0. You're really eyeballing that giant stack of documents [cdb]there, Ashe. Let me see what you've got...
1. Records of military drills, archives of city taxes... You know, if you're searching for a particular needle [cdb]in this load of hay, I can help you out.
2. Oh, I'm not looking for anything specific. I just [cdb]thought they'd be good to study.
3. You're going to study all this?
4. Yeah. With the academy closed, I haven't had a [cdb]chance to focus on learning lately.
5. So I thought I could give my brain a nice workout by [cdb]reading old records and archives.
6. Hey, good for you, taking the initiative!
7. If it weren't for all this fighting, you and me would [cdb]be living the schoolboy's dream right about now.
8. Right? We could be training together, taking classes [cdb]on history and magic...
9. And when the Ethereal Moon comes, we'd go dancing [cdb]with all the girls at the ball!
10. That's...not quite what I had in mind.
11. So. Are those records actually helping you?
12. Yeah! The ones on old military drills are especially [cdb]interesting. It's fun just looking at them.
13. Just looking, huh? You might want to read a little [cdb]deeper, there.
14. I mean, take this one for example: It talks about how [cdb]the three northern houses held a joint exercise [cdb]in 1166.
15. And apparently they did so in the middle of [cdb]a raging blizzard.
16. It was so bad that some of their soldiers died, but they [cdb]went ahead and did it anyway. Any idea why?
17. Drills in the snow in 1166... Oh! Were they trying to [cdb]prepare for a confrontation with Sreng?
18. Nailed it. They were training for the northern [cdb]conquest they carried out a few years later.
19. In other words, they'd already decided to try and [cdb]take the north by 1166.
20. So if you look at the other drills during that time, [cdb]you might be able to piece together what the late [cdb]king was thinking.
21. Interesting. You know, another document did [cdb]mention an exercise conducted in Gwenhwyvar...
22. Because they'd already predicted that Sreng forces [cdb]would cross the mountains, which meant battling in [cdb]harsh desert terrain.
23. And that's why they were forbidden from using horses [cdb]during that drill!
24. It's amazing how you really start to see the bigger [cdb]picture when you dig into details like that.
25. And that's why keeping records is so important. Anyway, I've probably bothered you long enough.
26. No, wait! Teach me more! I mean, if you have time.
27. Uh, if you really wanna learn, you're better off asking [cdb]an actual professor type. I'm just... You know. Sylvain.
28. No, you're a great teacher! And I can always ask them [cdb]things when we're in the capital, but they won't be [cdb]around when we're on the march.
29. I just want to learn more so I don't embarrass the [cdb]other knights. Please?
30. Nooo, not the puppy dog eyes! Oh, fine. I'll help. But don't expect too much.