Part 51: Across the River - Part 1

Leaf led his troops and pushed on past Fort Danzhi towards Manster.





With its mineral-rich water, this river was the source of prosperity for the cities in Northern Thracia.

Once this river was crossed, Manster would only be a few days away.

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If you really want to help, then listen to me. Do you remember how my daughter Aida died protecting you from Manfroy? After that, I hid you in an isolated church and withstood Manfroy's relentless threats. And years later... Your ability was recognized, and you became the court bishop of Velthomer. I was happy that Manfroy wouldn't be able to touch you in your status. However, with Lord Yurius' awakening, the Lopto Church's power is beginning to surpass that of the Empire's. Cyas...I know you're aware of the markings of Fala that have appeared on your body. Neither Lord Yurius nor Lady Yuria had them...and that's what Manfroy is afraid of. Cyas, you must live. You are a holy warrior of Fala...you must pass on the blood of Velthomer. And for now, you must hide that fact and nurture your power...

Holy exposition dump Batman. So Cyas is Alvis's bastard with Aida (the women fighting for Alvis at the end of Gen 1 of FE4). He's a new character to Thracia 776, and also explains where in the hell Alvis' Major Fala blood went to. Luckily, he doesn't have the Falaflame.

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I thought Queen Ishtar had already returned home.
Yes, she has, but I chose to stay because I'm worried about my sister. Besides...Lady Ishstar has no need for me any more.
She told you that herself?
Yes. She said that since she is with Lord Yurius, there is no need for me to worry about her...
...... Lord Rinehart... This is difficult to ask, but I heard that Lady Olwen has turned against us and joined the enemy.
Yes... But she's still a child.



She has her own way of life...try to understand that.
Her way of life... Are you saying that she has found a life that is different from mine?
Yes... Either way, it would be a good idea to talk with her. If you can find her, that is...

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Just look at purity of the water... It must surely be blessed by the Ethnya, the Earth Goddess.
Do you think so? To me, it looks like a crimson river of blood. This river has led us to prosperity, but it has also been the target of greed and selfishness. Many fierce battles have been fought here. Your grandfather, the former king of Lenster, fought and died at this river, Lord Leaf.
That's right... My grandfather died here...
To be specific, he fought further downstream at the Thracian Bridge. The Lenster army collapsed after Conort's sudden betrayal, and the king fell... Lord Leaf, this river has traditionally been easy to defend and difficult to conquer. The Empire will be sending in its strongest forces to maintain this defense point. This battle will be the toughest yet... Be very careful.

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This is one of the toughest maps in the game. While we've looted enough useful items that we can put up a fight easily, this map can fuck you over if you're not unprepared. We've got ballistas - that congregation of 4 ballistas and 2 bishops with bolting, next to a General with Charisma can be deadly - and a whole lot else.



Coen isn't hard to kill, but makes up for that by being an absolute nuisance. Better hope you have restore staffs.



Cyas still has 10 leadership stars, and doesn't leave after 5 turns anymore. He'll be hitting us with status effects too, so it's a good idea to bring more than one unit who can use Restore.



My god, Rinehart lives up to the hype. To start, he has 5 leadership stars, bringing the map total up to 19. That is, +57 accuracy and avoid for all enemies. This is why the ballistas are so dangerous, because good luck dodging them. He's rocking the Daimthunder/Ambush combo we have on Olwen, meaning he gets to fuck you up bad before you get your attack in, and he has Charge, Continue and Big Sheild (20% chance of nullfying damage here) as well. To elaborate, he has 35mt with DaimThunder, so he'll do 30-70 damage before you even get to attack. Most units have less then 10 magic, so expect a 50 damage minimum against most units. Luckily, some of these things conflict with each other. He won't activate Charge or Continue while he has Daim Thunder equipped, and so long so as he can't double you, he's not as dangerous with his Master Sword. Still, he's dangerous as hell, and has 5 movement stars to make him unpredictable too.

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We're force-deploying Olwen for obvious reasons. This map also has a vendor that sells Knight's Proofs, so we're bringing Shanam as well as the unpromoted gang (Othin, Shiva, and Havan.) We also want people who can cast restore, so Nanna, Linoan and Sara (using a S. Drink, she's going to get near permanent deployment from now on) are in. This leaves 6 open spaces, so choose 6 from: Seram, Lara, Safy, Karin, Asvel, Xavier, Fergus, Ronan, Marty, Marita, Homer, Makua, Dean and Delmud. Click here for the character status sheet.

Fatigue Counter:

Seram: 31/38
Lara: 15/32
Safy: 11/18

Carion/Fin/Tina/Sara: Fatigued

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Now if you like counting, you may have noticed we've only deployed 15 units (if you include Leaf), despite the fact that 16 units seem to be the default. That's because we're doing something very special this round of voting.

It's time for the Thracia 776 redemption round.

Over the course of the LP, we've had plenty of units who haven't made the cut. Despite this, you people seem to have become strangely attached to some of them, and so it's time for one of our D-listers to become a star. You're going to choose one of our D-listers to be deployed, cheesed up to level 20, and then promoted. Let's meet the contestants, in order of recruitment.

Tanya:



Sure, Archers suck, and we already have the RoMAN on our side. But you know what? That's quitter talk. Can she make the cut?

Bryton:



They told him he didn't make the cut, he cut their face. Bad growths, shitty bases, little room to grow? We call that a good time back where I come from.

Dashin:



Need a tank worse at tanking then some of our mages? Then look no further. Weak to everything and slow as hell, but hey, at least he can use lances in doors when he promotes. That +5 accuracy and avoid against sword users will help when they're doubling him.

Hicks:



Who?

Kein:



Our red cavalier (well Lance Knight), if Cain (get it, Kein/Cain?) came 10 chapters in at the same level.

Alva:



Our green cavalier. Want a unit you've seen a 100 times before? Then Abel's your man.

Robert:



You like archers? You like horses? Then Robert's your man.

Selfina:



She's like Robert, except worse in every way. Fun!

Trude:



Trude's the cool dude with the tude. But will that be enough?

Eda:



Dragon Knights may suck indoors, and we may be going into permanent indoors soon, but don't let that stop you.

(Oh, and since we're voting, should we change the past and save Ralph?)