So, right now... Training Partner (with a 4-2 advantage for Kjelle against Owain), Helping Lissa, Pegasus Knights, Draconic Warfare and Magic of the Card (duration) are unanimous choices, with turning Marth into a Pokemon close behind and Studying Henry's notes getting the seventh spot.
There's three votes for Slacking off, which is exactly 50% of the votes, so I'm not sure if I should include it in the winning vote. For information, were it was to go through, Justice Cabalist and Tales of Altea are tied for the eighth spot.
[X] Find a training partner
-[X] Severa and Kjelle
[X] Help Lissa in her duties
[X] Train with the pegasus knights novices
[X] Draconic warfare
[X] To be a Justice cabalist
[X] Magic of the card
-[X] Train the summon's duration
[X] Hero King Marth, I choose thee!
[x] Special - slack off:
-[x] Drop Etiquette lessons (LOCKED)
[x] Study Henry's notes
[X] Find a training partner
-[X] Severa and Kjelle
[X] Hero King Marth, I choose thee!
[X] Help Lissa in her duties
[X] Train with the pegasus knights novices
[X] Draconic warfare
[X] Magic of the card
-[X] train the summon's duration
[X] Tales of Altea
It's pretty much Seth's claim to fame to be the only Jagen archetype to be useful in the late game.
[X] Find a training partner
-[X] Laurent
[X] Help Lissa in her duties
[X] Train with the pegasus knights novices
[X] Draconic warfare
[X] To be a Justice cabalist
[X] Magic of the card
-[X] Train the summon's duration
[X] Swordsman of Legend
[x] Special - slack off:
-[x] Drop Etiquette lessons (LOCKED)
-[X] Sword Training (basic)
[x] Study Henry's notes
[x] Spend time in library
-[x] Texts on magic defense/offense
Since no one else has commented on this. We're no longer being taught swordsmanship by our father so we should always slack off on this so that we can have Marth teach us instead. I switched out sparring partner with Laurent because 1. we haven't spent much time with him 2. we have little experience fighting magic users 3. our sword skills are already exceptionally high and can be increased through Marth and 4. We need to bump up our magic skill since our teachers are gone this is the only way to do that effectively.
I'm dropping Etiquette because thanks to our skills we can work with this being lower than normal in favor of getting our magic up, plus I'm pretty sure helping Lissa works as an alternative to this. Magic of card Duration because this is what we should have got last time (forever salt ) and to maximize the effects of the Marth teaching options. Time in the library to get more books on magic preferring defense because we just saw a dark mage one shot two knights on his own, and we had Tharja permanently lower one of our stats, we need dark magic defense stat.
[X] Find a training partner
-[X] Severa and Kjelle
[X] Help Lissa in her duties
[X] Train with the pegasus knights novices
[X] Draconic warfare
[X] To be a Justice cabalist
[X] Magic of the card
-[X] Train the summon's duration
[X] Hero King Marth, I choose thee!
[X] Special - slack off:
-[X] Drop Etiquette lessons (LOCKED)
[X] Study Henry's notes
A tense birthday
Your eleventh birthday comes at a rather awkward time. You're once again in the company of your friends, but the departure of your parents is still fresh in every mind, and no-one is in a too festive mood, least of all you. Still, it is a good occasion for you all to share a moment together, finding comfort in each other's presence. For now... it will have to do. One of the positives, you think, is that you're beginning to not be so little anymore. With 5,1ft, you're even taller than average for your age... or so you're told.
Characteristic: strength raised to B
Characteristic: endurance raised to B-
Characteristic: intelligence raised to C+
Characteristic: charisma raised to B-
[X] History and customs of Ylisse (LOCKED) [X] Etiquette lessons (LOCKED)
[X] Studies on the state of the Realm (LOCKED)
Focusing on your usual lessons... is hard. Once again, you decide to skip your etiquette classes, and this time you do not have to fear Maribelle's disapproval. The lessons you DO attend to... are quite a step back from the usual teachings of the noblewoman. You do manage to learn a few things, but all in all, you cannot wait until those lessons are over. By that point, it was usually the moment you couldn't wait until your sword lessons started, but...
Skill: history raised to C-
[X] Sword training (basic) (LOCKED)
It feels weird to no longer have Father being the one teaching you swordplay, after those last years training with him. You can only hope that your lessons with Sir Johannes, the palace sword instructor, do go well. His first suggestion, to spar for a few minutes in order for him to evaluate your level, is reasonable enough, at least. By the end of it, you don't know who's the most embarrassed between you and him. As it turned out, the match turned out to be decidedly one-sided in your favour, and things got even more awkward when you politely suggested he didn't need to hold back against you. After this episode, your instructor is happy enough to simply direct you from a distance through physical exercises, and the two of you don't broach the subject of that spar anymore. The lessons keep you fit... But little else.
None.
[X] Study Henry's notes
Feeling rather frustrated, you try to compensate with more intellectual pursuits, tackling on Henry's notes by yourself. As it turns out, this only adds to your annoyance. The dark mage might be one of the brightest of the continent, but as an author, he leaves a lot to be desired for. His scribbles are almost impossible to read, and what you manage to decipher is more often than not utterly unclear, leaving you pondering at the possible meanings of his sentences, or even if they have any meanings to begin with. Sometimes, you think you can grasp a general idea, but you can't ask your teacher for help, because he's gone in this stupid war with your parents and your teachers and magic is stupid and this is a complete waste of your time, Naga damn it all!
Luckily no-one is here to see your little temper tantrum directed at some piece of paper. Once you feel more calm, you try again in the coming weeks, but once again with little success.
None.
Hint: this was an action who really could have benefited from the "bring a friend along" option.
[X] Magic of the card
-[X] Train the summon's duration
[X] Hero King Marth, I choose thee!
You decide that you might as well tackle something you know you'll make some progress on: the einherjar card. It's not like you had any teacher to help you with to begin with, anyway. You had made good progress on the time needed to summon Marth, but that alone wasn't enough, in your opinion. You spend hours daily experimenting, trying to find new ways to focus your magic into the card, in order to become able to perform an almost instantaneous summon, while keeping the Hero King grounded in the material world for a longer time. It is hard, almost obsessive work. You have nothing to guide you on besides your own self-taught experiences with the einherjar, and no-one to turn to for help. But at the very least you can feel you're making progress, which is more than what you could have said for a lot of things lately.
After several weeks, the Marth reflection is able to remain three hours a week, which is thrice what you could manage before. More importantly, you're now able to split up that time, no longer having to use it all in one go. As for the speed of your summoning, you are now able to do it with a few seconds of intense focus. All in all, you have reasons to be pleased by your progress. At this point, you suspect you must be one of the person to know the most about an einherjar's inner working, despite your relative inexperience with magic. You can't help but wonder on the eventual fate of that strange old man who gave that card to you... and of what could ever have happened t the ones that were stolen.
One day, your training session suffers from an unexpected interruption, however. As you just completed yet another summoning, you hear the door to your room open, giving way to a worried Cynthia. Drats. You could have sworn she was supposed to go flying at this hour.
"Lucy, I heard some noises, is every... Errr. Hello? Who's... this guy?"
Well, you suppose you may have shown the same lack of grace were you to find your sister in the company of a strange man in blue. Still, this is awkward.
[] What do you answer?
Skill: magical theory raised to C
Summon time of Marth is now of five seconds.
Summon duration is now of three hours/week
Oops, I forgot "bring a friend" was still an option. I even thought Laurent or Noire might be helpful, considering at least one of their mothers must have bad handwriting so they'd be good at deciphering.
Oh well. Live and learn.
[jk] What do you mean? There's no one here.
We probably can't bluff that well. Yet.
EDIT: Changing my vote. Forgot Cynthia was extremely gullible and not the best secret keeper. I think telling the truth would be better, but I acknowledge that Cynthia might not be able to keep the secret.
[X] Oh... this? T-This is our great uncle Mar-ark, yea, great uncle Mark who'll be staying with us for a while.
[X] "I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you... He's a projection of King Marth, a secret weapon I'm saving for a special occasion. Just imagine, during a battle, all seems lost, and then the Hero King Marth appears to save the day! But it'll lose the element of surprise if everyone knows about him, so let's keep this a secret between us, ok?"
[X] "I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you... He's a projection of King Marth, a secret weapon I'm saving for a special occasion. Just imagine, during a battle, all seems lost, and then the Hero King Marth appears to save the day! But it'll lose the element of surprise if everyone knows about him, so let's keep this a secret between us, ok?"
I can only imagine what advantages letting the most loose-lipped of our companions know about the one thing we have over the Grimleal. So We're voting to get assassins after us every other turn then? At least we'll have plenty of hands on experience by the end of this.
[X] "I'm sorry, I wanted to surprise you... He's a projection of King Marth, a secret weapon I'm saving for a special occasion. Just imagine, during a battle, all seems lost, and then the Hero King Marth appears to save the day! But it'll lose the element of surprise if everyone knows about him, so let's keep this a secret between us, ok?"
Ooh, quite a turnaround. Had to scrap parts of my first draft.
[X] Oh... this? T-This is our great uncle Mar-ark, yea, great uncle Mark who'll be staying with us for a while.
You open your mouth, before closing it. You want nothing more but to be honest with Cynthia, and tell her all about the einherjar, but you can't help but remember that Cynthia talks. A lot. Could she be trusted with a secret this big, without her revealing it in the days to come? You'd rather not take the chance. Still, you have to say something...
"Oh... this? T-this is our great uncle Mar-ark. Um, yes! He's staying for a while!"
You slap yourself internally, though you maintain a smiling face - even if it does feel strained. That's the best you can come up with? No wonder people call you a terrible liar. In fact, your cover story is threatened right off the bat when you see Marth's reflection opening his mouth, a confused expression on his face.
"I do not understand. I am n..."
You shut him up the only way you know how, by stomping on his foot as hard as you can, hoping Cynthia is still too confused to notice.
"Uncle, allow me to introduce you to my sister, Cynthia."
"Of... course. It is a pleasure to meet you, my lady."
Oh good, so he can learn. Still, that unconvincing display did little to assuage Cynthia's doubts.
"Ah, uh... nice to meet you? I... never heard of you, though. I mean, I know I'm not the best at paying attention to those things, but still..."
"He was away on a far-away land for a long time, actually. He was just finishing telling me about it."
"Ah... um, Lucy? Why is our uncle... kind of see-through?"
"Wh.. what are you talking about? Cynthia, are you feeling alright? Maybe you should sleep for a bit."
You feel horrible. You can see that Cynthia has a hard time believing any of this, yet she wants to trust you with all her heart. She'd probably believe you if you were to tell her the sky was green, should you press the point hard enough, and for the first time, you're taking advantage of her trust.
"Ah... If you say so. Um, it was a pleasure to meet you... uncle? I'll see you around?"
The einherjar only nods, almost as confused as her, and you both watch her exit your room. She casts in your direction another uncertain glance, and it takes her all your willpower to maintain eye contact, keeping up a smiling face as you fight on the impulse to just apologize and come clean with everything. Finally you're alone once again with 'Marth', who turns toward you.
"I am a bit confused. What was that about?"
"Just... not now, please."
Her last expression... It was painful to think of it. You can only hope it will eventually be worth it. Right now, you can't help but doubt that, though.
Secret is preserved for now.
Cynthia's mood switched from 'Shaken' to 'Afraid'
[X] To be a Justice cabalist
In the next weeks, you try to keep the guilt away by spending more time with her. After all, you're part of this 'Justice Cabal' now, you might as well play the part. And to be honest, it is a good chance for you to relax a bit. Owain and Cynthia are probably the most cheerful people you know (even if sometimes, you can't help but wonder how much is real and how much is an attempt to keep more somber thoughts at bay), and their good mood can be quite contagious. The time together is... actually really pleasant. How long was it since you really took the time to relax? Yet after several stressful weeks, getting roped in Owain and Cynthia's crazy schemes is a very welcome change of pace.
Still, you can't help but notice that Cynthia is carefully avoiding to mention that supposed great uncle of her. You're partly grateful - were she to talk about it to Owain, or worse, Lissa, you're pretty sure your story would collapse instantly - but for her to specifically avoid the subject is proof of how affected she had been by the episode. Cynthia is never careful. About anything. And now she is, and about you. You hate that feeling, and are infinitely grateful to Owain for consistently managing to lighten up the mood. Progressively, Cynthia's smiles become more spontaneous once again, and you can only hope that the worst is now behind you.
You consider taking advantage of the occasion to ask Owain for a few spars, but the time is not right, you think, not when you're more worried about your sister. The last thing you'd need right now is to make her feel excluded. Maybe next month.
Relations with Owain raised to B
Cynthia's mood switches back to 'Shaken'.
Option unlocked: Heroes in training
[X] Help Lissa in her duties
You also spend a lot of time with your aunt. Her new role as acting ruler of Ylisse is pretty overwhelming, and while the help you can provide is limited - it's not like you have a wealth of experience to call upon - she's grateful nonetheless. You're present at most council meetings, trying to support Lissa all the way with your still fragmentary knowledge of the matters of state. Yet, it seems your presence alone is somewhat helpful. You were by now a relatively familiar face in those circles, and a constant reminder of Chrom's influence. It is also rather interesting to see how Lissa is handling things compared to your father. She's less assured, due to her lack of familiarity with her new situation, but you also think she's of a more thoughtful nature. Where your father trusts his instincts, she takes more time to ponder upon facts - but then again, she doesn't have the luxury of a Robin or a Frederick to advocate prudence should she get carried away.
It's also a good occasion to keep yourself informed on the ongoing war. Each day comes with new couriers, giving the palace a rather accurate view of the conflict. So far, the news are rather positive. The first battles went well, with the Ylissean army currently advancing in Plegian's territory, fending off the attempts at harassing their supply lines. The only worrying part is the appearance of strange undead creatures, that Tharja have identified as 'Risen', found roaming through Plegia's countryside. So far those monsters are few and far between, and show no particular skill or tactical acumen, but many are worried of what it means, thinking it might be the prelude of something bigger. Nonetheless, Father and Robin are cautiously optimistic, hoping to march on Plegia's capital by the end of the summer. With luck, the Shepherds might soon be home.
Skill: politics raised to C+
Skill: diplomacy raised to C-
Option unlocked: ???
[X] Train with the pegasus knights novices
[X] Draconic warfare
You thought about it long and hard, and you finally think you're ready to follow a more specialized training when it comes to aerial combat. You pretty much reached the limits of what you could accomplish with Cu alone, and with no wyvern knight in Ylisse and Mother and Cordelia away, there's only one way to get better that you can think of: the pegasus knight formation. It is a bit unorthodox; for one, most trainees wait for at least three more years before starting their formation - but you're tall for your age, you hope that will help you not stand out too much. Mostly, you'd be operating with an entirely different mount, which may cause some problems. Still, it is worth trying, at least.
It goes rather well, all things considered. You attract many glances, but the instructor, a stern officer by the name of Berthault, makes a point of not treating you differently because of your birth, which is what you hoped for. In fact, you suspect her to maybe overcompensate a little, but you trained under Frederick. This is fine by comparison. Training side by side with soon-to-be pegasus knights is an enlightening experience. It allows you to get a rather accurate assesment of how wyverns would compare to pegasi. For one, the winged horses tend to be faster, and a lot more maneuverable, taking sharp turns and hard angles Cu would be unable to imitate. However, your wyvern displays more stamina, and you suspect she would make for a more fearsome opponent on the ground, being able to tear through enemy ranks in a way a pegasus can't.
You stay away from the spear lessons - just learning everything there is to know about sword styles would take you a lifetime, you don't think it would be wise to branch ou at this point - but watching them, it is easy to understand why they are the weapons of choice for those who fight in the sky. Your reach with a sword is greatly limited when mounted, and all the ingrained footwork you learned is impossible to use. A spear extra reach give an easier time to target specific points, and when coupled with a pegasus mobility, it is easy to see why the pegasus knights have dominated the sky up until now. Still, you do not give up. After the classes are ended, you spend many more hours with Cu, trying to find the best ways to effectively use your sword when on a wyvern's back. All of those maneuver involve getting as close as possible to the target, the main difficulty being to avoid crashing into it, but you're beginning to see results. You don't think swordfighting in the air will ever become easy, but at it's point, it's doable, which you count as a success. You also obtain good results with tome magic, improving your accuracy when moving at high speed - which isn't exactly easy to do either.
Characteristic: dexterity raised to B
Skill: riding (wyverns) raised to C-
Skill: aerial combat raised twice to D+
Option unlocked: Death from Above - sword edition
Option unlocked: Death from Above - magic edition
[X] Find a training partner
-[X] Severa and Kjelle
Still, there is a time to fly, and there's a time to wack things with a sword with your two feet on the ground. You suppose most girls would find that a strange hobby, but you're not most girls. And fortunately for you, a few around you may share your enthusiasm for martial pursuit. Your first stop is Severa, who you suspect might be as frustrated as you at your sudden lack of decent sword instructor. Indeed, you find her in the courtyard ripping through training mannequins, a scowl on her face.
"You know, you shouldn't train alone. It only embeds errors."
That was one of the first advice your father gave you, though you tactfully avoid to tell Severa you might have ignored it yourself from time to time. As she turns toward you, there is a small frown on her face, but you can tell her frustration isn't directed at you. Your words entice a shrug from her.
"Not like there's much choice. Stupid Gregor went away with the others, so I'm kind of out of options."
"Hmm. You still have one."
You do your best to appear nonchalant, but you can tell your eyes are a bit too bright to appear entirely honest; Severa's gaze narrows in return, as if trying to read your mind.
"Last time I asked, you directed me to someone else. What changed?"
Ugh, she's still hang up about that? Let it not be said that she had short memory, at least.
"Well, I was not so confident in my skills back then. Recent events..." you think back at your fight against the bandit leader, or your spar with the sword instructor "made me think I might be able to help more now. And I'm counting on you to help me progress too."
She still seems doubtful, as if not quite believing what you're offering.
"But... why me? I mean, Owain is better with a sword... for now."
You nod. "That may be true, but I know you, Severa. You push yourself way harder than most people. I hope you'll catch up to me in no time."
That does elicit a smile from her.
"Ah? Don't come crying when it does happen, then. I won't hold back just because you're Chrom's daughter."
You can't help but snort at that. "You never hold back at anything for anyone, Severa."
"Heh, I guess that's true. So, when do we start?"
"Soon. But first, we're going to need someone else."
That makes her raise an eyebrow. "Who?"
"Kjelle."
"... why? She doesn't even use a sword, last time I checked."
"Well, that's true, but from what I heard, she's been training her physical condition pretty intensely. That's something we could use."
Severa let out an aggravated sigh at those words, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You would say that. I'm going to regret this, don't I?"
"Come on, it'll be fun!"
"You're horrible."
***
Kjelle is not that hard to find either. The advantages of looking for someone having a rather tight training schedule is that they're creatures of habit. The next morning, you and Severa go wait for her on the path you heard she uses for her morning runs. Sure as day, it isn't long before she shows up, slowing down as she sees the both of you.
"Hello, Kjelle."
"Lucina, Severa."
She nods politely to both of you, but you can't help to think that her face seems... too neutral. As if she was doing her best to keep her true emotions from showing, which is not something Kjelle usually does. What this means, you have no idea. Well, you'll find out soon enough, you suppose.
"Severa and I want to start training regularly together. I wondered if you wanted to join us."
"Oh, so now you care?"
You blink. The sudden hostility came out of nowhere.
"What do you mean?"
"Oh, nothing. Just noticing that the moment the grown-ups are away, you remember we exist. It's nice to know I'm your B-plan. No, wait, C-plan, you went to Severa's first, apparently."
... what? You're too surprised to get angry. This came out of nowhere. Did she felt ignored? It's not like you never talked before, heck, you saw her a few weeks ago at your birthday! And this rather passive-aggressive attitude is rather unlike her. Still, you can't say you particularly care for her words right now, and judging by her scowl, neither does Severa.
"Ok, what the hell is your problem, huh?"
"You stay out of this. Why don't you go complain about your oh so perfect mom elsewhere?"
"What did you just say?"
By now, Severa is looking murderous, and you're pretty sure you're getting rather angry yourself. Maintaining a calm facade is getting harder with Kjelle apparently lashing out without you even understanding the reason. You had enough reasons to feel stressed these days, you really don't need this right now.
"Kjelle. What is this about."
You do your best to keep an even voice, only partially succeeding.
"Nothing. Whatever. I really don't have time for this, so if you'll excuse me..."
Wait, after all this, she's just going to turn away?
Poor Cynthia if we hadn't picked the Justice Cabal option she'd be Afraid. There was probably a better way to phrase the lie.
OK, well, Kjelle is feeling ignored. To be fair we haven't really spoken to her since that spar years ago. We need to get this solved quickly.
[X] "Fight me. Unlike a conversation, I know you won't run away from a fight. At the very least you'll be able to vent some of your frustration on me. When I win, then we'll talk."
Poor Cynthia if we hadn't picked the Justice Cabal option she'd be Afraid. There was probably a better way to phrase the lie.
OK, well, Kjelle is feeling ignored. To be fair we haven't really spoken to her since that spar years ago. We need to get this solved quickly.
[X] "Fight me. Unlike a conversation, I know you won't run away from a fight. At the very least you'll be able to vent some of your frustration on me. When I win, then we'll talk."
At the moment, I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing. In this case Tharja had a point, Cynthia should be afraid and should be bettering herself like Kjelle and the rest. Her stat line isn't exactly gonna save her from mist zombies after all.
Currently I'm leaning towards a test of arms to get Kyelle to talk, she wanted to fight us and be our rival but we ended up ignoring her so hopefully we can kindle the joy from facing an equally skilled opponent, still unsure of how to best go about it.
[X] "Fight me. Unlike a conversation, I know you won't run away from a fight. Then we'll talk."
This looks like it'll not only aggravate her more, but it would be dishonorable in my opinion. No offense. Dont kill me. @_@
[X] "Fight me. Unlike a conversation, I know you won't run away from a fight. Then we'll talk."
That said, what the fuck? I wont take that from her. Though I wonder, is she pissed because we're taking advantage of learning from adults,who have much more experience; that we didnt invite her and the rest of the age group to learn with us; or we are not learning to fight with her personally.....or is it more personal?
We have been ignoring them. All of them really. Our sister, cousin, Noire, and Severa see the most of us and we've chosen an option with them all of... twice? Each I mean.
Upset, yes. But I'm pretty sure my omakes are canon. Which means we can just laugh, and laugh, and laugh. Because they have no idea.
I'm pretty sure we/I've ended up making Lucina just a little unhinged.
Edit: And I mean that "They have no idea" in a "Oh god, they're all going to die" insane laugh kind of way.
We have been ignoring them. All of them really. Our sister, cousin, Noire, and Severa see the most of us and we've chosen an option with them all of... twice? Each I mean.
While that's mostly true, it's not that bad with some of them. You have semi-regular interactions with Cynthia and Owain (if only because they keep popping up, being family helps), you did a couple of stuff with Severa, Brady was there while you went at the temple helping Libra/talking to Naga, Laurent ended up studying with you under Robin, though you didn't have any particular meaningful conversations together, you only saw Noire occasionally, but the one time you showed up had a pretty big impact on her, and though you did not see much of Yarne so far, he showed up pretty recently, and that might become a more regular occurrence.
It's not all there is to Kjelle's outburst, but it certainly does play a part.