What's the harm in a little reckless besieging? Let's Play FE: The Sacred Stones

More eggs growing, and that gargoyle goes after Tana, with predictable results.



Cormag starts on that nest up near the top of the map.



Tana’s egg smashing gets her a solid Level Up.



The guys on the south side can only get to one egg.



Joshua continues this streak of fine Level Ups!



But Gerik breaks it. Why do you have to bring everyone down, Gerik?



L’Arachel gets a Level Up of her own while taking out the last of the eggs in the area.



Everyone else moves as far as they can without getting stuck in the lava.



A Medusa with Stone manages to hit Ross, so he is out of the battle. It is just a status effect that stops the character from moving, but it is still dangerous if there are other enemies around. An Eye goes for Joshua and misses and the Gargoyle at the bottom of the map does the same against Kyle.



Tana starts to move across the map and takes out an eye.



Cormag finished off the eggs in his area and gets a Level Up that makes me giggle.

L’Arachel and Kyle deal with the living enemies on the other side of the map.



Amelia gets a disappointing Level Up taking out the last egg at the bottom of the map.



With only a couple of eggs and an eye left, Eirika goes after the boss, who stones her just like Ross.



Luckily, Gerik is right there for the finish and he gets a Level Up!



Just these last few eggs and one eye left to take out.



Tana, Innes and Cormag do their thing and take out the remaining enemies.



Lute gets the last egg and a decentish Level Up! Her speed isn’t quite what it could be, but her Magic stat more than makes up for it.



Ephraim: Hold, Eirika! Don’t go anywhere alone!
Eirika: Lyon’s back there! I won’t abandon him!



Lyon (off-screen): Ei…Eirika…
Eirika: Lyon? Where are you?
Lyon (off-screen): I’m…here.

Lyon Appears

Eirika: Lyon… Hold on. I’ll save you!
Lyon: Forgive me…Eirika… It’s over…for me… The Demon King has devoured my soul… I’m mad…and I’m going… to die…
Eirika: Lyon… What should I do? How can I help you? Tell me! I’ll do anything, but you have to tell me!



This is about the most transparent attempt to get the Sacred Stone off her. There is no way, no matter her personal feelings about Lyon, that she will just hand that Stone over.

Eirika: What?
Lyon: My body…is being ravaged by the Demon King. If it continues unchecked, nothing can save me. But if I had the power of a Sacred Stone… I could save…my soul…
Eirika: Lyon…
Lyon: Please…Eirika… I don’t want to die yet… I want to live…with you… If I had the Sacred Stone… I could…heal myself… Please…
Eirika: Could the Sacred Stone really do that? Could it heal you?
Lyon: Yes… Please…Eirika…



Moron.

Evil Lyon: ….. Ah… It’s true… A Sacred Stone… Ha ha….. Heh heh heh… An abominable Sacred Stone… Here in my grasp.
Eirika: What? Lyon? No… You’re–
Evil Lyon: Ha ha…heh heh heh. How disappointing for you. This body is mine now.

Brilliant.

And the last runner crosses the finish line!

Eirika: Return him! Return Lyon now!
Evil Lyon: I’m afraid there’s no hope of that. You see, I’ve devoured him. Bite by bite, slowly. How I savored it. Nothing remains but this suit of flesh I wear. There is nothing to heal. Not even the power of a Sacred Stone can craft something from nothing. He cannot be saved.
Eirika: That…can’t…
Evil Lyon: Ha ha… Bwah ha ha ha! I love how humans look when they’re drowning in despair. Now is the time to be done with this stone.

Lyon breaks the Sacred Stone of Renais

Ephraim (off-screen): Eirika!
Evil Lyon: Oh…caught up, have you? Hmm, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll leave the girl alive. Take her. There are memories of you in this flesh I wear.



Eirika: ……
Ephraim: Eirika! Wake up! Do you know who I am?
Eirika: Brother… Lyon? Lyon’s…
Ephraim: Eirika… I know. Don’t speak.
Eirika: I…I… Lyon is… He’s really…
Ephraim: Let’s go back. L’Arachel will be worried, Eirika…



Seth: …It appears the enemy fled over this cliff.
Eirika: I see no way we can pursue him now…
Ephraim: So he got away, is that it?
L’Arachel: There’s no cause to be discouraged. Beyond these mountains lie the heart of Darkling Woods. Before we enter, we must head north to Rausten.



Not even the complete dunderheadedness of Eirika can dull L’Arachel’s enthusiasm. Who cares if we just handed the one Sacred Stone we’ve saved to the bad guy? We have L’Arachel and her incredible courage.



The next chapter, with that rousing title, is probably the most difficult in the game.

That battle is still the one Fire Emblem map I've had the most trouble with. On my first time through the game, my first Fire Emblem game, I was stuck on that battle for weeks. I called it the hardest I'd played even after I'd played the other 2 GBA games and Path of Radiance/Radiant Dawn. Then I replayed Sacred Stones and realized that it isn't all that hard if the player knows what they are doing.

Time for more Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. This time we are going to Rausten Court, the home of protagonist L’Arachel and the only remaining Sacred Stone. L’Arachel, no matter the situation, is cheerful. Eirika is not. If you recall last time, Princess Eirika took the one Sacred Stone we had managed to save so far and handed to the bad guy for him to crush. Which means we get a Chapter title like this:



Yes, Last Hope. Because we handed our other hope to a guy who speaks in black dialogue boxes.



L’Arachel: Uncle, I’ve returned.
Mansel: Oh, L’Arachel! It’s good to see you safe!
L’Arachel: Of course I’m safe, Uncle. Evil can never defeat the forces of righteousness!
Mansel: Ha! You’re exactly right, my dear! Now tell me, who are our guests?
Eirika: Pontifex Mansel of Rausten, allow me to introduce myself. I am Eirika, Princess of Renais. I come to you today as an emissary of Frelia.
Ephraim: And I am Ephraim, Prince of Renais. I come with Eirika to warn you of the danger our world faces.
Eirika: It began when…

(The story so far)

Mansel: …Hmm, I see. That is a tough tale to swallow all at once… However, I have heard of the fell creatures in Darkling Woods. L’Arachel,



L’Arachel: That is so, Uncle. I would like permission to open the temple seal.
Mansel: Hmm… There’s no need to rush yourself so, L’Arachel. You’re home again, in this blessed haven. You should rest.
L’Arachel: How can I relax until I know that our Sacred Stone is safe? At the least, I’d like to ensure that the temple seal is intact. Oh…
Mansel: Is something amiss?
L’Arachel: I think we’ll take a night to rest after all.



Eirika: ……
L’Arachel: Eirika.
Eirika: Ah…



L’Arachel’s attraction to Eirika has passed beyond subtext at this point.

Eirika: L’Arachel. I… What should I do? Lyon was one of my dearest friends… I feel so helpless. There’s nothing I can do to help him…
L’Arachel: Your friend is gone, Eirika. All that remains is the Demon King, masquerading as Lyon. For the good of all humanity, he must be defeated. Ah… If only it truly were that easy, though.
Eirika: …
L’Arachel: Eirika… I never knew Prince Lyon. I cannot pretend to understand the sadness you must feel. However, I do know this… If the Lyon you hold so dear were here with you today… What do you think he would want you to do?
Eirika: I can’t… ……
L’Arachel: There’s no need to rush, Eirika. Take your time and think it through. You need to find your own answer. Now then, it’s about time we found ourselves something to eat.



Eirika agrees to go on a date with L’Arachel, hoping it will help her get over her feelings for Lyon.
???: Heh heh heh… Guard duty? At this time of night? Such a diligent soldier.



??? (from the right): Where are you looking? I’m over here.
Soldier: Wha…
??? (from the left): No, no, here. I’m over here.
??? (from the right): What’s wrong? I’m right here. Heh heh heh…
Soldier: Wha…wha…
??? (from the left): Is the darkness too deep for you to penetrate? Can’t you see what the night is hiding?
Soldier: A-attack!



Riev: Heh heh heh… Humans will never conquer darkness. The guardian of light, Rausten, will drown in a never-ending night. Come, my pretties. It’s time to go.



Oh no, here come the bad guys. Who could have foreseen such a turn of events?



If only we hadn’t left the gates wide open as we slept.

Soldier: We think it’s Grado’s men, fleeing from Frelia’s forces. However, they’ve breached the palace defenses at multiple points.
Mansel: What?!
Soldier: The imperial guard is at a terrible disadvantage of numbers right now. It’s less a battle than a slaughter. I’m not sure they will be able to hold out until the Knights of Rausten arrive.
Mansel: How has this happened? Our sacred capital invaded? I must…



L’Arachel: Is everyone ready to go?
Seth: Princess Eirika, please ... Prince Ephraim and I will handle this.
Ephraim: Seth, it’s all right.



It is nice to someone recognize that, recent mistakes aside, Eirika has led this army for the bulk of this game and really doesn’t need protecting.

Eirika: We have to protect Pontifex Mansel.



With only a few battles left, there is no reason to hold on to these stat increasing items. Gerik got the help with Luck and Kyle gets the defense. The big one, though, is the Energy Ring that gives +2 Strength/Magic. I went Joshua, turning him from a slightly underpowered member of the team to a … still a little underpowered member of the team.



Here is the map of the stage. It is a fairly large map, with Fog of War. The team is split into two groups, with the main force in the middle and a small group in the upper left. Most of the enemies will come from the bottom left, but some come from the top right and a few late with come from the bottom right. My strategy will be to use the four guys in the top left to block the top part of the map, with some help from Innes standing right behind the throne. Most of the rest of the group will crowd around the main entrance and a few, notably Colm the Rogue, will go to the right to get the chests and deal with the stragglers. The hardest part of this fight is just dealing with the overwhelming number of enemies that are going to be coming.



Riev: Self-righteous fools of Rausten! Where are your miracles now?! March on! March, minions of the Demon King! Your time is upon you! Tonight, we claim not only Pontifex Mansel’s sad life, but also Rausten’s Sacred Stone! Heh heh heh… You cretin, Mansel… I will have my revenge.



As the battle starts, the game remembers that it forgot to give us out dead-eyed villain’s motivation, so he shouts it to nobody as things get going. He is the Anti-pope, here to kill the real Pope.

Eirika: I’m so sorry, Lyon. I couldn’t save you. But I know what you would have wanted. I know it as I know my own name. So watch, Lyon.



Working through her feelings for L’Arachel Lyon, Eirika finally feels ready to see this battle through to the end, no matter what she has to do.



To start, I move the upper group out of their room and have L’Arachel use her torch staff to light up the lower right side of the map. Ephraim is able to get to an enemy, and he does his thing.



The rest of the team heads down, trying to keep the oncoming horde from getting to those incompetent green guys.



Most of the enemies go for the Green guys. Except for the General, who hits Ephraim. At first he is lucky, with his General skill of taking no damage activates, but Ephraim is having none of that with his second attack.



Colm deals with a few enemies.



Druids go after the greenies and Colm.



Those greenies aren’t smart enough to get safely away from enemies that will kill them and instead rush to get themselves killed.



At the start of turn 2, Innes has made it to his sniper’s perch and starts his work taking down the enemies coming from the top of the map.



Ross rushes in to get his. His Level Up! is pretty good.



Joshua and Gerik follow Ross’s example. And Franz takes down one who has slipped by my guys to the north.

Artur and L’Arachel team up to take down a Druid.



Colm takes down other enemy in the area and gets a darn good Level Up!



Eirika and Amelia take out the other Druids while I bafflingly fail to take out the remaining bad guy.



That guy proceeds to take out a greenie. And just above that another one bites the dust.



Eirika takes an attack and gets a bad Level Up!



She takes another small hit while Marisa and Gerik come out unscathed from some archer’s attacks.



The enemies come to Innes to let him snipe them, netting him a not particularly impressive Level Up!



And snipe them he does. Good thing they all have bows and throwing axes.



After the fourth enemy he gets another even worse Level Up! Yay Innes!

And the bad Level Up! train is rolling now. I probably could be doing something more useful with L’Arachel than spreading around her torch staff, but I like to know what’s coming.



On the top of the map, my guys do their thing. It is just a critical hit parade.



These three get to the enemies that are near enough to get to.



On the enemies turn Kyle, Cormag and Ross deal with some attacks. Only Ross takes much damage, though.



Its my turn again. I send Franz and Eirika to use some chest keys get treasures. And Colm has finally made to the chests on the other side and starts looting them.



Syrene nails a swordmaster with a javelin. Kyle and Cormag move to take the attack and Kyle tops his HP off with an elixir.



Good thing he did, too, because the first thing he does is take a hefty hit. Though he does get a Level Up out of the encounter.



He also pokes a few swordmasters, while taking more and more damage. That is the struggle with this map. There are always more enemies coming and they pick a unit and go after him. Especially if that character is strong enough to kill the attackers.

Luckily, he dodges this attack and gets another Level Up!, this one quite good.



Kyle takes even more attacks. Fortunately, that last one missed, so Kyle survives.



Also, the archers at the top still haven’t learned their lesson.



These guys move along the hall, with Marisa getting first shot at the only enemy around. Colm loots another chest.



Joshua finishes off the guy that Marisa attacked and gets an outstanding Level Up!



Gerik and Ross move past the swordmaster and encounter the next wave of enemies. L’Archel heals up Kyle from his near death experience.



Syrene starts this turn of beating back the horde, working that javelin and getting a fine Level Up! One might ask why I brought Syrene at all. There are two reasons. The first is that this battle blow the number of characters I’m allowed to use wide open, up from 10-12 to 15. So I needed bodies. Also, according to the precise chart I made to maximize support conversations, she needs to support with Kyle, so they have to hang around together.



Franz goes for the easy pickings, going after the guy with a bow.



Ephraim is right there to get another enemy and a Level Up!



Tana and Cormag help out and form a strong wall to block guys coming up behind Ephraim and Franz.



Ross comes perilously close to death, but finishes off the enemy that attacked him. Franz too takes a dangerous blow.

Tana is attacked, but she is having none of this. Her Level Up isn’t good, but she’s already hitting her stat caps. She will not be getting much better.



Cormag, too, gets a Level Up! His is significantly better, but I think he’s approaching his strength cap.



More attacks to Tana and Franz.



Franz finishes off the next Paladin, but he continues a really long string of really bad Level Ups.



A few more inconsequential attacks end the enemy turn.



I start my turn by looting one last chest, and the guys up top continue to clear that area.



Kyle gets back in the action, L’Arachel heals Franz and Amelia finally gets involved.



Cormag, Tana and Ephraim do their thing. Now that we’ve cleared the initial force, all that is left to deal with are the reinforcements that come every turn.

And that is where this portion of the update ends. Check back next week for the second half of Chapter 19.

Awesome seeing this go to completion. I just picked this game back up a few days ago. HM!Chapter16 is such a pain in the ass though lmao.

Huge kudos for deploying Syrene effectively, she's one of my favorite characters but I find her almost unusable as a unit. FE seems to do that a lot, which is a damn shame. Nice work getting around that, you're doing pretty well.

This will be the last update for a while, I've been a bit distracted by other things. *cough*NaNoWriMo*cough* I do intend to finish this up by the end of the year, though.

When we last left off, our army was ambushed in the night, but was already well on our way to fending off that attack Tim to continue Chapter 19 of Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones.



Gerik felt he needed a terrible Level Up just like everybody else.



Luckily, the bad guys are forced to spread out their attacks. Alone, none of these guys are much of a threat.



Tana and Cormag continue to deal with their attackers.



This is about as good of a Level Up that Cormag can expect at this point.



The same is true for Ephraim. He’s pretty solid already.



More scattered attacks. Not much to worry about here.



This little jerk appears after six turns to loot the chests above here. Too bad I already got them. So he snatched poor Artur’s Guiding Ring instead.



Joshua and Gerik deal with this guy up here.



Artur takes down a different thief than the one that robbed him, and gets a mediocre Level Up!



L’Arachel does some long range healing of Cormag on the front line.

When will the bad Level Ups cease?



I enjoy watching Ephraim twirl his lance as he destroys everyone that gets in his way.



Joshua appears to be immune to the bad Level Up virus that is going around.



Miss, miss, miss.



This guy didn’t miss, but it didn’t really matter.



Another Level Up for Ephraim, who should really be taking a step back and letting people who need the experience get it.



More attacks, most of which miss.



On the left side, Franz blocked the Thief off from his chest and had nothing to steal, so he got attacked. The Thief on the other side continues to rob Artur. That is why you keep your wallet in your front pocket.



Colm helps with some retaliatory thievery, and Lute solves the problem once and for all.



At the front gate, my troops are pushing out to meet the boss. Good thing L’Arachel is hanging around with that long range Physic staff.

Amelia gets a solid Level Up!, but I’m not sure she is sturdy enough to be the cork in this bottle.



Kyle finishes off this warrior, and Joshua looks really cool as he takes out a guy across the map.



That is a pretty good Level Up for Ross. His speed is finally getting up to … speed.



Marisa finishes off the last of the dudes in the north.



Amelia is immune to axes.



The stat caps strike again.



The guys coming in from the right side go for Tana. They should know better.



Proving sturdier than I expected, Amelia does a good job holding the other side of the staircase at bay.



My magic dudes go after the Generals that appeared where the thieves did a few turns ago.



This right here is the second secret shop, the only place to buy class change items. They normally cost 10000G, but with the Silver Card you can find in the desert, everything’s price is halved. The trick is knowing what items you need to buy. For example, I was grinding the hell out of this game and wanted a class change item for every character, so I had a list of exactly what ones are available during the game and bought all the extras I needed for all my money.



Tana takes out another one, while L’Arachel tops off Ephraim. He moves past Amelia to be the front runner as we move to take out Riev.

Misses all the way down.



Hey, Ephraim wasn’t at the strength cap yet. Still, he is looking really good.



And a few more misses.



I am running out of turns here. Artur can’t quite kill one of these dudes, but Lute surely can. And L’Arachel continues to do her thing.



I’ve pretty much cleared the front area here. Just a few more and the boss.



Artur continues to be sad with his Level Ups, but he did get the job done.



A few ineffective attacks from the dregs of the attacking force.



L’Arachel finally gets in on the fighting and gets a tremendous Level Up!



Artur goes Bishop. Sage is in many ways a better class, not the least of all looks, but this game is tilted heavily in favor of light magic and Bishop, with their special skill Slayer that triples their power against monsters, does Light Magic better than anybody. And the class change gives Artur an almost acceptable Magic stat.

Not a terrific Level Up for Amelia, but she will still likely hit most of her cap well before Lv20, assuming she gets that high.



I let these dudes out, and they got for the low hanging fruit of greenies. Poor greenies.



Artur tries out his new Bishop skills on this General, and it works out okay.



Lute gets one of the Warriors that appeared just next to Artur and gets a really good Level Up, though her speed is a little lacking.



The enemies go for the low hanging fruit, the archer and the greenie.



It is the final turn, and Colm finally gets to that last treasure chest. Over here, I’ve got four guys to deal with two. Innes gets the first one.



And Eirika gets the second, as well as a good Level Up, though it is disappointing how her strength has fallen back to about the average for her character from how awesome it was near the start of the game.



L’Arachel goes after Riev, who despite the loss of his entire army is still somehow confident in his victory.



L’Arachel, without any sort of magic triangle bonus, is unable to take him out.



Luckily, Ephraim is there for the finish. And a straight up icing on the cake Level Up!

Of course, Ephraim killing him doesn’t kill him and he runs away, taunting me to follow him to the pleasant tourist destination of Darkling Woods.



L’Arachel: Eirika? Did you find your answer?
Eirika: Yes. Thank you, L’Arachel. Your words guided me.
L’Arachel: My-my words? It was nothing...Come, we should find the Sacred Stone. If anything were to happen to it...
Eirika: L’Arachel? Your face is flushed. Is anything amiss?
L’Arachel: N-no, it’s nothing. Nothing at all!

It’s not subtext right? L’Arachel has a thing for Eirika, right?



Notice her, Eirika, tell her she’s pretty.

Ephraim: This is it. The last one. The last remaining Sacred Stone.
L’Arachel: It is. And the time to defeat the Demon King draws near.
Eirika: We should be leaving. We have to act before those creatures gain more momentum.
Myrrh: Yes. We should make haste. The poison spreads. It is growing ever stronger.
Ephraim: Where?
Myrrh: Darkling Woods… Where the Demon King fell…



Mansel: You’ve only just returned, and you have to leave?
L’Arachel: Uncle, defeating evil is the highest calling I can perform.
Mansel: Of course, my dear. It is a divine calling, but…
L’Arachel: You needn’t worry, Uncle. After all, I’m not on my own. I have my friends.
Mansel: I see. You’ve been blessed, L’Arachel. Blessed with many good friends.



Yes we are.

L’Arachel: Farewell, Uncle. I shall return. Once evil has been vanquished, we’ll all return safe and sound.
Mansel: Hold on. Not so fast now. I have something I wish to present to Princess Eirika.
Eirika: To me, Your Holiness?
Mansel: Yes, Princess. I’d like you to accept this gift.
Eirika: What is it?
L’Arachel: Oh! Aren’t those… Aren’t those the Sacred Twins of Rausten?
Mansel: That’s right, dear niece. These are the weapons of Saint Latona, most holy father of Rausten. Here, we have glorious Ivaldi, and its twin, the divine Staff of Latona. I will also spare some funding to feed and arm your forces. After all, there is much that you must do before you leave these halls.



Here are the last of the legendary weapons that were stashed around the continent. Also, cash.

L’Arachel: So they are the blessed Latona’s most sacred relics… Is this allowed?
Mansel: I know the law, L’Arachel. The relics must never leave the temple, with the sole exception of the occasional ascension ceremony, but I think that, when the world needs saving, we can make the odd exception.
L’Arachel: That’s my uncle!
Mansel: You will return them, of course… once you’ve finished your task. Princess Eirika, I would have your oath on this.
Ephraim: Of course. You have my word. We shall return safely, and we shall restore your relics.
L’Arachel: Darkling Woods is home to naught but demons now. Indeed, I hear tell that none who enter its borders ever leave again. We ought to stock up on supplies in town before we set out.
Eirika: Yes, we must be as prepared as possible before we set out.



If I had managed to keep more of those green dudes alive, then they would have handed me a Light Brand here. But I didn’t, because they are fools.



And lastly, the Lagdou Ruins appear on the map now. This is the other bonus area in the game, much like the Tower of Valni, but much harder. I won’t be getting that anytime soon, but it’s there. Next time: the penultimate and biggest chapter in the game.

Daaaang.

You are a more patient player than I. Even with the Tower etc. available I can't make myself get L'Arachel caught up without slowing down my pace a lot. Looks like it was well worth it.

Good luck with Darkling Woods. Idk how it plays on Normal, but it's an endurance test par excellence on Hard. Pack some Physics! (Speaking of, Bishop!Artur was definitely the right pick. C Staves + Slayer so op.)

Sorry about the delay. I was never able to stick to a schedule with this Let's Play, but I am ready to finish it before the end of the month.

There are only two more chapters of Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Though Eirika and her forces have defeated the Grado Empire, the spirit of the Demon King, using her good friend Lyon’s body like a puppet, is still at large and trying to revive his body and lead an army of monster to conquer the continent.



We are down to one stone, and our enemies are pushed back to the Darkling Woods, where the heroes defeated the Demon King the first time.



That doesn’t sound good, though it does sound a suitable place to end things.



So we come to the stronghold of the big bad boss.



Evil Lyon: Hm…
Morva: You can clothe yourself in human flesh, but you cannot hide your foul mien. Eight hundred years wasn’t long enough, Demon King.
Evil Lyon: One of the dragonkin, hm… Ah. I’ve seen your face before, lizard. Yes, during that accursed battle so long ago. When those wretched men bound me in their fetters. They fought with an ally from the dragonkin at their side… I believe his name was Morva.
Morva: The protection of the blessed stones is lost. The dark is rising. Malevolence given will and form now walks these lands unopposed. Ancient king of shadows… they appear to be waiting for you.
Evil Lyon: Very perceptive. And now I am here. I must tell them their wait is over. I must tell them I have been reborn. Begone, dragon. I am changed. I can no longer be stopped by the likes of you.
Morva: I live and breathe to protect mankind. I cannot abandon them to you.



Evil Lyon: So, your dragon blood still runs so hot that you would dare to try to stop me… Dragons. That reminds me… Not long back, I fought a rabble of men who traveled with a dragon child. Tell me, Morva, was that your daughter…
Morva: Myrrh left this place long ago to test the limits of your influence. Could she have…
Evil Lyon: Could she have what… Pray, continue.
Morva: You will answer me. Your reply will determine…
Evil Lyon: Ha ha ha ha ha… Such information had no use to you now. You have dared to challenge me. You have no time for joy or sorrow. No, best to focus now on this,



And the scene cuts away before we can see the show down between these two.



Seth:It was here the heroes met the Demon King and with the Sacred Stones defeated him. I’ve heard the lingering energies of that battle are the source of the monster. But I never imagined it would be as bad as this…
Myrrh: It’s worse than before… It’s grown so much stronger. Simply standing here is a struggle… But we don’t need to worry. My father is here. He’ll take care of everything.
Eirika: Your father…
Myrrh: Over there. On the other side of that swamp is the Black Temple of the Demon King. My father stands guard near it. This is where my father and I have lived for as long as I can remember.
Ephraim: I see. So this forest is like a home to you.
Myrrh: Uh-huh… I get to see Father again. I’m so happy. My foster father leads the dragon tribe. In the last great war… both of my true parents were killed. Morva took me in and raised me as though I were his own child.
Eirika: So that’s how you came to live here…



Myrrh: He’s so strong, and so very gentle. One day, I hope to be like him… ……Oh!
Eirika: Myrrh, what’s wrong…
Seth: Princess Eirika, Prince Ephraim, we’re under attack. A horde of those foul beasts is headed straight for us.
Myrrh: ……
Eirika: Myrrh, are you well… If you’re ill, we should get you to–
Myrrh: No, no… It’s nothing. I’ll fight with you.



I kind of hate how this game buries this end conflict. The showdown between Lyon and Morva would mean more if we had seen the elder dragon before this point. The whole last half of this game seems ridiculously rushed.



So Lyon escapes into the temple and we have to take out Riev, again.



This is most of my team; this map lets the player take 18 units out, a number likely larger than anyone has ready, barring some extensive abuse of the Tower or the Ruins. I am sticking with all of my usual crew, plus Myrrh, the requisite Fire Emblem Dragon girl.



This is a huge map and it is positively filled with enemies. There are at least three or four distinct skirmish spots on this map. There isn’t a ton of strategy in how to attack this map, it is a spiral filled with monsters; I am going to move forward and kill them. These are mostly the tougher versions of these enemies, and near the end there will be a steady stream of giant spiders to fight, all of them giving up loads of experience. I am sending most of my men up around the top; it is easier to traverse and gets me at most of the enemies. My flying units, and a few others, are going across the bottom half, which has tougher terrain and annoying flying enemies.



The flyers go left and everyone else heads up on my first turn.

Riev:The Demon King will be restored to all his former glory! And I, his faithful servant, will bask in his radiant power… Then, oh, then I will have my revenge on those who scorned me!



Riev: This fierce beast and I will guard the Black Temple’s entrance. As long as we stand watch, no one will interrupt his rituals.



Riev remains just the worst and now they have a zombie version of Morva to help him guard the temple.



The second turn gets us to the fighting. Cormag, Kyle and Ross take out some skeletons.



Innes and Amelia get in on the fighting as well. The first part of the map has relatively weak skeletons, so my guys can pick them apart easily.



Franz gets a Level Up taking out the last of this first wave of skeletons, though not a great one, little as it matters at this point.



The rest of the army tries to crowd through the little gap between the two mountains.



The enemies go after Cormag, to their great detriment.



Going after Franz is an only slightly less disastrous.



The enemies finish up with some ineffectual long range attacks.



Little dragon girl brings her significant might to bear on this poor medusa. Look at that Level Up. Myrrh’s stat growths are crazy. Which is good because she only gets twenty.

The top side of the map doesn’t get much done, moving in a horde to the north. Cormag is able to finish off that jerk with the javelin and Tana, already near or at most of her important stat caps, just waits so as not to steal exp from someone who might be able to put it to some sort of use, even though there is only one more map.



Those two deathgoyles, stronger gargoyles, are not good at self-preservation, dying on the wrong ends of their blades. Another centaur dude goes after Franz, who is unable to finish him off.



Luckily the dude with the Poison Axe missed, that would be annoying to deal with. Joshua has the misfortune of getting caught by an enemy with a Swordslayer, but he has a pretty significant HP total, so he survived. Franz dodges an eye’s attack.



A Centaur comes at Amelia, who gets an excellent Level Up taking him out.



To start my turn, Myrrh goes after a weakened Centaur, and gets another pretty great Level Up!



Eirika and Artur finish off the enemies in the area and the rest move on. I didn’t take a good shot of it, but my cavalier pair, Franz and Amelia, Colm and eventually Myrrh head south to join up with the flyers.



One gargoyle goes after Franz, who does his job but continues to disappoint with his Level Ups.



Same goes for Cormag, but he has the advantage of actually having good stats to start with.

More inconsequential attacks from the enemies on the south.



Myrrh continues to conquer everything in her path. You might wonder why I didn’t use her sooner than this. Myrrh has one weapon, her dragonstone. It has fifty uses. Once it is used up, that’s it. She also gets experience like an unpromoted unit, but only gets twenty levels. Using her too much too early is wasteful and likely to leave her without a weapon at the end. I tend to only bring her out for the last two maps and for supports.



Colm takes down an eye, while up in the northerly region Innes and Ross team up to attack one of these gargantuan Cyclopses



L’Arachel, Eirika and Ephraim manage to finish off the two big guys.



The rest of the team crowds around, I’m not eager to square off with the big guys with my second tier units. My flyers move back to catch up with their reinforcements.



I was in reach of this guy, but he can’t connect with his big axe on Ross.



My main goal with the south part of the map is keeping Myrrh safe so she can soak up all the experience she can.



Marisa takes a swipe at the Cyclops Ross weakened, and finally gets to level twenty.



These beasts take a beating to get down. They just won’t go down.



L’Arachel puts a hurting on another one.

Artur finishes off one of them to get a Level Up that almost makes him worthwhile.



And Ephraim takes out one more, leaving only two left to deal with. Hopefully the front I’ve set up can hold them off.



They go after the Lords, and can do nothing. Luckily they have the axe users usual lack of accuracy.



More gargoyles who want to die go after the flyers. More of them appear at the top of the map.



Artur goes for a Cyclops, and Lute does some healing just for the exp.



Eirika finishes one off, and gets a fine Level Up, though her strength did not turn out quite as great as I had hoped it would near the start of the game.



Marisa uses her Hero Crest. I chose Swordmaster for her as well. It was a toss-up between that and Assassin, and I like Swordmaster slightly more.



The guys on the bottom of the map are trapped against those little hills. On the top, I keep everyone grouped up before I charge into the next group of enemies.



Another Gargoyle commits suicide by Tana. Some skeletons try out their bows, with no chance of harming anybody.

More ineffectual long range attacks.



Toss one more long range miss on the pile.



Myrrh continues to wreck face and gets a normal, for her, Level Up!



Cormag does his part, and Tana, moving a little too close to the boss, and Ross get some criticals.



Syrene finally gets involved in the fight, sneaking out for a quick jab at a Gargoyle.



Kyle too gets to finally be a part of things with a not too impressive Level Up!



Joshua more than makes up for some of my recent Level Up woes. He is just fine.



Lute and Marisa take some enemies down as well. Once we got past the Cyclopses things are getting easy again.



L’Arachel does her part. I really shouldn’t complain about mediocre Level Ups at this point, few of my troops really need anymore help.



And with that I end my turn, still caught between these mountains.

Do they really think this is going to work at this point? How many skeletons have to die before they realize to not attack the dude riding a dragon?



Another jerk with a Swordslayer puts Gerik in trouble. Luckily the next guy has an axe and is no threat.



As I said, Tana moved a little too close to Riev and he comes after her. He missed, though.



A ranged attack on Myrrh amount to little, as does the one on Gerik.



To start my turn, Colm takes out a Medusa and gets a Level Up that gets him every stat but the one he needs.



I move everyone else to block Myrrh, though my Cavaliers can’t get through the rough terrain.



Ross goes takes down a centaur and gets a Level Up!



Artur continues his strong rally after he takes out another centaur.



L’Arachel gets the last one in the area, and Lute heals up Gerik. I didn’t make a lot of progress this turn.

Here they come with their spears. Only Syrene is in any danger.



Tana gets another sad Level Up thanks to those pesky stat caps.



This is almost too easy. They can’t even touch me.



This guy has got a 30% chance to get a critical for 0 damage. Things are looking pretty safe.



Marisa gets her first swordmaster Level Up.



Syrene gets healed and the rest move up the map. Cormag takes down the last guy at the bottom.



Here come the enemies for their pointless attacks.



And another Level Up for Gerik.



Most are through the hills here, ready to attack from the bottom.



Artur can’t make it three good Level Ups in a row, getting a pretty sad one after taking out another Cyclops.

And that is it for today. On Monday, I hope, I will finish trashing this map and then next .... Friday(?) I will have the first part of the finale ready to go.

Time for the second half of the second to last chapter of Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones.



Healing and moving. We’re down to the last area.



Gerik continues to be the favorite target of skeletons



Hey, that’s a solid Level Up for Syrene.



More weak attacks that I don’t really have to worry about.



And one last one for good measure. The threat most of the enemies pose on this map is more in their quantity than their quality.



Marisa goes back after that Gargoyle with the Javelin and takes him out.



Innes gets another Level Up.



Ephraim: I’ll always be nearby.
Eirika: Yes, thank you. But you do understand that I am here to fight, don’t you? I cannot ask you to watch me constantly. I am your sister, not your ward.
Ephraim: Eirika…
Eirika: Wait, don’t… What are you–?
Ephraim: You looked a little upset…



That is a normal thing that people do.

Eirika: Please stop it. You’re treating me like a child…
Ephraim: Oh, I’m sorry. It’s just an old habit… Besides, you were always the one who pestered me to do it when we were little. Don’t you remember?
Eirika: N-no, I don’t remember! That was such a long time ago… Ahh… Dear brother, please try to remember where we are right now.



How far has his stroking gone?

Ephraim: Yes, that would be embarrassing… Forgive me, I did not mean to do anything you would find unpleasant.
Eirika: N-no… I didn’t mean that… It’s just–
Ephraim: So, you really do want me to stroke your face?



Unfortunately, that is really the end of the weirdness for these two. Their later supports are kind of boring.

The only other action on the turn is L’Arachel healing with her long range physic staff. I’ve got the bag guys knocked down to the bosses and a couple of eyes in the woods.



The eye’s shot hits its mark attacking Syrene.



Ross heads down there and takes care of business. And Lute nabs some experience healing up Syrene.



Three eyes appeared around the Temple, so Eirika and Innes got to deal with them.



Also, a bunch of gargoyles showed on the top side of the map. They go after Syrene and Kyle.



One Eye goes south and attacks Myrrh, though it does no damage. The other does the same to Eirika.



Eirika, Innes and Myrrh take out some Eyes. The enemy reinforcements keep coming for several turns.



Kyle: I’m honored that you know my name. I don’t believe we’ve met, have we?
Syrene: We met once, about ten years ago or so. You may have forgotten.
Kyle: Ten years ago… Wait, you’re…THAT Syrene!?
Syrene: So, you’ve finally remembered me?
Kyle: Do I ever! I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.
Syrene: Well, Sir Kyle, you certainly have turned out well.
Kyle: Oh, please. Let’s do away with the honorifics, shall we?
Syrene: Of course, Kyle. Ah, you haven’t changed at all. It takes me back.
Kyle: I barely recognized you, Syrene. You look completely changed. I had no idea you’d become a knight–a pegasus knight, no less!
Syrene: That’s nice of you to say. So I’ve grown, have I?
Kyle: You’ve grown a lot. It’s a shame we have to be reunited on a battlefield.
Syrene: You’re right about that. We ought to sit down and talk soon.
Kyle: I’d like that, too, Syrene. But let’s finish off this lot first, shall we?



Syrene is about to learn what is interesting about Kyle. (hint: it's nothing)



Marisa gets the last of the Gargoyles and everyone else sets up for the end run.