Part 9: (Part One, Chapter 5) The Reign in Daein
It is a history of unending conflict between the beorc and the laguz, a history penned in blood and scarred by mistrust. The beorc fight with the weapons of man--the sword, the axe, the lance, and the magic arts, while the laguz, able to transform into beast, bird, and dragon, are weapons unto themselves.
Is the Dawn Brigade's meeting with these three chance...or a sign of things to come?
Micaiah can only wonder.
I'll bet you anything we've found him.
Y'know, for a 5-second setpiece cobbled together from about five different textures, a few models and the same few window decals, this doesn't look half bad.
It'd be great if it were to find Ashnard's son. I'm burning up out here.
I'm not sure what it is. I see a lot of images, stacked on top of each other. It's hard to see what they all are. There's danger, battles, and terrible sadness, but also...hope. 
---
With that, we head to the Base. Several new conversations await!
Let's check in on the Dawn Brigadiers:
A long-lost prince of Daein? Who even knows if he really exists...
Of course he does! How do you know? Do you have any proof? Simple. Micaiah told us we should look for the prince. So, it's gotta be true! Yeah, you're right. Her farsight is always spot on. Even if we don't find him, there's no need to worry... 'cause I'm here! Excuse me? Since we left Nevassa, my swordsmanship has pretty much improved tenfold! By the time we get back home, I'll be invincible! I'll kick those tyrants out of Daein with my own two hands and one sharp blade! It's great to have a dream, Edward... but you should wake up now! Are you saying I'm not good enough?! No. I'm saying there's a limit to how much one person can achieve. I'm going to do the best I can, but... It doesn't matter how strong the two of us become. We can't change what's going on in Daein. Not by ourselves. Well, duh! I'm just saying it's a goal! You know? Just something to work toward. Sure. But you shouldn't say such things lightly. It might be just a joke to you. It's not to me. Wow. Sorry. Yeah, well. So am I. I didn't mean to get so serious. All the fighting... it just gets to me sometimes.
Nolan.
I couldn't help but overhear, and I have a little to say on the subject. You're right, each of us can only achieve so much on our own. But you boys are still young. Don't let go of your hopes and dreams. Not yet, anyway. But... Listen, there's no way we can free Daein by ourselves. But we CAN find King Ashnard's lost son and fight against the empire under Daein's banner. If we gather our strength, we stand a better chance of freeing our motherland. Now then, how's that for a little motivation to get your sorry backsides into training harder? That's great! Thanks, Nolan. You're pretty smart for an old man! Hey, now... None of that, or I'll show you what an old man can do! Leonardo, are you feeling better? Yes, sir. Thank you, Nolan. I guess age does make you wiser. How old do you think I am, anyway? Now I'm getting depressed...Damn straight! You can accomplish great things with the right mindset! Well, unless you're Leonardo, but how many people are Leonardo? Oh, or Meg.
Laura and Aran are catching up. Let's intrude on them!
Yes. I'm afraid I must apologize for my poor choice in employers. Please don't worry about it. After all, you saved us. When I saw Laura, I simply couldn't stand by any longer.
Thank you, Aran. I've been meaning to ask you, Laura. What's become of your church? I'd heard that, since the occupation, most of Daein's clergy have been excommunicated and sent to prisons. I know that the empire sent its own replacements. Was your church affected? No, thankfully. Our congregation would always say... "The clergy of the empire wouldn't even consider coming to a dingy church in a backwater village like this! You've been spared, Minister!" Ha ha ha... We extended our prayer time to thank the goddess for saving our church. Ah... I see. Oh, Aran. I meant to tell you, now that you're one of us, you'll have to become a bandit. Excuse me? I'm sorry... a bandit? There's really no need to worry. The Dawn Brigade bandits have virtuous people like Micaiah in their ranks. Er... Okaaay... No, we're not ban-- But always remember, Aran. We must strive above all else to be honorable bandits. For the future of Daein. Uh... All right... ...Bandits?…K, then.
Now that she mentions it, though, we did just plunder some guy's vault/tomb/other-appropriate-treasure-storage-location. How much stuff did we get? Our resident thief will know all about that…
How did we do? We have 10,000 in gold. Great! That'll help a lot. Maybe. We could use more. Sothe, 10,000 is plenty. We just need enough money to live on. More than that, and the soul becomes impoverished. I know, I know. We should be rich of heart and poor of pocket... Me, I just follow your orders.[Got 10,000 Gold!]
Not bad, Sothe.
Finally, Nailah has a proposition for us.
Yes. We must go back.
My dear...
Yes, Rafiel, I know. Micaiah, I have a question. How can we help you in this fight? What? But... I know you probably don't want to be seen with laguz. But we cannot just sit on our paws, so to speak, while our allies are in danger. I appreciate that, but... No? Fine. Sorry to bother you. No, no. It's not what you think. Please don't apologize. It's just that... What is it, Volug?
... I see. That is a good idea. Oh, yes. I agree. That is a wonderful idea.
Micaiah, it will not seem so strange if you travel into the desert with this dog at your side, will it? What?! As you know, we laguz fight only in our shifted forms. However, we can't remain in that state for very long. It is too exhausting. Volug, however, has halfshifted. When he does this, he can remain in beast form all day long. Queen Nailah, I appreciate your help-- He is not as strong in this transitional form. Even so, he is still more than a match for any beorc. How could you call Volug a dog?! I know. He's not as friendly as a dog. And I don't know if he's housebroken. But he can fight! That is not what I meant. Micaiah. We wish you good luck. Volug, guard her well. Do be careful. I will. Thank you. Volug, is she always so... blunt?We've got ourselves our first laguz party member!
There are two things you need to appreciate about Volug:
1) He shares Jeigan duties with Sothe. Though he's not strictly speaking overlevelled (more on this in a bit) he's grossly overpowered here and now but will be thoroughly mediocre by the time things really get going.
2) For the entirety of Part 1, he is locked into his Halfshifted state, in accordance with the Wildheart skill that is set and locked on him. Though he can remain transformed indefinitely, his stats, rather than being doubled, are only raised by half.
(Volug also has the Howl skill, which we'll see in action shortly)
Funfact™: This isn't actually an accurate representation of how Halfshift actually works once you get to use it on other laguz. What actually happens is that if a laguz has the skill equipped, s/he can halfshift at any time, regardless of the transformation gauge, however it will still empty when taking turns and being attacked, and the user will transform back to normal when it reaches zero.
You may as well also know at this point that laguz units level somewhat differently from beorc. Laguz level up to 40, and don't promote or otherwise change class. Their stat growths are also somewhat characteristic; they have insane HP growth as a rule (you will pretty much never see a laguz not gain HP during a level up) but otherwise have low-ish growths and low caps. This is weighed, however, against the fact that all these stats (HP and Luck excepted) will be doubled for short periods of time.
All of this makes Volug a pretty terrible character, both in mechanics, plot and meta-gameplay. As a Jeigan he will be the doom of anyone not savvy to Fire Emblem's tricks, his entire gimmick is contrary to every aspect of good strategic use of laguz in combat, and his entire character is basically "a guy that two more interesting characters send to 'help' (but will hurt you in the long term if you accept said help)". He kinda sorta has a small development much later on, but… well, that's ages away.
…oh, right, the LP.
With Sothe+Micaiah and
The other Admin-y thing we can do in the Base (that we haven't already seen) is assign the Bonus EXP we've been steadily accumulating since the start of the game. Bonus EXP allows us to add levels to units right there in the base. You can use it to compensate for a unit joining at a low level (or being neglected), but there are better uses for it. We'll give the Bonus EXP system the justice it deserves when an appropriate opportunity presents itself, but let's just say that you might want to consider holding onto it rather than just using it to gain levels in the base.
For the time being, we give some to Aran to push him riiiiight up to the brink of gaining a level. Next time an enemy so much as looks at him funny his numbers are going up (we hope).
This is Aimee's Bargain list for today. Longbows are bows that can fire further than regular bows, having a range of 2-3. However, they are less accurate to begin with, and there is a -30 hit penalty for attacking 3 spaces away on top of the Longbow's lacking accuracy. Basically, they're just not worth using under any circumstances other than being atop a ledge. Spirit Dust is the stat-up item for Magic - we buy one because I have a loooong term crazy plan which may or may not ever come to fruition. Arms Scrolls will give a character an immediate rank up in whatever category their currently equipped weapon falls into.
Since we hate Leonardo, we sell his Iron Bow and the tattered remains of Micaiah's old Light tome. With the profits we buy her a shiny new one - not a real Light tome but an elaborate forgery!
"It's like light but slightly more pretentious!"
We also give Aran a new poking stick;
We're done here.
We've already been north, where we met Prince Rafiel and his party. That leaves east or south... Which way? What is it, Volug? Is something wrong? Volug says he senses beorc to the south. A lot of beorc. That settles it then. We'll head south.
It's a minor character from Path of Radiance!
And there's another!
It's time we put these vermin in their place. Are you ready, Jill?
And a third!
Who could the Begnion soldiers be attacking out here in the middle of nowhere? Whoever it is, we have to help them!"Because we're the protagonists!"
(seriously, I'm getting a massive Dwarven Vow #7 vibe from these guys)
Well, I guess we'd better start the battle.
welp
…that is rather a lot of enemies.
OK, here's the plan.
The goal is to defend the northern structure for six turns. The goal itself is easy - Tauroneo will not move off that square and the man is practically invincible to boot. The problem is Jill and Zihark. They're both… a tad suicidal. Fortunately, they're quite strong (Zihark in particular) but still liable to take counterattack damage, and if you're not careful they'll die, and that's a game over. On Hard Mode it's even worse; there is literally nothing but luck to stop them both from charging headlong into their deaths before you can get to them. But we're not on Hard Mode; we just have to be a tad bold.
Edward, Nolan and Aran are going to charge north, backed up by Micaiah and Ilyana. Their goal is to murder their way to Tauroneo while maintaining a defensive line that keeps Laura out of enemy range. Sothe and Volug are going to charge the ledge before the enemy can fortify it. Meg and Leonardo are going to take a goddamn hike because they're goddamn liabilities. This mission necessitates efficient killing without the luxury of feeding kills to people; there are just too many bad guys and we'll never kill them all before the turn limit.
Sothe immediately hops the ledge and kills the first guard he meets.
Aran brandishes his new toy at the nearest enemy and gains more than the requisite 1 EXP for a level:
Pretty good.
Nolan puts a dent in the frontmost guard, and Edward crits another to his death. Micaiah mops up Nolan's leftovers with her shiny new spell.
This is a bit of a gamble; if the 69%-to-hit spell misses, Ilyana risks taking a hit unless her Shade skill kicks in.
Fortunately, it doesn't miss.
…and she even gains a level! Ilyana needs lots of levels like this to be viable, what with thunder magic's low hit rate and high weight, and she's just not going to get them.
About this point it suddenly dawns on me that I forgot to replace Laura's Heal staff. No matter; she can't use it twice in one turn and this mission ends in six turns, so we'll be fine. Better remember next time, though. Nolan gets healed.
Just for kicks, let's check out the boss:
There are a few places where we could really use one of these, but tragically, we'll be unable to get Sothe close enough to the boss to pilfer it. He's needed elsewhere.
Roll on the enemy turn, and the guys to the southeast start charging our rear line, which, you might recall, consists of Laura. We should probably stop them at some point.
Uh oh.
Remember the not-particularly-cryptic taunt of the laguz bandit Agony? Beast tribe laguz have a weakness against fire magic; all fire tomes are "effective" against them. Volug is ridiculously strong enough to withstand a few of these in one map, but they'll threaten him eventually and Laura won't always be around.
Fortunately, it misses.
Some fool attacks Aran and gets doubled, but survives. Two try to hurt Sothe and are taken to 2 HP each for their trouble.
More worryingly, the offensive against Tauroneo & co begins.
A few are stupid enough to attack Tauroneo himself. It doesn't go well for them. Tauroneo is a General, the promoted form of a knight, and is Lv 14 to boot. He is accordingly impenetrable, and yet fast enough to double everyone on this map.
Jill kills one of the remaining soldiers with a Hand Axe. Zihark kills a second, and the third is unfortunate enough to still be in range of Tauroneo's Javelin.
At the start of our turn,
That white armor... Only certain generals were allowed to wear it. I may very well know that soldier. Really? Well then, all the more reason to help them. Let's hurry!
We begin our assault proper on the ledge. Sothe weakens this guy to set the scene.
Meanwhile, we have our first encounter with an enemy mage. Their hobbies include casting fire magic and dying in one hit because of having, like, no defense.
This one drops a Vulnerary.
Sothe is joined atop the ledge by Edward, Volug and Micaiah, who kill one enemy each. During which,
Micaiah's lucky streak continues.
Aran mops up the straggler below. Laura approaches him and…
…………this game. Aran is healed.
Pictured: the attack range of the one enemy who is capable of reaching Edward. Every other enemy will just move on forward.
Well, this fire mage attacks Volug, but it doesn't count because we're atop a ledge. I love ledges.
That one guy attacks Edward (unsuccessfully), and the rest charge towards Tauroneo. Some attack Jill and Zihark but are defeated. There are the customary two attempts to inflict damage on Tauroneo and the equally customary 100% failure rate. On their turn, weakened enemies are mopped up and Zihark actually heals himself.
Our turn.
Volug takes this guy out, and Edward and Micaiah take up defensive positions on the ledge. Edward equips his Wind Edge.
These guys are getting unacceptably close to Laura.
Problem solved.
Laura heals Nolan from the safety of a blind spot, and levels up.
Magic, check. Requirements; satisfied.
As we end our turn, a rather large force is in range of Edward and Micaiah's ledge. This will be profitable for us.
Unable to reach Laura, the lone soldier to the South instead attacks Nolan, which goes about as well for him as similar attempts have for others.
Archers attack both Edward and Micaiah, miss, and are taken to critical health.
Then this interfering sod comes along and heals the one attacking Edward. Well, it's not like it's going to save the guy, what with him being about to die on the next turn anyway.
A few leftover enemies linger around the edge, the rest trudge north. In an uneventful Other Phase, Jill attacks a soldier and not much else happens.
I remember we're supposed to be defending, so I send Volug up to hold the northeast entrance. He kills the soldier.
In traditional Fire Emblem style, some reinforcements have appeared right where they're least welcome. Nolan circles around so he can murder this one while standing in the other's way. Aran moves beside Nolan and attacks one of the reinforcements.
Note the two enemies to the north, and how they're standing on sand. Between this impediment to their movement and Nolan and Aran's blockade of the southern soldiers, Laura has a safe zone to stand in.
Sothe and Ilyana attack the said northern soldiers. Micaiah and Edward continue their rain of projectiles.
Enemy turn, and the traditional flurry of useless attacks comes up at them. Neither of them quite manage to kill their attackers in the counter, however, which is annoying because that healer is still there.
This poor unfortunate accidentally triggers Volug's Howl skill. Said skill has a chance ([user's strength]%) to stun an enemy for one turn as a counter to being attacked indirectly. It's not anywhere near as useful as it sounds, though, because it wears off as soon as said enemy's next turn rolls around. It does, however, have the possibility of granting nearby units some counterattack free hits, though.
More worryingly, though, three mages attack Volug with fire magic in quick succession. Two of them hit, leaving him at 9 HP. Not good.
The usual futile attempts on Sothe continue, and both of the southern soldiers attack Nolan, resulting in two deaths and one level up;
Eh. Strength is strength, but…
Our turn. Aran is healed, and Nolan wanders to the east, chasing off after the enemies there.
Micaiah is trying to kill that one guy who was healed last turn, but she can't do enough damage. Maybe…
Sothe's support would help?
Goddamnit. OK, we'll not waste any Thani and just stick to Luminescence. We'd be better off praying for that one percent crit chance than trying to come up with an alt-
-oh. I was joking. Y'know. Before. But whatever. I'll take this. It's good.
Edward finishes the other guy and…
…meh.
Ilyana takes care of the straggler on her side. The west is clear, but we're not out of the woods yet. Volug heals himself.
This is how we look as the turn ends.
Hehehehe…
The boss advances, some mages enter the north area and one of them attacks Sothe but misses. The second is killed by Zihark and a third by Jill in the Other Phase.
Last turn, and we have no better alternative than to have Sothe hold the entrance. For laughs, we equip him with his superior weapon, the Kard, a slightly more powerful dagger with a fairly high crit chance. For survival against the two mages, one the boss, we have him use a Pure Water, despite my earlier suggestion that there would be no Pure Water use in this LP.
For their part, Micaiah and Edward continue killing people from the ledge. Edward actually jumps down to finish a guy Micaiah weakened.
Volug attacks another guy near Edward, and between himself and the sand, manages to keep Edward out of range of the remaining soldier. Nolan can't quite get to said soldier, though, so he'll probably live unless he attacks Volug.
Everyone says their prayers and we begin the final enemy phase.
It begins!
Well, this guy's arguably the real threat here.
Thanks to the Pure Water it's only 5 damage, but Sothe can't survive being hit by all of these guys at once.
Fortunately, he proceeds to dodge attacks from both an archer and a soldier with a Javelin. The remaining fire mage approaches and…
When you take no damage from an attack, it not only displays "no damage" but also plays this wonderful little "tink!" sound. It is the most beautiful sound in the world.
Aaaand that's a wrap.
…no, wait, there's still that one guy.
Now it's a wrap.
Who would've thought we'd meet again in such a desolate place?
Sothe, you've grown. I hardly recognized you. We have a lot of catching up to do, but for now, I'll just make introductions. This is Micaiah...
Step back. Who are you?Oh, great. Just what we need.
Lord Izuka, there's no need for concern. This young man is Sothe. We know him well. Sothe, may I introduce Lord Izuka. He is advisor and close confidant to Prince Pelleas, Ashnard's son. Micaiah! Did you hear that? The prince IS here. Still, I can't believe we ran into you three--of all people--guarding the prince. What a lucky coincidence. General Tauroneo, we came here because we heard the prince was gathering forces in the desert. We want to help you in your efforts. Will you let us join you? Certainly. Daein needs all the courage we can muster. Let us join forces.
These people are suspicious, verrry suspicious. You're all Begnion spies, aren't you? Come now, tell the truth! We're the Dawn Brigade. We'd never work for those filthy curs! The Dawn Brigade! But how? Then, perhaps the girl... No! Could it be? Are you the Silver-Haired Maiden? Do you have the healing touch of Sacrifice? Excuse me! Take your hands off her! What a coincidence! Or is it fate? Or maybe it's my unrivaled skill as a revolutionary organizer? With the Silver-Haired Maiden at our side, we'll surely win over the people of Daein! And then...yes! Incite scattered rebel movements, mm-hm, and then, further...the future of...change... Is he...touched in the head? Oh, my, but yes. I'll beckon to...no, demand that the vicious scalawags...surrender! Perfect! I am a genius! Come, come, my dear maiden! You must meet the prince! Goddess help me, that man could try the patience of a stone. Hmmm...---
There's something about this woman…
And look at you! You're standing? Did the desert dry out your brains? Kneel ye before these royal personages!
It's all right, Izuka. Please, don't stand on ceremony. I didn't know I was a prince until very recently. So, really, I'm not used to any of this. What do you mean? Until a half year ago--that is, until Izuka found me--I was raised as a normal commoner. To be frank, it still doesn't feel real to me. That I...I myself could be the son of King Ashnard. It's a little overwhelming.
I mean, something about her other than her… unfortunate… mindset.
I'll never let you be parted from me, no, never ever again... Ahem! Enough of the pleasantries, then. Shall we get down to business? Well then, Micaiah of the Dawn Brigade. I henceforth appoint thee to the post of Vice-General of the Daein Liberation Army! Excuse me?! What do you mean by that? Wait a moment! I appreciate the offer, Izuka, but I'm afraid I cannot accept. I have no war experience and no knowledge of battle tactics. Daein needs a general with both. Are you not a member of the heroic Dawn Brigade, whose conquests precede them?! Do you not want to save the people of Daein?! Serve the prince, and you can step out of the shadows and face the empire boldly, without shame! Why hesitate? This is a thinly veiled scheme...and I see right through it. You just want Micaiah to serve as a figurehead for your revolution. Is that a problem? Yes, that's a problem! She's not some fancy stoneware for you to set on display. If you're going to do this...then I cannot sign on. Exactly. Micaiah, please, wait! That isn't what we meant. You're not the only one who knows nothing about battle. I don't either. But if I don't act, the devastation of Daein will grow ever worse. So, I have to be brave. Please, I'm asking you to do the same, Micaiah... For the sake of the future of Daein, will you join our cause? ...Prince Pelleas... I will. Micaiah?! Thank you. And in return, will you ensure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Daein will be freed from the rule of the Begnion Empire? I promise. I trust in your word.---
Sothe, why are you so angry about this? You have to ask? You know we can't live in the public eye. Doing something that will deliberately make you stand out... I'm just saying, it isn't like you, Micaiah. When we were separated during the war, you changed, Sothe. And I changed too. I want to protect Daein more than anything. Our people must be saved, and if I can help in that effort, I will. So much so that you'll risk your life and sacrifice who you are? Yes. But that isn't all. Prince Pelleas cherishes the same wish that I do. I can feel it. Deep in his heart, he wants to save Daein. If we work together, I know that we can do it. And you don't hear that voice we spoke of? The voice that warns you of impending danger? It's all right, Sothe. The visions I see spreading out before us... most of them shine with hope. All right. I trust you. More importantly, I believe in you. I won't resist anymore. But let me just say one thing. What? I will protect you. I know that! Why do you think you need to say it? I just wanted to make sure you knew.
Now that I've come clean about Bonus EXP I might as well show you these screens. I guess.
Coming up next time: the worlds worst soldiers.