Part 45: Sable Showdown (Battle)

Chapter 18: Sable Showdown (Battle)

No time like the present to start crossing this bridge into Endgame Territory.



: That must be the Sable Order…

The Sable Order are pretty much Grust’s A-Team of mounted warriors. We’ve heard about them a few times, I think that Ballista boss threatened us with them back in chapter...13 or so, but this is their first direct appearance.

: Marth, I heard the enemy forces have been spotted.

: She said, as she was standing about two feet away.

: Yes, that’s right. The Sable Order, it seems.

: Really? Tell me, who leads them?

: Why does it matter?

: Oh…no, it’s just- they say the Sable Order is led by a brilliant general. I was…wondering if he was riding with them today.




This is an understatement.

: Something about acting outside orders… They’ll be keeping him on a short leash; I don’t expect we’ll see him here.

: That...that is good news...



I know we just finished talking, but there’s really nothing to say about the start of this map. I moved everyone towards the one place they could go, now Catria and Minerva are going to chat.




Off to a great start.

: Commander. …Princess Minerva?

: Hm? Ah, sorry… Now I’ve taken to daydreaming on the battlefield. How Michalis would laugh.

: Then it was your brother you were thinking about?

: …...He made his choice; I, mine. I’ve no time to stew in my own sorrow when my path is clear before me. Come, Catria. Hyah!




I really should have called this one “Everyone Bothers Minerva”.




: Your battles are our battles, Commander.

: But our kingdom has fallen apart: sons slay their fathers; brothers and sisters trade blows instead of kisses… I have let Macedon be destroyed.

: I do not think so. Nor do I think you should feel troubled for our sake. You are our home, more than Macedon; our true house is the sky around you. We will always serve you, Commander, through thick and thin. I swear it.

: Palla…




Uh oh. Looks like we had too many heart-to-hearts and now the enemies are charging on Turn 1!




Pretty standard defensive line here. The bridge makes for an easy chokepoint, and the Cavaliers are only armed with Javelins, so their damage output isn’t anything special.




Barst says “fuck it” and ventures into the water again. He’s got a job to do.




I’m really happy with the way Caeda turned out in this run. Not only did she hit strength growths, she also got fairly tanky (probably thanks to the stat boosters) and she’s a really good jack of all trades now. Except with bows, but that’s a minor setback.




From the depths, he rises.

BARST-ZILLA!




Now that the enemies have conveniently bunched up here, they’re easy pickings for our other units.




I am a little worried about Linde, because she’s really reliant on Aura right now, and that does not last forever. Guess I can always forge a replacement that’s close enough.




The speed is very welcome.





Anyway, that’s those goons dealt with. Not too bad.




I just realized Julian’s not really doing anything on this map, so I’m going to have him guard this fort. I’m paranoid about reinforcements. (None spawn from here, turns out.)




Here’s a spot that puts Abel out of range of the enemy Horsemen, but in range of...everything else. He’s got 40 HP, though. Time to break in that Ridersbane.



This is roughly three or four enemies later.




Well, at least it was one good stat. When you play Shadow Dragon long enough you get sort of a Stockholm Syndrome for the growths.




They foolishly sink their arrows into Barstzilla. He laughs.




He continues laughing.




So that’s...about half the map done already. This one’s really pretty easy. It wasn’t even included in the first remake back in FE3.

Next up we’ve got the southern group, who I can’t advance on yet with Caeda due to that pesky Horseman.




Catria, with nothing better to do, just buys a Ridersbane. I want them on my fliers.




Wolf takes up bait duty, and you can predict how well that goes.

Or you can, like, look at the screenshot.






Zap. Scratch one Paladin.




Wendell just got a level from doing some healing. Wendell has been the secret backbone of the team for a while. I love you, Wizard Pope.




Meanwhile Catria finds some handy arena cash.




So, I might have made a mistake here, putting Caesar in range of...like all the enemies.




It was fine and I definitely didn’t slightly panic.




I have no idea what this guy was doing but he’s dead now.




At least my somewhat poor choices give me the opportunity to use that Recover Staff Maria’s toting.




With the southern group rounded up, it’s pretty trivial to just knock them down now, with my gathered army on the bridge.




Turn 6 brings...one Pegasus Knight. Really? Reinforcements have gone down a notch.




OH! Oh, never mind.



Marth, hurry to the meeting square.




: I’ve been looking for you. Initially I intended to join up with you along with my sisters, but then I heard Grust had made off with one of Archanea’s three regalia- the sword Mercurius- so I flew there to get it back.




Either Marth is really into Mercurius or he’s nodding off again.

: In the right hands, I think you’ll find it a formidable weapon indeed.









Mercurius is the best Sword in the game. Mostly. It’s packing some incredibly good stats, with the only downside being the rather bad Durability, but that’s nothing the Silver Weapons don’t struggle with too.


It has no special ability or gimmick, it just tears shit up. Requires an A Rank, though, so I don’t think many of our current characters can use it. Shame.




This weapon also comes with a free Est.

Oh boy, Est. Est is interesting. You might notice her awful joining level. 3 in Chapter 18. Unpromoted. But Est has some of the best growths in the entire game, often jockeying for best or second best in many of them, not counting Wolf/Sedgar. She’s also got a ton of room to grow with them!

But using Est is hard. You’ll be spoonfeeding her kills for a long time to get her up to par, and once she does start wrecking shit, you’ll probably be near the endgame anyway. Unless you use the Arena that’s in this map, but not only is that risky, it’s also really time consuming.

Personally, I don’t like Est. But if you invest the time needed into her, she can be the MVP for these last few maps. She was also popular enough to have her archetype reused in pretty much every Fire Emblem game, so, y’know.




She’s also going to bother Minerva.

: Pretty spiffy, huh?

...Huh. So that’s where he got that from.

: Yes, Marth told me all about it. Very brave of you to undertake such a dangerous task alone. Well done, Est.

: Hee hee! You mean it? Thanks, Commander! You should have seen the arrows whooshing past me left and right! But I’m a Whitewing, right? So I swooped down and let ’em have it! Just watch, though. I’ll find some way to top it.

: I don’t doubt it. I expect great things from you, Est.

: Hee hee! You mean it?

That’s not me fucking up the transcription, she does say it twice.




Est has SO MANY PEOPLE TO TALK TO. All the Pegasus Sisters have conversations with Minerva and eachother, except for Palla/Catria. That’s probably because they show up in the same chapter anyway.




: Ha ha, Est… You’re doing just fine. There are no half-Whitewings or almost-Whitewings. You’re one of us because you’re every bit as good as us. Have a little confidence.”

: Right, confidence…

: ...Feel better?

: Uh-huh. Thanks, Palla. It’s funny… Whenever I talk to you, I calm right down. Promise you’ll always be there for me, Palla.

: I will...I promise.



Well, while I wait on the inevitable reinforcements, Ogma’s starting to fall a little behind, so I’ll have him deal with the two cavaliers hiding offscreen to the right there.




Everyone else is set up to give those Forts a wide berth.




Because on the Turn 8 enemy phase (The wiki says Turn 7, I dunno if this is a Hard Mode difference or something), a Paladin, two Cavaliers, and a Horseman spawn, in that order. Keep this in mind, because it will repeat. Also, yes, that Horseman has a hell of a range…




Good for you, Ogma, but…




She lived with like, 4 HP. This is why I hate Reinforcements moving on spawn, and I’m so glad it’s not a mechanic anymore. At least, I think it isn’t, I haven’t played Shadows of Valentia yet.




It wasn’t in Fates, I say as I snap this Recover staff over my knee.




A Very Caeda Level Up






This is a fantastic chapter if your Marth is struggling, because mounted units are like sacks of Rapier EXP.




Oh yeah, one more of these.

: Sorry… I won’t leave you like that again. We belong together anyway. When the three of us surround an enemy, we’re just about unstoppable!

: Sir Jagen, please don’t shout for emphasis.

: True...but even so, I like having you somewhere I can keep an eye on you. Ha ha.




So Catria, Palla, and Est have a bit of a special utility. It’s not super convenient or useful, since you have to deploy all three to use it, but...if you put two of them adjacent to an enemy.




And then have the third attack…







She’ll land an automatic critical. They can be of any class, but must be in melee range. It’s kinda cool, and a recurring feature of the series, but not exactly the most accessible technique.




This has nothing to do with the Triangle Attack, Catria just gets a nice weapon level here.




I’ve withdrawn Caeda. That shit was too close. This is the second group of these guys, they spawn every other turn.




Will Barst cap Strength two LPs in a row? Probably not, we don’t have many chapters left, but maybe!



This might have been a little too cocky of me.




The third group has eyes on Abel, but that Ridersbane is earning its keep.



As is Abel.




When the Fourth and Final group of reinforcements from the forts shows up, they’re accompanied by a Paladin in the middle.




These guys meet the same end as the rest.




Also I might have had Caeda waiting for the Paladins.




A Rank, worth it.




Abel gets one last disappointing level for this map. Anyway, how about that boss?




I didn’t even use Aura here, since Sternlin has no ranged capability, at all. After a few turns…




The outcome was inevitable.




…

Linde, are you fucking kidding me? Ugh. Okay, no.




NOPE, not ending on that note.





Oh, hey, she dyed her hair.




Promoting into a Sage did give her more Strength than Magic, yes. I know why that is, with the base formulas and all, but it’s still silly.




Ahem. Anyway.









: Yes. But the real battle may yet be ahead of us. Malledus… Can we be certain the Lightsphere and the Starsphere are in the Fane of Raman?

: Yes, sire; but unfortunately, they may not be all we find.




Marth’s really concerned.

: Those who defile her sanctuary are punished by fire; none are spared from the blaze.


: Perhaps we should reconsider, Marth…

: Perhaps…But if none are spared from the blaze, where do the rumors come from? Besides, we need those two orbs.


: Well, might I suggest you take in just a few able companions, and let the sleeping dragons lie?

: Sage advice. I’ve no desire to tear apart a holy place, whether the goddess is home or not…I’ll choose a handful of elite to search for the orbs with me.

Next time we take...pretty much the same amount of people as usual.




Bonus Content



The Youngest Child Of The Three Pegasus Knights, Est


PS: If you're reading this as it goes live, it's probably worth mentioning that Fire Emblem Heroes has an event going right now to unlock Palla, Catria, and Est pretty easily. So if you like them here, get them in that game too.