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TheMoniker plays: Fire Emblem Requiem


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  1. 1. Should I play the one and only chapter of Alicia/Hector mode?



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I love how, other than having a point more in Luck and 2 point more in Resistance, Alicia is completely outclassed by that generic Warrior statwise.

Alicia has so far proven herself to be pretty weak for someone so plot-important. If she comes later as some level 30 Sage or whatever, then that'll be weird.

Time to defend in...

Requiem: Episode 8: Chapter 7: Holding On

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First thing's first, Linda grabs the Ballista on the bottom. This will probably get consumed fast.

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Right away, the enemy assault is upon us. THIS is how you do defense chapters!

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Look at them all. Luckily, they're staggered, but we're definitely going to have to wait for them to come to us.

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One archer grabs a Ballistae, and makes himself useful!

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The other archer chooses to dash ahead, rather than grabbing the useful long-range weapon! Can you please take the tactically sound option? I know you might be eager to get kills, but that's just unsafe!

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First turn, we're under pressure, and we ALREADY have reinforcements from the bottom. These guys are going to charge up and throw themselves against our lines.

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Happy to have this.

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Rayden's gotten enough kills fo-WOAH, that's... beautiful! Amazing! Rayden's officially at least an "Oifey"!

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This mission's split into a two-sided defense, and here's what it looks like on each one. The left side seems to be under more pressure right now.

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Hah!

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Hadangit.

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Okay, trying again. Josie also gets a level, but it wasn't that great.

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Val: We need to deal with them first, or we’ll be overwhelmed.

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Yup, seven new enemies have arrived, striking us from behind. I guess the Egardians warped in some behind us, too! As Val says, we can't let these guys force us up to the point where we have our backs to the castle. That would be very bad for us.

(Note: I'm having my convoy guard the gate.)

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These pegasus knights aren't too tough, but this one would have dealt serious damage to my NPCs.

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These guys are pretty helpful. At the very least, I can count on them to take a few hits and reduce the burden on my units.

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Another six from the bottom! And just when the main first wave of enemies was clear, too!

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This stupid archer just keeps advancing! I want him to use the ballistae and chip from afar, but NO. He won't do it!

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After that short turn, barely worth being called a "break", these guys arrive. They're going to charge through the lake in the center and make it right up to the castle if we don't stop them.

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And this was really bad timing, but my main weapon against the pegasi broke right now! And, since I only have ONE greenie controlling the other ballistae, so it's not like I can count on their help!

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In Fire Emblem, there's only "dead" and "not dead". Nothing else matters.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

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Okay! Josie safely delivered the greenie back to his proper post. Now, finally, I can be assure that he'll stop being stupid and-

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YOU IDIOT! WHY? WHY WOULD YOU EVER DO THAT!? YOU HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ATTACK ENEMIES FROM A DISTANCE WHILE OTHERS DID THE REAL WORK-WHAT EVERY ARCHER IS SUPPOSED TO DO! AND. YOU. SQUANDERED. IT. AFTER I GAVE YOU SPECIAL TREATEMENT WITH A CRUTCH CHARACTER, NO LESS!

Forget it, buddy! If you want to go charge off and die, WHO AM I TO STOP YOU?

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Linda dies, because SOMEBODY wasn't willing to help stop these guys with long-range attacks!

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The next time around, Val takes care of them.

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At around this point, a lot of my friendly generics start advancing, but a few stay behind. I take it as my cue to maybe start pushing back.

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Hah! Good job, buddy, taking out the one that was supposed to take you out!

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See, other archer? THIS is what you were supposed to do! TAKE NOTES!

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Nella flies to stop the remaining pegasus, and gets some strength and defense for her trouble.

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I'm not sure what the archers are thinking, but I like these knight generics. Truly an exemplary example of what an ally should be.

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Why, cavalier? Why would you start such an engagement? What were you hoping to accomplish, besides wasting my EXP?

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Okay, you guys. I think you've had enough kills.

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I said, that's enough!

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Things are fast descending into chaos... BUT! Except for the boss's squad down there, it looks like the enemies are going to run out of steam if we can hang on a little longer!

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Also, Alicia's begun advancing. Not a huge problem.

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Hey, strength!

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But then, I shouldn't settle for strength alone.

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Darn, these are not good levels!

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This stupid pegasus just KEPT DODGING. I don't know why I find it so frustrating.

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Alicia: Still… I can’t afford to look bad in front of everyone else!

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Alicia, you couldn't even drop a greenie. You officially look bad.

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Those wyverns are coming from the side, they really worry me.

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What's that? "Crippling natural weakness"? Silly talk!

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The archer FINALLY makes himself useful by protecting his allies.

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I only get one screenshot, but more people come from ALL FOUR of the previous reinforcements points. Are we still not done?

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Bran: circumstances… A heroic death is what you want, is it? But this is where it truly ends.

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Val: There’s just no end to them.

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Val: I… feel… so… weak… But I can’t… let it end…

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Val: Retreat into the castle! There’s still something I can do for us.

And that's the end of the level! Kind of abrupt, but I have to say, this is one of the best defense missions I've played. It feels intense throughout, like you're always in a bad position trying to survive another turn. And I definitely felt that "more!?" when I saw the ending reinforcements. Very nicely done!

NEXT TIME: Drama

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Oh cool, I get to point this out now:

Before, this chapter didn't have the powerful bodyguards for Bran. And because of that it was technically possible for Josie to fly down and kill him. Took some luck, but it was doable and kinda broke the flow of things. Thus they were added to stop that from happening.

But yes, a very fun defence map.

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Oh cool, I get to point this out now:

Before, this chapter didn't have the powerful bodyguards for Bran. And because of that it was technically possible for Josie to fly down and kill him. Took some luck, but it was doable and kinda broke the flow of things. Thus they were added to stop that from happening.

But yes, a very fun defence map.

I was thinking of trying that, actually, but I decided against it when I saw the bodyguards. I doubt Josie could beat Legato, though.

The CHAPTER 7 CONCLUSION:

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Alicia: Shall I follow?

Remember, last time, we had been beaten back into the castle by the outside troops, and now...

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Alicia heads into the castle, and takes a few generics with her.

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Bran: The girl’s soldiers are tenacious, I’ll give them that. But now this folly will end, once and for all.

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Bran: Hm?

Hm?

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What! Valentine?

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Suddenly, Val runs up and attacks Bran directly!

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She's only able to do a smidgen of damage, and then she gets stomped into the ground. Oh no...

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Alicia: I knew I saw something…

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Alicia: Are you alright?

Bran: …Wretched woman.

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Bran: Know your place!

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So... a miracle's going to save Valentine now, right? Right!?

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Alicia: That blow could have been fatal, my lord. Didn’t you want her alive?

Bran: Perhaps I’ve changed my mind.

Alicia: O-Oh… I understand.

Bran: Now…

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*intake of breath*

WHEN SUDDENLY...

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*harsh exhale of breath*

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Ash: You’re finished.

Bran: Hah! A bold claim! But you’re still just a boy!

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Oh no. This is a deal with the devil type thing, isn't it?

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Cue Ash utterly ANNIHILATING Bran. Well, whatever this voice is, it's definitely strong!

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Alicia: H-Hey!

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???: Ahahaha! Yes, this is what I’ve been waiting for! Now, let’s finish this!

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???: You’re the one who just started using this magic. Don’t give yourself too much credit, girl. You won’t stand a chance against me.

Alicia: What is this? It’s like he’s a completely different person right now. And the dark magic is surging through him. It’s nothing like before.

???: Ready yourself.

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Obviously if Bran couldn't hurt Ash, then an earlygame-level Mage boss with WTD isn't going to do much better. Ash is keeping them alive, though.

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Alicia: So… powerful…

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Bran: What did you say?

Ash: … …

???: What do you think you’re doing, Ash!?

Ash: This… isn’t me. Bran… I surrender on behalf of

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He's not going to kill everyone? Though, we'd still be left with Legato, and he's definitely tougher than Bran.

Bran: You think I’m going to accept your surrender? After this?

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Ash: I’m not going to let you harm my family and friends anymore. But if you have me, they will no longer oppose you.

Bran: You dare to mock me?

Ash: My sister’s life for this woman’s life, that’s all it is.

Bran: You…

Ash: Do you accept or not?

Bran: … … Fine…

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Bran: to make use of that magic power of yours.

I can see Part 2 of the story being set up already... THIS has certainly been a sudden turn!

Ash: You’re… in no position to negotiate. And I’d never help you.

Bran: Very well… but it looks like that magic of yours is doing quite a bit of damage to you. So you can kill me- no all of us here- but that won’t be the end of my army.

Ash: … …

Bran: Ask yourself- Will you be in the condition to protect your family from them as well, boy? Will you be able to save them from that?

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Bran: Then it looks like we both have no choice but to cede to each other’s demands. But know that if your sister does turn against me again, there will be no such deal.

Ash: Fine then. Call off your men. And allow me to get my sister to a safe place.

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Alicia: If he had really wanted to kill me, I’d be done for. I don’t think he was lying about that part.

Bran: … …

Alicia: I’m sorry if I forced you to make a bad choice just now. You could have let me die.

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I'm starting to see what you meant, Niddo. There's definitely something more between these two.

Alicia: My lord…

Bran: …We’ll need to be very wary of him. And his sister too. I’d like you to keep an eye on them for a while.

Alicia: Yes, my lord.

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Legato: We almost had them all within our grasp, my lord.

Bran: Plans have changed. This “resistance force” has conditionally surrendered.

Legato: Conditional surrender?

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Bran: He is our prisoner.

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Bran: might to levels never seen before. Alicia!

This seems good for our survival in the short term, but does it mean we'll be helping Bran soon?

Alicia: We’re about ready to leave, my lord.

Bran: Good.

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Ash: … … You can’t lay a finger on any of them, Legato. I’ve made sure of that.

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Legato: To put us at the whim of the boy… This completely changes my plans.

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:C

Ash: Hurgh! Well… I’m not sure how much more use I could be to you, either way.

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Well... that wasn't what I was expecting.

We only have one more chapter to go before Val Mode is over. It's not QUITE as intense as this chapter was, but it's still pretty important.

But, PHEW! That was an intense scene! I liked it. This story keeps me guessing!

NEXT TIME: We fight someone other than Egardia!

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Yep, next map is the last one for Val Mode.

Word of advice: anything you want to carry over into the next mode, throw them into the convo right before finishing the map. That includes Val's and Andre's personal weapons. Might as well, just make sure to pick through the inventory of the characters you won't be bringing to the last map before you start it.

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[spoiler=Speculation]Well, this doesn't seem good. So Ash is prisoner for these guys, and they're gonna use his magic for probably not good things. I can see this pushing him too far eventually, and that voice takes over him or something very equally bad happening, with Ash probably going to have to get taken out. Knowing this type of thing, it will either be by Val, Andrei, or himself that kills him, and it will be sad. Maybe he just dies from over use of his magic, as he seemed pretty weak towards the end there. Either way, I don't think Ash will live to the end of the story.

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Sorry about the long break, guys. I've been very busy with other things, what with the summer ending and all. Anyways, it's time to start the next chapter!

yup, thats exactly where we're going in part 2.

Hey! Spoilers!

Yep, next map is the last one for Val Mode.

Word of advice: anything you want to carry over into the next mode, throw them into the convo right before finishing the map. That includes Val's and Andre's personal weapons. Might as well, just make sure to pick through the inventory of the characters you won't be bringing to the last map before you start it.

Duly noted.

The CHAPTER 8 PRELUDE!

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Okay, today, we're going to try something new. Since this hack has a good story, I've been struggling to find good things to say about it. It's easy to comment on hacks that have a bad or senseless story, but the story makes enough sense here that it can stand on its own. So, I'm going to try and be quiet for the story part of this prelude. Let me know if you'd prefer my commentary.

N: Three weeks later…

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Valentine: A-Ah!

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Valentine: Sister Katarina…

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Valentine: or something like that. Either way, I’m glad to see you here.

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Katarina: Milady, take a look around. You are alive.

Valentine: W-What?! Ungh! H-How?!

Katarina: …But you shouldn’t be moving too much. You were gravely injured and left for dead, it seems. You were found on the road by those of us who had fled.

Valentine: That’s… impossible. I was by the castle the whole time.

Katarina: Well… that is the truth.

Valentine: But Bran had me… I’m sure of it.

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Valentine: What is it?

Katarina: I… no, never mind. What about everyone else?

Valentine: What about everyone else? …How many of us did manage to escape? Are they alright?

Katarina: Your wounds were the worst of those that survived…

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Katarina: You’ve been out for a few weeks, now.

Valentine: Weeks? It hasn’t felt like anything at all.

Katarina: I have been attending to you everyday, ensuring that you didn’t get any worse.

Valentine: You have my deepest gratitude. Now please, I’d like to go and see the others.

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Katarina: You’re stil-

Valentine: Injured? Don’t worry, I’ll be fine.

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Katarina: Unaware.

*cut to outside the castle, where Josie flies up to Andrei*

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Josie: I’m sorry, Andrei.

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Josie: There’s no sign of him at all. Or the Egardians, for that matter.

Andrei: So, that’s it, right? There’s no way he’d disappear at a time like this, unless he were dead.

Josie: Don’t say that! Think of it this way: If he were dead, then would you – or any of us – still alive?

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Josie: They had us cornered in the castle with no way out.

Andrei: I… don’t know. But none of this makes any sense at all. Maybe they wanted to deal us an even worse pain than death. I mean, we’ve already lost Mother and Father… Valentine’s been out for weeks now, as well. …Maybe Bran just wants us to charge straight to him and throw our lives away.

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Josie: Andrei…

Rayden: You shouldn’t think like that.

Andrei: Yeah, I know. But how am I going to explain this to Val when she wakes up? If she ever does…

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Andrei: I… don’t know if I can do this.

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Andrei: You had us so worried.

Valentine: I would never leave you like that, Andrei. And all of you! I’m so glad to see that so many of us made it out of there alive. I suppose we have Ash to thank for that, right?

Andrei: … …

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Valentine: What do you mean?

Rayden: This is the same castle we were in before.

Valentine: But then… That… doesn’t make any sense. Agh…

Andrei: H-Hey, are you alright?

Valentine: It’s just my wound.

Andrei: Maybe we should get you back inside then.

Valentine: Not yet… Uncle…

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Rayden: He’s missing, Valentine. Ever since that battle there’s been no sign of him.

Josie: Ray! You don’t have to say it like that!

Valentine: No… I want to know the truth.

Rayden: Now… you shouldn’t assume the worst, like Andrei has.

Andrei: But… what else co-

Rayden: You both know that your brother is smart. And you both know that since he had come back from his leave, he has gained new magical powers. But what you – or I, for that matter - don’t know to what extent he is able to actually use them.

Josie: So, what are you saying? That Ash somehow turned back the whole army by himself?

Rayden: No… I doubt that.

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Rayden: Maybe he protected us somehow, and drew them all away. He just hasn’t found a safe moment to make it back.

Andrei: That reminds me… I’m… pretty sure that he was going to tell us something about that before Bran appeared. Right, Val?

Val: Yes… you’re right. Uncle, do you have any idea what he might have been going to say?

Rayden: Perhaps. But I swore not to tell you what I know.

Val: Uncle! Please!

Rayden: …Alright. The more Ash uses this new magic of his… The more strain he puts on himself, both mentally and physically. He had avoided using it to help you fight for that very reason. But recently, it seemed to be having even more adverse effects on him.

Val: He was always moving us around! You mean to tell me that whole time, he was hurting himself for all of us?

Rayden: …Yes.

Val: Why didn’t you stop him!?

Andrei: No, Val, think about it…

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Andrei: out here. If he hadn’t done that, where would we be?

Valentine: Ash…

Rayden: I did try, but he was insistent on continuing. He was doing what he could to help.

Valentine: I… know that. But I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose another family member before myself… Whether or not Ash is dead, he isn’t here, and that means he could be in danger. I have no way of knowing where he is, so all I can do is continue on…

Rayden: Valentine…

Valentine: Trust me… I want to believe that he really is fine, and I think that we should all have hope for that. But this time, it’s a little difficult… Even for me.

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Valentine: If you have any ideas of what our next move should be, I’m open to suggestions.

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Rayden: … …

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Josie: As long as this search for Ash continues, we should head for Tiomore.

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Josie: able to find something. What’s more, it might be time to start looking for friends in the land.

Andrei: But Val was going by Father’s plans. She wanted us to do this alone.

Josie: Well just look at where we are now, Andrei. And I don’t think Valentine has it in her right now to do anything on her own.

Rayden: You’re right, Josie. That’s a good idea.

Andrei: *Sigh* Well, I won’t complain.

Josie: Andrei, if you have a problem, just say it. You have the right to.

Andrei: Fine then.

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Andrei: being missing so directly. Even I could have done that. Now look what you’ve done to her…

Rayden: … … I have a plan to give us

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Rayden: As sad as it is, for my plan to work, at this stage I’m going to have to cripple Valentine’s spirit.

Andrei: You what?

Rayden: That girl that’s working for Bran has Ash’s warping magic, and we’ve lost Ash. We stand no chance of victory if we fight them. So we must face the facts that any coming battles with Bran are already lost… for now.

Josie: But Valentine would never give up like that.

Rayden: I know that. What we also know though, is that he has left us alone for weeks now, so perhaps this is our only chance to make something happen. At the same time, I do fear that the Egardians are probably not completely oblivious to our movements. They’ll be watching her. For that reason, I must make her weakness seem believable.

Andrei: You have a plan that can solve all that?

Rayden: It’s not perfect, but it should work. And most importantly, we can’t tell Valentine. Now, listen carefully.

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Josie: Maybe she didn’t commit to this war, but she’s a good friend of mine, and was the same to your Mother and Father. We can only do ourselves good to seek an audience with her.

Valentine: Aagh…

Josie: Come on, Red. Don’t tell me that littlescratch is still bugging you. Tough it out.

Valentine: I… appreciate your goodwill, Aunt Josie, but please don’t try and cheer me up right now.

Josie: Well… alright.

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Josie: You stay back, girl… Or I’ll kill you where you stand.

Alicia: Easy now… I’m not here to fight.

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Valentine: I… have nothing I want to discuss with you.

Alicia: Then I’ll just speak. Turn back while you still can, unless you want to be seriously disappointed.

Josie: What the hell is that supposed to mean.

Alicia: Does it really matter? Besides, come on… My lord gives you another lease on your life, and you’re already using it to oppose him? That’s just stupid.

Valentine: About that… I remember hearing something as I lost consciousness.

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Valentine: Why?

Alicia: Eh… I wouldn’t say that I did that, exactly. And even then, it’s not like I said that for your sake.

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Alicia: L-Let go of me!

Andrei: I asked you a question. So start talking.

Alicia: Rrgh! Just listen to me, alright? Go back home, and sit tight. I’m doing you a favor here.

Josie: Stop babbling, girl, and just tell us what you know!

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Alicia: Hahahaha… I’m sure that Lord Bran would love to hear that news.

Andrei: Well, without you, he can’t warp around, can he? Sounds good enough to me.

Valentine: Andrie, Aunt Josie… Leave her alone.

Alicia: Hm?

Andrei: …Fine.

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Valentine: I only want Bran dead.

Alicia: Still in a mood for mercy, are you? Impressive.

Valentine: Now, let us be on our way. And don’t show your face here like this again.

Alicia: Of course, milady. …But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

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Andrei: She must know something!

Valentine: She’s not going to tell us, even if she does. And killing her would be a big mistake. Bran really trusts her. If she doesn’t return to Egardia, there’ll be trouble for everyone, not just us.

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Josie: …Stay focused, Andrei.

Andrei: …Right.

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Valentine: Tiamore, right?

Josie: No, it shouldn’t be.

Valentine: We’ve stopped? What’s going on?

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Josie: Guess we’ll need to talk to the people in charge. I’ll handle it, Red.

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Andrei: What do you mean?

Valentine: I don’t know. But since we’ve arrived in the border the atmosphere has just felt wrong. And Tiomare is usually full of life.

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Valentine: Hmm… Maybe.

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Josie(?): Do you know who I am?!

Valentine: What’s going on?

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Blue reddier: from Tiomare pass. Those are my orders.

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Valentine: We’ve come to see Lady Laraya. Is she here?

Ordanze: I don’t have to tell you that. Now, I suggest that you be on your way.

Valentine: … …

Josie: I’m not having that!

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Josie: If you don’t want us here, we’ll hear it from her. Now where is she?

Ordanze: …If you attempt to come any closer, we will fight back. I’m not letting a single one of you past this point.

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Andrei: Well, what do we do?

Valentine: We go forward… Like I was saying, something’s not right. Sir Ordanze is acting suspiciously, so we have to make sure that Lady Laraya’s alright.

Andrei: …So much for friendly faces.

So, to summarize... Valentine woke up, has the situation explained to her, but nobody knows the deal Ash has made,and Rayden has some sort of plan to get Valentine to settle down for a bit. Meanwhile, things are seriously off in Tiomare, so we have to fight them for some reason. I'm sure we'll get answers about all these things soon, but for now, let's start the chapter.

END DIALOGUE

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This chapter is a HUGE slowdown from the previous one. It feels more like a bonus chapter than anything, pacing-wise, the last chapter could easily have been the end of Val mode. The reason why it's such a big halt?

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Only 6 units! I take the people who have lower levels, but this isn't going to be the easiest thing ever. Sadly, I didn't know to load up all the stuff of the people who I didn't take into the convoy, so we're losing all of their stuff.

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While looking through my convoy, I realize we never did get a light magic base class. Technically, Rayden can use this, but I bought it expecting someone other than crutch character to make use of it. Well, we do have it for later.

Chapter START!

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Valentine: fighting their people where we can. We’re low on manpower right now, and I can’t push myself too much with this injury.

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So, standard knock-them-out-with-a-sword tactics!

Spoiler-map:

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Remember Chapter 4, and how it had us allegedly "not supposed to be fighting our allies", while simultaneously encouraging us to do so with items and things? This feels like a better version of that-most of the enemies in this fort won't move on their own, but with only 6 people rather than our full team, we can't take them all on at once. We certainly can't split up and take this on two ways like I did with Chapter 7! However, the level design lets us avoid most of the enemies by taking the right path: We enter through the front, head straight up and around through the lower areas, then move through the courtyard straight to Ordanze. This will let us avoid most of the enemies on the left side. Thus, our strategy forms!

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Tiomare's mooks are a higher level than the Elite Egardians! I'm sure they would win any wars between them.

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There aren't many droppables around, but the salves are apparently here just in case you decided to forgo Katarina. Nice.

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And our boss?

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Not the most epic ending to Val mode, but he is a threat(albeit a 1-range one) and we need to keep that in mind.

NEXT TIME: Careful sneakery

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Personally I liked the commentary. Commentary doesn't have to be ripping part a bad story or whatnot, just your reaction to things. Like Alicia showing up there, the whole keeping stuff from Val part, the current situation on the map, etc. Always interesting to see somebody else's reaction.

The stuff the other characters were carrying were mostly minor. It the personal weapons that are the big ones you'd want to make sure you store before dealing the final blow to Ordanze.

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Alright, yeah, my experiment with no commentary failed. Back to normal!

Time to talk in...

Requiem: Episode 9: Chapter 8: Low Numbers

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Let's not waste any time. We need to jump right into making terrible decisions!

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My first impulse was to advance, thinking the knights wouldn't move, but it looks like they do, and that was my critical error. We'll have to stay outside for a bit, making things safe so we can get into the fort.

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I like the palette! It's all light blue and stuff.

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Layla gets her first level! It's only okay. I can tell we've got a long road to go with training her... I hope we get her back fast come Ash mode.

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A few of the enemies up front have reavers, which can make for a nasty surprise for the careless.

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Excellent!

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It's Turn 4, and soon, we'll be able to enter the fort! Yay!

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What? I wanted Linda to attack without being attacked!

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Oh, hey! There are a LOT of conversations this chapter. In an astonishingly fortuitous coincidence, I did all the deployment just right to get 4 out of 5! I didn't plan it, I swear! This one is the first, and the most important:

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Katarina: I know you claim to be fine, but I am concerned

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(wait for the end of the talk)

Katarina: If I am not around and your wound reopens, it should help you out.

Valentine: Why… thank you. I can always count on you, Sister Katarina.

Katarina: Yes… but I must apologise.

Valentine: What’s wrong?

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Katarina: I hope you don’t think less of me for concealing the truth from you. I just thought it would be best for your family to be the ones to tell you.

I'm with Katarina on this one. I've never been good at breaking stuff like this to people...

Valentine: Don’t worry about it. You did the right thing.

Katarina: Thank you, milady. I promise you… I will do whatever it takes to bring Lord Ash back to your side.

Valentine: I’m glad to hear that. Unfortunately, I don’t think you can do much more than you’re already doing. So don’t try to do anything drastic.

Katarina: Y-Yes, I suppose you are right.

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And we get this! It's the only reward for any talk convo, in the entire game. And I guess that's a good thing, seeing as I've missed so many. I would have gone and recorded all that I could, but, well... this hack contains a TON of talking, and it gets tiring recording it all by hand! Plus, you guys don't want to see too many talks, right!? Yeah! Surely, you didn't come here to READ? So, my laziness is definitely excusable!

...Sorry. I'll try to get more of them come Ash mode.

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Keiran flies out to beat up a myrm and profits. Also, it looks like the way forward is mostly clear now! We'll head right up to the courtyard and beat up the boss!

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Now, Layla will lure out these guys...

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Oh, apparently that triggered a cavalier to come roaring in. Throughout this whole chapter, we'll occasionally have an enemy break away from their formation and charge us. It messes up our bait-and-switch a little, and is rather inconsistent, but without it this would be a very boring chapter.

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Wow, Layla really is low on defense! We're not doing this engagement!

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While figuring out a good formation, I stumble upon conversation #2!

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Katarina: If I may ask, will you be heading somewhere, as Lord Rayden suggested?

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What was Kieran's goal? Kill Legato? Seems a bit out of reach at the moment.

Katarina: I see. Well, we have not talked much, from what I can remember. But we have known each other for quite a while. I would just like to give my thanks to you for the many times you have protected me in battle.

Kieran: …You’re welcome.

Katarina: I wish you good luck in your future endeavors.

Kieran: Hold on, priestess.

Katarina: Yes?

Kieran: Where are you going?

(I lost a screenshot here, Katarina said she was going back to her church and home.)

Katarina: It has been far too long.

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Oh? Maybe Valkyrie was wrong? Maybe... VALTARINA?

Katarina: Y-You mean to the church? For what reason?

Kieran: I’d… like to go there. And it will be quick by the skies. I won’t bother you.

Katarina: I… Well, I can’t deny you entry. And I guess I would appreciate the assistance. I accept your offer.

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Moving on, Layla gets another level, worse than the last. I'm sure she'll get better soon!

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Another enemy breaks away and comes at us! What do you expect to accomplish, pegasus?

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As we move to the end, I decide to leave Almer hanging out here, nice and safe. In doing so, I decide to take a screenshot to emphasize: You need to move Almer or the turn won't end! FE7 promoted Merlinus didn't do that!

Well, maybe Ash mode will fix it.

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Ow! These guys have such good weapons!

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Andrei was critted, doubled, but lived...

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And then someone runs up and finishes him off. Dangit!

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Now, this is a dilemma. How can we advance without putting ourself in the range of both the myrm and the archer? Going up or heading straight to the forest would just put more enemies on our hides!

Can you figure it out? The answer is...

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...Lure out the archer first!

...That took me way too long to figure out when I was playing.

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Andrei works to insure himself against future myrm attacks. I believe defense is a better stat than luck for such things.

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In short order, the courtyard is cleared! Our small band is within sight of the end!

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Layla moves up to prey on the armor knights, getting a better level, and one last pegasus comes at us. But other than that, it looks like we're perfectly okay to win!

And...leave the massive crowd of enemies to the left... totally alive!

...Yeah! I'm just going to leave all that juicy EXP... that would only require bait-and-switch to kill... alive... because... because...

...

We're going to kill everything.

LEVEL MONTAGE!

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...

WHAT!? THAT'S IT?? Don't lie to me, screenshots, is that REALLY all I got for killing all those enemies?

...Yeah, guess it is. They aren't bad levels, but I really didn't need to kill them all. I just... couldn't resist...

Anyways, before we finish. The other two talk conversations! First, Valentine and Linda!

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Val: Linda? Is there something you need?

Linda: I just, umm, was checking to see that you were alright. They said you were badly hurt.

Val: I appreciate the concern, Linda. But I’m just fine.

Linda: I’m glad to hear it. I was really worried…

Val: Hm?

Linda: You’re really brave and strong, you know? You… inspire me and I think everyone else too. So I… wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.

Valentine: Thank you for your kind words. I won’t forget them. But don’t count yourself out. You too grew braver and stronger every day. I’ve seen it.

Linda: Teehee…

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I guess I can see why people might pair them.

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One more, Layla and Almer!

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Layla: Oh, uh, yeah.

Almer: Really?

Layla: Well, I’m… still a little bit shaken up, I have to say. Things got really tense back then, didn’t they?

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Hmmm... you know, FE games in general tend to gloss over the horrors of war.

Now this suddenly has me imagining a gore-inated version, where every red person you killed left a corpse and tons of blood around, and you had to treat your army for PTSD... imagine Darkest Dungeon style Fire Emblem!

Or, on second thought, maybe it's better the way it is. Moving on:

Layla: But that’s not my real problem.

Almer: What is it, then.

Layla: I think I should leave here. I…don’t want to leave Lady Valentine like this when she’s so upset. But if I don’t, I’ll never get to Egardia.

Almer: Why not stay here, then?

Layla: No… I’m too weak to stay here and be of any help. I’m only a burden.

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If you get offscreen levels, I'll be grateful! And also annoyed that I wasted all that training!

Layla: Then I’ll come back and bring her the justice she deserves!

Almer: Haha, justice is it? That’s a lot of determination you have there.

Layla: D-Don’t laugh at me!

Almer: Calm down… I’m not laughing at you. But Layla, isn’t that going to put you in the very same situation that you were trying to avoid by joining this group? You’ll be on the road alone.

Layla: I- Well… yeah.

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Layla: do!

Almer: *sigh* Well, that settles it. I’m coming with you.

Layla: What? But you’re supposed to be working for them.

Almer: I suppose you wouldn’t have heard…

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Really? I didn't know about this!

Layla: There is?

Almer: So, you wouldn’t mind me coming along with you, would you, Layla?

Layla: I… N-No, of course not! Thank you!

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Okay, all that dialogue stuff is FINALLY wrapped up, let's finish this!

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Ordanze: No one.

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We're getting past!

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He doesn't last long, with no terrain and Layla taking advantage of his lack of range.

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Ordanze: Lady Laraya…

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That's the level you finish on? Really? Whatever. I was hoping you'd at least gain a number of stats other than 3...

NEXT TIME: The end of Ash Mode, with some bonus revelations!

Soon, Val Mode will draw to an end...

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Alright, for those of you who haven't been reading my HALB let's play, I recently shut it down. You can go over there and read the most recent page for the full details, but the long and short of it, as it affects you readers, is that I will be able to put more updates here. So, those of you who prefer this one can definitely look forward to that.

Aaaand you forgot to put stuff in storage!

Nope, did it offscreen. Still my fault for not screenshotting it, and I didn't get that much stuff. Since I assumed I wouldn't be able to save the personal weapons, I've been going a bit wild with them the last few chapters and now they're almost dead...

At this rate, everyone's gonna be mentally paired with Val, aren't they?

*sigh* Yeah, probably...

Time to experience revelations in...

THE CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSION!

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Val: We’re not going to hurt you, but we’re not leaving without some kind of answer.

We're not going to hurt you aside from the brutal beatdown we just gave you!

Ordanze: Traitors…

Val: What?

Yeah, you betrayed us, not the other way around, right?

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Val: Huh?

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Sudden attack??

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Nope, looks like someone's finally shown up to check on the disturbance. Is this Lady Laraya? Her portrait looks like it...

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Laraya(?): I’d very much like to hear what you have to say for yourselves.

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We should be asking you that! Your stern guy there attacked us right out of the blue!

Josie: What is this talk?

Laraya: Hmph… I might believe you don’t know what I’m talking about, Josephine, but I highly doubt they don’t.

Val: …Lady Laraya, you seem to think that we know something that we really don’t. At least explain to us what you think we did.

Laraya: Fine then…

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Bran's already gone for them?

Laraya: We were prepared to hold them off at the borders, but were blindsided when their army appeared right before us in the capital.

Val: Appeared…

Uh oh.

Laraya: That’s right. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before. The forces we had were no match for the Egardian army. …I was forced to offer a complete surrender.

Josie: Laraya, we’re sorry to hear that, but-

Laraya: He didn’t just accept that, though, Josephine. To ensure that I was being truthful, he had me

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This... certainly explains why the atmosphere seems wrong earlier. At that point though, you might as well fight back! And, Bran is officially irredeemable, if he wasn't before.

Val: That’s horrible…

Laraya: Then explain to me why!

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OH.

Josie: Ash was here? That can’t be…

Val: There must be some mistake…

Laraya: Do you take me for some kind of fool, Lady Valentine? Am I to believe that you of all people don’t know that your own brother is working with Lord Bran?

Val: Working… with Bran? That’s…

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Ordanze: Watch your mouth!

Andrei: Our parents have died during this war with Bran, and all of us have been fighting for our lives for months in order to survive! He would never help them!

Laraya: Ordanze, back off of him.

Andrei: You’re supposed to be our allies, right? Where were you this whole time!? You only wait until Bran finally turns his eyes to you, and then now you accuse us of betrayal?!

That's a good point, actually. They could've helped fend off Bran's army at the capital!

Laraya: … …

Andrei: So what do you have to say for yourself, huh?

Laraya: …Lord Andrei, isn’t it?

Andrei: T-That’s right!

Laraya: You truly believe in what you have just said? With all your heart?

Andrei: You’re damn right I do.

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Laraya: …Lady Valentine, are you thinking the same?

Val: Y-Yes.

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They're in for a big fall out.

Val: We don’t even know where he is…

Laraya: Hmm… This is quite odd.

Ordanze: You… believe them?

Laraya: Yes I do. I’ve made a mistake.

Val: So Ash wasn’t here?

Laraya: No, not about that.

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Laraya: Bran’s attack here. But your brother was most certainly here with him.

Val: No…

Andrei: How… could he do this.

Laraya: I’m sorry to tell you that. I don’t have any good guesses as to why he was here.

Val: There… must be some good reason for it. My brother really isn’t a traitor, and I don’t want this to affect our relati-

Laraya: I assure you, I bear no ill will towards you. But if you came here for my assistance, I cannot oblige your request. …After what happened here, both my people and my lands need tending to. Please, accept my apologies.

Overall, I feel like we're not going to come out of this in a better position...

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Val: We’ve wasted your time, and started unnecessary conflict. We’ll be on our way. Andrei, come on.

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Andrei: Sorry for the shouting.

Laraya: Best of luck to you.

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Laraya: What is going on? Lord Andrei… there is so much pain in his heart.

Josie: We were attacked by Bran just over a month ago. We somehow made it out of the conflict alive, but Ash disappeared at the same time.

Laraya: So, is it true? Could Lord Ash really have turned to Lord Bran’s side?

Josie: I have no idea. But… if that is true… then we really do have a problem on our hands.

What if they just do the warp-capital-kill-everyone-take-over thing to the whole continent?

Laraya: I can’t imagine what those two must be going through. I’d heard that their father was taken from them… but Florence, too?

Josie: Yes. Although, not by the war.

Laraya: I’m sorry, Josephine. You must think less of me as well for not coming to aid Olva in the war, earlier.

Josie: No, of course not. I know how things are in Tiomare. You’re doing the best you can. But Laraya… if you really will aid us in the future, get your country up and running quickly. Time is running short, and I don’t think Bran’s going to slow down, even if he “conquers” the land.

He'd be crushing resistance movements FOREVER.

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Laraya: Ordanze.

Ordanze: Yes?

Laraya: If the Olva family has broken up like this… Then I truly fear for the future. Something more is amiss.

Ordanze: Will you fight with them, then?

Laraya: I… feel that I must.

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Ordanze: Understood.

Hmmm...

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Oh no, this is going to be sad, isn't it?

Val: What have I been doing this whole time? Was it all for nothing? Or am I just so weak that this is what I deserve?

Andrei: O-Of course not… Hey, look, at least we know where Ash is now, don’t we? That’s something, right?

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Val: Of all the people!

Andrei: Like you said. There must be a reas-

Val: What kind of reason!?

Andrei: I-I don’t know…

Dramatic irony!

Val: Andrei… I’m not saying that Ash is a traitor either. But I just don’t know what to do anymore.

Andrei: Why not?

Val: I can’t do anything against Bran while Ash is with him? I couldn’t risk anything happening because of me.

???: Valentine!

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Oh, you guys haven't been relevant for a while. What's happening?

Val: What is it?

Isaac: I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but on behalf of my people and those that serve you…

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Isaac: for the time being.

Oh, thanks a lot! Real helpful!

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She isn't even reacting...

Andrei: What the hell!? You can’t be serious!

Isaac: The resistance was crushed in battle with Bran before. The people are scared… While they still believe in your cause, they just don’t see that we have the power to make it a reality. It was clear in this battle that we’re all lacking in the will to go on right now.

Andrei: So you’d just give up!? We still have our lives.

Kane: Yes, exactly, Lord Andrei. We do still have our lives, and we should do our best to keep them. Bran poses no threat to us, unless we keep fighting, as things stand.

Andrei: You don’t know that!

Kane: … …

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Andrei: Bran’s still going to attack other countries that are left before he’s finished. You can’t let that happen!

Val: Andrei, just calm down. They’ve made their decision.

Andrei: But-

Isaac: I’m sorry, but we won’t change our minds on this, Lord Andrei. We are heading back. You are still welcome to stay with us for as long as you like, however.

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Josie: First, Laraya and now those two? Who do you think you are, howling at everyone like that?

Andrei: M-Master…

Josie: Don’t you think Valentine feels the same way as you do? Grow up and face facts. You can’t win at everything. Be happy that you’re still alive.

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Rayden: own ways, and so should you. There’s nothing to be accomplished by the four of us here now. You understand that, don’t you, Valentine?

I guess this is why Val Mode is ending... we've run into quite the dead end.

Val: Mm. We’ll go back with them. Are you coming along too?

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Rayden: and make sure that everything is alright. If Bran heads there, I can’t just idly sit back.

Josie: I’ll be taking him there.

Wow, EVERYONE really is leaving. Is this what Rayden's plan was about?

Val: Alright… Just make sure you come back, alright?

Josie: We owe your mother that much, Red.

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Andrei: I can’t believe even they’re giving up.

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Val: That’s just their way of telling me that I

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Val: It’s okay.

Aww, Valentine...

Andrei: Valentine…

Val: Don’t make that face. As long as you and I are together, that’s good enough for me too.

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Val: I… know it…

*Val leaves*

:C

Andrei: I hope you mean that when you say it.

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Alicia: But at least this obstacle is out of the way of my lord’s path. Ash is going to love this.

Get out of here, Alicia! This is a sad moment!

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Josie: Ray, is this what you wanted?

Rayden: Yes…

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Wow. Was all of that really Rayden's plan?? Probably not the Ash thing, but everyone leaving at once triggering a cascade of calamity for Valentine, crushing her resolve so she wouldn't keep pushing to fight against something she shouldn't be fighting right now since Ash needs to take over?

Seems kind of cruel, and also complicated. What if Laraya had been more receptive. Did they know?

Josie: Will this plan of yours really work though? Regardless of what she said, Valentine was so heartbroken… will she have it in her to fight in the future?

Rayden: I believe she will, but that is all in Andrei’s hands now.

Josie: That’s quite a task.

Rayden: Yes… That is why we must all therefore act as quickly as we possibly can. This resistance has not fallen yet, but it could if he fails to renew her spirit.

Never dead, just underground!

Josie: And what about Ash? We still don’t really know what kind of condition he’s in. He could be used against us…

Rayden: After what Laraya told us, I’m confident Ash is

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Rayden: He must be sure that his siblings would never give up on him.

Josie: So, he let Laraya see him?

Rayden: Something like that. Think of it this way. If he’s with Bran, he’ll most likely be holding their attention, somehow.

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Rayden: other way around.

Maybe it's mutual.

Josie: Haha! You’re thinking quite hard lately, Ray. What’s gotten into you?

Rayden: I’ve just had enough of being pushed around. Those three don’t deserve to lose this war after how hard they’ve worked for it.

Josie: I can agree with that. Andrei… Ash… don’t fail us now.

Rayden: …Let’s be on our way.

...

And... that's it! That's the last of our dialogue. A more satisfying conclusion than I was honestly expecting, though it took a LOT of words to get to it. Now, sadly, the CGs never removed nor changed, so you'll have to deal with them while we watch the characters scroll:

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All in all, nobody's REALLY abandoned Valentine after all. My emotions are satisfied.

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(Sorry about that last one! Caught it late!)

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Wow, Egardia must be really evil. Granted, we have seen that they let their army pillage their villages. Keep rooting for us, people!

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Looks like we're on to the main game! It's taken us a while to get here, but I'm definitely excited for what we'll see in the future.

NEXT TIME: Familiar names, new faces. Onwards to Ash Mode!

The images in this update were SUPER messed up, thanks to Imgur, so apologies if some of the Lyn Mode character credits looked out of order.

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very clever plan, if abit emotionally cruel, but its definitely for the best right now.

I can see Valentine just continuing to push everyone onwards to a goal they can't beat. Taking a breather by force is the best thing right now.

The CHAPTER 9 PRELUDE!

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*insert "no thanks" joke here*

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It's the standard spiel. But who's this "new follower"?

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Wait, FOUR? Is there something I'm missing here?

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Well, either way, let's get started!

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...With a flashback!

N: Royal Palace

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We're in the typical FE flashback setting, sword training.

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Oh, the dead dad is here. It's been a while since we've seen him. I don't remember his name...

Past!Dad: You’re making progress.

Valentine: Don’t say that, father. I’ve seen what our soldiers are capable of, and I’m nothing in comparison.

Past!Dad: …Those are my soldiers, who’ve trained day in, day out for years. Why are you trying to compare yourself to them?

Valentine: Because I can’t protect anyone in my current state.

Past!Dad: That’s not true. Protecting people isn’t just about how well you can fight. Your skills as a leader in making tough decisions will save more lives than your blade ever can. That’s your forte, Valentine.

Valentine: I know that… but when it comes down to it, there’s a chance I’ll need to fight to protect someone, Father. Could you really rely on me, as I am, to fight for your life?

Past!Dad: … …

Valentine: That’s why, Father… That’s why I need to be better. If Bran comes to attack us here, I’m not just going to watch as my family and friends die under my orders.

This is actually a better reason for why the main lord is a skilled fighter than some FE games give.

Past!Dad: …I see that you’re not going to give up on this one. But I guess that’s why you’re my daughter.

Valentine: Father…

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Valentine: Y-Yes, Father.

Past!Dad: Then keep up the good work.

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*flash-foward to later*

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Oh no, not the mother! My emotions!

Valentine: *wakes up* O-Oh, Mother.

Past!Mom: You look absolutely exhausted. Just how long were you training out there today?

Valentine: …Maybe a little too long.

Past!Mom: Relaxing is important too. Come on, sit down. If you push yourself too hard, you’ll only get weaker, not stronger.

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Past!Mom: I won’t deny that. But I think you know why.

Because Andrei would attack anyone who tried to stop him?

Valentine: … …

Past!Mom: It’s not that I don’t approve of you training yourself like this. But I want you to be doing it for the right reasons.

Valentine: …I am, Mother. In the beginning, I might have just been doing this to take my mind off Ash, but it’s like I said… I know he’s coming back.

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Past!Mom: …Alright. I trust you.

Valentine was right, but I imagine this sounded weird at the time.

Valentine: Thank you, Mother. …Would you mind staying here with me for a bit?

Past!Mom: Of course not, dear. I’d be glad to.

*flash-forward even later*

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Valentine: Is it this late already? I guess I really am tiring myself out too much. Mother’s fast asleep too. Did she stay here with me the whole time? … …

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I guess Valentine was a little worried, after all.

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WOAH WOAH WOAH! Hold on! Slow down a little! This is the COINCIDENTAL ENTRANCE OF THE CENTURY, right here!

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AND THIS IS JUST MAKING IT WORSE! This is honestly as hilarious as it is heartwarming.

Valentine: Did something go wrong during your mage training?

Ash: I guess you could say that.

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Ash: Hey there, Val.

Valentine: … …

Ash: Don’t worry, I’m real.

Valentine: *sniff*

Ash: Hey…

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A lot of the moments in this hack make me want to go "D'awww...". Like this one, for example. The fact that the characters make me care enough to do that says good things about the hack.

Valentine: You’re really here!

Ash: *backs away* Yeah, I am. Although, I probably have a lot of explaining to do… Where should I start…

Valentine: I don’t care about that right now.

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Ash: …And I’m glad to be. I must have worried you.

Valentine: Of course you did. But I made sure that no one ever thought you would be gone forever.

Ash: You know, I think somehow… that’s what brought me back here, in a way.

Well, now I'm really curious. Is the black voice a physical manifestation of Ash's doubts and emotions? Or was it something else that latched onto those? Or am I totally on the wrong page here?

Valentine: You still always know all the right things to say.

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Now we're back in normal time.

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Ash: Maybe I should have just told you everything back then. Instead, I tried to forget about it all… I wonder, Val… what will you do now?

Okay, hold up. That all was Ash's flashback, right? Then how did we see Valentine training and then crashing afterwards? Was Ash creepily watching her train through the bushes?

Whatever, moving on.

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We have more important things to focus on...

Ash: …What do you want?

???: I want what you owe me.

Ash: I don’t owe you anything. And I’m not the type to give in so easily.

Me and ??? up there use the same text bolding, so I'll try not to put things in a way that makes it confusing who's talking.

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Ash: do better than that.

???: Hmph. …You may still be in control, but what good is your life to you now?

Ash: Everyone else is safe. That’s all that matters.

???: But how can you be sure that this Bran will keep to his promise, or that your family won’t still try to fight?

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Yeah, Ash, you could've finished off the main villain! At the same time, though, the army wouldn't have been happy with him, and Legato with his huge stats was also around... maybe it was for the best.

Ash: … So far as I can tell, Bran wants me for something. If he didn’t, he would have tried to kill me by now, through poison or other means. Secondly, he’s afraid of me. As powerful as he and his army are, the one thing he wouldn’t want is to be killed by me, even if it’s unlikely.

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Ash: But I’ve left them in capable of hands. Someone who knows even more than myself.

???: You thought this far ahead?

Ash: Maybe… Either way, this plan was the best option. Being away from my family, means that I can focus on you.

???: Oh?

Ash: You’re the reason for all of my troubles, right? So, tell me, what are you?

???: I’m not going to tell you that.

Ash: I see… So knowing what you are would make it easier to figure out how to get rid of you.

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This is good, Ash. Make him mad by extrapolating ridiculous amounts of info from all his statements. That's what I'd do!

???: Ha!

Ash: This… Alicia. Does she work for you? Is that how she gained control of the magic?

???: She’s nothing more than an anomaly that came about because of your negligence. She’s useless to me.

Ash: … What makes me useful to you, then?

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Ash: That’s it? That’s what this is all about?

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???: And with no answers, you won’t survive to find out.

Ash: We’ll see about that.

Yes we will! And I hope we do soon. I'm curious about what this all is. Is it less or more important than the main "beat Bran" plot? By the end, will we look back on this as a sidequest or something we should have focused more on? It's hard to tell.

Ash: This war going on at the same time must have something to do with all of this. Which means that someone from Egardia is working for the owner of that voice. But all this, just to get to me? It just seems unnecessary. I must be missing something.

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Bran! Everything happens so suddenly these days...

Bran: I left you here with minimum guard for quite a while now, and yet you haven’t even attempted to escape or damage me in any way. Aren’t you curious how your family is holding up?

Ash: I’m not a fool, Bran. You’re watching my sister, in some way or another. And perhaps I’m not being watched, but there’s a powerful magic barrier

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That makes more sense. I was wondering if Bran was stupid enough to leave a major piece in his chess game unguarded.

Ash: If you want anything from me, you’d do well not to bother with this pathetic attempt at generosity. There’s nothing you can do to gain my trust.

Bran: … …

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Ash: Tiomare… That’s… dangerous. I hope Lady Laraya doesn’t turn hostile after seeing me with you.

Bran: That’s not my problem.

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Bran: Either way, your sister and everyone else are still alive, so it’s time to hold up your end of the deal.

Oh no... is Ash going to have be sacrificed in ultimate magical blood ritual?

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Bran: They’ve been quite the slippery group, and it’s been tricky to track them down. Now however, we’re receiving information about a meeting about to take place in one of the border villages. It’s assumed at least one of the leaders will show up there.

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Bran: You catch on quickly.

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Oh... or, Bran's just sending Ash with a couple dudes to go around doing random small-time battles.

Okay, I REALLY don't understand this move. I know Bran wanted Ash to help his army, but I think that'd really be better served by having him cast major spells to assist Bran's main force. Basically making him a low-level commander and having him accomplish errands, with little oversight except for Alicia's knight, thus giving him time to amass blue people and become a standard empire-fighting FE Lord doesn't make much sense, unless Bran wants Ash to die in battle which seems unlikely.

Then, this hack has surprised me before. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt for now.

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Oh, and this is the knight. We get to see Drake again! Hurrah!

Ash: It… shall be done.

Now, I forgot to take screenshots of the transitions a lot during this prelude, which is why some of them seem rather abrupt. Imagine a sprawling plain, where a soldier strolls up to some troops...

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Rebel soldier: How are things here?

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Bryan: It looks like things will go smoothly.

Rebel soldier: Good. We need them to at this point in time.

Bryan: Are we planning something big, milady?

Rebel soldier: They say that Egardia attacked Valentine’s resistance a few weeks ago.

Bryan: How is that possible? We never saw any soldiers leaving the city.

Rebel soldier: I’m not sure either… and the news only gets worse from there.

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Rebel soldier: the capital.

Bryan: They captured Lord Ash?

Rebel soldier: Seems like it. Valentine may not have wanted us to do anything too drastic, but if they have Ash captive, who knows what they’ll do with them. We have to do something.

Bryan: Right.

So, others haven't arrived, and they're discussing how to rescue Ash... hmmm.

Rebel soldier: Anyway… Let’s wait for the others to arrive.

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You guys couldn't have talked about this on the presumably-long trip here?

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Ash: Really? She did that?

Drake: She convinced Bran and the others to allow me to avoid execution. But now, I serve Egardia until my last breath.

Ash: I see… A kindness, and yet at the same time, also not.

It doesn't seem that bad... I mean, Drake is basically still in the position he was when this all started.

Drake: Right.

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Ash: My brother acted in the heat of the moment. I hope you can find it in you to forgive him.

Drake: After what I did, I can understand why. How does your mother fare?

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Gah! More emotions as I realize the meaning this has for Drake! Please, stop!

Ash: She had been suffering from an illness for quite some time, and it’s finally made a final push.

Drake: She was? I-I had no idea. I’m sorry.

Ash: It’s alright. Let’s focus on our current situation though, Drake. The chances of us getting back to my sister anytime soon are pretty slim…

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Ash: So, can I trust you now?

Drake: Of course. If you need anything, just ask me.

Ash: Unfortunately, I don’t have the luxury of asking for favours. Not yet, anyway.

Drake: Alright.

So, the conspiracy forms... are the other soldiers with us in on it?

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Is Ash going to be a non-combatant AGAIN?

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No, we get to use him this time! Excellent!

Ash: I have to. Bran wants word of my apparent treachery to Olva to spread.

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Ash: confusion amongst the people of this rebel group.

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At about that time, we're seen. How did the scout know we were Egardian troops, though? There's only 2 of us, and we don't have a bunch of greenies like in the prologue. We could just be 2 soldiers walking through on vacation or something.

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We know her name now!

Scout: The Egardians have been spotted across the river!

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Emilia: Did they figure out we’d be meeting here?

Bryan: It could just be a patrolling party.

Emilia: Let’s hope so. I’m going to go and see what’s going on. Start getting your people ready, Bryan.

Bryan: Understood.

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Emilia: You’d better not start hurting anyone, like we heard they’re doing in the cities.

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Ash: over to the Egardians. You’re not fooling anyone about what’s going on here.

Emilia: What the- Ash, is that you?

Ash: That’s right. So what will it be, Emilia?

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Ash is sounding pretty evil... I have to feel bad for Emilia!

Emilia: Why are you here with the Egardian soldiers?

Ash: Isn’t that obvious?

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I hope you're wrong, Ash!

Ash: Surrendering is your best option. I’m here to convince you and the other rebels of that.

Emilia: …So you’re betraying us, is that it? I’ve heard enough…

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Emilia: to happen.

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Drake: Then why are you trying to fight her?

Ash: I’m just sending a message. Now, we have a mission to do, don’t we?

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I doubt we're going to be doing "knock-out-by-stabbing" tactics here...

END DIALOGUE

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And we're getting started! That was a LONG intro.

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SPOILER-MAP:

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It seems like a very simple map, almost too big. There's some unused room over to the bottom-right, will something happen there?

Let's look at our new characters, finally!

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Ash! At last, we see his stats! He starts at level 3, with okay stats lopsided in the general favor of offense. I was actually expecting less than 4 defense, so that's nice.

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Drake is sort of serving as a crutch character, but not really. He's the polar opposite of Ash right now in pretty much every way, being a physical tank to Ash's squishy mage.

I'll wait for growth time to give a full summary...

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And here are our enemies. They're low-level, weak, and wouldn't stand a chance against Egardia's elite military.

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Up here, we have our 2 bosses: Emilia, and next to her:

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He's not weak, but he's not too tough either.

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Alicia herself is way tougher than I was expecting-certainly no pushover! With any luck, she'll retreat.

NEXT TIME: Some familiar names appear...

GROWTHS:

Ash's growths:

HP: 75%

Magic: 55%

Skill: 55%

Speed: 40%

Luck: 35%

Defense: 25%

Resistance: 40%

Total: 325%

Ash seems like a good dark mage. Very well-rounded, with weak defense but good offensive growths. He also has a surprising amount of HP for his class, which will definitely come in handy. Here's to hoping he turns out good!

Drake's growths:

HP: 85%

Strength: 60%

Skill: 40%

Speed: 30%

Luck: 25%

Defense: 65%

Resistance: 25%

Total: 330%

Well everyone, Drake is officially SPECIAL. Not only is he a plot-important character, he's also the very first character to break the 325% growths pattern that every character has had so far! Wow! He's definitely getting used, though at this point, I don't see many options that involve not using him. He'll turn into a pretty standard knight, albeit one with not-too-terrible RES or SPD, what with that extra 1/20 of a stat point every level.

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If Bran knew who the rebel leader in that area was, that would explain why he sent Ash in particular. Also lets him get a measuring stick for how much of a risk Ash is for trying to break his word.

Didn't notice Drake had that extra 5% growth. Huh. Well, he can certainly use it.

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If Bran knew who the rebel leader in that area was, that would explain why he sent Ash in particular. Also lets him get a measuring stick for how much of a risk Ash is for trying to break his word.

Didn't notice Drake had that extra 5% growth. Huh. Well, he can certainly use it.

Ah, that makes sense. There I go, reading too shallow into things again.

Ash, Valentine, Andrei, and new follower.

Right, I figured that, I just didn't think they'd be a Game Over character.

Time to recruit more party members in...

Requiem: Episode 10: Chapter 9: Twins!

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To start, we'll move both of my pawns down. Not much to do, with only two units...

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I gave Drake the javelin so he could counter the hand axe rebel, but it really didn't help.

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Already! I need to heal him! Well, other than that, things are looking okay, but it's going to be a long trek at this rate.

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Emilia: He’s seriously working for them, isn’t he? He’s even letting them kill our soldiers… How could he betray our country like that? This isn’t like him at all.

Confirmed we're not knocking them out again. Darn.

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Bryan: the Egardians know we’re here. They could be bringing more soldiers this way.

Emilia: No, no, I won’t leave all of you behind here.

Bryan: Please, you must. We’ll hold them off for as long as we can. Your survival is more important than our lives.

This comes off as kind of awkward, as the rebel forces are quivering in their boots in the wake of two lonely Egardian soldiers. We do have more troops offscreen, and as they said we may very well have more coming for all they know, but they should really just swarm us and be done with it rather than setting themselves up like this.

Of course, if any FE commander decided to leverage all their resources at any given time and had their whole army swarm us, this game would be a lot harder(See: FE13 Lunatic). So, it's probably for the best.

Emilia: Sir Bryan…

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And Emilia's gone, thank goodness.

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We watch a short and uneventful enemy phase, then...

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Oh, two new people! These are really nice portraits, I like them.

Orange-hair 1#: I’m just not sure whether it’s a good idea to wander

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GEMMA? Hey... that's the person mentioned as being one of the children of that one pegasus lady, right? Layla's siblings? If so, then the other one must be... the other sibling name... that I totally forgot...

Just so you guys know, I'm just as bad with names in real life as I am with videogames.

Orange-hair 1#: We should head further into the country.

Gemma: Why?

Orange-hair: Olva and Egardia were recently fighting, right? It might be dangerous around here. What’s more, the people might be on edge about outsiders like us.

Gemma: Don’t worry about that!

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Gemma: This is the perfect chance for us to get the jobs that others wouldn’t be able to.

Orange-hair: Yet still, we haven’t found anything at all.

Gemma: Yeah… This war has screwed everything up for us.

Orange-hair: Maybe we should just face the facts…

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What timing!

Orange-hair: What?

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Gemma: Um… Can’t say…

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Gemma: That’s gotta be him!

Orange-hair: Who?

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I hope you guys aren't planning on fighting for a free Olva, otherwise we're gonna have problems.

Gemma: He fits the description perfectly!

Orange-hair: R-Really? Then we have to help him!

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Oh, good. They're motivated by money! Now we don't have to worry about them turning on us when they find out who we're killing!

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Clare! That's her name! I'll remember it! Probably! not...

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As you can see, our two newcomers have emerged on that previously-unused bit of the map, allowing for a PINCER ATTACK! Also, Bryan took the gate in Emilia's absence.

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Here she is! Gemma! She's actually quite good for an earlygame peg, looking at her. She has HP that barely pulls above the teens, and an entire 4 points of defense! Her speed isn't astronomical, but that should take care of itself given time!

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Clare, meanwhile, makes me very happy, mostly because we're getting a healer right off the bat. I don't know how long it will be until we get Katarina back, and I'll decide whether to use her, Katarina, or both when she returns.

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Cleverly, this archer prevents us from swooping in for a boss kill. Not that it would help, as this is a Rout mission.

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Ash and Drake get their first levels! Very standard. I hope they'll start deciding to EXCEL soon!

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The enemies are placed perfectly for bait-and-switch, we have no reinforcements coming, and a lot of the major archetypes that normally make the earlygame hard (or, their lack makes the earlygame hard), we have. This first chapter is actually pretty easy, especially compared to the nightmare that was Val mode prologue. When is the difficulty going to ramp back up, I wonder?

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Careful...

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Okay, we've brought the two groups together for a final push in the middle! Only 7 left...

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Oh, but that doesn't mean this is going to be a short update. We have PLENTY of talking to get through.

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Gemma: Wow, it really is you!

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How can you tell? Does his cloak give him a mysterious aura? Are his shadowed red eyes just THAT stunning?

Ash: Are you… talking to me? Should I know you?

Gemma: Nope, but you’ll be glad now that you do now!

Ash: …What?

Gemma: Don’t you worry about a thing, Lord Ash. My sister and I are gonna help you beat these guys.

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Gemma: That’s the rule.

The rule of what?

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Well that's a problem, since we didn't start with any money. Can we pay you in Informed Ash Handsomeness?

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Ash: What just happened?

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Okay, that's all for now! Moving on, we have this guy's very... well-painted armor. Good job on that.

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Gemma gets a bad first level, and...

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HAH! Just kidding! You didn't REALLY think we were done talking in a hack like this, did you?

MORE WORDS!

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Clare: You’re Lord Ash Olva, right?

Ash: Look, I’m busy. You shouldn’t be out here right now, anyway. It’s dangerous out here.

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Don't brush her off, Ash! We need a healer!

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Clare: My sister and I are mercenaries looking for work. You look like you could use some help.

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Ash, we need a healer! Don't brush her off!

Clare: But you see, we’ve already helped you out a little bit. B-By the mercenary law, we are owed payment.

Mercenary law? Is it, like, an honors system law?

Ash: Mercenary law? Listen… help me out if you want, but I’m not paying you for anything.

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If a magazine starts sending you magazines without asking, and then sends you an overpriced bill, then they couldn't legally make you pay!

Unless it was put as an obscure passage in a pages-long terms of service agreement you unthinkingly signed on a scam site. Then it's totally fine for them to not ask you, because technically they DID ask you!

Still, I don't think Ash signed any obscure contracts recently.

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Clare: Oh, he’s gone. I screwed that one up…

Okay, now we're done talking until the boss. Which is like three screenshots away. Let's go!

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Much better second level! Keep it up!

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Clare also gets a good level... or it WOULD be, if it didn't have magic! Dangit!

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Okay, Bryan, you're the only one left because you did a terrible job commanding your troops. No wonder you were never promoted.

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Bryan: For Olva!

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Draka managed to land a hit, but some of it heals back on enemy phase!

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Of course, Ash can utterly destroy this guy if you let him.

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Bryan: Olva will never surrender to the likes of Egardia!

Sheesh, this guy's more enthusiastic about OLVA!! then we ever were.

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Bryan: What…? You’re… Impossible!

Ash: Far from it. Forgive me.

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Well now I'm just sad. Both about the dialogue AND the miss.

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To help with the accuracy problems I break out the personal tome. But it was probably a waste since it didn't crit.

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Either way, he doesn't take long to fall to Ash's onslaught, which leaves me with the question... would I have gotten different dialogue is Ash hadn't been the one to fight him?

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But! We do end on a positive note!

And that's all for Chapter 9. Chapter 10 will probably pose more of a challenge, now that we're used to all our characters.

NEXT TIME: We get to see Alicia again...

GROWTHS:

Clare:

HP: 50%

Magic: 50%

Skill: 55%

Speed: 60%

Luck: 45%

Defense: 20%

Resistance: 45%

Total: 325%

Clare seems like an interesting troubadour. Her speed growth is quite good, and her magic will at least always be serviceable. She only really lacks defenses, but that's honestly expected. Her skill is pretty good too, meaning, if we want her to use status staves, she'll be a good candidate! We'll see how she grows as I rely altogether too much on healgrinding.

Gemma:

HP: 60%

Strength: 50%

Skill: 45%

Speed: 60%

Luck: 45%

Defense: 25%

Resistance: 40%

Total: 325%

Gemma is a very offensively oriented pegasus knight... wait... do these growths look familiar? Like, REALLY familiar?

Well, I looked over the growths a bit, and Gemma's growths don't exactly match anyone else's, she just has a very similar setup to a lot of other characters. With the totals locked at 325%, these growth sheets don't have too much deviation in between characters.

Either way, that 50% strength is VERY good for a pegasus knight(15% higher than Nella from Val mode!), and I hope she makes great use of it. Like a lot of characters we've seen so far, she's opts for balance rather than specialization. Considering that the strength of a pegasus knight generalls lies in their movement, this is probably a good thing, but I'd like her to have more resistance for mage-killing. Either way, she's probably worth using.

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Think you forgot to cover Ash's personal tome there. Worth pointing out its uniqueness.

Bonus fact: Gemma used to start off with another point or two of skill for her base stats. That got nerfed to balance her out more against the other flying units because well, 50% strength and 60% speed is pretty good.

Also a note: can start building supports now! Should probably hold off a little bit until we have a few more units and see who we like, but the option to build up the points at least is there. As you can probably guess, the two sisters have a support.

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Think you forgot to cover Ash's personal tome there. Worth pointing out its uniqueness.

Bonus fact: Gemma used to start off with another point or two of skill for her base stats. That got nerfed to balance her out more against the other flying units because well, 50% strength and 60% speed is pretty good.

Also a note: can start building supports now! Should probably hold off a little bit until we have a few more units and see who we like, but the option to build up the points at least is there. As you can probably guess, the two sisters have a support.

Dang, I was going to do it, but naturally forgot. Interesting to note that Gemma needed a nerf.

What I wanted to say about Ash's personal tome was that it's not that good. Extra hit and crit makes it a good normal tome, but it's special ability (super effective against mages) is mostly useless as with FE7s 2x effectiveness doubling, even with the boost it still only beats out the Tier 1 dark tome by 2 MT.

The CHAPTER 9 CONCLUSION!

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Last time, we finished slaughtering people who should be our allies.

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Drake: I guess we arrived too early to catch anything big.

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Yeah, here's to hoping we won't need to kill any more rebels.

Drake: Egardia will continue to pursue them, won’t they?

Ash: It doesn’t matter. They’ll have to go back into hiding for a while, now that we’ve caught them out like this. And if they’re as slippery as Bran said, we shouldn’t see them for a while, I should think.

Drake: …I see.

Ash: …

Drake: …My lord, are you alright?

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This is his first time, right? Though, I imagine it's easier to dark-nuke people from afar than to stab them with spears up close.

Ash: Even if its against people that I know.

Drake: You needn’t-

Ash: Don’t bother trying to cheer me up. Even though I should expect it, being called a traitor hurts me more than it should.

Drake: You didn’t choose this.

Ash: It makes no difference. The only thing I wonder is whether the rest of my family will think the same…

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Ash: How can I justify what I’ve done?

Well now I'm getting all sad...

Drake: …In that case, this could be your one chance.

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This is sudden! And surely making a dramatic exit would be too much? Why not just excuse yourself and then not come back?

Ash: No… that would be too easy. What’s more, as long as that Alicia is about, I’m stuck here.

Yeah, she'd find you, and then you'd lose all your trust. Ash is confined by barriers other than physical.

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Oh, almost forgot about these two!

Gemma: Are you gonna pay us or what?

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You're terrible mercenaries!

Clare: Gemma, don’t say that!

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Clare: Lord Ash, she didn’t mean what she said-

Ash: It’s not about that.

Drake: You two girls should head back home. Do you even understand what is going on here?

Gemma: Of course we do! But we’re definitely not going home!

Drake: Don’t be so stubborn! Common mercenaries have no place in the mainland during war time! Especially not two rookies like yourselves!

Gemma: That’s not your decision! We were working under Lord Ash.

Ash: Listen, you two. I’m in no position to be paying you, even if I wanted to.

Clare: What do you mean?

Ash: My country is under the control of the Egardians at the moment. I hold no power here.

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You guys are REALLY uninformed. Surely, mercenaries should keep better track of the wartime situation? Of course, these ladies aren't GOOD mercenaries.

Ash: They lost…

Clare: No way…

Gemma: S-Seriously? Damn… we came all this way for nothing, then.

Clare: We thought Olva would win for sure. We were going to help around at the borders… But if that’s the case… we should be on our way. I’m… sorry, Lord Ash.

Ash: Hold on a minute.

Clare: Yes?

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That's what I like to hear!

Drake: What!? My lord, you shouldn’t-

Ash: Think about it, Drake.

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Ash: If they end up working under someone else, they might be killed. As long as they follow orders around here, they’ll be fine.

Hey, that actually makes sense! This benefits everyone! Mostly me, since I get healers!

Clare: You want us to come with you?

Ash: It’s not quite coming with me. I want you to join up with the Egardian army for a bit. Does that sound like something you can do?

Clare: Um… I don’t know. Gemma?

Gemma: Let’s do it.

Drake: My Lord… I cannot agree with this.

Gemma: Nobody asked you! Lord Ash has asked for us, so that’s that! As long as there’s payment.

Clare: Gemma!

Ash: *sigh* Look, if you really are that desperate, you’ll get your money sooner or later, I promise. But I don’t know when that’s going to be.

Gemma: … …

Ash: …Is that okay?

Clare: I’m sure it is, Lord Ash. Thank you for giving us this opportunity. I’m Clare and this is Gemma, by the way.

Ash: Alright. Try not to get yourselves into any trouble.

Gemma: We won’t let you down, my lord!

Ash: Good to hear!

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And then someone comes to crash our party. Darn.

Alicia: Ash, there you are!

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Alicia: Well, Lord Bran said he’d sent you on a little test. I was just making sure that you didn’t do anything stupid… Especially whilst my soldiers are accompanying you.

Ash: But what of my sister and everyone else? Weren’t you supposed to be spying on them?

Alicia: Well, I was… But that’s all over now.

Ash: Over? What do you mean?

Alicia: From the looks of it various soldiers deserted, or went their separate ways. Even your Aunt and Uncle took off, leaving your siblings to sulk off back home. From the sound of it, Lady Laraya told them about seeing you with us.

Ash: So they’ve given up…

Alicia: Such a shame… and even after I warned your sister not to go to Tiomare…

Ash: You spoke to her?

Alicia: Don’t worry, I didn’t say anything about you. She was pretty upset though.

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Now I'm sad. Val should be fine, Ash. Hopefully.

Alicia: Come on, don’t be like that. The bright side is, I get to spend more time with you and observe you with this magic.

Ash: …Right.

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Alicia: Then, we’ll head back.

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Ash: You’ve always understood me perfectly, Uncle.

Drake: What?

Ash: Ignore me. It’s nothing…

So, it seems our two groups of heroes have figured out each other's plans... definitely good to hear.

NEXT TIME: Foolhardy charge

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Oh shoot is it next chapter you get the best character in the game? Yes so excited

We have a lot of characters coming so you might want to be more specific.

Let's have people dumped all over us in...

The CHAPTER 10 PRELUDE!

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These chapter names still aren't very descriptive. Though, I doubt I could think of anything better...

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Alicia: used to being a prisoner here, Ash. You’re really not going to try anything funny?

Ash: I am not a deceitful person.

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I feel like we have a lie of omission here. I mean, think about it. You could say that he wasn't lying for his own gain-maybe Valentine's, or even the entire rest of the continent! Of course, it's probably best to leave that loophole since I doubt we'll be working for Egardia the whole game.

Ash: I made a promise to Bran, and I plan to keep it. …I wonder if the same can be said about him?

Alicia: That’s “Lord” Bran, Ash. And don’t talk like you know him well enough to judge him like that.

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Alicia... Ash kind of had his dad killed by Bran. I'm surrpised Ash doesn't get angrier here. Andrei certainly would.

Alicia: …! …Your attempts to taunt me won’t work that easily.

Ash: Alright then. Why did you come here, Alicia?

Alicia: I figured I’d let you know that

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Yeah, that's not so bad!

Ash: But I thought I’d already made it perfectly clear that I’m not going to help you learn anything about this magic. Doing me favours won’t get you any closer to that.

Alicia: Kindness with kindness, Ash. I suggest you start learning something about that rule before you end up in a bad situation. But anyway, the other thing I thought I’d tell you is

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Alicia: pretty soon. Our army’s finally made it to the capital, so this’ll be our big push for victory.

So this is what the title meant! Our next objective is confirmed.

Ash: I see…

Alicia: My lord will be expecting you to join us. Of course, as you might know, the top Megelar soldiers are no joke. So I suggest you prepare yourself for a real fight. These guys aren’t going to hesitate, like those rebels.

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That's, what, 3 nations now?

Drake: Lord Ash-

Ash: Don’t worry about it. I guess I’ll see you out on the battlefield.

Drake: Yes, my lord.

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Ash: I’m not really making any progress out here so far. And if I keep refusing Alicia, I’ll run out of use for Bran. …I’m running out of time.

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And cut right to our battlefield. Thankfully, this prelude is a bit shorter on words.

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Ash: If we’re fighting Megelar, the largest and most powerful force on the continent,

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Ash: I thought he’d like to see the final battle in his path to conquest.

Wait, this is the last fight? After this, Bran will have EVERYTHING conquered? The whole continent? If so, WOW is he making excellent time! Though, sudden warp mojo would have anyone making excellent time, I wager.

Alicia: Someone has to watch over our gained territory, right? You never know who might try to attack us.

Ash: …Right.

Alicia: What, are you worried that he might be going after your sister?

Ash: … …

Alicia: …Don’t worry about that. We’ve brought the bulk of our forces here to take them on, so we don’t have the manpower to spare in attacking your little resistance… or what’s left of it, anyways.

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Legato: like that, Alicia?

Oh no, not Legato. His stats are through the roof, I need to pay attention to what he says.

Alicia: O-Oh, Commander! I’m sorry… that was a misstep on my part.

Legato: You are getting far too comfortable in the presence of this ant. He shouldn’t even be here.

Alicia: …That’s not your call. Lord Bran has assigned him to me, so he goes where I go.

Legato: Hmph…

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Legato: in more ways than one.

Alicia: Say what you will, Commander, but you’ll never understand. This magic is special. It’s almost like… it’s power is… calling out to me.

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Even Ash is surprised by that. Is Alicia being seduced by the Mysterious Voice?

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Legato: Now, if you want to make yourself useful, you can get behind the enemy lines and cut off their escape route.

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And he's gone. Well, that mission doesn't sound too difficult.

Ash: … …

Alicia: For what it’s worth, Ash, I don’t think you’re an “ant”. For now, I guess this’ll be our last fight. So let’s get this over with.

*Alicia leaves*

Ash: This is bad…

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Ash: actually have me killed.

Well, I wouldn't put it past them since they're already throwing Ash into combat scenarios. They probably want him dead at least a little.

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Alicia: If Legato thinks he can stick me with a job like that, he’s got another thing coming. I’ve already done my own reconnaissance of the castle grounds here. The walls are weak here.

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Alicia: send the castle into a panic!

And now the chapter's really going to get started, with Alicia's stupid decision.

Ash: Are you crazy? You don’t have the manpower to take them head on!

Well, we will after we recruit all the characters.

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Ash: She’s the only thing protecting me out here. I guess I can’t let her die.

I believe Alicia is a game over character, but I'm not sure. Either way, it's time to get into the real chapter!

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SPOILER-MAP:

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Our map today isn't huge, but it isn't tiny either. We'll be breaking into the castle, whereupon we will rescue our allies and then kill everyone else. Notably, our objective is to defeat all the enemies, and there isn't a boss anywhere in sight. Could we... NOT have to fight a boss today? It seems so odd...

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We start up here. Notice the newcomer?

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That's right, we get to use Alicia! And she isn't a bad mage at all! The Prf seems like a good, if heavy, ordinary tome, though it doesn have infantry effectiveness which makes it an extreme knight-killer. I'll talk a bit more on her growths sheet.

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Megelar has really wimpy soldiers, no wonder they lost to Egardia. Weren't we supposed to prepare for this big fight?

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Some of them have goodies, and one has a tome we've never seen before! But, I'm sure you're more interested in the greenies.

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Skye seems like a good nomad. I'll probably try to use him.

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Kawke is a pirate, but I might wait for Marco to come back, honestly. Fighters typically are more balanced and I end up preferring them. We'll see.

That's all I have for now!

NEXT TIME: We begin our assault on the castle, and find EVEN MORE recruitable people within!

GROWTHS:

Alicia:

HP: 70%

Magic: 60%

Skill: 40%

Speed: 45%

Luck: 45%

Defense: 30%

Resistance: 35%

Total: 325%

70/30 is actually surprisingly good HP/Def growths for a mage. We already have Layla, but considering her place in the story, I'm probably going to end up using Alicia no matter what. Skill is her only major issue, and I can probably find some way to deal with that.

Skye:

HP: 80%

Strength: 50%

Skill: 55%

Speed: 55%

Luck: 35%

Defense: 30%

Resistance: 20%

Total: 325%

His growths are slanted offensively but otherwise balanced. Assuming he hits enough of those 50s, he will be AMAZING. I definitely want to use him, as the extra mobility makes up for his lack of 1-ranged attacks until promotion, but we'll have to wait and see.

Hawke:

HP: 85%

Strength: 75%

Skill: 40%

Speed: 60%

Luck: 40%

Defense: 20%

Resistance: 5%

Total: 325%

He's exceedingly specialized in offense, totally lacking every defensive growth except HP. I can see him capping out strength after promotion, and MAYBE speed with the low cap of a berserker, but his weaknesses may overcome his strengths. Still, he's interesting because he breaks a little ways out of the "balanced" mode that characterizes most of the other characters growths.

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Time to level up that Ash and Alicia support. Yes she's the 4th and final Game Over unit. But their support is pretty good so might as well. Only bad thing about it, is that its possible to hit A with it a bit too fast. Dialogue in the later supports doesn't fit as nicely with some of the earlier Ash mode dialogue.

Never found her tome useful though. Its super effective... against units that already have bad res. It also slows her down by 5 speed due to its weight so she's not doubling and in fact may be getting doubled herself. Because of that lack of doubling, I often find its actually landing a few points short against Cavaliers, while against Knights I might as well just doubled with Fire.

That's actually why I find Ash's personal tome to be better. Its really light, so he's doubling no problem with it. One of the few times where he's doubling easily, the bonus damage against mages and extra crit is nice as well

Skye is amazing as he looks. Pretty sure he got nerfed at one point, can't remember. He has one key weakness however: lack of support options. A grand total of two of them. Both on this map. If you want to use Skye to his fullest you almost have to use one of those two as well.

Hawke is hit or miss. Try him out, if he's turning out well keep him. If he's not, bench him. Pretty simple.

Edited by TheNiddo
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I started to play this hack today... and after watching the prolog I can say to myself that I wasn't the only one who had MUCH trouble with this prolog

Actually I didn't have a death, but I replayed it because the NPCs killed the archer and cleric and I thought they were recruitable.

Anyways I'm going to play it for myself and will watch each chapter after beating it to compare the playstyle and learn from this LP.

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