SS Chapter 19 Ephraim: The King's Second Wind

Ephraim got hit by an enemy from the back too. Anyway, getting a Speedwings on Eirika route reminded me to use my statups before this map this time: All those promoted enemies that died like chumps on Eirika route are going to be stronger here.

The Robes are going to these two. Robes are best used on people with low HP, and these two had the lowest HP for frontliners.

Innes gets both Rings you can get on Ephraim route. He needs the extra damage badly, he only gets one good kill a turn.

Knoll and Cormag take the Books. They have the most need of landing their hits of the low-end Skill, and also Knoll's Dark tomes are on the inaccurate end.

Cormag and L'Arachel take the Wings. Being slow inhibits Cormag's ability to tank, while L'Arachel is just strangely slow. I don't know why, but she can pick up some extra Speed from this next mission anyway.

Only one Icon? Turns out that's legitimately the case: There are two Icons in the whole game, and the second one is in Chapter 19. You have to steal it from an archer, and it's kind of hell to keep track of that in Fog of War. Cormag might've ultimately been the better call, but Luck helps everything out a little bit, not just Dodge.

You get three of these on Ephraim route (the Energy Ring/Dracoshield Ewan starts with is the one that isn't matched on the opposing route). Tana grabbed the second one. You don't want to use Shields on low-Defence units: If your Defence is too low, -2 damage isn't going to save you. If your defence is higher- say, you're taking 5 damage- -2 damage reduces your incoming injuries by a higher percentage.

Not that Tana is getting hit much anyway, but...

Contrary to this earlier assertion, Cormag gets both Talismen as opposed to the higher-Res Joshua and Ross. I'm worried about Shadowshots and such, especially since the alternatives can dodge those.

I don't know why, this feels brighter in Eirika route compared to Ephraim route. Maybe it's just Ephraim's more muted hues.

So how's that ultimate onslaught of Grado's last army when those soldiers have actual stats?

Only thing that's changed here is the colour of L'Arachel's horse.

Eirika is still the main emissary here- makes sense, this was her mission before the ghost ship got in the way. I guess they figured, since Ephraim stuck his nose in, it was close enough.

The following conversation is identical, though.

Down to L'Arachel saying Eirika had the trying time. This is less true on Ephraim route, although not necessarily false. It also kinda helps reinforce how focused on Eirika L'Arachel is.

...Hi, Tana! Fire Emblem, especially classic Fire Emblem, is extremely sparing with the inclusion of perma-killable characters into the game's narrative. As a matter of fact, by this point in the series, it has traditionally only been extended to the Lord's canonical love interest- Caeda and Lilina for Marth and Roy respectively- and even then only to comment on the game's ending rather than shape the plot as it occurs. Jugdral uses them a little more frequently- more comparable to a more modern game- but otherwise, it says a lot about Tana that they added her for Ephraim's story.

And it says just as much that L'Arachel was picked for Eirika.

In addition to being his love interest, Tana is also a pretty good pick for getting Ephraim out of his funk because of her personality and values. Part of this is tied in to how she's a foil for Lyon, too.

Ephraim is still being very manly, and absolutely not interested in any of this "showing emotions" business.

Tana can read him like a book.

Of course she's worried about what Innes thinks. Ephraim's clearly shown a lot more interest in what Innes gets up to than herself. There's a reason he's the permadeath-proof one.

Tana is open about the way she feels about Ephraim, mostly because Ephraim wouldn't notice if she wasn't. She's just a little shy because she's still in her "giddish schoolgirl" phase.

Ephraim prepares to push Tana away. Lyon's betrayal hit him hard.

And if Lyon, kind, generous and polite as he was, turned evil for the sake of his homeland... what's stopping the same thing happening with Tana?

Tana tells him to stop thinking like that.

Bit of a good question, to be honest.

And the answer is a little more esoteric. It's easy to say "Tana is less susceptible to the traps Lyon fell into", but it's harder to explain why. I think the simple answer is "support systems". Tana is actively encouraged to be the best girl she can be by Eirika and Syrene, while the expectations she's expected to hit are rather low (thank you Hayden). Lyon, meanwhile, had very few friends other than Eirika and Ephraim themselves, and most of the people around him placed lofty expectations on him, including the twins and Lyon themselves. They say diamonds shine brightest under pressure, but overdo it and you wind up burning out.

Ephraim may not have spent as long as I did figuring that out, but he did come to terms with the idea that just because Lyon changed so violently on him doesn't mean all of his friends will.

Because of Ephraim's general asexuality and lack of interest in expressing any feelings whatsoever, we don't actually have a solid grasp of what, exactly, draws him to Tana, if anything (the relationship seems to be mostly on Tana's end), but the common thread between this conversation and his A Support is his appreciation for Tana's unbridled optimism. She's perky, she's just like that, she changes for nobody and nothing no matter how upsetting her surroundings are. And right now, when Lyon's betrayal is still fresh, that's exactly what he needs.

Aww.

Ephraim is ready to stand strong with Tana.

Lyon may have chosen this path of his own free will, but it is our responsibility as his friends to see his real dream restored- and the destructive urges cultivated by the Demon King brought to a halt.

Incidentally, if you have killed Tana, L'Arachel subs in as Ephraim's emotional support. The fact L'Arachel is kind of a "default" for Ephraim here is what masks the romantic angle of L'Arachel being the default for Eirika.

Ephraim: ......
L'Arachel: That long face doesn't suit you at all. Has something happened?
Ephraim: L'Arachel... No, this is how I always am.
L'Arachel: Lying to the daughter of a holy man is a grave sin, don't you know? If you would like to talk, I would like to listen...
Ephraim: ......I'm sorry. I can't talk about it. I'm not even planning on telling Eirika what happened.
L'Arachel: You're so stubborn, aren't you? Do you plan on shouldering the entire burden yourself?
Ephraim: I'm sorry.
L'Arachel: If that's all you're going to say, then there's naught I can do. Have you already decided on your course of action?
Ephraim: ......Mm-hm. I'm prepared.
L'Arachel: ...Then there's no need for me to say anything more, is there? You and I are so alike... You want nothing but to help others. You refuse to show weakness, and you want to accomplish everything yourself. However, you must know that there are times when you must share the burden.
Ephraim: That's true... And I feel better for having spoken with you. Thank you, L'Arachel.

I feel this is a much weaker lesson for Ephraim to be learning. Not only does the fact his trust in his companions has been weakened go unchallenged (in fact, it is openly facilitated), but the way Ephraim insists on following through his course of action without any reflection of the hurt he's going through... Well, I suppose if Tana is dead, Magvel has bigger problems.

Ambush! Interestingly, the Remnant has 7 extra HP compared to the one that did it in Eirika route. Must be a difficulty thing.

Time to ready ourselves.

The language they use to talk to Ephraim is far different, of course.

Eirika doesn't really do anything to empower Ephraim, like he did for her.

It's kind of a weird intersection of the gendered differences between Eirika and Ephraim and their natures as people. But still, we've got enough awesome people, Ephraim wasn't needed. Appreciated, though.

Interestingly (I'm not sure whether this is an Ephraim route thing or a Difficulty thing), the starting positions in the main group have changed- four people are stuck in the corners rather than all being in Mansel's area. I have a few extra spaces to hand out to people, but for whatever reason, I've given the squares to Seth and Duessel instead of Garcia. I suspect it's because Garcia's just going to be a liability when pressed to get into his own fights.

Riev swears his revenge.

Ephraim's rallying cry revolves around how he's going to carry Lyon's memory with him.

Ephraim may have lost some faith in Lyon as a person, but that just means it is his responsibility to express his concerns directly. Lyon may be morally gray, but he's definitely not on our side and we should still be putting a stop to him.

Beginning the hostilities, and wow, even the mercenaries are taking huge increases in general quality. Sure, he's no match for Eirika, but the fact it's so close, and his Hit/Mt is so big is concerning.

Also he hits.

Tana, of course, don't care one jot.

Right, let's see what we're dealing with over here, and...

...Same as last route. We still need to wait before this hallway is swarmed with six reinforcements a turn.

This one's the one with the Brave Lance.

So clearly I block the other one. This way the Knights aren't in too much peril.

The enemies may be stronger, but Luna is still pathetic.

Joshua's going this side, along with Knoll. Not much goes on over here.

Rennac'll be sneaking down once all the enemies are out of the way.

And Duessel's going to be on Mansel guard duty. Not that he'll have much to do.

Colm's coming this way. He is the better thief, after all.

Artur shows us what is going on over here. Time to set up, it looks.

The Brave Lance meets Eirika, as promised, but doesn't seem to have made an impression.

Tana is even less scared.

OK, that guy had a crit rate. Impressive it was only 1 on Knoll- wait, where did the Hoplon Guard go?

Well, crud. There's all the sword guys.

Knoll's cutting things fine. This is why you pack Nosferatu.

The Druid picks Tethys. I think the Raustens will have a hard time getting themselves in danger.

Joshua attracts the enemy Nosferatu.

What the hell was I supposed to do about that guy? I suspect Purge him. (We don't have Bolting yet.)

Myrrh has not been trained this run.

I know it's the Great Dragon and all, guys, but still.

(Cameo appearance by Myrrh's map sprite in dragon form.)

Gerik starts with this guy, for... well, I guess Myrrh is in the most danger now the Raustens are dead.

Every level up Gerik gets makes him just ridiculous.

Ross and Artur get the Knights and form a wall to keep Myrrh safe.

Meanwhile, this side gets interesting fast.

Ephraim starts by joining up with Tana.

And nabbing this.

Seth was sent for more Physic staves.

Also one of these.

I think Colm deserves a present, don't you?

Thieves may promote into Assassins or Rogues. Combat or Utility, the question asks. If you're raising Colm, you probably don't want him to be handicapped by Utility, but that does leave you with one thief. At this point, though, you only need one.

...

You call that a promotion?

Innes takes the druid.

...And there's a whole lotta nothing over here.

These two are going to enjoy the next several turns until their friends show up.

Joshua does not appreciate your Nosferatu.

Might as well.

...Where's your good axes?

Tethys can Dance for Phantom, incidentally.

Wow, that's not a pleasant fight for Artur.

Let the battle commence!

Tana is going to do so much legwork here.

Can't touch her.

(Wonder what happens to the follow up if Tana dies during this mission...)

Sometimes, the Hero dodge animation makes you wonder how it's supposed to work physically. This is a funky way to block arrows with a shield.

Colm has treasure to nab.

And Knoll has an injury to heal.

L'Arachel's turn.

And oh boy does she make the most of it.

Yeesh, Innes, I know it's a Swordmaster, but get it together.

He got it together.

Cormag does the blocking.

As does Tana.

This is going to end beautifully.

Duessel and the Phantom are catching up. So much for Mansel-guarding duty.

Well, that's annoying.

Myrrh does it anyway, to get started on her levels

Artur takes the finish.

Ross and Gerik run blocking duty, Gerik reminding us all that he can still use Swords just fine.

You'd think WTA'd help him out.

Meanwhile, here's a regular enemy without a Killer with double digit crit rate. Whatever it is that gives me such good pegasus knight characters, it really doesn't work on wyverns, does it? No idea how Jill got so good...

Gerik is doing just fine, though.

Sure Shot would be helpful to these guys right about now. Hopefully the arrows don't keep going to become Myrrh's problem.

...Tana may just be too good.

Knoll lends a hand over here.

That is a lot of swordmasters. Cormag couldn't finish the one in front.

So Innes takes him.

Huh. There's the Hoplon Guard.

Duessel gives Cormag a helping hand with taking Swordmasters.

...Turns out Eirika may just be the better call, though. It's going to be mostly swordmasters down here, I'm not sure I want Cormag dealing with that.

Not tha Eirika is a better option.

Although that helps.

Cormag gets his Zanbato back.

Meanwhile, it's Ephraim's turn to be the point man.

And Eirika needed this.

Yoink.

I love meleeing archers.

So satisfying.

...Well, OK, if you're going to be like that.

Myrrh's got nothing to punch on the way up behind.

Seth picks up Mansel and takes his spot. This probably makes my job harder if any enemies get that far.

Eirika making use of those extra points in Avoid.

Ephraim not having fully mastered "dodging axes".

He's getting there.

These two make a dynamic duo.

And Ephraim's got the dodging covered too.

His speed's capped, by the way.

This mess just somehow manages to keep getting worse.

Innes breaks out the Longbow.

Go Innes. Although Speed might be due.

L'Arachel gets the other one. Turns out Eirika isn't quite so good at getting these guys without a Rapier.

I think this is Knoll on healing duties? I'm amazed he reaches that far.

This formation is weird as hell to me.

The Phantom stands here, because apparently this is going to do something? It's definitely going to let Knoll make a new one for extra EXP.

At least there's a point to Artur not killing things.

And that point is getting another strong Myrrh.

Why are these two doing so good?

Yoink.

Torch time.

...I don't think that got me any new information. I'll need Knoll closer for that, and I don't want him closer.

Innes might wind up taking this one.

Advance!

Well, this hurt.

This, less so.

So long, and thanks for the next round of EXP.

These guys are less problems now, but they're still surviving.

These guys are less problems.

CRITHAMMER!

...So you guys didn't discuss the possibility of shooting Tana with the bow? Yeah, same result, but success would be so much better.

Knoll might like this.

Knoll used Torch for EXP this time. Hey, it's the last Fog of War map.

And Joshua takes the thief.

Riches!

I love exact kills. Make me feel like it's all according to plan, despite the lack of actual plan.

Also makes this feels better. Or perhaps worse, because enemies (should) only go up.

Right... the hell is going on in here?

Whatever it is, Cormag wants in.

And out.

Ephraim secures the chokepoint.

I am always in awe of what a chokepoint looks like after I'm done with it.

...Ow. That could almost be construed as alarming were I not about to cover the last few enemies over here.

Like so. That swordmaster shouldn't be able to kill Eirika.

I think it says a lot that this guy is not one-rounded by Ross here. A crit gets him, but still.

...All of a sudden I want that sword.

He'll be able to cap HP on his own, but at this rate...

Ephraim one-rounding a Warrior.

I think it kinda goes understated, sometimes, how much the screen shakes on a crit.

Ephraim isn't quite as full on HP, but he's basically Lance Gerik on a horse. So, nothing like Gerik at all.

(Also, notice he's failed a kill in the background. Still levelled up, though.)

The margin of error was fine. Only point of HP that matters is the last.

Reinforcements have arrived, and the time has come to plan what to do about them. The one behind me seems to have been displaced by Eirika taking "his spot"- enemies that appear from the sides will appear somewhere else if you try to block them.

Thanks to the power of crits, we can clean up down here.

L'Arachel picking up that Avoid, as promised.

Eirika dodging that sword last turn also makes this encounter a safer one.

And she proceeds with making sure she can continue to dodge.

Ah, hello there, Thief.

...Of course you can.

Cormag comes over to make sure the thief doesn't do anything I can't keep a handle on.

And Tethys gets him back, although for what, I'm less clear. Tana Support?

Also Javelin-ing this Warrior Ephraim fell short on.

Ephraim steps forward- this'll help us not fall short again.

Tana, meanwhile, is one-rounding a Paladin with a Javelin.

Imagine flash-stepping out of view of a Thief.

Knoll's also getting Staff rank out of this.

L'Arachel's ranged toy for this run. I'm not sure whether Bolting or Purge is the way to go, but we'll get to see both.

Myrrh found a kill!

Artur found some time to do that healing business.

...Ross found the enemies.

Right off the bat, this guy is more likely to kill Myrrh than his friend.

...I'm going to assume the answer to that question was "the other guy kills her to." Myrrh is simultaneously strong enough to be left on her own and too weak to be trusted around any sort of enemies.

Although this guy could have just ground Artur to dust, I don't think Myrrh dying to him is really an indictment of her.

Anyway, on the subject of people who aren't killed by Warriors.

Ow. These jokers mean business.

Finally, someone tries shooting at the wyvern. She had the Fili Shield.

Maybe I should've given that to Myrrh... Not sure it would've saved her.

"There's a tiny patch of castle we can't see into!"

Myrrh getting revenge on her alternative state self.

I have three alive guys this time. That'll be enough even if there's a Sniper in the top corner.

"Just checking..."

There wasn't. Ross smash.

He needs some Speed, though.

Gerik... he's good at everything, although it seems he's a bit shortchanged on other things.

Good thing I had this Killer Bow, by the way. Poor Innes needed it here.

Meanwhile, L'Arachel is pretending to be an airplane. Someone inform Ewan.

Right, let's get Colm to shed some light down here.

Tethys is still getting levels? Eirika Tethys capped three missions ago!

Not much extra vision on this tile.

And yet we don't get too far- again, Riev has too much control down here.

Duessel able to make sure everyone can be dropped as necessary.

Ephraim can stay where he is.

I think this is a crit. Ephraim steps back, twirls his lance, and then jumps forward.

That's a strong Resistance stat. Normally, you're good at Resistance or you're not, with Ephraim leaning not. He's not exactly blessed, but that is something to notice.

The Generals have spawned.

Fortunately, Joshua packed his Armourslayer.

And the Avoid to make it work out.

No further questions.

Knoll can do just fine with his Dark spells.

Myrrh and Artur double back, to check for enemies and also to get out of danger from those Warriors and Snipers.

Innes is marching westward, now we're out of enemies on this side.

Colm is helping!

So that's what we're looking at here.

Well, Colm isn't surviving down there on his own.

L'Arachel heals him up.

And now it's her turn to zap things.

And dodge things.

Look, your speed is low, but...

Joshua doesn't seem to be able to win this fight on a guarantee.

Rennac is needed for Knoll's kill.

Artur gets another Staff rank!

This guy survived L'Arachel somehow.

Sword rank.

There, we're done here now.

Just got these last guys to go.

Illuminate everything!

So long, noble Torch. Stop filling a space in my inventory.

Last little bit.

Both of them got a moderately decent level, although no better.

Ephraim takes the Hoplon Guard and weakens Riev down.

I dunno, Riev...

But I'm not exactly tempted.

That's a lot of damage.

And Artur has been ferried all the way down here for a heal.

Innes is going to claim victory this time. He's a high-Res archer in Heroes, that's gotta count for something!

He'll be back.

And Innes really appreciated that kill.

Artur will appreciate this.

And Tana gets to come back for the after-chapter talk.

She's happy to see Ephraim back to doing what Ephraim does best.

And Ephraim offers her due credit.

She might say that, but Tana is probably feeling very giddy Ephraim has (earned) praise for her.

And, you know, when else can Tana claim to have been so important to the great Ephraim?

L'Arachel: And there it is! Victory is ours!
Ephraim: Yes, we’ve won.
L'Arachel: Ephraim? Are you all right?
Ephraim: Yes, I am. Thank you, L’Arachel.
L'Arachel: Come, we should find the Sacred Stone. If anything were to happen to it–

The L'Arachel version is a little weird, since there's a claim that Ephraim gets a dupe of Eirika's scene if you beat Riev and this version if he made it out. I don't know for certain what the deal is here, but it really doesn't flow on, nor does either character acknowledge the moral quandary Ephraim was placed in.

We got our Stone.

Time to head out.

Don't worry, Mansel.

Mansel offers the Twins to Ephraim, as expected. Kinda ruins the impact the scene has with Eirika, but hey, Ephraim is also the combat expert.

He appreciates it just as much.

We get everything just the same.

Ivaldi's going to Artur this time, and Latona is even less likely to see use than it was on Eirika route.

And Ephraim offers the same oath to return them.

...In less words.

He's also more taciturn here, but that's just Ephraim. Good to see they actually thought about how these two would act.

Eirika talked about the knight's valour, Ephraim limits himself to the valourous deeds. A small note, and one I don't really think makes a huge impact.

Cheap toy acquired.

Next time: Myrrh's time to shine!