Part 26: Epilogue: Eirika

: Yes. Evil has been imprisoned, locked away. The legends of old have been mirrored in our actions today.

: No, we’ve done far more than the legends ever told. We’ve destroyed the Demon King’s body. He can never come back.

: That’s right. And we have you all to thank for it.

: And another thing... In that ancient battle, it took the might of the five heroes to do what we did. We did not have their extraordinary power to draw upon.

: No, we didn’t. We conquered darkness and restored peace to the land, thanks to you. It was because you never gave in, you never stopped fighting. None of you, not once. Thank you...

Wait...the Demon King's soul was sealed in the stone of Grado, right? So...what, did they just leave his body on the battlefield or something? If sealing his soul and then destroying his body are all it takes to defeat him, then why wasn't he defeated back then?



: I must relay the good news to King Hayden at once.

: Yes. I’m sure Father will be most pleased. Brother! This means peace will be restored, doesn’t it? Shall I fly back to Frelia and let him know?

: There’s no need to rush. I’m sure he knows. After all, we were together, and that ensured our victory.

: Of course, Prince Innes...

I'm not sure exactly why I disliked Tana so much going into this. I guess I just never used her because I already had Vanessa, and I never got an idea of how amazing she could be.



: Even so, the fighting’s over. And that’s something to be happy about.

: Exactly.

Moulder is someone who also surprised me. I was always so quick to dismiss him, but he's actually quite powerful. It kind of surprised me.



: We certainly earned our pay... Please tell me we’re going to enjoy it.

: Let’s go home, Chief.

: Let’s see now... Shall we head back to Jehanna? I guess we could stop in at the guild and get our next contract, eh?

: But the queen’s gone... I wonder what Jehanna will do now.

: I’m sure it’ll all work out. After all’s said and done, it’s our home. C’mon. It’s time for Gerik’s band to ride.

: Let’s go.

Tethys is another person who I kind of dismissed, because I didn't use dancers in general, but she's grown on me a little. She's definitely got her uses.

: ...Hm... Heads. Looks like I should be getting back as well. Homecoming time...

And Joshua was kind of a letdown.



: The demon that drove Grado to madness is dead and gone.

: I-I can’t believe that I was part of this whole thing...

I feel bad for ditching Natasha so readily. She needs to get more love in my next run through.



: Our country lost this war. The road ahead will be long and hard.

: That’s true. And yet... It’s a road we must travel. That’s the burden survivors must shoulder.

: Yes. And we must fulfill the dreams of Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon.

Oh, Grado will have other issues to resolve beyond having to live with losing their entire army and their rulers, but that's for Ephraim's route.



: Gwaa ha ha! And a job well done it was, Princess L’Arachel.

: Whew... It’s finally over. So it’s about time for me to...

: Hold it! I gave you no orders to leave! I am the princess of Rausten, lest you forget. I have many missions yet to fulfill. Come, Dozla, Rennac. It’s time to go!

: Gwaa ha ha! Wait up! Let’s move, Rennac!

: ...Sigh.

I have nothing to say about those three, other than that L'Arachel made for an excellent healer.



: Yes. That’s the end.

: I guess so...

: Let’s return home, Lady Myrrh. Our friends and family will be worrying about us...



: Where are you going? Wait up. I’m coming with you.

Kid, Saleh can't teach you what you learned.



: You’re a true warrior, my pride and joy.

: But you’re still the best, Father! That’s right! My father’s the best warrior in all Magvel!

By what metric?



: They’d better not forget that they won only with our help. Right, Neimi?

: We all worked... together. Wasn’t...that great...Colm? Sniff...

: H-hey... Don’t start crying... Please?

Colm, almost half of my resets were due to you getting killed in some way. There wasn't anything you did that a set of keys wouldn't have done better.



: The foul demon has been purged from the earth.

: The ancient Demon King was as powerful as the scrolls described. And yet, in the end, we were able to defeat him! After all, there’s no one better than us.

Agreed.



: General! Princess Eirika! We can finally return to Renais, can’t we?

: Yes, we can go home. All of us unharmed...

I liked Seth and Franz going into this LP, but they disappointed me time and time again. I hope they do better next run.



: Alas, we’re not going to have that opportunity, are we, Prince Ephraim?

: No. The reconstruction of Renais is going to keep us busy. Keep your strength up. I’m going to need you in the days ahead.

: We’ll be beside you through it all!



: Let’s go back to the people who are waiting for us...





: As the princess of Rausten, I still have many duties to perform. Oh, Princess Eirika... If it please you, I would be ever so delighted if you joined my tea club. I insist that you come. Oh, say you will, won’t you?



: I’ll start with what can be done and keep going from there. First, I must talk to Mother. She should know that we’ve won, so that she can rest easily.



: If you have need of our assistance, you have but to ask. I seldom trust people who act from purely altruistic motives... But I’ll grant you that friendships are a worthy exception to my distrust.

There's a nation we helped this run that doesn't get a representation here. That's right, Carcino. Last we saw of them, they were in the middle of a civil war that Frelia had to intervene in. So are they now a protectorate of Frelia? Was the war ended with Pablo's death, or are there still supporters running rampant? We never know, because Klimt never tells us.

Come to think of it, we never get a party member from Carcino, either. It's like the game designers forgot about them too.



: Aaah. You must be exhausted after the journey. Shall we rest, Eirika?

: That would be nice... But first we must seal this away... This stone banished the Demon King. With such power... Do you suppose we could bring back Father and Lyon... That everyone who died in this dreadful war could be--



: I know, I know. Such things would be-- I cannot wish for such things. No matter how it hurts, or rather because it hurts, we must learn to accept sorrow. We must take it into our hearts and tame our grief...

: Eirika... Tell me, Sister... If Lyon were here with us, what do you think he would want?

: What he would want?

: Yes. You see, I think I know. It was the reason for his studies. It’s why he wanted to know about the Sacred Stones--or rather the Fire Emblem. Let’s take Lyon’s dreams and fulfill them in his stead. We can do that, can’t we? Without relying on any mystic power?

: You’re right, Brother, we can. Let us fulfill his dreams. As Lyon wanted, as we all want... So we may live in peace and joy.



And...roll credits.



As the credits roll, we get little art pieces of the events that occur during the story, but mostly the latter third of it.



Some shots of party members...



And one of Valter, of all people. Was he really that important to the story?



The knights of Renais, posing in their dullness...



The Frelian military, most of which didn't get a decent shot this run.



Gerik's mercenaries, vastly underused...



The twins, posing with the stone of Renais. The less said about that, the better.



And the final boss. He looks cool in that shot, but isn't that great in practice.



And after we pay homage to the two companies that made this possible, we close with yet another flashback.



: Uh-huh. That's me... The son of the emperor. You're Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika from Renais, aren't you? I heard you were coming, and I've been waiting here all day. I've always wanted... I don't have any friends my own age... So, Prince Ephraim... Princess Eirika... What do you say? From now on, let's be friends...

"I'm already posting pictures of you on my Livejournal."



But wait! It keeps going! Now we get to see that I spent a ridiculous amount of time farming supports midway through the game. There isn't any sort of final tactical rating or whatever, but what we do get are:



Character epilogues! Now we get to see what happened to everyone...



Next time.