Part 67: (Endgame, Map 3) Requiem for a Dragon King
...oh, don't act so surprised. You all knew this was coming since before we went into the tower.
I smell an excuse for exposition.
What kind of story?
One from long ago, long before the grandparents of anyone here were born. In the very beginning of this world...there was only water, until one day a girl appeared. The girl was very clever, and she forged the first land...then she made trees and flowers, and then she created beings. The girl was you, right, Yune? Or are you talking about Ashera? Both, really... and neither, actually. At first, the girl was excited by her new world, and she thought of little else. Then she started feeling lonely. Everyone, every being she'd created, was different from her. Not a single person that could truly understand her. All alone, she grew sadder and sadder, crying for thousands of years. Then some creatures began to grow and change, becoming more clever and sophisticated.
They were your ancestors... beorc, laguz, everyone.
In Begnion, we are taught that the Zunanma were human-Uhm, I mean... beorc ancestors... ...It makes me wonder what else in my country has been warped beyond recognition. It's possible that the truth was simply misunderstood. Like the way everyone calls me a dark god... But let me continue... The Zunanma worshipped the girl as their own goddess. They said her hair was as striking a color as dawn's first light, so they gave her a name... The Goddess of Dawn. She was a much-loved goddess. The Goddess of Dawn... The Zunanma continued to evolve and change, giving rise to a variety of races and tribes across the land. Naturally, each of the races thought their own was superior to the others, and conflict arose between them.
Trying to separate the factions, the goddess gave them different names, laguz and beorc... But this only intensified their conflict. And then...the great flood occurred.
Are you sure about this story? It's very different from the histories that we've each been taught.
Among beorc nations, we only know a vague fairy tale about the dark god stirring up a great disaster.
There is another standing in our way... I have a feeling he might be able to tell us.
Huh?
My father... Just beyond these doors, my father is waiting.
He has been blessed by Ashera. Not only that, but it's a powerful, resilient blessing from long ago. He may be nearly impossible to defeat. ...Let's get everyone together. There's no better time than now."Impossible to defeat". That's just great.
---
But she's left me with no choice. I will give you the blessings of Yune, goddess of chaos and freedom. In their natural state, the attacks of mortal creatures have no effect on divine beings.
This is the only picture we ever get to see of Altina. God, can you imagine being able to wield Ragnell and Alondite at once?
This is called the Goddess's Blessing... She empowered the dual swords of the beorc swordswoman, Altina. The laguz warrior, Soan, and Dheginsea, the leader of the dragon tribe, were also blessed.
Everyone... Take some time now to ready yourselves. Beorc, be sure to equip your best weapons. I'll begin when everyone's ready.
The game decides to not be an asshole and actually gives you an opportunity to choose which weapons we're going to have Yune bless. When we leave this menu, everyone's equipped weapon will be blessed. What does blessing entail? We'll get to that later.
First, though, we actually get some conversations here.
Yes, I'm fine. How about you, Sothe? Are you all right? You're not hurt?
I'm not a child, Micaiah! When are you going to start treating me like an adult? Show me your hand. What? Look at your hands. They're so big... They were so small when we met. Micaiah...
C-Commander! It's all right, Ike. How can we help you? I was scrounging around in my stuff and found some extra medicine. I figured I'd ask around and see if anyone needed it. ...I need to go get ready.
I'm sorry about that. How long have you been with him? ...A long time. I met him when I was hiding out in the back alleys of Nevassa, over ten years ago.
D'awww.
One day, I noticed he was standing close to me, just watching. He continued like that for a few days. One day, I held out my hand. He was suspicious of me, but came over anyway. He looked like a scared animal. Then his little hand slipped into mine. It was shaking. His fingers were so thin and frail. I couldn't let go after that.
The first time I met him, he'd hidden on a ship we were taking. He mentioned he was looking for someone who was like family to him. It was you he was searching for, wasn't it?
But when I reached Begnion, war had broken out between Crimea and Daein. I knew I had to return to Daein to look for him. I couldn't find him, so I went to Crimea. But I still couldn't find him... We found each other again after the war, in Daein. In the back alleys of Nevassa, where we first met. You took routes opposite of each other. When I told him why I'd disappeared, he got so angry... I'd never seen him get so emotional before. I can't say that I blame him. I'd be pretty furious if I heard someone that I loved was wandering around two countries at war. Besides, I'm sure he'd hidden his feelings about being abandoned until he saw you again. I thought I was reaching the limit of how long I could stay with him. He grew each and every day, but I remained the same... I didn't want him to be harmed by the curse I lived with. Can you imagine how hard that would have been on him? You mean the blood of the laguz?
You'd think this bit of the conversation would be conditional on having had Soren fight Micaiah at least once, but it isn't. I guess if you didn't do that Soren just deduces it by himself. Wouldn't put that past him.
Soren. Yeah. I guess you both know how to recognize people with a similar nature. Yes. He and I are both Branded. ...Don't use that word. You and Soren are both people. Just like me and everyone else. People. You're just like Yune. You call both laguz and beorc "people." Why should I care about the color of your hair, eyes, and skin? Or your ears, wings, or tail? No matter how long you live or what powers you possess, we're the same. At the end of the day, we're all people. ...Sothe talks that way, too. His time with you changed him. Thank you, Ike. I've made up my mind. About what? I didn't realize we were doing anything but talking. I thought I might travel to a far-off place after all of this was over. But I won't. I'll go back to Daein. No matter what happens, I'll have Sothe by my side. I have nothing to fear as long as he's with me. It seems the feelings between you two run both ways. But that's probably the wisest choice for Daein, and for Sothe. Anyway... Oh, um... May I have some medicine? Oh! Yeah, I almost forgot. Survive, Micaiah. We need you, and the goddess you host, to save the people of Tellius. Yes. I know.[Received an Elixir!]
More Elixir. I don't think we've actually had cause to use any of these yet.
---
A detail that gets forgotten sometimes is that, until the last battle, Ike never actually discussed the issue of the Black Knight's identity with anyone, meaning that he and Ranulf were the only people who knew. So this is still a revelation to everyone else.
What was he like in Begnion? He was the right-hand man of my most trusted aid, Duke Sephiran of Persis. He was a hero, a perfect general, and the best swordsman in all of Tellius. He was never anything but loyal. But he was serving another country! Hmm. It makes me wonder how Sephiran is doing. I doubt he's been turned to stone. Even though he was captured by Lekain and forcibly removed from his post, he'll have found a way to persevere. Sigrun always said there's no other master of the arcane arts who can compare with the duke of Persis. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Ike... Don't tell me you suspect Sephiran! Well, look at the facts... Do not trouble your mind with that thought! He would never betray me. It's nice to think so. But if he's not petrified, he'd have received a message from Yune. So where is he? The goddess isn't perfect. She said so herself! Maybe the message didn't reach everyone. ...You have to admit that's a weak excuse. Let's leave it at that, for now. We need to focus on moving forward. Please, let's! Oh, I almost forgot! I have something for you. What is it? Um... Uh... Well, you're my trusted aide, just like Sephiran. You have to live! So protect yourself with this. A mercenary with a contract to act as aide to the empress of Begnion. Who'd have thought? But thank you, Sanaki.
[Received a Pavise!]
Oh hey, a free Pavise scroll. Might use this. Might not.
---
Hey now... Where'd you stumble across it?
Lying around inside the tower. It seemed like the sort of thing I should bring to your attention. That's very nice of you, but you didn't have to. Do whatever you want with it. Really? Do you think I'd be able to use it? Well, don't get hasty. I don't think it's right for you. ...I know. I'm just kidding, Ike. Thanks. It's a very rare item. I'll cherish it. Please do.[Received a Guard]
You get a variant of this conversation with whichever Heron you pick. They're all the same.
---
After a little bit of weapon rejiggering...
We get this. Note that forges don't show up under their names on this screen, for some reason.
Let's begin.
Micaiah? Are you feeling all right? You don't look so good.
...I'm fine. Thank you, Sothe. What happened to Yune? She's sleeping. She wants us to take it from here. All right... If we're all set, let's move out.---
Once again, Tibarn can get you some extra words here:
Tibarn, the great hawk king... How many times have I said it now? How many times have I warned against starting another war?
Don't you dare preach to me, you dried-up old fool. We have betrayed our vow to our goddess. We should have learned, but the fighting never stopped. Now we must pay for our crimes. We must take responsibility, and accept Ashera's judgment.
It was my song... The galdr of release freed the goddess!
...
...know what? I'm with Tibarn. Fuck Deghinsea.
We will wait here patiently for the punishment we deserve. If you are unwilling to await judgment...
I'm very glad this scene isn't voice acted. This line would be the embodiment of ham.
Okay, so he's large.
---
Before we get on with the fight, we have a bit of admin to do. Elincia and Pelleas, Fiona and Jill, and Sanaki and Nephenee all kick their support up a notch...
...and Rolf is paired up with Volke. I think Rolf would make a pretty great assassin.
I struggled long and hard to decide who to give Dragonfoe to. I really did. The obvious thing would have been to hand it to Nolan and have him go to town with crossbows... but frankly, I don't really think that's even necessary at this point. Nolan and Zihark will be invincible when together, no matter what they're equipped with. Beyond that, though, giving it to a melee attacker only gets you so far, because Dragons can and will attack from range wherever possible. As such, they will pointedly not attack ranged weapon users.
In the end, I gave it to Nephenee, simply because she was the only one who didn't seem suited to anything else.
Nolan still has his innate Nihil, and our spare Nihil scroll goes to Zihark.
Keeping in the company of dragons can be very beneficial for your stats. More importantly, we're once again nudging everyone who's close to levelling with some BEXP.
Micaiah hitting stat caps means it's a great chance for speed gains.
Capped strength S-Rank Breath Kurthnaga, yes please.
Speed cap for Jill. Very nice.
Strength gain for Zihark.
And a speed cap for Volke too.
A pinch of Spirit dust elevates Pelleas precisely to his magic cap.
We also throw Kurth a secret book. Dragons and skill don't usually go hand in hand, although their Breath does have high accuracy.
Alright, let's take a look at the battlefield...
Here Be Mother Fucking Dragons. This mission is 100% dragons, and beyond them all is Deghinsea. Well, our guys are pretty damn good, how hard can this b-
JESUS FUCKSHITTING CHRIST
...
...
OK. So, the headline here is probably that obscene amount of defence and resistance. It's going to take a lot of work just to get damage past that. And once we do get damage through, it's going to be offset by that 100 HP. And then it'll be followed by a counterattack rated at 75 Atk. Incidentally, Deghinsea's accuracy of 242% is so high that Nolan and Zihark will still be dealing with guaranteed hits. Of course, don't even think about sending anyone with 26 speed or less anywhere near the guy.
Absorbed all that? It gets worse.
He has skills.
The big news here is Mantle. Mantle will negate all damage not coming from a Blessed weapon. It will also regenerate HP every turn equal to Deghinsea's luck (so, 30). That's just fucking great. Oh, and it also has a Nihil effect, which the game doesn't tell you about, making for a potentially very nasty surprise. That means no Adept, no mastery skills, no Cancel, and no Dragonfoe. You've only got your stats, your weapons, and your supports (and Kurth and Ena's tides) to use against his defence. He also has Ire, so we're going to be very thankful that we have those three Nihil scrolls kicking around.
Seriously, this is the part in the game where Nihil scrolls start being worth their weight in gold (if their weight was extremely high).
Now, let's talk about our blessed weapons.
As said, you get to choose one weapon per Beorc unit in your team (and it has to be a weapon they can equip). Ike is forced to use Ragnell, everyone else can choose.
Being blessed does two things to a weapon; it allows it to harm enemies with Mantle, and it grants the weapon infinite durability.
Remember that Bolting tome? Infinite.
All our SS-Rank weapons and shiny silver Forges? Infinite.
Here's the thing, though. We already have a couple of weapons (both swords, as it happens) that already have infinite durability. These are, of course, Elincia's sword Amiti, and Alondite. Only Zihark can use Alondite, but he has Vague Katti, which is stronger - so we're better off blessing Vague Katti and using it on bosses, while using Alondite for defending against minor enemies. Elincia won't be seeing much boss combat, so she can instead grab herself a Wyrmslayer to help us get a cheap shot on Deghinsea. Seriously, you need to bring out every trick you have against him if you want to win without casualties.
Laguz, incidentally, gain the ability to transform immediately at the start of battle, as well as being able to damage bosses.
There are two types of non-unique dragon; Red Dragons and White Dragons. Red Dragons are strong and extremely tough. White Dragons attack using magic and have high resistance. Therefore, because they all have such high HP, you generally want to send your physical guys to deal with Whites and your magic guys to deal with Reds. Generally.
Let's get this dealt with.
On second thought, let's have Elincia hang onto the Wyrmslayer for a while. She triggers adept and destroys a white dragon.
Nolan has Ward cast on him and ventures in ahead of Zihark to kill a second.
Then he triggers Colossus and makes the whole issue moot.
Zihark wanders up to deal with the third, employing the ridiculous Earth Pair bonus for defence. Zihark is going to be quite reliant on skills and crits to get one-round-KOs here, and fortunately he manages to get both against this guy.
Meanwhile, Nephenee employs Dragonfoe. Note the handy patch of Cover tiles.
Despite statistically long odds, Fiona gets hit. This angers her.
So she busts out a crit.
And caps speed in the most underwhelming manner possible. Admittedly, she's only got skill left now.
Pictured: something beautiful.
Aaaaaaaah, yeah.
Rolf, too, is going to be invaluable here. He can attack from outside the Dragons' counterattack range, you see.
Not a single one of the enemies here - including Deghinsea - will attack Kurth or Ena, for any reason. There are a couple of ways we can exploit this, but the most direct is of course to just have him attack enemies for consequence-free damage. It takes a while to train either his EXP or his Strike like this - what with him being definitively unable to counterattack - but you can make some progress, at least.
Man. If I'd known he was gonna activate Lethality, I'd have sent Volke in first.
Pictured: Why it's not that good an idea to send Ike against white dragons. Because of his low resistance, he can get overwhelmed.
Instead, we stick him next to Kurth and on a block of Wardwood. That's +15 res, right there.
Well, bring it on.
The first thing the enemy does is reduce Nephenee to 22 HP.
The second thing they do is narrowly not kill her.
One turn in and already a moment of relative carelessness has almost lost us Nephenee. This battle is a wake up call; this is the game telling us that it's done fucking around; and it only gets less fair from here on out.
Ike, being as he is equipped with Ragnell, is quite able to counter dragons. He's also standing by Ena for a strength boost.
Result: dead dragon.
Nolan's still got his Tomahawk, so he sets about using it.
Mmm hmm.
Level for Rolf.
This map is small enough that Soren can stand in the middle section, pick any one red dragon, and delete it.
Sanaki's abysmal HP starts being a problem again. She cannot survive a single hit from a red dragon unless she's on a cover tile. She is here, though, so she Arcthunders away for an easy kill.
Alright! She can finally use Cymbeline without being slowed down!
Remember how dragons won't attack Kurth? This means that you can easily use his Night Tide skill to protect people without the enemies being distracted by Kurth.
Another surprise speed level for Micaiah.
Thanks to Reyson, Soren is able to move again. Bolting is, as you can see, somewhat less effective against white dragons.
So Jill finishes the job.
We're going to have Rolf bait some white dragons. Remember that he can kill them in one round.
End of turn 2.
Ragnell + Night Tide + Cover Tile = damn near invincible Ike. He's getting +20 defence, for chrissakes. Of course, the dragon also managed to stand on a Cover tile...
This one didn't, though.
Four dragons total attack Ike, giving him a... level.
The plan worked!
There aren't that many reinforcements in this mission, but if you let it drag on, they'll spawn for quite a while.
Nolan effortlessly obliterates the white dragon in his corner and takes another step towards perfection.
I had the idea that I could use Micaiah and Nosferatu to kill the dragon on the cover tile - the HP sapping effect will offset the damage Micaiah might take.
Then, Micaiah goes and crits him.
Ike, Elincia and Volke mop up the rest, Elincia getting an OK level.
Soren employs the artillery to give the guys some breathing room.
He hits his magic cap. That's pretty good.
Rolf tries this old trick again. (He gets healed, don't worry)
And no, the three red dragons on the stairs won't move.
...
Thank you, Reyson.
End of turn 3.
Wait, what...
So, Deghinsea has an area of effect attack. He will use it every third turn. It has a Mt of 10, but it's a physical attack, so that gets added to his strength of 50. It has a range of 1-[magic / 2], but - and thank god - it loses 5 Atk for every square away it goes from Deghinsea. And yes, it will hit Kurth and Ena. It's not so bad from range, but up close, it can be a serious pain. You'll want to time your offensive against him around this.
Two dragons fall for Rolf's trap.
...
Reinforcements.
Nolan and Zihark position themselves in range of the white dragons, and Zihark equips Alondite, standing on a Wardwood tile.
Soren clears up the dragon who thought he could get behind our lines.
Rolf set about pestering the dragons on the stairs.
He is successful.
Kurth, too.
Nephenee takes a loan of the Wishblade.
She's going to do some counterkilling.
Rolf uses a second turn to deal with the dragon Kurth weakened.
End of turn 4.
There are three red dragons total in range of Nephenee, and all of them can deal 16 damage. So she'll be fine. They, however, won't.
Glad to see someone's still capable of getting good levels.
Meanwhile, the rush against Zihark starts.
As does the counterattack.
Mmm hmm.
When it's not a crit, it's an Adept.
Trueblade + Alondite is always a winning combination, whether it's blessed or not. (Well, technically, it is blessed, but...)
FUCK
Our turn again, and Rolf continues trollin'.
As does Soren. And Nephenee.
Ike helps.
Nephenee is Physic'd in preparation for the next little wave of dragons.
This is not funny anymore.
There is a small circle of cover/wardwood tiles around Deghinsea, so some of the dragons up there are quite resilient. Deghinsea himself, however, is on a regular floor tile. Christ, can you imagine if he could use terrain?
Better.
End of turn 5.
Oh, fuck fuck fuck.
You're about to witness the luckiest thing so far in this LP. I've had my share of stupid fuckups that I've had to restart from, and for the most part I've just reloaded, started again, and pretended it never happened, the only evidence being the occasional anecdote about how this one part killed me last time. This should have been one of those times. I just feel like it's necessary to preface the next few screenshots with a reassurance that there was absolutely zero reloading involved in these events.
Ike gets a crit in response. This is actually bad, because it frees up the space for another dragon to attack.
Which they do. Note the odds.
Of course, a bad level is involved.
And then another.
Fortunately, that takes care of all of the free white dragons up there, save for the one who attacks Zihark just now. But come on, three white dragons with ~60% odds for ~40 damage just attacked in a row and all of them missed. Ike should be goddamn mincemeat.
Meanwhile, Nephenee continues actually getting useful levels.
Nolan cleans up the one dragon Zihark didn't kill.
Soren manages to get a lucky crit here, simplifying our task considerably.
Rolf, Ike, and Elincia pick up some easy kills and a shit level.
This level is less shit, but it's Reyson.
We prepare for the big push. Note the general distance-keeping; there's another AoE attack coming next turn.
Damage report:
Zihark: 4 damage
Soren: 10 damage
Micaiah: 1 damage
Sanaki: 13 damage
Jill, Nephenee, Ike, Kurth, Ena, Rolf, Fiona: No damage
Well, that wasn't so bad.
Nephenee gets roughed up a little.
Gah, how annoying. Reinforcements.
Soren and Micaiah mop up the red dragons, Micaiah gaining a very out-of-character level in the process.
Nolan and Zihark clear out the white dragons, and Zihark gains a point of strength. That's handy.
Meanwhile, Volke eliminates the remaining white dragon in our path. Cool guys don't look at dragons.
Well, it looks like we're all alone now. Those two guys behind Deghinsea? Those are some more old friends. The white one is Nasir. The red one is Gareth.
What do you mean, we haven't met Gareth before? How could you forget?
He even had two entire lines of dialogue!
Anyway. Nasir and Gareth aren't going to attack us, and we shouldn't attack them either. Our beef is with Deghinsea.
As usual, Rolf's range bonus makes him completely immune to all of Deghinsea's stupid bullshit. So while everyone else gets in position, Rolf gets started on the potshots.
Deghinsea is so large that he gets his own unique battle screen layout just so he can be more dramatically framed. How thoughtful!
Also, you'd better believe he has his own battle theme.
It's an arrangement of Goldoa's theme, which is fitting, really. It's pretty good.
Anyway. We whittle down a nice chunk of his insane HP total. It's not enough, though; he regenerates 30 a turn.
So we send in Kurth. Like everyone else here, Deghinsea will not attack Kurth. Whether or not you're using them, you should bring Kurth and Ena, and park them on Deghinsea's southeast and southwest, so the people attacking him can benefit from their Tide skills, particularly Ena's. If you are using Kurth, then he can also do a nice bit of damage, although he can't double.
The time for words has passed. The only option remaining is to stop you with brute force. Why? Father, why? That is enough! No more sniveling! You, Kurthnaga, were to rule the dragon tribe in years to come. Show me that you would have been capable! But-- Yes, sir... I'll show you.
We do, indeed, show him.
Then we use Reyson to allow Rolf another two shots. One misses, however, but come on! We've done 47 damage to Deghinsea in one turn. That's an accomplishment.
End of turn 7.
Since Deghinsea has no one to attack, and Nasir and Gareth won't move, so nothing really happens besides some dragons showing up way back at the far end of the map. They won't really factor into our plans.
Nolan, equipped with Urvan and standing next to Ena, does about the most damage its possible to do to Deghinsea. The theoretical maximum would be 19x2, using Nolan at maximum strength, with Urvan and a support that granted +2 Atk (you can't get +3 Atk from a support unless your affinity is one that grants +Atk). Ilyana, using Rexbolt, with max magic, could do 31 damage, but her speed is capped at 30, so no double. No, wait; Ike, with maxed strength and a blessed Wyrmslayer could do 27 x2 with a +2 Atk support and Blood Tide. I could have actually done this in this playthrough had I bothered to calculate all this stuff before recording the chapter. Oh well.
Seriously, do not send anyone against Deghinsea who does not have Nihil equipped. It's not worth it.
Deghinsea's attacks hurt like fuck.
As a Certified Endgame Boss, Deghinsea does have the redeeming quality of being a total EXP piñata, and grants Nolan what is essentially a perfect level up (and finally capping his strength).
Rolf also takes up a spot next to Ena. Note the very nice fact that her Blood Tide is boosting his skill too, so he gets a massively increased chance to hit.
It's a one-stat level, but at least that's another cap.
Ike's turn.
I follow my goddess's decrees. My will is unwavering. I have no choice, then. Be on your guard. Very well, beorc general. Our blessings may be equal and opposite, but your strength is a mere fraction of mine. Show me your best!
Ike, me being a chump and not thinking to give him the Wyrmslayer, only does 16 damage instead of 52. Oh well. Looks like I wasted a blessing on the Wyrmslayer, although really, what else is there to bless? Elincia couldn't equip an SS-sword, and she shouldn't be doing boss-combat...
Just for posterity, here's the damage Zihark could do with said Wyrmslayer - and that's not inclusive of Blood Tide.
Well, I was determined not to let this thing go to waste. Besides, it seemed fitting to kill the most powerful dragon ever with the Wyrmslayer.
Go and be stoic in hell, stubborn asshole.
Seriously. Besides the inherent stupidity in his current course of action - namely commanding the dragons to just stand around waiting to die - this whole battle basically only happened because he refused to believe that the Galdr of Release had anything to do with Yune's awakening. That, and his whole mindset about "doing nothing = peace". Tibarn is right: Deghinsea is really just a stubborn old lizard. He was more concerned with keeping to the letter, rather than the spirit, of the three heroes' pact with Ashera, and sealed his country's borders just so it could technically be true that all the nations of Tellius would never fight eachother. I don't think it occurred to him that there are ways in which nations can interact besides war; that not ever dealing with other nations is different from being anti-war.
Even in death, the man is an asshole.
Don't lose your head now, boy. This wound... This is nothing. Your power... How could you defeat me? I was blessed by Ashera herself...
I gave them my blessings. Yune?! Is that you?
The great flood was a result of my unchecked emotions. You don't have to apologize, Yune. I always knew that you weren't actually evil... You were just too powerful. So why did you choose Ashera again? I had hoped that this time you would join me to help protect the people. I'm sorry, Yune. But I've done worse to you... Long ago, we made a vow before the goddess Ashera herself... We vowed that we, the laguz and beorc, would never commit the same genocidal sins. We didn't keep our promise... And for that reason I was committed to accepting my just punishment. Silly, stubborn, old scalebag... You just don't know when to quit... You need to lighten up a bit. To convince the laguz kings to follow my example, I rewrote history, hid my tracks, and declared you a dark god. All I ever wanted was to avoid conflict... Please, forgive me. Don't worry about it, Dheginsea. I caused enough trouble for you, so I'll forgive you just this once. I'm pleased to hear that. Gareth!
And so it was that Gareth's third line of dialogue across both games was basically the exact same as his first and second. Seriously. Go look it up.
Nasir... You followed your sovereign very far for having once left your country in disgust. ...I give you my sincerest thanks.
No, my lord... Unaware of my own king's true heart, I did what I thought had to be done... I apologize. Ena... I would like to tell you only that I wish you the greatest happiness in life.
Thank... Thank you, sire.
Yes, Father. We will stop Ashera. Wait here for our return. We will be back. ...Yes, my son. I'll be waiting.---
We have done all that we will do.
Goldoa does not interfere with the outside world. As king of dragons, I will not allow my people to fan the flames of war. Conflict on the scale you describe will wake the goddess and call down her judgment upon us all. This is the path to destruction. A thousand years... That is how long we swore to the goddess that there would be no war. Have you forgotten our covenant?
Of course not. Yet...there are laguz who are treated as less than livestock. I cannot believe that this is what the goddess wants. Goldoa will not move. This decree stands from the time our nations were formed. The goddess has not yet slept one hundred and fifty years. Would you see the laguz and beorc destroyed? Would you see all of Tellius awash in blood? No, unless destruction comes to seek us at our door, Goldoa will not move, for the sake of future generations. Tell me, do you care nothing for the laguz who suffer in the current generation? Do you think it would comfort them to know that you condone their misery? All things require sacrifice. ... Where are you going?
You, who have lost your birthright? All you will accomplish is your own destruction. Hold... hold, I say!---
My lovely Almedha... Cherish...life...---
Whose memory is that?! Something feels so... familiar about it. Is that... Is that your memory?
I know. This is simply another reason to move on...
So, Kurth is the king of dragons now. Hey, doesn't that mean he's entitled to-
This is about the point where you should have all your guys pushing 20/20/20, and hitting stat caps (and otherwise getting crap natural levels). If this is you, then you are advised to forget about farming dragons and just take the maximum BEXP payout by finishing the mission in ten turns.
Next time: How much bullshit can they fit into one battle? Let's find out!