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Fire Emblem story information
Shadow Dragon Synopsis
By: VincentASM
Prologue
A hundred years ago, the continent of Akaneia was invaded by Doluna,
the land of dragons. The leader of Doluna was Medeus, the evil Shadow
Dragon. The Holy Kingdom of Akaneia, which governed and protected the
continent, stood no chance against Doluna and was practically
destroyed. Just when all hope seemed lost, a miracle occured. A youth
wielding a shining blade of light appeared and slayed Medeus. This
youth was Anri, the first king of Altea and the ancestor of Marth, the
game's protagonist. Following Medeus's defeat, Doluna vanished and the
continent began to stabilise.
In the present day, Medeus is sudden resurrected. Along with Gharnef,
the Dark Pontifex, who shares his ideals of world domination, he
restores the Dolunian Empire and continues his onslaught on the
continent. Medon and Grust, two powerful kingdoms, also join under
Doluna's flag. Like in the past, the Kingdom of Akaneia falls in defeat
and Princess Nyna is the only remaining royal who manages to survive.
Hoping to turn the tides of battle, Cornelius, the king of Altea and
Marth's father, leaves to defeat
Medeus, following in the footsteps of his ancestor, Anri. Meanwhile,
back in
Altea, Marth waits patiently for his father's return.
One night, Marth hears that his elder sister, Elice, has news for
him
regarding their father. As he goes to meet her, he is suddenly
ambushed by soldiers from the Kingdom of Gra, a nation allied to Altea.
After defeating the soldiers, he meets Elice who delivers grave news to
him. During the battle with the Doluna-Grust allied forces, Altea was
betrayed by Gra, who attacked from the rear, and the Altean Knights
were decimated and their father's condition unknown. Not only that, but
Gra had sent soldiers to attack Altea Castle and,
as things currently stand, it would not be long before it
was conquered. Elice urges Marth to escape, and states that she'll
join him once she's made sure their mother is safe.
While escaping from the castle, Marth reunites with some of his loyal
knights. Cain was a knight who fought alongside King Cornelius in the
last battle
and gives Marth the answer to one of his pressing questions, but not
one
that he wished to hear. King Cornelius, his father, died valiantly in
battle- that is what Cain saw with his own eyes. Cornelius's last words
were
"Tell my son that I leave the future of Altea and our continent in his
hands."
Further away from Altea Castle, Marth meets Malledus, a
noble tactician who once served as an aide to his father. Marth wonders
if
Elice has come with him, but Malledus tells him the sorrow truth. Elice
had
already decided from the start that she would stay behind at Altea
Castle, so that she could buy time for Marth to escape and also to
ensure the safety of the inhabitants of Altea. Marth instinctively
turns
to run back, but Malledus stops him. He explains that Marth's safety is
too important, as he is the only one who can defeat Medeus, and that he
shouldn't let Elice's sacrifice go to vain. Although reluctant, Marth
sees his point and agrees to press onwards.
Soon, Marth is close to escaping Altea, but he is weary of fighting,
knowing of the injustices that he has faced. Malledus tells him that
there's no time to grieve, as Gra continues to pursue the group
without hesitation. He explains that he has a ship prepared to take
them away to the Isle of Talys, as the King of Talys was a good friend
of King Cornelius. Obstructing their path is an abandoned fortress
where Marth stumbles into an enemy ambush... or so it seems. It turns
out to be a trick, but a real enemy ambush, led by King Jiol of Gra,
quickly ensues. Marth's group are trapped and there's no way they can
fend off the superior enemy forces, so Malledus quickly devises an
emergency plan. He tells Marth to select one of his knights to disguise
themselves as him and act as a decoy to distract the enemy. Marth shows
disfavour to this plan, but everyone knows it is the only way for the
others to survive unscathed. Canonically, Frey acts as the decoy and
the Gra forces indeed fall for the ploy.
With the danger over, Marth boards the ship and leaves the Altean
mainland. He is
angry at himself for being unable to do anything to save his country,
his family or his people. He proclaims that this situation is only
temporary; he states that, one day, he
will definitely return to Altea and that he will bring an end to Doluna
and its allies.
Reclaiming Akaneia
Two years have passed since Marth escaped to the Isle of Talys. At
first, all he could think about was rescuing his sister, but, as the
King of Talys said, the time was not right for him to act. Instead,
during this time, Marth
trained for his battles to comes.
Then, one day, Talys is suddenly
attacked by intruders from the Akaneian mainland. Shiida, the princess
of Talys and a close friend that Marth made during his stay at Talys,
arrives at the fortress where Marth and his knights reside. Marth
notices Shiida's anxiety and asks her what's happened. She
explains that Talys is being attacked by the Galder pirates and
requests for Marth's aid. Marth accepts and rallies his knights to take
on the pirates, along with Shiida. After successfully defeating the
pirates, the King of Talys speaks with
Marth. He thanks Marth for his efforts and understands that now is the
best time for Marth to leave and begin his journey to fight against
Doluna. He lends Marth some of his
best warriors and wishes all the best to him.
Of all the kingdoms of Akaneia, many of them had already joined with
Doluna, such as Medon, Grust and Gra, or were destroyed, such as Altea.
There was one kingdom that still openly fought against Doluna and
that was Aurelis. Aurelis's troops were led by the Hardin, the younger
brother of King Aurelis, also known as Coyote. Princess Nyna of Akaneia
had also gone to Aurelis to seek refuge. However, Aurelis was currently
fighting a losing battle against Doluna's ally, Medon, and there was
practically nobody else to
help them. Marth had heard of the situation and, upon landing on the
mainland, immediately hurried to
Aurelis's aid.
At Aurelis, Marth meets Hardin and the two come to a swift agreement as
to how to fight the current battle. Marth leads both Altea and
Aurelis's forces and eventually the Medonian forces are driven away
from Aurelis. With Aurelis secured, Princess Nyna finally meets with
Marth. She explains how it has always been the responsibility of House
Akaneia to protect the continent in times of crisis, but now that
Akaneia has fallen, she finds herself unable to stop Doluna. Instead,
she requests that Marth pick up where she left off and guide everyone
to defeat Doluna. Marth accepts her request, as Altea has been loyal to
Akaneia since long ago, and because it is he duty, as the successor of
Anri, to slay Medeus. Knowing this, Nyna gives Marth her family's royal
treasure, the Fire Emblem, which is awarded to the champion who will
save the world.
United by the Fire Emblem, the Akaneian League, composed of soldiers
from Akaneia, Altea and Aurelis, begins its long march to reclaim the
Kingdom of Akaneia. After a number of battles against Doluna's allies,
Marth meets with Catria, a member of Medon's Whitewings. Catria
explains that her princess, Minerva, wishes to fight against Doluna,
but she is forced to aid them because her younger sister, Maria, is
being held captive. Catria pleads with Marth to rescue Maria from Deil
Prison. Many of Marth's allies suspect it's a trap, but Marth believes
the request is sincere, and because Minerva's situation reminds him of
his own sister's. Marth manages to successfully free Maria, and Minerva
agrees to join forces as promised. Minerva explains that her brother,
Michalis, made the choice to ally with Doluna, and he was the one who
killed her father as well.
After many difficult trials, the Akaneian League finally reached one
its long-awaited destinations- the Kingdom of Akaneia, Nyna's homeland.
As the palace came within sight, many of Nyna's memories come flooding
back to her. She remembers how members of the royal family, her parents
included, were hung outside the castle gate as a warning to those who
oppose Doluna. However, she realises that nothing can change the past,
so she urges Marth to continue their march.
Despite facing much resistance, the Akaneian League reclaim
possession of the Kingdom of Akaneia. Nyna is grateful to Marth for his
actions and awards him Parthia, a powerful bow and one of House
Akaneia's three regalia. The other regalia, the sword Mercurius and the
lance Gradivus, had been taken by the enemy, and Nyna regrets that she
could not have given those to Marth as well. Still, Marth is happy with
the way things have gone and swears on the Fire Emblem that he will
continue to succeed in their battle against Doluna.
Star and Saviour
The key to winning the war with Doluna lies in the Falchion, a divine
blade of light, which was a gift to humanity from the divine dragon
king. 100 years ago, Anri obtained this sword and used it to end
Medeus's reign. Marth's father, Cornelius, had hoped to do the same,
but he died prematurely. From what Cain described two years ago, it
seemed that Gra took the Falchion after Cornelius's demise. Now that
the Kingdom of Akaneia was secured, the Akaneian League was in
prime condition to face Gra and repossess the Falchion. So Marth
orders the League to march towards Gra, his bitter enemy.
En route to Gra, Marth hears something from a civilian that makes him
reflect deeply. When asked by Nyna, he explains that he heard that
Grust was divided about the war and that there were some who wished to
fight for Altea. Previously, after losing his father and his country,
Marth felt only hatred for his enemies, such as Grust and Gra. However,
he realised that he hadn't once considered what those on the enemy's
side were thinking of. Nyna tells him that not all evils occur because
of evil intent and that a true leader should view their opponent as
more than simply just an enemy.
As the Akaneian League reaches Gra, its King, Jiol, makes a last stand.
However he has since been neglected by Doluna; when he asks what
reinforcements have been sent from the Empire, he is distraught to
discover a lowly order of Pegasus Knights. Jiol is inevitably defeated
and with his defeat, Gra crumbles and its
sun finally sets. However, the Falchion is nowhere to be found;
Malledus explains that it was likely taken by Gharnef, who is centred
at Khadein.
Thusly, the League changes it target to Khadein, the land of sorcery,
in hope
of defeating Gharnef and reclaiming the Falchion. Their battle proves
to
be difficult, especially against the magical might of Khadein's mages.
However, the ultimate difficulty is Gharnef, who is rendered invincible
by his Imhullu spell. No matter what Marth's allies try, it seems
Gharnef cannot be harmed. Eventually Gharnef leaves, tired of playing
around, and tells Marth to come to Thabes when he's actually ready to
fight. Marth suffered a huge defeat, but comfort comes quick, as Marth
receives a message from Gotoh, the legendary White Sage. Gotoh explains
how Gharnef was once his pupil, but he stole the
Imhullu tome and became corrupted. He tells Marth that there is a way
to stop Imhullu- and that is by combining the Starsphere and
Lightsphere to make the Starlight spell.
Leaving Khadein, the League marches to Altea, en route to the Fane of
Raman, where the Starsphere and Lightsphere reside. Marth learns from
Morzas, the Mage Dragon guarding Altea, that his mother, Liza, died by
his hands and that Elice was taken away by Gharnef. Although a powerful
dragon, Morzas is slain and Altea is reclaimed. However, Marth is
saddened that he was unable to save any of his family in the end,
even though he knew it was all but hopeless. Despite everything, Marth
goes forth to greet his civilians who had been awaiting him. His
civilians are overjoyed to see him, for he liberated them from their
darkest hours, and salute him: "Glory to Marth, our prince of light!
Glory to our star and saviour!"
Fall of Doluna
Two milestones had already been passed; both Akaneia and Altea had been
liberated. Soon it would finally be time to face against Doluna itself.
However, first, Marth needed to secure the route to the Falchion and,
so, orders the League to march towards the Fane of Raman. Obstructing
the League were the Sable Knights of Grust, the most powerful knights
in the continent. Nyna asks Marth if Camus is acting as their general,
but it seems not and Nyna is relieved for some reason. After a fierce
battle, the Sable Knights are defeated and the League safely enter the
fane.
Inside the Fane of Raman, Gharnef momentarily appears and casts a
hypnotic spell on a little girl. He refers to her as Tiki, princess of
the once mighty divine dragons, and orders her to vanquish any
intruders. Bantu, a Manakete who Marth befriended early on and who was
looking for Tiki, spots her straight away. He notices that she is in a
spell and tries to snap her out of it. He succeeds and Tiki wonders
what's been going on. Bantu tells her not to worry and says that he
will protect her from now on. Marth also succeeds in wrestling the
Starsphere and Lightsphere from the thieves who infiltrated the fane.
Although Marth had both orbs in hand, he still had to meet Gotoh, who
is residing in Medon, to create Starlight. Before that, he needed to
take care of Grust, in case they mounted a rear attack. Grust was once
a mighty country, but its current king, Ludwik, was a weak
man who feared the Shadow Dragon. As a result he allied with Doluna,
but after facing several consecutive defeats, he fell dangerously ill.
Now, it looked like it was almost time for the curtains to close on
Grust.
With time running out, Nyna finally confesses what's been troubling her
ever since they reached Grust. She explains that when Doluna attacked
Akaneia, the entire royal family was killed, except for her. Instead,
she was
taken into Grust's custody. Doluna had wished for her to be
killed as well and Grust had no objections, but the captain of Grust's
Sable Order, Camus, defended her. He protected her, knowing that it
would anger Medeus, and eventually arranged for her to escape to
Aurelis. Nyna states that she hated Camus at first, but after time
passed her feelings
changed and now she just wishes to see him once more.
As expected, Camus takes up arms in Grust's final battle. Marth tries
to persuade Camus to join their side, but he plainly refuses, stating
that it is his duty to fight for his homeland, and also because he had
some part in the death of Marth's father. To their surprise, Nyna
appears and pleads to Camus. She states that she doesn't want to see
Marth and him fight, because they both helped her so much. However,
Camus is still unmoved; he states that it is impossible for him, a
knight, to abandon his kingdom when it needs him most. Before he
leaves, he states that he will never forget his days with Nyna, however
short they were.
After Grust is conquered, Marth apologises to Nyna for being unable to
save Camus. Nyna states that she knew it would happen, because she used
the Fire Emblem to unite the League. She explains that 100 years ago,
Artemis, the princess of Akaneia, also used the Fire Emblem to fight
against Doluna. To make sure the war was successful, Artemis cursed the
emblem- called it the end of war, but also the end of love. Originally,
she was in love with Anri, Marth's ancestor, but in the end the two
were separated. That is Artemis's Curse.
Following Grust's fall, the League marches to Medon, the last of
Doluna's allies and also the residence of White Sage Gotoh. Before
Medon's final battle, Prince Michalis warns Gotoh to leave the
battlefield while he can. Gotoh expresses his disappointment of
Michalis; he states that Medon could have surpassed Akaneia with
Michalis and Minerva's combined talents. However, Michalis chose to
ally with Doluna, which would bring the end of his kingdom. Michalis
proclaims that it's not over yet and swears that he'll defeat Marth in
the end. Despite putting up a strong fight, Medon's forces are no match
for the Akaneian League and eventually Medon falls. Marth also meets
with Gotoh and hands over the Starsphere and Lightsphere in return for
the Starlight spell.
Marth is transported to Thabes by Gotoh's powerful Warp magic. There he
faces off against Gharnef, the wicked Dark Pontifex. Gharnef proclaims
that Marth has no hope of defeating him, but he is grateful that Marth
eliminated Camus and Michalis for him. However, Marth has become too
dangerous himself so now he must die as well. Gharnef also has a new
trick up his sleeve, which is to create multiple illusionary copies of
himself. Despite this, Marth manages to end Gharnef and reclaims the
Falchion. Not only that, but, at long last, he reunites with his
sister, Elice, as well. Elice explains that Gharnef kept her alive so
he could use the Aum staff, an arcane staff that can bring people back
from the dead.
It has been a long journey for Marth, but the final decisive battle is
almost
within reach. The Akaneian League make their way to Doluna, the Kingdom
of Manaketes, ready to fight the final battle. However, Marth is
surprised that Medeus has not left his keep to fight. Malledus explains
that, according to Gotoh, Medeus has not completely resurrected so he
can only assume his dragon form within the keep. Upon reaching Doluna
Keep, the League splits its forces into four groups to attack the keep
from all four entrances. Unbeknownst to them, this is a trap devised by
Medeus to divide the League's strength. Still, the League fights
valiantly and Marth lands the finishing blow on Medeus.
Although defeated, Medeus is not lost for words. He proclaims that his
defeat is not permanent; he states that as long as darkness remains in
peoples' hearts, he will return. Following Medeus's defeat, the
Dolunian Empire fades away into obscurity, and the continent once again
bathes in
the light of peace. However, before that...
Shiida appears in front of Marth and congratulates him for saving the
continent. Even though they hadn't talked much since leaving Talys,
Shiida wonders what Marth will do afterwards. Marth states that he will
return
to Altea, naturally, to rebuild his devastated kingdom. However that
isn't quite the answer Shiida wanted and after implying a second time,
only to get a similarly unwanted response, she makes her leave. Nyna
notices that Shiida looked upset and asks Marth what happened. After
hearing from Marth, Nyna laughs and teases Marth for being so hidden
about
his feelings. Marth is puzzled at first, but Nyna tells him that if he
wants his love for Shiida to grow, he'll have to do something about it.
Following this, Marth hurries after Shiida and confesses his feelings,
although in an awkward way. However Shiida happily accepts him.
Afterwards, Marth returns to Altea and concentrates on restoring
it to its former glory. Later, he would be crowned its king. Meanwhile,
Shiida visits her father at Talys to report on the war with Doluna,
before returning to Marth's loving company.
The End
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