Chapter 1-8: Ominous exchange (autumn 2619)
Macros
omnisciently vague councilman
- Location
- Dirac Sea
[x] Ask him about Nah and Morgan's departure and the dreams
[x] Introduce her. Gregor seems the type appreciate the direct approach. Just take Severa and ask him to teach her. If he won't do it for free, see if you can convince Father to pay him to do it.
[x] Introduce her. Gregor seems the type appreciate the direct approach. Just take Severa and ask him to teach her. If he won't do it for free, see if you can convince Father to pay him to do it.
[x] Ask him about Nah and Morgan's departure and the dreams
You hesitate, briefly taking your mind out of the game.
"Uncle Robin?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I ask you something?"
His face is blank as he stares at you, not letting anything transpire. It's as if he's analyzing you, trying to guess what you're about to say. He finally directs his attention on the board game once again, capturing one of your pieces.
"Go ahead."
"Why did Nah and Morgan had to leave?"
His mask is still on, his voice neutral. Too neutral, you think. And you don't like that he doesn't look at you when answering.
"I believed some change could do them some good. A city can be a stressful place to live in."
But that can't be the whole truth, can it? What about the...
"Is it about their nightmares?"
Kill her.
Robin finally looks up, looking curious.
"You know about those?"
"Yeah" you nod. "Nah talked to me about it a little, just before leaving. Something about a dragon?"
It would be easy. You have that knife in your sleeve. Stab her heart. She will never see it coming.
The tactician tenses, his posture subtly shifting, before he takes a deep breath, forcing himself to relax. You hesitate. Was you knowing that surprising?
"I see. Well, it's true that things haven't been easy for the both of them. I thought a new place to live might help."
"Nah also thought you had bad dreams too. Is that true?"
No-one would suspect you. You could spin any tale you'd want, Chrom would still trust you.
Robin lifts up an arm to massage his temples. Is he having a headache?
"Ah, so Nah noticed. I had hoped she wouldn't."
The way his gaze drifted while saying that makes you wonder if those words were intended for you, or if he simply was talking to himself. You had always heard rumours about your father's best friend, calling him a bit odd. You never thought much of it - he seemed normal enough to you, if a bit distant - but right now, you wonder. Still, he quickly seems to refocus.
"It is true that my position comes with a good amount of stress, and that can lead to some sleep difficulties. Still, there's no need to worry about me. As for my daughters..." He seems to hesitate. "Manakete are pretty rare, you know. And there are some cults who believe the blood of dragons carry magical properties. I feared that having them in plain sight in Ylisstol, when they are so young, could lead to problems. So I sent them in a safe place. Nowi is looking after them, and I still visit as often as I can, but I believe it is better this way."
You frown, trying to integrate that new information. Some people would kill Nah and Morgan for their blood? That's horrible!
"But then, what about the dreams?"
It would be a mercy to kill her now, you know. Unless you want to see what I'll do to her once I'm here?
Robin only shrugs, looking back at the game-board.
"Something to do with their manakete nature, I suppose. I wouldn't know. Oh, and I believe this is checkmate."
You frown, realizing he is right. Usually, that's the point where you ask for a rematch, but after what he just told you, you're no longer in the mood.
"Is there... is there anything I can do to help?"
Your godsfather seems a bit taken aback by your question, before his face starts to soften, allowing himself a small smile.
"You really care about Nah and Morgan, do you, Lucina?" You nod hesitantly. "Right now... right now you don't need to do anything. That is the job of us adults. But if one day I'm not around... Yes, I think I would like it to know you're looking after them."
You feel a pang of fear griping your heart. Why would he talk about not being around? You know, you just know he isn't telling you everything, but you don't think you have any way to get him to say more. So the only thing you do then is...
"All right. I will."
"So much like your father. Very well, I think this is enough for today. I'll see you soon, princess!"
Don't think you can protect her forever, Robin. She soon will be dead, like everyone else you know. And there is nothing you can do about it.
You learned more about what happened with Nah and Morgan (but what was true?)
Option unlocked : so you want to learn about tactics?
Robin's willpower reduced to D+
Grima is aware of your existence
Option unlocked : so you want to learn about tactics?
Robin's willpower reduced to D+
Grima is aware of your existence
***
[x] Introduce her. Gregor seems the type appreciate the direct approach. Just take Severa and ask him to teach her. If he won't do it for free, see if you can convince Father to pay him to do it.
You don't hesitate for long. If this is what Severa wants, then you don't have any right to question it. Asking you for your help was apparently pretty hard for her to do, stalling would be doing her a disservice at this point.
"Okay. Follow me then!"
"Wha-what? Right now?"
Severa's determination seems to falter, but you'd hear none of it.
"Of course! The sooner you start, the better you can become!"
You almost drag her through the palace halls, toward the place where you think you have the most chances to find Gregor at this hour. While he doesn't spend all - or even most - of his time in the palace itself, if memory served you right, this was about the end of Brady's violin repetition. And you knew that his father wouldn't miss them for anything in the world. You're quickly proven right when you see the burly mercenary leaving the auditorium, a content expression on his face.
"Sir Gregor!"
He turns around to greet you, his usual smile widening when he sees you two approaching.
"Oh! If it isn't young princess and her friend! If little girls wanting to hear Brady, Gregor is afraid it is over now. Maybe tomorrow, yes?"
"Actually, we wanted to speak to you."
The mercenary scratches his head, visibly confused.
"That so? Gregor not sure what he can do to help young ladies. Will do best anyway, of course!"
You wait to see if Severa wants to take the lead, but her closed expression and her eyes fixed on her shoes tell you that she isn't quite ready to make that jump. Well, you suppose, that's what she has you for.
"Sir Gregor, my friend Severa has shown an interest in learning how to use a sword. We would be extremely grateful if you were to take her as your pupil."
"Oh oh?"
Gregor rubs his shin, before kneeling in front of Severa, bringing his eyes to her level.
"Hmm. Little girl is Cordelia's daughter, yes?"
That remark is enough to snap out Severa of her timidity, and she immediately scowl at the mercenary, who fortunately doesn't seem to take offense - you're not sure he ever does.
"What does my mother have to do with anything?!"
"Nothing, nothing! Gregor just wanted to make sure. Lots of kids running around, hard to remember all. So, already learned a bit about swords, or is Gregor starting from scratch?"
She hesitates a bit before answering, with a bashful expression.
"Well... I asked my dad to show me a couple of things these last weeks. He told me it wasn't exactly his speciality, but he helped."
That comes as a surprise to you. You hadn't realized Severa already decided to take some steps toward her new goal. Clearly she was quite serious about all this.
"Ah, yes. Stahl not bad, but not a swordsman first, yes. Still, good Severa already know a few things, makes it easier for Gregor! Still curious, though, why ask Gregor? Lots of good fighters around, why looking for simple mercenary?"
You admit, you were a bit curious to know that as well. Severa hesitates a bit before answering.
"The others... the others know my mother too well. I don't want to be constantly compared to her, and I thought, you were the one who would care the less about that." She let out a deep breath, before grinning. "Also I saw you knock Lon'qu flat on his ass a few weeks ago."
"Ah! Young Lon'qu very good, but still a bit green! Not as vicious as Gregor, true! Okay, Gregor will see if can teach Severa, yes? Have to warn, though, swellest of swords, but hard teacher, oh oh!"
"I'd be disappointed if you weren't."
You finally part way with the older man, deciding to walk a bit with your friend, who now has a triumphant expression plastered on her face. You're glad to see her in such high spirits, rather than angry at the world. You can't claim to understand her all that well, but even you realize she went through rather hard times, having her smile is a welcome change of pace.
"Hey, Lucina? Thanks for the help."
"You're very welcome. I didn't do much, though."
You feel like the air between you two is clean once again. Until Severa's next mood swing, at least.
Gregor is now tutoring Severa on swordsplay
Lucina and Severa's relations are no longer strained
Option unlocked : check on Severa's lessons
Lucina and Severa's relations are no longer strained
Option unlocked : check on Severa's lessons
***
Summer eventually ends, finding you more restless than ever. You learned so much over this past year, yet you have the feeling you barely scratched the surface of what you can learn. (pick seven actions, not including the locked ones)
[X] Sword training (Ylissean royal style) (LOCKED)
[X] History and customs of Ylisse (LOCKED)
[X] Etiquette lessons (LOCKED)
[] Ask for new teachers : you don't have anything against lady Armelle and sir Ogham, really, you don't. But those tutors, appointed in your parents absence, have trouble keeping your attention. Maybe you could ask if someone else would be available to teach you?
[] Ask Lon'qu for Chon'sin style lessons : without Say'ri around, the Feroxi champion is the only one you can turn to who's around on a semi-regular basis. Only problem is, you don't think he likes you all that much...
[] Training from Hell - Frederick edition : you must be utterly insane for even considering it. Your previous lessons with the knight have been hell, and now that they are over, you would come back for more? Yet the idea is firmly rooted in your mind...
[] Meditate and help at Naga's shrine : you found the practice useful after long days of training. You like the atmosphere of the place, and it is also a chance to occasionally help Libra, which is something you enjoy.
[] The Healer Princess : Libra have come to appreciate your help at the temple, and wonders if you would be willing to accompany him during his rounds in the city itself. He does warn you that this might be a rather exhausting task, but you are getting used to those, at this point.
[] So you want to learn about tactics? : your string of defeats against Robin was expected, but it doesn't mean it wasn't vexing. If you want to pay him back one of these days, you'll need to study his field... and who'd be better suited to teach you than the man himself?
[] Spend time in the library : your first foray in Ylisstol's library had been a fascinating experience, and you suspect there is still a lot more you can learn from its tomes. Who knows how much knowledge you can still dig up from it?
- [] Any specific topic in mind? (no extra action)
[] Call of the Sky : practice makes perfect. In one year, you became pretty familiar with flying mounts, now the only thing left to do is keep training in that discipline. Fortunately, you were born in the right family for that.
[] Spear lessons with Cordelia : your flying lessons went pretty well, but you admit, you'd be interested to learn more about the martial aspect of aerial combat, something Cynthia showed little taste for until now. But you get the feeling aunt Cordelia would be more than happy to help in this matter.
[] Explore Ylisstol : up until now, your childhood was spent mostly inside the palace, with the very occasional excursion outside. But you get the feeling that growing in such a sheltered environment might lead to problems down the line. Getting to know your own city seems like a good first step toward understanding Ylisseans.
[] Double down on your lessons : studying is one thing, but things worth doing are worth doing well.
- [] Sword training (Ylissean royal style)
- [] History and customs of Ylisse
- [] Etiquette lessons
- [] Owain
- [] Severa
- [] Kjelle
- [] Brady
- [] Yarne
- [] Noire
- [] Laurent
- [] Cynthia
[] Write-in : thinking hard about it, maybe there's something else you could do?
[] Special - slack off : some of these lessons are... hard to bear. Surely no-one would mind if you were to take it easy on some of them? Or even miss them? (doesn't take a choice, but instead gives one extra choice or each lesson you pick with this option.)
- [] Check on Severa's progress : you're pretty curious to know how Severa is doing with Gregor. Unfortunately, her lessons are scheduled at the same time of some of your own studies, meaning that to satiate your curiosity, you'd have to miss a class...
I have no idea how long I'll manage to maintain that writing pace. I expected maybe two updates a week when I started...
