Part 18: (Part One, Chapter 9) In brightest Daein; blackest night

Even without the benefit of Izuka's vast information network, news of Micaiah's heroism in Shifu Swamp spreads like wildfire across Daein.

The once-hopeless citizens of Daein dub her the Priestess of Dawn and find their spirits restored. In their troubled hearts, they see in her nothing less than the promise of salvation.



Begnion's occupying forces cannot deal with open war on so many fronts.



Jarod's forces still outnumber those of the Daein liberators, and he has hardened his defenses in hopes of holding off Micaiah's army.



Breaking through enemy lines again and again, Micaiah's forces gain vital ground and momentum.

Despite the anger Micaiah feels toward Izuka for his treatment of their laguz allies…





Not at all an ominous title for a chapter.





Really?

She sent me a message that preparations are finally complete. But wait... it gets better. She also issued an imperial edict to the occupation forces telling them to cease all military action immediately!

Does that mean the fighting is over? That we've won?

Indeed. It's hard to believe it's over. It almost seems too easy.

And best of all, Duke Persis is leading the inspection team! We'll be home free the moment they arrive. Our worries are over.

Duke Persis... Lord Sephiran? So Apostle Sanaki's dispatching one of the empire's greatest men to handle this.

What kind of man is he?

He is amazing... the best person ever! He's incredibly influential and high up, but he never stood on ceremony with us. Well, go on, you guys! Don't just stand there. You have to spread the news!

We have to spread the news? Aren't you going with us?

Umm... nah. It's mostly your doing. We'll hold back... let you take the glory.

It's Izuka, isn't it? You don't want to come because he'll be with the prince.

Well, yeah, basically.

All right... but wait here! We'll come right back once we've announced the good news.





Occupation forces are to hereby lay down all arms, convene in Daein Keep, and await the inspection team.

Hmmm...

Duke Numida maintains that your forces performed alleged abuses independently... in flagrant violation of his orders. The apostle, in her mercy, will hear your testimony. Do not abuse her magnanimous spirit...and lose your small advantage.

---

Hah! What a magnificently ruthless maneuver. I didn't know Numida had it in him. Disowning the entire occupation army...and framing me for their actions. Brilliant.



Not a chance. We are proof that Duke Numida--and therefore the entire senate--is corrupt. No doubt they'll work together to silence us. Besides, there's more tantalizing prey than those tottering relics. If I'm to fall, so too should the one who upended our plans and drove us to this dead end... That girl.

Oh... I like that. Our final mission.

You create a diversion with the troops tonight, after dark. And I will seek our target...the girl's silver-maned head.

---



Prince Pelleas would now like to favor you with a word. You may begin, my prince.

Am I dreaming? Everything looks so delicious! What should I eat first...?

Everyone, you've done a fine job. Once the inspection team arrives, Daein will be free once again! In anticipation of our emancipation, I invite you to eat and drink to your hearts' content.



…erm…

…what are we doing in the Base menu? Is this where the feast is?

Maybe there's food in the Items menu?



Where is everyone?

---

Sothe. How unusual to see you alone.

Prince Pelleas. You here to see Micaiah?

Yes. At least, I intended to. But she is quite popular, isn't she? She's always so busy talking to everyone that I can never get near her.

They're your soldiers. Tell them to get out of the way.

No, I can't do that. My job is to be the symbol of Daein's liberation. But the Priestess of Dawn is no mere symbol. For her, the soldiers will gladly give their lives.

Prince Pelleas?

Oh, don't worry, Sothe. I'm not jealous, if that's what you're thinking. It isn't like that. Although I have to admit, I do envy her from time to time.

Hm.

I almost forgot. Here. These war funds are for you.

But the war's over. And, besides, this is a small fortune.

Yes, well, share it with the troops if you like. I may not be much a leader, but I truly appreciate the sacrifices everyone has made. They deserve something in return. Divide it up as you see fit. I trust your judgment.

(…Prince Pelleas, you should be the one to give the troops their reward.)

[Gpt 10000 Gold!]

---

"Anyone here?"

"Sothe?"

"Edward?"

"Nolan?"

"……_……Aimee?"



Shine is a new, A-Rank light tome for Micaiah, which we buy along with an Ellight tome for her to use until she hits A-Rank in light tomes. Statue Frags boost constitution by 2 - why you would buy one is beyond me.

---

Lady Micaiah.

Hello, Jill. What are you doing here?

I saw you walking over here as I was heading back to my tent. Is something wrong? You shouldn't be leaving camp by yourself.

I'm just exhausted from talking to so many people. But there's no need for concern. I just need some time to myself.

Now that you mention it, you do look a little pale. Why not rest in your tent? It'd be much more comfortable.

I don't want Sothe and the others to know how tired I am. They worry too much.

Ah, I can see that. Sothe seems so detached from everything, unless it involves you... He gets so... worked up. He strikes me as a bit overprotective.

We've always lived by ourselves, just the two of us. I don't think he can help it.

Then I shall bring you some medicine, and I'll make sure no one sees me. I'll meet you at your tent.

Oh, no, that won't be necessary! Do you see that tree? I'll be resting over there. I should recover in no time.

But...

I'll be safe. We're still in camp. Besides, don't you have an errand of your own to take care of? It must be really important to leave the feast so early in the evening.

Oh, no, not really. I just thought I'd write a letter to a friend. That's all.

To the man you told me about? The one you run a wyvern delivery service with?

wait what

Well... um, yes. You know everything, don't you, Lady Micaiah?

You're going to tell him that the fighting is over, right?

Yes. More than anything, he despises trouble. He made a delivery to Begnion, and never returned. I'm sure it's the war that has kept him away.

Wait, is she talking about-

Really?

Well, indirectly, at least. To be honest, it's probably more about his napping. Give him a few minutes of free time, and he's sure to close his eyes and drift away. The war would certainly disrupt his sleep schedule.

She IS! They're totally a thing!

What an... interesting fellow. Well, you should write him and let him know it's safe to return.

Are you sure you're all right? You're not pushing yourself too hard?

I'm fine. Please, don't worry about me.

All right. I'll let you relax alone, then. Oh, but here... Please take this.

What is it?

It's a Pass scroll. It might come in handy. Please keep it, if you'd like.

Thank you, Jill. I will.

Good night, Lady Micaiah.

[Received a Pass!]

Pass lets you walk through enemy units. It's cool to have, but is it worth giving up some other 15 SP skill for? It's one of those skills you never use because you never think you need it and then that one situation comes up and you're all like "man, I should've used Pass".



Well, let's go for a walk, I guess.



Good thing this isn't a trap, otherwise we'd be proper fucked!

Yune! What is it? You didn't need to slip away from the banquet, too.

Chirp!

Silly you! You're kind of a mysterious bird, you know that? How is it you can fly around even at night?

Chirp!

Oh, Yune... for some reason... I feel so tired lately... But it won't be long... I'll go back home to Nevassa... and then... save Daein...



No--I'm sorry--"Priestess of Dawn." If you really can work miracles, you'd best work one up for yourself now.

Hm? What? Oh! Begnion soldiers!

Good job, Micaiah. So much for Farsight.



Oh, good, at least we can call for rein-



…fuck.



Well… I guess we can take potshots from a thicket or something? Maybe camp in a healhedge? Oh, this ain't good…



Well… here goes.



…though I guess we're still talking?

I'm doomed, thanks to you. But if I have to go down, I'm taking someone with me... The vice-general to the Daein Liberation Army, the revered "Priestess of Dawn."

Even if you kill me, the kingdom of Daein will be reborn. As long as the prince survives, the people will fight.

Hah! The prince! He's a sham, a travesty, a clod of mud no amount of polishing could shine. The real jewel--whose radiance attracts the people like moths to flame--is you, Priestess. And so I shall steal you and extinguish Daein's light of hope! Know despair, Priestess of Dawn!





Hey, what th-



Wait, that's-

Guhahh!

Who are you?

(quickly, put this music on!)





I was once one of the Four Riders, serving the army of old Daein. If you recall the name of the Black Knight, you will withdraw from this place at once.

Riiiight! That's precious. You're the legendary Black Knight? Maybe you haven't heard... he died in the war. But let's put your claim to the test, if only to indulge my own amusement.

Then have at me... and learn your folly.

In due time. But before I bother, why don't you have a go-round with my restless minions? Douse the torches!



Cowards.



I will. I know I can trust you.



Holy shit guys

It's the motherfucking Black Knight!

And he's on our team!

Holy shit guys





It's the god damn Black Knight! OK, let's calm down and talk about the Black Knight.

As you can plainly see, he's in a class of his own - literally. He is the Black Knight and his job is to be the Black Knight. His M.O. is to walk up to someone and then just be the Black Knight at them until they're dead, which doesn't take very long because he's the goddamn Black Knight. I mean look at those numbers god damn-



He wields the sword Alondite - still - a blade distinguished by, aside from doing loads and loads of damage, its ability to attack at a range of 1-2.



As if that weren't enough, the Black Knight also has an assortment of skills that make him even more unstoppable. Besides Shove and Nihil, he also has Imbue, which will restore 18 health per turn, which is hilarious because seriously, can you imagine anyone doing damage to this guy? And, of course, he has Eclipse, to which must surely go the award for the most ridiculous amount of overkill that can be crammed into a single attack. Upon activation ([skill stat]%, and may I remind you that the Black Knight has fourty skill), Eclipse not only multiplies the Black Knight's strength by five (!) but also ignores enemy defense. God. Damn. Surely, nothing in the game requires that much killing.

It used to be the case that the Black Knight would dominate because his armour was blessed by the goddess and was appropriately impenetrable, save for similarly blessed weapons. That doesn't seem to be the case anymore, however, and now he must rely on his fallback plan to achieve victory - his fallback plan being based around the fact that, blessing or no, he's still the goddamn Black Knight.

Alright.

Actually, hang on a minute…



Very good question! While we're at it, what the hell are you even doing here? Also aren't you dead?

That is not important right now. Are you injured?

Oh.

No, I'm all right.

Maiden, stay by me. I will not let them harm you.

I know you won't. Thank you.

Well, let's see how effective light magic is...



It packs a punch, but it's not going to stop a small force of these guys charging at Micaiah.

Well, let's try the Standard Response To Fire Emblem Escort Missions™…



Yep, this sh-



Seriously? Goddamnit Micaiah, you'll go with Tauroneo but not with him?



Well, I guess we're staying put then. Bring on the enemy turn.



Oh, this should be good.



He has no idea, does he?



The sheer terror of being stared down by the Black Knight causes this guy to attack about two feet too early.



This continues for a while.



…until it's our turn again.

The Black Knight aside, I really like this mission. It's compact, focused (though gimmicky), strategic, and different.



These guys are the problem. We don't want Micaiah to be getting attacked - she can't take more than one hit (magic excepted) before going down. As much of a total badass as the Black Knight is, he only occupies one map square, and if an enemy can run past him to get Micaiah - or throw a weapon over him - they will. So we've gotta choose our locations carefully.

As you may have noticed, Fog of War is in effect. Our vision is limited to the area immediately surrounding our units, as is the enemy's (in theory, anyway - Intelligent System's turn based strategy AIs are notorious for cheating at Fog of War). We can't see where the enemy is or how many there are, or what weapons they have. The best strategy, really, is to pick a spot, defend it, and let them come to us. The best spot is the corner where that Javelin guy is standing. To get there, we need to move, and we also need him dead.

Re: that last point-



-he's going to die now.



Dramatic challenge pose!













…so yeah, that kills him alright. Eclipse always deals at least 190 damage (5x Black Knight's strength of 38) plus the Mt of his weapon, so... yeah.



Crap. Well, let's stay put then. Enemy phase.



She's hurt, but she'll live. She at least gets a hit on the guy with her magic. On her turn, she finishes him off.



Being a square away isn't going to save you, mate.



Not by a damn sight. This one drops a Vulnerary.

In the enemy phase, some enemies approach but none attack.



Micaiah strolls over into the corner and heals herself...



…while the Black Knight does his thing.

One guy gets through to Micaiah, deals some damage, and takes some damage. A second tries that shit on the Black Knight and doesn't come out as well.



We want to get Micaiah into that corner. First, we clear out the guy in the way-



-thank you - and then Micaiah is free to finish the remaining soldier with magic...



…thusly. In the enemy phase, two soldiers emerge from the shadows and attack the Black Knight. Guess what happens to them! Did you guess murder?



In this position, we're as close to invincible as we can get on this map.



What's really nifty is that reinforcements who would spawn on the square Micaiah's standing on will instead spawn on the square directly in front of the Black Knight. So… yeah, we spawncamp the hell out of them. Micaiah continues getting nonlethal hits on them with magic; she's training to get her light tome rank up! In the course of doing this she takes another hit but it's nothing we can't recover from.



As opposed to this.

The turns tick on; Micaiah heals, more dudes appear. The Black Knight continues murdering them as they come.



Finally!



More Eclipsing!



Did I mention that the Black Knight has a long biorhythm wavelength? That means +10% to skill activation for several turns at a time.



Turns drag on, enemies cut down.



Even a Javelin directly through the eye holes merely annoys the Black Knight. He can't Eclipse at range…



…but he can crit!





And another!



Eventually, enemies stop coming and we are forced to move up.

Over four turns, they gradually make their way north and four soldiers die in their vain attempts to maybe deal damage to the Black Knight.



Down and down they go.



I saw that! If you're sharp-eyed, even in Fog of War you can see bushes and thickets rustling as enemies move to/through them. That one there was Jarod finally arriving. We continue making our way clockwise around the map.



Besides this Olivi Grass, we also find two coins.



It won't be that effective, but it gives us a chance to have Jarod explain himself…

General Jarod! Your occupation army has caused untold suffering to the people of Daein... The time has come! You must atone for your deeds!

As if I should care one whit about the wretched worms I trample!



Shine is basically just Thani but without the bit where the ball of light drops down, or the bit where it does obscene damage to armoured targets.

Well, I guess we know what we have to do if we want this guy killed properly.



Did you think the likes of you could be a worthy opponent for me? Know your place.



…and that's that.



………

…now that we're seeing him up close… it looks like the Black Knight's been in a bit of a scrap. Someone's done a right number on his armour. There's also a gash across his helmet, if you look.

Heh... How kind of you...





Alder?! You... Why are you here?



You idiot! Who asked you to join me?

General Jarod... You are a terror to work under. Even so... I've always sensed a kindred spirit in you. I will follow you and fight for you... to the very gates of the abyss...

Well, that was unexpected.



What now? Why don't you kill me?

My sword is not made for killing those who will not raise their weapons.

You've got to be kidding me!



This is not the end!

No. It's not.



He is not ours to judge. He belongs to the apostle now. I suppose he must bury his fallen friend and pray before facing her.

---

You have my thanks for saving me.

There is no need for thanks.





Sothe! It's OK. This knight just saved my life!

What?! Micaiah, do you know who this is?

Everybody knows who he is, Sothe! He is the Black Knight. One of the Four Riders under King Ashnard, and the strongest swordsman--

Exactly! The scum that General Ike defeated in Nados Castle in Crimea, three years ago. So how can he be here now... alive?

You are correct, Sothe. Ike did defeat me in that battle, in a fashion. But as you can see, I managed to escape.

…that's it? He got beaten up by Ike and then "managed to escape"? There's got to be more to it than that.

What do you want?

For Daein to raise its banner as a kingdom once again. I came here to protect those who are necessary for that dream.

Do we believe this? I mean, the Black Knight was pretty well indisputably representing Daein in the Mad King's War, but… something isn't right.

Sothe, General Jarod was here a moment ago. If the Black Knight hadn't stepped in, Jarod would have killed me.

What?! But... I don't see his corpse here. And that means... he's still alive, isn't he?

Yes. There was another soldier who sacrificed his life protecting Jarod. I presume Jarod's burying him now.



What is it?!

I see a dark cloud... It's dimming the light of hope... By letting Jarod go, I may have allowed something terrible to happen...

You aren't sure?

Sothe, I hadn't told you, but I haven't been feeling well lately. My mind feels... foggy. Things I could always see clearly are now dim and vague. I may have committed us to an irreversible fate.

I shall aid you. No matter what Jarod may plot, I will prevent it.

Micaiah and I don't want your help!

Sothe, stop that! In King Ashnard's War, you served below General Ike, and you and the Black Knight were enemies. But now, you are comrades with the same goal--Daein's restoration. Listen to me. The Black Knight was Daein's strongest general. We need him.

And I am willing to serve.

Sir Knight... That you should come to us now, is surely the will of the goddess. I thank you for your aid just now, and ask you to lend us your strength a while longer.

May my sword serve you well, Maiden of Dawn.

I don't like this...



So. That certainly just happened. And now, on top of everything else, Micaiah's going all "Sir Knight" over her new friend. No wonder Sothe's angry.

…

…

…the goddamn Black Knight, guys!

Coming up next time: The endgame! _{of part one.}