Yes, the cutscene viewer denotes this a separate cutscene. It's even called Life Returns, which Path of Radiance had already used. That makes three of Radiant Dawn's eight cutscenes occuring once you completed the gameplay (as soon as you order Ike to attack Ashera and the RNG says you hit, you're done "playing" the game).
(Also, technically, according to the game, this should be end of the last update, but I think it's better if I put it here.)
Yune restores everyone who was turned into statues as she flies over the continent.
The first thing this laguz does on getting unpetrified is to untransform.
And start stretching. These guys were aware while petrified. He spent a good solid few weeks stuck transformed.
The Daein soldier prepares himself to kill the laguz, but doesn't seem entirely on board with the idea.
You can cut the tension with a knife.
But the laguz tells him, without a single word, "we've just spent weeks turned to stone, you want to spend our first day back fighting?"
And the weapons fall to the ground.
That's a catastrophe averted.
Time to go around the world and restore all the civilians at last. Sienne seems surprisingly peaceful for what was going on at the time.
I hope these people weren't petrified doing their laundry, because those sheets are ruined now.
I think the hawk tribes were hiding in Gallia while their country was genocided, but I forget when that came up. Oh, and that hawk girl on the left is adorable and I wish there were more hawks in general outside Tibarn and his aides.
I presume these were the elder Goldoans Yune brought up in the extended script. I wonder who they are, in Goldoan society.
And with that, Yune flies away, her mission complete.
We'll be spending more or less the whole epilogue outside Sienne physically, but we're going to hear what happens a lot further on in the future.
Time for us all to go home.
Micaiah is going back to Daein, of course. This decision has a lot more impact with a later reveal, somehow. We're done with the game and we're still doing this.
Yeah, uh, thanks, Lekain. We were in the middle of rebuilding the first time.
Ike tells them to do a good job of it so they don't have to worry about it coming down later.
Sothe understands that's practically "I believe in you" from Ike.
And much like Sothe was after PoR, Micaiah understands just how much of an impact talking to Ike makes on you. And she barely had any time with him!
Yeah, Pelleas has quietly abdicated and passed the throne to Micaiah, so that her ending has minimal edits. We'll go into why Pelleas has abdicated when we get to Pelleas's entry, but Micaiah is... well, OK, she's definitely better than Pelleas.
Crowned 15th queen of Daein at her subject’s entreaty. Micaiah ushered in a new era of prosperity and peace.
(If Pelleas died.)
Sothe is in the backbone of Micaiah's reign, and is focused on the people like him. Considering him marrying Micaiah is the default, he's still right in there.
Becoming Queen Micaiah’s husband and her pillar of support, Sothe worked tirelessly to assist the poor.
(A Support with Micaiah).
Edward decided to reject any notions of being a nobleman. Hopefully the quality of life of a Daein citizen has gotten high enough that he lives comfortably.
There's a lot of mentions of the armies of each nation being rebuilt, which is kind of... who are we really fighting right now? The game doesn't really seem to think about that question.
Nolan became Robin Hood. And hopefully his Merry Men actually treated him as a leader this time.
Although sometimes, Laura came out saying something so earnestly insane that the kids just nodded along.
Ilyana's life has not changed at all. Whoever liked her a lot didn't really want to do anything with her ending.
Aran's clumsiness is often mocked as a trait that he never actually exhibited in the main game. I think it's a mistranslation of some kind? Aran's doing the job, not perfectly, but he's so committed to doing the job that he's valuable for that alone.
This man needs to retire. Badly. Didn't he learn anything from PoR Rolf Support?
Yeah, that's about what one expects from Zihark. Fits that he put his country behind him.
The use of the word "ceded" almost makes one think that Talrega became its own independent country, separate from Daein, but no, Talrega is still Daein, with Jill as a steward. Not that she wouldn't make a good Queen. She's a little like Ingrid in this respect- she ends the story revitalising her not-particularly-successful home territory.
Queen Micaiah ceded Talrega to Jill. Bearing her father’s ideals, she and her husband made the land prosper.
(Haar ending.) Yes, that's all Haar ending is. If it wasn't tied to getting them both to A Support, you'd be forgiven for thinking this husband wasn't Haar.
Haar does this regardless of whether he marries Jill, which is just hilarious. I think that ending really fits him.
And Fiona went back to become a great steward for Marado as Jill was Talrega.
Pelleas has a dialogue scene before his ending.
He has come to tell Almedha the truth about why he's been avoiding her.
Almedha didn't really have much evidence Pelleas was her son, and used mostly physical appearance and the presence of the Brand.
Which is something Izuka was aware of when making his choice.
Almedha is so desperate for her son that she'll ignore the truth in front of her eyes.
...Well, that's also something worth noting. Brands apparently can take odd times to appear, but Almedha's was pretty quick.
So what about Pelleas?
The one Spirit Charmer in all of Tellius that we get to meet is, in fact, a walking plot point to be used to be confused with a Branded. Because that's literally the only time they bring up Spirit Charmers in the plot.
I think the most surprising thing is that Almedha was not already aware of this.
Pelleas rejected the idea of being a Branded in 1-7, and with the knowledge that Ashnard's son was the son of a beorc and a laguz, he realised that yes, in fact, he wasn't Ashnard's son himself. He doesn't need to be told by Izuka or Sephiran, but it kinda feels like he should be.
Pelleas apologises for his role in unintentionally aggravating Almedha's mental state by raising her hopes and dashing them. A role that is largely "exist and don't question this".
Pelleas does not want to continue to live a lie for Almedha.
We don't really get the story on why exactly Pelleas's parents abandoned him, but Pelleas is thankful that he got someone's mother for some part of his life. This probably didn't help him make his choice about parting ways with Almedha.
Pelleas leaving Almedha is something that always happens if you spare him, but if you completed some secret conditions, Pelleas actually figures out what really happened to her son and gives her a heads up. It actually comes later on, though, this conversation ends here regardless.
Pelleas abdicated owing to his lack of being Ashnard's son and thus having zero qualifications, but he found a home nonetheless and is working on improving his skills.
Nailah goes back to Hatary. How she does so gets brushed over. Hopefully she actually did, but this epilogue doesn't mention anything about the people of Hatary actually establishing communication with Tellius.
In Ancient or Modern? I feel like that's an important distinction to ask.
Volug returned to Hatari to tell of Nailah’s hopes and the great war. He hoped to migrate the whole nation.
(Nailah died.)
And Lorazieh is alive! The man survived his daughter getting kidnapped, the unending chaos of two wars, and petrification by the goddess and still hasn't so much as lifted a finger. Rafiel has his own commitments, though.
Rafiel performed a cermony in Serenes Forest to wake his father, the king. He still lives there in peace.
(Nailah died.)
Caineghis wants to have a chat with Ike.
Ike wanted to challenge Caineghis to a fight, just to see if he could. The odds aren't hopeless for him- with capped Speed, Ike can actually avoid the double from capped Speed Cain!
After everything Ike's done, though, he still wants to fight?
Well, he's had enough fighting for his life.
Yeah, we're going to need to think about this before the laguz go right off the chaos.
We're not stopping them for anything.
Caineghis went home, and the first thing he did was abdicate. This is not so much "more evidence for the lion theory", but part of my thesis, although I left it unstated at the time. There is no reason for Caineghis to be in such a hurry and no real evidence that Caineghis resented being King. Obviously, Caineghis has judged Skrimir to be a worthy successor and it is to be expected that Skrimir will take the position once Caineghis retires, but just dumping the role on him on the spot?
King Caineghis busily dealt with affairs of state and coped with a changing world until a new heir could be chosen.
(Skrimir died).
Giffca did one thing and does not regret doing that one thing. That's one hell of a legacy.
Skrimir certainly did a pretty good job for a laguz king. He's going to do everything he can to make sure his people are fine.
Ranulf was often run ragged by advising the new king. While he winced at his dutues, Ranulf still indulged Skrimir.
With Ike A Support, Ranulf decides he's going to leave dealing with Skrimir for someone else and have a long vacation. I wonder who he gave Skrimir to. Probably Lethe.
Lethe, as it happens, is off being an excellent teacher in that skill I'm not entirely sure why they're keeping around.
Mordecai decided to go spent the rest of his life in peace and quiet. The big guy deserves it. Maybe he went to go visit some kids every now and then or something.
Lyre also seems to have set combat to one side of her life, but she's willing to brag about it to anyone who would listen. Sounds like Lyre, really.
And yet, he never developed skills anywhere half as developed as Lyre's.
And now, it is time for That One Conversation.
Micaiah is, in fact, the true Apostle of Begnion. I've already stated my opinion on the fact I don't think Sanaki is Micaiah's sister, but I'm not challenging that first point. Micaiah is indeed Misaha's granddaughter.
Micaiah has done everything that an Apostle of Begnion should be doing.
Micaiah had this confirmed for her by Tower of Guidance Memories. We didn't see them, but I guess we didn't particularly need to with all the other big deals going around in Endgame.
Sanaki figured it out, or at least guessed in the general ballpark.
And Sanaki goes "Micaiah, you should stay here." Which is just... Sanaki is the best ruler on the continent, and she's trying to reinforce herself with the most spineless woman since Astrid shot Lekain down. Elincia and Sanaki proved themselves through their deeds. Micaiah has not.
Micaiah is going to go back to Daein, of course. Daein hasn't got anyone running for office, even Fiona and Jill would probably beat her in debate. Although Micaiah definitely wins the popular vote.
Micaiah assures Sanaki that Sanaki is going to do a good job. Which is weird coming from Micaiah to Sanaki, but honestly, after the emotional beating of Lekain, Zelgius and Sephiran, she could use this from literally anyone. Tormod and Sigrun would be more appropriate, though.
She really has a bunch of anxiety now.
And Micaiah does something actually smart, and suggests that Begnion formally recognise Daein as a nation.
Sanaki will be glad to give both Daein and Crimea proper independence as soon as it's something that she has the time to sit down and do. Presumably she does do this, but I assume there's a massive list that Sanaki is only going to get done if she writes it down.
You two have really gotten close in five minutes.
From the sounds of things, she was true to her word. Although with all the battling people are doing, perhaps she wasn't as successful as she hoped.
These two are a good character, but a single one.
Tormod is doing some good work in Begnion. He's got some pretty good skills for a man almost literally raised by wolves.
It helps Muarim is apparently enough of a politician that he can contribute on his own. Although he's chosen to help Tormod mostly.
As Begnion’s first-ever laguz official, Muarim labored mutely on in memory of his dead friend Tormod.
(Tormod died.)
Vika's also doing nice and well for herself. Helping the laguz go from obeying their Begnion overlords to making proper friends needs a little time, and Tormod's laguz are halfway there.
So what's Oliver doing now that he's switched sides? Apparently, continue to pay people to increase the amount of beauty in the world. Also the amount of him, which sounds counterproductive, but his banquets also add plenty of him to the world.
Stefan, "Lion-Blooded". It has often been suggested that Stefan be descended from Soan, to make all three of the Heroes have Branded descendants. I don't recall if that's official canon yet or still just speculation. It also helps that his JP name ソーンバルケ includes a reference to the JP name of Soan ソーン.
Also, Stefan has apparently made his own country of Brandeds. I think with that country's formation, depending on its borders with Begnion and Serenes, means Begnion might no longer be the largest country on the continent.
So how are the birds going?
From here, Serenes is closer than Gallia. I get what he means, but that's not a direct flight path. There's basically no way Gallia is closer to Sienne than Serenes even narratively, so I assume it's just a saying.
And with Lekain gone, Sanaki has given these two the go-ahead to habitate in Serenes, presumably with the proviso to keep a watch out for any insane Begnion who plans on trying any funny business and reporting it to her for the next few decades.
Nice to know a politician who keeps her promises.
The ravens are planning on joining this collection. With the revelation of the Blood Pact tying Kilvas's hands, Tibarn seems to have forgiven Naesala in the end. Although Kilvas being dissolved to form another country seems like a decent way of trying to make sure that Blood Pact doesn't come back to bite him later.
Reyson is hopeful that, with conversation, the birds can once again stand united.
Yeah, honestly, as much as Naesala has done to the bird tribes, this is still probably easier than the beorc/laguz thing.
So we come to the point brought up in Tormod/Reyson A.
Three years later, Reyson is still insistent on that.
That can only end disastrously.
Somehow. Tibarn's just a likable fellow, though, and that gets you far.
Naesala decided he had enough of playing the World's Deadliest Game, and decided he ought to do some good in the world for a change. It feels nice to be the good guy.
If you believe the slash fic, he's the other King of Serenes after marrying Tibarn. I'm not sure what his title would be otherwise, but "iron resolve" under a pretty face sounds like a pretty optimistic way of describing politics.
Why are you two Tibarn's arms now? Regardless of the necessity of battle, I quite like this ending regardless, because this is totally something Janaff would do.
I wonder how helpful being somewhere solitary is for a man with such massive hearing.
And so Leanne became a singer. Seems pretty on brand with a heron tribe, but still kinda the most passive outcome.
Leanne was united with Naesala, whom she had always loved. Together they raised a heron girl and a raven boy.
Naesala ending. This is the other example of mixed laguz families, the first one being Ena and her mixed red/white heritage. The gene pool seems to be split in twain here, which is interesting from a practicality standpoint, although I would like to remind you that the herons are still functionally extinct. There's four (well, five) of them and they're all related.
Nealuchi is so old his age is being put in record books. Presumably, nowhere near Deghinsea's age yet, though it looks like he's going for it.
Volke just turns up here in the middle of the birds and the dragons, for some reason. No one seems to know what happened to him, of course.
As an immortal like Deghinsea, Kurthnaga is also likely to outlive us all. He seems to understand his responsibility as such and is actively considering the goals of those who came before to guide those who come afterwards. An exemplary example of an immortal politician that more of the series examples should be considering emulating.
"Wish-Spinner" seems an odd title for Ena. And then we just casually have her giving birth to her child with Rajaion. This is a gestation period of somewhere between three and twenty-three years, depending on what dragon mating rituals are available to Ena after Rajaion turns Feral. I think the most important question is what colour a mixed red/white/black dragon is.
Nasir went back into his PoR business, wandering around being a boaty merchant while reporting what he found back to the royals. Now he gets to stop in Goldoa and play peek-a-boo with his new descendant. By the way, this child is further removed from Nasir than Ashnard's son is from Deghinsea.
If Giffca was a man of one job, this man is his one job. Hopefully he's a better guardian than some rotten examples this series has produced.
And Ike and Elincia ride off into Crimea together.
This continent is full of badass queens. Between her and Sanaki, Tellius was a powerhouse on that alone.
Renning came back to a continent happy to see him again, and Renning decided he didn't really want to be King anyway. We're not giving up the consequences of Part 2 to pull up that old aim of Ramon's.
Geoffrey is still captain. Apparently Renning embarassed himself against him in that duel before the Tower of Guidance. Probably because he wasn't allowed Amiti.
Geoffrey’s chivalrous nature and loyalty to Queen Elincia ensured that all of Crimea supported their marriage.
(Elincia A Support)
Remember, I didn't get Elincia and Lucia to A Support. This is just their normal ending. This is already more sapphic than some actual gay endings in the series, including those in Three Houses itself.
First among the ministers to support her queen, Lucia never married. However, her affair with Count Bastian continues.
Even in the A Support with Bastian, Bastian fails to seal the deal. Imagine being so gay that you have a romantic ending with a man and still clearly aren't that interested.
Bastian doing something valuable for the effort and helping out with this whole "inter-country diplomacy" thing along with Sanaki. Elincia is presumably making her golden age in her country first and foremost, while Bastian goes and spreads it.
Kieran is like 50% of the reason Ulki can't get some decent solitude.
Marcia never made it back to the Holy Guard. Elincia was probably a better boss than Sanaki, but I still feel a little bad, especially since she already had the emblem on her Seraph Knight barding. It's not like they couldn't be bothered to have a Crimea barding, Elincia has one.
One can only assume Bastian is financially coercing him in some way, because Elincia is way too soft on him. Even then, I'm not sure what gold there is to squeeze out of Makalov.
Astrid at least got to end with an expression of her achieving her goals as a knight. Better than the alternative.
Astrid disregarded opposition and married the worst idler in three countries, but never tamed him.
Ignoring the copious amounts of sheer horror in her A Support, I have to wonder which countries are not being counted in this comparison.
In defence from who? This ending is almost certainly to directly contrast with the next one, but still. Why is Nephenee fighting things?
Brom finally got that peace and quiet he wanted so badly after PoR. Good for him.
Notably, that family does not include Zihark. Meg moved on after all. Well done.
Game, I think that's an indication she didn't swear off her roguish ways at all.
At least Danved is playing his clownish act for in-universe laughs, too.
Calill already made her happy ending. All she needs is to go back to it. And raise Amy with love for the first time in Branded history.
Titania remained second in command, apparently. Never wound up taking over for first.
Shinon has no idea what to do with his life. That sounds like something we ought to be concerned about. Or maybe he's just bragging.
Probably for the best. And also probably because all those women dumped him before he even got to first base.
Oscar actually came back to the Knights? I'm not entirely sure what either of these jobs are demanding, so I can believe him doing both, since their jobs should overlap.
Boyd just has an axe to grind.
Boyd trained daily, so as not to lose his spot to “some stupid rookie”. Mist humored her husband’s insecurities.
Mist A Support. At some point, Mist started headpatting Boyd sarcastically.
As the craft passed from the Double Bow maker to Shinon and then to Rolf, Rolf became a teacher to pass it down once more. Apparently he did a good job.
Rhys also becomes a teacher, but presumably of general crafts. "The old keep" sounds like Greil's place got decommissioned, despite there still being Greil Mercenaries.
Greil's Retreat is presumably the fortress mentioned above. Aside from Titania, I took Mia to be the last of the Greil Mercenaries to abandon the concept. Perhaps her challenging people to fights is what's causing all these military rumblings.
Mist, for some reason, has her ending dedicated entirely to being unmarried. This is the part where you pretend that Mist a) has a paired ending with Jill and b) is exceptionally sapphic in tone.
Mist acted on her feelings for Boyd, marrying him. She cried during the vows, much to Boyd’s chagrin.
And Mist has an A Support with Boyd, in the only example of an A Support ending changing both endings. Honestly, I think I prefer the solo ending.
Anyway, this is the point where a secret conversation would occur had we fulfilled some secret conditions. Those conditions were basically impossible for us even if they weren't banned by the ruleset. And they are as follows:
- Soren fights Micaiah in 3-7
- Soren fights Pelleas in 3-E
- Both Soren and Pelleas survive the game
I (somehow) managed it in that backup run I wound up doing after all. It's not easy in Normal- 3-E might just end before Soren's had the chance to get within siege tome range of Pelleas. This is a conversation that really deserves the full treatment, though.
Ike has been invited to talk with Almedha, and he's just fine with all the baggage that ought to come with.
Although he has absolutely no idea why this conversation is happening. All things considered, Ike and Almedha have no business with each other.
And Almedha dismisses him in that knowledge. Ike has other business to be getting on with.
Ike leaves with a polite word for Kurthnaga while he's here.
Kurthnaga noticed how strange that conversation was and asks why Almedha even started it to begin with.
This was a decision that happened on Pelleas's say-so.
This is so neat. Pelleas has learned a lesson from Almedha choosing him as her son, and has deliberately avoided giving Almedha any expectations for this encounter. He didn't even point her to the right Greil Mercenary! If Pelleas had told Almedha what Pelleas thinks he knows, Almedha would likely take him at his word, but Pelleas doesn't want to raise Almedha's hopes and dash them like Izuka did with him, so he makes sure that Almedha has to actually put in effort to come to his conclusions.
I'm not sure if Pelleas intended it that way, but considering what Janaff said about Oscar in PoR, "That child" might just be an even vaguer clue than he intended. Ike is 20, younger than Oscar was in PoR, and the dragon tribe matures much more slowly- Kurthnaga is over a hundred and still looks pretty young.
Almedha steps forward and singles out the person Pelleas sent her to find.
Soren. This conversation is shot as if there was to be some surprise about this reveal, but the fact it happens before Soren's ending card and requires using Soren to trigger it makes it hard to hide this reveal. It's even pretty hard to tell people how to unlock this scene without somewhat spoiling what the scene will tell you.
Almedha asks his name. I don't understand this question, although I suspect she's just changing her mind on finishing the sentence starting "You are".
One thing that a lot of people writing about the reveal of this scene have to grapple with is what the name of Almedha's son truly is. Presumably Almedha named him, but both Soren and Pelleas had names before meeting Almedha, and we get no hint as to where those names came from and whether they were replaced by other ones.
Soren is confused, but despite his issues with dragons, doesn't lash out in any way. Soren really has grown.
Almedha decides to let Soren leave, too.
I can't really understate how much nicer Soren's gotten since PoR 8 in leaving Almedha alone here.
Almedha knows what she saw here, though.
Kurthnaga doesn't know. I find it interesting he didn't catch a whiff.
Almedha is no longer a true laguz, and as a result, she no longer has access to some of her powers.
Including the racial ability to detect family bonds through scent.
But there are some things that no loss of magic powers will get in the way of. Almedha may not be in her son's life, but she's proud of what he has done.
Yep. Soren is Almedha's real son and the true heir to the Daein throne. It's virtually impossible to tell someone how to unlock this conversation without the unlock condition themselves revealing what is is the answer is, especially if you come at the question from the angle of "who is Almedha's real child"- which is the one the game comes from. Soren seems quite content to move on from that life and reject the Daein throne. Although he'd be pretty good at being King Daein if necessary.
Soren's solo ending just doesn't work well. Just in case you needed more evidence to support the Ike/Soren ship.
When peace had settled on the land, Soren packed lightly and set off with the only person he had ever trusted.
That is because Soren's A Support has him partner up with Ike...
Who has indeed left the continent behind entirely once things settled down. Ike is a very simple man, and he just really doesn't feel up to the whole "being bigger than Ashera" business. There's usually some objections to things like abandoning Mist and the Greil Mercenaries, but Mist is off having her own family with Jill and the Greil Mercenaries seem to be just fine with their own ambitions. Although I'm really not sure who Titania is answering to.
"Lands still unknown" is also an interesting point, since with all the lands drowned but Tellius and Hatary... where is Ike going? This is where one gets to the point where the answer is "sucked into some magical portal to another Fire Emblem universe"- not helped at all by the existence of Priam, who was designed to be an excuse to have Ike in Fire Emblem: Awakening and has since only created vicious arguments over how exactly Priam sprung into being while satisfying his claim to be of Ike's descent- a claim that has yet to be substantiated with any actual proof. We don't even know if Ike took Ragnell along for the ride!
And Lehran's soul has been healed, thanks to Lorazieh, of all people. I wonder how much that helps with losing Altina and Zelgius, but hopefully he'll be fine.
And as one last bit of the ending, Lehran has a dialogue scene with his wings out.
Lehran had come here waiting for something. Or perhaps someone.
Nice to see you again, Goddess of Dawn.
This can only really be counting from the time of the Three Heroes, although there are some alternative theories. With the Three Heroes timing in mind, this scene takes place roughly four hundred years after the events of the game. Presumably, everyone else we know except Kurthnaga, Ena's kid and possibly some of the other dragons are now dead. Hopefully not Nealuchi, though.
The people on the continent have changed dramatically since then. I wonder if the current rulers of the beorc countries are still descendants of Elincia, Micaiah and Sanaki.
And it turns out that our work was not perfect and it is time for society to change again. It's a good thing that societies don't tend to make perfect solutions to last forever. Times change, and so must society. Four hundred years was pretty impressive, though- that's double what Altina's group managed.
Someone's started war on someone else. With the political situation of our times, Daein is the most likely culprit, but considering the current political climate is almost entirely new people, it could be anyone against anyone else.
Ashunera is not afraid of these circumstances. She shall help humanity set this new problem right rather than punish them for causing this ruckus in the first place.
For now, though, how about some time together.
Even if Lehran can no longer sing, on account of losing his laguz powers, they will still find a way to share this time well.
And they actually do sing along to the credits- if you spared Lehran, the song Dawn Awakens plays over the credits.
And thus the credits roll on this magnificent duology. Couple of bumps along the way, but this was a huge leap forward in ambition for Fire Emblem that it took a while for the series to feel comfortable following up.
And we end with one last message about the continent. Ike has become a legend for his actions across both games, on account of just how fantastical it is when you lay it out like this.
Could you imagine being Ike and living in a world like this? No wonder he left.
And that's where this story ends.
Unlike Path of Radiance, you get a Save prompt after watching the Epilogue and Credits. This Clear Data file is what the game uses to trigger all the New Game Plus stuff around Pelleas and Lehran. Starting a new file in another slot is not sufficient.
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