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Last time, on Fire Emblem 4: Genealogy of the Holy War; Celice carved a path of destruction through every part of Isaac! Generals, cavalry, bandits...NO ONE could stand up to his AWESOME power! He's even acquired a plethora of powerful allies during his efforts! Levin, Shanan, the sons and daughters of those who served Sigurd...and even one of Lord Dannan's sons! All of these and more have elected to join our cause!

And now it's time to move on to the Yied Desert! What new challenges await Sir Celice? Let's find out!





Word spread of the liberation army under Imperial Prince Celice, instilling a sense of courage in those still suffering under the empire’s tyrannical rule.



However, many lacked solid leadership and were easily crushed by the empire. Casualities at the hands of the imperial troops were enormous.



In the Kingdom of Lenster in the Thracia Peninsula, Cuan’s son, Prince Leaf, assembled a resistance force with Fin’s assistance. But they suffered a crushing defeat before King Blume’s massive army and found themselves stranded in enemy territory.



The Yied Desert was administered by a Lopt Sectarian named Cutozov from Yied Shrine.

Hello "Cutozov from Yied Shrine"; mind if I just call ya Cutozov? Name's a bit of a mouthful .



Stationed in the oasis town of Darna was Bramsel, a former merchant, and Jabarro, commander of a mercenary squad.

See, Boo? THAT'S how you properly grammar a sentence!



Prince Ishtor and the highly revered General Liza protected Melgen Castle...



...while Duke Reptor’s son, King Blume, was at the captal in Alster with his niece, a young mage named Tinny.



Celice was all set to depart Rivough and lead the warriors of Isaac’s liberation army on a rescue mission to distant Lenster. Each warrior put aside his and her individual concerns as they embraced the new challenge before them.

Ah yes, concerns. Concerns like "am I ever gonna get EXP? When Celice keeps hogging it all?"





Chapter 7: Beyond the Desert

Whoa, spoiler alert! The game already told us that we're making it past the Desert. Now the story's RUINED !



Also, here's our buddy, Fin.



Fin: Prince Leaf, we’ve lost our entire fighting force.

This here's part of the reason why I'm hesitant to play Thracia 776. Just look at what Fin's describing here! I'm just picturing getting to the Epilogue, only for every character's endings being some variation of "this guy I've been using the whole game got a lightning bolt shoved through their eyesocket", or "that really awesome gal, Eyvel, died after several rounds on Queen Hilda's torture wheel".

That, or the end of FE5 has a heckton of crazy retcons that completely rewrites the fate of Leaf's army; at which point I'd just be frustrated trying to make sense of how FE5 could possibly flow into FE4...

Leaf: That can’t be... All along I thought we had a chance here. Grr! I’ll take that Blume on myself if I have to!

Fin: Prince Leaf, calm down. We’re not through yet. Levin is sending Sir Celice’s liberation army our way. We must hold out till they arrive.

Leaf: The Imperial Prince Celice... They say he’s the son of my father’s good friend Sir Sigurd and Empress Deirdre.

Most people wouldn't notice this at first, but something very important just got revealed here. Leaf isn't referring to Celice as just "Deirdre's illegitimate son", or "Alvis and Deirdre's missing son" or anything like that. No, he is specifically referring to Celice as "Sigurd and Deidre's son". As in, Sigurd slept with Deidre before Alvis ever did.

Know what that means? It means Alvis's dirty secrets got out. At some point between the end of Chapter 5 and the start of Chapter 6, Alvis's treachery became common knowledge. However Alvis may have attempted to cover it up, he failed. Perhaps this is how the Empire became more oppressive? Perhaps Alvis got more heavy-handed when his people started questioning him more and more?

Or maybe...maybe this is how the Lopt Sect got such a stranglehold? Alvis may have taken a hard stance against them in Chapter 5, but...well, people have a habit of getting desperate when their livelihood is challenged. Perhaps "deals" needed to be struck in order to silence whatever rumors were around? I mean, if that DID happen, it obviously didn't work in the end, but...who knows? Anyway, back to the A plot.



Nanna: We should abandon this castle at once and go find cover west of here near the church.

Leaf: Yeah... That may just be our only option right now. Alright. We need to hold out as long as we can. At least until Prince Celice arrives...





"Meanwhile, at the Fortress of Evil"



Ah, yes. That TERRIFYING "line of defense"; consisting of...



A young girl on a pony...



A LVL 1 prince with the 3rd weakest weapon in the game equipped...



And a Gen 1 unit whose general power level was "good, but not amazing"; even in his prime.

...

Yeeeah, gonna have to side with Blume on this one

Blume: I don’t want to hear it! You capture Lenster Castle, and you do it now! Isaac’s rebel army is going to be here before you know it!

Yes sir! We will carry out our raid immediately, sir!

I mean I get that Leaf originally had more guys; but the Philip recolour really should have finished the job. Things are just gonna be that much harder on him, now that Leaf's had a chance to regroup.



But oh well; I'm not disappointed. Because far to the north, past the sandy dunes of despair, we have a far, far more ominous threat to deal with...





RIGHT AFTER THIS CUTE SPUNKY GIRL!

Patty: But this isn’t the time to be takin’ in the view. I’ve got to get a move on!

But as she tries to leave...



Patty: This sword wasn’t that easy to come by. If you want it, you just try and get it!

Shanan: Hey, wait!

Shanan! It's finally you !! Better figure this out quick though...



Cuz you're gonna have company...

Cutozov: They got the Balmung!? Well, what are you doing here? Get after them!

But Cutozov... Shouldn’t you be able to stop them in their tracks with your black magic?

Cutozov: My Book of Fenrir is missing. I have some men looking for it, but it has yet to turn up.

I see... Well, I’ll take my squad and a few mercenaries to go in pursuit then. Cutozov... rest assured we will recover the stolen goods.

Just think; the fate of the whole free world was decided in just this ONE moment. If Cutozov had been just a little more thorough in guarding the Balmung, just a little more organized with his personal belongings, and had just one extra copy of Fenrir prepared for this exact situation...we MIGHT just not have had our happy ending....

Spoiler alert; Celice does not end up losing this war. I know; shocking isn't it?







Levin: That’s right. And with the Yied Shrine falling under the Loputo Sect’s jurisdiction, the desert is crawling with dark mages who’ll attack without any provocation. It’s no wonder people now refer to the Yied Desert as the desert of death.

Celice: That’s got to make it tough for travelers. There must be some way to capture Yied Shrine...

Levin: Hmph... I thought you’d say that. There is a way, but it’ll involve some great sacrifices.

Hey, that Survival Rank ain't earning itself, buddy. If you're not figuring anything out, you're just gonna have to get creative .

Celice: I’m prepared for that. There’s no other way around this. And Shanan’s still out there, too. Let’s just focus on gaining control of Yied. Everything else’ll start from there!

And there we go.



Now let's see what awaits us-





OH, HOO HOO HOO HOOOOOO BOY...YIKES! Yeah, if you thought we were done with deserts after Chapter 5, well...you've got another thing coming. To further compound things...



We've got a whole nother front to deal with in the southeast corner; and you all SAW how weak are guys are. And while Blume's forces aren't the GREATEST in the world...



They're not exactly wimps, either.



This mage, in particular, is going to be troublesome for us. 27 Magic Attack is a lot even for Fin to take; so we're going to have some trouble dealing with him AND the rest of the knights. And if THAT weren't bad enough...



We also have THIS front to deal with! Yes, that's THREE parties we have to juggle! And unfortunately, Shanan and Patty have neither the numbers nor the stats to deal with Cutozov's men.



These two stats have decent stats and everything, but...



Dang...just LOOK at that Magic Attack! 30 Damage targetting Resistance! It doesn't even matter that there's a pack of Silver Sword users right next to em'; those mages would be tearing our two heroes apart regardless!



Oh yeah; and Shanan can't avoid fighting at least one Merc on enemy phase. So uh...how are we to even these odds? Well, first...



We have Patty move exactly 5 spaces away; no more, no less. This is VITALLY important; it allows her to go through the next Turn unharmed. And this way, Shanan...



...Well; I'll let you see for yourselves .





Patty: Huh… what do you mean? Is this sword yours?

Shanan: Yes, it’s been in my family for generations. It’s the Divine Balmung. I’m the only one who can use it anyway, so there’s really no point in you keeping it.

Patty: Then what was this Holy thingamajig doing in Yied?

Shanan: It was taken off my father. He was killed during Isaac’s war with Grandbell. I just found out recently that it was being kept here, so I came to get it back.

Patty: Hey! You’re not Prince Shanan of Isaac, are ya?

Shanan: ...Yes, I am.

Patty: Whoa! Really!? Oh my gosh... I can’t believe it!

Shanan: ...

Patty: I have been an admirer for so long! I always dreamed of meeting you, but never did I...

Shanan: Ahem...

Patty: I just can’t believe it! I must be dreaming!

You have to remember, Prince Shanan is one of THE three main military leaders of our liberation army, along with Prince Celice and Commander Oifaye. The guy's also had that whole "true heir to the throne of Isaac" thing going for him for 16 years; and besides that, he was already a teenager by the time Celice was born. So with all that in mind...it's fair to say that he's made himself a fairly prominent political figure after running the Liberation Army for...what, 10-12 years? Depending on how long it was before Alvis's reign turned ugly? Anyways...

Shanan: ...Alright already. The sword, please.

Patty: Oh, sorry! Here you are.

Shanan: The Balmung... I finally have you now. This sword has... ah, woaahhh! The power!

Oh c,mon; if you're sword isn't throwing you into a loincloth while somehow removing all your other clothes, you can't complain. I mean, sheesh; no wonder He-Man got so much flak .

Patty: ...This is all too much!



And there we have it! Our team's next Super Saiyan! But can Shanan and Patty make it out of the desert alive? Can Leaf, Nanna, and Fin extricate themselves from their desperate situation? And what of the Liberation Army? Can Celice rescue everyone and see his army through unharmed? Or will the sacrifices Levin spoke of become a reality? Find out, on the next EXPLOSIVE episode of Let's Max Rank Fire Emblem 4!

This is Fionordequester, signing out. Have a nice night, and God bless you all!