Part 24: Ave Maria (Battle)

Chapter 10: Ave Maria (Battle)


Let’s raid Castle Deil! I think that’s what this map was called. Castle Deli?

I checked it’s Deil.



Zharov looks pretty cool as far as one off generic villains go. He’s not committing horrible hair crimes, at least.


: Might I remind you, poor conduct on your part could have repercussions on how…comfortable…your sister remains.



: Just let me see Maria, for a little while. She’s only a child, General. Think of what she must be going through.

: Impossible, I’m afraid. She is a hostage. If your sister’s well-being concerns you, then start following orders

: General! Grave news! The rebel army has been sighted east of Castle Deil!

: What?! Why in creation would the rebels come here? Blast…Order the Dragoons to sortie! And don’t forget to send word to the main army. We need reinforcements!

I complain a lot about the reinforcements in this game, but they often do sort of warn you. Although, by the time you’re deep enough in the chapter for it to matter, you’ll probably have forgotten the speech whichever experience bag is sitting on the throne gave.

: Rebels…? Then Marth has arrived.




The opening turn of this chapter is not exciting. There are no enemies, interesting positions to take, or anything like that. I just moved everyone clockwise.




The enemy thief gets to work immediately, though. Worth noting, at least, is that enemy thieves can only steal one item before they run, so we won’t have to worry about the chest on the right getting opened before we get a chance.



The enemy fliers rush us immediately, so we’ll have company down here pretty quickly. The Cavaliers are on their way as well.



Minerva’s an exception. She just kinda hovers around the top row of the map.




These Cavaliers are our first enemy encounter. So let’s cover it stylishly.



Ridersbane!




Wob Leets double!




Other assorted offscreen killing! Barst is going to start the assault on the fort, he’s in perfect range to smash this Knight with a good hammer shot.




Marth also hits the level 10 mark here, off the last Cavalier.




This goes even better than expected, given the Knight’s whiffed attack.



Now comes the flier barrage. I’ll try and cut off the Dracoknight as he comes with a hit from Cain.



Time to teach this thief how a real thief thieves.




This is a pretty shitty level for Julian, given his great growths.



Oh, we also got one of these. Yay.



Man, the castle Knights aren’t great at aiming today.



Unfortunately, the archers are slightly better.



Also, whoops, I picked the wrong weapon for this. Should have gone with the Lance.




So, we’ve got these four fliers to deal with on this side of the fort. I left Caeda, Cain, Abel, Draug, and Jeorge behind to deal with them and head up this edge of the map.



They’re well qualified for it.




Especially the fliers. Draug’s doubling is coming in pretty handy.



...Then he gets an empty level. I suppose I deserve this. Somehow.



Everyone else just streams into the fortress. Cleaning up the Dracoknights went extremely smoothly, let’s hope this goes half as well.




Cord usually just fills the role of “Knight/General Smasher”, and I’m honestly completely okay with that, that’s enough utility on its own.



I want to take out this Sniper ASAP, because he’s the most damaging thing in here by far.



The archer’s lower priority, Wendell can have him.



Sniper’s a little heftier, but at least it gives Ogma a level in Swords, so he can use Silvers now.



: The heroic Prince Marth proceeded to plunge his blade into the Sniper, who was already near death and surrounded by three of his very buff allies.

: Hail our noble King!



This might come in handy if we get a bow user that doesn’t blow. (Recent events have made me upset.)



At least Julian can spring the second chest for an immediately useful tool, another Physic stave. Now if only our cleric wasn’t also doing terribly!



I’m just going to leave Wolf here by the entrance. I’ve got my reasons. You can probably guess my reasons.



C’mon, he just empty leveled, don’t try to pull this insult to injury shit on me.



Thankfully, Ogma’s as consistent as ever.



I mean...maybe I should just stop talking.



That’s the inner fort cleared of enemies. I mean, except Maria. She’s technically an enemy because this game hasn’t figured out neutral NPCs.



Bow units are a great choice for the western part of this map, because the only real foes you’ll encounter are these fliers who get zapped out of the sky.



Alternatively, say, Cain could hit them with a Lance and get a level in it?



After five or so turns of meandering, Minerva has finally come to rest in the upper right corner of the map. Conveniently near the fort’s exit.



Oh, by the way, these pillars are real fuckers. They’re just here because they cost more movement to cross over. Something I wouldn’t know at all if this map didn’t devolve into a traffic jam right around here.



Thankfully, the open plains are still free roaming territory for our mounted and ranged friends. But why, you ask, would an obnoxious chokepoint matter when all the enemies are dead?



On Turn 6, this happens. Wow, that’s...a lot of guys! And they’re mostly mounted! And they would love to chase you down and trap you in that fort!



They aren’t complete throwaways, either. This got me my first time playing this map years ago. But I was young, and foolish, and did not see that these guys have 16ish attack.



And Wolf has 15 Defense.

Good luck getting in the building now, fuckers! (Yeah, this is a little cheap. But the first time I did this map, I assumed the reinforcements would come from the forts, so I left my poor cleric to guard them and Lena ended up swiss cheese. So consider this vengeance five years in the making.)



Anyway. There are a few shops along the west side of the map, so we might as well check out what they’ve got.



Nothing super interesting here. A Silver Axe might be nice for Barst, but he’s already kicking enough ass with Steel, I won’t blow funds just yet. I grabbed a Hammer though. The second armory is even lamer, just shit we’ve seen before.



The magic shop, however, has a nice little surprise. The Pure Water is a consumable that gives a unit +7 Resistance, more than most units in this game will ever see, but it decays by 1 each turn. Situationally, Pure Water is a lifesaver, so I picked one up.

I also bought a Bridge Key, mostly because I had fond memories of the Bridge Key in FE12 that sat in my inventory from Chapter 3 to the Endgame.



Now we’ve pretty much got Carte Blanche to clear the rest of this area. Ogma can open up this door, because a rival awaits on the other side!




Ogma VS Big Ogma: Fight




First off, though, gossip.





If this whole kidnapping thing is public knowledge, Grust’s leadership must be pretty incompetent. ...I wonder how many people Minerva has asked to save her sister before Marth?




Caeda takes up a position to take out Zharov’s lone Knight guard.




Come at me.




The way to the boss is clear!




Meanwhile Ogma proves he is indeed the superior Sword Guy.




...Yeah, I think this is going to go fine.




Of course, Ogma can get a little help to finish his honor duel faster. We don’t have all day here.




I hope noone was holding out for that Hero.

Because he’s dead.


Master Seals are important items! They allow most units (Not Marth, Thieves, Manaketes, or Another Guy We Get Later) to Promote to an advanced class once they’re level 10-20. Generally you want to wait until level 20 to use them, because otherwise you lose chances to level up. We’ll see more promotion in action soon enough.




Now then, Julian can work his magic on the door.




And that’s one prison break complete.




: Please be sure to tell my sister I am free. She’ll be grateful for the news. Now then. Shall we be off? I’m coming with you, of course. …No protesting! I wish to help!




Maria joins our team now! She’s...she’s not great. She comes in at about the same level Lena did...7 chapters ago, and with similar growths, a few divots, but nothing too major. She’s really mostly just a plot device. Still, if you got your healer killed, or your healer can never, ever, ever get a good level up...maybe.




I feel like there’s an undercurrent of anger towards Clerics in this update. Huh.





At least Abel benefits.




Zharov here isn’t too scary, even with his two range. Caeda’s not afraid to stare him dead in the...side.




I was kinda hoping he’d have a special quote if Minerva attacked him, but sadly this game doesn’t really do that.




Caeda’s quicker, more accurate, and with the Wing Spear, stronger than Zharov. She’ll win in a fair fight.




Wolf’s doing okay, thanks for asking.




I, uh, may have said in the update we got Wolf that I wasn’t going to use him? I want you to know you’re definitely remembering wrong, and I did not say that.




Minerva comes rushing in once you’ve talked to her sister. If you try to leave without saving her, she won’t be as amicable.




Do remember that she has to talk to Marth, though.



Oh, thanks, Maria, that broke on me. (I might actually swap clerics, depends what people want to see.)




Caeda could just hit him again, but let’s really embarrass poor Zharov.




Another day, another General.




...I wish Maria was a Hunter.




I can’t be upset about this, at least. That’s a permanent +2 Speed to the user, and with such a make or break stat, even the tiniest boost is fantastic.




I’m pretty sure he hasn’t even noticed they’re there.




Minerva flies up and talks herself, if you’ve saved her sister. Somehow she’s got a telepathic sibling link, I guess.


: Thank you for saving my sister. Maria’s plight forced me to treat you as an enemy when I knew you were not; suffice to say, I am deeply sorry for that.

It’s cool, just about everyone here has tried to kill Marth at least once.



Michalis is a name you should be jotting down.

: And on their hands is the blood of their king, my father. They must be stopped; I must stop them. Still, I fear for my soldiers whom I can no longer protect, especially the three Whitewing sisters: Palla, Catria, and Est. Dolhr worried we would rebel, and forced us to separate. If they knew I was safe, they would join your ranks in a heartbeat. We are yours to command, sire. Let us help you defeat Dolhr, and repay them for sullying Macedon’s honor.



One sec, gotta get a Lance level.




Princess Minerva has joined our party now! And so has her axe, Hauteclere!

Each weapon type has one A Rank weapon in the game, and they kick ass. Minerva carries the axe, and it’s got 18 Might along with an on use ability to recover 10 HP. It’s a nice tool to have on you.

Minerva herself is probably the best prepromote in the game, but that’s not saying much. Her stats are...decent, and she’s got some good personal growths in stats that will help her, like Strength and Skill. Still, she’s slow, and she doesn’t have as much room to grow in a game full of great fliers. Still, the Hauteclere utility makes her a strong pick.





She can talk with Maria as well!




: Maria… Are you all right?

: Fine. Have you heard? Marth made me one of his soldiers! Well…I made him make me one.

He developed brief muteness for that entire recruitment conversation.

: …What am I going to do with you? Listen to me, Maria… You cannot stay here. It’s too dangerous. Real war is nothing like your stories of princes and damsels.

: I’m not going anywhere! I want to stay with you!

: Maria, you’re being selfish.


: I am not! I’m just…sick of being helpless. I’ve burdened you long enough. How can I ever help you if you don’t give me a chance to be strong? I’m staying here and fighting! No protesting!

: …Ha ha. Somehow I knew you would say that. All right, Maria. If you feel that strongly about it, who am I to stop you? All I ask is that you be careful. If you need help, you come find me. Understood?

: Of course! Thank you, Sister!








Anyway, that’s enough of that.






Well this is out of nowhere.

: The one who defended Archanea with the power of Aura? Of course; he and his magic are famous! But…I read Miloah died in a battle with Gharnef, soon after the fiend sold his soul to Dolhr…

Lotta exposition coming in here, but the important name here is Gharnef.

: Alas, Miloah did die… But his daughter, Linde, yet lives. I am told she inherited her father’s skill with Aura magic- but since the battle with Gharnef none have seen her. Wherever she is, it cannot be pleasant. …Marth, please. Find Linde. With her father gone, we are the only family the girl has left.

We don’t even know her, Nyna. We can’t adopt.

Next time, Chapter 11!




...fuck







Next time I experience terrible flashbacks. Flash forwards? One of the two.

Bonus Content




Princess, Minerva