This chapter isn't really about an atonement, but it is a very apt title nonetheless.
Reyson wakes up and finds this smug bastard standing over him. How exactly he is being confined here, though, is a little less clear.
Oliver is Oliver and acts all weird. I believe this is the first time we hear Oliver's iconic theme.
I hope Oliver knows white wings are an indicator of royalty. Which he isn't, too- though I suppose that's basically the Senate being the Senate.
And he lets slip that the Raven King is richer for this exchange.
Which does not make Reyson a happy camper.
Oliver is blinded by beauty to the point that he forgets one crucial detail.
Herons are as a rule non-violent, but Reyson enjoyed that punch.
Oliver is so blinded by beauty that Reyson is basically shielded from any and all consequences of his actions here.
If Oliver were a Three Houses character, people would take him at his word and blame Reyson for wanting to leave.
Oliver is leaving on some sort of business.
Bragging, probably. Lots and lots of bragging.
Oh hey, that is a different spelling. Radiant Dawn spells that as "Gaddos". And yeah, Lekain and at least one other Senator are also in on this slaving thing.
Reyson has plenty of rage to stew on.
Ike, meanwhile, has someone to drag before the Apostle.
We don't actually get money for Chapter 15, for some reason. Possibly game balance.
Huh, quiet room. Good to know.
Tormod is probably older and taller than Sanaki. He certainly looks that way in the portraits. (His apparent age is 13.)
Tormod is going to keep to this narrative, of course.
I like how she cites the year. Really adds a sense that it's a legal matter rather than a historical matter.
Because really, if you're going to have a slave ring, you might as well have some that you use for reasons that would change the rating of this game.
I'm also imagining cat slaves being used as dancing girls and am almost amused by the situation. Almost.
He says "approval" as if the Senate themselves aren't involved.
Ike, of course, learned that one the hard way.
Sanaki stammers this out to Ike.
UNO Reverse, Sanaki! Yep, Sanaki has a plan, and has had one all along.
Sanaki has been exposing Ike to the rotten underbelly of Begnion. And trusted that he would want to put a stop to it.
"From the beginning", he says, but honestly, I'm under the impression that Sanaki has been planning this since before we met her. Remember the whole "launching a ship without everyone being ready"? Sneaking aboard the Crimean ship while everyone was distracted? Sanaki knew we were coming from Sephiran. And Sephiran was in Toha, so he'd know what kind of man Ike is.
And there's the big question: Why would Sanaki have Ike do this when she has Sigrun and Tanith?
Because an official investigation would draw too much suspicion. It wouldn't go very far.
Much like Ranulf, Sanaki praises Ike's intelligence. Ike really does have his moments when he actually understands the politics involved. He just doesn't grasp his premises and political niceties.
Also Soren. This is probably what Soren was supposed to be mulling over in Chapter 15. I think that particular nugget was executed exceptionally poorly.
Tormod has not been following.
But this is exceptionally good news for him. Sanaki is ready to do what Tormod has been hoping someone in power would do for basically all his life.
But she still needs Ike's help to get going.
Oliver is up to something. Our job is to find out what that something is and come back with enough proof of that he can't hide behind his power and escape justice.
And if we succeed, we get what we came here for.
Nephenee did wind up killing many of the laguz she lowered to 1 HP. Look at all that CEXP I would've missed out on had I gone for the pacifism objective!
Checking the Support window, today is time for Mist/Jill B!
Mist's made some food for Jill.
I'm sure, when she was first learning, it was often the ticket to getting sick rather than the cure.
But Jill is still a Daein soldier!
Mist is fed up with that line.
You can call her Pollyanna, say she's crazy as a loon~
Two Info conversations today. Muarim's is an exceptionally powerful one and Stefan appears to have brought presents.
Muarim was worried about Tormod going to see Sanaki.
Tormod sasses her.
And Muarim worries that he's about to get a visit from someone and a warrant for his execution.
And honestly, I think Sanaki would let that slide. The Senate seem more interested in enforcing that little rule than Sanaki has so far.
I'm not really sure what Ike means when he phrases it like that. I suppose it's because it's not a voiced line.
Muarim does urge him to be more careful in the future.
Ike is surprised that Muarim is the socially aware of the two.
I mean, to be fair, Tormod was basically the Tellius equivalent of being raised by wolves. Well, tigers, wolves are next game.
Muarim is a former slave, so has a bit more of a defeatism to him that makes Lethe and Mordecai appear much more outgoing about how they decry laguz prejudice.
Also, Muarim having served "senators" makes it sound like he served an actual Begnion Senator. I don't believe Muarim has any special lines to indicate which.
That won't fuck up a kid at all or anything.
Liked, societally presentable, whatever the kids are calling it these days.
Never let it be said that Tellius treats the issue of laguz slavery lightly.
There are a lot of ways to interpret that "...".
Muarim doesn't feel like he belongs in polite society as a result of his past.
So he wants us to look after Tormod in his stead.
Tormod does not approve of this. One gets the impression the two have had this disagreement hanging over them for a while.
Tormod has spent most of his life in the company of Muarim and other former slaves. Much of his identity is forged in changing that fact.
Stone cold, Muarim.
It certainly made Tormod run off. I feel real bad for Tormod here.
Ike agrees that seemed a little extreme.
Ike does not agree with the concept of nobility, and his introduction to Begnion in particular was a prime environment to look at that mess and go "...but why?"
And he's having none of it. A lot of people think Ike would work best with Claude of the 3H Lords because both are "anti-racism", but I think this is the more fundamental part of his character- that Ike does not believe anyone should be treated differently on the basis of their identity- and that means he would see more eye to eye with Edelgard's rage against the nobility.
Whoops. That seems a little important.
Ike realises that he doesn't have a counterargument here.
She's the only employer you've had, Ike.
And on that note, here's another window into the relationship between Edelgard, Claude, racism and nobility.
Ike has no frame of reference for the ills of Begnion society because he hasn't grown up with it. He's still coming to terms with the existence of slaves at all. He hasn't fully come to appreciate what it means to be a commoner with no say in what the nobles get up to.
Ike cannot empathise with Muarim here. He just doesn't have the necessary life experiences to fill in the gaps.
But he can behave in a way that makes Muarim's lot better. This general theme- that someone who doesn't understand a society has to learn how it works before they can properly change it- is the same one that Claude does get to face, when Edelgard throws it out at him before dying for a cause that Claude didn't even understand. Despite Ike himself agreeing more with the character of Edelgard than Claude, Ike's story is very much in the DNA of Verdant Wind. Claude is just a very different driver.
You can't change the past. It's there, it's not going to go away. But you only have to carry it if you choose to.
If you get the chance to put it down, there's no real reason not to. You can always make a better present to become a much more tolerable past to look back on in the future.
Oh dear, time tenses and this isn't even a time travel story.
The freedom to make choices is what defines freedom. If you can't make choices, how different are you from a slave?
Muarim has an apology to prepare.
Ike's willing to lend a hand, if Muarim doesn't feel comfortable here in Begnion?
Muarim can manage just fine, though. I don't think Tormod would be crying with beorc.
The place Ike excels is being a very easy person to be friends with.
On a much lighter note, Ike has a new recruit that he hasn't been introduced to yet.
Stefan marches to the beat of his own drum. I wonder how long it's been since that battle.
Stefan is curious about what makes Ike who he is.
Yeah right. I'm not even sure that'll be true in casual playthroughs- even if Ike gets to fight things, he might have hit level 20.
Stefan can tell this from the way Ike swings his sword. Amazing. You can tell he comes by his strength honestly.
If Ike wants to become more powerful, Stefan will be happy to become one of his teachers.
Ike still doesn't understand this conversation. That's just the way Stefan is, honestly.
I don't think I've ever actually seen the "Don't Study" option.
Ike: I appreciate the offer, but I decline. I must perfect my technique on my own. Under my own power.
Stefan: Very well. That, too, is an honorable path. With your leave.
...I like it. But we'll be Studying anyway.
This isn't actually a stat buff for Ike, but considering how you use Ike casually, it might as well be.
Stefan gives us one of the Occult scrolls! Ike's Occult skill of Aether is really good (it's a two hit combo of Sol and Luna) and Ike needs it in order to really go toe to toe with some lategame bosses. How we'll be doing that without him will be discussed when we have the tools to discuss.
The cash injection of a White Gem. Also getting around to selling Makalov's Red Gem and Seeker's Blue Gem.
Muarim getting recruited means we now possess a Demi Band of our own.
The Demi Band is a little quirky with how it interacts with normal laguz transformation. While it is equipped, your TP is locked at 20, you are in your Transformed state and you have the halved transformation bonuses. When you unequip it, your TP is knocked back down to zero. I think this means if you play with it incorrectly with Lethe, she might lose her 16 starting TP before a battle and lose you one of her main advantages. Correctly deciding when she should have the Demi Band and when she should use a full transform is a tricky business to do optimally.
Tormod, meanwhile, is an excellent mage who is "pretty good" at basically all of his stats- he'll have enough of everything to get by if you put your faith in him, and that even includes his Strength and Defence! I love using Tormod, and I will use any excuse I can to use him. Another reason he's good, though, is this Skill, Celerity. Celerity gives him +2 Move. For Tormod, this means he can keep up with a mounted party and do his magical business alongside them. Imagine if this was RD and I could take this off and give it to someone else! Alas, no +2 Move for me.
On an unrelated note, last Chapter we got an item called the Boots. This is a statup item that grants +2 Move to whoever you give it to, and the issue of which character to give it to is often the hardest one in the playthrough. I normally give them to my dancer, and that's still the case in Path of Radiance. But the PoR Dancer is a male, so I need a different candidate.
Something about 8 Move Sages? Also, really wish Ilyana could've promoted last map.
Speaking of promotions, Mist gets hers with this Master Seal I have.
Our little girl is growing up- and earlier than usual, too! I normally get Mist promoted Chapter 18.
And this is why you don't want to promote Mist before Chapter 15. She's a horse girl now.
I think we can expect good things from Mist.
On the subject of people who aren't promoting.
And it's time to Forge a Sword. Interesting how I dropped the Weight to 10.
And yeah, that's a lot of extra funds for Crit.
I'm detail-oriented enough to scroll down to the diacritic section to spell "épée" with the right marks, but somehow you'll never catch me spelling my favourite tangent topic Fódlan.
Oh yeah, Mist can use Swords now. Because using Ike as your Lord is for normal people.
"You always suggest direct attacks."
"No, that's your problem, Ike."
Does Duke Tanas have to deal with solicitors? Has he given any thought to the Kingdom of Heaven?
We have a warrant!
Well, that got him quaking in his boots.
The ultimate standby: Let the girls sort it out. I mean, that's what we've been doing all game.
It is Oliver's turn to start getting scared.
This must've come as a shock to him. The Senate was not informed of this!
"What's my crime so I can cover it up?"
Soren puts pressure on him. I love how Soren's bluntness makes him good at Diplomacy.
And there's the terror.
Unfashionable and morally unconscionable.
But we've seen the entire mansion. How long did this take? I'm sure Oliver's mansion would take a while.
Oliver wants Ike out of his house as fast as he can get away with.
"I am a good person because I serve God! You won't get any proof because God has better things to do, but honest!" The foulest weapon of all the templars.
I'm sure neither of these things is literally true.
Oliver just has to make himself as creepy as possible.
Ike's personal space is probably smaller than Oliver's physical space.
Intruders!
Oh, she's one of ours.
"Please stop trying to jump out the window, bird man." Did Oliver have any plan other than "hope Reyson stayed put of his own free will"?
"And how do I make her stop?"
"Look how visually impressive Reyson is!"
Titania vouches for Mist's story. That'll be harder for Oliver to deal with.
Soren knows exactly what we're dealing with. Because of course he does.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way."
Why do they never take the easy way? I mean, it's easier!
Let's deal with Oliver.
I think this is something like "Tanas Manor" in the American version. One mansion isn't much of a Dukedom. You can also see Oliver running away from us in the hallway.
This is all this Devdan character has to say. Devdan is... a character.
This guy is definitely our boss, though.
We have exactly enough space to bring all our girls and Sothe, too!
Indoor maps in Fire Emblem honestly feel more satisfying, even when they're relatively bland, because there's lots of treasure to nab, and this one is no exception.
There's some treasure here...
And up here. But what else are in these rooms? We won't find out until we open the door!
This is our boss. Not that special, but he does have an existent crit rate and is still a general.
Now, full disclosure, this map had a few technical hiccups on the way through. I don't think that affects the final playthrough in any way from a screenshot perspective, but it does touch on how I played a little.
This starting bit, though, is relatively constant. You advance as far as possible through this first hallway. This first hallway is honestly a relatively boring part of the mission. It could've stood to have been shorter.
Mist's first round of combat. Just as dodgy as usual, but with a heck of a sword arm. On the first run, she actually killed this myrmidon. It must've rolled an extra point of Defence this time, though.
Moving along, we have Nephenee throwing Javelins at a Fighter to weaken it. Yeah, we're concretely in "Weapon Triangle? What's that?" territory here. Nephenee is feeding this kill to Ilyana.
About time for this.
...
OK, this definitely warrants explanation. The last FE games were the GBA games, and all characters of the same gender and class had the same sprite, with a different palette to quickly denote which one was which. Path of Radiance is the very first FE game with models, but this design philosophy has lingered. While Soren has a unique Sage model from Tormod, Ilyana has to make do with copying her female Sage model from the other female Sage we get. Which would be that Calill lady we saw in Chapter 14. It looks creepy when the artbook puts both designs adjacent to one another. Mia's promoted design (and, when put in the artbook, Marcia's) also are clearly palette swaps of prepromoted characters, but Ilyana's is just... out of character blatant.
Won't argue with the stats, though. I know I was kinda banking on the Sage promotion's Str bonus to finally be able to wield Elthunder without penalty, but now I say it out loud, it's kind of weird.
A choice! Sages and Paladins get a choice in what additional type of weapon promotion grants them access to. For Sages, it's between the ability to heal using magic or using the weakest physical weapon in the game on that tiny Strength stat.
It is not a choice. Both prepromoted Sages come with knife mastery, which after how overpoweringly good the prepromoted Sages were in the GBA games, feels like an intentional nerf on the developer's part. Like they knew you'd never use Knives on your homegrown Sages, and made "can use Staves" an advantage of homegrown over prepromoted.
Not that I'm saying 58 EXP is bad for a single kill, but Astrid's not pulling the numbers she used to.
I had Jill weaken this Fighter to make sure I had plenty of kills to go around for feeding purposes.
Everyone else forms this little murderball behind her. Ike and Sothe are just here to do their jobs.
Honestly, Mist just needs to swing her sword around, not so much get kills. Not that I wouldn't mind if she did get some.
Jill dodges some Thunder magic. It's not Effective on her yet, but gotta get that practice in.
The Thunder mage was holding a Gamble scroll. Gamble halves your Hit and doubles your Crit (thankfully, only when you choose to use it), but it applies that to the battle numbers, so you're capped at 50% hit. What is this, a game with Metal Slimes in it?
Astrid gets a bad level. She's not in much danger of falling behind, but she does get a few this time.
Mist winds up killing this guy anyway. I have way too much fun when Mist starts using Swords.
Ilyana can heal people now! The fact that I have Mist get a kill and Ilyana heal someone one after another almost feels intentional, but I assure you it wasn't.
Nephenee's taking some actual hits. If you're hoping for Wrath, it actually happens this mission!
This is a Sniper. Obviously, I'm going to want to keep my fliers out of range. On my first run, this was a problem.
Not this time, though. Something slowed me up. Not sure precisely what.
Check out where Ilyana was healing Jill from last turn. She walked from there to here in one go. She may be blatantly female Tormod now, but I'm using her like this because she's really cool like this.
Jill and Marcia use a Rescue Drop to move Nephenee up here after she killed that mage. Rescue Drops are the sort of gambit you see a lot from "Efficient" playstyles, where you can get a single unit moving all over the map with the help of mounted units and their ability to move again after Rescuing. It's a little bit too committal for my tastes, but when there's time like this...
Mist comes around the corner and equips her stronger Sword for that Knight.
The fact that Mist has sky high Avoid hasn't changed now that she has a weapon.
She's not equipped to handle armour, though.
Not that Nephenee did much better.
So hey, remember when I said there would be Wrath?
What better use of Nephenee's time than charging into a horde of enemies and knocking yourself into Wrath range stabbing a mage? She does kill this one.
Mist is going to continue this way. She's needed over on the other side. ...Wait a second...
...Mist, you are a horse unit, right? Funnily enough, anti-cavalry swords not fully comprehending a few mounted classes is also a Fire Emblem staple. The GBA games kinda gave Nomads (bow cavaliers with terrain privileges) an awkward free pass when it came to Effective weapons.
It gets a little academic when Mist kills this guy without taking the hit to begin with.
Jill kills an armour and moves... in Sniper range? Well, Nephenee isn't invincible.
Astrid goes and follows Mist to make sure she can handle that side of the map. Not that there are a ton of enemies over there right now, but being a bow user in the mess up here isn't a place you want to be.
Mia makes sure that one myrmidon can't stab her. He totally can given the chance.
Ilyana healing from inside the danger zone is just showing off.
Sothe opens the door and finds out the treasure room here is guarded!
By a guy with a Killer Lance. Also a Chest Key, so whoever kills him can get to looting.
Lethe can kill that guy in one round, but not this guy, so she attacks him so both fall to her next turn.
Titania carries Sothe on to better things. Ike is careful not to get in the Killer Lance guy's way.
That is a lot of damage, admittedly. Not high enough to admit bows are as much of a threat to fliers as their reputation suggests.
Nepheneee has commenced critting. Not that this screenshot shows it unless you know the Soldier crit animation.
Good to know, her next level promotes her.
You can't suffer the consequences of Wrath if you dodge things!
She only had one use of that Iron Lance and didn't crit, so this guy isn't very damaged.
A myrmidon tried his luck with Jill. At least he didn't get critted on his way down.
At least it's Speed.
Nephenee has fully upgraded to Steel at last. Still critting things for now.
Another armour for Mist to not damage that greatly. Still, though, I can always feed it to someone.
Killer Lance guy is no longer a problem.
First treasure is an Ashera Icon. Probably the worst treasure of the bunch.
...Shouldn't that Priest have done something about this Knight's HP?
Ah well. The feeding will commence.
Astrid crits him. Because we had to get an Astrid crit in here somewhere.
You're getting a really good level next Base.
For some reason, I decide to kill this Priest. I think I was just getting exceptionally frustrated with this whole technical difficulties issue.
With the blood of the clergy on her blade, she approaches this recruitable character. This could go an alarming number of ways.
This is the situation you want to be using Wrath in. It's a shame it's hard to come by these situations.
Jill gets the Sniper. Her and Astrid are the main unpromoted people right now, with Nephenee getting all this EXP.
Jill is also taking a lot of damage from engaging with mages and such. Ilyana is feeding.
The thing about the Demi Band is that you can equip it mid-mission just fine, it just has those weird consequences to keep an eye on.
Also Lethe is free to open this chest while she's up here.
Elthunder enemy mages have a non-zero crit chance, so this one might've killed Nephenee if he got lucky. I always like critting things that can crit me.
Devdan isn't like most units in that he Talks to us and spares us the effort, but he won't attack the units that can recruit him like some iconic issues from Fire Emblem history.
Devdan believes strongly that children should not be engaging in warfare, and may be recruited by any of the five child soldiers this army employs- Rolf, Mist, Tormod, Sothe and Soren.
I disagree that Soren looks like a child.
I mean, I know we're here to catch Oliver blatantly subverting the Emancipation Proclamation, but really? He just openly turns trespassers into slaves?
Not that Mist understands the fact indentured servitude is another name for slavery.
Devdan realises that Oliver might be a bad man after all, and switches sides. Well, not like he was fighting for Oliver willingly.
Oh, Devdan. You are certainly a character.
Recruiting Devdan with some of the boys:
Tormod: For free? Oh, I know all about that! Well, it's time to fight back! C'mon! We came here to help you out! Fight with us! Get your freedom back!
Devdan: You speak oddly, but if you help me, then Devdan says thank you. Devdan is polite and well mannered!
Tormod knows what's up.
Sothe: Is that so... That's too bad, but I've got a job to do! A sad story won't make me stay my blade!
Devdan: A moment! Wait a moment. Devdan does not fight children.
Sothe: Hmm... In that case, you should join us. That way, we can take care of this without me killing you.
Devdan: Understood. Devdan is a friend to young people everywhere.
Sothe might have the same cold blooded issues as Rolf.
Rolf: Is that so? That doesn't seem fair.
Devdan: This sad world knows little of "fair," does it?
At least Rolf's doing fine with him.
Soren: If that's true, then why not switch sides and join us? If you become a member of the Greil Mercenaries, we would pay you for your services.
Devdan: That would be an honor! Please, allow Devdan to join you!
Soren: Our contract is complete then. I will pass along the terms of the agreement to our commander, Ike. Now then, I expect you to do your best.
Devdan: Understood. Devdan is a very hard worker.
Soren is all business. At least Devdan is happy to be working for someone who does pay him.
I was tempted. Ultimately, that 1% crit rate scared me too much. Jill will be fighting Kimaarsi a lot still, though.
She kills this other priest, because I don't trust him to heal Kimaarsi. Not that I've ever seen him do it.
At least it's Speed? Again?
The Full Guard completely nullifies all Effective bonuses a unit might suffer. In the absence of a dedicated anti-bow shield for fliers, this will be the accessory of choice for Marcia.
Mist and Astrid use violence to open this door.
Titania comes down to help Sothe move over to the other treasure room. He won't get there in time.
Your Wrath rampage was great and all, but now it is time for you to not kill things.
You've got enough EXP to be getting on with, see?
Fighting Kimaarsi was enough for Nephenee to promote! She won't be following in Ilyana's footsteps.
No comment on the outfit, really. It's not that offensive, it's not that impressive.
Nephenee is doing great here, though.
This would be so funny.
Both sides missed once. Worth it.
Astrid picks up a Chest Key, so we can get that treasure without Sothe anyway.
Well, after we deal with these enemies. That Thief arrives sooner on Hard Mode, so planning for him is a thing. Here, he'll run away if you don't leave a route to treasure available.
Sothe opens this chest, and now the thief doesn't care about that part of the map. If the top chests are blocked, he will run away.
Kimaarsi, in death, starts thinking about how he might be somewhat responsible for Tanas's mess.
Jill is forgiven for the HP/Spd levels.
We get his Spear, too. It's just a little dented. He definitely hit Jill once, but I'm still not sure who took the second hit.
This level at least covers the HP/Skill/Luck over two levels that she got, but she is still not forgiven.
Mist oneshots the thief.
"Mist oneshots" is a sentence I just said.
Mist getting levels in maps will start becoming more common now. Her Avoid just keeps on going.
Some soldiers appeared in the starting position and have been slowly encroaching on us. Demi-Banded Lethe can one round them just fine.
These are some nice treasures. Bolting is a 3-10 magic spell that I might give Ilyana if I really don't like the face of some guy in particular and want him dead faster than my legs can carry me to his position.
Ilyana heals Mist. The cycle is now complete.
Something about taking off the Demi Band for next mission? Eh, Lethe can have another kill.
Reyson, meanwhile, has been trying to hide from Oliver.
I can only imagine this ending in disaster, and I'm not sure if that's a "Reyson is weak" joke or an "Oliver is fat" one. I can't remember whether Reyson has enough Build to Rescue people.
"Fat man"? That the best you could do? Reyson does do better later, but I know it's only in one of the versions. It'll also be in a cutscene we don't see.
There's a flash of light, a magic sound effect, and Reyson does this. It's fair to assume Oliver casted a spell. Oliver is so pathetically weak in the Magic department, and Reyson so high in Resistance, that I am amazed that any damage was dealt at all.
I am more disturbed by Oliver jokes in later material than usual.
You tell him, Reyson!
There's even a knocking sound.
And then the sound of breaking down the door.
He gets away. Somehow.
Oh, and we found the target.
Ike rushes to his aid, as he is want to do.
Oh. Yeah. Right.
Ike is back at Mainal now. It's mentioned later in this conversation that Ike heard more from Reyson than what he said in our version of the cutscene, but this is just where we turned up.
Ike is in a bit of a hurry, one might say.
I wonder if Sanaki is teaching Elincia some tips in both diplomacy and Diplomacy that her education might not have covered. Or really, just what the two are talking about beyond the serious matters of Crimea's occupation and Ike's anti-laguz-slavery missions.
And Ike doesn't wait for Sigrun. Even by Ike's standards, this is pretty impertinent.
Sanaki is not amused.
Elincia realises that something is bothering Ike- this isn't Ike just being Ike.
Reyson pushed Ike's button. Not sure which button, but it was definitely a button.
Sigrun finally caught up.
Well, it's time. Time for the big exposition dump on this plot point in particular.
Well, a more appropriate meeting place has been moved to, and context has been given.
It's a long, complicated, and politically embarassing story. One can't be blamed for not wanting to start it.
In the name of beorc/laguz relations, Nasir is willing to get the ball rolling.
Well then, Nasir, let's hear it.
The Apostle was murdered. By some unknown faction.
Bit of a sideswipe at Sanaki there, considering...
It was a disaster for Begnion. They needed some way to vent their grief-
...Oh.
Dear.
The Serenes Massacre: Begnion commits genocide.
Over a rumour. I hope whoever started it is happy.
I would like to remind you, in response to this line and the way Sanaki approaches her response to the Serenes Massacre in general, that Sanaki is 10 years old, and was thus born long after the Massacre happened, and has no responsibility for it, even slightly tangential.
Sanaki admits this flat out, from the word go.
Not that it was much of a secret. But still, this is an important fact to note.
Had the people of Begnion been thinking straight, they would never have blamed the herons.
But grief can do horrible things to a man. To a whole empire?
It's an appropriate tone, at least.
This fact came up tangentially in the laguz meeting, but it's a known fact, not just something Tibarn mentions in private.
Hm... well, the cargo is certainly a factor for the ravens, but really, the most important part of this statement is that "Kilvas does not care about who they hit."
The hawks, though, are just in it for the revenge. Part of me wants to imagine the hawks intentionally letting all the Begnion valuables sink to the bottom of the ocean when they attack.
This is something that Reyson apparently told Ike during that cutaway. I'm overall fine with it not getting shown if we're just going to have Ike quote him here, but it's certainly a choice.
Amongst the people of Begnion, there is a very definite undercurrent that the Serenes Massacre was Wrong. There's a reason they don't like talking about it.
Serenes Forest still stands as a brutal reminder. That part of Begnion doesn't see much use.
The Senators would be just fine if the Serenes Massacre became a footnote in Begnion history, of course. But Sanaki is a better person.
Sanaki is ready to right the wrongs committed by her forbearers in the name of peace between laguz and beorc. No matter what it takes.
I wonder if one of the things Sanaki did in those meetings with Elincia was ask her for permission to use Ike and co on the other three missions, too.
Elincia is certainly OK with this turn of events.
Our next and final mission for Begnion: Find Reyson, and apologise for what Begnion did.
Not that we left the last task finished or anything.
We haven't seen all the facts about the Serenes Massacre yet, of course. There's still more little details left that contribute to the point I am about to make. But considering what we know now, I would like to talk about 3H again- specifically, one of the Tellius parallels that is very much intentional, rather than just similar thematic ideas that both games chose to explore. When exploring the story of Faerghus, one becomes acquainted with the Tragedy of Duscur, which is both on the surface and under the hood very similar to the Serenes Massacre in multiple ways.
The ways they are different, though, makes the Tragedy of Duscur come off so much worse.
First of all, the name "Tragedy of Duscur" isn't even the name given to the killing of the Duscur people. That's the name given to the assassination of the beloved King. Among the group I discuss 3H in, the genocide is known as the "Punishment of Duscur", due to an off-hand quote from Felix that doesn't even have a capital P. Second of all, the Duscur people aren't even properly cleared. Dimitri knows (or at least claims to know, his word is the only evidence in the game on the topic) that Duscur is innocent, but he hasn't even told what are allegedly his "closest friends" about it four years later- and generic soldiers running around the monastery openly consider finishing the job. Third of all, Dimitri gives only the most rudimentary of efforts to maybe restore Duscur later. There is no mention of repartritions, to Dedue or to the other Duscur people (with whom Dimitri's sole interaction is fighting them when they try to rebel and take their land back), and Duscur's rejuvenation is left to only some of Dedue's endings- with his ending with Dimitri noticeably not being one of them. And lastly, when confronted with evidence of the true culprits behind the assassination, Dimitri. Does. Nothing.
This is not the only moment in Azure Moon where a moment from a previous Fire Emblem game is called back to, only for Azure Moon to subvert what happened in the original and make it come off as so much more badly handled. However, considering the subject matter of genocide that is necessary to have this moment occur, the mishandling of the Punishment of Duscur just comes across as poor on multiple levels, especially when the Serenes Massacre is so easy to point at. I believe full well that someone on the writing team could have done Duscur just as well as Serenes and the active decision was made to write Duscur this way to show how fucked up Faerghus is. But I don't think Serenes was a good choice in subversive moment.
...Whew, I had a lot to say about that, and we've only just seen the introduction to the apology! I'm sure I won't be as long winded in the future, though.
Two turns overtime, incidentally. I wasn't sure how the BEXP on that one worked out either.
Next time: It takes some time to form peace, yeah, but this is ridiculous.
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