Part 19: Door of Destiny: Zaxon-Lubeck (Part 1)

Chapter 5: Door of Destiny: Zaxon-Lubeck (Part 1)

We're finally returning home. Back to Grandbell. Back to our country, to restore our honor and reclaim our place as a holy knight of Chalphy. Back to our beloved Deirdre.





for Sigurd.





Commanding the forces was an enemy





Magefighter, Vaha.



with the castle's defense.



Prime Minister Reptor maintained the public order.



forces seemed inevitable. Sigurd also knew he mustn't involve Silesia any further in the conflict with Grandbell.







Chapter 5: Door of Destiny

A quick aside, I absolutely love this chapter opening. Flowing of Time, the theme that plays during it is incredibly dramatic, and the fact that this is the first time we haven't been greeted with Glorious Grandbell really helps to heighten that drama. That last line is also particularly great. The usage of the date, Gran Calendar 760, harkens back the Prologue's opening.









Also noteworthy, Door of Destiny can also be interpreted as Door of Fate, again calling back to that scene. Really this whole chapter's mood is incredibly well done, and I'll be gushing about it throughout the next few updates.













If you've forgotten, this is lord Byron, Sigurd's father. This is his first actual appearance, but his portrait showed up at the start of the Prologue.









He managed to get away just as I was closing in. I believe he intends to seek refuge in Silesia.

Then what the hell're you doing here!? Get after him!! We must finish him off now! Otherwise our entire effort spent wiping out Chalphy's Gruenen Ritter will have been for nothing!

Y, yes, of course. He has sustained heavy injuries, so he shouldn't get far.

You gravely underestimate the situation.



Do you have any idea how much trouble we'll face if that sword reaches Sigurd!? Depart immediately and kill him!!

Y, yes sir! Right away, sir!





The axe knights of the Grauen Ritter are all elite warriors. With that much power on his side, Dannan has no excuse for taking so long to quell some little uprising in Isaac.









Lord Ring... may you rest in peace.













So Langobart has already mentioned that Byron is bringing Sigurd they holy Tyrfing. However he's kind of surrounded by enemies, and a bit slow and extremely weak. We'll have to help him out. But before anything else, let's have an overview of the map.







So we're starting out in Zaxon, still technically in Silesia. Our plan of attacks seems fairly straightforward. We'll take Lubeck (also in Silesia) to the east, head south to Phinora in the desert, then on to Velthomer, and finally Barhara. There are bandits and a group of armor knights to the west of Zaxon, attacking the villages there. Byron's about half way between Zaxon and Lubeck, with a small army on either side, though at first only the eastern one will chase him. There's also a lone bandit who will attack the southern village.

If you're listening to the music for this chapter, by now you've probably noticed that a section of it plays a section of Conversation 1, which I really love since that's one of my favorite tracks in the game. This chapter's music is extremely tense and dramatic, which really sets the mood here. Now then, some pre-chapter preparations.











Dew promotes from a Thief to a Thief Fighter, gaining +5 Speed, +4 Strength, Defense, and Skill, and +3 Magic and Resistance. And on top of that…



And he gets Pursuit! He's now a somewhat decent fighter. I mean, he still has pretty bad durability and so-so strength, but he can now do mediocre damage twice per round! Now, a few things about this map's arena that are kind of interesting.



The final opponent is a Thief Fighter with an Earth Sword, so he's actually pretty tough, even for our better units. Now, here's a fun little thing you can do with Sylvia to help her out in the arena.



You go in with the Defence Sword (which I'm just now realizing is misspelled in this patch) so that Sylvia can take a hit and get down to low health.



Then, you let her take a hit, and back out of the fight.



You'll be prompted to either cede, fight, or change your weapon.



So change to the Slim Sword to raise Sylvia's evasion. Now that she's in Prayer Range, she's unhittable with the Slim Sword.













Of course, she only does one damage per attack, so it takes a while to kill the enemy, but it's a guaranteed win.



Oh, and you break your sword. In fact, I actually lost money having Sylvia go through the arena this chapter, but the levels she gained for the EXP rank are worth it.



Next up, Tiltyu promotes.









She promotes from Thunder Mage to Mage Fighter, gaining +6 Speed, +5 Magic, +4 Defense and Resistance, and +3 Strength. Not bad at all. But wait, there's more!



She gains the Continue skill, which with her newfound Speed boost gives her a decent chance to double. She also gains proficiency in Staves and Swords. The former is useful, the latter is not. I guess, like with Azel, it's meant to make her a mage-killer unit, dealing decent damage against low defense units while taking next to nothing in return, but it's not really that helpful.




And since I forgot to post it at the end of the last chapter, there's everyone's stats. I should also note that all the females now have lovers, so we've secured our children for generation two.



Alright, so to the west we have some mages, a lot of axe armors, and a bandit who will attack the village. Despite his sprite having a lance, the promoted armor actually uses an axe. I'll use this as an opportunity to let Alec, Noish, Ardan, and Dew get some kills.



To the east, we have our first obstacle for the main force, but, again, being almost entirely axe users, they shouldn't be tough.



Further to the east, Byron. He only has 20 HP, so we'll have to get to him fast. But if he has the Tyrfing, he can't be in too much trouble. We'll examine him in more detail in a bit.



And all the way at Lubeck, we have the Great Knights of Lubeck, and Andre's group of Bow Knights. Also some ballistae. Now then, Byron.



Overall, pretty decent stats except for HP. Unfortunately, that broken sword is really weighing him down, so he has shitty evade and will get hit by everything. Wait, wasn't he supposed to have the Tyrfing? Is he giving us a broken Tyrfing!? God dammit, that'll cost a fortune to repair.





Being a Master Knight with major Baldo blood, he has great weapon proficiencies. Shame he only has one leadership star, but I guess being branded a traitor tends to do these things to you. Well, to him, Sigurd still has his two. So, our first objective will be to get Sigurd to talk to Byron asap. But that'll take a turn or two. So let's start out with other conversations first. Like Aideen and Brigid!







Yes, he killed our dear father, and Mahnya as well. He must have been possessed by something evil to do such unthinkable things.

: Well, that doesn't matter 'cause I'm going to kill him! His little killing spree is over. Aideen, you're with me on this, aren't you?

Brigid...

: I wish there was another way, but the crimes he has committed weigh heavily on us as well. Look, I may go down for what I'm about to do. I just wanted you to understand my reasons.

Yes, Brigid.

So yea, we don't really get anything from this conversation, but it shows some of the unrest in the house of Ring. Or really it just further shows that Andre is an asshole.



Diamond formation to dance, as usual. Ordinarily I would dance for the lower movement units, but Sigurd needs to get going, so for now we'll just keep dancing for him.



The miniboss here actually has a Hero Axe, so he could be dangerous if he had a decent chance to hit with it.





Azel easily takes him out before he can even move.





I'm trying to focus on some of my lower leveled units, like Azel and Midir, while being light on combat with people who are already level 30, like Lachesis.



Anyway, after we end our turn, Byron immediately moves.







And he's quickly chased by Lubeck's army.



These troops start advancing towards Zaxon. This will probably be the most interesting battle of the map. Meanwhile in Barhara…







Lord Langobart's army has already reached Lubeck. Subjugation of the insurgents should be forthcoming.

Yes. Well, I'm not so sure I buy all this. Lord Byron assassinating Kurth, and Sigurd causing all this ruckus... I don't know.

Your Majesty. Please, I'll explain once more. Lord Byron assassinated the prince with the help of Lord Ring of Jungby. Duke Reptor and Duke Langobart both witnessed the entire horrible spectacle! The prince learned of their plot to usurp the throne, and that cost him his life. Sir Sigurd is also without a doubt involved in the conspiracy. Why else would he harbor the prince of a hostile country? Isaac no less. These are clearly acts of treason against the kingdom. The late Prince Kurth is also now a father-in-law to me... And for my beloved princess, Deirdre, I must put an end to Sigurd's path of destruction! If Lord Langobart cannot successfully subdue the rebels, Velthomer's fire knights, the Roten Ritter, will stop Sigurd's rebel army in their tracks!

What? No, that doesn't make any sense! Damn you Alvis, you'll pay for these lies! And for stealing Sigurd's wife!

Well, you obviously have strong feelings about all this, and rightly so.



Ahh, Deirdre. You're such a sweet child. I'm... wheeze... not long for this world, but you give me hope for the kingdom's future. I don't know when or how Kurth could have acquired himself such a wonderful daughter, but the markings on your brow clearly identify you as a direct descendant of the Royal Family. Where in heavens have you been living all this time?

I'm sorry. I don't know. I don't remember anything from my past. Not a single memory I can speak of...




Aside from her name she doesn't remember a thing. I was simply looking after her out of sympathy, but then I fell deeply in love with her. With all due respect, I never in a million years would have suspected she was of royalty.

The day you brought her in to the Royal Palace to announce your wedding intentions, I tell you... I could have swore my eyes were playing tricks on me! I don't know. Call it a family's intuition, but somehow I knew. And sure enough under her circlet were the markings of Narga. Lord Alvis, you understand what this all means, don't you? According to the Book of Narga only descendants of Heim, like myself, can give off that kind of vibration. And Narga's power is the only one capable of standing up to the Dark Lord Loputousu.

Yes, I'm aware of that.

Lord Narga's lineage through Saint Heim must not be allowed to perish! I want the two of you to bear a son as soon as possible! If the child inherits the power of Narga, he shall be Prince of Grandbell. And once I pass on he'll become the King of Grandbell. Lord Alvis, until the boy is old enough to rule, you shall be the provisional king. Do raise him well. I hope you understand all of what I've told you. (cough.. Ah...ack..)

So… much… rage… Celice should be the prince of Grandbell, not Alvis' child of incest!













We heal and clean up the remaining troops, then have Sigurd get just out of reach of Byron. He should talk to us after we end our turn.





We'll have Beowulf save the village, and Midir visit it.













And we end our turn like so. Fury gets ready to save that village, while our weak squad takes a defensive stance to the east.



And Byron talks to Sigurd.





Father! Hang in there!!

Son, I'm afraid I'm at death's door, so listen up. Langobart killed Prince Kurth, not I. And just above him in the chain of command is Reptor. Please inform His Majesty of this. I'm not afraid to die, son. But I must live long enough see our good name restored!

I knew it! Don't worry, father. I will restore your honor in the kingdom. Rest assured!

Son, I'm sorry. My negligence has led to all the hardships you're currently facing.



The Holy Tyrfing! But father, you can still...

Take it! And restore our good name!







And with that, Byron faded away into death.





And… we got a broken holy weapon… But we now know the truth, and can clear our good name with King Azumar. Note that if Byron gets killed before you can talk to him, you'll miss out on getting the Tyrfing.



Unfortunately, the Broken automatically gets equipped, so Sigurd will have shit evade for a turn.



And naturally Dew manages to get hit by a measly 17% hit chance…