I have so many units near promoting level, it isn't even funny, and I just hope that with the arena, most, if not all of them, can reach it. Now, we shall begin Light and Dark
◊, the penultimate chapter, beginning from the free city of Miletos.
After capturing Thracia castle, Serlis heads straight for Grandbell, passing through the Miletos region, an area which had amassed a large fortune through trade. This thriving society hadn't been able to survive under the rule of the empire and the Lopt Sect, however, as Queen Hilda of Chronos drove countless citizens to a horrific deaths, and bishop Morigan conducted countless child hunts under the orders of Archbishop Manfloy (please tell me I get to kill him now). All things good within this region had been forcibly stripped from the people, and the rituals held by the Lopt Sect left Serlis with no other choice but to intervene. The initial conflict was intense, but the imperial soldiers were driven out, and Peruluke was free once again, the army's very presence having revived the hope of the people.
Julius enters Chronos castle, and asks Ishtar how things are. She says everything is coming along well, with Julius responding that the rituals must be quite a scare for the people. Ishtar says that the people always go to pieces when their children are taken, especially the mothers, and Julius seems pleased, noting that people who have been shattered in both mind and body make good slaves. Ishtar asks what will be done with the excess children, and the prince tells her to send them to the capital, where he will groom them into fighters, break all sibling and friendship ties, and then have them battle in duels to the death, the survivors being allowed in as soldiers for Loptous (seriously dude? That's fucked up). When Ishtar mentions Alvis's strict opposition to child hunts (I'd certainly hope he's opposed to them!), Julius says he will handle that issue, and leaves for Barhara.
Hilda walks in, asking where His Imperial Highness is, and Ishtar says he just left, and Hilda mentions to her daughter that Julius seems to like her, wondering if he may not make her his princess. She's unsure of the possibility, and Hilda explains that, alongside the Freege family being noble in Grandbell, she is from Velthomer, thus making her daughter a most fitting partner for his highness, to which Ishtar replies unenthusiastically to the affirmative. Hilda tells her daughter to head to Miletos and prepare the children to be sent to the capital, while she deals with the rebels. A dark priest mentions a few escaping children, and Hilda decides to use them as examples by having them killed. She orders the priest to send orders to general Ridale at Rados to execute all escapees.
With those same children, they worry as to where they will hide, and one child assures them that the crusaders will come to save them. Now at Rados, Morigan informs Ridale that the battalion has been ordered to dispatch for combat. Ridale complains that the child hunts have become a complete bore to him, and Morigan breaks to him that he will be hunting down some escapees. Ridale is exasperated, but goes nevertheless.
Now at Peruluke, Manfloy (how the actual fuck did you get in here!?!) kidnaps Julia in a scene that is far to rape-y for my liking (I'm seriously gonna wreck that creepy freak once I get that chance). Levin informs Serlis of the escaping children and their inevitable fate should they be left alone, and Serlis decides to try to save as many as he can. Levin also mentions that he can't find Julia anywhere, and Serlis is surprised and alarmed by her disappearance. Levin worries that the enemy found her, and Serlis is adamant that he will find her, no matter what.
Alright then, we begin—
Holy shit. Is that... is that Side Battle, from FE 9 (or technically Side Battle comes from this, but whatever)? Hell yes, I love that theme!
Now we begin (with awesome music), and I get preparatory stuff going. Fee purchases a Wind sword from the shop, Hanibal purchases a Steel bow and a Silver lance, and Sety pawns off his Miracle Bracelet. Everyone then goes through the arena. Serlis makes it to the end, and promotes to Lord Knight gaining some awesome bonuses, and a B rank in lances. Afterwards, I have Serlis buy the Miracle bracelet, since, being the lord and all, he sort of needs to stay alive. Faval finishes next, and promotes into a sniper, gaining some good bonuses from it. Aless makes it all the way through, and promotes to paladin, gaining some decent bonuses as well. Lester and Fee make it through as well, while Johalva doesn't, but promotes into a warrior and gets some nice bonuses. Arthur makes it through and promotes to mage knight, getting good bonuses, and the ability to use B rank swords (as well as that Thoron tome that's been collecting dust for a while now). Fin dominates the arena, and Tinny finishes it, promoting to Mage Hero, gaining really sweet bonuses, the adept skill, and the ability to wield B rank swords. Altenna rips through with ease, Nanna makes it all the way through, and Leaf pushes through, but doesn't reach level 20. The swordsman trio make it through fairly easily, and Scathach promotes to hero, gaining some great bonuses, while Lakche promotes to swordmaster, gaining equally good bonuses, as well as the adept skill. Lana makes it all the way (and purchases a Restore staff with her winnings), and Sety doesn't even need to be mentioned. Fin then passes his Paragon bracelet on to Patty, so she can begin training to reach level 20, since she's the furthest behind in levels among the actual fighters.
With that done, I look around at the battlefield. I have a bunch of dark mages with every kind of dark magic (including the "Hel tome, which I'm not quite sure of its effects. It's flavor text of "drains hp" sounds like Nosferatu, but it's might is —, which seems off) just sitting right outside my doorstep, and two are even armed with sleep staves! Cheeky bastards are gonna have another thing coming if they think that will stop me from saving those kids. Hilda has a bolganone tome that is going straight to Tinny, and I note that Ridale is a fairly strong opponent, though his squadron isn't exactly shabby either. This is gonna be a hell of a race.
First things first, those dark mages have got to go, or else things will get more than a touch troublesome. I decide on a direct offensive, and charge out and wreak as much havoc on the foes as possible, leaving Patty and Leen (although she dances for Sety, Fin, Aless, and Oifaye) the most frail members of the party, out of the enemies range. Altenna and Fee fly across the mountains towards the kids, so that in the event of the party being held back for too long, they can hopefully fend off Ridale and his men. About half of the dark mages are demolished on the first go around, but that still leaves quite a few threats, so this may get messy.
The mages move, dealing no serious damage, although Hanibal took both a Fenrir and the sleep staff. The other two were defeated, but their leader and healer is still active, so this needs to end quickly. Ridale decides to leisurely move forward, seeing no need to rush, thus giving me the needed time to defeat the mages and hopefully get everyone over there.
And so they do, after a couple more turns, the mages are felled, and they push towards the children as quickly as they can, preparing to meet with Fee and Altenna, though Oifaye takes a detour to screw over some pirates pillaging plans. With everyone there to help, Fee flies off to do her next bit of goodwill; pirate smashing. She flies over the mountains, so as to avoid distracting Ridale, and aims for some pirates near Rados.
Ridale draws near, his men passing right by Chronos to reach us, and while Serlis and Sety guard the forest path, and lead some of the party around for a pincer attack, Nanna guards the path by Chronos. After the main confrontation begins, Serlis very nearly dies, but his miracle bracelet saves him when he's brought down to 2 hp. Lakche defeats Ridale with a two hit Brave Sword Luna, and his men fall soon after. Patty begins saving the kids, while Corple goes to assist Tinny in defeating Hilda. The two begin to fight, and Hilda reveals that she made Tiltyu's life a "living hell", and the queen revels in the memories, while Tinny swears that she won't forgive her. Hilda is skeptical, and says she will kill Tinny just like her mother.
As they continue their fight, Scathach (for building love growth) and Corple (for healing) remain beside her to assist her, while half of the party head towards Rados to capture it, the other half waiting at Chronos in case Tinny absolutely requires help, Arthur being a part of the Chronos group. Nanna returns Leaf to Peruluke, where he promotes into a Master Knight, gaining some sweet bonuses, A ranks in every weapon type, and the pursuit skill. He buys a heal and rescue staff for support, and the tornado tome for some varied damage, since no one else needs it. Tinny eventually finishes off her evil step mom, claiming her Bolganone tome, and forcing the evil witch to warp away. Shanan speaks with Serlis, reminiscing about the past a bit, while also noting how strong Serlis has become. They chat a bit more, and Shanan gains 3 hp.
Serlis captures Chronos on the following turn, while everyone who was waiting at Chronos moves towards the gates north of the castle. Serlis speaks with Levin about the kids, and Levin says they aren't here, meaning they've likely been moved to Miletos. He then says that in order to open the gate to Miletos, they will need to capture Rados as well. Scathach and Tinny are now lovers, so that's another pair finished. Oifaye heads south to speak with Serlis before he reaches Rados.
He tells Serlis that Chalphy lies just beyond the Miletos channel, and Serlis notes that Oifaye is probably happy to return home. Oifaye confirms this, reminiscing about all of his old friends, and Serlis notes that in spite of his birthright, he feels as though he is cheating the people he is saving, since he's never once set foot on Grandbellian soil. Oifaye states that even despite that, the people of Grandbell shall welcome their rightful prince, as they dream him up as the second coming of the hero Sigurd. Serlis is worried by this, and Oifaye tells him that it's likely a byproduct of the empires harsh rule. He then asks if Oifaye believes either Alvis or Manfloy are the vessels for Loptous, but he is given a reply to the negative for each, and is told that, no matter who it is, Serlis must persevere as a crusader, to save his people. Oifaye gains 3 health from this.
Fee and Nanna strike down Morigan, and they head towards the gate, healing each others wounds. Leaf speaks with Altenna next, finally having caught up, and Leaf asks if something is bugging Altenna. She tells him that she was thinking about Arion, and after Leaf mentions the sudden disappearance, Altenna says she heard the abductor was Prince Julius. Leaf is surprised, but she notes that he is likely trying to sway him to his side, and though things sound grim, Leaf finds a silver lining; Arion is still alive, so there is still a chance that things can get better with time. Altenna is uplifted by this a bit, and Leaf is happy to see his sister is okay, and Altenna gains 1 luck from the conversation.
Lana warps Patty to Peruluke, now that she can promote, and everyone is soon gathered around the gate to Miletos, awaiting Serlis's capture of Rados. Patty promotes to Rogue, earning some solid bonuses, an A rank in swords (which she is sadly a bit too late to use for now), and a nice beret. She begins the long trek back, but likely won't make it to see much action. Serlis captures Rados, and notices the city completely empty. Levin states that Morigan's mages massacred anyone who tried to resist. After having is motives reaffirmed by the horrors of the Lopt Sect and the subsequent empire that will follow, Serlis decides to take over Miletos, and soon after, Grandbell as well.
Well that was busy as hell! Finally done with it though, and with two castles down, the rest of the chapter will be fairly short, leaving only one or two castles (depending on whether or not someone decides to take control of Chalphy) before we finish this up. See you all next time!
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