Part 55: (Part Four, Chapter 3) More like "Disciples of Boredom"

Micaiah's ability to sense danger proves invaluable, as it gives her allies advance warning of attacks by the Disciples. Thus prepared for each battle, the group keeps casualties to a minimum.

As they travel south through Begnion, Micaiah and her company clash repeatedly with the Disciples of Order.



They are sustained only by their faith that they will reunite with their companions at the Tower of Guidance.







Now they have set foot on the holy ground of the empire itself! We have no choice but to lead the army ourselves and destroy them once and for all! We are the chosen ones! Our will is the will of the goddess! With us at its head, our army is invincible!

Y-yes. Quite. As you say, Vice-Minister.

When I've beaten that brat, Sanaki, I'll make her kneel before me and plead for her life! Heh heh heh!



Why would the goddess choose Lekain and me? We are the ones with the most to atone for...

Another intended-to-be-sympathetic villain, I guess. There seem to be a few kicking around in Begnion.



Well, here we are. Again.

The Silver-Haired Maiden...

Yes, it's me, Micaiah. Um... May I sit next to you?

What? Oh... Uh...

...Of course you may.

Thank you.



It's not that. I like you just fine. It's just that...you make me feel inadequate.

It's because I can sing the galdr of release and hear Yune's voice, isn't it?

How...did you know?

I can sense the flow of people's thoughts. By seeing the movement of a person's mind, I can usually deduce what the person is thinking...

You can read minds?! What a boon that would be to running a country... If I could read people's minds, I could tell what the nobles and senators were thinking behind their smiles. I wonder why the goddess didn't bless me with such power?



Ah! Is that you?! The dark g-No, I mean...the goddess of chaos, Yune? Let me ask you one thing, Yune. Why was Micaiah able to sing the galdr of release, but I wasn't?

I'm sorry, little empress, I don't know. But I knew that Micaiah could sing it. That's why I stayed close to her.

I don't understand. How can you be a goddess and not know? I thought gods were perfect beings who knew everything!

Gods? Perfect? Where did you get that idea? You haven't met a lot of gods, have you?

Well, no. But divinity created life from nothing! Surely only perfect beings could do that!

We did create life, and can do many things that you creatures of flesh can't. But that doesn't make us perfect. It just means we can make mistakes on a much grander scale...



But we do make mistakes... Sometimes we make terrible mistakes. Sometimes all it takes is one emotional outburst, and the entire world is drowning underwater!

Oh shit! Was that a backstory-bomb?



I wish we were perfect. Then there wouldn't be any wars, and no one would have to die because of our mistakes!

Y-yes! I understand, Yune! Now please calm down!



She's gone now. She got upset. She hasn't lost control of her emotions like that in a long time.

Micaiah. I'm supposed to be the voice of the goddess Ashera. Yet I've never once heard her speak. I wonder what she is like?

We may find out before this is over...



And on that ominous note, it's Base time.



Only this, unfortunately.

Ah! It's the tome of Bolganone! This is quite rare. Good work, Commander!

Sigh...

Such a heavy sigh. What's wrong?

What sort of state is the world in, when the apostle--our empress--has taken up arms and fights alongside the common soldiers?

Is that still bothering you? I already told you not to worry.

I know. But what would the duke of Persis think if he saw you right now?

Ah, Sephiran... I wonder what he and Zelgius are doing right now?

They're awaiting your return, of course.

You don't have any doubt about that?

Of course. Duke Persis comes from a family of great mages. General Zelgius is the finest general in all of Begnion. They wouldn't have been petrified. We'll see them when we return to the empire.

That's true. I'm certain that they're safe, too. They must be waiting for us. Let us make haste toward Sienne.

Yes. That is why I keep suggesting that you should stay away from danger, and--

Nonsense. We will fight with everything we have. And in order to fight to our utmost, we need powerful magic at our disposal! Follow me, Sigrun. Under these sands are many precious treasures. Help me find them!



[Received a Bolganone!]

Bolganone is the S-Rank fire tome, and is pretty superfluous, given that we're in possession of Cymbeline and Rexflame. I guess it'd be nice to have if we had Calill with us.

---



Yeah. How about you? Where's that stone-faced sidekick of yours?

He's just hesitant to show his emotions.

I'm only joking. Don't get so defensive.

Then don't insult my family.

Hmph. You say he's your brother, but there's as much resemblance between you two as between me and Skrimir.

We're not related, but we're very close. Perhaps like you and Princess Leanne.

What?! You didn't--

Yes, I can sense your emotions. I also know that you just closed up to keep me from looking in.

You possess the same power as the herons? How stupid of me to let my guard down.

I'm sorry.

What else did you sense?

Excuse me?

Did you find out anything else about me?

No! I didn't try to read your mind intentionally. I just felt that your feelings for Princess Leanne were very warm, and that's all I saw.

You're sure? Fine. You're a lot like me. I'll let you off the hook this time.

What do you mean by that?

You'll see when the time comes.





This is a tome of light...

We need you to stay alive, all right? See you later.

Naesala...

...I'm getting that "Naesala is up to something" vibe. Well, I say that, but "Naesala is up to something" is a statement of the same order as "grass grows" or "birds fly".

[Received a Nosferatu!]

Nosferatu is, somehow, light magic. It's a comparatively weak tome but will suck HP from anyone hit by it. It's a nifty offensive option for Micaiah (or any other light magic user you may have), especially when combined with Wrath... although it's a tad situational.

---



This seemed appropriate.



As did this.



This was more a matter of course. I'd rather support Jill and Haar, but that's not available yet.



One of our five spare Satori Signs goes to Ulki, and he picks up the Tear skill. The great thing about laguz is that they jump by about 30 SP at Lv 30. If you're so inclined, you can hold off on the mastery skill and just equip loads of regular skills. Birds in particular need all the SP they can get, since they get both Shove and Canto locked on them.



The adventures of the horribly uninteresting bargains continue.



And here's another glance at our Records. No real surprises here. Though I do wish the game would tell you the MVP after each battle like PoR did.



Weapons are resupplied, skills are shuffled (headline: Resolve on Marcia), and we're outta here.



Sort of. I think she might be responsible for the ancient flood that sank all of the other continents.





--my line, asshole.

I knew this would happen, eventually.

What is it, Empress Sanaki? Oh, I see.





Oh now that's just showing off. We all know our guys are entirely capable of having conversations from opposite sides of a battlefield.

Ah, my dear Sanaki, the false apostle! What a pleasure to see you again, and this time, I've an army of the righteous behind me, ready to strike you down!

Vice-Minister Lekain. You are the foulest kind of traitor. I can never forgive you!

Ha ha... How amusing. Forgiveness from a fraud is of no value to anyone.

Empress, please don't force me to listen to his blasphemies any longer! All me to silence him for you!

Hold, Sigrun. I want to understand. Lekain, on what grounds do you claim that I am not the true apostle?

The apostle of Begnion shall be the firstborn daughter of each generation in the line of Altina, first empress. She will give voice to the goddess. She will pass judgment, give prophecy, and protect her people and their lands. Sanaki, you have never once heard the voice of the goddess, have you?

That is... That is only because... I have not come of age yet!

Oh, what a hysterical coincidence! That's just what the senate has been telling the people for years now! "Apostle Sanaki is too young to hear the goddess. Give her more time." How funny that the lie you've been living is the same lie we've been telling.

But, how... Explain yourself, Lekain!

Poor false apostle... No one ever told you about your older sister, did they? She was the true apostle.

I...had a sister?

She died before you were born, assassinated along with Apostle Misaha by the heron clan. So the senate installed you, the second daughter, as the apostle instead.

You lie! You impugn both me and the noble herons!

Heh heh heh... I'm glad to have exposed your secret. Perhaps now you will be able to accept the truth.

Silence! The lying tongue of a treacherous senator proves nothing!

You seek proof? Fine. We shall settle this in the ancient way: in a battle to the death. Whomsoever the goddess sees fit to win the day must be in the right!



Wimp.

Lekain! We've finally found you! Now's our chance, Sothe! We must do whatever it takes to get the blood pact!

Right. Let's go!





This is another mission with little capacity for deadweight. A couple of later asshole reinforcements in particular will be big trouble for anyone not able to stand up in a fight.



So here it is, folks. The Fire Emblem Desert Chapter makes its glorious return. If you're not familiar with this, desert levels mainly involve:

• Horribly reduced movement, especially for paladins and generals
  
• Very specific exemptions from the above; specifically for mages and shifted laguz (and more logically, flyers)
  
• Lots and lots of very awesome buried treasure

Fortunately for us, this is not a Goddamned Blind LP™, and I knew this was coming, and as such have filled the Silver Army with flyers. As well as Marcia, Jill, Haar, Naesala and Ulki (and Sigrun, but she doesn't really count), we've also got Micaiah and Sanaki. The only disadvantaged people here, really, are Nephenee and Sothe (and Shinon). Nephenee's going to have plenty of people coming to her anyway, and Sothe is just fine not being in the thick of combat.

The enemy, for their part, is comprised entirely of footsoldiers with a few dracoknights scattered around for good measure. The dracoknights are the threat, since they can chase down some of your weaker units, so they'll be the priority when present. Otherwise, the enemy can only move about as slowly as we can.



Aww, did you really think they were going to get to kill Lekain this early? No, as you can see here, he's not really boss material, holding only a Rewarp staff (that should technically be on 13/15 uses by now, but whatever), whose only purpose is going to be to run the fuck away a few turns in.



No, the "real" boss here is Duke "Hitlerpriest" Numida. He's a mild threat; he'll be flinging Purges from behind a wall of bad guys for the most part, although one good round with one of our melee guys will be enough to kill him - when we finally reach the asshole.



Lekain is flanked by two asshole priests wielding Elsleep and Elsilence staves, respectively. These upgraded variants have boosted accuracy and a range of 1-30, or, alternatively, "everywhere". Fortunately, they only have two uses each, and these guys have no other weapons, so they'll be an early annoyance and then a nonissue.



Formation wise, our plan will be to send Nephenee southwest, Marcia and Sanaki east, and everyone else south. Jill and Haar will be flying in and out of everything, mostly to assist Marcia when archers pop up. We'll be making our way south via the central route.



Here goes.