In this one, we shall be collecting the final divine weapons, the Sword of Seals, and the tome bearing the title The Silencing Darkness.
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Roy travels deep underground within the Shrine of Seals, learning that there is a second weapon lying within it. However, Pereth (recolor of Ohtz from Forblaze's gaiden chapter), has entered the shrine already and prepares to try to fight off Roy.
There are a few things off-putting about this map... The fog of war is obvious, but the limited people means no stat booster distribution (couldn't even fit Percival into the group), and I'm not so keen on those treasure chests... They seem far too easily accessible (hell, to get through, you need to pass them!). Fog of war seems like a lame trap to pull for the final gaiden as well. I don't think I'll be bringing Astol for this one.
As for preparations, I simply removed all of the divine weapons and replaced them with a normal one, since I doubt anyone as powerful as Murdock is going to show up here. I also made sure the healers have a restore staff to prevent status infliction given the annoying walls splitting up this chapter.
I notice it has the same type of fog as Roartz's chapter, so normal units have good sight range, which is pretty nice. Maybe not bringing Astol won't be too much of an issue then.
Pereth talks with a soldier, lamenting his inability to help Murdock, but knowing he must stay here so that Apocalypse doesn't fall into our hands (not that it matters much, since I lack a dark mage, although the Sword of Seals is apparently down here too).
Roy then talks with Miledy, and she mentions a spell book being hidden here to ward off intruders. Elphin notes the Bern troops, and thus deduces that the tome is indeed a divine weapon. Roy says he wants as many divine weapons as possible before they face Zephiel, and Miledy mentions that this place is littered with traps. She also mentions that they are so well crafted, we could not possibly see them before they're set off, but that a thief might be able to spot them (Oh come on! How did the enemies get in here then?).
I send Roy, Sue, Lance, Ellen, and Lugh off to the east to go through that area (Sue shooting a mercenary she sees after Roy moves), while Dieck, Clarine, Rutger, Geese, and Miledy head west. Both groups deal with their own set of enemies, gaining no serious injuries save a large hit on Lugh from a hero, but Ellen can fix that quite easily. Dieck and Clarine then try to lure out some ranged units near their group, so as to avoid dealing with them later. Ellen does the same for her group, with Lugh and Sue assisting her. Geese, Miledy, and Rutger make sure no foes cross the bridge, and Lance covers for his group, with Roy's support bonuses giving him that extra oomph. After the guys across from the canal are dealt with by both groups, they join those covering the bridge in taking down approaching foes. The groups push across the bridge, although Rutger and Lance both take a hit before all the enemies are taken care of.
The groups advance a bit, Ellen taking out some people from across the wall while Lugh heals Lance. Geese draws out a merc near his area, and a druid runs down into their sight, armed with a Nosferatu. Dieck takes him out next turn, and then his group continues their trek. Roy's group also moves forward, though there aren't any foes in their path as of now it seems. Both groups round their second turn, the one leading south, and still encounter no enemies, although they both see some off in the distance. Both groups round the second turn, heading north now, still no foes in sight, although Roy's group can thank Lance and Sue for sniping the foes across the wall.
Gah, the fuck? Geese runs onto a space, and is hit by a fire trap! Haven't encountered any tricks yet, is this where they start happening? Clarine heals him, and the group advances, undaunted. A druid tries to silence Lugh, but he thankfully misses. Both Dieck and Lance land on a fire trap this time, but they're healed soon enough. Silence Druid takes another crack at Lugh, and hits this time, but Ellen restores him, only for him to then land on a fire trap. Dammit, the traps seem to be getting more frequent. Sue, Lugh, Roy, and Rutger all got burned this time around, as both groups round the short curve leading to the suspicious treasure chests. Silence Druid misses with his final staff use, and Dieck's group rounds the curve first, Dieck taking on a berserker on his side, while Roy's group has been slowed a bit since they've needed to heal due to more people being burned on their side. The berserker doesn't play ball with Dieck's invitation for a fight, content with standing there and blocking my path, so Rutger shows him a sharp reason to move.
Ellen actually leads her group across the bridge, since the pathways around the fourth turn hold many druids on their side. Diecks group easily pushes by the archers who get in their way, heading south down their path, while Roy's group is held up by a stubborn general and a sniper, both of which won't die. Roy's group pushes through, Ellen having killed most of the dark mages, only for her attacking the final one to lead to a spear coming out of the wall and stabbing her. Lugh heals her, and Lance and Sue take over, the enemies no longer being magical. Dieck's group runs into no enemies apart from the archers near them, and await Roy's group before they enter the central throne chamber. Once both groups are ready, Miledy flies out and impales a druid on her silver lance, and the rest of the party piles in. Lugh reaches A support with Ellen, and the hero with a brave sword suicides onto Miledy, leaving only Pereth left.
Pereth is fairly underwhelming compared to the previous boss, but his nosferatu and decent defenses, as well as his throne may make killing him troublesome. That is, if Sue and Lance didn't just rush him and kill him in three hits, without him being able to hit at all. Roy then conquers the throne.
Elphin identifies the divine weapon as Apocalypse, the tome wielded by Bramimond, the most enigmatic of the eight heroes. Roy then muses about why there is always some kind of intricate trap where divine weapons rest, and while he and Guinevere speculate, they can't come up with a very good reason, and Elphin decides to investigate later on. First, we receive the Apocalypse tome...
Apocalypse: S level dark tome, 18 mt, 80 hit, 12 wt, 5 crit, grants 5 magic to the wielder.
Roy then finds the Sword of Seals in the altar, and places the Fire Emblem within it's handle. The bade begins to glow, and as Roy attempts to draw the blade, he witnesses a segment of Hartmut's memories. He catches of glimpse of Zephiel's Dark Priestess before he returns to reality. Roy contemplates his worth for wielding the blade, and Elphin assures him he would not have been able to draw the mighty sword if it hadn't chosen him. The group then agrees to head towards Zephiel's castle, Sword of Seals in tow.
Sealed Sword: Sword which has chosen its wielder, 18 mt, 95 hit, 8 wt, 10 crit, and grants the wielder 5 defense and resilience.
Blade in hand, Roy class changes to a Master Lord, and gains some nice promotion bonuses. Too bad it has to happen so late in the game.
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