[X] Checkmate
[X] Tomes of magic
[X] Duties of the crown
[X] Wings of freedom
[X] Spirit of the Hero King
BTW @Macros are you going with the need magic books to magic or learn the spell and your good interpretation of fire emblem magic?
Also if we get a teacher I'd prefer Henry because Tharja hates us and Robin isn't really our friend anymore thanks to the massive smoke zombie dragon inside him. I'd rather if Grima wasn't aware of all of our tricks and we need to know dark magic if we're gonna defend against it.
Also if we get a teacher I'd prefer Henry because Tharja hates us and Robin isn't really our friend anymore thanks to the massive smoke zombie dragon inside him. I'd rather if Grima wasn't aware of all of our tricks and we need to know dark magic if we're gonna defend against it.
So your choice is to learn from the sociopath? Seriously, I feel like that's a really bad idea. What do you think he'd have us practice on without ever realizing why we might have issues with it?
Tharja doesn't hate us. Thinks we're a naive fool, but I'm fairly she doesn't hate us. She knows what's coming, and if we ask to learn from her we get both someone who knows just how dangerous their craft is, respects it with the weight it deserves, and would be willing to teach us.
Not to mention we get to show her that we really aren't a naive fool. That if Noire had asked for training, we might have very well had no problem with it and that we're the only other person (besides Robin for obvious reasons) that knows that something is coming.
My natural impulse would be that one can use magic even without a tome, but having one amplify it by quite a lot, giving it a lot more potency. So unless people here think it's heresy, that's what we will go with, I think.
There'll be a subvote for a magic teacher if tomes of magic is picked (which right now seems probable).
My natural impulse would be that one can use magic even without a tome, but having one amplify it by quite a lot, giving it a lot more potency. So unless people here think it's heresy, that's what we will go with, I think.
There'll be a subvote for a magic teacher if tomes of magic is picked (which right now seems probable).
In one of my stories (that I never get past the first chapter on and never post) I kind of had magic be a free floating energy that mages can manipulate and then pull through Tomes, which forms the spell. And explains why they might wear out.
Although your idea could mesh with mine I guess, just have them be able to kind of form the matrices out of memory or something...
Most of us agreed on Dark Magic for the lulz, but if not I would want Lightning Magic. Which is Robin's thing and pretty much no one else's.
It's just... Fire magic would be a bad idea, because roasting humans and all that. Mechanically it's pretty alright, as soon as you put it into a narrative context though it gets... Yeah.
Wind magic isn't bad either, but I'd rather have something with a bit more "Oomph" to it. Though it is good against fliers so I wouldn't be against getting some basic Wind magic just for that.
Primarily I'd want Lightning or Dark magic though. And our only Lightning teacher available is both going to be gone in a little while and is already being pushed to his limits with just teaching us Tactics.
Dark magic is pretty strong, and we have a couple of teachers for it we can choose from. Well, I say a couple, but I'd really rather not have our intro to it be from Henry at least. Also, delicious irony.
[X] Checkmate: if you can't train your body, you might as well train your mind. With rumours of war on the horizon, Robin's free time has been drastically cut out, but he's still willing to teach you, something you're grateful for.
[X] Tomes of magic: magic certainly seems to play a larger role in your life as of late. You already know a bit about healing, but what about the other forms? Maybe you should look into it.
-[X] Tharja
[X] Duties of the crown: your father seems to have noticed your restlessness these days. Given the recent interest you took in public matters, he offers you to start attending some of his private councils. You are his heir, after all, and the sooner you learn what it means to rule, the better.
[X] Wings of freedom: one of the major benefit of finally being out of bed is that you can visit Cu again. You may feel a bit weak still, but flying is more strenuous for your mount than for yourself to begin with. And after weeks spent lying around, soaring through the air is an appealing feeling to you.
[X] Spirit of the Hero King: with Tiki's help, you're close to a breakthrough, you just know it. All you need is a little more time to unlock the einherjar secrets...
So your choice is to learn from the sociopath? Seriously, I feel like that's a really bad idea. What do you think he'd have us practice on without ever realizing why we might have issues with it?
Tharja doesn't hate us. Thinks we're a naive fool, but I'm fairly she doesn't hate us. She knows what's coming, and if we ask to learn from her we get both someone who knows just how dangerous their craft is, respects it with the weight it deserves, and would be willing to teach us.
Not to mention we get to show her that we really aren't a naive fool. That if Noire had asked for training, we might have very well had no problem with it and that we're the only other person (besides Robin for obvious reasons) that knows that something is coming.
Tharja's training tends to be cursing her pupil, a lot. Last time she cursed us we lost a chunk of luck. Henry is a sociopath yes, but he is also the most skilled dark mage and rather ingenious in his methods. Pretty much all the canon dark mages are immoral and I honestly don't care what Tharja thinks of us, we don't need approval, we need results. Henry knows Plegian command structure and one of its generals, there's a lot more we can learn of him, not just dark magic.
-Henry, who can teach dark & lightning magic
-Miriel, who can teach fire, wind & lightning magic
-Tharja, who can teach dark & fire magic
-Ricken, who can teach wind & lightning magic
-Lissa, who can teach wind magic
[x] Checkmate: if you can't train your body, you might as well train your mind. With rumors of war on the horizon, Robin's free time has been drastically cut out, but he's still willing to teach you, something you're grateful for.
[x] Duties of the crown: your father seems to have noticed your restlessness these days. Given the recent interest you took in public matters, he offers you to start attending some of his private councils. You are his heir, after all, and the sooner you learn what it means to rule, the better.
[x] Spend time in the stables: between your mother and Cherche's lessons, you have become more eager to learn about the best ways to care about animals these last weeks. And what better way to learn than to spend time with them? Well, it would be pretty strenuous, probably.
[x] Wings of freedom: one of the major benefit of finally being out of bed is that you can visit Cu again. You may feel a bit weak still, but flying is more strenuous for your mount than for yourself to begin with. And after weeks spent lying around, soaring through the air is an appealing feeling to you.
[x] Spirit of the Hero King: with Tiki's help, you're close to a breakthrough, you just know it. All you need is a little more time to unlock the einherjar secrets...
[x] Checkmate: if you can't train your body, you might as well train your mind. With rumors of war on the horizon, Robin's free time has been drastically cut out, but he's still willing to teach you, something you're grateful for.
[x] Duties of the crown: your father seems to have noticed your restlessness these days. Given the recent interest you took in public matters, he offers you to start attending some of his private councils. You are his heir, after all, and the sooner you learn what it means to rule, the better.
[x] Spend time in the stables: between your mother and Cherche's lessons, you have become more eager to learn about the best ways to care about animals these last weeks. And what better way to learn than to spend time with them? Well, it would be pretty strenuous, probably.
[x] Wings of freedom: one of the major benefit of finally being out of bed is that you can visit Cu again. You may feel a bit weak still, but flying is more strenuous for your mount than for yourself to begin with. And after weeks spent lying around, soaring through the air is an appealing feeling to you.
[x] Spirit of the Hero King: with Tiki's help, you're close to a breakthrough, you just know it. All you need is a little more time to unlock the einherjar secrets...
[X] Checkmate
[X] Tomes of magic
[X] Duties of the crown
[X] Wings of freedom
[X] Spirit of the Hero King
The atmosphere at the palace is noticeably heavier. More than once, you can hear guards and servants whispering about rumours of war; apparently, words of the assassination attempt got out, and most of Ylisstol is worried that the peace earned in Valm might turn out to be short-lived. You also cannot help but notice that the security around you and Cynthia had been noticeably reinforced; while you were given a good deal of autonomy before, nowadays it is rare for you to find yourself without a guard tailing you.
[X] History, Laws and Politics of Ylisse (LOCKED)
[X] Diplomacy lessons (LOCKED)
[X] Studies on the state of the Realm (LOCKED)
This new mood is extended even in your lessons. Maribelle is... considerably mellower these days, and seems to be constantly watching you, as if fearing you might collapse at any moment's notice. It can be a little frustrating sometimes, but you think it would be ungrateful of you to complain about having so many people worried about you. Progressively, things begin to return to normal, as the fear brought by your close brush with death begins to fade. Still, you can clearly see that your teacher, like most of Ylisse, is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Nonetheless, your lessons continue at a satisfying rate, despite your relative weakness - Maribelle going as far as suggesting that you're much more manageable now that you're not about to run off to swing swords in the courtyard; this earns her a dark glare.
Skill : diplomacy raised to D+
Skill : politics raised to D
Skill : authority raised to D+
Skill : law raised to D+
Skill : etiquette raised to D+
[X] Sword training (Ylissean royal style) (LOCKED)
Your sword lessons are a lot more frustrating. Getting your father to agree to start them again was hard enough, but the first sessions are mortifying, plain and simple. Who would have thought that being bedridden a few weeks could have such an effect? You still feel rather weak, and you don't seem to be able to make your body move as it should. Your form is consistently atrocious, your strikes are far weaker than they ought to be, your reflexes are sluggish, and you're out of breath far too quickly. Your father does his best to comfort you, telling you that there's no rush and that you will get back to your previous level in no time, but for several weeks, this training is a constant exercise in frustration. Still, bit by bit, you can feel your previous strength returning.
No progress
[X] Checkmate
Well, if your body is still recuperating, you can settle with exercising your mind, you suppose. As soon as you are able, you are back to studying under Ylisse's grandmaster. Once again, you find yourself drilled with battle plans, logistical organisations and theoretical problems. But you're getting the hang of it, you think. Right now, you think you understand what leading an army entails, and what it means to be a commander rather than a warrior. It seems like a heavy duty, you think; by now, you have fully realized that while the core Shepherds had been blessed with almost no losses, Ylisse's victories still have been paid in blood. Willingly sending people to die, even in victory... That thought is discomforting. Good, says Robin. There isn't anything pleasant about leadership, he stresses; it simply is a duty. That, you think, is something you can understand.
Still, while you are relatively satisfied about your own progress, you can't help but feel worried about your teacher. He seems paler than usual, and bags have begun to appears under his eyes. You think he also lost a bit of weight. You can imagine that his work is taking a great deal out of him, especially given all the rumours floating around, but you can't help but wonder if there's something else. Nonetheless, seeing him like this is rather discomforting, especially since you feel like there's nothing you could possibly do to help. That feeling of being powerless is as always deeply unpleasant, and this time, no amount of sword training would be able to solve this, you fear.
Characteristic : intelligence raised to C-
Skill : tactics raised to D+
Skill : logistic raised to D+
Option unlocked: ???
[X] Duties of the crown
A royal council is quite different from the audiences you witnessed, and a lot less formal than what you imagined. Only a dozen persons are gathered; some you know, like Robin or Maribelle, others are harder to recognize, though the faces are often somewhat familiar. Mother makes a point to formally introduce you to the noblemen assisting your father in his rule, and if any of them is surprised to be in the company of one so young, they hide it remarkably well. All are unfailingly polite, and wish you a swift recovery. In turn, you put your social training to good use, playing your role of princess as well as you can. From Maribelle's slight glare, you can tell you didn't quite manage to meet her standards, but none of her interlocutors seemed to point out a social faux pas, so it was probably all good... you hoped.
The discussions on the daily matters of the realm are, you are ashamed to admit, not easy to follow for you. You suppose your lack of experience in those matters is showing. While you are not ignorant of those domains, technical discussions on legislation, taxation or administration remain hard to grasp. Still, you quickly realize many council meetings are centered upon the possibilities of a war, something which you suspect is a rather new development. The hope that these precautions will prove superfluous is still there, but everyone seems to tacitly acknowledge the possibility of a new conflict. Thinking of your parents departing again for the battlefield leaves you with a cold pit in your stomach, but you do your best to keep your composure. Still, that sense of foreboding is now stronger than ever.
Characteristic : charisma raised to C
Skill : law raised to C-
Skill : authority raised to C-
Skill : politics raised to D+
Option unlocked : To be king
Option unlocked : Wartime plans
A decade worth of experience!
Your tenth birthday quickly turned out to be a national affair. With troubles looming on the horizon, the Exalted Princess turning ten is a welcome distraction, and an occasion to celebrate for the Ylissean people, not to mention that a public appearance after the assassination attempt will be good for morale. You'd have preferred less fanfare, but you understand that those sort of duties come with your station. As such, you attend the official ceremony with all the good grace you can muster.
There is also a more private gathering, of course, which is far easier to enjoy. You also notice that some of the presents given by your family are more... practical than usual. Of particular note is a heal staff, offered by Libra, and, to your delight, an ornate steel sword ordered for you by your father. The contact with live steel reminds you of that night, but to your surprise, it's not an altogether unpleasant memory. You can recall the fear and the tension of the fight, but, now that you think about it...wasn't there something else?
Hm. Questions for later. For now, there is cake to be eaten.
Growing stronger, growing wiser: strength raised to B-, endurance raised to C, intelligence raised to C, charisma raised to C+ Notable possessions added: heal staff, steel sword
[X] Tomes of magic
The idea has been in your mind for quite some time now: would it be possible for you to learn magic? There was no reason you shouldn't, right? After all, Libra had taught you how to use healing staffs well enough. The more you think about it, the more willing to give it a try you are. However, you reckon that trying to learn on your own wouldn't be very efficient - and worse, it could be quite dangerous; stories about apprentices grasping more than they could chow and hurting themselves in the process are aplenty. Still, that leaves the question of who to pick. Uncle Robin would have been a suitable candidate, but given his busy schedule, you don't think he would have more time to give you. Still, that leaves a few options...
[] Miriel is renowned as a peerless researcher, having mastered the elements of fire, wind and lightning. Her theoretical knowledge is, as far as you know, unmatched in Ylisse. The main difficulty, you think, would probably to understand her lessons in the first place. [] Lissa offers the advantage of being easy to reach. In the magic sphere, she might not command the same aura as the most renowned archmages, but she still has a good reputation with wind magic, and you probably could train your healing magic while you're at it. [] Tharja is rather infamous, both in Ylisse and Plegia. A dark mage of tremendous power, mixing her art with powerful flame magic. There is no doubt a lot to learn from her... but the way you clashed last year would no doubt make for a strained relationship. [] Henry is... odd. Still, he is an extremely competent wizard in his own right, having mastered dark and lightning magic. He also has the reputation of being extremely inventive, if unorthodox, with his craft. [] Ricken is probably less naturally talented than the others. Still, his hard work saw him hailed as a master of wind and lightning magic. He is also known for putting more emphasis on martial abilities than the other mages.
[X] Henry is... odd. Still, he is an extremely competent wizard in his own right, having mastered dark and lightning magic. He also has the reputation of being extremely inventive, if unorthodox, with his craft.
I'm realizing a Dark/Wind teacher would have been perfect for what I wanted. Ah, well.
Henry? Dark/Lightning? Yes please. Probably the best Dark/Lightning teacher we can find, since the only person definitely better is a Fell Inheritance timeline Robin, and that's a timeline 2 variant while we're in timeline one.
[X] Ricken is probably less naturally talented than the others. Still, his hard work saw him hailed as a master of wind and lightning magic. He is also known for putting more emphasis on martial abilities than the other mages.
[X] Ricken is probably less naturally talented than the others. Still, his hard work saw him hailed as a master of wind and lightning magic. He is also known for putting more emphasis on martial abilities than the other mages.
[X] Henry is... odd. Still, he is an extremely competent wizard in his own right, having mastered dark and lightning magic. He also has the reputation of being extremely inventive, if unorthodox, with his craft.
[X] Henry is... odd. Still, he is an extremely competent wizard in his own right, having mastered dark and lightning magic. He also has the reputation of being extremely inventive, if unorthodox, with his craft.
[] Ricken is probably less naturally talented than the others. Still, his hard work saw him hailed as a master of wind and lightning magic. He is also known for putting more emphasis on martial abilities than the other mages.
That would be the route where we complement our own fighting style with magic I guess. I don't see us going full spellcaster, so that should be a natural choice but...
I'm really tempted to vote Tharja since that creepy mother said she would find some other way to train Noire and I'd rather have an excuse to keep an eye on her. Of course Tharja isn't exactly having an huge following voting-wise right now...
[X] Tharja is rather infamous, both in Ylisse and Plegia. A dark mage of tremendous power, mixing her art with powerful flame magic. There is no doubt a lot to learn from her... but the way you clashed last year would no doubt make for a strained relationship.
You know, I'll just switch my vote later if no one is interested in having female Snape teach us the occult arts.
.