Part 21: (Part Two, Prologue) And now for something completely different

Crimea itself has spent the past three years rebuilding from the damage it suffered during the Mad King's War. News that Ashnard's son now sits on Daein's throne sends waves of unease and worry rippling across the land.

Alas, this is not the only thing disturbing the people of Crimea during this time.




Crimea lost its king during the Daein invasion, and Elincia is still an inexperienced ruler. What's more, her very existence was a secret from the public, and so she came unexpectedly to her succession.




Elincia's desire for a long-lasting peace has driven her to strengthen Crimea's ties with the laguz nation of Gallia, and to renounce Crimea's claim to rule over a defeated Daein. Her political moderation is seen as a sign of weakness among her critics.




The elevation of a common mercenary to the nobility, however, widened the rift between the aristocracy and the queen yet further. Perhaps to avoid becoming mired in these power struggles, Ike renounced his peerage and took his leave of the court.

Yet Ike's actions did little to placate the nobility. They continue to criticize the queen's every decision, and lay squarely at her feet the blame for all of Crimea's woes.







I have not forgotten our war with Daein. Three years is not so long as that. But do not forget... If we allow hatred to rule our hearts, we become prisoners of our past. A lasting peace serves both nations.

Bravo, Your Majesty, well spoken indeed. Your words paint a picture of idealism rarely seen here at court. However, and I beg your forgiveness, it is quite apparent your grasp of politics remains childishly naïve.

Abandoning rule over Daein, then reconciling with our most hated enemy... This will not do. The people will soon take their discontent to the streets.

What's more, why choose Bastian, the count of Fayre, as your envoy? His skills in court are vital to Crimea. To send away such a key figure... Tell me, Your Highness, how exactly do you plan to rule without him?

The count of Fayre himself gladly volunteered as a delegate. Her Majesty's decision was only--

Lady Lucia, still your tongue! You are not Her Majesty. Do not presume to speak for her.

Yes, Lady Lucia! Please refrain from speaking if you have not been directly addressed. Your familiarity with the queen does not grant you a seat in the royal assembly. Although you may have been raised as a sister to Her Majesty the queen, kindly remember your place!

...You have my apologies.

And you, General Geoffrey. Does your loyalty to Her Majesty stem only from your unchecked emotions? Those with a taste for gossip are talking. I wonder, have you heard what the help is saying about you?

What?! I...

Geoffrey!

Rrgh!

At any rate, growing discontent has brought the royal family of Crimea to a crossroads of sorts. Your Highness... This is all on you.

Indeed. Your Majesty... Whatever do you intend to do?

…

…wow. It looks like the Begnion senators aren't the only complete assholes in town.

Welcome to Part 2, folks. Part 2 is, like a lot of other Part 2s, designed to fill the gap between Parts 1 and 3. That said, it isn't a complete waste of time; there's a lot of good stuff here.

The theme of Part 2 is, basically, "reality intrudes". The Mad King's War went like a fairytale for Crimea; a long lost princess and a no-nonsense mercenary teamed up, travelled around the world and returned home with an army at their backs to expel the invaders from their homeland. Everyone cheered, there was a big party, and the heroes went home to live happily ever after.

Except that the heroes forgot that their country, like all countries, really, is full of assholes who must always have something to complain about at all times.

Crimea may have been united in its struggle against Daein, but it is divided in its peace. Elincia remains a shameless idealist, and while she may be right to point out that Crimea's war was with Mad King Ashnard rather than Daein itself, she is wrong to believe that the people of Crimea will see it the same way. She forgets that people, as a whole, are quick to distrust, quicker to fear, and quicker still to judge those who don't agree with them, and she's beginning to appreciate the implications of ruling against this backdrop.

No, this little story arc may not have much significance to these mysterious goings-on in Begnion, but it's an interesting deconstructionist epilogue to Path of Radiance, and I like it for that. And, if nothing else, it certainly doesn't outstay its welcome.

---




Queen Elincia!




Lucia told me about those no-goodnik nobles and their chest-beating contest, so I thought you could use some cheering up. You weren't in your chambers or the garden, so I guessed you would be out here.

Forgive me. I needed some...time to think. I'm sorry to trouble you.

Not at all! After everything you've done for me, it's the least I could do. It was nice of you to hire me as a Royal Knight, but hiring my sponge-brained, spine-deprived brother might qualify you for sainthood!

Even so, I'm afraid I may also have caused you a great number of hardships.

Huh? Oh! The grief I'm getting from the nobles? It's nothing I can't handle. If you think your country has stuffed-shirt windbags for aristocracy, you should see Begnion's! When I was a Pegasus knight there, they had a new shenanigan every week! After that, the Crimean crybabies are no big deal.

No, it's my fault, and I'm sorry. I'm so new at all this, even you are affected by my blunders. Sometimes, I think... Maybe I just don't have what it takes to be a queen.

That's so not true! Queen Elincia, anyone can strut around in a queen hat and say she's a ruler, but you always put your people first! Look, it's not that you're doing a bad job, it's just everyone's on edge lately, with Daein getting a new king and all. People are worried that Daein'll start another war like the one three years ago, and they're taking it out on you. Just don't let those peacock-wearing nobles bug you, and remember that you don't have to go it alone. You've got friends everywhere.

Thank you, Marcia. Your kind words have lifted my spirits.



---



Hmm?



("Why are these soldiers bothering us?")


Fear not, my lady. This senile old bird will gladly trade his life for your protection.

They say nothing is as beautiful as the herons of Serenes... Especially a royal princess! You'll fetch a pretty penny from some lord or other... And our pockets are a little light. Whaddya say, Captain?

Yes, naturally. She should prove to make a fine gift. Seize them...and mind the raven's talons!

This is unbelievable! Stand back, you unrepentant dogs! Nealuchi does not give in easily!




Men, silence that cawing raven. Who would pay for an old crow like that, anyway? Leave him.

Stop right there!




Hey, Begnion dracoknights! Are you lost, or have you just been letting those scaly fleabags do your navigating? What're you doing in Crimea's sky?

...We've merely strayed a bit in our duties patrolling the border. Do you have a problem with that?

You and your flying snakes are in violation of Crimea's sovereignty! Besides, do you have any idea who you're dealing with here, reptile breath?

Marcia, stop. We cannot afford to start antagonizing the Begnion army. I am the queen of Crimea...

But, Your Majesty! We can't just let these wyvern monkeys run rampant--

And we're not going to. As long as they don't realize I'm the queen, we should be fine.




I serve the queen of Crimea. Trespassers on Crimean territory will be dealt with. No exceptions.

The queen, she says! The very queen that relied on us, the Begnion Empire, to free her nation. Imperial dracoknights are not frightened by soldiers so weak as Crimean pegasus knights. Listen up! Leave those two alone. It's the Serenes maiden we want. Do not allow her to escape!

...Looks like we'll not talk any sense into them. I suppose we have no choice. Sir Nealuchi! We're here to help you!

I'll be! It's Her Majesty, Queen Elincia! Fate has smiled upon us! I hate to be a bother, considering it has been so long, but... Your assistance is most appreciated.

Well, so much for our cover.




I've got to admit, this chapter is a pretty awesome gimmick. It may be mechanically identical to a ground battle, but the visuals are a really nice touch. There are low flying clouds and birds and everything, and the battle scenes are all much higher than the usual flyer-vs-flyer-over-terrain fare we've seen so far.

Our goal, as you might have inferred, is to protect this "Leanne" character for eight turns. Leanne is a heron and so can't fight, but won't be useless. In fact, as you'll see, Leanne dying is going to be the least of our worries.

Let's take a look at our new cast:







Going by the numbers alone, Elincia might just be the best character in the whole game in terms of sheer utility. Elincia can be a powerful attacker, a decent tank, or a healer, as you require, and is a flyer into the bargain. Rarely will you encounter a battle she can't contribute to in spades. Her sole weakness is of course her crippling vulnerability to bows, an occupational hazard of riding a pegasus.

There are two problems, however. The first is that for this mission she's stuck with the weakest sword in the whole game, weaker even than the Bronze Sword, and thus she won't have the ridiculous damage output she's capable of with all that strength. The second is that she's actually a temporary half-Jeigan. Yes, Elincia will be amazing in the late-and-endgame, but this is not the time to be training her. She still bears the second Jeigan trait; EXP is wasted on her here.

"But she's only Lv 1,", you might object, "and our other units are all higher level than that!"

And here's where you catch the game withholding important information from you again. Yes, Elincia is a prepromote, as are all the other beorc units you're going to see in this chapter, but - and this will blow your mind - there're actually three tiers of classes, and Elincia is in the third, making her essentially Lv 41, and not Lv 21 as you might have been assuming. Which explains the stats.



Pictured; the perks of being on the third tier. 60 skill points is a lot, but you have to bear in mind that at least 25 of them are reserved for your Mastery Skill, which is determined by your class, and gained and equipped automatically at second-promotion. Elincia's is Stun, which not only hits an enemy for triple the projected damage rate (like a crit), but also stuns them for two turns, meaning they can't move in their next turn (assuming they survive the attack). That's pretty damn handy. Elincia also has innate Renewal, so that's handy too.








It is my sad duty to report that there is absolutely no way in hell that Marcia is ever going to live up to the impossible reputation that gandhichan's Path of Radiance thread has established for her. Sure, there's nothing wrong with her bases or her growths, but… well. If the character theme of Part 1 was "weird growths for your class" then the theme of Part 2 is almost certainly "never being available for training". With the exception of a few characters, most of the people we meet in Part 2 will be absent for nearly the entirety of Part 3, and by the time they surface again they'll be so far behind that they'll be almost as hard to train as Fiona was (even if they're not as uniquely unsuited for the missions as she was for hers). Marcia is just such an offender. As ever, we'll see how she does and how her levels go, but the likelihood is, Marcia just won't be able to keep up.

Marcia has no skills save Canto.








Nealuchi is our second Raven Tribe laguz and is essentially a higher leveled version of Vika. Transformed, he's a powerhouse at this stage in the game. Untransformed… not so much, but at least hardier than Vika was. The best thing he has going for him is sky-high evasion, but… well, he's another one who's unlikely to keep up with the pace of the game, and his poor availability doesn't help either.

He is notable, however, for bringing us a Laguz Stone, a pretty useful item which instantly raises the user's transform gauge to maximum. Handy to have! Sadly, it comes used, but we'll take what we can get.



As a laguz flier, Nealuchi gets Shove and Canto, and he also has innate Wrath which I reckon we'll be stealing at some point.








Finally, there's Leanne, who's much like Rafiel only worse. She's lower level and appropriately lower spec and her Galdrar are… well, we'll see. She can still grant extra turns, so she's not completely useless.




The one thing she does have over Rafiel is Canto, meaning she can stay a little bit behind the front lines, move in, sing, and run away all in one turn, which is somewhat handy.

Right, that's quite enough complaining. For all their inadequacies later on, we'll find that now they're more than enough to hand this map its ass. So let's go!




These are the odds the enemies are getting vs Nealuchi. Suffice to say, this dracoknight takes a beating.




Note the clouds; they're not just for show. They provide +1 Defense and +15 evasion.




Elincia may be stuck with a weakass weapon, but she's got her strength to give her moderate damage output, and her speed to double. On top of that, we're dealing with a legion of axe wielders, so she'll have the advantage on all of them.




While Rafiel was able to sing to everyone around him all at once, Leanne can only sing directly in front of and directly behind her, which makes not a lick of sense but there you go. Consequently, we are forced to choose between giving an additional turn to Elincia or to Nealuchi. We choose Elincia, and Elincia chooses to inflict 14 damage on a nearby dracoknight.




It's the enemy turn and the AI is no less fond of wasting its time on units it can't hit than it was in Part 1.




However, the dracoknight Elincia injured has a more worrying idea; he grabs Leanne and makes a break for the edge of the map.

This is this map's other gimmick. These enemies, as they mentioned before the fight, aren't trying to kill Leanne, they're trying to capture her. So, when they get a chance, they'll fly up to her, "rescue" her, and try to run away. They can't capture her and escape in one turn, but between their movement range and their Canto skill, two turns is all it'll take once they get in range. Needless to say, once an enemy picks up Leanne, he becomes Priority One.




What they tend to forget, though, is that they're still subject to the mechanics of Rescue! Half speed and half skill makes them easy prey, as Marcia reminds them.




Forcefully.

Another annoying thing is that when we "rescue" Leanne back from her captor, she has to wait a turn before she can move, which robs us of our opportunity to use Vigor.




Elincia attacks one of the dracoknights…




And Nealuchi finishes off the second.




The first is nevertheless able to grab Leanne again. However, he's all alone in our corner and he's on low health. Guess how this is gonna end for him!

If you guessed "being reduced to 5 HP by Elincia and killed by Marcia", you win!

Nealuchi is not an endless font of transform points, so he reverts back to human form to save up for later.




Turn 4, and we're being encroached on again. Elincia is having none of this.




None of this at all.







And one for luck!

Because Elincia is stuck with her Weakass Sword, she's in a position to actually stun people using Stun rather than killing them with it. This suits me fine; the guy is still neutralized for a turn, so we can concentrate on his friend for now.




Note that Leanne is well away from all this; she won't be getting picked up next turn, that's for sure. Thus, instead of going for Leanne, the one guy who's still able to move makes a vain attempt to hit Marcia with a Hand Axe.

Turn 5, and-




Hey, it's that guy!

...Huh? We're running late? But I'm sleepy... What did you call me? That wasn't very nice. Overgrown lizard...

Please tell me that's not what I think it is. Oh, this is perfect. Begnion dracoknights? Just my stinkin' luck.




Huh. He's joined the battle as an "other". Maybe he hasn't noticed us? Let's see, we need someone loud to get his attention… oh! I know!




...Hello, Marcia. I see you're still flying about on that apple-eating hairbag.

And you're still asleep at the reins of that foul-smelling... Oh, crackers! I don't have time for your nonsense! Open that one good eye of yours and take a look around, will you? Those Begnion dracoknights have invaded Crimean skies! You've got to help us save the laguz they're trying to kidnap. Well, c'mon, Haar!

Me? Why? I owe the queen a favor or two, but I'm not one of her soldiers.

You... You cad! Does having fought together in the Mad King's War mean nothing to you?

Well, no, but... Look, I've got a delivery to make, and this cargo's really heavy. Sorry, Marcia. Maybe next time.

NEXT TIME? You lizard-loving jerk! Would you really abandon us? What kind of man are you?

The kind who lives to sleep another day. Well, good luck to you. See you around.

Wow. Haar is kind of an asshole.

Stop! You have to stay and help! Uhm... OK, Haar, hear me out. You were an imperial dracoknight once, right? It's your job to fix this! They're your old comrades--you have to keep them in line!

Huh? You're not making a lick of sense, girl.

Why do I have to make sense? If Jill were in trouble, I bet you'd help her! Please, please, please! C'mon, Haar! You have to help us. You have to!

...Is it really all that bad?

Yes! They're a tough bunch! And I'm all alone... I don't think I can manage to protect Queen Elincia. Please say you'll help... If only for the safety of the queen...

...Oh, fine. I really don't have time for this... But I guess I can lend a hand.

Thank you so much! I take back all the mean things I was thinking about you earlier.

That girl's nothing but trouble. Well, if we're going to do this, let's get it over with. Up and at 'em, partner!

…and Haar reluctantly joins the fray.







Whatever way you slice it, Haar is a welcome addition to any army. Despite his low speed growth, his base is high enough that he can double most anything that the game throws at him, and still keep up. His defense makes him a wall, he's strong enough to cut through most bosses, and… well, Haar is an all around badass. If your Jill is falling behind in levels, Haar will happily replace her. And - miracle of miracles - he's one of the Part 2 characters who doesn't get saddled with horrible availability, so you can easily make him into the beast we all know he can be. Haar is a staple of many an endgame team; his strength, defense and mobility are a winning combination and it's not very often he gets RNG screwed.




Haar also gets innate Cancel. I wonder sometimes if it's somewhat wasted on him, since Haar is usually strong enough to shrug off counterattacks…




All endgame-musing aside, even now, Haar is strong enough to render the rest of this mission meaningless.

Elincia finishes killing the stunned guy, and ends her turn almost adjacent to Haar.




In fact, she's in the perfect position for Leanne to Vigor both of them.




Haar obligingly continues his murder spree…




While Elincia approaches under cover of the clouds.

Of course, I have completely forgotten about this mission's third gimmick, which you might have already spotted if you're sharp.




Have you spotted it?

Yep, the clouds move. I guess the chapter title isn't just there to sound pretentious. Incidentally, that makes this the only mission in the game to have moving terrain. It's an interesting idea and has a lot of scope for interesting missions if it's ever implemented a bit more fully in a future game.




Zeffren flies out to meet Haar.

Haar?!

Why couldn't you just stay on patrol? Saw a pretty little heron and just had to have her, is that it? I never could decide if you were more greedy or more corrupt. Stupid was never in question, though.

Who do you think you are?! You're a traitor, just like Shiharam! The dracoknights spit on your name!

...Do they now? Well, here's your chance to try the real thing.

Haar may be reluctant to join the fight, but he sure doesn't fuck around once he gets going.




Zeffren has a Short Axe, a higher tier version of the Hand Axe. Haar takes said Short Axe to the face, but dispenses two Javelins in return.

A foolish dracoknight with 6 HP decides to attack Elincia, who retaliates by dealing him 6 damage, and the two remaining Hand Axe wielders respectively engage Haar and Elincia, each missing, of course.

Turn 6.




Elincia begins by dealing a modest amount of hurt to the nearest dracoknight, and then retreating north slightly.

Haar…




Continues seeing to Zeffran. He reduces the boss to 5 HP but is only left with 9 himself, and of course he activated Cancel on his second attack, continuing our proud tradition.

He retreats north too, and…




…meets Leanne.




Haar makes good use of his second wind to land Cancel on Zeffran one more time. Presumably he also catches Zeffran's dropped Short Axe out of the sky.

Ugh... Aaaaaaaagghh!




Elincia does her usual job of finishing off weakened enemies.




In spectacularly excessive fashion.













Screenshots just do not do justice to how fast she moves during Stun.

It's likely that one of the leftover enemies will grab Leanne next turn, but Elincia, Haar, Marcia and Nealuchi are all in attack range, and there's only two bad guys left. I think we're gonna be OK.




Sure enough…




They don't stand…




A damn chance.




In hell.




The game refuses to acknowledge the fact that we have cleared the mission a turn early, so we end turn twice to finish the mission.




---

Princess Leanne, it's a pleasure to see you again. I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Are you hurt?

("Queen Elincia! Thank you for helping us! I'm happy to see you again.")

Lady Leanne is very grateful for your help with those ruffians and is quite delighted to see you again, Your Majesty. Frankly, I don't think these old bones would have been up to the task of protecting the princess without your help.

The most important thing is that you're both safe, Sir Nealuchi. But... What brings you here? As far as I knew, the both of you were residing in Gallia...

("We came to see Sir Ike!")

It is imperative that my lady sees General Ike as soon as possible. We were traveling to the royal palace in Melior for that very purpose.

That's unfortunate. Ike left Melior more than half a year ago. After that, rumor has it that he reorganized the Greil Mercenaries... Now, no one seems to know where they are.

What?! This is most unexpected. What are we supposed to do now?

Sir Ike isn't here, but... Since you've traveled all this way to Crimea, would you like to visit the royal court? I would be happy to investigate the whereabouts of the Greil Mercenaries during your stay.

Well... We don't want to be a bother, but it would be very kind of you.

To be honest, there are matters about which I must speak with Sir Ike myself. And regardless, we're always delighted to have such splendid guests as yourselves. I must tell you, however--and I am ashamed to say it--there is unrest among certain circles here in Crimea. I hope nothing will happen to disturb your visit with us.

Un-unrest...you say?

Yes. I trust, however, my protection will be enough to keep you from harm's way.



Each party has its own separate pool of Bonus EXP and a separate inventory. All of Micaiah & Co.'s unused Bonus EXP will still be there when we get back to them, don't you worry.

So, yeah, that battle had pretty much nothing to do with any of the plot in Part 2, but it did serve to put the Token Heron onto Elincia's team! That's something! Even Leanne is better than no heron at all…

Coming up next time: Farmers!