Goetia would admit his surprise that Byleth, despite her time being occupied as a professor, had for some reason continued to visit him in the coming days following their arrival and employment at the academy.
He didn't know why though. He had assumed that they would occasionally see eachother in passing. Yet the woman seemed to make a habit of coming to the Library during break periods or sitting with him at lunch just to speak with him.
Their conversations held very little in the way of consistency. One day she would ask about his thoughts on her lesson plan and the next day she would talk about her opinions on some of the students and occasionally ask for his input in magical theory, the spells they used were primitive enough that more effort went into explaining them than understanding them. He did notice she was relatively quick on the uptake when it came to understanding the basic formulas.
Goetia found the meetings with her to be somewhat meaningless, yet he found himself quickly falling into a pattern. By the end of the week, he was fully expecting Byleth to make a daily habit of meeting with him to discuss something or visit upon the library to continue their out of hours tutoring lessons.
He also noted that Byleth was not the only one to continually visit him. The girl, Lysithea, would also make a habit of stopping by the library and continue her research into spells and formulas. She seemed determined to prove her worth as a student of sorts to him.
He had no idea why. The learning of his magic wouldn't affect her in any meaningful way, yet she seemed to make a habit of learning all she could just to make sure she would master the spells of her own magic. She was determined, however he could see no discernible goal in sight for all her efforts.
There was also another thing he noted about her.
She, like Edelgard, bore two crests and, like Edelgard, had suffered a loss of pigment in her hair. It seemed that bearing two crests had a physical impact on their hosts. He had seen such symptoms before, an overuse of ones magical circuits to a harmful degree would often lead to physical impacts on the body, usually hair pigments dying and turning white.
Which told him that either two crests were rare because it would normally kill the bearer, or that the pair were experimented upon. He would have guessed the latter of the two, however without analysing the girl properly he'd have no true way of determining how greatly her body was affected by the addition of a second crest.
"You have started to make a habit of visiting the library for irrelevant reasons, Von Riegan." Goetia spoke with a frown, not turning around to look at his new visitor today.
"Eh, what can I say?" Claude shrugged, a playful smile on his face "I'm a curious guy."
"I am contractually obligated to inform you that you are highly advised to visit the library for studious purposes only." He slotted the book he was holding back into the shelf.
"Ah, you love me being here." Claude's smile got wide "Otherwise you'd be all on your lonesome."
"I am neither romantically interested in you, nor would I be concerned about social isolation." He turned around to face the boy "However, I have informed you of the regulations of the Library, whether you follow them is up to you."
"See?" He gestured to him "You do care!"
"...You have a query, I assume?" Goetia ignored the remark and decided to get straight to the point.
"Lysithea has been throwing herself into her books rather than her lessons." Claude pointed out "Ordinarily I wouldn't have taken notice, but we do have a mock battle tomorrow and I'm worried she isn't putting enough effort into her training."
"You are concerned she is forgoing the practical in favour of the theoretical."
"Use small words please, you'll hurt my delicate brain." Claude joked, the smile got dimmer at the blank face of his other conversationalist.
"As interesting as this is, I do not see how it relates to or affects me."
"Ah, ah, ah!" Claude waged his finger and his grin took on a knowing look "But I'm afraid it does, Sparkletia.-" his eyebrows creased at the nickname "-you see, she won't name names. Buuuut...I have it on good authority she is determined to live up to the standards of a certain someone in order for him to teach her magic…" he looked at Goetia for a few moments "See where I'm going with this?"
"Her obsession with proving herself to me is impacting her school work."
"Bingo!"
"I assume you have some suggestion for me to resolve this issue?"
"You're on a roll, aren't you?"
"Do not waste my time, Von Riegan." Goetia''s eyes narrowed in annoyance and his lip curled downwards "Despite whatever belief you hold, I am not as free to utilise my time as you are."
"Alright, alright." Claude held up his hands and gave a disarming smile "I just wanted you to talk with her...you know...considering you are kind of the reason she is doing all of this…"
"What would you suggest I do? Tell her to ignore my warnings about the dangers of magic and fling herself into learning a spell which could vaporise her arms?" Goetia inquired incredulously. He had told her to master the basics of her own magic for a reason.
"Well...maybe let slip that should she perhaps focus more on the 'practical than the theoretical', as you say, you might be inclined to teach her something…" He finished with a sly smile.
"You ask me to manipulate her for your classes benefit?" Goetia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Whoa!" Claude exclaimed in a rather exaggerated manner "That's such a nasty way of putting it...besides you are also helping her."
"In what way does this aid her?"
"Think about it, if she starts to put her studies into a more physical environment then she can better learn how to improve, can't she?"
Goetia furrowed his brows "A trial and error tactic?" he scrunched his face up in thought. The idea was certainly not without merit, her understanding of formulas would mean nothing if she could not apply them in a more practical sense. He looked back at Claude for a few moments "I will merely provide her with the suggestion. Whether or not she decides to follow it, is not within my power."
"Hey, all I'm asking is that you try." He said with reassuring smile, then looked around the Library "Also, you seem to be right at home here."
"I spent much of my early life in places similar to this." Goetia absently commented as he turned back around "While not as physically impressive as the Libraries in Jerusalem, the principle of its existence remains the same."
"Huh…" Claude let out a noise of affirmative "I'll get out of your luxurious hair then." he patted Goetia on the back, then quickly left the library.
Goetia looked over his shoulder...what was everyone's obsession with his hair?
"Tomas." He called out as he floated down from the first floor and to the front desk where the old man resided.
"Yes, Goetia? How may I assist you?" The old man asked as he looked towards the approaching man.
"What time is my break?" Tomas looked to the wall clock in the corner of the room before turning back to him.
"Right now, funnily enough." The old man chuckled "I shall see you back here in thirty minutes, I assume?"
"You shall." Goetia turned and walked out of the Library. Evidently he had a small girl to speak with.
X
Lysithea bit her lip in irritation. This spell shouldn't have been complicated!
She already understood most of it, so why was this part so hard to understand!?
She'd already been hailed as a prodigy at magic, so why couldn't she live up to the title! She was here to prove that her achievements were the result of hard work and dedication, not some crest.
And right now, this stupid spell was throwing a dagger in tha-
"There you are."
"Aieee!" The released a cry of alarm and flung herself over the desk. The other students in the classroom looked towards the disturbance to see the small, white haired girl, currently laying on her back while the mysterious new assistant librarian stared her down with a blank expression.
"You lack awareness of your surroundings." Goetia pointed out "I made no attempt to mask my presence."
"Well, what do you want me to do!?" Lysithea snapped as she got back to her feet, scowling at him "Just 'sense' whenever someone approaches me!?"
"Yes." The clear cut way he delivered the rather blunt answer told her that he was fully expecting her to just somehow do that. She didn't know whether to be pleased he thought so highly of her skills, or indignant that she apparently didn't meet his standards.
"What do you need me for?"
"Von Riegan came to me earlier." Goetia took a slow look over the assembled notes on her desk and the several tomes on dark magic "It seems you have been neglecting your practical application in favour of the academic research." he picked up one of the pieces of paper with her failed formula on it "While not wrong in itself, it does leave for several issues in the development of your magical prowess."
"Eh?" Lysithea blinked, her features turning from annoyance to curiosity "What do you mean?"
"Have you attempted to cast the spell you are learning yet?"
"No, I can't even understand the formula how can I cast it?" She looked at him like he was stupid.
"Do you recall my analogy on the difference between my magic and yours?" She nodded her head.
"You said it was like trying to get a toddler to sprint before they could crawl." She quoted, she didn't see how this was relevant.
"Do you believe a man who has never run a day in his life could explain what running is to you?"
"Probably not...very...well..." Oh…
"I can see you are understanding my point." Goetia nodded his head "Your explanations lack their completion because you have yet to apply them. The missing piece of your equation lies in the practical." he looked over the miasma spell "However for this example it is purely academic." he added on as a last thought "Your circle is adequate, however you will overcharge your spell and cause far more damage than you intend to."
She frowned "So I would have gotten it eventually then?"
"No." He pointed out "You would have learned the same thing if you had attempted the spell."
"So why did you tell me?"
"I assume you are attached to your fingers remaining on their hands?"
"Yes…" She answered, that was a stupid question. Then she blanched in realisation.
"Your concern is well founded, however that would have been a worse case scenario." He reassured her...she thought he was trying to anyway. Or at the very least hoped she was.
"Wh-what would have happened in a normal scenario?" She hesitantly asked, she got the feeling she really didn't want to know.
"A basic miasma spell?" He looked thoughtful for a few seconds "Minor necrosis in the fingers for you. Easily treatable. For the recipient of your spell? An incredibly painful death."
Well then, she thought, at least he caught it...Wait a second.
"I thought you said you were new to our magic?"
"I am."
"So how did you know what was wrong with the spell?" She was slightly curious about that.
"Your magic is easy to learn. This spell also bears some minor similarities to small scale curses utilised by magi from my home." he paused before adding "Although a Gandr is far more advanced than this, an accurate comparison would be comparing a puddle to an ocean."
"Gandr?" She ever heard of something like that before.
"Release of rune energy in a concentrated shot." He pointed out "Primarily designed for incapacitation. Although the more proficient could use it for more lethal wounds."
"How complicated is that?" She asked, slightly curious if it was similar to the Miasma….
"Depends of the affinity of the mage." He pointed out "A 'Light' mage would have greater difficulty creating one than a dark mage would." he looked back at her work and creased his brow "Your utilisation of something akin to runes does make me suspect you have an affinity for it…" he narrowed his eyes, seemingly in thought.
"A proposition." He looked up "Von Riegan suggested I...offer...you the opportunity to learn basic spells provided you apply yourself more to training in preparation for your mock battle."
"I thought you said you weren't going to teach me your magic?" She asked, confused then threw up her hands and quickly added "NothatI'mcomplaining!"
"I am not teaching you my magic." Goetia said as he set the paper back down "Despite my proficiency in it, Rune craft did not originate anywhere near Jerusalem. It also has minor similarities to your own craft. The transition between the two is certainly manageable."
Lysithea raised an eyebrow at him "You do realise this is manipulation, right?"
"Von Riegan is not as subtle as he would like to believe." Goetia admitted "However, I suspect that you would find the opportunity to learn a potentially new magic an offer too promising to refuse."
Lysithea crossed her arms and scrunched her face up with thought "I...suppose I shall take a more active role in training with the others…" she then flashed out her hand and pointed at Goetia "But only if you teach me these 'Runes' you speak of!"
"An agreement then." Goetia nodded "I have fulfilled my role here." he turned to leave "We shall meet later."
Lysithea nodded her head and smirked. She'd obviously gotten the better deal of the arrangement. So what if she had to put in a little more effort into training. She got to learn a whole new system of magic! That was at least worth it.
X
Goetia had no idea why he offered to teach the girl runecraft.
He'd made the comparison purely because he had noticed it. However, he also noticed that he quickly became curious as to whether or not the people of Fodlan could learn the magic he was used to.
Runecraft, while not the most diverse form of magecraft, was certainly closer to the magic that was utilised here. He supposed to that extent, it was an experiment on the application of runes. The girl had shown a strong affinity for curses.
Most mages would be concerned with being unable to generate enough magical energy to power a spell, this girl suffered from the exact opposite. With that flaw pointed out, it was likely she would quickly excel in the field of dark magic, more so than other mages of the school.
He frowned, that still didn't justify teaching her it. He just felt...compelled to. The opportunity to teach her was there...so he took it.
He furrowed his brows. He did something, purely for the sake of doing it...how...human…
"Well?" Goetia came to a halt as he heard Claude's voice to the left of him, he turned to see the man leaning against a wall and giving him a lazy smile "How did it go?"
"You need not feign ignorance, Von Riegan." Goetia curtly replied "I am aware you were present for our meeting."
His eyes widened in surprise before settling into an amused expression "Kinda figured, you and Teach are the only ones I can't seem to sneak up on."
"I did not exaggerate to Lysithea. I expect her to be able to sense those around her."
Claude raised an eyebrow "How come you call me 'Von Riegan' but call her Lysithea."
"I find her company more preferable." Goetia replied immediately "Her pursuit of knowledge, while unguided, is not an incorrect path. She merely needs a goal to work towards before I grant her begrudging respect."
"Oh?…" His smile got wider "I see then...got a little soft spot for her have you?"
"I treat her no more favourably than I would treat you if you were in her position. Her results are was interest me, not her personality." He replied instantly...although there was a small part of him that found her being...endearing.
The smile faded and he frowned "Results are only half the equation. You're forgetting about the people side and all the efforts they put into it." he looked around "Take this monastery. If you look at the results, yeah. Its a fairly impressive place. However, you need to remember that it was built by people. They all came together to build this place...if you spend all your time looking at results you'll miss the journey to get them." he smirked "That's where half the fun lies."
Goetia frowned and narrowed his eyes "You suggest one derives enjoyment from challenge?"
"They might." He replied, the shrugged his shoulders "They might not...but if they never try and challenge themselves then they'll never know. You should try it, maybe I'm right and maybe I'm wrong." he kicked off the wall and walked past Goetia with a grin "But you won't know till you try."
Goetia watched the boy saunter off back to his classroom. The tanned man frowned, challenges…they invited the possibility of failure and that was something he fervently despised.
However, perhaps the hardship before success was what humans found valuable? In which case, was teaching Lysithea a challenge? To him, not in the least. Her success or failure was entirely dependent on her own understanding rather than his abilities.
What would be counted as a challenge then?
He decided to ignore that line of thinking for now. He had completed his objective here.
"Ah, there you are." Goetia turned to see Hanneman approaching him, a wide smile on the old man's face "I was hoping to catch you in the Library during recess, however if you are here then that is fine as well."
"You require aid?" Goetia inquired, the old man shook his head.
"Not so much help as your presence." He replied "I am a Crest Scholar, as I believe I have mentioned before."
"You have."
"I had planned to approach you earlier in the week, however preparations for the students mock battle and the startling results of our new colleagues Crest analysis have kept me away from you." He was no longer focused of Goetia "It's truly strange, it is possible she has a Crest, however the analyser just can't seem to pick it up entirely. I believe it may be a new discovery."
"I assume this is a boon for your field of research."
"Indeed." Hanneman chuckled "The discovery of a new Crest would be truly splendid." he refocused on the man "That is in part why I am speaking to you now. I am unaware if your society is aware of the existence of Crests."
"I am aware of something similar." Goeita acquiesced "However their only similarity appears to be in name."
"I see." Hanneman nodded "I was wondering, if you had the spare time, if you would be able to stop by my laboratory to see if we could discover if you also possessed a Crest."
"I find it unlikely." Goetia replied "However, I suspect that your occupation, and my circumstances, will mean you will continually question me about the possibility."
"You make it sound like I would harass you." Hanneman joked "In truth, this is a rare opportunity for one in my field of study. Crests are rarer in foreign countries than they are in Fodlan, however that does not mean they do not exist. If there are, in fact, undiscovered Crests which are native to your homeland, then it opens up a completely new area of study for me."
"You are passionate about your work." Goetia pointed out, slightly intrigued. Magi had always placed a high level of importance on their family crests, a logical motive considering they were the result of hundreds of years of work, however these Crests did not have the same level of complexity to them.
"I suppose I am." Hanneman nodded "They are a fascinating thing, and given that they control much of the culture of Fodlan, I think it best we understand every aspect of them."
"A reasonable argument." Goetia admitted "I doubt it will bare results that will please you, however I will make an effort to visit you later should I have the time."
"That is all I ask." Hanneman nodded "I will leave you to your day, young Goetia."
"Hmph." Goetia grunted in reply as the elder gentleman turned away and walked back across the grass to his classroom of the Black Eagles.
A field of study towards the Crests of the continent? Goetia hummed in thought. Studying the phenomena of Crests was...mildly interesting. While the holders of such Crests were normally less than intriguing, what they carried, from a purely scientific standpoint, was of interest.
He already noted Crests to have an impact on their physical users, but he had yet to see any practical applications beyond Prince Dimitri's enhanced strength. Were there Crests which granted passive abilities? Enhanced regeneration? Increased speed?
There were numerous possibilities…
The library did provide more information on Crests which he had yet to encounter. Minor descriptions of their abilities on the users at best. While the common man wasn't able to discover this information, the Church was likely to make mention of what each Crest represented and their impacts as well as variety of.
He hummed in thought. Something to research perhaps.