Update 29

Update 29: Hmm.

♪ The Land Beloved by the Goddess ♪

♪ No music ♪

Well, that was quick.

I mentioned it earlier, but you can't recruit Hilda when playing as the Black Eagles until Lone Moon if you decided to not go with Edelgard's route. After that, she becomes recruitable like any other character.

Except we only have two free days this month before, presumably, Garreg Mach is assaulted by the Adrestian army. If you hadn't built up support with her before this point, you'd be on an extremely strict time limit.

You want to add me to your class!

Okay.

Ooh, you really have taken a shine to me! I hope I can live up to your expectations. I look forward to learning from you!

Yay.

♪ Anxiety ♪

Is she wicked?

She plotted with ill-meaning strangers to achieve her own ambitions and defiled the Holy Tomb. If that is not wicked, what is? Or perhaps her ambitions are even grander than we know. Perhaps she is planning to make herself a false deity by demonizing the Church of Seiros...

Adrestia received its very name through a divine oracle. To injure the goddess is a sin most foul that shall not be forgiven, nor forgotten. We must stop the Empire...and quickly.

Welcome back, Shamir. Were you able to discern the Empire's movements?

Their main troops are marching toward Garreg Mach. It is said that they will join forces with Edelgard's army and arrive within two weeks.

Two weeks? That is not enough time!

It will require all of our efforts just to prepare our defenses before then. We must send notice to all surrounding villages at once. We must order the residents of Garreg Mach to flee for their lives.

It will be done.

...Professor...listen closely. If our enemy invades the monastery, I will have no choice but to stand upon the battlefield.

Why me?

You must have guessed it by now. The truth of who you are. Or perhaps I should say, your lost memories are surely beginning to return. I have acted all these long years as a mere proxy for you. But the duty is yours and yours alone. Only you can lead the people of Fódlan.

♪ Gazing at Sirius ♪

Rhea, please. You must tell me all that you know. I beg of you.

...

That one...is the progenitor god. Am I correct?

In a sense. Our dear professor is...a vessel. One who carries the power of the progenitor god within. In time, the vessel will become one with the power contained within, and the progenitor god shall return to this world.

I see. I trust that you are aware of the questionable nature of this experiment? But I suppose there is no turning back...

I ask that you help our friend...and, in doing so, help her. I am waiting and hoping for the moment when our creator rules this wayward land once more.

I understand. As ever, I will take you at your word.

Flayn! Were you eavesdropping? Regardless, I am glad to hear it. You owe your life to the professor, after all. And in the end, they may prove to be our brethren.

You have my gratitude, Seteth. And you as well, Flayn. As followers of the progenitor god, it is up to us to see our mission through.

Does... Does Rhea not know that Sothis is...out of commission right now? That she basically merged with us? Oh dear...

♪ Anxiety ♪

I did more promotions. As per a suggestion in the thread, you can see the effect of class base stats here.

Also, we have Cyril now. Catherine, too. Catherine and Cyril both have the same thing going on as Hilda when playing as Black Eagles, except they auto-join you in Lone Moon instead of becoming optionally recruitable.

Also worth noting that Seteth has automatically joined us too. He's not a recruitable character, he just shows up in your roster in chapter 12 on any non-Edelgard— Okay, no, I should just say the route names in an update now so I can just refer to them from here on out.

Black Eagles Non-Edelgard: Silver Snow (this is the one we're on right now)
Black Eagles Edelgard: Crimson Flower
Blue Lions: Azure Moon
Golden Deer: Verdant Wind

Right, okay. As I was saying, Seteth automatically joins you in chapter 12 on any route that isn't Crimson Flower.

She is making the decision...no, she is deciding if Brigid is a friend or an enemy of the Empire. But my choice is not to be friends. My choice is to fight with you. Brigid is not a friend of the Empire. We will not be following again. We will be ready to fight with you instead.

Flayn's abduction, Jeralt's murder, the turmoil in Remire Village...

Whether or not she was the mastermind behind what happened, it at least seems like she was involved.

And yet she was able to remain so composed while she was enrolled at the Officers Academy...

She seems to think force is the only way.

I wonder why she'd think that...

That's how it always goes, I guess. You never realize something can't be undone until you've done it.

Apparently, this is the first time Garreg Mach has been invaded in its whole 995-year history! It's my job to protect this gate, so even if enemies come in droves, I will never let them through! I hope we both survive... Let's battle with all our might and pray we win this thing!

With you at my back, Gatekeeper, I can do anything.

Another "get items from auxiliary battles" quest.

I've learned so much. Honestly, I'm surprised at how much I've grown.

I feel the same.

Of the other three, Lord Vestra was assassinated. Hubert, his son, will succeed him. Bernadetta's father, Count Varley, is under house arrest. His wife is now supporting Edelgard. And my father...he was stripped of his role as prime minister. As a result, House Aegir has lost all of its power, all of its lands. We have lost everything.

I... I... What do I do?

I can't say I'm sad that a noble's stolen wealth was expropriated, but I do feel for Ferdinand, the son who had nothing to do with it.

I didn't think it possible that the Imperial princess could ascend the throne so easily. However, it seems that both my father and Caspar's are supporting Edelgard... Having both the Minister of Domestic Affairs and Minister of Military Affairs on your side gives you total control over the Empire's military and finances.

They must have been making preparations for quite some time without anyone noticing...

Belongs to Annette.

If the Alliance is in danger, that means my sister's in danger too! There's no way I'm gonna allow that. It doesn't matter how many guys they throw at us, I'll beat 'em all. These muscles aren't just for show!

But first, I gotta get some food.

Hell yeah, Raph. I'm sad I didn't get to bring you with me this run.

You're truly all right with that?

But you'll watch out for me out there. Right, Professor?

Belongs to Sylvain.

If you're confused why Sylvain has ties to a foreign nation, it's because House Gautier rules over the border between Faerghus and Sreng.

For the sake of her ideals?

Ideals she believes in so much she was willing to start a war over them? Those must be some lofty ideals, to say the least.

Everything will be all right.

I mean, yeah, of course, I knew she'd be emperor eventually, but...

We will not lose.

Thinking about it makes me scared. We're up against the entire Imperial army! Still, I know someone as smart as you will figure something out...

It goes without saying that I will fight the Imperial army with everything I have, for as long as I am able.

But House Gloucester's territory is adjacent to Imperial lands. Let us proceed with caution.

Ugh, Lorenz, can you fucking put your family's weird politics vis-a-vis the Adrestian Empire aside so that we don't all die or are made prisoners of war when the Adrestian Empire invades Garreg Mach?!

If you really think about it, she must have been planning for this even before you got the Sword of the Creator...

Of course she was always a step ahead of us. We were blinded by the ball and the Battle of the Eagle and Lion, and everything else...

It's a hard thing to accept.

I just can't believe she'd start a war over it. Not to mention using such nasty tactics to get her way.

Could Captain Jeralt's death have also been a part of her plan?

Don't you go and die on me, Professor. Captain Jeralt would never forgive you.

For as much as I'm angry at Edelgard right now, I genuinely don't think Jeralt's death was part of her plan. She would've had no reason to be angry at Those Who Slither in the Dark in that private meeting we, as the audience, witnessed.

Belongs to Lysithea.

I didn't actually think it would come to this... I feel as though I'm not in my rightful place. I cannot protect the things I should...

Professor. If I survive this war, I wish to return to my homeland... To the land of my king.

To think that she was able to raise an army of that size right under our noses...

However hard we fight, I give us a 50 percent chance of winning.

The enemy has too many advantages. We must make careful preparations.

I've gotta do it. And I gotta do it as best I can. And if that means I gotta die for her, then I will.

Ugh, how could Edelgard treat Lady Rhea like she's the bad guy? She's never been anything but nice to everybody! I just don't get it at all...

I'll have that girl's head. Just you wait...

Jesus fuck, Dimitri, what? What happened to you?

Belongs to Flayn.

We can win this together.

Surely we can win if we rely on each other. Right, Professor?

I'm glad Marianne's able to see through her depression, self-loathing, and anxiety to find the resolve to fight.

I want to stop it if I can.

An honorable notion. Do you think there is something to be done? Whatever shall we do? I never wanted another war... All we can do is steel ourselves for the fight ahead.

I'm sure we'll be all right though, Professor. The goddess will keep us safe.

With the Imperial army drawing near, it is most vexing that we cannot relax and converse as we once did...

I will try.

Well, perhaps it's pointless to get upset about the past. My duty now is to prepare for battle.

I'm depending on you.

Defiling the Holy Tomb was a sacrilege. I will not allow such a thing to happen again. The archbishop has already given you a new responsibility. I want you to rise to that honor.

Talk to an NPC.

This is the first time I've heard of Crest Stones being hidden away in such a place... But more importantly, I'm interested to know the Empire's aim. Why would their army desire Crest Stones? There is power there, yes. And yet... I must think on this. The Crest Stones lie at the heart of the events surrounding Conand Tower and the chapel as well... And, of course, the Crest Stones somehow transformed those traitors and their captives into Demonic Beasts...

Could that possibly be their aim?! The Empire's army may well plan to use Crest Stones to create Demonic Beasts!

Reminder: Conand Tower was where we fought Miklan and his gang of bandits, and where we battled our first demonic beast.

Also, that's a fucking horrifying thought, and yet, given the lengths Edelgard will go to for whatever her "path" is, I wouldn't be surprised if that turns out to be true...

Doesn't make much sense though, does it? There would need to be all sorts of territories and groups tangled up in this sort of mess...

Eh, I'm gonna stop. I don't really have the head for this political stuff.

Mostly I'm worried about my old opera company. I wonder what's happening in the capital right now. I hope they're safe...

The Imperial army might be using even more terrifying methods than we know. You had better be cautious, Professor. Any amount of carelessness might prove to be our undoing.

The fact that both Hanneman and Lysithea have come to the conclusion that the Adrestian Empire would turn to horrific methods, including forcibly transforming prisoners of war or otherwise-unwilling combatants into demonic beasts, terrifies me.

Now it turns out Edelgard is the Flame Emperor, and the new Adrestian emperor! And she's striking out against the monastery, with the full force of the Imperial army behind her. We gotta beat her at her own game! For our sake as well as Lady Rhea's...

It's utterly fucked up that the students are going to be conscripted to fight in defense of the monastery, especially the ones who aren't even adults yet. Honestly, I feel a bit gross for having led child soldiers into battle. I'm not even overanalyzing it, the Church of Seiros made underaged combatants carry out martial orders against, among other things, Kosta's bandits, Lonato, and Miklan. Different time and setting, I know, but...

Ugh. Ugh! Everything's getting dark and terrifying all at once!

We aren't especially close, but he's not an opponent I'd want to face. I'd almost rather fight a monster! I hope he's not part of the group coming to attack Garreg Mach...

But an enemy is an enemy, no matter who they are. Don't let compassion for her get in your way.

Anyway, I took care of that bedamned tournament. A Brave Lance is a pretty good reward.

Hilda gets the Speed Carrot from earlier. Given that she'll be focusing on axes, every bit of Spd is important.

She also gets the Goddess Icon, because why not?

I got Bow Skills +2 on the Saint Indech statue. Just need 200 renown, and then I can get all of the intresting stuff from the Saint Macuil statue.

Time to move on.

Ferdinand hits Lance A, and gets a good combat art.

Swift Strikes: +2 Mt, 1 range, costs 4 durability. Triggers 2 consecutive hits.

With Swift Strikes, even a unit with extremely low AS—like, say, Ferdinand when he has the Aegis Shield on—can still be a monster on the player phase.

Knowing magic will make you a stronger swordsman.

♪ Teatime Joy ♪

♪ Anxiety ♪

Now that we have Hilda and Cyril, we can take on their paralogue.

Is there some kind of emergency?

Well, that's one way of putting it...

The Almyran forces are causing trouble at Fódlan's Locket.

Oh, do you know where that is? Well, the mountain range that separates the Alliance from Almyra is called Fódlan's Throat.

So, you're going to help defend it?

Well, yeah, you could say that. I'm sure my brother would be able to handle them on his own. But he said he really wants me to help out. I guess he's a bit tired out from all his hard work.

Anyway, our dad's not as sprightly as he used to be. He's not up for a fight.

Apparently it would look bad if we left it to the retainers.

I really, really don't want to go, but I guess I have to.

Hm? Oh, what's up, Cyril?

You're gonna fight the Almyrans, yeah?

Yes. But it's nothing you need to worry about, Cyril.

It's not that. I was just wondering if...if maybe I could maybe go along with ya?

But—you'd be fighting people from your homeland. Do you really want to do that?

None of 'em would remember me anyway... It's just that...I got captured in the battle at the Locket, and that's how I ended up here.

What do you mean?

Before Lady Rhea took me in, I had a real hard time as a servant of House Goneril.

I'm sorry to hear that. But it's not like I'll go around snapping up Almyran children.

That's good, but I just... I want to see things for myself, so I know...that everything's OK.

Hm. Well then, let's go together! Oh, would you want to join us, Professor?

My brother will be there, but I'm a little scared about fighting all those fierce Almyrans...

I'll come with you.

Great! I know we'll be OK if you're there! Let's head out right away.

I'll go and get ready too.

♪ As Swift as Wind ♪

If we can prevent House Goneril from kidnapping war orphans and making them slaves, hell, I'm all for it.

I forgot to set a third adjutant. Whoops.

We're split up between the west and east sides of the map—and the east side is too small for its task. We need to rush the fliers that are going to go after the eastern ally units, and that is not easy when you only have four units, one of whom is forced to be Cyril.

I have both Ingrid and Petra pulling flier duty here, since otherwise saving all the green units would be way too much of a hassle.

♪ No music ♪

He's not here?! Oh... I'm sorry. You must have been absolutely terrified.

It's OK though! I brought along someone who can definitely help us.

That's you, Professor. Please help us save our allies and protect Fódlan's Locket.

♪ Tempest of Seasons ♪

You couldn't have brought even one more person with you, Cyril? Honestly.

I didn't go over the enemies because they're nothing special, not even the boss.

We'll need Stride to have even a hope of saving the green units.

There, that's one down.

Meh.

Here we go!

He will only get stronger from here on out. Remember, he doesn't even have Fistfaire yet, or the inherent Crit +20 from War Master.

I need some units at the north end of the map, since there's a big wave of enemies that will rush the destination tiles if I'm not careful. Abby should make for an effective chokepoint stopper.

Cyril can't reach an enemy, unfortunately. Such are the woes of being infantry.

The ally units can't really put up much of a fight, but they are at least somewhat durable.

Ugh, flying monsters. They're always massive pains.

I don't really have much of a choice but to burn one of Flayn's gambit charges on breaking the monster's armor.

Cyril sure is mediocre.

Dammit, I really hoped I could go through an HP bubble in one go.

This'll do it!

Dorothea, please.

One of that thing's HP bubbles down, at least.

Northeastern ally unit is safe.

These guys sure are fans of missing.

lol

Ingrid is going to try to save the central Goneril soldier.

Remember: Physic can be a massive boon in keeping these guys alive.

With the help of Sylvain, Caspar marches towards the northern enemies.

That's both monsters taken care of now.

Just one more damage...

Cyril please

Bad level, ugh.

Dammit.

Doesn't even need crits to kill.

Ohhhhh jesus that was close.

Not even sure what I need to say by now. Once the Goneril soldiers are safe, this is a pretty standard rout map.

Hey, +1 AS. That's basically as good as a point of Spd. Therefore: good level.

what

That's...not a favorable matchup for Cyril.

Isn't that just my luck, Mercedes got hit too.

Air superiority! Also, level superiority!

One turn later, we finish this.

♪ No music ♪

You bet.

I'm gonna drop by my family's estate and complain to my brother a bit. You two should head back.

For saving at least one Goneril soldier, we get a Large Bullion. For saving all of them, we get a Hexlock Shield—+2 Prt, +4 Rsl, 5 Wt. Not the most useful bit of equipment, but there you are.

The Goneril Valkyries are one of the best battalions, hands down; +8 Phys Atk, +20 Hit, +15 Crit, and +6 Prt at max rank. They come with Assault Troop for a gambit, too!

The Almyra Mercenaries are nowhere near as impressive, but they do have Fusillade, at least. Never hurts to have ranged gambits.

♪ Calm Winds Over Gentle Waters ♪

Then what are they doing?

They just start fights like this sometimes. It's so they can show off how strong they are.

I think it's pretty dumb. I mean, people are getting killed! And why? So some guy can think he's tough?

After every fight, they do a big feast, and everybody eats and dances and there's music...

Feeling homesick?

Nah, I'm where I belong now, and I don't really like Almyra.

If they wanna show how tough they are, then they oughta look after kids who've lost their parents.

You get a chance to see your brother?

I did. Though I think I'd be better off otherwise. He was horribly ill, for one thing. He looked so pale and haggard.

Apparently he'd eaten a bad mushroom before the battle and it made him horribly sick. What an idiot.

Anyway, when I told him we'd handled the Almyran situation, he was just gushing with praise.

Weren't you glad to get praise from your brother?

That did feel pretty good, I'll admit. But then things got awkward.

He started trying to pawn off his whole inheritance. I told him I wanted none of it!

Eventually he settled for foisting this thing on me. Do you know what it is?

Yes. It's a magic axe called Freikugel. It's the Hero's Relic of House Goneril. He said that I should have it, since the Crest I bear will allow me to wield it.

He was so insistent, I eventually relented. But I don't think I can be responsible for something so precious.

Why me?

Heroes' Relics contain terrifying power. They're beyond the capabilities of a novice like me.

If you're sure...

Thank you so much! I honestly didn't know what I was going to do with this thing!

A big scary axe is not my style. Plus, look closely—parts of the axe are pulsating, like it's alive! How gross is that?

But I'll use it if you tell me to, Professor. Or you can get somebody else to wield it, if you like.

It's all up to you now!

...

That Hilda... She really is something.

Freikugel is monstrous. 23 Mt, 65 Hit, 10 Crit, 11 Wt. 23 Mt is the highest of any weapon in the game, and Hilda especially can make some serious wounds with this thing.

In addition, Freikugel grants anyone with the Crest of Goneril—so, Hilda—access to a unique combat art.

Apocalyptic Flame: +15 Mt, +20 Hit, 1 range, costs 3 durability. Inflicts Str -5 on foe for 1 turn. Effective against Dragon foes.

15 Mt, Str -5. Jesus.

Anyway, I do optional battles for the rest of the day. Results time!