Update 12: How the Hell Did This Guy Not Stick Out Like a Sore Thumb

♪ No music ♪

Jeritza... Ah! The combat professor with the mask. He has always been rather suspicious. We must hurry!

♪ Dark Clouds Gather ♪

Is she...dead?
No, she's just unconscious. Someone clearly attacked her.
Look at her hand. It looks as though she is pointing at something... There.

We know as much as you do. She needs to be taken to the infirmary.
Yes, of course—and quickly. Give me a hand, child.
Understood. I'll support her head. Professor, I'll be back shortly. Please be careful.

Let's investigate.
Agreed. The culprit could be hiding inside.
That settles it! We'll take the offensive. Here we come, you monsters!
Shall we, Professor?

♪ No music ♪

Is it Flayn?
Yes, and there is someone else too. It appears to be another student.
Someone's coming! I recognize that scythe and mask... It's that jerk we fought at the Holy Mausoleum!

♪ Mask of Fire ♪

One of us will die, the other will live. I will enjoy this dance of damnation.

♪ As Swift as Wind ♪

Well, uh. That's not good. I hope the Death Knight didn't kill Flayn...

As per voting, Hubert will sit this map out, and will be deployed as Ferdinand's adjutant. Edelgard is busy with treating Manuela's injuries, and as such cannot be deployed.

Always remember to check your weapons' durabilities and repair as necessary.

I buy an Iron Bow for Petra. There's no real reason for her to keep using the Training Bow.

Here's our initial deployment formation. Linhardt's positioned to get Stride on Abby, Bernadetta, Lysithea, Petra, Caspar, Ferdinand, and Annette. Dorothea can hit one of the enemies off to the left with Thoron, leaving Sylvain as the only one left out—which is fine, since he's not going to be going with the group taking the left side anyway.

As the units with the most mobility, Ferdinand and Petra both get Chest Keys. There's two chests on this map that I really want to grab before we leave.
♪ No music ♪

Time to deploy.

♪ Dwellings of the Ancient Gods ♪

I can tell you that right now: it's a warp tile. Put a unit on it, and they can warp to whatever arbitrary tile that warp tile is linked to. They can then move and act again after that, though they cannot warp if they've already warped on that turn, or taken another action.

Oh yeah, if the symbol looks familiar, that's because it's the Crest of Gautier. I'm not entirely sure why that's there...

First off, the traditional application of Stride.

Gods, I love having flying death machines.

I yearn for the day where Dorothea can double with Thoron.

Bah, worthless.

I don't need Lysithea to get kills, per se, but I do need her in as many rounds of combat as possible before we reach the center of the map.

I won't complain about Spd. Caspar usually ends up with Str to spare anyway.

Hey, our first adjutant follow-up. The chance of those activating is determined by the support rank the two units have. In Ferdinand and Hubert's case, they have a C rank support, meaning Hubert has a 20% chance to initiate an adjutant follow-up. Adjutant follow-ups deal half of (Adjutant's Atk - Target's Prt/Rsl). Note how this isn't the proper damage formula—abilities such as Death Blow do not apply here.

Time to put Rally Strength to good use.

Without Rally Strength, Bernadetta would've been 3 damage short of killing this Archer.

Str is nice, though I hope Bernadetta doesn't end up with a lack of Spd.

And with that, our groups are set up. Ferdinand and Sylvain will take the corridors on the right, which lead to the warp tile hub, for lack of a better term, while everyone else will push up the main part of the map on the left.

Remember, taking both sides is mandatory if you're going for the rout victory condition, or if you try to kill the Death Knight but can't due to randomness not being on your side.


Try harder.

Everyone else just pushes up.


And that's why I gave Ferdinand a bow.

This is the speediest Ferdinand I've ever gotten. I like it.


That the best you got? C'mon.

Gauntlet users make for very effective mage killers.

Gonna weaken both of these jerks, since I don't really need Abby to get kill EXP.

I thought the kill would be better given to Lysithea. I guess I was wrong.


Deadeye: +6 Mt, 3 - 5 range, costs 5 durability.

Bernadetta gets access to Deadeye at Bow C+. I like having it around, since buffing up her accuracy with an Accuracy Ring and Hit +20 can let you cheese some "Defeat boss" maps with Killer Bows, but that's an incredibly niche use. Reminder, bows suffer heavy accuracy penalties at any range greater than 2.

God I love flier Petra.

Oh yeah, adjutant follow-ups can miss.

Two whole damage. At least on Maddening, that guy would have Poison Strike, and get to cause an additional 4 HP loss.

Could've made me waste my turn having to manually attack you, y'know.

Meh. It's hard to be disappointed about Str and Def on Caspar.

Petra opens the door at the top of this room. and gets out of the danger zone.

And the archer on the right goes down.

Accursed evasion tile.

Wow. So slow that he doesn't double Caspar holding a Hand Axe.

Spd, fine. She'll get enough Mag down the road.

Notice the collapsed wall to the left of Petra; that's terrain that fliers can cross.

Ehhhhhhhh... I guess +1 Crit and +1 Def is okay?

Massive overkill.

Okay, hear me out here: I'm actually hoping that Petra lands one hit, but misses the other here.

Yes, good.

Lysithea is one round of combat away from Reason B.

And now Linhardt has Draw Back.

Sylvain and Ferdinand push forward, opening the door to the warp tile hub.

Oh, hello there.

This is why sending a physically durable unit up the right side of the map is a good idea.

Well, that was underwhelming.

Cavalry are usually pretty weak to magic, but not to the extent that Armored Knights are.

lol 0 damage

They never learn.

And the archers continue to be unable to hit Sylvain.

A problem that Sylvain does not share.

And again, Ferdinand gets Str and Spd. He's shaping up pretty well.

Caspar can safely draw this Myrmidon out.

Uuuuuuunless that happens. 25% chance, grumble grumble...

Sylvain hits 3 Wt offset, gets Mag, and becomes slightly more durable to physical attacks. Good level.

Right, let's fix Caspar and Dorothea being rattled.

You might be thinking "that was a lot to kill one enemy." And you'd be right, because Caspar using the Hand Axe was the result of me pressing the A button without thinking.

Mmm... That should be fine. Even if both of the off-screen enemies hit Petra, they won't kill her.

Perfect. Lysithea hits Reason B, and gets Dark Spikes Τ. This invaluable spell boasts 13 Mt, and deals effective damage to cavalry units, which boosts it to a whopping 39 Mt. Lysithea can now one-shot pretty much any cavalry she comes across.

...Whoops. Forgot that Sylvain isn't carrying a Chest Key.

Ow. Like I said, though, Petra doesn't die from this.

Why is this happening?!


As always, Rally Strength is very good for gauntlet users.

Petra's got a chest to open, so she goes to the hub.

Ferdinand warps to the lower chest, and gets a Levin Sword. The Levin Sword is a Fire Emblem series mainstay; it's a magic weapon, meaning it uses the holder's Mag instead of their Str. This normally makes it pretty bad, but this is Three Houses, where most any magic user can wield a C rank sword with not too much investment. It boasts 9 Mt and 9 Wt, comparable to Thoron, but a little heavier. It also attacks at 1-2 range, unlike Thoron.

Unless you forge it, in which case it gains 1-3 range. Yep, you can give any magic user 1-3 range. Or take advantage of the Mag stat of weapon users who have decent Mag anyway, such as Adan/Abby, Sylvain, and Ingrid.

Bernie can take that mage.

Especially with a Rally.


Spd! I've had Linhardts with their Spd still at 10 or 11 in the high teens level range, sometimes low 20s, so this is good so far.

Petra opens the other chest, and gets the March Ring, a bit of equipment that increases the holder's Mv by 1. Anything that can increase Mv is good in my book, and the March Ring even has a small exploit you can do with it.

See, you don't exactly need to keep the March Ring on in combat; all you need is to have it on when you begin moving. If you really want to, you can have it equipped when you start a unit's turn, get to where you're going to start combat, unequip it, and swap it out for something that has an effect in combat!

Again, without a Rally, Caspar wouldn't have killed that Dark Mage.

And yes, Caspar. Yes, you are stronger than that. Please do better next time.

I hoped for a lucky crit, but didn't get it. Oh well.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand rejoins with the main force.

Doubling does no good if you die before the second hit.

And hey, Spd!


Anyway, with that last mage down, it's time to form up.

We begin with having Sylvain open the door.

Dorothea uses Rally Charm on Ferdinand. This is important, as it gives his gambits +2 Mt and +40 Hit.

Oh yes, we're doing this.
♪ The Verge of Death ♪

Not much damage, but it's damage that doesn't incur a counterattack.

That 90% chance is terrifying, but I have to take it.


Heh heh heh.

Yeah, Lysithea rips the Death Knight apart. The guy doesn't have much Rsl, and the fact that he's cavalry means he's staring down 39 Mt on Dark Spikes Τ.

This is why I had Ferdinand and Petra use gambits—while Lysithea can take almost all of the Death Knight's HP, she can't do all of it. If Hubert had been deployed, I could've used Rally Magic, and only needed one gambit.

Or she could've gotten more Mag on her levels. Just two Mag level ups plus Rally Magic would mean she could one-shot the Death Knight.

Oh well. Later, loser.

Now you get Mag.

The Dark Seal lets a unit take the certification exam for Dark Mage and Dark Bishop. Taking the certification exam for Dark Bishop requires having passed the exam for Dark Mage.

Dark Mage is pretty underwhelming, but Dark Bishop has Fiendish Blow as a class ability. Yes, it stacks with standard Fiendish Blow. Yes, that does mean +12 Mag when initiating combat. I'm so mad that it's locked to male units, Lysithea could've made amazing use of that...
♪ No music ♪

♪ Mask of Fire ♪

You are getting in the way of my game.
Hmph. You'll have more opportunities to play soon. Your work here is done.
Understood. I will go...


♪ No music ♪

Are they both OK? We should get them out of here.
The enemy's withdrawn. Let's carry them up.

So yeah. That map's not too bad, though do make sure to clear out the right side if you're not going for a Death Knight kill.
♪ A Gentle Breeze ♪

You missed the most important part of the mission! We found her within that secret passage. The culprits were the Death Knight and...what was his name? Ah, the Flame Emperor. Sadly, they got away.

We will take these two to the infirmary. Professor, please inform Seteth.
Whatever the circumstance, I'm glad Flayn is safe. Though I'm curious to find out who that other girl is...

Heh, you look...happy. I don't think I've ever seen you like this before.
Anyhow, we should hurry to Seteth. He must be beside himself by now.

♪ Somewhere to Belong ♪

I'm just happy she's safe.

But why was Flayn taken to begin with?

♪ No music ♪

Considering the circumstances, it seems plausible to assume that his true identity is Jeritza. And we cannot forget about the mysterious Flame Emperor... His true motives are yet unclear.

♪ Spiderweb ♪

The blood that flows through her veins is special. It is extremely rare...and extremely dangerous. If enemies who know the secrets of Flayn's blood have appeared, our only option is to leave the monastery and go into hiding.

♪ Calm Winds Over Gentle Waters ♪

Flayn?! What are you doing here? You should be resting!
I do not like the path of your thoughts. I do not wish to live in some lonely, remote location where I never get to see anyone. Not ever again.
If we stay here, you may be targeted again! Wouldn't it be better for the two of us to live in peace?
Even if we ran off to some new, secret location, there is no guarantee that they would not find us. That is why I believe it would be safest to stay in the monastery, where we are surrounded by capable knights and professors.
I see your point, I do. However...

That is a great idea.

With a professor like you nearby, I shall be safe no matter what foe should appear!
I see. I am afraid you have a good point. Professor... Due to my position, I have closely scrutinized everything about you.

It would be my pleasure.

She wore the uniform of the academy. But who is she?

♪ Guardian of Starlight ♪

Who is Monica?
Monica, the girl you rescued along with Flayn, is also a student of the Officers Academy. However...
She is a student from last year's class. She went missing just before she would have graduated.
It never occurred to us that something might have happened to her at the monastery. We assumed she had run away. I never dreamed that we would find her. Not like this.
Monica has asked to rejoin the Black Eagle House once she has fully recovered. Our enemies are still out there, so we must remain cautious, and continue our investigation. However, we must also help the students to move on from this incident.
After all, the Battle of the Eagle and Lion will be held in Gronder Field next month.
Yes. The students will remember it for the rest of their lives. Please guide them so that they may show us their best at the coming battle.

♪ Calm Winds Over Gentle Waters ♪

There is unease in the western side of the Empire, but everything east of the capital, Enbarr, is stable.

Will you come to the Battle of the Eagle and Lion?
Sorry, but I've got my own mission, and it's far from Gronder Field. The church has always been quick to make use of those who work for them. What I'm more concerned about is finding out who among us is pulling the strings. Ever since the Rite of Rebirth, strange groups have been seen around Garreg Mach, and elsewhere too.

Not that it's likely, but if something like that ever happens to me...

Don't say things like that.

Don't get me wrong. I have no intention of dying. I know it would be too much to ask you to cheer up, but can you at least drop the serious... Well, I'll be. Was that a smile just now?

Next time: Wyvern Moon, as we prepare for the Battle of the Eagle and Lion.


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