful in the future." The bluenette's voice was firm as she gestured for you to take the weapon out of her hands.
Nodding, you took it into your hands. It was sharp and of surprising make, so much so that you felt as if you would cut yourself just by touching the bladed end. If you had to guess, you could probably cut through some weaker metals with ease using this blade.
A foreboding, expressionless stare replaced her firm one as she eyed you and the blade in your hands. "After all, you never know when brigands of bandits may appear," she ominously added. Once her piece was said, she quickly left the room, allowing you to collect your thoughts.
Well then. If that wasn't foreboding by any means, then what really was at that point?
Weapon Obtained - New Bronze Short-Sword
This sword was gifted to you by Lucina after you accepted her deal to be taught swordsmanship. This is a very sharp sword. Even after barely touching the tip of your finger with it, you can see droplets of blood exiting the small yet extremely precise cut.
Weapon Level Requirement: Novice
Gain a +10 to your first ten melee attack rolls. Any and all attack rolls after that will be reduced to a +5 due to the blade becoming dull after repeated usage. However, this can be averted by resharpening it on a grindstone in a smithy of sorts.
The time had arrived. Your father had chosen Carrion Isle as the location you would train at, and today was the day you would embark on your very own training trip. One that would last an entire month, with only your father as company.
Your best friend waved from the pier as she yelled, "See you soon, Leonard!" A suit of armor similar yet different to her mother's covered her body, various adjustments done to fit her personal combat style and preferred colors of sleek silver and dark crimson.
Waving back towards her, you let out a small sigh of relief. It was apparent that you were able to avert Severa's problems that stemmed from her trust issues regarding her mother.
Hopefully, you could endeavor to do the same for the other children in the future. Before it was too late to do so, anyway.
Gods, the planning you had to do. So much planning and actions to take...
A familiar voice hit your ears, breaking you out of your pondering. "Leonard, can you come over here? I need to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. A sightless mage is no better than a dead man, or something like that." Henry said, beckoning you to the ledge of the boat that he had "rented" from a sailor.
"Well, that's not ominous by any means," you mumbled. Both you and your father were expecting to see at least one boat, maybe even a trading ship.
Instead, there were no ships nearby. No boats, fleets or armada of ships that could attack you. It was just you, your father, and the ship that he hijacked from that poor sailor out in the salty seas.
He scanned the horizon with a pair of binoculars as he stated, "You see it too, right? There's no one here," he lowered the binoculars and turned to face you, "It seems like Plegia is preparing for some kind of war."
That I have to join are the unspoken words that echoed throughout his mind and yours. If such a thing did happen to occur, then chances were that you'd be seeing your father even less and less. Perhaps even forever...
Deciding that being mopey about a situation that hadn't even happened yet was a bad idea, you moved away from the edge of the ship to think about more important matters.
Besides the obvious oddities going on, you had a lot of free time to train your dark magic that you wouldn't want to take for granted. The real question, though, was what you wanted to train during this oddly peaceful birthday trip.
You could increase your magical power, increasing your overall damage. Hell, your father apparently had a special tome that he made for you to use. Well, if you wanted to increase your power, at least. He explained how you needed a certain level of magic before even attempting to use it, something about the book trying to dominate your soul if you didn't have enough magical energy.
Your father also recommended training your casting speed, which you absolutely agreed with. You didn't want to be caught by surprise mid-cast when faced with a stray sword, lance, or axe, especially when by yourself or without some supporting fire via an archer or another mage.
There was also magical capacity that you could increase, something your father had to perform when in Validar's court. He said it involved the mind and body, but nothing too detailed otherwise.
Finally, there was the option of increasing your resistance to the effects of dark magic. Your father knew a technique that someone before him had used multiple times. If you wanted to use dark magic a lot, that was the option you would likely go for, though chances were that it wouldn't mitigate them fully—only delaying the inevitability of overusing Dark Magic.
All of these were valid training plans, each with their own potencies and flaws. In the end, however, you only had enough time to go through with one. As such, what did you train in for the majority of this trip?
Choose as many as you want, but only one vote will win.
[][Dark Magic Training] Power. Throughout your trip, you go into many magical spars with your father, with the both of you using Dark Magic and spells. Specifically, low and medium-power Dark Magic spells, improving your overall magical power along the way. (Gain Unique Dark Magic Tome - Murder of Crows, Intermediate proficiency with Flux Tomes, Novice with Nosferatu Tomes, Novice with Ruin Tomes, and +10 MAG)
[][Dark Magic Training] Speed. You improve your casting speed, able to cast a barrage of Dark Magic spells in mere moments. (Gain Trait - Focus Fire II (Dark Magic), Intermediate with Flux Tomes, Novice with Nosferatu Tomes, and +10 SPD)
[][Dark Magic Training] Efficiency. You cast various kinds of spells throughout the trip, becoming somewhat skilled with three of the specific Dark Magic tomes used. (Gain Intermediate proficiency with Flux Tomes, Intermediate with Nosferatu Tomes, Intermediate with Ruin Tomes and +10 SKL)
[][Dark Magic Training] Drawback Immunity. You cast continuous spells throughout the trip, gaining a decent immunity to the long-term effect of Dark Magic onto your mind and soul. (Gain Trait - Mind of Steel Level 2, Intermediate proficiency with Flux Tomes, Novice with Nosferatu Tomes and +10 RES)
As compensation for essentially ghosting you guys for about two-three weeks, pick an interlude. Pick however many you want, but only one shall win the vote. Note that these options will show things relevant to the past, what is happening right now, and may have different information in the future depending on the current circumstances of said events during the future.
[][Interlude] The Best Friend
[][Interlude] The Flirty Dancer
[][Interlude] The Stoic Princess
[][Interlude] The (Kinda) Heroic Swordsman
[][Interlude] The Nervous Archer
[][Interlude] The Clumsy Pega-Pony Princess
[][Interlude] The Crow Father
[][Interlude] The Lord of Ylisse
[][Interlude] The Glorified Butler
[][Interlude] The Voice of Naga
[][Interlude] The Forgotten One
[][Interlude] The Conqueror
[][Interlude] The Necromancer [][Interlude] The Vessels Votes for the next chapter:
Dark Magic Training
Interlude
Note from the QM:
IT LIVES!
Sorry for essentially ghosting and not informing you guys for anything in the past couple of weeks. RL came up along with midterms(which are usually 2-3 weeks long). I barely managed to write this chapter out, but hopefully, I can start a more consistent update schedule again. My midterms are still going on, ending around the beginning of November. I'm using my free time to either write or doing something a bit more relaxing, so I apologize if the quality of this seems a little lower than usual. Now onto the contents of the chapter itself, starting with the questions.
The questions were more so an IC way to know why she has the necklace and how she got to Ylisstol Castle. OOC Leonard obviously knows what's wrong with her, but he has to play along with the fact that he's clueless about what happened to her. Also, I decided to fill in some details with my own headcanon of why she was taken away (it states that she's taken away to be experimented on, but that's very vague).
For the interlude vote, choose whoever you want to see. Whether it be because someone is your favorite or you are simply curious, each option has very important information that could help you, the readers, in this quest and Leonard some way or another. These usually will happen every twenty to twenty-five chapters, but I've decided to make an exception due to the last instance.
Feel free to @ me if you have any questions regarding the chapter, the votes, if I missed anything or the quest in general. I'm on SV pretty frequently nowadays.
EDIT: 10/7/22, fixed the past/present tense issues and (hopefully) made the chapter easier to digest as a whole.
! Also, I will keep this vote open for two days instead of my usual one day, in case you guys need more time to make one.
Also, I apologize that this took a while to post, life came and decided to shove its way into my already filled schedule.