Wait, Zephiel's the bad guy? Let's Play Fire Emblem: Sword of Seals!

Wow, Sophia's magic stat is slightly terrifying --

-- but not as terrifying as Gonzales. I admit, it seemed to me like he was getting one poor level-up after another. But when he opens a map by doing 129 points of damage to a paladin... well, that's worth it right there, in its own way.

Berserkers are truly a wonderful thing, arent they?

In any case, even though we spent an eternity bringing a few underleveled recruits up to par, it's time we moved on into Ilia. With Arcard out of the way, it's time to march further into the Frozen Highlands.



Soon, they entered the thick forests that characterize Ilia's central land. However, a general of Bern, Bishop Martel, was waiting for them with an ancient spell that was said to have been lost centuries ago...

Hope you remembered to bring your winter coat, as we'll be crossing...

Chapter 18: The Frozen River





Man, what is with the Elimine bishops in this game? They all look the same.

Soldier: We have brought the lady Niime, as you asked.

Martel: Good. Let her pass.



Introducing Niime, the Mountain Hermit and mother to Canas from FE7.

Martel: Are you Niime, the Hermit on the Mountain?

Look, I just said...

Niime: So, some have begun calling me that, have they? Then I must be that Niime.

Martel: I hear you are capable of using the ancient spell book that we found in this castle.

Niime: I should be able to. I have been studying the dark arts and ancient magic for centuries now.

Martel: I understand that this spell can change the climate and weather around the caster...

Niime: It wouldn't be entirely improbable.

Martel: Then I order you. Use the spell book and create rainfall. Make it rain so that the rivers will overflow and push back that Etrurian Army that is advancing on us.

Man, why don't we get spells like that?

Niime: Well I can try, but frankly I can't guarantee that it would work. Also, powerful spells like these can only be cast once. Are you sure?

Martel: Silence! All you must do is follow my commands. You were the one who came to us and said that you wished to join our forces. Then make yourself useful.

Niime: ......



Roy: We are getting closer to Bern's army.

Guinevere: ...Yes.

Roy: Since we are getting closer, we are clashing with soldiers from Bern more and more often. It will not be long before we engage in full combat with Bern.

Guinevere: ......

Roy: I wish to ask you something before we do.

Guinevere: What is that?

Roy: I have been hearing rumors... That King Zephiel rose to the throne because he killed his father.

Guinevere: !

Roy: I could not believe it. You tried to stop him even by casting away your nationality. If King Zephiel's such a mad individual as rumors say, then you would not have thought of doing what you did.

Guinevere: ......

Roy: Princess Guinevere. I accepted the Fire Emblem not to use it in battle, but to try and find a use for it to end this war peacefully.

Guinevere: Roy...

Roy: Therefore, please tell me the truth about the rumors...

Guinevere: I... I'm sorry. Please, give me some time.

Roy: Princess!



Roy: ... No, it's nothing. Did you want something?

Merlinus: Yes. I have gathered some information. We may have some trouble with this battle. A powerful dark magician by the name of Niime resides in the enemy ranks.

Roy: Dark Magician... A Druid, probably.

Merlinus: She is apparently extremely learned in ancient sorcery. She has much more knowledge than any scholar could dream about.

Roy: But we can't pull back now.

Merlinus: Yes, but we can always be careful.

Roy: I know. We must be wary!



This map looks difficult, but really it's not too much harder than what we've been through already. The big thing to deal with here are the large number of forests on the map, which will slow our infantry and mounted units to a crawl here, and as such you'll want to field more fliers here to get around all of it. Other than that, just make sure your formations are tight and take out the ballistae before they become a problem, and you shouldn't have too much trouble passing through here.

Oh, by the way, the boss here is wielding a Purge tome, so try and be careful when visiting that northeastern village. That thing smarts if it connects.



Wendy starts us off by weakening the mercenary to the north down with her lance. She levels up, gaining even more speed.



Lilina finishes off the mercenary though, just so he doesn't get a chance to try anything funny.



The ballista in the center is a bit of a pest to deal with, since its range covers pretty much most of the map. However, its accuracy is nothing special so it ends up missing us here.



Miledy begins tearing into the dragon riders to the east...

And Tate joins in, resulting in this mediocre level up.



Sophia and Lilina combine forces to take out a mercenary in the north.



Wendy, meanwhile, criticals another right out of the battle without any help.



The dragon riders that survived our fliers' assault charge Tate, though neither of them manage to connect. I think Tate managed to get off a few criticals here, too.



You know, that ballista in the center is getting pretty annoying. Let's do something about it, shall we?



Might as well take out that priest that's with him, too.



Miledy takes a swing at the final dragon rider, possibly the one that survived Tate's assault.



A few of the pegasus knights in the north move in and attack Shin here.

Wendy dodges a shot of Berserk thrown her way. Which is great, since the last thing I want to deal with right now is a rampaging general in the midst.



Anyway, Lilina heals Shin back up so he can attack his aggressors.



Oujay joins in as well, cleaving another one in two for a terrible level up.



Overkill, thy name is Wendy.



Tate takes a break from the fighting to drop by a village for a Secret Book. Odds are this will go to Wendy, since the RNG's been skill-screwing her into near-oblivion.



The rest of the pegasus knights charge south to avenge their fallen comrades at this point.



More long-range shenanigans. That Berserk staff is getting mighty annoying...

Oujay drops an iron sword into Shin's inventory since he misplaced his, and he uses it to take out the last surviving pegasus knight.



Wendy shows a little initiative and tosses a lance this priest's way. That'll teach ya to try and drive our units berserk!



Holy shit.



The best part about Tate having the Delphi Shield is that she can take archers out at range now.



Brigands have started to spawn at this point, which isn't too bad... except we haven't visited the village to the northeast yet. Damn!



A pair of shamans target Tate just after she finished offing the other ballista archer.



A pegasus knight also took notice, yet her efforts are just as much in vain



One of the shamans managed to survive Tate's attack, but he's not long for this world. Miledy, go get him!



Tate takes on one of the spawning brigands to try and cut them off from the village. Meanwhile, Wendy throws an axe at an enemy priest's face.

Tate is dominating here, man. Can anyone stop her might?



Apparently not.



She does take a pretty heavy hit from it, though.



Ah well, we've got it pretty much under control. It's not like the brigands can touch them anyways.



Tate's bleeding pretty badly, so she'll be flying back to our twin berserkers for now, at least unti she gets those wounds looked at.



Though it might not be the safest place to be...



Oh my. It seems Wolt's gotten a hand of one of the empty ballistae and it still has ammunition. Here, he fires at one of the mercenaries bothering our berserkers.



Niime: ... I'm warning you for the last time. I really have no idea what will happen...

Martel: Just shut up and cast the spell!

Niime: *sigh*... All right...



Merlinus: W-What is going on...?

Roy: An enemy spell caster? Everyone watch out!

Brace for impact!

Martel: The rivers... the rivers have frozen over!

Well how about that.

Niime: My, my... Now isn't this a surprise.

Martel: !! You! You did this on purpose!

Niime: What are you talking about... I warned you I couldn't predict what would happen.

Martel: Quiet! Someone! Throw her into the dungeon!

Soldier: Yes, sir!

Niime: *Sigh*...



Merlinus: Master Roy, we have a report. The rivers have apparently frozen over.

Roy: What?

Merlinus: The ice is so thick that knights on horseback can cross them with safety.

Roy: Oh... Well, good, we can advance more quickly now. Charge toward the castle gate!

The rivers will remain frozen for the rest of the battle, by the way. Whatever that spell was, Niime did a hell of a job casting it.



Our berserkers are struggling a bit with the mercenaries... the dark secret about axe users in this game is that they're absolutely helpless against sword users.



Of course, that works in our favour too...



Even though Tate's still a bit wounded, she's untouchable with a sword equipped. Just so our berserkers have a fighting chance, she'll be taking the heat off of them by dealing with the brigands herself.



On that note, Miledy will be heading north for now to drop by the village.



After a dozen or so misses, Geese apparently gets as fed up as I am and criticals the mercenary to death.



Wolt takes aim at the surviving mercenary again, this time connecting.



Yep.



Nope.

Miledy comes under fire from a shaman nearby the village, but it shouldn't be too bad.



...Oh.

Martel: How could you have traversed through this snow... Curse that useless hag!



Thankfully, the blow wasn't strong enough to kill Miledy, but damn. Guess I should pay a little more attention, huh?



The important part is that she picks up the Guiding Ring from the little girl in the village. Oh, if only that girl just knew what power she was dropping into our hands.



Tate continues her systematic slaughter of the spawning brigands.



Wolt uses up the last bolt from the ballista here. Granted, we didn't own it, but I was looking forward to more.



God, is this ever annoying. Just hit him already, damn it!



Meanwhile, Shin heads north to relieve a Goddess Statue from an angry old man before he breaks it.

Damn it.



Tate dodges a few more hand axes here...



Whew, that was close. Miledy wasn't able to get far enough away from the village, so it's a good thing she dodged.



You know what? Fuck it.



It's time to send in the swordmasters.



Eh.



Instead of risking it further, Saul opts to heal Miledy back up again.



Wendy's more than willing to take over in the meantime, so Miledy shouldn't worry.

Saul heals up Tate as well so she can critical away a shaman.



Miledy bludgeons another brigand...



And Wendy takes out another with her axe, leveling up.



As you'd expect, she killed every single brigand here. She's just. Too. Strong.



*Whiff*!



Double *whiff*!



*Clang*!



*Whiff* again! Man, you guys suck.

One of the brigands from earlier (I'm guessing it's the one Miledy tried to kill) gets healed up.



Lilina, not to be outdone, heals up a bandit as well.



"Huh? Where'd she go? OH SHI-"



Rutger cuts another brigand down...



And Miledy as well.



Wendy misses one of her attacks here (man, is her skill ever ass) so Oujay has to move in to clean up.



It leaves him open to pegasus knight attack, but he's more than well-equipped to deal with that.



Tate dodges a blow from Martel here when she accidentally flies into his range.



A few pegasus knights spawn from the east at this point, throwing Javelins around willy-nilly.



They're only *just* pegasus knights though, so they go down like chumps.

The next wave goes after Saul here, who snaps his Lightning tome on them.



The surviving pegasus knight gets healed up by a priest, so Saul whips out his Divine tome to deal with it. He misses here, though.



Tate's still hanging around down here thankfully, so she cleans up he made.



No more healing from you, priest.



Doing this put him in range of Martel though, so Wendy and Gonzales move him back a bit.



One of the remaining pegasus knights goes after Geese. The outcome should be obvious by now.



Wendy dodges a few spells and spears thrown her way. She makes for a good dodger, doesn't she? Hmm...



Isn't overkill just the funnest thing ever?



Might as heal everyone up a bit while I can.

Wendy dodges another blast of Purge.



Saul snaps his single Divine tome from another pegasus knight...



Gonzales and Tate clean up while Geese dodges another.



Martel's formally accused of Purgery. How does he plead? Guilty.



It's a little touch-and-go with a pegasus knight for Shin.



With his Purge tome worn down, it's now safe to move in and take out Martel.



Though not before dealing with the reinforcements first.



Hey, it actually activated this chapter. How about that?

Ray: ? Whoa!? Y-You!? Damn, how could I not have noticed you coming so close... Wh-What do you want!? Are you trying to pay me back for the other day?

Sophia: ...Here...

Ray: The dark magic book! The one they don't know even exists...

Sophia: ...Yes... ...You know much...

Ray: Of course I do! Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for this!? So this is it... Wow... I can feel it's power...!

Sophia: ...Do you want it...?

Ray: I can have it!? But... are you sure? Don't you need it as well? Why give it to me?

Sophia: ......

Ray: Hey, wait! Hey!

Oh my, it's a supporting marathon.

Fir: Um, excuse me, are you Rutger?

Rutger: ...What do you want?

Fir: I was wondering if you would spar with me, if we get the chance.

Rutger: ......

Fir: I've also been training my sword skills, and I've won at many arenas around the continent. You don't have to go easy on me!

Rutger: ...I refuse.

Fir: Why? Is it because I'm a woman?

Rutger: ...When I swing my sword, I do so to kill people. I have no interest in using my sword for play.

Fir: ! Play!? W-Wait! [Rutger leaves.] ...He thought that I was playing with my sword? I wanted to learn from him because his blade is so sharp and he has no hesitation at all...



With that done, Tate begins her duel with Martel and gains more speed from the ensuing level up.



A few rounds later, and the match is hers.



Martel: I, one of the most intelligent of the generals... can die...?



Well now that that's over with, let's go inside and chat with Niime...



Roy: You are?

Niime: I am Niime. I live in the mountains to study arcane magic.

Roy: You say you were released. Did you not join Bern out of your own will.

Niime: Well I did, but it was only a guise. Bern's army had something that I wanted to study.

Roy: What is that?

Niime: The Dragons.

Roy: !!

Niime: Well well, that got you interested, didn't it?

Roy: The Dragons you speak of... They are not the wyverns that Bern's Dragon Knights use, but the strange troops that are mixed in with Bern's soldiers...

Niime: Exactly. Those are the Dragons that were supposedly defeated in the Dragon Human wars.

Roy: How do you know this...?

Niime: I thought that this was only another war that Bern started at first. But then I began to see strange... evil things among their troops. So I decided to investigate.

Roy: And did you find out anything?

Niime: The Dragons are indeed shrouded in mystery. I looked through many ancient books and scrolls, but I could only decypher so many of them. But...

Roy: ...But?

Niime: I have come to believe that Bern has resurrected the Dark Dragon.

Roy: Dark Dragon... That is the leader of the Dragons that Hartmut defeated.

Niime: Yes. Dragons are simply a much more advanced species than us humans. They have much greater vitality and intellect than us. However, there was one thing that the Dragons lagged far behind the humans in. The Dragon's reproductive system was much less efficient than that of the humans. But even then, the Dark Dragon... It had power to create more Dragons. That is what I learned from my research.

Roy: It can make more Dragons...

Niime: The Dark Dragon can create more of its kind. That would explain where Bern is getting all of its Dragons.

Roy: That is possible.

Niime: Now, that being said... I want to learn more about the Dragons. Let me accompany your travels. I wield Dark Magic... I'm sure I can be of some assistance.

Roy: Of course. We want to learn about the Dragons as well. It may be dangerous, but if that's okay with you, you're welcome to join us.

And so, it's time we moved on...



Next time: Man, why you gotta do a thing.

Old Hag has joined the party! Hooray!

Welcome back. Last time at Let's Play Sword of Seals, we killed some more guys. ...That's it, really.



Roy and company faced the blizzards that are common of Ilia's winters. Ilia's harsh winter has been a natural defense in itself against invaders. Coupled with Ilia's greatest natural weapon, Sigune, captain of the Pegasus Knight Squad that had turned to Bern, was preparing to attack Roy.

You thought your winter was bad, wait until you see Ilia's...

Chapter 19: Bitter Cold





Again with the little girl brigade...

Peg Knight: They are on the other side of the mountain.

Sigune: So, they've arrived. It starts.

Peg Knight: Captain, are you sure?

Sigune: About what?

Peg Knight: The Etrurian Army is saying that they would liberate us from Bern. In that case, we would gain independence...

Sigune: Do you really believe what they say? What idiot would fight a war for the sakes of others? Once they defeat Bern, they would station themselves as the next dictator.

Peg Knight: Well...

Sigune: Then it's better to be with Bern. They're better at warfare.

Peg Knight: ......

Sigune: Come now, we have more immediate problems. We've got to get rid of the enemy that's right in from of us first. Are the ballistae ready?

Peg Knight: Yes. The archers are all at their stations.

Sigune: Good! Shoot at them from a distance. They'll be floundering around in the dark in this powerful blizzard. Observe nature's wrath..



Niime: Ilia's winters are always like this. Well, you can't complain if you're fighting a battle in winter.

Roy: We must attack now so that Bern doesn't have the time to recover.

Niime: That's true. It would be a disaster if the Dark Dragon was really brought back to this world.

Roy: I was thinking... Maybe the Dark Dragon is in human form as well.

Niime: Perhaps. Maybe all the Dragons are in human form now. I've also heard stories of Dragons in human form livling with people.

Roy: Nabata...

Niime: Hm? Did you say something?

Roy: No, nothing.

Niime: I don't know anything specific, but I have read in an ancient scroll that Dragons started taking human form only after the Ending Winter.

Roy: The Ending Winter...

Niime: You have heard about it, have you not?

Roy: Yes, only in legend. 'At the Winter of Ends, the laws of nature were turned upside down. Day became night, and summer became winter.'

Niime: That's it. These scrolls are so old and damaged so I couldn't decipher all of them, but one thing is clear. The Ending Winter was a disaster powerful enough to bend and twist the planet.

Roy: What caused it?

Niime: Who knows... Popular belief says that the laws of nature were twisted when the Dragons unleashed vast amount of magical power, but I have no idea what really happened either. But it does seem certain that Dragons started taking human form after the Ending Winter. It must be more than coincidence.

Roy: Yes, I agree.

Niime: Well either way, the truth lies in Bern.



It's not really much, all told. This map's a pretty standard fog of war map - make sure to keep your visibility up and don't rush into battle unless you know what's there. However, the enemy's still futzing around with unpromoted units at this point, so there's not much pressure - just don't get careless and the map's a breeze (or a blizzard, apparently).



First things first... our bishops and druids are running a little low on supplies, so we drop by the nearby store to pick up a few Lightning and Flux tomes.



More importantly though, it's time to promote Hugh.



Like Lilina and the druids, Hugh gains access to staves after promotion. Though the more important part is the huge boost in stats, bringing him up to par with our other spellcasters.



Lastly, we'll take a look at our newest recruit. Niime will be joining us for the battle and she's a pretty decent spellcaster, with good magic and resistance and enough speed to prevent being doubled. Her biggest weakness is the fact that she joins at level 18, so her stats joining are pretty much as good as they get. In any case, we already have Ray and Sophia and they're both turning out well so we'll pass her up, but you can use her if you need to

Niime's a bit of a fan favourite, as her A-rank in staves and decent magic make her the perfect candidate for the status staves...



She supports mostly with the other spellcasters... Ray, Sophia, Hugh, Yodel, etc.

You probably remember Niime's son, Canas, from FE7. Purple hair? Scholarly fellow? Could use Luna to crush everyone before him?

A ballistae and sleep user take aim at Tate from within the blizzard, the latter connecting.



A pegasus knight flies for our group, which Geese criticals away for a level up.



Ray sucks the life out of another.



Cath uses a torch given to her earlier to expand her range, just in case something's lurking out there.



Another pegasus knight flies after Geese during the enemy's phase, which he almost immediately cuts down.



The ballista fires after a sleeping Tate, while the sleep user fires at Lance.



A few more enemies rush out to attack our group - only the paladin survives.



Stupid long range attacks.

A couple of Javelin wielders follow after the others to attack...



Two sleep users? Good lord.



Our turn comes around finally, and it's time to fight back. Sophia takes aim at the cavalier and takes him out and levels up. I missed the screenshot, but it was nothing special.



Ray joins in, taking out the paladin.



With them out of the way, Geese and Alan move forward to take out the druid that's been sniping at our group.



Fir takes out a troubadour...



And Lilina one-hits the pegasus knight.



Niime begins firing off her Eclipse tome, just for the hell of it. Not that it connects, but still.



A couple of pegasus knights take a swing at Sophia, but with her Nosferatu tome she's keeping herself well enough healed.



Cath dodges the ballista bolt, naturally.

While another fires at the sleeping Tate.



So, yeah. Eclipse is pretty awful!



Ray then shows everyone that you can do well with just a plain ol' Flux tome.



During the enemy's phase, a pegasus knight stabs Niime.



Lots of ranged weaponry flying around in this game, aren't there...



Tate wakes up from her nap to drop by the first village to pick up an Aircalibur tome. We've already bought more than we'll need a while back, so this one will be going to Merlinus.



Sophia and Niime play hot potato with a Nosferatu tome to heal up and take out pegasus knights.



Some more ballista shots... hey, I caught the second one in mid-shot. Neat.

Do I even need to say it?



Lilina takes a break to heal up Alan from one of his earlier attacks.



Tate, meanwhile, heads south to take out a cavalier.



Hey, it's Ilia. What do you expect?



The ballisae should be running out of ammo around now.



Nope. Sorry, I stand corrected.



Now the ballistae in the far east are taking aim at us. And missing!



Anyway, Geese dodges a Javelin thrown his way while Ray dodges a blast of Silence.



Now that it's our turn, it's time to strike back. Hugh lays the hurt on an archer while Oujay slams his blade into a pegasus knight.



Cath's torch has been growing dim over the past few turns, so she waves it around to get the flame going again.

Sigh.



Hugh's second blast of Aircalibur missed, so Tate pulls out her Iron Sword to finish the job.



Rutger and Fir, during their move east, accidentally stepped into range of some more pegasus knights. I'm not too worried though, since they'll just critical them back into submission.



The annoying thing about ballista fire isn't so much that they could get an unlucky hit (otherwise I would've dealt with them by now) so much as it wastes time. Honestly, if they can't even hit Tate, why do they even bother firing off a volley?



Anyway, the enemy's phase finishes with a Javelin from this pegasus knight...



...As well as a shot of Silence sent Niime's way.



This is how we stand so far. After we clear out these last few enemies, we'll have a clear path to the north to the boss.



Geese starts up the slaughter by using three times more force needed to take out this pegasus knight.



Afterwhich, Ray heals up Fir so she can go in without worry. He levels up, though it's nothing much.

Seems like I was being a little paranoid, as Fir takes out the druid without getting hit at all.



Might as well play it cautiously anyway, since they could still get hit from a counterattack...



Did you know that Rutger's only supposed to have 14 strength at this level? Yeah, I'm shocked too.



Bah. Good riddance, I say.

None of our other units are in range at the moment, so the others survive... for now.



Tate takes out the pegasus knight, gaining some more speed.



You know how it goes.



Don't you love that sense of security you get from using the Delphi Shield?

Absolutely unstoppable. It's such an accomplishment to get to this point.



Some supports, while you wait...

Alan: You mean about when we lose? Are you still saying that you're going to sacrifice yourself, or something ludicrous like that?

Lance: No, I gave up that idea. ... Your words were a slap in the face, so to speak. Perhaps I was belittling myself because I've been in Pherae the shortest.

Alan: Your work is second to none. Except me, of course.

Lance: Where does your confidence come from? I really envy you sometimes.

Alan: Of course I have confidence. How could I possibly lost to you?

Lance: ... You'd better remember those words, for you will be hearing them again from me.

Alan: Ha, never! See you after the battle!

Lance: Yes.

Alan: Lance?

Lance: What?

Alan: Even if we lose, you won't be the only one staying behind and fighting to buy time! You'd better remember that!

Lance: Of course!



A few precautions before we start to head north... Note that I've been keeping Ray, Sophia, Hugh and Cath together to try and build their supports.



A cavalier takes aim at Rutger, but misses. Can you guess what happens to him in return?



FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF-



There. God, that felt good.

Tate heads to the other village to pick up the other Energy Ring. Now who should this go to, I wonder...



God, there's another one still around?



Oujay hangs behind the group to deal with the brigand reinforcements spawning...



While Hugh deals with the other ballista archer once and for all.



This goes on for a few turns more, since they just keep coming.



There are a pair of knights guarding the gate alongside the boss, both of which go after Tate.



And now for the boss!

Sigune: Congratulations. But it's not over. You will die... Right here, right now.

Sigune has unique conversations with Thany and Tate...



Anyway, it's the same deal with any other flier - bring out the Aircalibur tomes and bows and fire away.



Sigune's a bit unique amongst bosses in that she actually shares a connection with some of our characters. Tate here worked under her, and her older sister, Yuno, actually used to be her main rival, as read in her support with Noah...

Sigune: Oh... You've joined the Etrurian side.

Tate: Captain Sigune...

Sigune: You know the Ilian Knightly Code. I won't go easy on you.

In one of my earlier runs of this map, Sigune actually lucked into a critical here. Man, that was not fun.



Sigune: So I'm the one... to die... But maybe... I was already dead... A long time... ago...



Nothing much left to do except mop up the reinforcements and build supports...



Sigune's knights are still hanging around, it seems.



But first: Backstory!

Oujay: ......

Lilina: Is she at home? Or did she come to Ostia with you? If she did, I would like to...

Oujay: I'm sorry, Lady Lilina, but...

Lilina: Tell me. I'd love to meet her.

Oujay: ...... She's not around anymore.

Lilina: What? Why...?

Oujay: Lady Lilina... Our village was very poor. ...It is the men who become workhands. Girls... have no place. We don't have any extra bread either, so... When a girl is born in a poor family we put pretty clothes on her and leave her in a faraway town.

Lilina: ......

Oujay: ...We were poor. I don't hold anything against my family. If we hadn't done what we did... we would have just starved.

Lilina: ...I'm sorry...

Oujay: Lady Lilina?

Lilina: I'm sorry... I... didn't know anything... and I... I just...

Oujay: D-Don't cry! Please Lady Lilina...



In the final chapter of the support, Oujay talks with Lilina again, apologizing for upsetting her with what he said. Lilina vows to try and reform Ostia so these kinds of things wouldn't happen, but Oujay assuages her guilt, telling her that she can't save everybody. He consoles her by telling her that, if his sister was still around, she would've liked her very much...



...Anyway. Enough melancholy for now, we've got mercenaries to kill.

Oujay gains another level from his bandit killing, and it's pretty good.



With the support in full effect, Oujay and Lilina have no trouble disposing of the brigand reinforcements.



Hell, even Sophia joins in at one point.



A few turns of brigand killing later, and there's only one enemy left to deal with. Remember this guy? Gone.



And that's it!



Merlinus: A letter? May I ask what it says?

Roy: It's the story we heard from Niime about the Dragon.

Merlinus: Oh? What did you discuss with her about the Dragon?

Roy: It'll get long if I tell you. I haven't sealed the letter yet, so you can look through it if you want.

I like how Roy narrowly avoids a recap of what we already know here. It's like he knows we're watching...

Merlinus: All right. Let me see...



Roy: Is something wrong, Princess Guinevere?

Guinevere: ... I have come to speak about my brother.

Roy: !! ... Is it all right?

Guinevere: yes... I wanted you to know before we enter Bern... About the tragedies that have occurred. You asked earlier if my brother murdered the former king.

Roy: Yes...

Guinevere: In short... it is true.

Roy: ! Then King Zephiel indeed killed his own father to seize the throne...

Guinevere: No!

Roy: No? He didn't kill his father to get the throne.

Guinevere: No... Our father was the first one who tried to kill Zephiel.

Roy: What! Then King Zephiel...

Guinevere: He couldn't bear the abuse he was taking from our father. And so he...

Roy: What... Why did...



Merlinus: What is the matter?

Not now, Merlinus. She was just about to get to the juicy bits!

Guinevere: No... It is nothing. Perhaps later...

Oh hell.

Merlinus: ... Did I appear at a bad time?

Roy: No, it's okay. Did you send the letter?

Merlinus: Yes, I read through it, then sealed it and had it sent.

Roy: Oh... All right, thanks. [Merlinus leaves.] ... Why did the former king try to murder his own son...?

Why indeed?



Next time: Yuno what you did.

Wow, I was sure the hag was just gonna be a non-combat plot character. She must be one of the oldest female playable characters in a JRPG ever. @_@

If Niime's centuries old, then how old was Canas? I don't think a woman's going to be giving birth at 380.

Canas was in his mid-thirties by FE7, I believe, so he's not that old. Fan speculation is that Yodel's the father, as he and Niime knew each other as late as fifty years ago and their support hints at it being an intimate relationship...

They were talking about the assassination attempt that was thwarted in FE7, right? Or was it a different one?