Welcome, Awakening fans, to the next installment of this humble Liveblog! When we last left the Shepherds (and Virion, who I don't think will ever officially join), they were on an express trip to a meeting with Regna Ferox's leaders after an awkward misunderstanding that involved a lot of stabbing. Let's see what happens next, shall we?
CHAPTER 4: TWO FALCHIONS
Raimi's a knight of her word, and is about to introduce us to one of the two khans of Regna Ferox. Said khan is not here to greet us from the start, probably because of how important training for combat is in this land. Because khans are expected to be both warriors and rulers, Yukari quickly imagines that the khan is a giant of a man with a broad, hairy chest...
Flavia: Am I now? ...Please, do go on!
So, it turns out that the khan we're supposed to meet is a lady. She is the East-Khan, and she apologizes for the trouble we had at the Longfort. Unfortunately, Plegian bandits posing as Ylisseans have been an actual concern as of late, and after Chrom accidentally slips loose a few stern words about them, Flavia admits that she prefers discarding delicacy and is fine with plain speech. Unfortunately, Flavia cannot currently provide Ylisse with troops to aid in their Plegian bandit/Risen problems, because she lacks the authority. The two Khans hold a tournament every few years, with the victor (or rather, a champion representing the khan) acquiring sovereignty over both halves of Regna Ferox until the next competition, and the West-Khan won the last tournament. Conveniently, the next tournament will begin quite soon, and if Chrom participates as Flavia's representative and wins, then she can provide all the aid that he requires. Chrom's curious as to whether Ylisseans have a place in this tradition, and while foreign royalty has never been involved until now, Flavia says that it's better to send in a proxy from outside the kingdom than for khans, their kin, or their comrades to kill each other and leave the land without capable leaders. The Ylisseans are desperate for help, and thus Chrom agrees to Flavia's terms, though the West-Khan has apparently found a capable swordsman for him to compete against...
We then see the map that the battle will take place on. We're only allowed to bring six units, including Chrom. That's not the worst news, though. Want to know who the West-Khan's champion is?
- MARTH (Remember him from Chapter 1?): An enigmatic warrior who bears the name of a legendary king.
...Yeah, this could be bad. After I pick our squad, move some items around, and start the fight, Chrom tries to talk to our butterfly-masked opponent. It quickly segues into movie #6 when Marth keeps silent and Chrom decides to communicate with his sword. It turns out that Falchion, the one-of-a-kind sword wielded by the ancient hero Marth and currently in Chrom's possession, has a parallel version wielded by the Marth we're about to fight. The two then have a flashy duel, Marth reveals that he learned his sword techniques from his father, and then they apparently retreat to opposite ends of the battlefield. 'Apparently' because Chrom's forces start at the south and Marth starts at the top, and they're back in position despite having just clashed swords in a cinematic sequence. Anyways, it's time to rout some champions!
- Chrom & Sully: They start on the right side of the battlefield, hitting an event panel and getting relationship points. Honestly, I'm trying to give Chrom equal time with Sully and Yukari until I decide which pairing to stick with, but I can't help but feel that the game's nudging me towards this pairing. Anyways, they kill one foe with a Dual Strike, and then take down a mage that couldn't quite reach them at the end of Turn 1. Chrom's rapier comes in handy when dealing with an enemy knight, and the last action the pair do together is take out a Hand Axe user with a critical strike.
- Yukari, Sumia, Stahl & Miriel: They start on the left side, using the high movement of the steeds and the range of magic to kill an axe wielder on Turn 1. They dodge quite a few hits, Yukari gets six stats up when hitting Level 10, and also learns the skill Solidarity at that level (which grants a critical hit and critical avoidance bonus to adjacent allies). When dealing with the knight on that side, they make up for their lack of rapiers with the fact that these knights have poor resistance and we have two magic users. Stahl gets experience on an Event Panel while coaxing Marth to move into a manageable position, and while I find out a tad too late that Marth's strong enough to kill Stahl in two blows, I get lucky and Miriel Dual Guards one of them. Yukari and Sumia then knock Marth down for the count with a Dual Strike and two blasts of Thunder. Have I mentioned that units can attack twice on the same turn if they're much faster than the enemy, and that Pegasus Knights specialize in speed? Oh, and Yukari's now at Level 11.
- Turns: 5
- Heroes: Stahl & Miriel (though I don't know why, as I could swear that they killed as many foes as Chrom & Sully did...)
With that extremely quick tournament now over, we now have Flavia's respect, and more importantly, the aid she promised to give us once becoming the reigning khan. Flavia goes off to set up for a celebration, and a mountain of a man with an eye patch walks into the scene. It turns out that he's Basilio, the West-Khan that was holding power right up until we laid a smack-down on Marth (who, I should add, is the second person we've defeated in battle that hasn't died). Basilio's a cool guy that knows when he's been beat, and is willing to tell us that Marth is some delusional sell sword that turned up one day and beat his previous champion in an instant. He adds that Marth's already long gone, and it sounds like Lissa is slightly enamored by his mystique, though she claims to be kidding when Chrom inquires further. Freddy says that we should probably be getting back home instead of sticking around for the celebration, but before we can leave, Basilio has a parting gift for us. He introduces us to Lon'qu, his former champion (and by the way his name is spelled, definitely a foreigner). While he somehow failed to stand a chance against Marth, Lon'qu is apparently an excellent swordsman and a possible future Khan...who gets a little freaked out when Lissa (or, as Basilio soon reveals, any lady at all) approaches him. Again showing that he isn't a sore loser in the slightest, Basilio wishes for his might to be West Ferox's contribution to the Ylissean cause, which Lon'qu is fine with.
One save prompt later, and we're taken back to Ylisstol (well, to the woods west of it, but we'll get a Ylisstol point on the map soon). Emmeryn's glad to hear that the haildom has the support of Regna Ferox, but Phila soon charges in with alarming news. Plegian soldiers (their actual military, not just brigands) have been sighted inside of Ylisse's borders, and Maribelle (Lissa's best friend, as you may recall) has been taken hostage. The Mad King of Plegia, Gangrel, claims that Maribelle was the one to invade Plegia and demands reparation. That is more likely than not a big ol' lie, but while Chrom and Phila would prefer to just gut the maniac and solve the brigand/Maribelle/trying-to-incite-war-in-any-way-possible problem quickly, Emm is a peaceful lady that can recall the last time Ylisse nearly destroyed itself due to conflict. She offers to talk to King Gangrel and settle this diplomatically, and though Gangrel can only be trusted as far as you can throw him...scratch that; as far as you can throw a 100-ton boulder...Emm refuses to betray her principles, and the others agree to her plan on the condition that they all come along and protect her in case of an emergency.
Later that night, Chrom asks Lissa and Yukari if necessary preparations have been made for our march to the Plegian border. We're then (finally) introduced to Ricken, a mage and the youngest of the Shepherds, who runs up to us and says that he's all packed and ready to leave. Chrom tells the lad that he's too young for such a dangerous mission despite his skill, and after they leave Ricken to finish up their own tasks, Ricken bemoans how everyone treats him like a kid and declares that he'll prove his worth soon.
On the World Map, the Barracks have been unlocked, and our first batch of events consist of a discussion between Vaike and Kellam (which does nothing), a discussion between Lissa and Stahl (which increases relationship points), Frederick mentioning how he's feeling great today (gaining a small surge of Luck and Defence that will last for the next battle), a discussion between Yukari and Lissa (more relationship points), and Vaike bragging to himself about doing 10 sit-ups without sweating (earning some experience). We also have access to the Outrealm Gate, where we can spend actual money for additional maps to fight on and special skills, and while some maps feature extremely powerful enemies, I've bought all of the currently available scenarios. Oh, and we have one new Support conversation to watch.
- Chrom and Sully B-Rank (our first B-Rank!): Chrom notices Sully lugging a ton of equipment around while she attempts to clean up the area. Chrom hopes that she doesn't wear herself out, but Sully says that it's all a part of her training regimen. Lugging stuff around seems to build strength faster than mere sparring, and also helps with things like balance. Chrom's impressed, and wants to spar with Sully to see how effective this 'training' really is. Sully's ready for it, and tells Chrom not to cry once she mops the floor with him.
And with everything else out of the way, let's talk about relationships. Specifically, those involving...
- LON'QU (Our new myrmidon): A curt Feroxi warrior who wilts in the presence of women.
In my digital copy's other file, Lon'qu was one of the two unlucky men that did not end up with a wife. It would have been three unlucky men, but rather than wed one of the regular women, my male protagonist decided to court a crimson-haired trickster with a knack for bargaining. In this play through, because our protagonist is a lady, only one man will be left out of the loop (and unless someone disagrees with phoenix's suggestion, that man will be Vaike). Still, who should the gynophobe choose to risk his life to protect? If you've got a suggestion, viewers, the comment box is always open!
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