Welcome back, Emblemiers! Apparently, that's an actual term for dedicated players of the series! Do you think that this instalment has a good title? It's based on a quote from "The Lion King", said by the ghost of Simba's father, whose name is similar to that of this chapter's boss. And like Simba (or Hamlet, in the classic Shakespearean play that inspired the Disney movie), it is now time for Chrom to suffer and bemoan how powerless he was when it came to protecting the last exalt, followed by a period of doubting his own abilities and then rising up to challenge the murderer of his predecessor. Sure, Gangrel isn't his uncle and the doubting doesn't last long enough for a scumbag to take Ylisse's throne, but I never claimed that this was a perfect analogy.
Last time, we went through a rather humorous DLC mission. Between then and now, I've fought in a couple of Risen battles, which has led to Frederick learning the Luna skill at Level 5 and Yukari reaching Level 20. As requested back when I first talked about Master and Second Seals, our Tactician is now a Grandmaster, and all of her stats save for Defence are much better than our Great Knight. But like him, she will mostly be nothing more than a Pair Up partner for some time, lest she steals the experience from others. As for Lissa and Maribelle, the latter is still not experienced enough to use a Seal, and as Lissa is close to Level 13, I think that I'll wait until Lv 15 for her to use one. Now, let's go and feel depressed some more!
CHAPTER 10: RENEWAL
Depressing music is playing, rain is falling, and Basilio, Chrom & Yukari are running under what I think is a giant ribcage. Basilio urges the others to hurry up to the carriages waiting just past this ravine, and Chrom is mostly silent, still in shock over Emmeryn's sacrifice. Some Plegians suddenly pop in and block our path, and Basilio says that we must fight. We're taken straight to the battle preparation menu. There are plenty of soldiers, barbarians, and wyvern riders on the field, all at either Level 11 or 13. Some Level 5 thieves are also there, but we soon find out that they're not connected to this force. And who, you may ask, is the commander that is halting our escape?
- MUSTAFA (The boss, who was touched by Emm's final words): The Plegian commander. A pacifist.
We're allowed to take 13 people into battle, more than we've ever brought in before. This battlefield will feature a lot of close-quarters battles, as giant bones prevent access between the bottom (where Chrom is) and top (where Mustafa is) sections, save for four narrow passageways filled with enemies. Flying units can soar across and land on these bones, two of which actually have forts built on top of them, but you'll be stuck up there for a bit if you switch a pegasus knight out for a non-flying Pair Up partner. When we start the fight, Mustafa offers us mercy and asks us to surrender, as Emmeryn would not have wished for this to come to bloodshed. Chrom suddenly becomes furious when the Plegian speaks her name, but Mustafa truly understood the meaning of his sister's final sacrifice, and many other Plegians would actually say the same. Mustafa vows to protect Chrom and his men if they surrender, but Frederick is unwilling to take chances after what Gangrel has done. Mustafa understands, and while he cannot just let us go, he promises to grant Chrom a dignified end. The battle begins, and more music plays; specifically, a somewhat melancholic tune that will not be interrupted until this chapter is cleared, not even when we cut to a battle (though it does cut out slightly when a unit levels up). Now, let's get through this quickly, lest our struggles in Plegia lead to more than one tragic demise.
- Chrom, Yukari, Maribelle, Donnel, and Lissa: Chrom charged to the west, and as Donnel is now experienced enough to take more than one hit without worry, the farm boy and his uptown girl followed along. Chrom and Yukari stopped a pathway between bones in order to take out some thief that dropped a Wyrmslayer, while the other three headed further west and ended up near a small fort. On the enemy's turn, Chrom and Yukari take out some foes near the thief they had slain. When it was their turn again, a lot of enemies had crowded around Donnel. As it would have been too dangerous to send Lissa into their range to pull her brother closer to the action, she instead headed back a bit and used a Rescue staff on Sumia. Chrom instead walked towards Donny and was unable to attack anybody that turn, while Donny was able to use the Fort for protection. One man charged towards Chrom and quickly faced death, while the Fort helped Donnel survive three enemy attacks (though two of those were misses). While Chrom handled more of the southern forces, Donnel stepped out of the fort to take care of a Wyvern Rider, and was then rescued by Lissa to avoid dying on the enemy's turn. Lissa then healed her big bro while Sully and Sumia took out the last barbarian near the southern Fort. Chrom and Yukari then swapped because there were no more enemies and the Grandmaster had a slightly better movement range. While the Lord and Grandmaster headed up the western-most path, Donnel and Lissa headed after them, with the cleric healing the villager along the way. Plans quickly changed after Sully took some damage, with Lissa being close enough to provide healing, while Donnel just stopped at an Event Space. Reinforcements came at the end of that turn, but only one attacked before Mustafa got himself killed, and Lissa successfully dodged it. Chrom was two spaces away from the boss at the end of Turn 6 and would have provided assistance in the next turn had Virion messed up. As the archer was as superb as he usually claims to be, their help was unnecessary.
- Frederick, Virion, Kellam, and Tharja: Instead of heading west with Chrom, they headed north through the first opening between bones, so that I could flank the boss. After Libra chopped up the first enemy along the path, Virion was just in range to target a thief, earning a Bullion (M) at the cost of exposing himself. Sumia and Tharja try to help him out, and while Sumia succeeds in taking one guy out, Tharja's attack wouldn't have killed the nearby Soldier even if it did not miss. Thankfully, the soldier's attack was dodged by Virion. Even more luckily, a nearby Wyvern decided to attack the archer with a Hand Axe, and ended up getting countered with a critical in addition to missing entirely. Tharja stuck around to actually land a hit on the soldier, while Frederick charged north with an Orsin's Hatchet and lured out three men, including two barbarians which ended up quite wounded. Tharja took out one of the weakened men while on an Event Panel, and Freddy took out the other with ease. Tharja and Virion then used effective Wind spells and arrows to kill a Wyvern Rider. Freddy and Tharja then charged after Cordelia to provide assistance. After all initial foes save for one Wyvern Rider and Mustafa was dead, and with reinforcements on the horizon, Virion charged into Mustafa's range with a Killer Bow. With a Dual Strike on his turn, and a Critical on Mustafa's, the battle was won with ease.
- Sumia, Sully, Cordelia, & Libra: The flyers, not restrained by the terrain that others had to walk around, were able to provide assistance to both of the other forces. Libra assisted Freddy, and after Virion takes down a thief, Sumia kills a barbarian adjacent to him. Because Sumia stuck herself out like a sore thumb, she was targeted by one of the Wyvern Riders near Freddy's path. Sumia then killed the soldier that Tharja weakened, while Libra switched places with Cordelia and kill the rider that had targeted Sumia. Sumia was then brought south to assist Chrom and Donnel, and weakened a wyvern rider that the farm boy then killed. Meanwhile, Cordelia killed a soldier that Freddy had lured out. Sumia and Sully then killed a Barbarian with a Hand Axe that Chrom couldn't counter, while Cordelia swept forward and charged at the enemy base to try and get at the remaining thieves before they left. Cordelia took a lot of damage, but was able to survive and allow Libra to cleave the head of a thief carrying a Master Seal. Unfortunately, the thief carrying a Seraph Robe managed to make it out without even a scratch at the end of Turn 5, and I could not have possibly caught up with him unless I'd put Cordelia in dangerous situations from the start. Sully got some attacks in while heading north through the next-to-most-western path, while Libra nearly killed three men with his Hand Axe and some Dual Strike assistance. When Sully was close to dying, Lissa made sure to assist her. Tharja killed one of the men Libra had weakened while the War Cleric dealt with the other. In the end, while this group did not fight anything really challenging, they ended up nearly being whittled down to nothing and (as I had intended) were able to provide plenty of assistance to the other groups.
- Mustafa: At the end of the Shepherds' first turn, he noted the thieves scattered about the battlefield, disgusted by how they're scavenging for spoils and then scurrying away like mice. However, he decides to bring them to justice later, focusing on the Ylisseans first. After the Shepherds' second turn, a soldier approached Mustafa, no longer seeing the justice in hunting the Ylisseans down, and willing to be punished for going AWOL after all that's already occurred. A wyvern rider is furious at this statement, telling him that the punishment for insubordination is death. But Mustafa tells his men that soldiers do not judge and merely deliver the judgement of others. The soldier cannot raise his lance even if it means his death, and Mustafa realizes that this soldier must have been one of the many that witnessed Emmeryn's sacrifice. He then allows all that are unwilling to fight to be dismissed without punishment, though Mustafa himself is staying on the battlefield, for Gangrel is the kind of king that would murder his wife and child to set an example. Plus, there needs to be a scapegoat for their actions. The soldier now has second thoughts, for while he cannot fight for his king, he can be loyal to his general. At the end of Turn 3, after the remaining thieves on the map moved further north on their way to escape, he announced that reinforcements would be arriving soon. When Virion started to attack, Mustafa gave his name, and told us that we must win our lives if we wish to keep them. And as he died, he congratulated us, and asked that we spare the rest of his men with his final breaths.
- Turns: 6
- Heroes: Cordelia & Libra
A dancer named Olivia comes out to meet us once Mustafa is down, calling out to Khan Basilio. Having assumed the worst, she's glad to see that he's okay. Basilio introduces her to Chrom and Yukari, telling the Lord and Grandmaster that she's the one smuggling us out of here. The Shepherds pile in (presumably into some type of caravan that will hide us from the Plegian border guards), and Basilio tells them to bid farewell to this Plegian hellhole. We then get a save prompt.
Later, at Castle Ferox, Yukari is bemoaning the fact that we had done so much only to fail when it came to saving Emmeryn. Lissa is crying, and Freddy considers himself a failure as a knight. Flavia asks Basilio what they should do next, and the oaf reminds her that she's supposed to be the one in charge now. Yukari apologizes to Chrom, but she has his thanks for doing her best, and Chrom blames his own failures and lack of power. He knows that Emmeryn sacrificed herself so that Chrom would not have to live with the guilt of either choice, and because she did not want to give up what could one day save her people. Yukari asks Chrom to look at her, and reminds him of how powerless she was when they first met. She tells him that neither of them is half the person that Emmeryn was, but together, they could be something more. When Chrom fights for his sister's ideals, Yukari wants to be by his side. She tells him to be true to himself, and to give people hope in whatever way he can. Chrom doubts that he's worthy of Emm's ideals, but Yukari tells him that if he isn't, he should keep at it until he is. And if she just gets dragged down with him, it's okay, because that's what friends are for. Some other members of the party then vocalizes their opinions...
- Nowi wouldn't be here if not for Chrom.
- We gave Tharja our trust, and now we have hers...for now.
- Lon'qu would have left long ago if we were unworthy.
- Virion knows it took great courage and charisma to unite everyone, and while he possesses such talents, so does Chrom.
- Ricken says that all of the Shepherds look up to Chrom, and that he's like a hero to them.
Chrom tells everyone that their words mean more than they could know. He then tells his warriors that there is work to be done, and that Gangrel must be stopped so that peace can once again reign in Ylisse. He asks for their help, and more random party members speak up (though I think that Stahl and Sully always say something, due to how their lines seem to sync up)...
- Lissa: You can count me in! I'm tired of crying all the time. It's time to start punchin' stuff!
- Maribelle: Hear hear, darling! Our people have suffered enough.
- Stahl: Gladly would I fight and die for House Ylisse!
- Sully: Gladly would I fight and KILL those dastards for House Ylisse!
- Libra: Our hearts echo yours, sire.
- Sumia: I will be the unbreakable shield by your side!
- Kellam: I'm with you, too! You know. Just in case anyone...Hello?
- Vaike: Teach is here and class is in session!
- Gregor: How much you pay Gregor? Hee hee haw! Gregor make joke! ...Why you look at Gregor like that?
- Panne: Your sister earned my respect. The last taguel shall champion her.
- Frederick: You have grown strong, milord. I may have set a poor example as a knight...But I swear to you, I shall die before any more exalted blood is spilled!
Chrom once again thanks them for their support, and promises not to falter again. Chrom states that the Mad King must be stopped, and Flavia agrees that it's about time for Gangrel to get a dose of his own vulnery. The Khan adds that all of Feroxi's army will follow Chrom in this endeavour, and Basilio wants to be counted in as well. Olivia would like to come along as well, for the exalt once did her a favour, and it would be an honour to have a part in giving her justice. All that Olivia can do is dance, and she doesn't consider herself very skilled at that, but Basilio states that she's being modest and that there's not a finer dancer in all the realms. Basilio tells 'Commander' that it'd be wise to bring her along, and when Chrom asks what happened to his old nickname of 'boy', Basilio tells him that he's earned a promotion from that name. Basilio then states that Flavia will lead him and the others in a head-on assault, while Chrom's men take down Gangrel.
Basilio: Hear that, boy? You get the fun part!
Chrom: I thought you weren't going to call me-
Basilio cuts him off to state that Chrom and Yukari have his confidence, with the former being a born leader and the latter having a knack for guiding others to victory. It's now time to raise some hell, especially since Gangrel might try to hit them while they're still licking their wounds. Chrom is ready to dethrone the Mad King once and for all, and the Border Wastes opens up on the world map.
Now, as always, let's end things off with Supports. This time, we begin with a major development: our second marriage of the game!
- Lissa & Frederick (S-Rank): Lissa manages to run into Frederick just as the Great Knight is attempting to hide something, and after a horrible attempt at lying about it, the Great Knight is asked to show her the item. Lissa already has a pretty good idea that it's a ring that he "secretly" picked up during their last goofing-off lesson in town, and snickers at the fact that Freddy thought he could keep secrets from her after all the time they've spent together over the years. Frederick admits that it was a ring, and supposes that Lissa also knows that it was meant for her. Lissa says that she was almost sure about that, but it wasn't certain until now. Freddy's a bit displeased that he wasted time trying to find the perfect way to tell her, and Lissa's proud that he's finally willing to waste time on something. The princess adds that he was her first crush, which Freddy had no clue of, even when she tried to make it obvious. But it seems that everything worked out in the end, and Lissa's dream of marrying her first love is about to come true. She then asks what Freddy's dream is, and he states that it's to serve and protect her, and to make "milady" happy for the rest of their lives. Lissa tells him he'll have to call her by name from now on, and Frederick thanks her.
- Donnel & Kellam (C-Rank): Once again, Kellam surprises the other half of the conversation by seemingly coming out of nowhere. The knight noticed the farm boy planting bilberry bushes, and gives him a tip on how to mix the soil and get extra juicy berries. Apparently, Kellam's father was a farmer, and Kellam & his brothers helped in the fields. Kellam offers his assistance if Donny needs it, and Donny says that he'd surely 'preciate it, especially since he's planting them in pots so that he can care for them while the Shepherds are on the move. Kellam admits that he kind of missed mucking around with soil like this, and when he starts to help, suddenly realizes just how many bushes Donnel has. The farm boy says that he wanted to make sure he had enough for everybody, and while it will take a lot of work, Kellam keeps his word and helps out.
- Gregor & Miriel (C-Rank): Gregor asks Miriel to join him for a cup of elderberry tea, and when Miriel asks why the mercenary always invites ladies to consume tea with him, he tells her that he likes the company of lovely maidens. Miriel inquires as to whether women possess some attractive force that draws him to them, and mixing up the intended meaning of the word, Gregor tells her that she is very attractive. Miriel wants to know if Gregor can define attractive qualities of a woman, wanting to quantify this phenomenon, and when the mercenary gets confused, she adds that every force must have rules that govern them, and that defining the parameters should make it possible to recreate them. Gregor states that every man likes different things, and Miriel is a tad dismayed, as a lack of a universal definition means that there are contradictions in human nature. Gregor is surprised that Miriel's brains do not ooze out of her ears, and after telling him the improbability of such a thing, she decides to accept his offer and join him for tea. Unfortunately, all that scientific stuff has ruined the mood for Gregor, so they decide to have tea later.
- Chrom & Yukari (C-Rank): Chrom asks if Yukari's finished training for the day, and while the Grandmaster would like to review some battle histories, the Lord tells her that experienced soldiers rest while they can. The next battle could break out at any time on a campaign like this, which Yukari has noticed, as the group has had barely any time to even eat. She does try to rest when she can, though, since a lady needs her beauty sleep. This somewhat confuses Chrom, who has never actually considered Yukari to be the type to care about beauty nor seen her as a lady at all. Yukari's insulted, and though Chrom tries to phrase things better, and after a few attempts, realizes that he's utterly failing. Yukari asks how the scion of a noble family somehow missed all of the lessons on manners in his fancy schools, and while Chrom tells her that he did actually spend a whole term on etiquette, she states that he might need to take another term on how to talk to a lady. Chrom states that his image of a lady is someone prim, proper, perfumed and pretty, which is nothing like Yukari at all. He then notices Yukari picking up a large rock, and upon inquiry, Yukari states that a sharp blow might fix Chrom's eyesight. Chrom, finally doing something intelligent in this conversation, runs for it. Once he leaves, Yukari admits that perhaps it's only fair, since she hasn't really considered him as a gentleman.
And that's all, folks. Next time, unless you want to hear about more of the DLC or pick up an extra lock-picker, it seems that we'll finally be taking on Gangrel the Mad King. Thank you for reading, and have a splendid day!
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