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Hello hi I see that you like Lunessa I would like to be your friend

Lunessa army unite!

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Chapters: 19/19 Fandom: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Lute/Vanessa Characters: Lute (Fire Emblem), Moulder (Fire Emblem), Vanessa (Fire Emblem), Ross (Fire Emblem), Asseray | Artur, Syrene (Fire Emblem) Additional Tags: sapphic soldiering Summary:

A story of the development of Lute and Vanessa's relationship during the course of the war against the Demon King, from when they first meet in Lute's village, to the end of the war. I originally wrote this in bits and pieces while posting a playthrough blog of Sacred Stones. I ended up enjoying writing the story as much as playing the game, so I decided to revise it and share it here.

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I posted this yesterday. The paired ending for Lute and Vanessa normally never appears in Sacred Stones due to a bug.

However, I had my uncle who works at Nintendo send me this unedited screen shot of what it looks like.

I'm posting it again on its own because I realized that today is the start of Pride Month!

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Ending Cards Part 2

Here are the remaining cards, including the very important Lute and Vanessa one.

Innocent Magician, Ewan

He continued with his teacher for a time, but he was too curious and wanted to learn more about magic on his own, so he left on a trip around the world.

Thanks for the...Draco Shield I think it was?

Crimson Flash, Marisa

She met her end in Chapter 15, Scorched Sand.

I sure had it in for the Jehanna sword people, didn't I?

Funny enough, I see 2 deaths here. I suspect that's because of some map that I started and it was a disaster, so I restarted it again.

I don't remember the details, but I think there were one or two maps where I just screwed up so badly in the first 1-2 turns that I restarted them.

Silent Fountain of Knowledge, Saleh

After the war, he returned to Pokara Village (Caer Pelyn). He continued to live there in his service to the Manaketes, but because he had met so many people in the war, and they sometimes came to visit, he was never bored.

Saleh's a good pre-promote. I didn't use him this time.

Pure Manakete, Myrrh

She quietly parted ways with Ephraim and returned to her home in the Darkling Woods. The people of Caer Pelyn worshiped her, and she spent many years enjoying the gift of life.

I said it already, but Myrrh is broken strong. And the number of dragon stone uses is very generous in this game.

Jade Wind Princess, Eirika

She returned to Renais after the war and worked with Ephraim to help the continent recover. When peace finally returned, her happy smile was a symbol of joy for all of the people.

I don't have anything else to say about Eirika from this playthrough. She did fine as a combat unit in the late game, despite not always being the strongest for that role.

Jade Sky King, Ephraim

Princess of Light, L'Arachel

After the war, they each returned to their own countries. But L'Arachel would periodically visit Renais, and spend long amounts of time visiting there. After a long time, Ephraim's heart was finally captured by her charms, and the 2 of them got married. It was quite a scene in Rausten when their heir married off into another country, but here too, they had no choice but to accept her wishes.

Ephraim, like I said already, is a great unit. L'Arachel has staves and a horse.

And I really, really wonder what in the world these two talk about in their married life...

Finally, I saved these two cards for last because of a weird bug, where, even when Lute and Vanessa get their A support, their shared card doesn't show up, and you just get the two separate ones instead.

Vanessa has the second most battles after Franz. She also has one death, so I guess she was another victim in one of the maps where I messed up in an opening turn.

But yeah, it's amazing what a unit can do if you favor them, even when they really aren't getting great level ups!

Lute has the highest number of enemies defeated of anyone, even beating out Franz. She was fun to use as usual.

But it's not very satisfying to see their solo end cards since it's all due to a bug. So I called up my uncle who works at Nintendo, and he gave me a screenshot of the actual paired end card for Lute and Vanessa.

And that's it. That's the game! Thanks for reading!

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Ending Cards Part 1

I'll say some final things about characters, show the cards I got, and do some quick and dirty translations of them just for fun.

True Silver Knight, Seth

After the war, he returned to Renais with Eirika and Ephraim and worked as their right-hand man. He became famous for his service to Renais and how he brought the people working below him together.

Seth is a ridiculously overpowered unit in this game. I used him a bunch earlier in the game, but, as is often the case, I started to drop him later on because it's more fun to use the units who suck at first. Especially since this was normal mode, it just felt too easy to use Seth.

Faithful Knight, Franz

His honesty and faithfulness to Renais never changed as he continued to work as a knight there. He also was highly praised by the people of Renais for his kindness.

As much as I favored Lute, I think if I were truly fair, I would have to give Franz the MVP for this game. He certainly has the largest number of battles at 185. (Though Lute does have more "wins" than him.) This is because he was a defense monster, so he was my go-to enemy phase unit for anything that wasn't a group of mages.

The Quiet Wall, Gilliam

He continued as a knight after returning to Frelia. Because of his size and his face, he scared all of the new recruits.

Gilliam kind of sucks, honestly. His defense--the thing he's supposed to be good at--isn't that impressive, especially with Seth right there, or defense blessed Franz like I had. And both of them can move and use swords against all the early game axe dudes. Gilliam is stuck with lances only.

I don't know much about his character even. I've rarely used him beyond the point in the game where he's force deployed.

Warm-Hearted Cleric, Moulder

After the war, he returned to Frelia and continued in his service to the royal family. When Innes took over as king from his father, Moulder became one of his most trusted advisors.

Moulder is great. He staff-bots like it's his job, which it is. There is pretty much no reason not to use him every playthrough.

The inheritor of a strong arm, Ross

He returned to his village, Imu (Ide), and worked to restore it. Years later, he left on his own to train and become stronger.

Ross was fine. He's always kind of fine. If you get lucky, sometimes he's pretty good. My biggest reason for not bringing him to the final map was simply that he was not on a mount.

Restored Strong-arm, Garcia

He returned to Ide in Renais and helped rebuild. He returned to working in the Renais military as a captain, and his fierceness was admired by many.

I didn't use Garcia much this time, but in the past I have. He usually seems to work out kind of like Ross, though without the extra crit that Ross can get from Berserker, which is a class that isn't available to Garcia.

Easy-going thief, Colm

He was invited to work as a spy in the Renais army, but he politely declined and went back to his home village. He lived his life as a virtuous thief and supported people's livelihoods from the shadows.

Colm stole some things and opened some locks. Thanks, Colm!

Crying Shooter, Neimi

She returned to her village and lived a peaceful life. Years later, she also traveled to the capital to be an archery instructor, though she was still a cry-baby.

I wouldn't have minded using Neimi more, but I had to start cutting at some point, and she wasn't very impressive, which is often the case. She has a rough start, and there are other bow users who come later on who can easily slot into her place.

Pure Holy Man, Artur

He moved to the capital of Renais to aid in its restoration. He consoled and gave inspiration to the many people affected by the ravages of war.

Artur's a pretty decent mage, especially since he can reclass to Bishop and get the effective damage against monsters. But I already had others I wanted to use, so I ended up dropping him this time.

King of Wandering, Joshua

He met his end in chapter 8, "It's a Trap!"

Joshua's usually a pretty good unit. Too bad I stupided my way into getting him killed.

Comforting Holy Woman, Natasha

After the war, she returned to Grado and worked to restore the country. She worked hard to help the families of those lost in the war to find solace.

Natasha is worse Moulder.

Also, she seems to have died at some point? I guess maybe the first time I did the map she joins, I must have gotten her killed and then started over because I wanted to recruit Joshua. But then I got Joshua killed later anyway so was it worth it?

Wandering Knight, Forde

He returned to Renais after the war, and his talent for painting was recognized. He worked as a royal painter, but it actually made him so busy every day that he regretted it a bit.

Forde is just worse Kyle, though with a better personality.

Dedicated Knight, Kyle

After the war, he continued in his service to Renais. He became a captain and trained new recruits, and was a trusted, valued knight.

Kyle was fine while I used him. It's hard to get excited about Kyle though, so I dropped him in favor of keeping Franz.

Kyle and Forde should have a paired ending where Forde uses his art skills and paints a wooden cut-out version of Kyle. Then people keep having entire conversations with the wooden cut-out without realizing that they are not actually talking to Kyle.

Run-Away Princess, Tana

Lonely Lance, Cormag

After returning to Grado and helping in its restoration, Cormag left on a solo trip and wasn't seen by anyone for a while. A number of years later, he was found by Tana, who had continued searching for him, and he was welcome into the ranks of Frelia's knights. He served at Tana's side as a trusted Wyvern Knight.

Tana is a fun project unit who can reward you decently well for your efforts, and Cormag is just good, especially in Ephraim route where he joins earlier.

But wait, he "served as a knight" for her? Really? That's it? You're telling me she searched for him for all those years so he could just work for her? Yeah, I'm not buying it. I think there was a little more going on there.

Cunning Prince, Innes

He became king of Frelia after his father. He was known for being intelligent, and good at leading in battle, and with his talented advisors, he brought his country to new heights of success.

Innes is a pretty good no-investment unit. I just didn't end up using him because I decided to stick it out with Gerik on bows.

Beautiful Green Wing, Syrene

She continued as a Captain of the Frelian Pegasus Knights. She was so beautiful soaring in the sky that paintings and songs based on her became popular.

I pointed it out in her joining chapter, but Syrene is kind of disappointingly weak for how late she joins. She's a free flier who doesn't need a reclassing item, so that's good, I guess. But she's not much of a combat unit.

Battlefield Flower, Amelia

After the war, she returned to Grado and helped rebuild. She had learned the strength to live through war, so she became surrounded by new friends and lived happily.

Thanks for the speedwing!

The Undying Obsidian, Duessel

After the war, he returned to Grado and became a central figure in rebuilding the country. He visited other countries and worked as a martial arts instructor and spent his life dedicated to Grado.

Duessel is great. He shows up, ready to go. He's another one where, the only reason I dropped him for the last map is because it's fun to bring the projects along.

Seer from the Darkness, Knoll

He returned to Grado and poured all of his efforts into trying to fulfill Lyon's ideals by restoring Grado. Once Grado had been rebuilt, he disappeared without telling anyone, never to be seen again.

Summoner is a fun class, and Knoll is the easiest one to get into that class.

Fierce Warrior, Dozla

He became a representative of his country, and as always, could be found next to L'Arachel's side. His greatest joy in life was watching L'Arachel grow into the person she would become.

I don't think I've ever used Dozla. Maybe I should next time. As a character, I love that he enables L'Arachel's schemes.

Merchant Thief, Rennac

After returning home, he was soon called up by L'Arachel and forced to return to Rausten. He never was able to escape the self-centered princess.

Rennac, took over from Colm in opening locks. Thank you, Rennac.

Desert Tiger, Gerik

Beautiful Dancer, Tethys

Unburdened by country allegiance, Gerik and Tethys lived for a while off of the money they had made serving in the war. Gerik taught the local children swordplay, and Tethys performed in various dances. They were perfect partners for each other and lived happily together.

Gerik is a good, low-investment unit. He ended up being my main (only) bow user. Tethys is a dancer, and therefore great.

Next time: The remaining cards

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Credits and Battle Record

I won't post them all since I'm taking cruddy pictures on my phone, and I'm sure better quality versions of these are out there online already, but I just wanted to highlight the really nice still shots that show up as the credits roll.

Here's another one.

Finally, there is this scene, from the first time Lyon met the twins.

"Yes, I suppose I am the crown prince of Grado."

"You two were Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika from Renai, right?"

"I've always wanted friends my own age..."

Sorry, I got something in my eye...

Playing through this game again, I was reminded of how sad Lyon's story really is. He is definitely one of the more interesting antagonists in Fire Emblem. There have been other Fire Emblem games with tragic antagonists, but I think his story is done particularly well.

After the above scene, the "Turns per map" thing rolls by.

I'm pretty sure chapter 16 is one where I hit end turn over and over to build supports. Lol at that 59 turns

So yeah, pretty slow. But I was clearing out every enemy on every map for the most part, so that's what happens when you do that!

Next time: Ending cards!

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Parting Ways

There are a couple of scenes showing characters going back to their various home countries too.

"Ephraim, I must leave now."

"There is still much I must do as the Crown Princess of the Holy Kingdom of Rausten."

L'Arachel mentions the distance between Rausten and Renais, then continues with, "Well, for instance, if we were to be bound together in marriage..."

"Oh, what am I saying? How uncouth of me!"

This is the least subtle, "Just fucking propose to me!" hint dropped ever. But knowing Ephraim, I bet Eirika still had to explain to him afterward what L'Arachel meant.

"Ephraim..."

"I'm going to return to Darkling Woods now."

"I have to work to take the place of my father."

Myrrh also asks if she can come visit Ephraim sometimes. Awww! :)

"Frelia will assist Renais in their rebuilding in any way we can."

"Let me know any time you need me, Ephraim."

"It wasn't so bad fighting by your side either."

(I can see why some people like the grumpy, tsundere Innes and Ephraim ship.)

And finally, back in Renais castle, Eirika stops Ephraim as he's heading out.

"You've just returned to Renais..."

"I'm sorry, Eirika, but I need to go to Grado."

"There has been a huge earthquake in the south, in Grado."

"The very earth has split apart, and the towns have been totally destroyed."

"Some people are saying that this is a divine punishment."

"But these people of Grado are the ones Lyon was trying to protect."

After that, Eirika says she'll go with Ephraim, but he points out that the situation in Renais is also still not stable. Eirika promises to look over Renais while Ephraim is away helping Grado, and Ephraim promises that he will one day because the both strong and kind king that he should be.

Vanessa woke up to the sun pouring in the window. She felt confused for a moment about where she was, but then she remembered, "I'm in Renais Castle."

She and the other knights of Frelia were going to leave today and accompany Prince Innes and Princess Tana back to Frelia. They had only had one day of rest in Renais Castle, but there was still so much to do, both in Renais and in Frelia, not to mention war-torn Grado.

Vanessa, still not opening her eyes, rolled over on her side. She reached out her arm and felt to her side.

Lute was still there. Her arm had come to rest on Lute's leg. "She must be sitting up. She's probably reading already," Vanessa thought to herself.

"Good morning," Vanessa heard Lute say. "You asked me to warn you if you slept in too late this morning, but you seem to have woken up at least an hour before needed."

Vanessa finally opened her eyes and looked up. As she had predicted, Lute was sitting up in bed, already absorbed in a book. Vanessa propped herself up slightly on one elbow and put her other hand on top of the book to push it down a little. She smiled and said, "You're right, I am awake now, and you've got 2 seconds to put the book away and give me a proper morning greeting!"

Lute looked at Vanessa blankly. She didn't say anything for a moment, and then finally asked, "You want me to put the book away?"

Vanessa sighed, though she was not annoyed in any way. She still sometimes had trouble with how direct she had to be with Lute. "Yes, but just for a moment. Of course I don't mind that you're reading. I just want a proper greeting in the morning!"

"But I already said 'good morning'" Lute said, closing the book and putting it aside.

Vanessa murmured, looking away a little and feeling her cheeks flush, "I want you to kiss me." It was embarrassing being this direct, but she was pretty sure Lute wouldn't figure out what she meant otherwise.

"Oh!" Lute said, her eyes widening a little. She smiled, "I can do that."

...

They only had a short amount of time that morning before Vanessa had to leave. After Vanessa had gotten her proper morning greeting, she had to hurry and get ready. Lute's next steps were a little less certain, and she didn't have anything to prepare for currently, so she followed Vanessa around the castle all morning as she packed and got everything ready to move out with the rest of the royal Frelian retinue.

Once Vanessa was all ready, she and Lute had a few moments before Vanessa had to actually depart for real. Vanessa pulled Lute aside into a small room that wasn't being used.

"So...I guess this is it," Vanessa said, hesitatingly. "I need to leave in a couple of minutes with Prince Innes and Princess Tana."

She thought to herself, "Actually, I should be out there attending to them right now. I hope they're not too angry with me. I think Princess Tana, at the very least, suspects what's going on with me and Lute, and she's the type to forgive something like this."

Vanessa spoke again, "What are you going to do next Lute?"

Lute tilted her head and thought. "I am not sure. I do not have any obligations like you do. I think I would like to stay in the castle a little bit longer so that I can continue to use the books in the library. But I also need to go back to Za'ha and tell my grandmother that I am ok as well."

Vanessa couldn't help chuckling slightly. "You never did remember to write that letter to her, did you?" Then she frowned. "Yeah, you do need to go back and tell her you're ok. I bet she's worried sick about you. You said you didn't even tell her where you were going when you left, right? I don't want to bug you right before we have to say bye..." Vanessa felt her eyes tear up slightly at the word "bye". "...but sometimes you don't think enough about how much other people care about you and worry about you!"

Lute looked away, like Vanessa had noticed she often did when she found a conversation uncomfortable. Vanessa continued hurriedly in order not to dwell on something uncomfortable right before they had to part ways. "Sorry, I just...I guess I'm just worried that you don't understand how much I care about you. You are going to come visit me once you finish what you need to do in Renais, right?"

Lute turned her face back up and glared at Vanessa. "I said I would go to Frelia," she said sternly. "You asked me to come to Frelia, and I said I would. I want to go." She paused for a moment, then continued slightly more quietly, "...and I want to study more about pegasi. Then I could be useful to you and your Pegasus Knights. Maybe...in case I stay for a long time..."

Vanessa couldn't help herself. She started crying, and she leaned over to embrace Lute. Lute, seemingly surprised by the reaction, stood stiffly at first, but then brought her own arms up around Vanessa's waist.

Vanessa predicted what question was coming next, and preemptively answered in a voice still shaky with crying, "I'm not angry. I'm not upset. I'm really happy to hear you say that!"

Vanessa gently stepped back, and pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket to dry her eyes. She breathed deeply and closed her eyes, trying to regain her composure.

"I...I really have to go now," Vanessa said apologetically. "We have to march out in an official ceremony and everything."

"I know," Lute said. "I will see you again in Frelia. I do not know how long it will take to get there, but I promise I will try to hurry."

Lute opened her mouth as if to say something else, then closed it, then opened it again. "I will miss you," she finally said.

Vanessa felt the tears coming again, and bit her lower lip to try to stop them. "I will too," she said, and then she heard the trumpet announcing that the Frelian procession would start soon. She took one last look at the small woman standing in front of her, as if trying to burn the image into her mind, then she turned and walked off.

Lute stood alone in the room. She felt empty in a way she wasn't sure she ever had before. Lacking the energy to keep standing, she sat in a corner, and stared at the wall. She felt tears in her eyes, and realized that this was the first time she had cried in a long time. Maybe since childhood? She closed her eyes and listened to the commotion outside as the procession started to move out of the castle.

"I'll see Vanessa again," she thought to herself. "It's just a little while. I just need to take care of some business first." To calm herself, she began to compose a list of steps in her mind.

1 Find as many books relevant to pegasi as I can in the Renais library. I need to prepare myself so that I can be useful in Frelia and not be a burden. (Estimated time: ~3 weeks? Will Ephraim and Eirika let me stay that long? I should ask Artur if he knows the rules for a commoner staying in a royal castle.)

2 Travel back home and tell my grandma I'm not dead. I should also spend some time with her. I do miss her. Maybe mom and dad will even stop by the village while I'm there? (Estimated time: To Za'ha, maybe 1 week? Then if I spend time there, maybe another month, or maybe 2 to give mom and dad a chance to see me. But if they don't, that's probably fine too. I'll tell grandma where they can all find me. I think they travel to Frelia for business sometimes.)

3 Travel to Frelia and see Vanessa.

Lute pondered for a moment. She usually kept her notes serious and businesslike, but she decided that in this instance, it was ok to add a playful touch.

3 Travel to Frelia and see Vanessa! <3 (Estimated time: 2 weeks? Or is it going to take longer? I need to find that out.) Total time: Anywhere from 2 1/2 months to 4 months.

Lute felt some apprehension at how long it would be, but she also felt the satisfaction of having a plan, even if some of the details on the timing needed tweaking.

Lute heard that the noise from the procession had died down as it had moved out of the castle courtyard and into the castle town. She stood up. Maybe now while everyone was busy she could sneak in some time at the library before she got pulled in to some sort of official business or a celebration or some other waste of time again.

Next time: Credits, and one last flashback

[sacred-stanning]

After the Battle Part 2

The various characters continue to talk about the post-war situation. Next up is the Rausten crew.

"Dozla, Rennac, we did it!"

"Gah ha ha! Wonderfully done, Lady L'Arachel!"

"Well, it's finally done. I guess I'll just take my lea--"

"My! That won't do at all!"

"As the princess of the Holy Kingdom of Rausten, there is still much I must do from here on!"

"Let us be off, Dozla, Rennac!"

"Sigh..."

Next is Dragon and Dragon-adjacent crew

"The awful darkness is...gone."

"Yes, we have finished everything."

"Let's go home, Lady Myrrh."

"Where are you going? Wait for me~!"

Town of Ide crew:

"Good job, Ross!"

Colm and Neimi (I don't think their village is ever named)

Colm says something about everyone not being able to do it without their help, and Neimi basically is just like, "Thank god that's over!"

Za'ha Woods crew (The woods their village is in is named, but I don't think their village is named in game)

"Gods above us, did you see what we did?"

"We have cleansed the world of the foul demons!"

"The ancient Demon King..."

"As written in the texts, it was incredibly powerful."

"But in the end, it was the Demon King who was defeated."

"We were superior."

Renais retainers to Eirika crew

"Eirika, I'm glad your safe."

"We can finally return to Renais!"

Renais retainers to Ephraim crew

"Ahh, I'm tired. I hope we can take it easy for a while."

"We're going to be busy working to restore Renais from here on out."

I noticed going back through these that there's nothing for Gerik and Tethys. I wonder if that's because I got two Jehanna people, Marisa and Joshua, killed? I don't think I forgot to get photos of any of these conversations, even though I did skip some of the lines people said. It may be that if characters die, you miss out on some of these ending scenes.

Next time: Splitting up and going home

[sacred-stanning]

After the Battle Part 1

The Demon King is defeated. Eirika wonders if it's really done.

L'Arachel assures everyone that it truly is finished. The Demon King has been sealed away, and they have "recreated the legend (of the original battle to seal the Demon King away)".

Innes points out that they actually went beyond what the heroes of legend had done. They've destroyed the Demon King's body, so there is no chance of it being revived again.

Ephraim marvels at what they were able to accomplish despite not having the power of the original 5 heroes.

"Yes, we were only able to defeat the Demon King and bring peace back thanks to the efforts of all of the people who fought with us!"

Sacred Stones has a smallish cast compared to, say, the other 2 GBA Fire Emblem games, so there's actually this series of scenes after the battle where everyone (regardless of whether or not they were in the final battle) who has joined you speaks up about having finished the battle.

First up is Frelia royals / pegasus knights crew

"With this, we have finished our mission!"

"We should report this success to King Hayden."

"Yes, I'm sure my father will be pleased!"

"Innes, thanks to what we've done, peace should return."

"We should communicate this to Frelia immediately right?"

"There's no need to hurry."

"We were here, so it was obvious from the start that we would succeed."

(Very confident for a guy who spent most of the maps on the bench.)

Next up is Frelia old-guy crew.

Moulder comments on how he feels like he's on the outside (of the celebrating) looking in, but also says basically, "Hey, but we won, so we might as well be happy about that!"

Next is Grado women

"It's finished..."

"The demon that drove Grado crazy is gone."

"I-I can't believe I was in a war like this..."

Next, Grado men

"The battle is finished, but we're not done yet."

"Our country, Grado, is the loser in this war. Things will be tough from here on out."

"That may be true, but we have to move forward anyway."

"That is our duty as the ones left behind."

"Yes, we have to fulfill the wishes of the emperor and Prince Lyon...(to protect the people of Grado)"

Next: More end-of-battle thoughts

[sacred-stanning]

Taking Down the Demon King

So like I said in a previous post, most characters start too far away to hit the Demon King on turn one. I, of course, want to favoritize Lute, so I move her up to a place where she can get danced so that she can hit Fomortiis on turn 1. Since she had to move anyway, I also have her Thunderstorm the demon for lol 2 damage.

Tethys lays down a dance to let Lute move again.

Lute and Vanessa were positioned side by side along with the others, facing down the Demon King of legend.

"Vanessa," Lute said suddenly to Vanessa without letting her eyes off of the Demo King. "I know I promised to stay safe, but as a scholar, I need to get in and get a closer look at the Demon King. I will never have another opportunity like this again."

Vanessa grimaced, but didn't argue. She had known from the beginning that there was no way Lute would not be interested in studying the Demon King.

"Ok, well, move in, but stay out of immediate reach of its grasp. I'll be right with you," Vanessa responded. "And for the love of the stones, STAY SAFE!" She glowered at Lute although Lute was still focused on the Demon King and not looking at her anyway.

"Prince Ephraim," Vanessa shouted, "Lute and I see an opening! We're moving in!"

Ephraim nodded, and then turned to Eirika. "I'm moving in too! Let's end this!"

Here's another example of Fomortiis's crazy defenses. Lute with Thunder does 0 damage. We have to break out Excalibur to do damage.

Funny enough, Fomortiis's fist weapon is 1-range only, so Lute is totally safe from counter attack!

Fomortiis starts with a ?? health bar that doesn't reveal its remaining HP until you get some damage done first.

Eirika is in range, so I send her up to chip away a bit. I'm glad I trained her since she has just enough HP / defense to survive a round of combat, and her luck is high enough she isn't at risk of being critted.

BAM!

And the Demon Fist weapon is literally Fomortiis punching people with its giant arm.

Eirika counters and reveals the HP bar. Just judging from the numbers we've done so far (Lute: 2, Lute: 26, Eirika: 20), Fomortiis must start with 120 HP. Though this may be variable. I believe that Fomortiis, like other enemies in the GBA games, has a range of stats it can spawn with. I don't remember if HP is one of those though.

Ephraim moves in. He can also take a hit, and won't get critted, so I might as well pile on the damage. If he crits, the battle will be over here on turn 1!

"Demon King...

I will be the one to defeat you!"

*stab*

*punch*

*stab*

Oh yeah, all that damage Ephraim and Eirika took? No problem. Moulder's got this.

Everyone moves up, and I realize L'Arachel still has a Berserk Staff in her inventory. I consider using it to see what will happen, but it has 0 hit, so never mind!

Funny enough, the healing I did with Moulder wasn't even necessary because the Demon King doesn't attack on turn 1 enemy phase. It summons monsters.

From what I understand, these summons are random, both in placement and in monster type. If you have bad luck, you can get corrupted dragon enemies, but also if you move fast enough, you can defeat Fomortiis on turn 2 before any of these enemies become relevant.

These enemies aren't even a threat really. They're the "unpromoted" versions. Like, the Bael is just a Bael, not an Elder Bael or anything.

Vanessa moves in with the Vidofnir...

miss -> punch -> stab

Time to give the ending boss kill to my favorite.

Lute does have a chance to miss, and if she does, Ephraim with his 100 hit will finish the job.

And Lute does not miss!

Lute saw Vanessa and her wyvern tumble back in air, and she gasped involuntarily. Vanessa had been hit when the Demon King lashed out!

Lute felt her heart in her throat, but as she was about to reach for her staff, she saw Vanessa pull on the reigns, and her wyvern stabilized.

"She's ok!" Lute thought to herself.

Appraising the situation quickly, she noticed that the Demon King's attack had sent it off balance slightly, and it was still looking over in Vanessa's direction. Lute held the Excalibur Tome in front of her and read off the spell to bring forth the Sacred Wind.

Pointing a finger on her other hand at the Demon King, she sent the wind in its direction. She was too focused on the action of casting to speak, but the words, "Stay away from Vanessa!" echoed in her head.

Next time: After the battle

[sacred-stanning]

Final Boss: What's the deal with Fomortiis?

Here's the final boss, "Fodesu", or "Fomortiis" as the name has been rendered in English translation. I actually only just noticed now when I looked up the name to confirm the spelling that there are two i's in a row!?

Also, is it just me, or is it strange that the Demon King has an actual name that no one ever uses, and the only way to know it is to look at the stat screen in this final battle and see it below the portrait? Like, no one ever says this name in any of the dialogue!

The Demon King has a lotta stats! But it's not actually as bad as it looks. We have legendary weapons, and they're effective.

Fomortiis has 3 weapons.

*Ahem* (Starts best Owain impression)

"Destroying Demon Fist!"

"Corrupted Demon Light!"

"Evil Dream of Darkness!"

"The Demon's Fist which invites the destruction of all things!"

"The demon light which destroys everything!"

Oh, this one has an actual description of what it does.

"Puts all surrounding enemies in a deep sleep."

Fomortiis starts just above us, in range of Eirika and Ephraim, but just out of range of most other units.

Like it said on the stat screen, Fomortiis only has 2 move. So checking the range shows that. Also, the currently equipped Demon Fist weapon is a 1-range weapon.

Here's an example of how important the Sacred Weapons are. Ephraim attacking with his personal starting lance, Reginleif, (overall a very good weapon) does 0 damage to the boss. However, if he switches to the second personal weapon, Siegmund, that he got in Renais, he can do 20 x 2 damage.

Similarly, Eirika, who we know is no powerhouse, can do 10 x 2 damage if she uses the Sieglinde weapon she got in Renais.

Next time: We fight the Demon King!

[sacred-stanning]

Final Roster Part 2: A motley crew

Here's the other 6 units I brought to the final map:

Gerik is a great, almost pre-promote unit. He shows up with good bases, he can promote right away if needed, or wait a bit if you have the leeway. And he's an unusual unit where both promotion options are pretty evenly viable. Hero gives you axes, which means 1-2 range hand axes, and Ranger means higher movement and bows.

I made him a Ranger this time because I gave up on my Neimi project, and wasn't intending to use Innes, so I wanted to have at least one person who could shoot a bow at fliers.

Tethys is a dancer, who danced and refreshed strong units so that they could act a second time in the same turn.

I gave her boots since she was one of my few foot units.

Her support chain with Gerik ends up being really sweet and wholesome, even if they are practically (actually?) making out on the battlefield at the end of the A support.

I love L'Arachel for being the semi-delusional, theatrical goof she is. But I was once again reminded of how rough a unit she is to actually use.

On paper, she has really good growths, but she joins so late, and at such a low level, and without access to any weapons before promotion that it makes it really hard to actually train her. I just managed to get her to level 10 in a reasonable amount of time by needlessly spamming Barrier Staff.

But, with all that said, she is a staff bot on a horse, so she's useful no matter how much you commit to training her. And the only other staff + horse option is Natasha--and only post-promotion for her--and she is arguably even more annoying to train since she's just worse Moulder, and I don't usually feel like I need 2 staff units in the early game.

Speaking of worse Moulder, here's good Moulder, also known as Moulder.

He starts with a good staff rank, and you can use him the whole game, so it's easy to get his rank up so that he can use the cool staves.

And for whatever it's worth, if he has opportunities to attack in the late game, most enemies are monsters, so even if his base damage isn't super high, he can do effective damage against them if you go with Bishop for his promotion. Don't make him a Sage. Why would you do that?

Tana is another pretty satisfying, non-trainee growth unit, I think. She starts out pretty weak, but she has decent growth rates, and she can fly, so it's easy to get her where she needs to be. I've found too that she shows up early enough that it doesn't feel too annoying to try to train her.

Myrrh: Absolutely, bonkers, busted unit.

Myrrh is stupid broken, especially on normal mode. No thought is required when using her. Just move her forward towards the enemies.

Next time: What nonsense are we dealing with in this final map?

[sacred-stanning]

Final Roster Part 1: Some heavy hitters and Eirika and Vanessa

It's time for the final boss, but first, let's take a look at the 12 who made the cut and are at the last map.

First up is Ephraim. Ephraim is good.

Seriously, his original personal weapon is a way better Steel Lance, and it has so many uses that, especially if you repair it with the Hammerne staff, you can easily use it from the start of the game until the end. That lance alone makes him good. Then to back it up, he also has good starting stats and growths, and he gets a horse when he promotes!

His promotion being a little on the late side can feel a bit rough, but he's strong enough in his base class that it's fine, really.

I got his A Support with L'Arachel this time because I don't think I'd ever seen it all the way through before, and they are a bizarrely inappropriately matched couple that still gets an ending card together. Like, for real, what would they even talk about? Maybe L'Arachel just talks all the time and Ephraim grunts occasionally to show he's listening?

Eirika is better in her own route where you can use her more. She's still never quite as strong as Ephraim, even if you level her up a lot. She also is stuck using only swords for the whole game, even after promoting, so she never gets a good 2-range option.

I like Eirika though, and I'll probably do her route again next time I play Sacred Stones.

She got to C support with Ephraim and B with Seth. If I'd wanted to, I probably could have ground out the Seth one on one of those maps with huge deployments, but I didn't really feel like it.

Franz was the under-hyped keystone of this playthrough! He got lucky with defense growth in the early game, and basically was my designated brick wall from there on out. Absolutely stellar!

My biggest mistake with him was not choosing a weapon type to focus on so I could get him S rank in something, preferably not lances since so many other units had that covered. He could have easily gotten S in swords if I had thought to do so, or maybe even in axes, even though those didn't open up to him until after promotion.

LUTE

She's my favorite. :)

I went with Mage Knight this time for the con and the movement, and I think it was a good choice. It does mean that I missed out on some more points of magic that she could have gotten since she was bumping up against this 25 cap pretty quickly, but she was blasting stuff away anyway, so she didn't really need more magic.

In a game with actual trainee units, Lute has always felt a bit like a secret 4th trainee, except not annoying to use. When she first shows up, she's made out of tissue paper, and she's not fast or powerful enough to one-round most enemies, but she has such good growths in magic and speed that she becomes able to one-round enemies pretty quickly. And while she never really stops being tissue paper against physical attacks, her speed makes her dodgy, and her resistance growth is really good.

Oh, Vanessa... I like her as a character in her own right, and I like her because Lute likes her, but as a combat unit, she can be pretty disappointing sometimes.

Her strength growth was never good from start to finish. In fact, basically none of her growths worked out for me this time aside from speed. She got lots of speed. And I fed her resistance stat boosters.

But, hey, she can fly and rescue drop people, and she supports Lute and makes her even more deadly, so A+ job!

Cormag is generally the strongest of the 4 fliers in this game in my experience. Tana can end up pretty deadly with good growth luck, but Cormag starts out really strong, so he'll be good every time.

I had him go with Dragon Master for sword access, but then, even with me focusing on having him use swords, I just didn't have enough time to get his rank up to S. Like, it wasn't even close. Oh well.

It was fun seeing his support chain with Tana though. That's another one I don't think I ever saw through to the end before.

Next time: The other 6

[sacred-stanning]

<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3

I'm obsessed with Lute and Vanessa, so while I love all of your art, I especially love your Lute and Vanessa drawing!

That's all, I just wanted to say that

Awh I'm glad you like my drawings!!! especially my Lute/Vanessa drawing :3!!

Have another B3!!

[sacred-stanning]

<3 <3 <3

Hello again! Could Vanessa and Lute kissing be on the table for a drawing?

Vanessa/Lute :3

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 21 Part 9: Oh yeah, actually...

So everyone wished for a good future.

We used the Sacred Stone.

A light shot out.

Surely everything is fine now!

"Did we do it...?"

"Yes, the Demon King's soul has been sealed away."

Oh good, I was worried we might have to fight an--

"But Ephraim, we're not done yet!"

Wait, we aren't?

"The Demon King's soul is fighting to free itself!"

"The goal of the Demon King's soul is to return to the Demon King's body...We must defeat the body of the Demon King before that can happen!"

Ummmm, L'Arachel? Is there some reason you didn't mention this before? So even though the Sacred Stone thing worked just fine, we still have to fight the Demon King? Or it's soulless body, I guess. Like that makes any difference...

"Yes, now is time for the real battle!"

...

Seth: "Is everyone ready?"

Ephraim: "I won't let anyone else die!"

This scene is unintentionally hilarious to me.

It's because of the whole thing where L'Arachel has--apparently--known all this time that it would not be enough to just use the stone to seal the Demon King away, but she never told anyone.

Like, she clearly must have known that we would need to fight the body, because she immediately can tell what's happening. There's no way she figured this all out right now as it was happening.

Oh, L'Arachel...

Next time: The final battle, for real this time

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 21 Part 8: Line up! Everyone, say your thing!

After defeating Lyon, the screen goes black and we get some words from the Demon King where it taunts Lyon for his failure.

(I've cut the images down because the totally black screen was reflecting my ugly hand.)

"You can't stop the destruction of Grado. You can't stop my revival."

"You only ever moved according to my will."

"You were nothing but my servant..."

"You couldn't save anyone, Lyon. How unfortunate!"

And then we see the Demon King!

"So you're the Demon King...

It's different from all of the monsters we've faced so far..."

"L'Arachel!"

L'Arachel leaps in from the right at the opportunity to talk about fighting evil.

"The final Sacred Stone we received from you..."

"Listen carefully, Ephraim!"

L'Arachel explains how they can't just pray to the stone to save them. The stone's power comes from the strong wishes for peace in their hearts.

"We must think of the future we wish to see!"

It's funny, I'd actually forgotten how L'Arachel's explanation perfectly sets up the classic, FE final map, everyone-there-says-their-bit-before-fighting thing.

L'Arachel just explained that they all need to wish for the future they want, so now we have an excuse for everyone to jump in and say a thing.

Ephraim starts, "This is the last fight. If we defeat that thing, it's all finished! Let's show the Demon King the power of people's wishes!"

"Let's finish this war."

(I hit A an extra time and skipped Franz by mistake. Sorry, Franz.)

"There's nothing to fear. We will protect everyone!"

"Everyone, let's finish this without getting hurt..."

"Hmm...let's all recreate the legend (of the heroes defeating the Demon King)."

"We will defeat our enemy. That's all we need to do."

"Don't give up until the very end..."

"Don't be nervous everyone. Relax..."

"...I'll try my best."

"So that's the Demon King. There is some information about it in the 'Legend of the Demon King'."

(Lute brought a pen and paper and is furiously taking notes on various features of the Demon King now while everyone else is trying to motivate their allies.)

"For the sake of righteousness and order! I, L'Arachel, will defeat you!"

"Is everyone ready? Let's do this!"

"Don't think that you can seal me away..."

Next time: One little detail we forget to mention...