on the bright side, it could be helpful if Lena starts a bid for the throne she doesn't want to follow up on since that *could* pull in various dissenters and make it so that they can't group behind Minerva or someone else likely to actually try to take the throne? especially if they can't even find Lena in the first place...
I'd also like to bring up that if Lena's the one to rescue Maria that makes recruitment impossible (regardless of if we want it or not), which might make trying to make her like us more in this option less of a factor? (could still be somewhat good for making her hate us less and thus less likely to join marth though, so fine if it wins)
..huh, I didnt 100% figure that Maria being rescued (kidnapped?) would make it impossible, but I figured it'd be unlikely
a part of this for me is also "okay but, we want Maria back after this right?" and I think Pyrathi might be a better shot than Lena
one of my machinations does want to put forward: okay but what if we convinced Lena to go to Pyrathi with Maria
Pyrathi should could use the bleeding heart, right? and General Camus would have trouble pursuing her so far out, safeguarded by pirates and a dragon alike
[X] Meet with Father Claud Not to ask about his mystery cult, ahahaha, no. You want an inside perspective on the politics of the so-called Holy Kingdom, and what's likely to go down at the gala. And…all right, you suppose a prophecy wouldn't go amiss, if he has one for you.
I'll put my vote towards this because admittedly I dont want the goods cost right now (I expect the gold is set aside, but alas)
My other thought is that our options could be, also:
- Maria B Rank - possibly makes her recruitment by any other faction that much harder?
- Lena C Rank
- ...Claude C Rank? But also having intrigue + probably a warning on whatever shitshow will unfold beyond what we'll already know.
i'm basing that off the following text:
"[You may arrange for Maria to be 'kidnapped' by Lena, who will introduce her to the rough life of an itinerant holy woman and initiate her into the esoteric Edda House sect. This will obviously preclude Lena's recruitment.]"
stands to reason that if Maria's in hiding with Lena then obviously Lena can't be *not* in hiding?
working something out may be possible, but if Lena already doesn't really want to go back to Macedonia an additional complication like this makes it way less likely, i guess? we'd probably have to wait at least until Maria finds somewhere to stay long-term or grows old enough to be fine on her own, which would probably take more investment/make it a prospect for quite a bit in the future?
one of my machinations does want to put forward: okay but what if we convinced Lena to go to Pyrathi with Maria
Pyrathi should could use the bleeding heart, right? and General Camus would have trouble pursuing her so far out, safeguarded by pirates and a dragon alike
i also sort of want Lena's to take Maria to Pyrathi, since that prevents the issue of arranging someone else to take her, maria's well placed (to both be a positive influence and to not get screwed over), and afterwards Lena would presumably be free? but we'll have to see, if they're two separate plans it might not be an option for gameplay reasons? or maybe Lena can't stand the idea of her going there so won't be willing to help or something...
My other thought is that our options could be, also:
- Maria B Rank - possibly makes her recruitment by any other faction that much harder?
- Lena C Rank
- ...Claude C Rank? But also having intrigue + probably a warning on whatever shitshow will unfold beyond what we'll already know.
good point on support rank ups being possibilities too.
it's a bit awkward how we probably won't be seeing these characters for a while afterwards, but at the very least the boosts may still get some use during this paralogue?
[X] Go Shopping This might be your last day with your sister for a long while. You've set aside some gold, and you're going to have some fun in Pales's famous markets. You want to leave her with some good memories, as well as some gifts.
Spending time with our sister!
Also, my preferred plan for saving her is still sending her to learn under Dhalsim.
"Wh-what are you—" you catch sight of Maria's pleading look beyond the cloud of white fabric enveloping you. "Ugh. Hello, Lena. I'm glad you're not dead." You give her two feather-light pats, and then push her firmly away. You do not like the satisfied way her eyes crinkle.
Coldly, you glare at her. "Of course you have a scathing denouncement of me just sitting on your desk."
"Yes, it's been sitting there for months," Lena says, visibly distressed. "But talking to you has given me some inspiration, Michalis. Thank you." No matter how she insults you, she does it with complete sincerity and equanimity. You want to strangle her with your own two hands, but you feel somehow that if you tried, your hands would find no material purchase, and simply pass through her.
I've said it before, but Lena's and Michalis' relationship is hilarious. We have a woman who cares only for spiritual truth and nothing for mortal politics, and a man who doesn't believe in the spiritual but intensely values worldly power. They each think the other is wasting their time on something stupid, but for that very reason don't care enough to cause problems for each other.
Her eyes grow dark and intense: "Since I've come to know him, I've undergone a complete shift in my relationship with the gods and my own body. I've been initiated into mysteries both dark and joyous."
That's vaguely ominous. I'm now less sure I want Maria to be learning from her.
So Lena's got herself involved in a sect that is questioning the legitimacy of Archanea's royal family. That may or may not be worth investing in, depending on if we'd rather undermine Nyna or use her legitimacy to boost our own. It's also an interesting potential deviation from cannon. Marth's faction in FE1 was partially motivated by a desire to restore Nyna to her throne. Lena seems a lot less interested in that, here.
Hm, if we wanted to be really nasty, we could encourage Lena to denounce us, and then use the excuse to get closer to Nyna by offering to help her crush the anti-Adrah sect Lena is part of. It would be very underhanded of us, and probably upset certain factions within Macedon, but the option is there.
on the bright side, it could be helpful if Lena starts a bid for the throne she doesn't want to follow up on since that *could* pull in various dissenters and make it so that they can't group behind Minerva or someone else likely to actually try to take the throne? especially if they can't even find Lena in the first place...
Maybe. It's also possible that it might motivate people to more actively work against us to clear the way for her succession. She may not want the throne, but her supporters won't know that.
To be clear, if Lena kidnaps Maria, she's going to publicly announce her opposition to our rule to make it look like that's her motivation for the kidnapping. It would raise a lot of eyebrows if we then recruited her after that.
Although I'm still hoping we'll be able to just talk Ludwik into dropping the matter, if that fails I think I'm leaning more toward trying to ship Maria to Pyrathi. Of the vote options, I can see good reasons for all of them, but I think I'm going to go with
[X] Go Shopping This might be your last day with your sister for a long while. You've set aside some gold, and you're going to have some fun in Pales's famous markets. You want to leave her with some good memories, as well as some gifts.
for now. I'll probably change my mind later. Maybe.
Political situation is getting very complex, with lots of potential opportunities for us, and it will become more so as we get to the gala itself. I'm intrigued to see how it will all pan out.
Maybe. It's also possible that it might motivate people to more actively work against us to clear the way for her succession. She may not want the throne, but her supporters won't know that.
true... it might work out if it happened later on with anyone who wants a different rule already set up(as in, they would be doing it regardless), but the denounement would be happening this turn so sort of a wash
there could be benefits along the lines of mitigating overall harm/getting it in before everyone's entrenched to having this condemnation sooner (since we seem to be doing pretty well with the famine+everyone's happy with raids) rather than later, but right now we're lacking in a whole bunch of legitimacy and the "surrendering half of our territory" thing is fresh in everyone's mind, so overall would probably suck?
sort of an out-there idea too tbh, feels a waste to actively setup opporsition with the goal of making it weaker overall when we could hopefully instead focus on not needing it in the first place
[X] Go Shopping This might be your last day with your sister for a long while. You've set aside some gold, and you're going to have some fun in Pales's famous markets. You want to leave her with some good memories, as well as some gifts.
Drawing out our enemies in Macedon is not a bad thing, tbh draw them out when we are strong and fairly popular.
Lena is fairly reliable, I'd let her train up Maria, our trainee will have a lot of useful stats when all is said and done.
Her joining Marth is fairly immaterial I'd want to throw our lot with him by then anyways, I've always viewed his liberation army as the main tool to gain power.
[X] Go Shopping This might be your last day with your sister for a long while. You've set aside some gold, and you're going to have some fun in Pales's famous markets. You want to leave her with some good memories, as well as some gifts.
Good for the stress stat.
Hm, if we wanted to be really nasty, we could encourage Lena to denounce us, and then use the excuse to get closer to Nyna by offering to help her crush the anti-Adrah sect Lena is part of. It would be very underhanded of us, and probably upset certain factions within Macedon, but the option is there.
honestly, yeah, for all the wonky moments we did have... we've basically averted our big problems
We should try and raise food production higher so that we have trade goods beyond pegasus feathers, but overall we've given our people very little to complain about, and much to go "actually, maybe Michalis is a competent Lord"
honestly, yeah, for all the wonky moments we did have... we've basically averted our big problems
We should try and raise food production higher so that we have trade goods beyond pegasus feathers, but overall we've given our people very little to complain about, and much to go "actually, maybe Michalis is a competent Lord"
i mean, it has only been 3 turns so far and only really 1 crisis adverted so may be too early to say?
partially bread and circuses applies so we probably won't need to worry about riots, but i assume people with a reason to hate us still do, though yeah you're right that they'd probably at least may not think us incompetent, assuming they didn't see the vulnerary thing, that is :/
Three votes for Lena, four votes for Shopping with Maria, two votes for Claud...a pretty balanced vote! But cute and happy family times won in the end!
I'm assuming Maria will get her remaining trainee points while on her 'foreign learning expedition', so I have to ask: if we send her to learn under Dhalsim, what is the chance of her coming back in two years with fire powers?
I'm assuming Maria will get her remaining trainee points while on her 'foreign learning expedition', so I have to ask: if we send her to learn under Dhalsim, what is the chance of her coming back in two years with fire powers?
Are you asking me if the wisdom of the fire dragons, as taught by King Mannu, disciple of Lord Salamand, on the sacred ground of Mount Pyre, includes fire magic?
Or are you asking if there's a chance Maria will fail to learn said fire magic? Not really. Sending a major character away for a training arc that doesn't amount to anything would be a huge waste of my time and yours.
[ ] Go Shopping This might be your last day with your sister for a long while. You've set aside some gold, and you're going to have some fun in Pales's famous markets. You want to leave her with some good memories, as well as some gifts.
You could conspire with Claud, or try to convince Lena to lend her talents. It would be more practical, bring you more advantage. But, in the end…you are doing this for Maria. And Maria wants to see the city.
Pales grows less pretentious as you walk away from the Millenium Court and into the more 'common' areas. The sun is out and the city is bustling. Men and women stroll about on their errands or sip refreshments under parasols, wearing loose-cut clothes that leave arms and legs casually bare. The day's heat will only grow worse, so you tug Maria down winding streets, trying to find the main market square.
[Finding your way; Stewardship; Difficulty 45: 03+10+1(Maria C)=14; Critical Failure]
Hmph. This is much more difficult when you're stuck on the ground and all these damn buildings block your view. You stare at a street sign and try to compare it with the map you thought you memorized.
"Brother, are we lost?"
"No," you insist.
"…Okay then," she says, willing to play along. "There's a mural painted on the wall over there, shall we go see?" The city has an undeniable artistic spirit – colorful and incomprehensible things are painted on the walls and storefronts, and on one of the busier streets, you passed a crowd of chanting people surrounding some kind of dance competition. So you follow Maria to stand before the little wall, dividing someone's garden from the street. It is painted with an image of a venerable white dragon, craggy and bearded; on its back it bears a house, but a house so extensive, throwing out so many protrusions and wings, and stacked so high up with stories, and painted in a rainbow patchwork of colors, that it rather resembles an architectural mountain, or an entire town. The artist's signature says, "PJO." In a blank corner, in a different hand, someone has scratched a graffiti in German.
Maria crouches down, squinting. "I don't get all these words…is this a commentary on the painting? Or the political situation? I recognize 'Dohlr.'"
You cross your arms. "It says, 'Dohlr will tear this down.' And it's not just referring to the one painting, of course."
She straightens up. "Of course…" she says sadly. "You know, whoever wrote that message made sure to do it in a corner where it wouldn't mess up the painting. That shows…care, for the artist, but also for all the pedestrians who can see this as they pass by. I think they must really love this city."
"Maria," you ask her, "how have you become so perceptive recently?"
She quirks her head. "I've been thinking a lot about what you told me – how the key to politics is to understand what people want. And I'm actually very sensitive to other people, so…I've been practicing. People put a lot of themselves into the things they make, you know."
[Maria has gained a new Trait!]
[Heart in her Hands: By examining something a character has made, you can determine that character's ruling emotions or motivations behind the creation. This may also reveal their Traits.]
She stands straight, and when she turns to look at you, you see something of your mother in her. "Michalis…these people are not our enemies."
"Did I ever say they were?"
"Please, just – remember. As long as this kingdom is not trying to enslave us again, they are not our enemies. And they're scared right now. You can use your influence to, to…"
You step closer, and wrap your arms around her. "Maria," you whisper in her ear, "My responsibility is to Macedon. First, always, the people of Macedon. Pales is Camus's concern, now." You study her, concerned. She looks stubborn. Not tearful. "The world has an infinite number of problems. We cannot solve every single one."
She purses her lips. Then she goes to the nearest house, knocks on the door, and politely asks the boy who emerges for directions to the Marktplatz.
---
It takes another fifteen minutes of brisk walking, but the two of you finally reach your destination. From above, this is a broad circular plaza, the fourth sphere of the Fire Emblem; from your current point of view it is a mazelike forest of white awnings and yapping vendors. You double-check the security of your coin purse and dive in.
"Oh, Michalis, look at this goldwork!"
"Oooh, Michalis, look at this gemstone!"
"I didn't even know you could make glass shine like that! Who made this? Your wife? She has such a love of beauty, I can tell!"
Of course, she gravitates to the jewelry first. Maria has a takkuri's taste for pretty little things, and the never-before-seen variety spread out before her is enough to dazzle. Even you have to initially fight the urge to just…shove things in your pockets and leg it back to Lucrecia with enough wealth to renovate the Aerie. Maria is particularly taken with dichromatic glass and buys two pairs of earrings, one misty violet over a layer of opalescent flash, one turquoise beads dangling on copper wire, and then for an extra payment the vendor pierces another row of holes in her ears so she can wear them both at the same time. For your part, you weren't planning to get anything, but you find an elegant onyx ring at a modest price and Maria thinks it looks good, so…
By this point you are getting hungry. The paucity of food strikes you as odd, until someone tells you that there's a covered market nearby for the things that don't do well under the hot sun. The covered market dazzles you in a different way, with its electric lights and its unnaturally chill air. Even the food is set up prettily, stacked wheels of cheese and silvery fish packed in snow. The two of you slide onto stools at a deli counter, and share a giggle at the hilarious price being asked for a few slivers of pegasus jerky. Instead you order sausage sandwiches. For dessert, you watch as a man jams a block of ice through a rattling machine that turns it into flakes of snow. He collects a mound in a little bowl and gestures to a rack of rainbow-colored syrups, each bearing the image of some Old Earth fruit you barely recognize. You choose arbitrarily and end up with something very sweet and odd, but it sure does refortify you to venture back outside.
Maria's had her turn; now you get to choose the stores. The books are tempting, but you still haven't gotten through Mother's herbarium. So, out of curiosity, you choose a place guarded by extra security, human and Uplift toughs stationed at each end. They give you and the sword on your waist an extra-long look before letting you pass.
This row is the home of junk dealers and tomb robbers. Pages torn from magic tomes, Hylian statuary, Deku tree wood, secondhand cybernetics, and deeds to property in the City – all of it rare, with the potential to be amazingly valuable to the right person, or bring catastrophic disaster, or perhaps do nothing. Genuine or not, the prices are stiff.
You and your sister slow down. Drifting between stalls, you sift through baskets of potsherds, poke at malfunctioning machinery, and do your best to separate the gems from the junk. Maria is, surprisingly, better at it than you are, showing an uncanny ability to intuit the purpose of an object without relying on the inflated prattle of the salesmen.
You arrived late enough that the most obviously useful items are already gone. But that still leaves three more…esoteric options. You only have the funds to buy one.
[ ] [SHOPPING] Broken COMP A broken computer, set into a gauntlet so you can walk around wearing it on your forearm. Maria says she hears something "sleeping" inside. Intrigued, you badger the dealer until he admits that, when he got it, it was functional; however, fiddling around with its 'Demon Summoning Program' made it start summoning a real demon, whereupon he smashed it in a panic.
[ ] [SHOPPING] Goddess Statuette A statuette of some unknown goddess, turning a wheel that makes up her midsection. There are thousands of icons for sale in the city, of course, but Maria insists that this one "feels really lucky".
[ ] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
---
Your rooms at the palace include a large mirror, smooth and silvery. You sit before it, brushing out your long hair until it is perfect, smooth as a flowing river and shining gently like the wings of the setting sun. A door behind you opens and slippered feet pad in, their gait light with a mix of nervousness and excitement. You smile at the reflection behind you and turn around to behold your sister more fully. Her dress is the work of months, an overgown of pristine white fabric that blooms into lace at the wrists, revealing the powder blue underlayer, cinched tight. Golden ribbons girdle her arms and edge her bodice, and, of course, her sash is an embroidered blue marvel. She's proudly wearing her new earrings, as well. "How wonderful, Maria. Are you all ready?"
She nods. "I'm so excited. I couldn't delay. Do you want me to do your hair?" She's already reaching for the brush.
"Ah, no! I've done it for myself. The mirror was helpful in that regard." You nod at the thing. You wouldn't mind taking it back to Macedon with you, but alas, it looks too fragile for a wyvernback trip. "Don't touch my hair, Maria. It's already perfect." She's pursing her lips in the way that means she still wants something. "Will you get my cape?"
Your sister goes to the hook where your best cape hangs – huge, black, lined with scarlet, an enormous length of fabric to cover your prodigious height – and hefts it across the room. Watching her totter, you resist the urge to get up and help her; she does make it. The great cape is draped across your shoulders and fastened with a gold pin and a kiss. Before withdrawing, she lands one last surprise peck on the flame-red wave of your hair. "You look wonderful, Michalis." Magnanimously, you do not check the mirror to see if she disturbed it, nor do you rise from your chair.
Instead, you knit your fingers and look up at your sister. "Did you have a good day, Maria?"
"Mm? It's not over yet. We still have a whole gala to get through." She quirks her head. "But, yes. I had a very good day. I only wish that Minerva could have been there with us."
An idyllic image, but…"I think we both know that Minerva would have been on a hair trigger the entire time," you say regretfully. "She herself seemed relieved that I asked her to go raiding instead." Your other sister has been worrying herself sick over Maria; you presented the mission as a welcome distraction, a sort of physical stress reliever. Minerva didn't seem to realize that her absence from the negotiations would also allow you to resolve the situation with Grust in whatever way you see fit. It's…good to know that she still trusts you.
"I said my good-byes to her earlier," Maria says. "Is that what we're doing now?"
"Well, this might be our last private moment. Are you…" You trail off. Asking her if she's sure, or if she's okay, would give her false hope. No matter what she says, what objections she has, you will not let Macedon hang for the sake of one girl. "How are you feeling?" you ask instead.
"Hmm, remember when we used to go swimming at that lake with the fallen tree? And after you taught me the basics, you brought me up to the end of the fallen tree, and told me to jump right in the water. It seemed so, so high…and I was scared. But I thought to myself, 'I'm just as brave as them,' and I didn't listen to the fear and I jumped." She nods to herself, reliving a satisfying memory. "I'm about to jump into deep waters, Michalis. I'm looking forward to it, so much." Her eyes crinkle in a wide smile, but it passes out of view as she circles behind your chair. Your cloak rustles as her little head bends close to yours and leans on your shoulder. Her voice is piercingly kind as she whispers, "How are you feeling?" She reaches around and puts a finger on the side of your jaw as it starts to work. "Please answer honestly, Michalis. I won't tell anyone."
…She's growing too perceptive. Perhaps that's just your lot in life, to be blessed and cursed with such beautiful, talented, worthy sisters. If your parents are watching you from somewhere, they must be proud of their exceptional children, or at least the ones who aren't parricides. In that moment, something in your heart tears away, some little, childish hope you were still holding on to: that Maria, precious baby Maria, would always love you. As soon as she leaves, she will become her own person. She will be capable of harming you, and unsafe to hold close.
[Does Michalis answer her honestly? Stress check: Passed. He does.]
[Making sense of his own emotions; Diplomacy; Difficulty 70: 32+22+1(Maria C)+5(Moderately Low Stress)=60; Bare Failure]
"I…" You try to meet her request. It is what she deserves, on this night of all nights. "I…" It is like digging through colorless sludge. Your fingers scrape against the iron shell of your heart; it does not tolerate the intrusion. You feel your chest tightening. She asks you the question how are you feeling and all you can identify are the confusion and distress you feel at the question itself. "I don't know. I'm sorry, Maria, I – what is wrong with me?" You drag a hand through your hair. "I should be better than this."
She withdraws from your field of view; you hear the rustle of fabric, but you're not sure what she's doing behind you. "Did you at least have a fun time today?" she asks. You think she sounds disappointed. Or perhaps concerned. You're not sure anymore.
"Yes, of course, I – yes! Yes, I did, Maria." You say it, at first, because it's what you should say, it is what will please her, but then you find your mind flashing back to the treats and the glitter of beautiful things and the way she looked in the sunlight and you do feel it, that warm glimmer that you identify as happiness.
"Good. It's only a nice day out if everyone enjoys themselves. Oh, don't move, Michalis," she says when you attempt to rise from your chair. Her footsteps draw closer again and, in the mirror, you see her wielding a hairbrush. "You've messed up your hair. I'll fix it this time, and while I'm doing that, you can think a little more."
You let her take care of you.
[Michalis and Maria have achieved Support rank B!]
[Maria has gained a new Trait!]
[Sanguine: You remain cheerful and optimistic in all but the most harrowing of situations, acting as a beacon to others. +5 Diplomacy. When other characters are under physical or emotional strain, your supportive presence grants them +10 on their rolls (excepting combat rolls). You lose the benefits of this trait for the rest of the Paralogue if something truly shakes you.]
"I don't want you to go," you say eventually. You put your hand on hers and she stops. The words are painful; you can only say them slowly and quietly, but she gives you time and silence. "It doesn't change what must be done, of course, and every bird must leave the nest, but – I don't want you to go." You have not let your hand fall from hers; instead, your grip tightens. "Maria, I know you think you're ready to grow up, but still, you must promise me that you will not be reckless."
She bends her head down to your ear. "I'll give you the same promise I gave Minerva: I will be back. Macedon will always be my home. We're all helping in our own way, and I've found mine, so be happy for me."
You shake your head a little. "It's bittersweet at best."
Her hands find their way around your neck and clasp like the cloak she's resting on. "You'll be okay, too, Michalis. You and Minerva can do anything. Take care of each other while I'm gone, all right?"
You take a deep, cleansing breath. "You're right."
---
The royalty of Macedon do not go for heavy crowns and ermine capes, but no fool could look at you without realizing that you and your sister are something special. Even so, you cannot spit without hitting royalty tonight. In this ballroom, you and Maria struggle to stand out compared to more decadent nobles. A herald uses her robust voice to announce each new guest – you are grateful for her, as you have never seen most of these people before.
If everything goes ideally, tonight you will convince other factions that you are a worthy ally, attain some leverage over Ludwik sufficient to modify his hostage demands, pry into others' future plans, avoid giving away any secrets of your own, show your sister a wonderful time, and get laid. You may have to pick and choose which of these possibilities are most important to you, and which connections you most wish to make – there's no way you could talk to everyone here.
[In this first stage of the party, there is mingling and light drinking. Guests are still arriving. King Ludwik has not made his entrance yet. Once the guest of honor arrives, any announcements or ceremonies will be carried out. The meal will subsequently begin, and so will the dancing and heavy drinking, likely into the wee hours. This is the ideal time to sneak Maria away, if that is the plan you decide on. Lena and company will be waiting for Michalis's signal.]
[Michalis and Maria are together for this stage of the party. Vote for as many of the following conversations as you wish; the Macedonian royals will insert themselves into the top two. EXP can be applied here; for each character in bold, there will be a roll to either endear yourselves or learn more about them/their plans.]
[No matter what, you will also greet Princess Nyna next chapter.]
[ ] [GALA] King Jiol of Gra is the oldest person here. Standing beside him is a lovely brunette woman who could be either his wife or daughter, and a second brunette who is, presumably, whichever of the two the first one isn't. They are speaking in a businesslike manner to a rotund man identified as Chancellor Desaix of Zofia.
[ ] [GALA] Princess Caeda of Talys – who might be the same pegasus knight your sister met in Aurelis – is nodding in sympathy with a man named Etzel, wearing a monocle and the robes of a sorcerer.
[ ] [GALA] Oksana of Outer Heaven, a green-haired woman with obvious cybernetics, appears to be trying to sell General Camus on her corporation's services.
[ ] [GALA] Some sort of quarrel is brewing between a few of the local nobility. Hilda and Blume Friege have cornered a rather frail-looking woman, swathed in mourning black, who was introduced as Deirdre Chalphy.
[ ] [GALA] Why the hell is Homer here? Didn't the Whitewings get him fired? And why does Prince Berkut of Rigel look so fascinated with what he has to say?
The COMP is from SMT and is about demon summoning, mostly. It's a computer which lets you summon demons, which is incredibly badass, and also a poor idea unless you have the means to control them. It's also broken, so we would need to fix it before we start summoning demons.
The Goddess Statue is a traditional item in FE. This one seems the be the variety that increases luck, which provides a slight bonus to evasion and crit evasion. I'm… not sure how it'll cross over into the mechanics here. But it seems like it'll have some small but hopefully consistent benefit.
The Firestone is probably the kind that Manaketes use. It contains their draconic power, allowing them to take a human form. By tapping into it, they can transform back to a dragon and unleash their full power. I don't expect we can use it, but in theory if we got our hands on a Manakete… it would be useful. Maybe if we send Maria to the Manakete place?
There's also a possibility that these are what we identify them as, but in reality they are different items. Just, on the off chance the Goddess Statue is for a different goddess, or the Firestone is like, Magicite from Final Fantasy. Not sure how likely that is.
I'll have to do more research on the folks at the Gala before I put my findings on them.
That's Fortunae, iirc Roman version of Tyche, goddess of...well you can probably guess from the name really. Even if it's not from any game series in particular she does the bonus of being a relatively regular Old Earth Goddess.
The Firestone is probably the kind that Manaketes use. It contains their draconic power, allowing them to take a human form. By tapping into it, they can transform back to a dragon and unleash their full power. I don't expect we can use it, but in theory if we got our hands on a Manakete… it would be useful. Maybe if we send Maria to the Manakete place?
The moment I saw this option, the thought that immediately came to mind was "I wonder if this is Bantu's stone?" Since he canonically (in the DS remake, at least) drops it in Pyrathi and a villager picks it up before he can find it again.
Then again, the Firestone village is in Aurelis, which is pretty far away from Pales… but Pyrathi is right off the coast of the country of Archanea, too. And then again, DS Shadow Dragon was the one who said the villager in Aurelis picked it up in Pyrathi—not the OG NES version. We could be using a different canon.
The Firestone is probably the kind that Manaketes use. It contains their draconic power, allowing them to take a human form. By tapping into it, they can transform back to a dragon and unleash their full power. I don't expect we can use it, but in theory if we got our hands on a Manakete… it would be useful. Maybe if we send Maria to the Manakete place?
Dreads, I want to put forwards that given the bit about Arven, worst case, Saias can use the firestone
alternatively, this fire stone might be an Evolutionary Item, for pokemon.
well, it could be both.
I should've figured the gala would have royals that I dont even know what to do with.
I'm leading either COM or Goddess Statue personally
(plus there's the funny of "what if that's also an SMT Item")
ALRIGHTY, SO.
Desaix was helped into power by Rudolf, who is the father of Berkut's rival (and also technically Berkut's uncle)
those are both valencian characters iirc, or at least "they arent presently relevant to the narrative, immediately"
HOWEVER Jiol of Gra? he's IMMEDIATELY north of Dolhr, and they seceeded from the Altean Royal Union anyway.
his daughter Sheena is a general.
The island of Gra, once the eastern half of Altea, declared independence in a subsequent succession dispute. Anri never sired children; his first heir was his brother Marcelus, but when Marcelus died, that title passed to Marcelus's daughter Elice, then but a child. Those who disagreed with this, led by Duke Jiol, established their own kingdom, dividing Altea in half. Despite this, relations between the two islands seemed cordial. They both answered the Holy Kingdom's call to arms…but when it came time to give battle, Jiol betrayed Anri, having made a secret pact with Dohlr. Altea's army was devastated, and unable to stand in Gra's way.
The moment I saw this option, the thought that immediately came to mind was "I wonder if this is Bantu's stone?" Since he canonically (in the DS remake, at least) drops it in Pyrathi and a villager picks it up before he can find it again.
Then again, the Firestone village is in Aurelis, which is pretty far away from Pales… but Pyrathi is right off the coast of the country of Archanea, too. And then again, DS Shadow Dragon was the one who said the villager in Aurelis picked it up in Pyrathi—not the OG NES version. We could be using a different canon.
gah... if it's Bantu's stone I'd be open to picking it up, just because wouldn't it be funny to recruit Tiki and Bantu
EDIT: predictions on the rolls, or theories
"I've no taste for war, but I do have a fierce hunger for ending it. Let's usher in a new era, you and I."
—Etzel to Marth
He is a wandering spell slinger that got caught in during the War of Shadows. He had a wife named Ursula, who died in one of many attacks that Dolhr launched, and all that is left of her is her ring he holds as a memento.
oh boy. idk if we're gonna manage to recruit this guy, but he's also associated with Khadein later on. he's another Marth Unit my friends.
I imagine that it's a matter of (in order)
Learn King Jiol or Desaix's plans, otherwise establishment of diplomatic relations with Gra + maybe endearment (I dont think this would net us a "where to send Maria", that would work out)
Caeda / Etzel - possible endearment? Etzel is a widower (with a woman), so who knows if this is our "get! michalis!! laid!!!" (I'm still going with "he prefers men" headcanon).
Oksana? maybe endearment, but most certainly Camussy's plans
Hilda and Blume? Deirdre? plans, maybe endearment to one party.
Homer recruitment opportunity maybe lol. he's probably not representing pyrathi, but maybe he's there claiming to be doing so because what's the old fire drake gonna do? find someone to send? Berkut is iirc Same Type Of Guy as Michalis, so they might hit it off, maybe? He's not a local tho iirc, so it's not like we can count on him long-term, same way as Desaix I wanna say.
edit: hmmm, methinks I may end up contributing 400 exp, with 200 going to respectively each option.
I'll confirm this when it's time to seriously vote 2 days from now
[X] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
[X] [GALA] King Jiol of Gra is the oldest person here. Standing beside him is a lovely brunette woman who could be either his wife or daughter, and a second brunette who is, presumably, whichever of the two the first one isn't. They are speaking in a businesslike manner to a rotund man identified as Chancellor Desaix of Zofia.
[X] [GALA] Princess Caeda of Talys – who might be the same pegasus knight your sister met in Aurelis – is nodding in sympathy with a man named Etzel, wearing a monocle and the robes of a sorcerer.
[] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
If this is Bantu's stone, returning it to him would be pretty cool.
Honestly, I'm not sure what way I should vote in either question. I think I'll save my XP for a later phase of the party, though.
woo, no funds required!
also wow, just barely scraped a bare failure on that first "expressing your own feelings" roll (which probably made the second possible?). big thanks to Lucrecia, good thing we got that elite dragon rider trait for the bonus diplomacy, huh?
regarding the shopping choice:
the COMP may be valuable, but i think it'd be more of a pain for us to get use out of it than anything else since it requires tech, so maybe not? unless we want to get it out of anyone else's hands, but the utility of that's pretty low
wasn't sure about info on the statue/firestone so thanks for the info griffinlw
was originally thinking of getting the statue (and if it gives a passive boost that's pretty good for action economy) and was also considering if the firestone could be used to buff our wyverns, but if there's confirmation that the firestone is related to manakete's i think that's confirmation enough for me?
could give us(or upgrade) actions to research it/wyverns more and out how to reverse their degradation a bit? hopefully not to the extent they gain self-awareness and start being full dragons, but a small boost there would be pretty great. (and as a plus, if it's an occult action we might have the space for it?)
regarding the social choice, i have some ideas but i'm really not sure who's best to talk with, lot of characters most of whom i don't know much about, or what they could offer us. (if any are super important/useless to talk to for that reason i might be making some bad takes here, so please say if something stands out)
talking to local nobility (Hilda and Blume Friege/Deirdre Chalphy) could be handy for getting dirt/influence on Ludwik so may be a priority for our main goal of getting him to stop his hostage thing
maybe Princess Caeda of Talys would be important to get better relations with? if they're a nice person we might be able to improve their opinion on us, which if they're someone who we suspect of working with our enemies in the future would help us by making them less likely to support aggressive action/commit to it? making negotiations possible, making them less likely to buy into propaganda, that sort of thing. no clue who the other person is so can't say for them.
talking to Homer seems like a pain (if we've caused them some problems it might be a hostile negotiation, but it also means we might get the chance to ease tensions and prevent them hating us long term, as well as letting us find out more about what's going on with Pyrathi and improve the situation regarding maria going there? and no clue who he is but Prince Berkut of Rigel could be another influential person to reach out to, i guess?
also no clue where King Jiol of Gra, is relevant, but if they're talking to Chancellor Desaix of Zofia and they're both bigwigs we'd be able to make positive relationships with two polities at once, which would be helpful to improve relations on a national stage? though that's a bit generic so seems less important
talking to Oksana of Outer Heaven could also be handy if we want to hire mercenaries, but i'm not sure if it's in our budget, something we want to be doing, or whether we can afford to talk to them now over others in the first place, so ends up at the bottom of the list for me
[X] [SHOPPING] Firestone
[X] [GALA] Some sort of quarrel is brewing between a few of the local nobility. Hilda and Blume Friege have cornered a rather frail-looking woman, swathed in mourning black, who was introduced as Deirdre Chalphy.
[X] [GALA] Princess Caeda of Talys – who might be the same pegasus knight your sister met in Aurelis – is nodding in sympathy with a man named Etzel, wearing a monocle and the robes of a sorcerer.
[] [GALA] Why the hell is Homer here? Didn't the Whitewings get him fired? And why does Prince Berkut of Rigel look so fascinated with what he has to say?
(sorry, unvoted homer to try and give local nobility a chance to win)
[ ] [SHOPPING] Broken COMP A broken computer, set into a gauntlet so you can walk around wearing it on your forearm. Maria says she hears something "sleeping" inside. Intrigued, you badger the dealer until he admits that, when he got it, it was functional; however, fiddling around with its 'Demon Summoning Program' made it start summoning a real demon, whereupon he smashed it in a panic.
[ ] [SHOPPING] Goddess Statuette A statuette of some unknown goddess, turning a wheel that makes up her midsection. There are thousands of icons for sale in the city, of course, but Maria insists that this one "feels really lucky".
[ ] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
[ ] [GALA] King Jiol of Gra is the oldest person here. Standing beside him is a lovely brunette woman who could be either his wife or daughter, and a second brunette who is, presumably, whichever of the two the first one isn't. They are speaking in a businesslike manner to a rotund man identified as Chancellor Desaix of Zofia.
[ ] [GALA] Princess Caeda of Talys – who might be the same pegasus knight your sister met in Aurelis – is nodding in sympathy with a man named Etzel, wearing a monocle and the robes of a sorcerer.
[ ] [GALA] Oksana of Outer Heaven, a green-haired woman with obvious cybernetics, appears to be trying to sell General Camus on her corporation's services.
[ ] [GALA] Some sort of quarrel is brewing between a few of the local nobility. Hilda and Blume Friege have cornered a rather frail-looking woman, swathed in mourning black, who was introduced as Deirdre Chalphy.
[ ] [GALA] Why the hell is Homer here? Didn't the Whitewings get him fired? And why does Prince Berkut of Rigel look so fascinated with what he has to say?
"Hmm, remember when we used to go swimming at that lake with the fallen tree? And after you taught me the basics, you brought me up to the end of the fallen tree, and told me to jump right in the water. It seemed so, so high…and I was scared. But I thought to myself, 'I'm just as brave as them,' and I didn't listen to the fear and I jumped." She nods to herself, reliving a satisfying memory. "I'm about to jump into deep waters, Michalis. I'm looking forward to it, so much." Her eyes crinkle in a wide smile, but it passes out of view as she circles behind your chair. Your cloak rustles as her little head bends close to yours and leans on your shoulder. Her voice is piercingly kind as she whispers, "How are you feeling?" She reaches around and puts a finger on the side of your jaw as it starts to work. "Please answer honestly, Michalis. I won't tell anyone."
Dreads, I want to put forwards that given the bit about Arven, worst case, Saias can use the firestone
alternatively, this fire stone might be an Evolutionary Item, for pokemon.
well, it could be both.
I should've figured the gala would have royals that I dont even know what to do with.
I'm leading either COM or Goddess Statue personally
(plus there's the funny of "what if that's also an SMT Item")
ALRIGHTY, SO.
Desaix was helped into power by Rudolf, who is the father of Berkut's rival (and also technically Berkut's uncle)
those are both valencian characters iirc, or at least "they arent presently relevant to the narrative, immediately"
HOWEVER Jiol of Gra? he's IMMEDIATELY north of Dolhr, and they seceeded from the Altean Royal Union anyway.
his daughter Sheena is a general.
If we want to speak to a potential ally, and a potential Unit Recruit, these might be a good option
buuuuut we have pretty good martial anyway right?
I have 0 idea who Oksana is from metal gear, not my fandom.
gah... if it's Bantu's stone I'd be open to picking it up, just because wouldn't it be funny to recruit Tiki and Bantu
EDIT: predictions on the rolls, or theories
oh boy. idk if we're gonna manage to recruit this guy, but he's also associated with Khadein later on. he's another Marth Unit my friends.
I imagine that it's a matter of (in order)
Learn King Jiol or Desaix's plans, otherwise establishment of diplomatic relations with Gra + maybe endearment (I dont think this would net us a "where to send Maria", that would work out)
Caeda / Etzel - possible endearment? Etzel is a widower (with a woman), so who knows if this is our "get! michalis!! laid!!!" (I'm still going with "he prefers men" headcanon).
Oksana? maybe endearment, but most certainly Camussy's plans
Hilda and Blume? Deirdre? plans, maybe endearment to one party.
Homer recruitment opportunity maybe lol. he's probably not representing pyrathi, but maybe he's there claiming to be doing so because what's the old fire drake gonna do? find someone to send? Berkut is iirc Same Type Of Guy as Michalis, so they might hit it off, maybe? He's not a local tho iirc, so it's not like we can count on him long-term, same way as Desaix I wanna say.
edit: hmmm, methinks I may end up contributing 400 exp, with 200 going to respectively each option.
I'll confirm this when it's time to seriously vote 2 days from now
Hmm, thoughts Demons summoning program seems dubious as a megaten fan the amount of ways this could go wrong are legion and quite frankly not the sort of trouble that I am interested in seeking out at the moment, we have enough on our plate as is without Louis Cypher popping up to say hello. The goddess status is boring and likely just a passive stat boost, not super relevant. Thus I think the firestone is best since manakete research is something we already do and we may be able to recruit a manakete in need of a stone, bantu would be prob pretty good, assuming this is fe1/3 bantu and not remake bantu(bantu in the og games was basically a disc 1 nuke being a general with super high movement, easily an mvp in my fe3 book 1 playthrough). If we Tiki due to recruiting bantu well she is basically a spare Falchion run in terror Medeus not even your h5 stats could save you.
On the subject of galla stuff Homer seems cool since we may be able to grab him here, which look the guy has paragon he's pretty nuts even Homer being uh Homer. Berkut could be a good way of getting our hands on that Duma faithful who seem so flavourful kooky.
The Freege's family are a really prominent faction within the judgral games, being notably recurring antagonist within both gens of genealogy and throughout both games, Bloom is fairly self interested if not completely black of heart while Hilda is just the worst being a child a abusing, child sacrificing sociopath, like she enthusiastically endorsed lopto child hunts, a real peace of work there. Deindre I don't know what to make of given she seems to still be called Chalphy which put her confirmed connection to Arvis into question, I feel like this is something we need answered.
Cadea sounds nice, but doesn't seems required as the dc for getting in touch with her old man isnt that high, may be worthwhile however to make us seem more personally trustworthy.
Oksana, I don't care about Camus's merc plans that much rn at least, nor do we need mercs that bad at the moment, unless we'd want to tattletale on Camus to someone, which seems premature.
Jiol, I also dont care if your daughter is a nice match we want the best match in Nyna.
Thus, I think I'll go with this.
[X] [GALA] Some sort of quarrel is brewing between a few of the local nobility. Hilda and Blume Friege have cornered a rather frail-looking woman, swathed in mourning black, who was introduced as Deirdre Chalphy.
[X] [GALA] Why the hell is Homer here? Didn't the Whitewings get him fired? And why does Prince Berkut of Rigel look so fascinated with what he has to say?
[X] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
The Maria and Michalis scenes are great. Also, those new traits for Maria are really nice and make me want to keep her around even more.
All three purchasing options are really interesting. Getting that COMP working again would open a lot of interesting possibilities, though it would probably take a lot of investment. I'm really, really tempted.
That said, we've already been doing some research into the manaketes, and will probably do more in the future, so the Firestone will likely be useful to have. Though given it's from from Pyrathi, which has a mountain called Mt. Pyre, I've got a crazy theory running in my head that it might actually be the Red Orb that controls Groudon. Probably not, but a guy can dream.
So I'll vote
[X] [SHOPPING] Firestone A dull red stone that feels slightly warm to the touch. It is, allegedly, from Pyrathi. The vendor insists that she is not responsible for any curses that may or may not affect people who take volcanic rocks from the islands. Maria says it doesn't feel cursed, just dangerously powerful.
regarding the social choice, i have some ideas but i'm really not sure who's best to talk with, lot of characters most of whom i don't know much about, or what they could offer us. (if any are super important/useless to talk to for that reason i might be making some bad takes here, so please say if something stands out)
I don't know all these characters, but I can shed a bit of light on the subject.
King Jiol is from Gra, a fellow member of the Dohlr Alliance. As a refresher, Gra was a neighbor of Altea (Marth's homeland) but conquered it at the beginning of the war. So far they have been too busy settling things in their conquered territory to be much involved in wider politics thus far. He is also accompanied by two brunettes who are almost certainly his daughter, Princess Sheena and his wife, Queen Guadalupe (Sheena's step-mother). Rumor has it there is some strife between the two women, because Jiol is getting up there in years and if he dies it's not clear which of the two will inherit the throne. Sheena is someone I'm particularly interested in; my thought is that if we help her out with her domestic troubles, once she's queen she could be a loyal ally, or maybe even a marriage candidate. Overall, not important to the current circumstances, but they could become a good opportunity down the line if we make connections now.
Chancellor Desaix is the evil chancellor of Zofia, a country on the continent of Valencia. We don't currently have much contact, but once we finish the docks we will have the option to open trade with them. Desaix is a fairly typical FE corrupt nobleman, but Zofia is notable for being both extremely wealthy and prosperous while also having a lackluster military. They would be an excellent trade partner (or maybe raiding target).
Caeda we've met through Minerva. Daughter of our rival, Mostyn of Talys, a potential ally put also potential enemy (we've seen her working with Aurelis, who we are officially at war with). Etzel is a minor nobleman and sorcerer. He's not a major character, but he's a talented spellcaster we might me able to recruit.
Oksana, Hilda, Blume, and Deirdre I don't know much about, but I did a quick search on Deirdre and she's apparently really important to that Arvis guy from the interlude. Maybe we can learn more about Saias here.
Homer is probably here on behalf of Gomer rather than Mannu, or he might be here for himself, seeking a new patron. Even if he's no longer directly associated with Mannu, he might still be helpful for getting Maria to Pyrathi. Alternatively, if people are still interested in recruiting him, this may be our chance.
Prince Berkut is another man from Valencia. It's been a while since I played FE:Echoes, but I remember him being one of the most interesting characters. He is the Heir-Apparent of the Rigellian Empire (his cousin, the Emperor's actual son, disappeared several years ago. There is absolutely no change he will suddenly reappear in a few years to start causing trouble for the empire. That would be ridiculous.). Rigel is a rival nation to Zofia, and like Macedon, it's less prosperous but makes up for it with a culture that values hard work and martial valor (unlike Macedon, they have no wyverns, but do have a bunch of blood-thirsty teleporting witches). Berkut, like Michalis, has spent most of his life preparing for the day when he will take the throne, and hasn't really considered any other direction his life can go. As such, while he's normally a fairly principled man, when faced with the prospect of failure his judgement can get rather shaky. I suspect he and Michalis will either immediately click, or quickly become rivals. I'll also note that both Zofia and Rigel have their own set of dragon-gods (Mila and Duma), which might be what's gotten Berkut interested in Homer's stories.
[X] [GALA] King Jiol of Gra is the oldest person here. Standing beside him is a lovely brunette woman who could be either his wife or daughter, and a second brunette who is, presumably, whichever of the two the first one isn't. They are speaking in a businesslike manner to a rotund man identified as Chancellor Desaix of Zofia.
[X] [GALA] Why the hell is Homer here? Didn't the Whitewings get him fired? And why does Prince Berkut of Rigel look so fascinated with what he has to say?
huh, certainly some info.
hopefully that's handy to others, because personally not sure what to do with that :/ sorry
i guess if this vote is more of a "what you're interested in" i'd be more happy to follow up on things we're already invested in, unless someone in particular would make for a particularly good/easy to get ally who we should get to befriending? anyone have opinions on good targets for that?
