Part 41: (Part Three, Chapter 11) In which everything is made better with acrobatics
With a strength born of conviction, she exposes the senators' vile plot to undermine and usurp her.
Valtome counterattacks with a claim crafted by the senate--that the apostle is a fraud who, along with her prime minister, Sephiran, is attempting to deceive all of Begnion and lead them away from the goddess's graces.
To the citizens of Begnion, the senators are chosen by the goddess and are worthy of the same respect given to the apostle.
An ever-growing number of Begnion's citizens are willing to believe the senators' claim that the apostle is an agent of evil trying to deceive them.
This new turmoil fans the flames of chaos into a mighty conflagration, burning across Tellius.
The king of Gallia, Caineghis. The king of Phoenicis, Tibarn. The Serenes Royal Family, Rafiel and Reyson. And the queen of Crimea, Elincia, who worked tirelessly to arrange this meeting and generously extended her hospitality. She gave me hope when I was driven out of my country, and offered aid when all seemed lost. You have my sincere gratitude.
When we received your letter stating that the senate had made scapegoats of the herons for the previous apostle's assassination, Prime Minister Sephiran and I decided to investigate the senate and prosecute them if needed. Then the senators made their move.
What did they do? They imprisoned me in a room in the Mainal Cathedral. They then forged an arrest warrant for Sephiran and jailed him. ...I admit there had been major rifts between myself and the senators in the past. However, I had no idea that they would stoop to such deplorable acts. I should have known. This is all my fault.
I have been forced to flee my country, but that doesn't change the fact that I am the empress of Begnion. I will not allow the senate to declare me false, nor will I stand by as they seize and ravage Begnion. I must return to my country, save my people, and take back my birthright.
I will accept, if you agree to a few conditions. First, the immediate and total emancipation of any laguz remaining in slavery. Second, that new diplomatic relations between our peoples start with a clean slate; no bias against beorc or laguz shall be tolerated. Lastly, a full alliance between our countries, to further solidify this agreement. If you agree to these terms, I give my support. I hope that a long last the dream that both King Ramon and I held can come to fruition.
I agree with King Caineghis completely. If these conditions are agreed to, Crimea would like to join this alliance as well.
Do you intend to return the Serenes Forest to the herons when you take back the throne? Of course. The goddess loved the forest because the herons made their homes there. I will see to it that you can return home.
My brother! We can finally go home! Our family can be together again, in our own homeland, for the first time in decades... All right. I'm all for this. I didn't need much convincing, though. I just want to rip those idiot senators in half.
Apostle Sanaki, we will wholeheartedly support your effort tot return to the throne, so long as we stand united in our ideals. Please bring peace back to our lands. Each of you has my deepest gratitude. I will accomplish that goal.---
I feel the same, but it's too early to celebrate. I will not be happy until I take back my country. How we fare in the battles to come will be of the utmost importance.
The Greil Mercenaries would be glad to help. I know that we're a small unit, but we'll do our best to see the job done right.
Poor, poor, Ike.
Wait, hold on there! What did you say?! Listen, Apostle Sanaki, I'm really flattered, but General Zelgius is much more qual-- Zelgius returned to the empire by himself to rescue Prime Minister Sephiran. Our army consists of the troops he left behind, as well as the armies of Crimea, Gallia, and Phoenicis. Ike, you're probably the only person on the face of Tellius who commands respect from all four countries represented here.
No, I'm not happy about it. I thought my days of being a general ended three years ago. But I won't refuse. If you think I'm the only person who can pull this off, then I'll do my best not to let you down. Thank you, Ike. Let us go meet with the armies and the soldiers you will be leading. They will want to meet their new commander.
Alright.
First thing's first. If Sanaki thinks she's going to give us command of an army without giving us a raise, she has another think coming.
Hmph. Don't look so sour. I always look like this, Apostle Sanaki. Ah, yes. That's true. Well, I didn't summon you to talk about your grumpy expressions. I wanted to give you something before we set off for battle. What is it? Do you know what this is? Not a clue. When I fled the cathedral, I took some valuables with me. This is called a master crown. It's said to release a beorc's hidden power. I've never heard of it. Not everyone can use it, so think before you pass it on to someone. All right. I'll take it. Thank you.[Received a Master Crown!]
Goddamnit. At least give us something we can sell!
Alright, let's try Sigrun.
I would have refused, if I'd known that I'd be commanding the entire army.
That's why we didn't tell you beforehand. That's a pretty devious move, Sigrun. Here are some funds, so you can properly prepare for the upcoming battle. Show us how you've grown since the days of the Mad King's War, General.[Received 20,000 Gold!]
Now that's more like it.
Path of Radiance was (kinda) notable for not handing you the tried-and-true red and green cavaliers right from the get-go. Sure, you had Oscar and Titania, but Titania was basically only around to hold the fort until you recruited Kieran ten chapters in. Radiant Dawn does the same thing; this is the first time the two have met since the Greil Mercenaries left Crimea (per Bastian's suggestion) prior to the beginning of the game. So now we can go back to Oscar being exasperated at Kieran's blind enthusiasm. Y'know, instead of Geoffrey doing exactly the same thing.
...
Hiyah! Umph! Hahh! You really push yourself in training, don't you, Kieran?
Kieran's relationship with Oscar is kinda like a retarded take on Mia's relationship with Ike.
I've been watching for half an hour. What!? Then why didn't you say hello? And I would have expected better manners! I did. You didn't notice. Ah, yes! My concentration while training is unbreakable! No one can distract me! Hmm. I wonder if he realizes that he contradicts everything he says. What was that!? If you have something to say, let it out! Speak like a man! Stand tall! Yes, yes. Whatever you say. Here, I got this for you. What is this?
That said, it's a profitable relationship, so I'll tolerate it.
I've never heard of such a skill. Is it special? Oh, yes. It's very special. Why would you give such a precious thing to me?! Well, um... I just told you. I cannot accept it! I accept no charity from rivals! Why do you have to be like this? We are equals. I need no favors from you! Run along, now. Sigh. I don't have the time to talk to you. I'm too busy training! Go on, leave!
What?! But I guess if you won't accept it, I'll find someone else who will.
You'd swallow your own words? Ugh! Never! However... I note that your lifelong rival is me, and no one else! If your gift will mark me as your lifelong rival, I must have it! That's what I like about you, Sir Simpleton. You insult me?! No, that was a compliment. You're a very... simple... knight. Living only for battle and whatnot. Great! Thanks! Life is boring without you, Kieran.If you say so.
[Received an Imbue!]
Friggen' finally. Imbue, as you may have forgotten because it's been so long, restores HP based on your magic stat every turn (but sadly can't be used by magic users). This is, ironically, going straight to Oscar, because he has middling defence, high HP, and pretty good magic. Really, though, any physical unit can make great use of Imbue post-promotion, because physical units get a free +4 to magic at second promotion.
We shuffle supports. Geoffrey's being kicked out in any case, and Marcia has the same affinity as him, so it's like nothing ever changed, really.
Since Calill has been voted off the team, we harvest her Nihil scroll. These are pretty useless for the most part, but by god, are we going to be glad we have them later.
I am so very bored, so I'm putting Gamble on Rolf. Will I ever use it? Who knows. In any case, Rolf has lots and lots of accuracy, so he's more likely to have a use for this than others. Well, maybe Mia, but if there's one thing Mia doesn't need, it's more crits.
Astrid (and, I guess, Geoffrey) is the only beorc unit in the game who can equip Paragon and Blossom at the same time. Laguz units can get hells of skill points later on, so they can brute force both, but... well, it takes a while for them to build up the capacity. In any case, there's some room for Astrid to get hells of stats here. The other Paragon, incidentally, is remaining on Marcia, because she's the lowest level unit on our regular team.
Today's bargains. Note the usual glut of Olivi Grass and also the S-Rank thunder tome, which we buy despite no one being able to use. I feel preemptive and we just got paid.
The Royal Knights were kind enough to dump their entire supply of BEXP into ours, so we've got plenty to go around.
Nephenee gets a little push, and...
Introducing the
...hey, wait, that there, in the background... is that...?
AW COME ON, OF ALL THE LOCATIONS TO REUSE
Anyway, the addition of Nephenee's mastery skill bumps her up to seven skills, which is a no-no, so we're going to lose Miracle to make way for Impale, which is just a no-mess, no-fuss, 4x damage multiplier. Note also that whichever idiot decided that "Lancer" was a better class title than "Sentinel" didn't even bother to chance the description of the skill. Classy.
Anyway, Miracle and Imbue go to Oscar, and our second Adept scroll goes to Soren.
A BEXP level for Heather doesn't yield any strength, but it does cap two more stats.
And thus a second level produces the desired result. We are officially In Business.
(and Heather could kick the shit out of Sothe)
Oscar gets pushed to Lv 20, gaining HP +2, Str +2, Spd +1, Lck +2, Def +2.
Rolf, well...
For reference, that's HP, strength, speed and defence capped, and only one point off capping skill and resistance too. If growths proceed as average, Rolf will cap everything by Lv 20/20/20. Sooner, with BEXP.
Well, making our guys completely broken was fun, but now we're going to have to go and actually murder people.
---
It is time to get moving. Do we have a target?
Since the Laguz Alliance has fought in Flaguerre already, we're familiar with the lay of the land. Sounds like a good plan. Do you still resent your choice to command this army? No offense, Apostle, but you didn't give me much of a choice in the first place. Besides, if I'm not fully committed, how can I expect these troops to be? Just remember: when this is all over, you'll be getting one heck of a bill.Damn right.
Oh, I'm sure, and I know you'll be worth it. Speaking of which, I have something for you. Consider it a down payment.
Wait, already?
Are you sure about this? I returned it after the Mad King's War because you said it was one of Begnion's national treasures. Indeed. This sword was used by Empress Altina, the first apostle of Begnion, back in the early days of the empire. It was one of the two swords the empress used to fight the dark god. I can think of no better person to give it to. All right. I'd be happy to use it again. Thanks.
Ragnell is basically the same as Alondite. In fact, Ragnell is exactly the same as Alondite, except for being a different colour, and usable by only Ike as opposed to only the Black Knight.
Sadly, though, we won't be seeing much use of it for now, because Ike is stuck at Lv 20 and anything he kills goes to waste. Silly arbitrary plot promotions.
Number of these guys who are going to help us in the upcoming mission: zero.
Excuse me! I bring urgent news to Queen Elincia and General Ike of the apostle's army! What happened?! We've received a report that the Daein army has appeared near the border between Daein and Crimea! The Daein army demands custody of the apostle on behalf of Begnion! They will use force if necessary. Daein wants to get in our hair again? Perfect. ...I am puzzled by this. Why does Daein support the senate? Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. Ike, we must change our target. Agreed. We have to get Daein out of our way before we do anything else.
NOT THIS FUCKING BRIDGE AGAIN
FUCK THIS FUCKING BRIDGE
Either they believe the senate's lies, or...the senate is pulling some strings behind the scenes. Well, whatever the reason, we can't attack Begnion without taking care of this first. I will not give up. I won't stop sending messengers until they respond. Ike, I leave you in charge here.
I understand. Gallia will stay behind. You'll have your turn soon, Skrimir. I promise. All right, let's go!So... the bridge chapter.
I fucking hate this chapter.
Hidden all over this fucking bridge are a bunch of pitfalls. If you walk over one, there goes your turn! In fact, not only do you lose your turn, you also get paralysed for a turn, so any and all enemies can attack you and you can't counter them. That's just great.
On top of that, there are four mages holding Shine Barriers. They will deploy them in the mathematically determined most annoying possible locations, such that you have no choice but to walk across a pitfall.
Oh, and it gets better. If you're in a pit, you can obviously climb out once it's your turn, but after that, the pit becomes impassable. So Shine Barriers can effectively completely bar non-flying units from crossing the bridge.
Fuck this chapter.
One more thing: Sigrun and Tanith are inviting themselves along for this mission.
Both of them are basically Marcia only not. Which, incidentally, is great if you've neglected Marcia and really want to bring a
Between them, Ike and Ranulf, we get room for eight more. Our fliers and our trainees get priority here; we also have some things that Heather can do. Well, one thing in particular, and some bonus stuff.
Reyson is absent for this mission, sadly.
The boss has a shiny new form of crossbow. Its might is set at 34, which means he can just about scratch our ground units, and completely obliterate our fliers. Let's not bring them near him.
Well, let's get this mission out of the way.