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

Gasp! Consider me spoiled.

Hmm... Anyway, welcome back. Last time, we had navigated the map from hell to protect a village from bandits and vicious landowners, and had come into contact with the mysterious Elphin.



Following his advice, they moved south toward the isle of Caledonia. Caledoina is one of the main islands that make up the Western Isles. The other two are Fibernia and Dhia. Castle Idina is located on Caledonia. Here, men from all over the world are rounded up and locked in prison cells to be taken to Mt Ebrakhm, to the Mines of Death.

When Roy arrived at Castle Idina, the situation already looked dire...

Join us now as we aid in the captured men's...

Chapter 11: Escape to Freedom



Middle-aged Man: Hurry! Over here!



Middle-aged Man: You idiot! If we stay here, we have no choice but to work and work until we die! You're going to put up with that? Don't you have family or something back home?

Young Man: Yeah...

Middle-aged Man: If we escape toward the northeast, there are some people who can help us. We've got to get there!



Huh? Who's this guy?

????: What were he guards doing!

Soldier: Somebody put sleeping drugs in their food...

????: ... That means there is someone among our ranks who is taking contact with the enemy.



Morgan: Yes, my Lord

????: I will return to the capitol at Djuto. Don't let them escape. Also keep sending workhands to the mines. I can't afford to lose that mine now!



Meanwhile, back at camp...

Elphin: Yes, that is Castle Idina. The people captured on this island are first sent there before they are ported to Mt Ebrakhm. Today just happens to be the day that the captives are sent to the mines on a weekly basis. Rescuing them will be difficult if we have to go all to the mines.

Roy: Then we must rescue them now!

Elphin: Yes. I have already sent some spies to sneak into the castle to help the people escape.

Roy: How will they release the captives?

Elphin: I have told them to send the captives to the northeast. In other words, here.

Roy: Then we must first rescue those people before attacking the castle.



This is the first map that we'll have to deal with Ballistas, long range weapons that archers can make use of. The archers on this stage will remain mostly stationary, but their incredible 10-panel range makes them difficult to move around without risking getting hit. They only have five shots in them, however you have to make sure that the enemy uses up all of their shots before you press on otherwise you can lose a character.

In addition, there are a group of NPCs to the far west above the castle (not pictured) that will move across the bridges to the north, however the ballista archers will ignore them and we'll probably have dealt with the enemies in the center before they reach there.

Due to popular demand, Fir makes a return here for this chapter, where she'll recruit her estranged father, Bartre. She and a bunch of mounted units will head west to protect the NPCs, while Roy and the others head south to recruit the other NPC, Geese.



Elphin will be joining us for this mission, and as you can see, he can't attack. He has virtually no strength or skill to speak of, he can't wield weapons, and, though he's great at dodging attacks, he is obviously not meant to be used in combat. That's because Elphin is a bard, and as such his main skill is in refreshing a character after they've acted and letting them get another turn. This use is limited, as you can imagine, but there are certain benefits to it. The double turn, for one thing, is good for bringing underleveled units up to speed, since letting them act twice effectively lets them gain twice as much experience. Though he's a bit specialized, Elphin's not a bad unit overall, and can act as a decent filler character for later chapters since his use is independant of his level.



Elphin's got a lot of good supports, but I won't go into it just yet. Spoilers, you know?



In our start west, Oujay runs into the nearby mercenary and dodges.

Oh my.



More dodging of fighters...



And Wendy gets her first kill in a while. It's been a pain levelling her up the past while due to the large number of axe users recently, but she's still quite good for her level and will get caught up to speed as we use her.



Some more teaming up with Oujay and Lilina...



Lance can't quite reach the fighters to the west, but thankfully Elphin's on the job to give him a boost.



He misses one of his hits though, so Gonzales and Rutger have to go in and clean up.



Roy dodges another fighter here...

...And then criticals to death another one stupid enough to attack him at close-range.



The Long Ballista to the west (15-panel range instead of the usual 10) goes into use for the first time. It's interesting that FE6 had detailed animation for them, but then nixed them for the latter games. Problem with programming, perhaps? It's a shame, because they're a nice touch.



More fighter killing...



At this point our team splits into two groups, with one (led by Roy) heading south for the village and the other (led by Rutger) to take out the enemies blocking the NPCs to the west.



Even Wendy ends up dodging a fighter here. Yeesh.



Alan takes a blow from a mercenary to the south, but raises his sword rank in the process.



The main reason to send Rutger to the west is because he's the only one close enough who can lure this guy with any safety. He doesn't get the kill here, but it'll be a miracle for the berserker to survive another round.

Alan's unlucky enough to come under fire from both ballistae, and he gets hit by both.



Wolt sets up the kill for an archer...



And Alan takes him out.



The reason Alan took the kill was to put him in range of Saul here, who heals him back up.



With some aid from Elphin, Wendy takes out another mercenary.



Wendy gets her first level up in a while and makes up for lost time.



However, Elphin's help has put him in range of the Long Ballista, which can kill him quite easily if it connects. Thus, Tate flies south and rescues him back out of range.

Back on the western front, Oujay and Shin double-team the berserker.



Rutger, meanwhile, heads across the bridge to lure the archer to him. Next turn, he'll cleave it in half, clearing the rest of the route for the NPCs.



Lance clears out a remaining fighter...



And a group of reinforcements spawn to the south. What's interesting to note is that the druid may be the first non-boss prepromoted unit we've fought yet.



Rutger dodges the archer from before...



And arrows rain upon the rest as well. Tate survives thankfully; even while rescuing Elphin, she's still too fast to be doubled.



With that out of the way, Rutger takes out the archer and Saul heals up Tate a bit.



Gonzales and Wendy take out another archer here.



And Saul dodges another bolt here. He makes for good ballista bait, actually - he's got good evasion and can take quite a few blows from them.

Hmm? What's this?

Geese: Yeah. My friends were killed by the owner of that castle. I gotta avenge them.

Woman: Those guys that always were with you...

Geese: Yeah... When I wasn't around, they were taken to the mines, told that they would be given work. But they worked like slaves until they... died.

Woman: ......

Geese: Maybe they weren't that smart, but they were good guys... And somebody just killed them off... just like that...!!

Woman: So you're going to avenge them on your own?

Geese: Is there something wrong with that?

Woman: No... But you're not going back to being a sea merchant?

Geese: Well... Once I avenge my friends and once the war resides... I'll think about it.

Woman: ... We won't forget you. You guys always risked your own lives to bring and sell food and supplies to us. If you need anything, just come to us.

Geese: Yeah, if I'm still alive. ... Thanks.



With that, Geese joins the fight as an NPC, fighting off the pirates that just spawned to the east.



With some more healing, Roy's group begins its push south.



To the east, Rutger and Shin begin rescuing the NPCs - god help us if the ballista suddenly starts taking shots at them.



Our team takes a few blows over the course of the next turn, but they weather it out fine enough.



Geese counters the pirate that attacked him last turn here.



And Alan and Wolt take out one of the ballista archers.



Since Alan used his Lance and there are pirates around, Gonzales takes the time to switch an Iron Sword to his active weapon.



The other ballista archer, meanwhile, has run out of bolts and his stuck in the mountains for the rest of the fight. Since they can't reach us and only Tate can reach them, they're effectively out of the fight for good.

Some more rescuing this turn - Elphin helps out especially by letting Tate reach the final survivor in one turn instead of two.



Saul took a bit of a blow, so he takes the time to heal up.



Some more pirate antics. They're all coming from the corner, so they're a bit more manageable than back in chapter 9.



Alan and Gonzales help ferry Geese up to Roy...



Roy: No, I was just wondering why you're going up against the castle's soldiers on your own.

Geese Who are you?

Roy: I'm Roy, leader of the Lycia Alliance Army. We're here due to a request from Etruria...

Geese You're from Etruria?! Then you're not on my side. Die!

Roy: Wait wait! We're also fighting the castle's troops.

Geese What? What do you mean?

Roy: I don't know either. We were sent here by Etruria to rid the islands of the bandits, but...

Geese ...You said that you're fighting the castle's troops. Then you wanna hire me?

Roy: What?

Geese I'm a pirate, so I'm pretty familiar with the lands around here. You look like you've never been here before, so you could use a guide, couldn't you?

Roy: That would help, but why?

Geese I want to help you with your mission. Well, I'm a pirate, so I'm probably part of the "bandits" that you're talking about, but I generally only go after rich people who have more than they need anyway.

Roy: All right, then I'll ask you to help us. We don't know this area very well, so we were having trouble.

Geese Great! Leave it to me! [Roy leaves.] ... This is it, guys. I'll avenge you with all of my strength! After that, I guess I can tag along with that Roy guy...



Geese isn't as strong or fast as Gonzales is, but he's much more accurate with his blows, making him more reliable than the brigand. Even still, he's quite powerful in his own right, and like his fellow axeman he becomes extremely powerful post-promotion. Unless the RNG takes its anger out on him, he'll be on our team for a long time to come.

Let's see... he supports with Cath, the dancer we passed up, a bunch of prepromotes... yep, not much selection. They're pretty interesting overall though, going into the hardships Geese and his crew had to dealt with as merchants during the war. He doesn't have the best partners, but he's a good character nonetheless.

You probably remember his brother, Geitz, from FE7. One of Geitz's supports hinted at Geese most likely taking over the family business, though it seems that not all went according to plan...



Wolt shoots down another pirate to the east.



This is a bit of a gamble... Geese has enough HP to survive one of the pirates' blows, but he can't survive both. However, we need to lure them away from the village with a target and he's the ony one in range.



At this point, I caught on that the coast was clear and dropped off the NPCs in preparation for the oncoming reinforcements.



Geese does me proud and dodges the pirates with style.



And here come our reinforcements.

Bartre: Well then, let's go rescue them, shall we?

Young man: ...I'm sorry. I know you were looking for your daughter, and we made you help us out like this...

Bartre: Well you guys helped me, so I should help you, too. Besides, a real man wouldn't look at people suffering due to their marguess' greed and simply ignore them.



The Druid can be dangerous... if you let him. The thing is that, despite being very powerful, dark magic is slow and inaccurate, so quick characters like Rutger here can deal with them much more easily.

Oh, and look at that - another great Rutger level up. His strength this playthrough is getting ridiculous.



Lance heads down further to take out the accompanying Shaman.



Elphin plays a little ditty on his harp for Tate.

Shin doubles the remaining Fighter down to almost nothing, gaining speed in the process.



Tate heads in to try and finish him off, but misses.



Back in the south, Alan and Gonzales attack the remaining pirates, though only Alan gets a kill.



Geese, a little too wounded still to take part in the fighting, heads back to the village to pick up a Red Gem for us to sell.



Roy finishes off the last pirate himself...



And Wendy stops by the shop for some tomes. This is the first store so far that sells Light tomes for our Bishop, Saul, to use, so you'll want to stock up on a few while you're passing through.



Fir accidentally went the wrong way, and has to backtrack to the other group. Oops?



The Fighter takes aim at Shin, but eats axe from Bartre next turn.



With the reinforcement group dealt with, the other two Fighters with Bartre will start to make their way south to the boss. Fortunately, Shin and Lance are fast enough that they can catch up to them and rescue them to keep them out of our hair.

Tate, meanwhile, picks up Bartre and begins ferrying him over to Fir...



Geese isn't looking too hot and Saul's nowhere nearby, so he snatches Roy's Vulnerary and heals himself with it.



Hmm?



Morgan: Good. Send them out immediately. Send them from the back so that they can defense the castle even if we should be surrounded.

This is the cue that groups of reinforcements will start coming from the castle. They're nothing much, usually groups of archers, mercenaries or fighters.



Tate drops off Bartre by his daughter before flying off with Elphin's help...



And we recruit ol' Bartre the Brave.

Bartre: Ah, Fir! I was looking for you.

Fir: Father, I have made up my mind. I want to become a great swordfighter like Mother ...

Bartre: I understand. I don't mean to drag you home. In fact, I want to assist you in your journey.

Fir: Assist me?

Bartre: Well, I know that there are a lot of hardships during a journey of training. So I can help you out in tough situations...

Fir: But Father, if you kept helping me, there would be no point to my training.

Bartre: Nonsense. Would you not be able to train your sword skills with your father around? Or do you not understand your Father's love for worrying about you like this?

Fir: No! That's not it...

Bartre: Well then, we understand each other. But first we must capture that castle.

[Bartre leaves.]

Fir: *Sigh* I have to tell Roy that we're getting another member...



Bartre is the fighter defined - lots of strength and HP, but no speed. He's great when he joins with that heavy hit of his, but unless you invest a lot in feeding him Speedwings he'll fall behind and out of use. Though I wonder how dangerous he'd be if you did...



Though he's still a bit of a goofball at heart, Bartre seems to have mellowed out since his wife's death, being much more cautious and knowledgable than in FE7. Even still, his supports are pretty funny, and he's a likeable guy overall, so he's got that going for him if you do use him.

Geese heals up a bit more, using the last of Roy's Vulnerary in the process.



The Registrans that followed Bartre run into the reinforcements that spawned by the castle and start to engage them. Which is good, as it means that Shin and Lance will be able to swoop in and pick them up.



Like so.



Even with the fighters weighing him down, Lance takes only one blow.

Down with Roy's group, Alan lures one of the last enemies in the south side across the bridge.



Elphin helps out Bartre in catching back up with the group...



Tate picks up one of the fighters from Lance here so he can head south.



Like so.



Back with Roy's group, Wolt and Gonzales take on one of the fighters down there.



A couple of reinforcements spawn again, one taking aim at Saul. He misses, thankfully - Saul's become a bit of a dodge machine, even with his low luck.



And there goes the civilians.

Oujay and Rutger take out the enemy's back up...



And Lance starts working on the mercenaries that just spawned.



And working some more...



Alan finishes off a fighter back in the south.



Three more levels!



Lance lacks the punch needed to finish off the fighter, resulting in him going after Saul.



One of the mercenaries guarding the boss is wielding an Armorslayer, which as you remember is strong against armored units. Thankfully, Rutger is anything but.

Alan takes a few blows from the last few units to the east of the castle...



...And next turn they're down for the count.



Lilina zaps a fighter with her Thunder tome for more speed. Man, she's gonna be scary by the time she promotes.



Lance and Rutger take out a few more mercenaries by the boss...



And some more...



Back with Roy's group, Alan and Wolt start clearing out the remainder of the enemies beyond the bridge.

Wendy finishes off the archer for more defense. Strength's a bit of a worry, but she's got speed, her defense is turning out well, and we'll have a means of correcting her low attack power once we finish the chapter...



Anyway, at this point, we've cleared out all of the other enemies, with only the dwindling reinforcements and the boss himself left.



Lilina takes out an archer...



Morgan's a bit of a tough bastard. Unlike Zinc, he's got enough defense that he can shrug off even Roy's rapier, and can dish out the damage. He's still got the general class's trademark slowness, but even still it's going to be a pain wearing him down.



A few more fighters spawn at this point, annoyingly enough.



First things first, we'll want Morgan to switch to that Javelin of his since it's the weakest weapon in his arsenal. After that, Bartre will beat him down to almost nothing for one of our more permanent troops to finish off.



First we'll take out those fighters...



...and it's onto Morgan. Strange... is it just me, or does he look familiar?

Morgan: Hurry up and kill the ones who escaped! ...? Wh-Who are you people!?



*Whiff*

Wolt dodges a blow from a mercenary for a decent level up.



Bartre starts wearing away at the boss with his Brave Axe, which doubles the number of blows he can usually strike.



Roy and Wendy finish off a mercenary...



And Rutger takes out the last reinforcement, an archer.



Lilina chips in a blow for a magical level up.



A few more turns pass by, with neither side gaining ground...



Interestingly enough, Roy's rapier has a greater effect when the weapon triangle's working in his advantage, giving him the attack power he needs to double Morgan down.

Lilina makes a gamble here, but succeeds in finishing Morgan off.



Us?



Oh, we're no one in particular.



Roy: ...mean we've rescued all the people living on these isles.

Elphin: Right. To fully liberate the Western Isles, we must get rid of the Etrurian capitol.

Roy: So we must head for Djuto. ...Elphin, may I ask you something?

Elphin: What is it, Master Roy?

Roy: Correct me if I'm wrong. But are you not someone of high Etrurian nobility?

If haven't caught onto this yet, slap yourself in the face.

Elphin: !! ...What makes you think that?

Besides the noble appearance, intimate knowledge of Etrurian politics and higher education?

Roy: Welll... I can't really explain it, but... For example, the way you talk sounds very educated. In Ostia, I learned how to 'study' people and to make estimates about them. Anyway, am I right?

Elphin: What would you do if I were what you think I am?

Roy: What? No, I wouldn't do anything in particular.

Elphin: ?

Roy: You must have some reason to hide your identity. You can tell me when you feel comfortable about it. Okay?

Elphin: ......

Roy: Then let's go to Djuto! To save these isles and defeat our true enemy!



Huh, so that's where Merlinus was hanging out.

Merlinus: What! Who are you?

Middle-aged Man: Here, give this to General Roy. Thanks to him, we can see our families again.

Young Man: We people of the Western Isles never forget when people help us!

Middle-aged Man: Make sure you say thanks for us.

Young Man: And that we all express our gratitude from the bottom of our hearts!



Same deal as last chapter - if the civilians all survived the battle, you get an Energy Ring. Odds are this will go to one of our weaker units, like Lance or Wendy. And with that...



Next time: The man behind the men.

This LP is a really good read, Reel. Glad you're doing it.

As a side note, from the story so far, it seems like FE 6's story is more complex politically than FE 7 and FE 8. Does this continue to be the case, or do we get back to straightforward Bern-bashing after this interlude ends?

Well, a lot of what we're doing is in a way connected to Bern, since they're behind most of the strife in the game. However we'll be touring around Elibe for quite a while longer, so you can expect to see these kinds of sub-plots developed a bit more throughout the game.

Anywho, welcome back. Last time, we headed for Castle Idina on Caledonia Isle and freed a group of civilians from their captors before they were sent off to the Mines of Death.



Roy headed for Djuto, the Isles' largest city. The Etrurian capitol was located there.

According to Elphin, Lord Arcard, who was in charge of supervising the Western Isles, was an Etrurian of high nobility, but not of high importance to the Etrurian government. Roy was still worred about Etruria's response to his attacking the capitol, but to rescue the people, he had to get rid of Arcard as soon as possible.

Join us now as we take on...

Chapter 12: The Real Enemy





Flaer: Ah, Lord Arcard. Why do you fret so?

Arcard: It's the Lycia Alliance Army! They are approaching here to take my head!

Flaer: Oh, them. They are somewhat of a nuisance to us of Bern... We figured it would get difficult if they became friendly with Etruria, so we had you send them here... Well... they fight better than I would have expected.

"Better than you expected?" We've kicked your asses across the island, bud.

Arcard: What are you saying! Do you know how much I have lost because of them? All the riches that I've earned from these islands... N-No! Before that, my life! My life is in danger! If they reach here, I am done for! What must I do...

Flaer: If you are that worried, you should leave this capitol and escape back to Etruria.

Arcard: Are you sure?

Flaer: Warfare is what Bern is best at. And besides, we have our secret weapon at hand. We shall kill off the Lycia Alliance Army once and for all/

Arcard: But...

Flaer: Lord Arcard. If Bern and Etruria join forces, we shall have nothing on this continent to fear. Isn't that so?

Arcard: Yes... Yes! You're right. Then I shall ask for your assistance.

[Arcard leaves.]

Flaer: Hmph, the weakness of those Etrurian nobles. But if we can get rid of the alliance here, these isles shall be ours forever...

Hmm... some dastardly deeds going on at these islands. I wonder what Roy's thinking?

Roy: This is the capitol... Once we take it down, we can go home.

Elphin: I have sent someone in already to unlock the gate...



Here's Lalum, the dancer, by the way. She doesn't join, but she shows up during this chapter as our informant.

Roy: The one over there dressed like a dancer?

Elphin: Yes.

Lalum: Your Majesty! Over here~!

Roy: Your Majesty?

Elphin: ...I know not of what she speaks of.

Man, I call baloney on that.

Lalum: Your Majesty. You're late.

Elphin: Lalum, who is "Your Majesty?"

Lalum: ? ...Oh! Ah... er... You know, you look so much like a prince, so I gave you a nickname!

Elphin: ......

Roy: ......

......

Elphin: My apologies, Master Roy. This is Lalum, a member of the resistance.

Lalum: Everyone on these islands has heard of you! They call you the 'Saviour form the East'. Nice to meet you. I'm Lalum.

Roy: Whoa! Please leave a little distance!

Lalum: Roy, your face is all red. How cute~~~!!!

Er...

Elphin: ...Lalum.

Lalum: Oh! R-Right. I've been hearing strange rumors. The people here say that a 'human not human' resides in this castle.

Roy: A human not human...?

Lalum: Yes. They say he changes form into a creature nobody has ever seen before. Say it looked like on of the legendary Dragons!

Roy: A human? Turning into a Dragon!?

Lalum: I don't know... but maybe.

Elphin: We must proceed with caution.



This one's a tricky map, but not too hard once you nail down a strategy. As you can see, our team's been split up into two groups during the assault, with a larger force moving through the more winding west side while the rest move through the treasure rooms in the east. As such, you'll want to have most of your mounted and range units in your western group, as they'll be dealing with a significant number of archers and shamans on that route while the other moves in relative safety.

While it may seem obvious to move at a slower pace and fight defensively, we have a time limit as to how long we have to take the throne. In order to unlock the sidequest for Armads, the Thunder Hammer, we have to complete this stage in 20 turns, as well as make sure Elphin's alive at the end of it (you don't have to deploy him, by the way - as long as he's on the bench and in good shape you don't have to worry). You have to move quickly, so make sure you're well equipped with ranged weapons and try to make every shot count.

Also, we've got two recruits on this stage, them being the master thief, Cath, and Lugh's twin brother Ray. Ray's already on the map from the start and will remain stationary for the entire battle, so he's relatively easy to recruit as a result, but Cath won't appear for a few turns yet and will flee if you block off the treasure chests. The best way to recruit her is to lure her to one of the chests on the east side and block off her escape route - with no where to run, Cath will simply wait her turns until an opportunity presents itself.

One last thing: make sure to bring the wyrmslayer you got from Elphin, as it'll come in handy for the map's true boss...



Lance starts the battle off with a bang, getting some more strength after a bit of a reprieve.



I keep forgetting to give Alan a replacement Javelin... anyway, Tate's at a bit of a disadvantage this chapter, so she loans hers to Alan for the battle.



Alan, not to be outdone by his partner, gains a similarily helpful level up.



As for the west side, you'll want your formations to be something like this. There's a priest nearby with a Sleep staff that can seriously fuck up your strategy if he connects, so make sure your low-Res units are out of his range while your mages and the like lightning rod the uses out of the staff.

Also, the Fighter just north of their starting position is wielding a Killer Axe, so Chad will bait him down for Lilina to take out.



With our first turn finished, the 'human not human' makes his appearance...

Aine: I heard you called...

Flaer: I will go report about the Lycia Alliance Army to General Narshen. I want you to defend this castle while I am away.

Aine: ... Understood.

Flaer: ? Who's there! ...... Just the wind... Well then, I shall be going. I leave the rest to you.

Aine: ... Understood.

[Aine leaves.]

Flaer: Haha... The Lycia Alliance won't stand a chance against this Dragon. They won't even be able to scratch it with normal weapons. These mamkutes... They certainly are terrible beasts.



Hey, is that who I think it is?

Ray: So it is true that Bern has brought the Dragons back into this world. ... So what can I do now... I guess I'll act like one of the soldiers and observe the Dragon's power.

On the enemy's phase, Chad successfully lures the fighter safely and levels up.



The enemy wields a new type of magic tome this battle, the dark tome Eclipse. As you can see, it kinda... well, it sucks, honestly. Sure, it can reduce a character's HP to 1, but with a base accuracy of 10% (!), the odds of it connecting are so astronomically low that it just ends up wasting time. It looks cool, though.



And here's that sleep tome from earlier, by the way. Sleep knocks out a character for four turns, and having anyone on the right group asleep would seriously slow them down.

Lugh dodges here thankfully, and, interestingly enough, it and the other long-range magic loses a usage even with misses so you can waste them away.



Our turn comes around and Chad and Lilina take out the enemy fighter bugging them.



Lance and Alan, meanwhile, start to get to work on the archers roaming the hallways.



Lance wasn't quite strong enough to finish one of them off though, so Tate clears the way for Shin to get the kill.

Oujay, meanwhile, lures an enemy knight to his death for more speed.



Honestly, it's kinda embarrassing watching the shaman shoot helplessly at us like this. Couldn't they have gotten the guy better weapons?



On the west front, Tate continuest the lightning rod strategy, while Lilina shoots down a knight.



With the first round of archers gone, our west team prepares to make their run through the next gauntlet. As you can see, we've got a mixture of archers and shamans to deal with next, so we'll either have to rush them all at once, or send our cavaliers in two at a time and rescue them back out of range of the others.



On the enemy's turn, the fighter misses what would have been a fatal blow and eats dagger in return.



Honestly, I feel kinda sad for the poor bastard. I'd give him a Flux tome if I had one, but eh.



Lilina takes out the fighter for a more defensive level up. It's kinda unnerving how... well-rounded Lilina's becoming. Normally she gains nothing but magic, maybe some speed and resistance, but that's it.



Alan and Lance shoot down two of the enemies guarding the hallway, but I pull them out just-in-case.

However, I make sure to dump him just in range of one of the fighters to the north so he can start on softening them up. He levels up by the way, and it's a good one too.



Roy moves into range so he can act as a decoy...



And the shaman and priest fire another volley. The latter, oddly enough, manages to connect, but it's only on Tate and this map is too flier-unfriendly for her to be of any use yet.



With the Sleep staff used up, our east team starts to make their way north.



Shin, making use of his newfound strength, pulls out the ol' Short Bow and nails the archer.



However, this puts him in range of the warrior above, who is just strong enough to one-shot him at the moment. We'll leave him alone for now until we come around the bend.



Lance heals himself up to deal with the shaman while Alan nails the other archer.



The shaman, naturally, then decides to take aim at Roy instead, but thankfully he misses the blow.



Lance starts working on the archers to the north, and Shin finishes off the shaman.

Meanwhile, back with Lilina's group, Chad starts pilfering the chests and snags a Lancereaver.



One of the archers in the hallway wields a Long Bow, and as such can be a bit of a pest to deal with since you can't hurt him on the counterattack. However, he's an archer all the same, and Alan takes him out with little effort.



Shin's still smarting from the shaman, so he takes the time to pull out a Vulnerary.



Since Lance didn't have much to do this turn, he takes a break and hangs out for Alan for a bit. This support has been active since... about chapter 2, I believe, and, as far as I know, is the closest we've got to homoerotic subtext as per Dhroo's decree, so to A-Rank it goes.

Lance: Neither good nor bad, Alan.

Alan: ... Cool and calm as always, I see. The other day I lagged behind you, but not in this battle! Watch and learn from my skill, Lance!

Lance: Of course I'll watch you fight. Still, I have no intention of losing to you from now on, either!

Alan: Well well, what confidence! I look forward to seeing you after the battle. Well then, I'll be off. You'd better come quickly too.



All told, the support conversations in this game are pretty mediocre, and I have a feeling this has little to do with "translation vs. localization" in this part. Compared to the characters we get in FE7 and FE8, the guys in this game aren't as well-developed, and, aside from a few exceptions here and there, don't have much backstory worth exploring. This might be because they're still setting supports up in a test drive, but they feel quite a bit archaic compared to the later entries.

Well, anyway.



Chad loots another treasure chest, grabbing the incredibly broken Brave Bow as a reward. As you may remember, Brave weapons double the number of hits dealt in combat, with the damage piling up very quickly as a result. Odds are this will go to Wolt or Shin.



And it's Cath!

Cath: Well, if that's true, this castle must be loaded with treasure! The loot wasn't earned rightfully by the nobles anyway, so I guess I'll grab it all for myself!



With the archers dealt with in the hallway, Roy runs into the last obstacles left to be dealt with. That is, a group of fighters led by a warrior.



Chad loots another treasure chest for an Elysian Whip, the promotion item for flying units...

Roy and Lance start to get to work on the fighters clogging the path, with Shin healing himself up for the counter attack.



Lance dodges one skillfully...



And Shin counters the other for another strong level up.



At this point, Tate wakes up from her nap and flies to rejoin her group.



Lance and Shin clear out the rest of the group with their combined attacks here.



This is how our teams stand so far. After this point, our two teams will converge just to the right of the boss's room, and, after recruiting Ray and Cath, we'll send a thief to the chests in the south while the rest take on Aine.



The last fighter makes a run at Alan but gets criticaled in the face.



Cath takes the treasure bait during her phase, giving me the chance to cut off her escape route. With nowhere to go, she'll simply sit there and wait for Roy to go to her.

Speaking of Roy's group, Alan takes a swing at a nearby priest and levels up.



Shin heals up a bit more with the last use from his Vulnerary.



Seems like Aine's taken notice of us...



Aine: ......

Soldier: T-That's all, sir. [Aine leaves.] That guy scare me...

The reinforcements in question won't arrive for a few turns yet, and even then one of the two groups is so far away that they won't reach us before the battle is over.



The Priest by Aines's side is wielding another Sleep staff, so take note.



And with the others gone, it's time to recruit Ray.

Ray: Lou...! What are you doing here?

Lugh: I'm glad that you look okay. We were worried. You just left one day, saying that you were 'going on a journey to train your magic skills'.

Ray: I wouldn't be able to effectively learn magic sitting in that orphanage. It was a miracle that I could learn what I did.

Lugh: Ray... The orphanage is gone.

Ray: ? What happened?

Lugh: Bern's forces came... and burned it down.

Ray: ... What happened to everybody?

Lugh: Father was killed protecting us... The little children are under the protection of the Elimine Church.

Ray: ... I see. Good... they'll be happier living with the church instead of an old orphanage.

Lugh: You don't have to say it that way.

Ray: ......

Lugh: Ray! Come with us. Let's defeat Bern and pick up the little ones!

Ray: I don't find interest in such things.

Lugh: But!

Ray: Still... the Lycia Alliance Army might not be a bad place to be. They seem to have some kind of connection with the Dragons. So if you insist, I suppose I can go with you.

Lugh: Ray...

Ray: I hope you understand! I'm not joining to avenge Father or the orphanage or anything!

Lugh: Yes! I know, Ray.

Ray: So don't look at me like that!



Ray's one of the stronger shamans to come around in the GBA games. He's got good magic and resistance, naturally, but he's also reasonably fast, and can double enemies pretty easily if he gets blessed in the stat. The fact that dark magic tomes are actually light enough to use in this game helps a little in this regard. He's got low luck though, and even though he's got good growths, he can be a bit of a slowpoke compared to the other mages, but even still he's a solid unit all-around and will take his place on our team.



As much as Ray is loathe to admit it, he's just a big softy under that tough exterior of his. A lot of his supports (especially those with Lugh and Chad) play on this, and can lead to amusing and/or touching moments from it.

With our group reforming, they begin to work on the walls to reach Aine.



Geese, unfortunately, falls asleep from the staff wielder inside...



Heh.



Shin moves Geese out of the way so people can move past there more easily.



Note that, even if you've recruited Ray at this point, you can read his conversation with Chad as well...

Ray: My thoughts exactly. What are you doing here? What happened to the orphanage?

Chad: ... So you are concerned, even though you just ran off like that.

Ray: I was never concerned. You just reminded me of it.

Chad: ... The orphanage is gone.

Ray: What do you mean?

Chad: Bern's troops burned it to the ground when they invaded Lycia. Father... He was...

Ray: !? They killed Father...?

Chad: I'm going to avenge Father. I know were stuck on these islands right now, but I know we'll go back to the mainland and stand up against Bern some day...!

Ray: ......

Chad: Well, I suppose there's no point in telling you, is there.

Ray: ... I'll go with you.

Chad: What?! For real?

Ray: Bern seems to be tied in with the Dragons. I'm curious about them.

Chad: ... Fine. Just don't get in the way.



With that all finally done, Lilina hands the Brave Bow over to Wolt and they begin chipping away. You'll notice that the Brave weapons can double walls, the only weapon to do so- as such, they're a great way to remove obstacles, as they can deal damage faster than normal weaponry.



and down the wall goes.



The reinforcents arrive, but on the other side of the map.



Chad skillfully dodges a blast of sleep here, and good thing too since he'll need every turn he can get to get to the chests in the south.

After taking a small break to unlock the door, Chad gets scooped up by Tate and taken south.



After which we begin plugging up those staircases so that the other, closer reinforcements don't arrive.



Cath: Hm? ...You again? These days, you always appear to screw up my plans. Do you have something against me?

Roy: No! I just... wanted to apologize.

Cath: ...Excuse me?

Roy: The last time we met, I said some pretty harsh things. Like calling you a villain when I didn't know the things you had gone through....

Cath: Oh, that? It's okay. It's not really bothering me.

Roy: But I still think what you're doing isn't right.

Cath: You've really got nerve to say that, don't you?

Roy: So would you give me a chance?

Cath: A chance?

Roy: Once this war is over, I'll promise to rebuild the villages that were damaged because of it. I'll be sure to make good use of the taxes they pay. So until then, I'd like you to stop stealing.

Cath: ... How long would that be?

Roy: When this war is over. I can't say exactly when...

Cath: And you expect me to wait patiently until then?

Roy: Yes. Would that be okay?

Cath: Why? Why do you tell me this? Why do you try so hard to help someone like me? You should just leave a burgler like me alone.

Roy: Without you, we wouldn't have been able to escape Wagner's castle. Though you probably weren't trying to help us, you did and you saved our lives. We can't just leave our benefactor alone.

Cath: Well well, at the rate you're going... I guess you'll be getting in my way, no matter where I go.

Roy: as long as you appear in our path.

Cath: All right, you win. I'll stop coming to battlefields to steal.

Roy: Really? Thanks for understanding.

Cath: But, you have to let me go along with you.

Roy: ?

Cath: Actions speak louder than words. I have to see whether you're going to be true to your words or not.

Roy: All right!

Woo! New recruit!



Speed and luck are the names of the game for thieves, and Cath has them in spades. Since they won't be seeing combat once the promotions start coming around, you'll want to focus on your thief's dodging ability, as they'll need to be speedy in order to survive. As such, Cath's by far the fastest of the bunch with a whopping 85% speed growth, so you can rest assured that she'll max that stat.



Cath's got a lot of funny supports, and her conversations are a thing of legend. Geese/Cath and Hugh/Cath are both good options, so I'll probably be focusing on those this run.

Oddly enough, Cath doesn't support with Roy...



With Cath recruited, Alan picks up Roy and carries him over to the boss room so he'll be ready to claim the throne.



Aine is the first Mamkute we've fought so far, and as you can see they're pretty unique. Though their base stats are pretty shitty, the boosts they get from their dragonstone all but counter that, allowing Aine here to dish out serious damage to the target and resist all but wyrmkillers and magic. If you haven't been raising mages and forgot to bring the wyrmkiller, you're in for one hell of a ride trying to weaken him down.



He's a man of few words, by the way.

However, if you have been raising mages, then Ray and Lilina are prime choices for taking him out. He's got low resistance and terrible speed, so the two will be able to double him with ease and hit him pretty hard. Note that Aine, oddly enough, can't attack at range - he can only hit you up close, leaving him extremely vulnerable to ranged attacks.



Even still, you'll probably only be able to hit Aine half the time and he'll be healed by the throne each turn, so make sure to bring the wyrmkiller along just in case the RNG screws you over.



Gonzales swings his axe at a priest here, gaining some speed out of it.



Ray and Lilina continue wearing down Aine...



And Oujay takes out the priest before he can heal the boss up.



Tate, meanwhile, drops off Chad here so he can loot the chests. One of the items we can probably do without if we run out of time, but the other is definitely worth picking up.



The wear down continues...



Chad unlocks the door to the treasure room at this point to begin looting. Note that the shaman, with his eclipse tome used up, is completely defenseless.



And after a little more softening up from Lilina...

Ray takes Aine down for the count.



Heh.



At this point, the enemy reinforcements reach our group and start swinging away at us. We don't technically need to take them out at this point since Roy can claim the throne and all, but we'll need to buy time for Chad to finish cleaning up in the south.



Wendy levels up here, and is it ever a fantastic one. She's making for a good candidate for the Energy Ring.



Wolt actually can't double the warrior here, but the brave bow negates such a problem.



Since Alan took a heavy blow from the warrior, Lance moves in to take his place at the blockade.



Meanwhile, Chad loots an Aircalibur tome for Lilina while Tate goes to work on the shaman.

The warrior here can kill any of our characters in two hits, so I opt for Lance to wait this turn instead of risking death. Thankfully, the hit doesn't connect.



And then a fighter spawns out of nowhere and nearly gives me a heart-attack. :/



Lance dodges two more blows from the other fighters.



Looting the other chest, Chad picks up a Flux tome for Ray. Since stores aren't stocked with them yet and Ray only has that Nosferatu tome of his, needless to say this will come in handy.



Tate finishes off the unlucky shaman and levels up. It's a good one, too - HP, strength and speed. That's all you need, really.



Wolt takes out the warrior with his bow and levels up as well.



Geese and Ray off another fighter while they're at it...



And I think that's enough killing for now. We're on our 20th turn as it is, and we've already completed all of our goals - no sense in tempting fate any much longer.