Screenshot Dakota's War Journal (Semiblind Fire Emblem Fates RP/LP) (Send me your castles!)

[Alastor15243]

Alright, next update, but before I begin, I'd like to thank everyone who visited my castle!

Entry 4

Dear War Journal,

West Dakota is looking much more lively now that it has a population of 6 (not counting me, but counting Lilith).

However, West Dakota seems to have certain limitations compared to East Dakota. Most importantly, it doesn't seem to have any capacity to locate skirmishes for us to engage in. Lilith tells me this is because my siding with Nohr altered the makeup of my castle. That doesn't explain much, in fact it only raises more questions, but it's all I'm getting out of her for the time being. While I'm on the subject, I've alluded to this but never directly stated this, but Lilith's a fighter instead of a healer, and I'm guessing it's because of the western diet I've had her on. Not sure though.

On the plus side, I've discovered that these dread scrolls are class change items that allow a class change into a 40-level class called a dread fighter. The stat changes are pretty much universally positive, meaning they're the stats of a tier 2 class, which essentially means that through these things I can promote two units as early as I like without any long-term loss of levels to grow with. This... could be extremely handy to keep in mind.

I've decided it's important for me to exploit this dimensional rift to get my hands on as many supplies as I can. After tossing my calling cards into the nebulous pan-dimensional void, several people have reached out to me to establish trade relations.

I immediately set out to visit this Ren fellow and parley with them. Curiously, this individual's world seems to belong to some freakish idealistic alternate reality where Hoshido and Nohr are not at war, because Ft. Ren has resources from both sides, which I readily make use of.

SUCH A THING EXISTS!? TELL ME ABOUT THIS WONDERFUL CONCEPT!

I'm not even sure if I'll be able to make use of the coral, but I might be able to make use of the peaches, and the milk and emeralds will definitely see use.

I... I... you... you're... Azura's son. I remember you. Don't I? Why are most of my memories of you so blurry?

Moving on, War Journal, I've visited several castles now, and curiously, it seems that most of the people that inhabit these supposedly vastly different alternate realities are exactly the same. In fact the only person from my adventures I haven't been able to locate in at least one of these castles...

...Is me. Here, for instance, the master of this castle is some creepily unassuming milquetoast named Corrin. Did destiny really put this awesome power in the hands of this guy?

And for that matter, is the only difference between these realities the identity of the individual who was granted access to this castle, the individual that the destiny of the world seems to revolve around? Or... are these people actually just me in different realities? Is every aspect of my being in fact fluid and completely at the whims of chaos itself? Is that why a time-traveling mishap so easily warped the foundations of my being itself and made me female?

The philosophical implications of this are simply staggering...

...And I elect to ignore them to have a tickle fight with Elise.

On to the castle of a young lady named Arc. She elected for a river-filled fort design, and has frustratingly blocked off key passageways with buildings. This is either an intentional defensive measure against invaders (in which case, well played), or an intentional attempt to spite visitors (in which case, again, well played).

Due to the fact that the buildings she chose to use happen to be the indestructible ones, I'm going to go with the former.

...Yeah, War Journal, this is starting to get creepy. Arc is basically me with a band-aid, orange hair, a more naive disposition, and no dragon markings.

Upping the creepy factor even further is the fact that a great many of these heads of castle, whatever their apparent disposition, all greet me with the exact same deadpan greeting as if it were simply pre-programmed into them by some elder mechanical god. Also, this is Corrin again. Just with a scar.

I find somebody who finally says something slightly different, at long last, and holy cow am I glad I visited here.

It would appear that using the unbreakable buildings to complete defenses is a bit of wisdom that's being spread around the dimensional rift through word of mouth, and this castle is both well-fortified and frankly beautiful.

I'm sure to let her know (through her assistant) my thoughts on her handiwork before immediately going home to put what I've just learned into practice.

First off, this dimensional travel has granted me some extra DVP, so I build the dusk armory while I'm building things, but more importantly...

The indestructible lottery shop is now in position.

And Lilith has been deployed to guard the bottleneck.

Incidentally, the lottery shop nets me even more resources.

It would appear that West Dakota had visitors in my absence. Opinion of my work so far seems to be high.

I gathered some calling cards while I was out. The day has been productive, and our alliances fruitful. Sadly, I doubt we can ever be friends.

The resources are convenient, yes, and I'm happy to do business with them, but...

...but there's just something about them...

Something... off-putting about their demeanor...

...Something flippant and carefree about them that BURNS AT MY VERY SOUL.

But thankfully, a few hours of dimension-hopping granted bountiful returns. Now as soon as I can get the mess hall running, we can get some nice buffs going to help with further adventures. Above is my new resource inventory, along with a rough sketch of West Dakota's new layout.

I also returned to find some nice presents in the form of now extremely scarce Hoshidan weaponry. At this early stage, making it easier to double will be a huge dragonsend, and I already explained why it's great to have bloom festals on hand in case of emergency.

As I said, simply traveling to other worlds seems to grant me dragon vein points. Perhaps if I manage to do a little more, I can get my hands on that mess hall before heading out on my next mission.

I tested the western diet theory by feeding Lilith some peaches. No dice, she's still a pure fighter, and in fact increased her weapon rank from it.

Score! Elise found a tome for Jakob!

...Which he cannot yet use. Damn.

Also, we now have a ton of daggers that nobody can use. Damn it, I wish Kaze were here. Now, anyone who used a dread scroll could use daggers, but I want to save that for somebody who could really use it.

...Damn it all to hell, I need more allies. I'm not at full strength, and this farce of a mission Garon has me on is an obvious ruse to get me killed. My experience in the previous timeline made it apparent that if he really wanted the ice tribe to fall in line, it would just be a simple summoning of Flora to his throne room and a single threat of arson away. I need another excuse to train, and possibly a new ally. Hm... speaking of my experience in the previous timeline... is there something that happened around this time that I'm forgetting?

Oh! That's right! Mozu's entire village being destroyed before her very eyes by faceless!

Right, seems as good a mission as any. Morale is certainly high for it: Arthur in particular is super excited to get to be a dashing hero.

Oh dear. That happy face. How do I tell him his prospects are grim?

Anyway, this could be a bit of a problem. Without the mess hall, Silas is one point short of being able to double enemies with an Arthur pairup and a raider katana, so if I'm going to rush to Mozu without stealing all of the kills myself, I have to be clever about unit placement. I simply do not have the same number of soldiers I had when I tackled this last time. Last time I had a whole bunch of units, not to mention Orochi. But without skirmishes to rely on, if I'm going to use Mozu at all, I'll have to get her asap. No time to wait for more allies.

...Plus, y'know, she's in danger now.

Speaking of which... I'm honestly quite torn on whether or not she's worth training. On one hand, she never really became a star player even when I did have access to skirmishes, but on the other hand, she has access to incredibly scarce eastern classes, particularly the merchant class, which has the ability to generate money, something that it looks like I'll have trouble coming by otherwise. Really, her pathetic starting stats are the main problem, that aptitude skill of hers should help her break even if I give her a strong enough push...

...Oh. OH! OH THIS IS BRILLIANT! Oh I can't wait to put this plan into action!

ONWARD!

I start off by feeding Silas a kill while simultaneously baiting the next faceless to keep things moving. I don't know when those faceless are going to swarm Mozu, so I have to be fast.

Next, I decide to take the risk of feeding Arthur one more kill so he can level up. I figure I might as well see what one of his level-ups is like before writing him off as a dangerous investment capable of blowing up in my face at any time.

Hm... intriguing.

I have Jakob heal scratch damage before sending Silas off to use his Effie-and-Elise-enhanced defense to bait two faceless at once. Effie levels up from dual guarding.

...Effie... I have twice now been burned by soldiers defying gender stereotypes sucking at their class's core stat. DO NOT DO THIS TO ME.

This faceless is on the move. Depending on which fork in the road it takes, it could either be heading straight for Mozu or heading towards us. I have two options: try to make sure it heads towards us, or race to get Mozu first.

Seeing how close we are to Mozu, I elect to make a beeline towards her.

This turns out to be a wise decision. If it were after us, it would've taken the bridge. It's after Mozu.

I have just barely enough time to get her if I hitch a ride with Silas.

Decent number of stats, Silas, but this early in our journey I could really use some speed and defense!

Arthur prepares to deal with the faceless attacking our rear while Jakob and Elise get out of the way.

We recover Mozu just in the nick of time.

Mozu, stricken by grief, filled with dark, indignant rage at everything that had been taken from her...

...reached deep into her new mistress's pockets...

...and walked the dark path of dread vengeance.

A knife in hand, she began to use her new dark powers to avenge the fallen and defend the downtrodden.

And with her plucky blond sidekick with adorably childish delusions of heroism to keep her from going totally over the edge, she commenced the dishing out of her own special brand of edgy justice.

...All theatrics aside, it's fairly straightforward to train Mozu in her new class. Supporting her with Jakob's Gentilhomme and Elise's Lily's Poise grants her a +5 bonus to her defenses, so baiting the faceless that have stopped charging on their own becomes trivial.

Her growth is more than satisfactory.

Also, Jakob finally gets Rally Resistance, which should be exceedingly useful once we start facing lots of magical enemies.

With Mozu already basically comparable to me at level six, I elect to give Silas the leader kill in the hopes that he'll start gaining some speed.

He doesn't quite make it to the next level, however.

Mozu readily joins us despite our surface allegiance to the man responsible for the abominations that robbed her of her childhood. She is ready to patrol the dark streets of Nohr and ensure that nobody suffers her fate again. She will become the night. She will become VENGEANCE. And she will do all of this...

DRESSED.

LIKE AN ADORABLE.

FOX.

Until next time, War Journal!

Edited March 30, 2016 by Alastor15243

[AnimusMage]

Hello! It looks like I've finally caught up! This is really interesting, I like reading about avatars with different personalities than the one presented in canon.

[Ignominious Defeat]

Hey! Thanks for complimenting my castle! (I'm the owner of Valhalla!)

[Alastor15243]

Hello! It looks like I've finally caught up! This is really interesting, I like reading about avatars with different personalities than the one presented in canon.

Hope you continue to enjoy!

Hey! Thanks for complimenting my castle! (I'm the owner of Valhalla!)

Good job on it, really.

Entry 5

Dear War Journal,

I received yet another invitation from yet another Corrin. Very well. Let's go meet-

...Him?

...Curious.

...This is just scar Corrin with black hair. Literally the only difference between these two individuals is THE COLOR OF THEIR GODDAMNED HAI-

...Ah, nothing like some good ol' food to distract myself from the piling existential questions. But let's wait a second for that.

Got a scroll that Jakob also cannot use. I wonder if I'll get Horse Spirit eventually? That was by far my favorite scroll.

Anyway, time to examine my trade agreements and write down what I'm getting from each place.

Ren offers peaches (Hoshidan, magic), milk (Nohrian, speed), emeralds (Nohrian, Bows) and coral (Hoshidan, naginata), all at level 3.

Alexander has level 1 Topaz (Nohrian, tomes) and Cabbage (Nohrian, resistance) sources.

Arc has level 3 Cabbage and Onyx, just like me, though mine are level 1.

Canyon's Valhalla has level 3 rice (Hoshidan, defense), berries (Nohrian, magic), crystal (Nohrian, swords) and lapis (Hoshidan, clubs).

Elise found an axe that Arthur must have misplaced during one of his horrendous streaks of bad luck. Hm... I wonder if we'll get another male axe user, because I have some decidedly different long term plans in store for Arthur himself.

Dakota: Mozu! How's my new star player doing?

Mozu: The wind howls every hour of every day, carrying to my ears the screams of untold hundreds. Mothers, fathers, weeping babes all die alone and in agony, crushed under the steel-toed boot of the eight-legged, flame-spewing machine of inhuman malice we mortals call fate, and it knows naught but how to take and destroy! This fell symphony of screams scores my every waking hour. ...But for a blessed, fleeting moment... the wind lies calm. We have done good today, Mistress.

Mozu: Also, here is some milk I found.

Dakota: ...Of course. Carry on.

Elise, bless her little heart, seems to have gotten it into her head that she's some kind of burden because she can't fight. I don't get how anyone can think that. Am I the only one who sees the tactical necessity of healing? Between her staves and her defensive aura, she was instrumental in training Mozu last chapter. I calmly explain to her that she is absolutely crucial to my army. She then says “Yeah, but you have Jakob!” and... heh. Now I could tell her the fact that Jakob's long-term utility is very niche and that it will take a master strategist such as myself to even bring it out, but... frankly I don't want that bit of information getting out, and I do not trust Elise's ability to keep her mouth shut. So I just tell her (truthfully) that I don't plan on Jakob staying a healer for too much longer.

Also, Lilith gave me a gold bar, so now we can buy an E rank weapon! ...Now I could buy that tome for Jakob I was talking about, but as I said, I don't plan on making him a strategist for much longer, and I probably shouldn't waste combat experience on him when he can just gain levels from staves. I'll save my gold for now.

Good thing too, because I just got some more visiting presents from the outrealms! Jakob now has this for emergencies.

I also got a sunrise katana again, and... this thing. It seems mildly useful, but my most skilled lance user can't use it yet.

Right, time for that food I was talking about!

...Oh dear. I have a bad feeling about this.

...Here. Prepare milk. How the hell can you screw that up?

...Reckless. Is that really a good adjective? Dare I try this?

Oh dear. I appear to have made a terrible mistake.

...Speed plus and minus one. And luck plus two. Whew! So it wasn't bad after all!

Our bizarre otherworldly visitors are ready to battle me again, but I'm afraid I'm nowhere near ready to battle them, so we'll just have to move on.

We're en route to the ice tribe village to suppress the rebellion. Morale is... decidedly not high.

Silas: Gods! Why would anyone choose to live here? How can they stand this cold?

Dakota: They have ice powers or something, I guess they like it. Considering how it doesn't make sense with the climate anyway, I'm guessing they make it this cold on purpose.

Silas: What about you, then? I haven't seen you shiver even once!

WHOOSH!

Silas: And, forgive my bluntness, Dakota, but... you're not even wearing pants! How can you take the cold?

Dakota: It's a long story, one I've already told to someone else, and one I don't care to tell again.

Arthur: Brrr! I knew I should've brought that fifth backup coat! But still, I must be strong in the name of justice! Mozu, why doesn't the snowstorm bother you?

Mozu: I felt the icy cold touch of my mother's dead hand as I committed her to the ground with my own sweat and tears. This autumn breeze you dare call a snowstorm is nothing to me.

...Didn't she lose her parents in the last timeline too, War Journal?

Mozu: Of greater concern is what exactly we're doing here.

Arthur: Yeah, so, we're... suppressing a rebellion? That... doesn't sound very heroic, Princess Dakota.

Mozu: I shall make it plain, Mistress. My axe. My blade. My knife. They orphan no one.

Dakota: We're not going to kill them, Mozu. We're just going to rough them up a bit if we have to. If we're strong enough to beat them as we are, then they'd be suicidally stupid to take on Garon. So we're just stopping them from doing anything reckless.

Arthur: ...I suppose I can get behind that.

...Besides, War Journal, when you're trying to overthrow a corrupt dictator, avoid killing dissidents whenever possible.

Dakota: At any rate, it might not even come to violence. I happen to know both of the chief's daughters, so I think we might be able to come to some sort of agreement.

Ideally I'd just make it plain that I'm no friend of Garon, but the fewer people to know of this outside of my soon-to-be-assembled trusted inner circle, the better. I suppose the best course of action would be to hear their grievances to see if there's something easy I can do to resolve this, in the event that this is an elaborate gambit to make me the scapegoat for a bad PR move.

Right, the village is in view now. Time to parley-

Elise: HELLO, ICE PEOPLE! WE ARE PRINCESSES OF NOHR! WE ARE HERE TO SUPPRESS YOUR REBELLION!

...Gods damn it.

Dakota: Elise! What do you think you're doing!?

Elise: Wait... doesn't suppress just mean... to ask them... not to rebel? And then maybe have lunch together?

Dakota:...

Elise: UM... PRETTY PLEASE STOP REBELLING AGAINST DADDY? WITH A CHERRY ON TOP? ...I HAVE CANDY!

...The naivete of a twelve year old girl. Still, that was so unspeakably adorable that for a moment I actually thought it would work. Alas, it appears we're in for a fight. I really hope this doesn't bite us in the ass. Our opponents are primarily fighters and dark mages. We have plenty of high resistance units, so this shouldn't be a huge issue. My main concern is what happened last time I was here, and the possibility of surprise reinforcements, because these guys really don't look strong enough to be a significant threat.

Flora looks like she's going to stay put, and out of a desire to not have her light herself on fire again, I'm going to steer well clear of her. Maybe I can talk to her, but if I sense that I can't, I'm just going to leave her alone.

Effie was more of a liability than a boon in this weather, so I didn't bring her. Everyone else is fighting, though.

Begin.

Silas suggests negotiating with the villagers. That... didn't go so well last time.

...However, last time we didn't have anyone half as precious as Elise.

The negotiations are successful, and the first village stays out of it. Time is of the essence so I split into two groups, a healer accompanying each one. Arthur, Mozu and Elise go west, Jakob, Silas and I go north.

Bad news: A lancer gets to the northern village, which was basically unavoidable, none of us could reach there in time.

Good news: reinforcements from Leo! Let's see what we have here...

...Hello, gorgeous!

The young man in the, shall we say, delightfully daring outfit calls himself Odin and seems to have some kind of a flair for the theatrics. I think. To be perfectly honest I'm a bit too distracted by that chest. But he's our first magic user, so even if turns out to be all for show, he's got a niche at the moment.

...As does this man. Looks like he's our capturer this time around, as well as our lockpicker. Let's see how he works out.

Of a greater immediate concern is our current predicament. That village's reinforcements complicate the situation beyond what my team of 3 up there is currently capable of, and few of my soldiers have achieved one-rounding capacity yet.

My dragonvision tells me that the rhythm of the world is right for Mozu's Even Keel to activate, allowing her to safely take a full assault from those three southern dark mages. I prime Niles to take on one of the more northern ones on counterattack. Mozu won't fully defeat any of hers, however, as she's using a quill pen.

Cute.

Meanwhile, up north, I have Elise piggyback with me to assemble a defensive perimeter with Jakob to defeat a dark mage and fighter on the counterattack, leaving us with fewer enemies to deal with next turn. Hopefully we can clear this all out in time to interrupt that soldier from recruiting the next village.

Sadly, two of the dark mages didn't take the bait and thus my job this round is tougher than anticipated.

Not too tough, though.

I figured giving Arthur the raider axe would make it more likely for him to defeat his dark mage, but due to a slight miscalculation owing to weapon triangle and dual strikes, the iron axe turns out to be the better option.

I wasn't leaving their lives up to chance though. In the event of a catastrophic failure, Mozu could intervene. As it stands, however, she's now free to move to interrupt that lancer.

Let's proceed.

Silas gloriously humiliates the fighter I had hoped would come for me. Frankly however, I can't complain.

Especially not when he finally gets that speed and defense I asked for.

...though the conundrum of how that fighter was hiding boxer shorts under that unsightly thong may very well haunt my nightmares forever.

The Dread Duo team up once more to prepare to intercept that village-rousing lancer, while Elise backs me up in taking care of these fighters in the range of Flora's freeze staff. I'll have to get her to waste it as soon as possible.

Finally, Jakob starts wearing down the second lancer.

A “slip of the hand” while issuing orders means Mozu attacks the lancer with the wrong weapon and he isn't fully incapacitated.

Only one of the lancers is stopped. This is bad. The consequences of this one slip-up could be disastrous if the enemy knows how to exploit it. Mozu has been left alone over there, and reinforcements are coming when that lancer reaches the house. Elise and Jakob can't reach the lancer to freeze it to stop this from happening. Mozu can outrun them in her dread fighter class... unless Flora freezes her.

My only choice is to give Flora as many tasty targets over here as possible.

Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-

THANK YOU FLORA!

And after all that panic, the lancer squanders his chance to summon reinforcements by futilely attacking, and getting his ass kicked by, the Dread Duo.

...I don't know why I bother half the time.

The villages have been secured. We got all but that second one.

As a sign of goodwill and to show that we're not marauders, we leave alone the two dark mages that we passed over on our march.

Flora continues to stay put. Negotiation appears impossible for the time being.

All that remains is the leader.

He seems intimidating, but with some well-placed dagger throws he should go down fairly easily.

And with some aid from Mozu, Mr. Abdominals takes the victory!

Odin, it doesn't seem like any part of you can hide much longer.

Victory!

Things seem to be going well. We seem to have come to a peaceful understanding at this time.

Dakota: Oh come now, Flora, that's no big deal.

Flora: But I-

Dakota: No, seriously, it's no big deal.

Flora: Okay, but-

Dakota: No, seriously Flora, it's no big deal at all. It's not any deal whatsoever. Do not beat yourself up about it. Do not feel guilty about it. And above all else DO NOT LIGHT YOURSELF ON FIRE OVER IT.

Flora: …?

Dakota: ...To give an extreme example.

The villagers, grateful we kept them out of the non-lethal beatdown, awarded us with 10,000 gold! Score! We were starting to get desperate!

Anyway, our victory is a resounding success, and Garon no longer has any excuse to have me executed without looking like the psychopath he is. Back to castle Krakenburg, everyone!

Edited August 19, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Ignominious Defeat]

I have got to say, I really like what you're doing with the story in this let's play. Keep it up!

[Alastor15243]

I have got to say, I really like what you're doing with the story in this let's play. Keep it up!

Glad you're enjoying it!, really makes it worthwhile.

...Especially after encountering a miiverse glitch that causes the entire 3ds to freeze when accessing it extremely rarely, forcing me to restart the whole mission (thankfully very early into the level, early enough that with the pictures I took I could retrace my steps, but still, that could've been NASTY).

...This is the second time I encountered this glitch due to the sheer number of screenshots I've taken, but the last time it wasn't mid-battle.

Anyway, here's the next part:

Entry 6

Dear War Journal,

Garon was positively... “beside himself” after hearing of our resounding success ending the Ice Tribe rebellion. He told me that my resounding success “did not remotely resemble even his wildest dreams”. He also forced a smile when “praising” me for not killing a single one of them, insisting that this was definitely his ideal best-case-scenario, and that he totally did not want to hear reports of them screaming as their village burned and their little ice tribe features melted off of their faces like snowmen.

On a completely unrelated tangent, he's sent me on another mission, this time to Notre Sagesse, to drive out the Hoshidan soldiers occupying it, capture it, and bring it under Nohrian rule. He's also told me that in order to get there, I'll have to pass through Fort Dragonfall, which has been captured by the Hoshidans.

That... gives me a lot to think about, but I will discuss that later.

Anyway, War Journal, we have finally gotten our hands on some delicious, delicious red meat! Oh how long has it been since I've sat down to enjoy you! Hoshido and their fish simply do not compare!

Also, we got an iron lance, a 1k weapon, from the lottery.

Speaking of lances and meat, the male population of West Dakota has doubled after our latest batch of reinforcements, and I'm starting to give some serious thought as to who my husband will be. I've decided to begin... interviewing them in my private treehouse. Let's start with Odin.

...Odin... oh dear. He's... well... frankly I expected somebody a lot more... flirty... for somebody who dresses like that. I was trying to come onto him the entire time and he kept obliviously going off on these bizarre tangents about his aching blood and his book hand and the dark power that flows through him and cannot be contained. ...He's a lost cause, War Journal, I don't we have any future together.

Anyway, let's check out a new trade partner!

…

Let's check out a new trade partner!

Conversation was... different, War Journal. He spoke in this bizarre dialect that doesn't resemble any on the entire continent. The strangest part had to be when the music stopped and he suddenly just punched the side of the records hall to make it start playing again.

New buildings ahoy, including an unbreakable smithy to improve our defensive wall with!

It would appear that visitors have gifted me with several delightful presents! Very well: TIME TO PLAY DRESSUP.

...It appears I cannot wear this tiara and my adorable black bow at the same time.

THE BOW IT IS.

This seems fitting.

And just so they match.

Who's the prettiest princess? Who's the prettiest princess?

...I am. I am the prettiest princess. But you can wear the tiara anyway, sweetie.

I forged some simple weapons, mostly to give Mozu a little more stopping power if she needs to take care of a bunch of enemies at once, and also to give Odin a fancy named weapon he can do... whatever the hell he does with.

Arc has gotten a bit less robotic and a bit more lively lately, which is... encouraging, I guess? I don't particularly care as long as she keeps sending supplies.

Ah look, off-haired scar Corrin has a female counterpart now! I wonder what horrors she's seen that compelled her to actually say something original?

This place was... creepy. Something about it. Mostly the music I think.

Which made the owner of the place seem rather dissonant.

Anyway, I've set up a budget system. Half of the 10,000 gold we gained is off-limits for now and must be saved for emergencies, so our gold level cannot drop below 5,000. I will be doing this with each major sum of money we get our hands on, and increasing the minimum treasury threshold accordingly.

Finally, let's make ourselves a nice meal before heading out on our next mission from Garon!

I would LOVE to try out some good red meat, but sadly, I'm getting a sense that defense would be better for this upcoming mission, and we don't have any defense nutrients other than rice. Sigh.

Strangely, Niles manages to use spices to make the rice balls feel almost Nohrian.

Right, we're at Fort Dragonfall. Under Hoshidan control. Just as Garon said. Now then, as I was saying earlier... this is really odd.

At no point in the previous timeline did the Hoshidan army accomplish such a feat, capturing a fortress that absurdly deep in Nohr territory. This is especially odd, because supposedly the only difference between the two timelines is who I sided with. This means this feat could be because of one of a few things...

1: Garon intentionally allowed Hoshidans to get this far solely to spite me and get me killed whilst making it technically the fault of the Hoshidans rather than him.

...Possible? Unlikely though. As much as I'm sure Garon wants me dead, that seems rather suicidal. Fort Dragonfall is really deep in Nohrian territory, this would be ludicrous of him if it were intentional, and I don't think he's that stupid.

2: These aren't real Hoshidans. They're Nohrians in disguise, possibly criminals on death row or else expendable mindless sheep, sent by Garon to disguise themselves as Hoshidans to have all the benefits of theory 1 without the tactically suicidal shortcomings.

This seems way more likely and more up Garon's alley. I'll have to be sure to capture a few of them for interrogation to see if this is the case.

3: Not having me on their side has suddenly made the Hoshidans more competent a military force.

...Moving on.

4: There's some hidden force at work in all of this.

...One intentionally supplying all of my enemies, no matter who I decide they are, with powerful weapons I can't possibly get my hands on, solely to spite me, meaning that now that I've sided with Nohr, these suppliers have sided with Hoshido.

It's suddenly become even more important to capture a few for questioning. And I'll need to see if I can capture their leader. That would be a huge boon, especially if I can make use of that rally defense of his.

...What.

...Is that...

It's Azura! She still has her sending stone, so I can still talk to her from across the field, and good thing too, because she looks like she's in serious trouble. She's deep in enemy territory, and she's Azura. Fragile, fragile Azura.

I'm assuming they're not going to kill her if they haven't already, but we need to get to her fast. Losing Azura...

…

...Losing Azura...?

...is not an option.

I'm bringing everyone but Effie since time is of the essence here.

Begin.

My first opening gambit is embarrassingly mildly botched, as Elise isn't in range for her aura to activate, but as long as Gentilhomme and the forest are protecting her, Mozu will still be fine.

The purpose of this opening gambit is to experiment with the stat-sealing skills which I am certain will become a huge pain now that I have made an enemy of Hoshido. I know that they work even if the skill belongs to a dual striker whose attack is dual guarded. I know that they don't work if the skill holder falls that round in combat.

...But I don't know what happens when both of these situations are combined. What happens when the team that has the stat sealing skill loses the match, but the skill is on a partner who wasn't defeated? The enemy has an opportunity to attempt this.

Even if it turns out to be true, there's no way they can kill Mozu, though I would've liked Elise's skill just to minimize the damage she does take and save on healing staves.

...The enemy does not even attempt this strategy, so the question remains a mystery.

Looks like I'll have to do it myself. This spear fighter's fellow spear fighter has the seal defense skill. In all likelihood this will kill. If I still suffer the defense sealing, we'll have our answer.

And here's our answer: no defense penalty. Stat sealing skills only activate when the side with the skill doesn't totally lose.

This samurai seems to be patrolling in a random direction. Ideally I'd have Azura stay put, but judging by his movement path, he'll fill Azura's little corner with his attack range next round. But then, I see no way to sneak around him, so she may have to risk it. If he's just a guard, he might not attack her. Or maybe I'm mis-interpreting his movement pattern, we'll never know.

At any rate I move her to just out of the nearby spear fighter's attack range just in case she has to run.

I give the order to finish off the remaining enemies and prepare to make a beeline for her.

...But due to a crazy freak 4% miss, Mozu fails to finish off the spear fighter, suffers from the seal defense skill, and things are complicated.

Not beyond the realm of the possible, however.

Niles's first level up is not promising, but again, he has an irreplaceable niche.

The samurai leaves a huge opening, and Azura goes after the chest with her chest key. I'm hoping it has a weapon or something, though if she fights anyone but that samurai she's screwed.

I think I see a potential ally! I have my soldiers advance further in while I seek her out.

The samurai comes back around, but it's too late, I have Azura nab the chest and make a beeline for safety. It's a weapon, just as I hoped.

We further our advance.

And here's our new ally! Hello-

Dakota: WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING, LITTLE GIRL!?

Nyx: I am wearing whatever I feel like wearing, child. In this case, the traditional garb of the dark mage.

Dakota: Uh, uh, I, uh...

Nyx: What was it you were saying? Something about me being a potential ally? Or do you now regret your intentions now that you see my unnatural appearance? Do you fear I might make your fellow soldiers uncomfortable? Indeed, perhaps I am not worth the trouble my appearance will inevitably cause you. You humans are all the same. I set them all on edge and they refuse to make any effort to understand my situation. They see something that offends their most fundamental, visceral instincts and they run far-

Dakota: Ahem!

Nyx: Yes?

Dakota: Please spare me the lecture. I... don't know... what the hell is going on with you... but frankly I can't afford to care right now. Somebody extremely important to me is in grave danger, and I'll accept help from basically anyone. Can you fight?

Nyx: Spectacularly.

Dakota: You're in.

...Right. So... we have another dark mage. ...This is so weird. This is the second time I've first run into a sexy magic user and then in the next battle run into a childlike magic user of the opposite sex who claims to be much older than they appear. But... but to still wear the sexy outfit...

...Remember, Dakota, Azura's on the line. Just focus on rescuing Azura. Nyx is just another soldier, another instrument of your will. Keep going.

...Holy shit that skill stat makes me really question her claim that she's as old as she says he is.

FOCUS, DAKOTA!

Azura retreats towards the dragon vein, prepared to fire it on my signal. The Samurai may go after her, but with her new weapon and with those vulneraries she has, she should be fine if it's just him. But we have to hurry in case the others notice her and start getting ideas.

Nyx makes us a shortcut.

Mozu prepares to take out the archers while aura'd up by Jakob and Elise.

Either the samurai will keep patrolling and Azura's in the clear, or he'll make a beeline towards her, in which case she'll almost assuredly be fine.

This nearby spear fighter comes in to back the archers up, but not only does he not have seal defense, but since Mozu can one-round them, I now know he wouldn't be able to activate it even if he did. And even if he could, it wouldn't have been enough for a kill.

The samurai walks straight by. Unless reinforcements come, Azura's in the clear. But I really want to join up with her quickly.

There is an unsurvivable number of enemies placed here. Everyone in this area but that guard stance pair is precisely in range of the same maximum space. One of them has seal defense and that guard stance pair just barely out of range, but in range for dual strikes, has seal defense as well. Even buffed up by Elise and Jakob, I don't have anyone who can survive that.

That's where this dragon vein comes in. Azura will activate it when I have everyone in position to kill as many of them as possible as soon as possible.

Everyone's in position.

Azura activates the dragon vein.

With trepidation due to the uncertainty, but knowing it's the only option I have... the assault begins.

The ones that remain aren't strong enough to kill the ones they can attack.

Sadly, there are reinforcements.

But thankfully not in such a way that I can't account for them.

Even after having my defense sealed, with my dragonstone, Silas's support, and Elise and Jakob's defense boosts, I'm fine to tank this position.

The real concern I have is what happens if one of those lancers decides to go after Azura. She won't be able to run away due to her placement, and all but one of those spear fighters can inflict a one-hit kill. I elect to have her prepare to make a run for it. If anyone goes after her, she'll be able to sing Mozu over to take care of them.

Step 11 on my path to greatness.

Our minimum budget has just risen from 5000 to 6500.

Reinforcements dealt with, team reunited!

And now with the very awesome treasure reclaimed, time to capture the boss!

I first soften him up with Mozu because his defenses are way too high for Niles to take care of him on his own.

Visual aid.

In the process of repeatedly softening him up and attempting to capture him, Mozu reached level 10 and got another skill. Handy.

Finally, Niles manages it, gaining a defensive but mediocre level and gaining movement+1 as a skill in the process. And with that, I sieze the... important rock... thing... that signifies this place is ours... and... this place is ours!

...So, quick report, War Journal... it seems that the common Hoshidan citizens were more racist towards Nohr than I initially suspected. The royal family stood up for her (save for Takumi, I'm guessing), but she was eventually captured and taken... here... to be executed...?

HERE? THIS DEEP IN NOHRIAN TERRITORY?

...This doesn't make any sense whatsoever. I'm going to have a word with that captured Hoshidan spear fighter general, none of this adds up at all, and I suspect a plot by Garon.

In happier news, Elise has welcomed Azura into the family wholeheartedly, because Elise is Elise and that is what Elise does. I'm sure the others will welcome her just as readily.

...As for Garon...

...Who knows what the hell that lunatic is thinking, and that's assuming Azura being here wasn't Garon's doing as I suspect. But we're not heading back there now. We have to clear out Notre Sagesse of Hoshidan influence.

...For some reason I have a lurking sense of dread, War Journal.

...Only time will tell if it's valid.

[Alastor15243]

Brace yourself people, this is a long one. I had to split this into two parts. Time to tackle the apparently infamous Conquest Chapter 10.

Entry 7 (West Dakota Preparations)

Dear War Journal,

Good gods do I have a lot to do today, so let's get started!

Quick note before we begin: the Dread Duo is making quite some progress with their teamwork! Arthur resents the ninja mask I gave him somewhat, as it screws with his dashing hero image. I will consider removing it, it doesn't look all that great on him and the novelty of matching is starting to wear off.

Now on to the important stuff!

First order of business is setting out to increase my resources, because I have some very important negotiations to take care of today. Most importantly, I need more sapphires. I start by visiting a new location called Ciefro, and after collecting its resources, I double my one sapphire on a wise choice betting on a local arena fight.

Unfortunately I'm ushered back before I can get the owner's card, but they're still in my inbox, so I can just return tomorrow. Thankfully I managed to make the remaining needed sapphires through betting at another location.

Another castle, and judging by the name it's run by somebody named Izabella.

...This is just female Corrin except younger. But nobody else in this place seems any younger. Which means... this woman was not born at the same time as female Corrin, and yet literally the exact same woman was born under completely different conditions at a completely different time. This, combined with the fact that the offspring soldiers I've encountered in these alternate worlds seem to be identical except for hair color, suggests that despite the fluidity of the appearance and nature of “The Destined One”, for the most part children are predestined. As a matter of fact, they seem to be only directly tied to one parent at all, as I've seen nearly identical versions of various children with the only difference being hair color.

...I really should not be thinking about this, something about it suggests it may cost me my sanity.

At any rate, she seems weak, and victory would be pretty easy if I were to fight her, but I don't see anything to gain from that either. For now she'll just be a rather mediocre trading partner.

Right, time to deal with our extremely crucial POW.

Dakota: Effie! What's the prison's status?

Effie: Milady! The prisoner Haitaka is secure!

Dakota: And his weapon?

Effie: The prisoner is unarmed, milady, no worries!

Dakota: No, I mean what did you do with his weapon?

Effie: ...What?

Dakota: His weapon. His steel nageyari. His powerful double-ranged naginata without restrictions to criticals or skills, and only a minor penalty to follow-up attacks. What did you do with that?

Effie: ...Oh. That.

Dakota: Effie...

Effie: Milady, he... he...

Dakota: Yes...?

Effie: ...He ate it.

Dakota: ...What.

Effie: He just... screamed something incoherent and just started eating it right before my eyes.

Dakota: ...You mean like sword swallowing? Could we still get it-

Effie: No, he chewed. He ate it bit by bit at blinding speed, tearing through metal and wood like it was biscuits with butter.

Dakota: …

Effie: I don't know how.

Dakota: …

Effie: It was horrifying, milady.

Dakota: …

Effie: I pride myself on my iron will as much as my rock-hard abs and yet having seen that display I fear I may never sleep again.

Dakota: ...Just let me in to talk to him, Effie.

Effie: ...Okay.

Dakota: So... Haitaka...

Haitaka: I have nothing to say to you, Nohrian scum!

Dakota: I see.

Haitaka: Release me, kill me, or keep me here, for I refuse to be of any use to you!

Dakota: Uh-huh.

Haitaka: I live and die as a proud soldier of Hoshido!

Dakota: ...Right. Tell me, how long have you been rehearsing that spiel?

Haitaka: “Spiel” nothing! I will-

Dakota: Save it. I don't have time for this. We both know you're not a spear fighter. Not normally at least.

Haitaka: How dare you mock my commitment to-

Dakota: What's more, I have serious doubts you're even Hoshidan.

Haitaka: Insolent traitorous bitch! How dare you question my nationality and loyalty when both of yours are so horribly suspect!? My Hoshidan brothers and sisters will not rest until the death of our great queen is avenged!

Dakota: …

Haitaka: …

Dakota: …

Haitaka: …

Dakota: ...What's her name?

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Look, your act may fool my soldiers, but you can't hide from my eyes. Am I really supposed to believe that an invasion effort that succeeded in occupying a fortified, strategically-significant fort deep in Nohrian territory was pulled off by a bunch of idiots who could barely fire a bow or swing a sword, led by a third-rate amateur who hasn't even been promoted yet?

Haitaka: AMATEUR!? NOW SEE HERE-

Dakota: Rally Defense.

Dakota: Strong Riposte.

Dakota: These are not Hoshidan skills by any stretch of the imagination. And don't give me any crap about how you somehow picked them up in a sideclass. I know all about Hoshido's cultural isolation. I've heard of a few Nohrian soldiers capable of using Hoshidan classes, but never the other way around.

Dakota: ...Not without them having spent a loooooooong time in Nohr under some very dire circumstances.

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Tell me, what do you know about wyverns?

Haitaka: That they fall swiftly to our mighty bows!

Dakota: ...Yumi.

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Well you see, I know a lot about wyverns. I have my own, her name's Gigi, and she's absolutely precious. But I also know a heck of a lot about riding wyverns as well. My skills may be a little bit rusty due to it being a little while, maybe I'll ask Camilla to give me a refresher when I next see her, but that's beside the point. The point is that I know that there are certain telltale signs that somebody's ridden a wyvern a lot before, especially if they weren't one of the greats.

Dakota: For instance, long-time wyvern riding warriors often have awful posture due to the way that wyvernback fighting seems to encourage a hunched back. It doesn't, and the really good teachers will demonstrate that, but alas, it's still alarmingly common among the run-of-the-mill grunts. As is a crooked nose brought on by one too many instances of pulling out of a deep dive improperly and crashing face-first into the wyvern's hard, scaly neck.

Haitaka: ...

Dakota: You took great offense at me calling you an amateur. I think that offense was justified, now that I think of it. Your skill is definitely at least superior to what the rest of your body has to offer. You were clearly something vaguely resembling a big-shot once. Just not in Hoshido.

Haitaka: I have nothing to say to-

Dakota: Then don't, by all means. But feel free to stop me if I get anything wrong.

Dakota: You were a Nohrian wyvern rider. A pretty good one, in fact. Not great, mind you, some combination of poor instructors and poor leadership meant you never really picked up the basics of using momentum to increase the power of your attacks or lunge at the foe to alter the field of battle. But you were good enough to get selected for a promotion. You got one of those shiny master seals, and you even managed to learn an advanced skill along the way.

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Then came the injury. I can't say for sure who or what gave it to you. Maybe an arrow knocked you off your wyvern from a few feet too high up. Maybe you weren't a very good owner and your own wyvern attacked you. Maybe it was just a routine set of injuries horribly botched by an eighth-rate healer trying out baby's first heal staff. But whatever caused it, I can see the results plain as day. You were crippled for months. You worked hard to regain some fraction of your former physical prowess, but eventually you had to face the music.

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Now, I'm certain you already know, but I'll humor your little charade for a little longer. The first thing any remotely competent instructor teaches their students about being a wyvern rider is that you have to have two very strong grips. One for the harness, one for the axe. ...And that was the problem, wasn't it? You didn't have that anymore. Your good hand... your left hand... it had been crippled. It would never be able to grip anything again.

Haitaka: ...I...

Dakota: This was devastating to you for several reasons, namely that this meant the end of your career riding a wyvern, or really anything. It also meant you had to re-learn combat with your off hand. And that's exactly what you did. You went straight back to fighting for a living, desperate to pay the mounting medical bills and keep feeding your family. Because let's be honest, in this dreadful Nohrian economy, there's not much money in anything but violence.

Haitaka: ...

Dakota: ...But it was more than that. A Nohrian soldier with a family has a powerful sense of pride. In this land beset by bandits and thieves, a Nohrian soldier like you could sleep easy in the knowledge that nobody would dare attack your family. Nobody would dare fuck with them or you. Not a royal soldier. But your injury changed that. It made you a victim. It made your family victims. You had to learn to fight again, you couldn't live without the knowledge that you could protect them.

Dakota: So you took up grunt work at a mercenary guild. It offended every bit of professional pride that you had, but you did it anyway. You worked hard. You even bothered to learn some of the basics this time around. But it just wasn't enough. You weren't good enough. You weren't getting paid enough. You and your family were barely getting by. One more disaster and it would be over for all of you.

Haitaka: ...How...?

Dakota: You had almost nothing left to lose. What's worse, what little you did have left to lose, you were certain you were going to lose anyway. It was only a matter of time. You had hit rock bottom. One would be hard-pressed to find a more desperate individual than you, “Haitaka”.

Haitaka: ...

Dakota: And then you got wind, maybe through some underground sources, or maybe an old military contact, about a job. An unthinkable job. Somebody wanted you to disguise yourself as a Hoshidan general and pretend to be part of a Hoshidan detachment that had taken over Fort Dragonfall. Far ahead of the main military force. Impossibly successful. And they wanted you to kill the middle Nohrian princess when she arrived. It made no sense to you, none at all, yet you leapt at it. Because it was a suicide mission. And suicide missions pay well. And at this point that was all you cared about.

Dakota: So you disguised yourself as a spear fighter. It wasn't too hard. You knew a lot about lances from your time as a wyvern lord, you just never got a chance to put it to use off of a mount. Maybe you tried being a knight but found that shield was just too heavy for your crippled hand. No matter. The point is, with a two-handed fighting style, you could finally put a bit of your old experience back into your work, guiding your healthy novice hand with your wounded veteran one. One last glorious mission. Maybe part of you even wanted to die in battle, because you were going to die as a scapegoat eventually anyway.

Haitaka: ...How did you...?

Dakota: Haitaka... what's your real name?

Haitaka: …

Dakota: Go on. You can tell me.

Haitaka: ...It's Landon, ma'am.

Dakota: Well then, Landon, about those people who hired you. I have a few hunches as to who they work for, but that's rather irrelevant at the moment. I just wanted to ask you: Do you honestly think they have Nohr's best interests at heart? Do you think they really give a rat's ass about fixing the problems that put you and your family in this situation to begin with?

Landon: ...No, of course not.

Dakota: Then I have a proposition for you.

Dakota: Work for me. I'll send some food and valuables to your family, and I don't even need you to die. You have a rather valuable talent I'm in need of at the moment, as well as being a crucial witness for my future plans, and if all goes according to plan, and my hunches are correct (and I trust I've established my hunches are quite accurate), the problems that plagued your past few years should be fixed, and you'll even get to see your family again. Surely that's a better offer?

Landon: …

Dakota: Haitaka has agreed to fight for us.

Effie: Are you serious!? That's incredible, milady!

Dakota: However, when I asked him about that nageyari, the strangest thing happened. I have a few hunches about it, but he seems to have been given that weapon by an unrelated third party, a party he is rather terrified of. Did you remember anything of that “incoherent screaming” you mentioned?

Effie: Something that sounded like... nah, it's ridiculous.

Dakota: Tell me, anything could be helpful.

Effie: ...It sounded like he was saying “The purple man said no”.

...Let's deal with the implications of that later and finish up preparations before heading out.

With the arena, my defenses have been completed. Sadly, the walls aren't as durable as I would have liked, so it's not an ironclad perpetual turtling setup, but I think I'm ready to take on any potential invasions.

Also, some more lovely gifts have arrived, and somebody's sent me a Nohrian princess crown, like the one Camilla wears! ...It also sacrifices my bow... yet it is so tempting...

Also, one of my soldiers found this wonderful thing, and I got another one as a present. These will be extremely useful for tanking purposes.

...

…

Nyx is... worrisome. I have no regrets about recruiting her, she was instrumental to our last mission, but dear Dusk Dragon is she making the other soldiers uncomfortable. Maybe I should put her in another class. Which reminds me... I have that new heart seal... let's see what everyone can do...

This is encouraging. It means I might be able to get another rally defense user after “Haitaka” and Jakob, though putting her in a physical class for any length of time at an advanced level might be... problematic.

Of course. I should have expected he'd fancy himself a dashing paladin if not a legendary hero.

...Yeah, not gonna do that.

More tempting, if only to get her to slip into something more comfortable... for everyone else... but she'd suck at it, and if I'm willing to go this far to not have her parade around in that outfit, I might as well fire her and save a heart seal.

Another healer could be useful, but she's shown no signs of having any good magic growth.

West Dakota was invaded a few hours ago. Not much happened, we managed to repel them with relative ease and got a few good levels while we were at it.

Odin tells me he found something.

...I think he might have special needs, War Journal.

Let's try to get a decent meal and be on our way towards Notre Sagesse.

I'll be the judge of that, Nyx.

I've got a feeling we'll be wanting some defense this time around.

...I think I just heard an explosion in the kitchen, War Journal.

...At least the food seems alright.

The dish gave half of my army +2 to defense, as well as +1 to speed. That'll serve us excellently.

Time to proceed on our mission.

Edited April 1, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Alastor15243]

Entry 7 (Chapter 10 Battle)

We've arrived at the port town of Dia, and as I suspected, we have not seen hide nor hair of the allegedly incredibly successful Hoshidan invasion up until this point. They have yet to truly infitrate the country, making that battle at Fort Dragonfall even more starkly fake. In no time I believe I will be able to convince my soldiers that something is horribly wrong with all of this, and then we can work on taking the fight to Garon.

Incidentally, Elise has been chatting Azura's ear off. Azura's grateful to be accepted by one of her old siblings after being tossed between countries, but it seems her patience is being tested by the constant chatter.

...Actually this calls into question what exactly was up with Azura's kidnapping. If those weren't real Hoshidans guarding Fort Dragonfall, was Azura actually captured by real Hoshidans either?

I suppose that's a question for another time. For now, time to book a trip to Notre Sagesse, and maybe not use any advanced interrogation techniques on the captain this time.

I instructed Jakob to book us a trip, and he should be coming back any second now-

Jakob: Milady! We have a problem!

Dakota: Did they hike the boat fares up in wartime?

Jakob: Hoshidans! They've landed in the ports!

Dakota: Ah, of course, the real invasion force.

Jakob: Milady?

Dakota: It's nothing. Who's leading them?

Takumi: YOU!

Dakota: Oh! If it isn't Edgelord Mcgee! How are the savage lands treating you?

Takumi: You... you... you vile, disgusting, wretched, traitorous, evil, psychotic-

Dakota: Gonna put a noun in there sometime this century?

Takumi: Alright, I've got a noun for you: BITCH!

Dakota: ...Pineapple!

Takumi: Nohrophile!

Dakota: Weeb!

Takumi: Slut!

Dakota: Scarecrow-hair!

Takumi: Neo mega ultra triple-decker butt-faced poopy head!

Dakota: BITCH I WILL CRUSH YOU WITH MY FABULOUS THIGHS!

...Was that laying it on thick enough? Maybe a little more is necessary...

Hinata: Sir! It appears that Dakota's... she's just flipped up her cape and... I think she's mooning us, sir! And slapping her rear end with both hands while blowing raspberries! IS SHE EVEN WEARING PANTS!?

Takumi: ...No. No she is not.

Oboro: Sir! The Nohrian scum, they're... I think they're singing, Lord Takumi! Dakota appears to be leading them in song, sir!

Come, friends! Take a weapon in both of your hands!

Feed the flame of the greatest of countries' never-ending glory!

Come, friends! Let us fight for the greatest of lands!

Adding chapter by chapter and page by page to our endless story!

Now let us go, go and get ready for war!

Let's fight, fight for the glory of Nohr!

Soldier through each obstacle, e-ve-ry wall, and then...

one day the glorious dusk shall finally fall!

Fight my friends! Forged in darkness are soldiers of might!

With the infinite power that fuels the darkest elder dragon!

Fight friends, and do pity the soldiers of light,

for they ought to just show us the place that we can stick the flag in!

Now let us go, go and get ready for war! (You are the ocean's gray waves...)

Let's fight, fight for the glory of Nohr! (Time, the path is yours to climb...)

Soldier through each obstacle, e-ve-ry wall, and then... (You are the o...)

one day the glorious dusk shall finally fall!

Hoo! Hah! Hoo! Hah! Hoo! Hah! Hoo! Hah! (x4)

Glory of war! Glory for Nohr! Glory of war! Glory for Nohr! (x5)

Fight, friends! Know the sun shall set on empires clinging to light!

Yet when dusk falls for Nohr it stands, bold and strong!

Fight, fight for your home! Fight for the king and the crown, give it your soul!

Fight, fight for your friends! But most important of all, fight for Nohr!

Fight for Nohr!

FIGHT FOR NOHR!

Dakota: Takumi! On my honor as a warrior princess of Nohr, YOU SHALL NOT PASS!

Right, that's enough big talk, now to actually prepare to make good on it.

We have a passable defensive position here. Some strong walls with some small cracks that could make holes large enough to fit a soldier through, but also small enough for a single soldier to defend. We also have some nice turrets, but with only one bow user, we can only make use of two of them at a time.

This dragon vein, however, sets me on edge. Takumi's got something planned, so I think that advancing when possible to minimize the number of soldiers who can swarm us later down the line, as well as get some support from the villagers, would be a good idea.

We only have two healers, and three fronts to defend, but on the other hand, the enemies here aren't particularly strong, and our tanks should be able to handle them fairly well. Looks like storming ahead in case there are more powerful reinforcements so we can focus on them later is an even better idea than I thought.

The fliers are a concern though. Not due to attack power or anything, but more due to the fact that they can slip past our defenses and attack our weak units, or even cross the defensive border. I'll have to keep an eye out for them.

I gave defense tonics to my major defenders, and I gave Mozu an additional strength and HP tonic because she'll be doing most of the advancing here. This isn't an ideal place for training my weaker units, so I'm pulling out the big guns here.

Begin.

First I have Jakob take me to the western side.

Then I have Niles man the ballista to do some damage to the enemies in range.

Then Azura helps him do it again.

Odin helps with the enemies here, having nothing better to do, as I'm keeping him in the central area in case things go wrong.

Elise starts warning the villagers and gets a master seal.

Silas takes the east side.

And the Dread Duo gets ready to handle the main central force until part of the barrier crumbles.

Alas, it seems I underestimated the space between the partition and the sea, and a line of oni savages come rushing in.

Odin softens up the two spear fighters and the two ninjas who got in a nice formation for fire orbing, while Mozu takes down the guy with Lunge who could have done some mild damage to my defensive formation and invites the rest to taste her blade.

The barrier, however, will soon fall, and so I have Azura and Niles retreat to safety with the help of Haitaka while also arranging for Odin to get another shot.

Silas positions himself so he can both take down one of the advancing archers when they come or, if something unexpected arises, reach some parts of the central area to assist.

One of the western attackers falls to Jakob's tome of +3 humiliation.

And we get a sizable windfall from an apparently very wealthy old man.

Elise heads over to me to pick up the rescue rod, which might be necessary.

And just when all hope is not yet remotely nearly even close to being lost...

Camilla and her retainers arrive to back us up! Let's see what we have here...

...Selena. Yes, I remember her. She gave me that note. The one for Robin. A mercenary, huh? That skill is interesting, especially if I can get her around somebody who can deal a lot of critical hits. She seems to have a bit of an attitude, but we'll see if we can address that later. For now, welcome aboard.

Beruka... Beruka's... interesting. More importantly, she's a wyvern rider, though I doubt she's going to compare to Camilla. Her skill might make her useful against Kinshi Knights though, but only if they use bows in advance.

Anyway... ah, Camilla. Why no legendary weapon deemed her worthy of using it I have no idea. Seriously, can you picture this magnificent beast of a woman with a huge axe? Anyway, she'll be really useful in emergencies, but I think I'd like some others to get some training in before fully adding her to the army. So for now I think I'll have her support Jakob so they can start building a camaraderie.

First off, I have Selena leap atop Silas's horse and help him charge the archers before they can get their hands on that ballista, which could be problematic now that I have fliers.

Next my remaining nearby soldiers take down the four incoming soldiers so we can start taking the fight away from our defenses and over to them. Mozu positions herself at the end in an area where she can counterattack and take out an incoming defense-sealing spear fighter.

Then Odin softens up the remaining western oni savage for Jakob, Elise gets the rescue rod, and Camilla heads over to support Jakob, who might be heading back depending on what happens next.

What happened next was not pleasant. A sky knight got in rushing range of the defensive line, and the central area is approached on both sides by two sets of soldiers.

I send Silas to take down the sky knight, temporarily granting the archer access to the ballista, for all the good it'll do him.

...She unfortunately dodges.

This forces me to expend some of my options to finish her off. I hate putting Camilla in range of the ballista, but she's an absolute tank, and I know from my use of them earlier that these things can't kill.

Then I soften up the western reinforcements while taking Mozu over to slaughter the eastern ones and attempt to take on Oboro and get to that village. Azura is unfortunately now in range of the ballista, but again, it can't kill her, and even if it could, it's not strong enough.

Mozu kicks serious ass on the counterattack. The sky knights, however, being so weak, are wholly uninterested in combat and rush for the exit out of town.

I clear them all out, get rid of the archer manning the ballista (he missed Camilla) and then prepare to have Mozu one-round Oboro to avoid her unpleasant double dose of stat sealing skills, possibly take out a steel naginata toting sky knight reinforcement while she's at it, and then visit the village.

Mozu settles the matter spectacularly, as expected of her, and the sky knight comes to her like a moth to a flame.

More reinforcements arrive.

Camilla visits the southwest village and gets a dual club for her trouble. Odd. Where would a Nohrian get that? She looked kinda badass, actually, like she might have taken it in combat.

The western side seems to have run out of ninjas, which is good news for us, makes it easier to just counter-strike them en masse.

Oh dear, here comes that dragon vein I was worried about.

YOU FUCKER.

Right, gotta evacuate the squishies, take care of the fliers quickly, send Silas after those archers to the east, and get ready to counter-strike the heavier soldiers.

Done.

And Mozu visits the last village and gets a dracoshield.. Now all that's left is to weather the remaining reinforcements.

And there's a lot of them.

I deal with them like so. The critical was luck, but I was prepared to leave the throwing club oni savage alive for a bit, nobody would have died.

...Due to a freak miss, the throwing club Oni Savage lives anyway, and Jakob is heavily wounded.

Thankfully I confirmed beforehand that Elise could heal him since he was the only one attacking an enemy who could counterattack.

And yes, she can survive. As if I'd dare put her at risk like that. She'll get a serious beating, to be sure, but Jakob can heal her up right away.

Silas, Selena and the Dread Duo take care of some of the other enemies near them, and I pray that the thick groups of enemies near the Dread Duo and Camilla don't ignore them completely, that would be a heavy strain for my army to take care of aside from on counter-attack.

Mercifully, my prayers are answered.

And now at this point we're basically in the clear unless something truly, unspeakably horrible happens at the last second to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

Said anti-miracle does not occur, and we are in the clear. I take the opportunity when the final enemy around Mozu dodges a dagger attack to feed Arthur a kill. Even if he got two successive criticals he wouldn't kill Arthur at this point. Arthur ends him on the first attack.

Step 12 on my path to greatness.

And with mounting casualties, Takumi finally gives up!

...But not before unleashing one hell of an angsting session on my lovely ass, followed by a declaration that Ryoma has already obtained the Rainbow Sage's power.

...Ha.

HA.

HA!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

...Ohohoho...

...Oh poor Takumi... if he only knew what that “power” really was.

...This was a good day, War Journal. We'll rest in West Dakota and then take the boat ride first thing in the morning, which will be in an instant in the real world.

Good night, War Journal.

[Nintales]

Wow. Really really nice narration.

This doesn't seem to give you too much trouble though. Am I right? :(

Edited April 2, 2016 by Nintales

[Alastor15243]

Wow. Really really nice narration.

This doesn't seem to give you too much trouble though. Am I right? :(

It's nerve-racking as hell at times, since death is permanent and all, but no, it's not a massive challenge. At least not yet. Conquest is definitely harder at this point than Birthright was at the very end though.

...It helps that I spend a lot of time narrating and uploading screenshots to miiverse, so basically there isn't a single action that I haven't thought through.

[Moblin Major General]

Can you tell me how to take and upload screenshots? I screwed up my written one, so I want to do another one in this subforum.

Edited April 2, 2016 by Hylian Air Force

[Alastor15243]

Can you tell me how to take and upload screenshots? I screwed up my written one, so I want to do another one in this subforum.

Press the home button on the thing you want to screenshot, go to miiverse, save it to your screenshot album, go on your computer, log into miiverse, download the image to your computer, then upload it to an image hosting site (miiverse only lets you save 100 pics at a time, you need to keep them hosted somewhere else).

[Moblin Major General]

Press the home button on the thing you want to screenshot, go to miiverse, save it to your screenshot album, go on your computer, log into miiverse, download the image to your computer, then upload it to an image hosting site (miiverse only lets you save 100 pics at a time, you need to keep them hosted somewhere else).

I have a photobucket account. Can I move them from miiverse to a website or to my computer? Or will I have to remove my SD card?

[Alastor15243]

I have a photobucket account. Can I move them from miiverse to a website or to my computer? Or will I have to remove my SD card?

No, see, Miiverse exists in website form, so once you put them there on your 3DS you can them put them on your computer by going to the site and looking at your screenshot album.

[Alastor15243]

Entry 8

Dear War Journal,

We're almost ready to set sail.

But first, some redecorating!

Ah, I've been looking forward to this.

A good ol' Nohrian hot spring, frequented by good, sensible Nohrians who won't freak out upon being seen in swimsuits.

I'm sure it's just a coincidence that both of the people I saw in there were girls. Now that I'm surrounded by sensible Nohrians, I'm sure that nobody's going to give a shit if I walk in on them. Surely.

I had a talk with Silas about our last battle. I asked him what he thought of Selena now that they've started fighting together for the time being.

Silas: Hm... it's odd... I have the strangest feeling of déjà vu.

Dakota: Oh? Do tell!

Silas: Well, she started getting all confrontational with me about who was the hardest working and the most loyal to our liege. And... I have the feeling I've done this before.

Dakota: …

Silas: And I also seem to vaguely remember this ending in... uh... do you know if there's a “friendly rivalry” version of... of... hatesex?

…

We have a new trade partner now, and that finally means we have access to good ol' Nohrian wheat! We now have trade partners to get access to every single Nohrian resource! Huzzah!

Just quickly checking what our new allies' seals are.

Also, the boots are definitely going to our slow yet extremely handy Azura to help her keep up.

Note: This is why I'm so keen on having Mozu and Arthur get chummy. Since villager isn't a normal class that can just be taught, it's more of an upbringing thing, Arthur will instead get access to the archer tree, and it seems to me that Arthur would make a far better sniper than a berserker. It would help mitigate his woeful accuracy problems, he wouldn't be put in situations where counterattacks could end him in an instant, and he'd still be just as good at letting off criticals. Once I partner-seal him and then give him a killer bow he'll be absolutely unstoppable.

...Until then, training him's going to continue to be a fire-breathing bitch. But they're getting close! I can feel it!

Also, while on the topic of Mozu, holy hell, look at this! She's pretty much comparable to Camilla already, and she still has quite a few more levels to go before they're evenly experienced! Mozu is a beast!

Arthur managed to do something right in the kitchen with yogurt and granted a bunch of us +1 spd, as well as granting himself and Odin another +1 spd and +1 mag.

Quick financial update: our minimum budget threshold is 11,500 now, adding on 5,000 from the last mission's 10,000.

Right, time to head out and catch that ferry.

The ferry ride was completely uneventful. No purple ones attacked us, no storm hit, and nobody tied up the captain and played wyvern chicken with his face. So far, so good. But now that we're here... it doesn't seem like there are any Hoshidans.

I just asked the locals about this, and apparently the Hoshidan army has taken up residence at the Sevenfold Sanctuary to keep us from getting to the Rainbow Sage.

...I can't imagine why, surely they must realize that the Rainbow Sage's “Great Power” is nothing but wannabe zen bullshit. I'm the only one who can gain anything from it, and honestly I can only do that if I have the Yato's sibling weapons with me. Which I don't. I don't even have any Nohrian holy weapons with me because Camilla does not have a holy weapon.

...However, the Sevenfold Sanctuary is still technically in Notre Sagesse territory, meaning that in order to complete Garon's mission and avoid thinning the ice I perpetually dance upon 'neath the light of the full moon... I still have to get rid of them. Right. Let's see what they have to offer.

Goodness. This is quite the setup.

A swarm of resistance-wrecking oni savages led by Rinkah wielding a 1-2 range steel club...

Followed by a bunch of diviners led by Azama, wielding a hexing rod to halve the HP of anyone who enters attack range...

...And on the other side we have a bunch of archers with Counter, led by Setsuna wielding another 1-2 range nigh-penaltyless weapon...

...Followed by a bunch of ninjas all with Lunge to serve as some sort of magnetic pulling chain to leave anyone I send in debuffed and trapped deep in enemy territory, led by... KAZE!? ...Huh. I wonder why he's still siding with the Hoshidans on this? Maybe I can talk to him to get him to come back to us. I trust him. Perhaps he needs to make a convincing show of resistance. Well, mission fucking accomplished, his is the only one I don't really know how to deal with directly.

Then in the middle we have three pairs of samurai, the middle duo's members both possessing Life And Death, making them drastically more powerful and fragile...

...And finally Hinoka and a posse of sky knights.

Hinoka is now packing a steel nageyari, Nohrian skills I know for a fact she doesn't naturally have access to...

...Along with skills I'm pretty sure nobody naturally has access to.

I didn't mention this before because I didn't consider it prudent to fight him, but Takumi also had an unnatural, one that let him use any bow at both 2-range and melee range. This trend of patching up a class's weaknesses continues with this skill that basically eliminates all the weaknesses of being a flier.

Plus, these strategies are far too elaborate for what I remember the Hoshidans to be capable of. It seems that Hoshido's mysterious benefactors are supplying the enemy not just with weapons, but with special powers, skills, and strategic advice. And yes, this is a pretty formidable tactical set up they've got going here.

With just one problem.

It only works as long as they wait for us to come to them.

This means I can approach them at my leisure, and I have built up quite the large bag of tricks to make that rather trivial to do, to the point that I think this will be a lovely opportunity to train some of my units who are behind. However...

There's definite strategic significance to the fact that the resistance-sealing enemies come right before the magic users. I can easily get around it by just using different units to deal with each, but the fact remains that this strategy is only an issue at all if I'm unable to stall for time.

...Which suggests to me that they may be planning on sending in ninjas to steal the treasure if we're not quick. Somehow. Despite all the stairs only leading to other parts of the sanctuary unless they come the way we came from and thus have to go straight through us.

...Ohhhhhh. We may be expecting reinforcements after all.

I honestly think it would be prudent to tackle just the eastern side from the start. That way we can attack Kaze's forces from behind, which will be much easier. It also means we'll have all of our forces available, making it less likely anyone would be overwhelmed. We'll be careful but deliberate assaulting the eastern side, and then take the stairs to attack Kaze's force from the back, possibly get him on our side officially, and then maybe take out Setsuna's forces if we have time, before tackling Hinoka.

Begin.

This is the team I went with. I gave some speed tonics to certain key players.

Begin.

Behold my opening gambit! Arthur, buffed by Demoiselle, Lily's Poise, and Rose's Thorns, now takes 6 less damage and deals 4 more. I gave him a bronze axe to improve accuracy and protect a bit against critical hits, but it doesn't really matter, all three of these enemies could critical him and it still wouldn't be enough to kill. But it'll do something, just to make sure none of them decide to stay put out of hopelessness, and to give Elise some minor wounds to practice healing. Were it not for that, I would've thrown in Landon's rally defense. The rest of my team is positioned to come in and help if needed.

Everything goes according to plan, and all three of the front oni savages fall.

Azura sings for Camilla just because she can and Camilla's promoted, so it'll be good experience.

My decision to train Arthur in spite of his faults was very much not in vain.

Rinkah is rather easily dealt with.

Suddenly it occurs to me that by not bringing Niles, I may have shot myself in the foot. If Kaze doesn't join us immediately during this battle, we won't be able to claim the treasure here.

...No, strike that, I've definitely shot myself in the foot. Damn it! Kaze doesn't even have locktouch somehow! Looks like I'm missing out on the treasure. Might as well make the most of the experience.

Time for a repeat of the previous process, just this time with Odin. I've calculated it so he's not anywhere close to dying even if his HP's cut in half.

Not wanting anybody but Odin's HP to get cut in half, I intend to have Elise and Camilla tank these mages to lure them in closer, as without the adjacency buffs from Camilla and Elise, Odin can't one-round them.

Odin's training grants him an excellent new skill.

Azura and Odin will be extremely fragile for the time being, but other than that, we're clear to enter the central hall. No ninjas have arrived to steal the treasure, which I'm rather upset about now, because that would've allowed us to get the treasure despite not bringing Niles. I see no reason to attack Azama. He's out of his staff and can now do absolutely nothing, and frankly he's not worth the danger to my troops with his combination of Counter and Divine Retribution. He avoids a beating.

Now to have the Dread Duo take care of these Samurai, buffed by Landon's rally defense.

Mozu continues to be terrifyingly amazing.

They all rush her, so I send her back briefly to be rallied by Landon before sending her back to deal with them, because she's so tough that she easily can.

Now to deal with Kaze's group. I can only assume he's a part of this army because of complications getting to me after I returned to Nohr. Fair enough. I guess I'll have to keep up the act that we're enemies a little longer, and then he'll be able to join me later.

If anything had gone wrong here, I had Elise standing by to rescue people.

And now that his allies are unconscious, time to check up with Kaze.

Dakota: Kaze! How poetic that we must meet on the field of battle! (whispers) Sorry for making it so difficult for you to get to me, I didn't side with Nohr last time, at this point my knowledge of the future is less than perfect.

Kaze: (whispers) Not at all, milady. But now that you're here, I'm almost ready to assist you on your mission. Just not quite yet. I must retain my country's trust a little longer, there's a bit of information I need to acquire. Strange things have been happening in Hoshido, milady. It's well beyond my level, but I think I can unearth something if I have another hour.

Dakota: (whispers) So you still need to be seen as my enemy. Is that it?

Kaze: (whispers) Precisely, Lady Dakota.

Dakota: (whispers) Very well.

Dakota: (whispers) I'll make it look convincing.

This is extremely nerve-racking, and it may look insane, but between rally defense, sheep spirit, Lily's poise, pair up, and weapon triangle advantage, Odin can tank one or two of these enemies at a time even with only 12 HP. If any more come rushing at them, he can always retreat.

Again, nerve-racking, despite being totally safe.

And Setsuna is dealt with.

All that remains is to deal with Hinoka and her guards.

Dakota: Yo! Sis!

Hinoka: ...Dakota... Why...?

Dakota: Look, I'm sorry about this and all, but trust me, what I'm doing is for the best.

Hinoka: ...I'm sorry, Sister... but I cannot afford to believe that. You side with our most hated enemy, and however much this destroys me inside, I cannot allow this to continue! Please! Come back to us! I don't want to have to hurt you! Your siblings all love you and still want you to come home! ...Well... except Takumi, he's being a bit of a prick about it, but... but please!

Dakota: Sorry, I stand with my Nohrian family.

Hinoka: Your... Nohrian... HOW CAN YOU NOT UNDERSTAND, DAKOTA!? YOU HAVE NO NOHRIAN FAMILY! YOU HAVE FIVE PHYSICAL EMBODIMENTS OF STOCKHOLM SYNDROME! I... I... I trained so hard... to be able to rescue you... had you not returned to Hoshido that day, if I had been given a year or two more, I would have arrived at your Northern Fortress to fly you home. ...Is... is this really the answer I would have been given? Are you going to fight your real family at the command of your father's killer!? ...Very well. Come at me, Sister. Let's end this madness now.

Dakota: ...Nope.

Hinoka: …?

Dakota: Why don't you come at me?

Hinoka: I... I...

Dakota: What's wrong? Don't feel like rushing me?

Hinoka: I... no! I don't! If you truly have the gall to fight your big sister, then come at my ironclad defenses! My perfect aura formation backed by a healer!

Dakota: ...So you're not gonna move.

Hinoka: ...No.

Dakota: Alright then. Azura!

Azura: ...Yes?

Dakota: Why don't you practice your singing for an hour or so?

Azura: ...What? Here?

Dakota: Why not? We're not in any hurry, are we?

Azura: Well, no, but...

Dakota: Come on! You've lagged behind the rest of my troops, you could use the training! You've got some great skills I want you to learn, and we may not get another opportunity like this!

Azura: I, uh... okay...

Excellent. Not only does this bring Azura back up to the levels that I'm used to from her, but this also buys us some time for Kaze to chug some vulnerary and do whatever it is he needs to do before joining us.

Sky Knight: Lady Hinoka... are we going to stop them?

Hinoka: ...I... uh...

Sky Knight: Didn't the people from Kaizo-Kotomi say anything about what to do in this situation?

Hinoka: ...Did they tell me what to do if my sister wiped the floor with all of my other soldiers and then started a singing recital in the middle of the battlefield? No. No they did not.

Shrine Maiden: ...So are we just going to sit here, or...?

Hinoka: They didn't give us any other strategies, okay!? And I can't just wing it against her, she's too clever!

Shrine Maiden: ...Oh dear.

Ah, I think that'll do it. Eleven levels should be plenty, and that should've been plenty of time for Kaze to do whatever he needs to do. Let's finish this.

I send Mozu in first in case they have some kind of trap at the ready.

They do not.

Sorry for the delay, Hinoka! Let's see whose defensive formation is better!

We're locked at a bit of a standstill for a little while, mostly waiting for Hinoka's shrine maiden to run out of sun festal charges or Odin to get a lucky critical, but there's no danger here. Rally Defense, attack, dance, attack, heal, repeat, using the dual guard that builds up to protect against dying to two attacks despite being wounded at the beginning of my phase.

Eventually, a lucky “Aching Blood” enabled critical nets us our victory!

Kaze: Milady! I have returned, and... did the battle only just now end?

Dakota: I bought you some time.

Kaze: ...May I ask, how...?

Azura: *Pant* *Pant*

Dakota: We'll save that for later. For now, let's speak to the Rainbow Sage and see what he has to say to us.

Oh! Delightful! It appears now he's taking credit for challenges he didn't even devise!

Rainbow Sage: Oh no, you misunderstand me, Dakota. I think we both know you already passed my real challenge long ago.

Dakota: ...I... don't know what you mean.

Rainbow Sage: Of course you do... young man.

Dakota: …

Rainbow Sage: I'm omniscient, if you'll recall. I know all that has transpired and all that will transpire, in this timeline and the last. In fact... I'd go so far as to say I know more about your past than you do at this point.

Dakota: ...Why did you look at Azura like that just now?

Rainbow Sage: Ohohoho, sorry, I shouldn't have done that. But it matters not at this point. I suppose you'd like to know how to empower your Yato.

...How curious. If he's implying what I think he's implying, it's not only Hoshidan holy weapons that can empower the Yato, but Nohrian ones as well. But that would mean...

Oh gods, there's a positively saccharine lesson about unity and world peace in there somewhere I would rather not address at this time.

Rainbow Sage: You know, even if I weren't omniscient, I can still hear you talking to that war journal of yours. But I suppose it matters not.

Rainbow Sage: I just primed your Yato to be enhanced when you are reunited with one of your Nohrian brothers.

Dakota: ...Thank you.

Rainbow Sage: You have a long journey ahead of you, Dakota. I can't reveal how long, but I know you have the patience and dedication to complete it. And complete it you must, Dakota, for though this may not be your priority, your quest shall save the world. Garon is a madman, and he must be defeated. Your plan is to take down the Nohrian system from within. To that end, you must keep Garon's trust.

Dakota: Thank you for telling me what I already know.

Rainbow Sage: Well I wasn't about to ask, was I? I'm omniscient!

Dakota: So what's your point?

Rainbow Sage: Trust me, this will make sense in a moment. I'd explain why I'm willing to do this... but let's be honest... you don't really care.

Dakota: Huh?

Aaaaaaand yet another person lights themselves on fire in front of me. Good gods, what the hell is with these people?

Oh dear, it looks like Iago's appearing via illusion to relay more orders from Garon.

Iago: ...Oh. Uh... that's... uh...

Dakota: Yes?

Iago: That's... that's the Rainbow Sage, isn't it?

Dakota: Yup. Barking mad. Did it right after our conversation.

Iago: ...Oh. Never mind then.

...Of course. He's omniscient. He knew Iago would relay that order to me. And he knew I'd hesitate, just a tiny bit, perhaps, before following such a ridiculous and pointless order, just to weigh my options, rather than totally faithfully following orders.

...Killing yourself to keep me from blowing my cover.

...Well... played?

[Alastor15243]

Entry 9

Dear War Journal,

Kaze's intel turned out to be quite important, and confirmed many of my suspicions.

Just as the conversation you picked up between Hinoka and her troops implied, there is some sort of wealthy military contractor stationed in Hoshido called Kaizo-Kotomi, named after its two alleged founders, that has been supplying the Hoshidan army with powerful weapons, training and strategies. Nobody's actually seen any of the higher-ups in that company, nor do they have any idea where these mysterious abilities originate from. Their weapon smithing prowess surpasses any known in this world, to a nearly impossible degree. This, combined with the fact that I never knew this company even existed in the previous timeline, suggests to me that this allegedly Hoshidan company is nothing but a front, a disguise for something with no genuine loyalty to Hoshido. It chose to side with Hoshido in this timeline, and did nothing in the previous one.

...Wait... that's not true... That wind tribe chief had one of those special weapons, and during the ferry ambush, a few of the... purple ones... had...

…

Dakota: Haitaka has agreed to fight for us.

Effie: Are you serious!? That's incredible, milady!

Dakota: However, when I asked him about that nageyari, the strangest thing happened. I have a few hunches about it, but he seems to have been given that weapon by an unrelated third party, a party he is rather terrified of. Did you remember anything of that “incoherent screaming” you mentioned?

Effie: Something that sounded like... nah, it's ridiculous.

Dakota: Tell me, anything could be helpful.

Effie: ...It sounded like he was saying “The purple man said no”.

...Right, I think it's starting to become painfully obvious that the purple ones have something to do with this, but their motivations continue to be a mystery to me. It seems their choice to spring into action could only have to do with the differences in my actions. And while I do not doubt I am of signiciant importance to the fundamental workings of the cosmos to merit such a wide-reaching cosmic conspiracy... I can't help but wonder why I didn't see a similar resistance...

...The... first... time...

...Perhaps I've been thinking about this all wrong! Perhaps it's not the fact I chose to side with Nohr this time...

...But the mere fact that I'm making a second choice to begin with.

Perhaps the purple ones are on to me. Perhaps they, like the Rainbow Sage, are aware of the fact that I'm messing with the timeline. Perhaps their decision to step in and assist whoever I make my enemy has to do with the fact that they now see me as a threat to whatever they plan to do.

...If only I knew what that was.

But that's enough speculation for now. There's little more I can do with the knowledge I have, so let's move on. Some new renovations have been made. Lilith's temple has been upgraded, an Einherjar shop has been erected, but most importantly of all...

I've set up some magic runes that allow you to pick up conversations that happen basically anywhere around West Dakota when I put you in my private treehouse! Now I can figure out how my soldiers are faring socially and see what they think of me when I'm not around! Oh this should be fun!

Let's start with... these two!

Selena: ...Odin.

Odin: Hoy there! Selena! What purpose have you entering the fell lair of Odin Dark? What trouble besets you that has you in need of the dread powers of this world's dark champion?

Selena: Cut the act, Odin. Please. I want to be serious for a second. You still know how to do that, right? That thing where you put down the tub of liquefied ham and talk like a normal human being?

Odin: ...Well you're no fun.

Selena: Look, I have a question or two for you.

Odin: Alright... shoot.

Selena: ...Remember that promise we made together with Laslow? Just before we left home?

Odin: That we'd always stick together no matter what we found beyond that portal. Of course.

Selena: Right. Well... there's no way we'd ever break that promise, right?

Odin: ...I don't follow.

Selena: Look, I just... I just have this really weird recurring dream. And in it... we both abandoned Laslow.

Odin: A dream? That's what this is about, Selena? Seriously? Nobody ever acts normally in their dreams, not even nightmares! I mean this one time I dreamed that I was not the Odin Dark, fell savior of Nohr, but a humble pastry chef, getting into a panic because we ran out of black powder for my exploding cupcakes!

Selena: This was different! It felt... it felt real... something had gone horribly wrong. Dakota had sided with the Hoshidans and they were wiping the floor with us... or somebody named Dakota... it was a man though...

Odin: ...This isn't sounding much more plausible than my exploding cupcake story.

Selena: The point is, we both decided we had to run, I can't remember why... but Laslow, he... he wouldn't leave with us. ...And I didn't make him. I didn't gut-punch him and force him onto Est... I just left with you. And... and he died, Odin. He died alone, and I let him. We let him.

Odin: Look, Selena, there's no point feeling guilty over things you thought in dreams. Like I said, your brain doesn't work right when dreaming.

Selena: But...

Odin: ...I'm really sorry, Selena, I don't know what else to tell you, except that if it bothers you so much, take it as a warning, and just make sure it doesn't happen for real.

Selena: If it hasn't already...

...Well... this is interesting. This is the second time in as many days that I've learned of people vaguely remembering the previous timeline in some way. Could it have something to do with being in this pan-dimensional castle? I don't know. And right now I can't afford to focus on it, but it's important to keep in mind for later.

Anyway, Kaze asked me about accessories, and I decided to give him back his dragon feather for old times' sake.

I visited a bizarrely deserted castle. To have such a large castle and almost nobody inhabiting it... Part of me wonders this man's story, and yet I can't bring myself to ask.

Judging by the sounds he made, Odin unleashed something fell and unknowable into the kitchen, but I don't really care, we got some valuable stat boosts.

Sigh. Hoshidans. I fear I may never truly understand them.

We've received word from Garon that we're to receive a “reward” for our successes so far. We're to be sent to Palace Macarath for some R&R. This sounds excellent, War Journal, but something tells me Garon isn't quite as pleased with us as he claims. For one thing, we haven't actually killed all that many Hoshidan soldiers.

That was not an accident, and it's not just because Mozu has a strict no-kill policy and I want to do everything I can to keep the favor of my best fighter. No, it's because I have to establish myself as being better than Garon if I'm to stage a coup. I may not have any plans to become ruler, but my actions as the alleged vanguard of Garon's army will still do much to represent what a Garonless Nohr will be like. If I go as nuts with the killing as I did last time, then the war will simply continue. I have to make it apparent that Garon is far and away the most psychotic lunatic this country has to offer, and hope that his death will mark the end this pointless war so I can live with my family in peace.

Sadly, I have a creeping suspicion that Garon is on to me, as I always do. But there's little I can do about it. Rejecting what is ostensibly a reward can only look suspicious, so if this is a trap, it's a trap I'll have to intentionally walk right into.

War Journal, we have a situation on our hands. Elise has contracted a deadly disease and doesn't have much time left. It would appear that Garon's trap could not have come at a better time. If you'll recall, something eerily similar happened in the last timeline, and Palace Macarath had the medicine necessary to treat Takumi last time too. I can only hope we can treat Elise there as well, because it's quite literally our only option. We ride for Palace Macarath. Now.

...Of all the places to be beset by Hoshidan troops... and Ryoma's of all people...

...For now I have to ignore the burning question of how Hoshidans, real Hoshidans, not like Landons' group, could possibly be here right now. I tried to reason with him. I asked him to call upon that Samurai Bushido nonsense he holds so dear to let us pass to get medicine for my little sister. And he had the sheer audacity use that as leverage to send me back to Hoshido.

...Ryoma, I can't believe I thought you were cool.

...At least we have some reinforcements in the form of Xander's two retainers, including this Laslow individual Selena and Odin were talking about... Yes, I believe... I remember him... I think. I don't have time to go into vast strategic detail regarding my significant long-term plans with these two, given the circumstances, but rest assured, I. Have. Plans.

This is a veritable gauntlet of enemies we have to push through to get to Elise's medicine, and we don't have much time. If we wind up being ahead of schedule, I might spring for those chests with Niles and Kaze, but the most important thing is either sneaking past Ryoma or taking him down.

...Yeah, Plan B, Plan B, Plan B. I'm not wasting time pussyfooting around you, Ryoma. Not letting this pass. You're getting a savage beatdown for this horseshit.

For whatever reason, there are massive jugs of medicine and poison strewn about everywhere, taking up so much space that we'll have to smash them to make any progress.

I pass out plenty of speed tonics. Elise isn't here, making Jakob our only healer, but with any luck he should be enough, and in emergencies Azura can help him do double duty.

Begin.

Laslow informs me before we begin that the medicine pots around here have special properties. Interesting, I'll have to make the best use of them possible.

I have Laslow Rally because he can, and then have Azura sing to him to help build up their teamwork for reasons I will elaborate on later. But the point is I get everyone around this first medicine jar before breaking it.

Everyone in the front row gets a princely +4 to defense. ...It's like Elise is right beside all of us.

I then take the opportunity to ride in with Silas to start dealing with these samurai.

Step 13 on my path to greatness.

...How curious. The enemies, surrounded by medicine pots, don't use them. Perhaps they don't have the information I have about what they do. Or perhaps they, lacking my dragonvision, don't know which is which.

It would also appear that I have the option to break them all remotely once I secure the center of the battlefield, and I just might do that, because there are a bunch of poison pots in the way further up the battlefield that I would rather not have to suffer the effects of.

My next move is to direct all of my allies over to the next jar while I conduct an experiment to see if the enemy is willing to break jars in order to get to me. If they are, the ninjas in the red highlighted range will be able to hit me. If not, then this battle will become so easy.

WHAM!

Dakota: AUGH! I'M HIT!

Silas: DAKOTA!

Silas: DON'T YOU DARE HURT MY FRIEND!

Perfect, War Journal. Let's see what Silas can do when he's... properly motivated.

Incidentally, it turns out the enemies aren't willing to break pots even to get to us. This should make things fairly straightforward.

I bring my group forward, taking advantage of the medicine pots, while preparing to rush these ninjas.

Oh dear. This is a problem. To save on time I'd ideally just want to have the Dread Duo deal with these fuckers, but there's a problem: Having never fought ninjas in great numbers before, I can't quite remember if poison strike still happens even if the enemy dies. If it doesn't, great, but if it does...

Mozu will take 5 damage from each of the ninjas that she'll otherwise tank leaving her at 10/25 HP, and then if the enemy's clever enough to send Kagero after us instead of Saizou for the added strength and her damned shuriken mastery skill, she'll deal 1 damage, Mozu will attack with her Mozurang, and then that'll be the end of her when the shuriken mastery counter damage hits.

Thankfully, there's a crack in their defenses where only two of these poison strike ninjas will be able to reach. I have an opening. Mozu's life depends on my calculations.

...I give the order.

...The enemy does nothing.

Fuck this, I don't have the time. RUSH 'EM.

And we are through! Enemy counterattack was minimal, and now we're in a much better position to rush the gates! We may even have time to stop for treasure on the way out!

Now that most of the medicine is gone, I use the dragon vein to nerf our enemies and get the pots out of the way, as they're really impeding our progress. The only problem is what this might do to buff Ryoma.

As it turns out, it gave him luck +4, defense +2, and res +4. Totally manageable.

Peri's first level up is encouraging, to say the least.

Oh, and I have a flame shuriken now. This'll be great once I get a solid dedicated maid or butler.

We seem to be making great time, War Journal! At this rate Elise will be perfectly okay, and we have plenty of time to nab that treasure on the way out, since it's right next to the exit.

With me both wounded and supporting him in addition to the defense medicine, Silas has become a massive pile of defense, so I have him rush straight into these incoming enemies along with Mozu.

We have rear reinforcements, but they won't be an issue as long as we keep moving.

And keep moving we shall.

Silas gains a... peculiar level.

Time to bait these samurai, nab the treasure, beat up Ryoma and get the hell out of here!

Clearing up the last few enemies in the way of the treasure.

And now we're in the clear!

I should say so, Laslow. However, my plans for you don't necessarily require you to be good at fighting forever, so I'll let it slide. For now.

Ah, the armorslayer. I would like to meet the utter lunatic of a Nohrian who created a weapon that can only be used against us.

Our minimum budget threshold has gone from 11,500 to 14,000.

Step 14 on my path to greatness.

Showdown time.

Dakota: Mozu, will you do the honors?

Mozu: With pleasure, Mistress.

Mozu: Your lips, they move... and yet all I hear are the shallow breaths of a dying child.

Ryoma: You-

Mozu: SILENCE, SELF-RIGHTEOUS LOBSTER-MAN! YOUR VICTORY HERE WOULD ACCOMPLISH NOTHING BUT THE DEATH OF THE INNOCENT! YET STILL YOU WOULD EXPLOIT THE CRUEL WHIMS OF FATE TO GAIN THE UPPER HAND IN THIS PETTY DOMESTIC DISPUTE! SO BE IT! COME AT ME WITH YOUR SKILLS AND YOUR TRAINING AND YOUR HOLY SWORDS! THEY WILL ALL CRUMBLE TO ASH BEFORE THE MOZU!

Well done, Mozu. Well done indeed.

...Elise is recovering. She'll be fine now.

...I can barely stand to think about what would've happened if she had died. I had to block all of it out during that fight or I doubt I'd have been able to function. The thought of Elise dying... again... and then that's to say nothing of the fact that she's entered West Dakota and would have been forgotten by both of her sisters... her retainers...

...No. Enough of that. I saved her. Just like I swore I would. Elise will see the end of this journey alive, I'll make sure of it.

...Moving on to the other matter...

...So Garon did decide to allow Hoshidan forces to invade a deep area in Nohr. And to think I had considered him too sensible to do that. Just goes to show. I'm frankly starting to become baffled by what his endgame plan could possibly be. Is he just going to keep putting me on suicide missions until I die, and reap the benefits of my successes until then?

...If so, he is going to be sorely disappointed. He's only giving me more and more ammunition to turn his kingdom's mightiest soldiers against him once I can successfully pin all of this on him. It's only a matter of time.

...Did he know his own daughter was dying when he did this? I don't know. But I do know enough about him to know he wouldn't care even if he did.

...So he is going to suffer once I get my hands on him.

We will remain here for a day or so. Elise needs her rest.

Good night, War Journal.

Edited June 18, 2016 by Alastor15243

[Guardian]

Wow, this series has been great so far, especially with Mozu and Ryoma having that mid-battle moment! Also, for sending Castle Addresses, what are the exact specifics?

[Alastor15243]

Wow, this series has been great so far, especially with Mozu and Ryoma having that mid-battle moment! Also, for sending Castle Addresses, what are the exact specifics?

Honestly, you can just visit my castle using the address I have on my card in the OP, and then I'll be able to visit you after seeing you in my inbox.

[Alastor15243]

Just to let you know, I'm taking a break today due to a combination of the setup for this upcoming part involving more writing than usual and also because I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and my eyes are killing me.

[Alastor15243]

Haha, sorry for the second consecutive delay, but it's my birthday today so I had some stuff to do that prevented an update.

[Ignominious Defeat]

It's okay! Real life's important!

[AnimusMage]

Hey, I think it's pretty impressive that you manage a daily update most of the time! There's nothing wrong with taking some time off. Happy birthday, by the way!

[Omegaprism]

Yes indeed! Happy birthday!

[sirmola]

Just caught up on this, and i have to say that you are doing a exelent job. (much better than the actual game, imo.)

[Alastor15243]

Thanks so much for the well-wishes everyone! You've also conveniently caused the entries to go back to being 10 per page as they have been coincidentally for a while!

Entry 10

Dear War Journal,

Now that Elise is all better, I can get back to focusing on my mission. But first, the obligatory castle status update!

Arthur asked for an accessory as a present, and I went to give him something to replace his maligned mask when suddenly I saw this and happened to spy its mysterious properties. Iiiiinteresting.

...Nope. Not worth it.

...It looks okay on Arthur though, strangely enough.

Looks like you picked up a conversation around camp! OOH! So those two are getting to know each other! Fantastic! Let's see what they're up to...

Azura: ♪ You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek, life beyond the shore just out of reach... yet the waters ever change, flowing like time, the path is yours to climb... ♪

Laslow: (Claps) Beautiful, just beautiful, milady!

Azura: ...So, you actually like it, Laslow? That makes you and Kaze. Everyone else here seems to hate it. It's weird, everyone loved my music back hom-... back in Hoshido...

Laslow: Oh don't worry about that, Azura, that's just a Nohrian cultural thing. Nohrians care a lot more about words and flowing speech than Hoshidans do, they feel that music should work with language, rather than force it into submission. From what I understand, Hoshidans don't care nearly as much about that, but Nohrian music enthusiasts care a lot.

Azura: Not you, though? You're Nohrian too, right? What makes you an exception?

Laslow: I, uh, well... I suppose I just am? But that's besides the point, Azura. Honestly, who cares about the song? It's your voice that's truly beautiful, milady, not the melody and words you dress it with. Just as you would look fetching in any outfit, so too can your voice make any song wonderful!

Azura: ...Heh. Thanks, Laslow. Now if that's all...

Laslow: Aw, I thought that would do it for sure.

Azura: ...(Annoyed) What, get me to go out with you?

Laslow: No! Get you to smile!

Azura: ...It did. I did smile. Didn't you see?

Laslow: No, not that kind of smile! Not that tiny “Thank you for briefly distracting me from the endless cavalcade of gloom that is my existence” smile, a real smile!

Azura: …

Laslow: Oh, this isn't over, Milady! Mark my words, one of these days, I will get a smile out of you!

...Hm...

...Right, I suppose I should talk about my plans for Laslow. This ability of his doesn't seem like much, and on its own, yes, it really really isn't, but it seems like he's a prime candidate to turn into another rally bot. If I give him a few rally skills, particularly Rally Speed and Rally Strength, those +1s will turn two +4s into +5s for free, and every little point in strength and speed could be crucial later down the line. Also, as a mercenary, he has access to bow knight's Rally Skill automatically. My plan is to get him Rally Speed through marriage and Rally Strength... hopefully... through friendship. Though at the moment I have no way of knowing that's even possible. But speed and skill should be plenty to make him useful.

But on to much more current news: Mozu and Arthur just tied the knot this evening! It was adorable! Mozu asked Arthur to be her one shining beacon of hope in this cruel, putrid world, and to help make her whole again by giving her another family, and Arthur said yes! Awwwww!

RECLASS TIME!

Arthur's speed is... unfortunate. He'll get a lot more upon becoming a sniper, but until then he basically needs a perpetual infusion of food and tonics to have any chance of doubling anything, even paired up with Mozu. I really hope he gets more speed soon, I've invested far too much into him already.

But anyway, Mozu and Arthur getting married first is perfect. Not just because their child will inherit Mozu's Aptitude, but also because this means our resident iron-willed badass of a young lady will be the first one to get warp-pregnant, setting a good example for all the other women and not traumatizing them like the last one's reaction did. All I have to do is wait until morning to see the results!

In the meantime, let's have a talk with one of our soldiers, shall we?

Selena: Ugh, what do you want, Dakota? It's late.

Dakota: Selena! Please, have a seat. I was wondering if you could tell me about yourself.

Selena: ...My name is Selena, I'm a mercenary, and I'm retainer B to Lady Camilla. Biography over. Can I go now?

Dakota: Not so fast, Selena. I've heard some interesting things about you and your friends, Laslow and Odin, that I wanted to ask you directly about.

Selena: What, Tweedle Creep and Tweedle Crazy? What's there to tell? Odin's a lunatic constantly stuck in his own little edgy fantasy world, and Laslow's a stupid pervert who can't see a pretty girl without trying to get in her pants. They're both total idiots and I don't get them at all.

Dakota: Yet the three of you hang out constantly.

Selena: Yeah, well... you know how it goes.

Dakota: I've lived in a fortress for the half of my life I can remember. Humor me.

Selena: We just, I dunno... we... we...

Dakota: The three of you seem to have a very long history together. And from what I can gather the three of you were picked up for your extreme skill in the art of combat with basically no questions asked, enough skill for them to ignore the obvious questions of what you were doing in the middle of a battlefield wearing weird knockoffs of Nohrian soldier uniforms.

Selena: That's... basically... correct.

Dakota: But quite frankly, you don't look like a prodigy to me at all.

Selena: Sorry to disappoint.

Dakota: Which means you have lots of experience. Despite looking to be barely over 20. What exactly were you up to before becoming retainers?

Selena: With all due respect, Princess, that's none of your business.

Dakota: ...Wrong... but I'll humor you for the time being. Okay, so tell me about how you became a retainer.

Selena: It's just as you heard. We joined the Nohrian side in a major battle about three years ago, and kicked major Hoshidan butt. The royals were all taking part in the battle and immediately wanted us for retainers.

Dakota: ...“Joined the Nohrian side”... Interesting phrasing.

Selena: What was that?

Dakota: Nothing, just talking to myself.

Selena: ...Is that your war journal over there?

Dakota: Over where?

Selena: ARE YOU RECORDING THIS!?

Dakota: Please, Selena, I'm the commander of an important military group, I need to have records of everything.

Selena: …Whatever! It's pretty lame. Is it a homemade present or something?

Dakota: As a matter of fact, yes.

Selena: I thought so. Back in my hometown they had things about that good back when I was a little girl.

Dakota: ...This is the result of cutting edge royal magical research. Did you live in a hometown of secluded magical super-geniuses or something?

Selena: ...Something like that. I never really got into the whole magic thing though. Seemed super nerdy. But they made okay stuff at least.

Dakota: ...Back to the subject of becoming retainers. So Leo picked Odin...

Selena: ...Yes.

Dakota: And then Xander picked Laslow and Camilla picked you?

Selena: Actually, to tell the truth... Camilla wanted Laslow. I was her second pick. As usual.

Dakota: ...So why'd he wind up with Xander? Did Xander overrule her?

Selena: ...No... Laslow turned her down.

Dakota: …

Selena: …

Dakota: ...Okay. Selena. What really happened?

Selena: I. Just. Told. You.

Dakota: Selena, I've known Laslow for all of two days, and already I know that what you are suggesting is physically impossible.

Selena: I'm telling the truth! Laslow said he couldn't work for Camilla and so she had to settle for lame ol' me. Story of my life! If you don't believe me, ask him! That's what happened!

Dakota: ...Why? How could that possibly have happened?

Selena: It's... complicated. If you want to know so badly, ask him, if he'll tell you. Which I doubt.

Dakota: One more thing: I happened to notice when you were in the hot springs the other day that you have some odd markings on the palms of your hands.

Selena: …Yeah? I-I wasn't hiding them or anything! These gloves are just part of the uniform.

Dakota: Oh? Then what are they from?

Selena: N-nothing, they're just weird birthmarks, okay?

Dakota: And, might I ask, who's the, erm, “lucky” guy?

Selena: ...What?

Dakota: When you were in the hot springs I also saw that you had a r-

Selena: I-it's late, I have to go now! This was fun. Except not really. Never bring me here again!

SLAM!

Intriguing.

Some upgrades have been completed. Anyway, tomorrow's going to be a big day of delivering and retrieving a child soldier!

Until then, War Journal!

...Hoo boy, War Journal.

Today, was not a good day. Why, you ask?

Because of this little shit.

This little shit.

THIS. LITTLE. SHIT.

I hereby declare the totality of the concept of language itself to be an abject, categorical failure on the sole basis that it fails to supply me with enough words with which to convey my unplumbable, incandescent, supernoval hatred for THIS! LITTLE! SHIT!

Half of my team was put in mortal peril, and I had to use up an ENTIRE RESCUE ROD, because this entitled little fucker SICCED AN ENTIRE MERCENARY COMPANY ON US... FOR ATTENTION.

HE HAD BARELY BEEN OUT OF THE WOMB FOR FIVE HOURS.

If it weren't for Laslow and Selena being on hand to knock his stupid ass off of his wyvern, he would've personally killed Azura.

I swear before the almighty Dusk Dragon, Percy, you have a lot of work to do to validate your existence!

Oh! Looks like two of our mysterious soldiers had a conversation!

Selena: Laslow? Laslow? ...Are you in here?

Laslow: Selena! What a wonderful surprise! And might I add you are looking ravishing today.

Selena: Ugh! You are the worst! Look, I only came to check up on you after that battle.

Laslow: Oh? Whatever for?

Selena: Well Dakota made us fight Percy today, and I know how you-

Laslow: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh, Selena, Selena, Selena. ...You... haven't told anyone about that, have you?

Selena: Sigh. No.

Laslow: Good! ...Because it would've been inaccurate!

Selena: It would've been what now?

Laslow: Oh, Selena. That little “problem” you speak of is merely one that plagued my foolish youth. But I am no longer a mere boy, Selena. I am now a man, and I have long outgrown that little... “quirk”.

Selena: Shame you haven't outgrown anything else...

Laslow: But yes, I'm happy to say I'm well past that. There's no cause for you to worry.

Selena: Really, now?

Laslow: Absolutely!

Selena: Well that's good to hear at least. Now I won't have to waste my time.

Laslow: Pardon?

Selena: It's nothing. See you next battle, Laslow.

...Well that was cryptic.

Ooh! Camilla's in the kitchen! Might as well exploit this lull between battles to ensure a good meal is had at least once before the next one!

...Decadent... how...? I...

...No...

…

…

…

…

HOW DO YOU BURN YOGURT, CAMILLA!? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON BACK THERE!?

Sigh. I need a break. I'm gonna stop at the hot springs.

CRAVEN! PANSY! DICKLESS COWARD! HOW DARE YOU RECOIL FROM SOMETHING AS PEDESTRIAN AS LOUNGING AROUND IN OUR UNDERWEAR!? HOW DARE YOU BRING SHAME TO THE GLORIOUS KINGDOM OF NOHR BY ACTING LIKE A SEXUALLY REPRESSED BOX TURTLE!? WE ARE A NATION OF STALLIONS AND VIXENS, YOU FOOL!

Oooh, now this is more like it! Finally!

Elise asked me for fashion advice, and I supplied her with one of these excellent bear hats! Awwww! This looks even better on her than that tiara!

One of my trade partners was quite friendly and personal with me today. Odd. This is the first time I've heard any of these people address me by name. At all other times it seems like they're reading from a script.

And of course it was inevitable that eventually I'd find somebody who resembles my old male self as well. Go figure.

Excellent! I re-visited an old address to find a new person in residence there, and he supplied me with the last resource I didn't have access to after I traded all of mine to Landon: sapphires! With this, my supply collection is complete, though for the moment that means little as I still have widely varying stocks of each.

Enough delays! Time to return to Garon and report!

...Right, my next job is to suppress another rebellion, this time in Cheve. Curious. Without me aiding the Hoshidans, you'd think he'd just have Iago use Takumi to rat them out again like he did last time, and it would seem like an even better idea. But no, he wants me to take care of them, because of course he does. I figured this would happen. He's testing the limits of my apparent loyalty while also trying to get me killed and alienating as many of my potential allies as possible. The Cheve resistance would be a valuable group of allies for my plans. I suppose the best I can do right now is do what I've been doing and minimize the kill count to keep making too big of an enemy with them.

Incidentally, Garon responded to the earth-shattering news that the daughter he kidnapped has reunited him with his long-kidnapped daughter Azura... with absolute indifference.

What a shocker.

So, here's some fun news, War Journal: Garon wants me to lead a division of the main army against this uprising. The one with Hans in it! Hahahahahahahahahahaha no.

That's the absolute last thing I want to do. I fought alongside Hans for about five minutes, and in that brief time, he escalated a pointless conflict and killed one of my retainers, two things I'm obviously not keen to have happen again. Plus, anyone Hans feels comfortable working alongside can't be very good at the whole “not killing” thing, and I can't allow that stain on my reputation at this crucial stage in my plan.

So I instruct the soldiers to stay completely out of this while I have my own personal force go against the resistance. That way I'll have way more control over the behavior of my troops. Shouldn't be too hard.

Oh, look! It's Mr.-

...Oh. Oh. So that's how it's going to be, huh?

Uh-huh.

Fascinating.

Is this typical Takumi angst I see... or does Iago still have his hands in Takumi's head in this timeline as well, and has he simply decided to keep using it against me? Which one is responsible for shooting Elise?

Ah well, might as well play it safe by beating the shit out of both of them. Takumi now, Iago when I get the chance.

So it's just as Kaze told me, and as I suspected when Kaze returned without any of the skills he had when I fought him: the skills this Kaizo-Kotomi organization can imbue people with are only temporary. Takumi's lost both Wary Fighter and Point Blank, and they've been replaced with new skills. The skills he has now are, all considered, a little less annoying but a bit more dangerous as well, depending on how long this battle lasts. And that added critical rate from promoting between now and our last encounter will make things more complicated still.

That is a suspiciously generous number of open houses, considering the hostility of Cheve to Garon. In fact, didn't they side with me when I was with Hoshido last time? I'm guessing these are going to be dangerous to visit.

These two will probably be problematic, but if all else fails, I can just sic Mozu on them. But I'd like to see if I can get some of my weaker soldiers the experience, because Mozu is an absolute beast.

I decided to bring along Percy to try him out. Plus, his aura of critical protection should be extremely useful against Scarlet and Takumi.

Begin.

Jakob and Arthur bait the nearest enemies. Jakob will just barely survive a worst-case scenario thanks to Elise's auras and Landon's Rally Defense.

Of the enemy forces, only these two wyvern riders and the initial group of knights and diviners charged.

The eastern western units are cleared out...

...As are the western eastern units.

And Arthur gets some much-appreciated speed.

...What? WHAT!? NO!!!

...Thankfully, the enemy didn't exploit dual strikes to kill Laslow, and instead attacked Arthur.

From range.

When he had a dual guard prepared.

...I'd save myself plenty of heart attacks if I reminded myself how stupid people who aren't me can be. Still. That was a careless miscalculation. When switching to a more accurate sword, I should have made sure the more accurate one was still strong enough to do the job. It will not happen again.

And we get reinforcements! Excellent!

Ahhh, finally, an attractive person wearing the traditional Nohrian warrior thong! Arthur I suppose would've been... passable... if he had actually worn it, the coward! And of course now he's an archer. So yes, this is a pleasant change of pace.

...This does not seem like a useful ability however. As diverse as the higher-up soldiers are, strangely enough the disposable cannon fodder tier of the army is still largely male. Go figure. So yeah, this won't be overly useful against most enemies. Then again, not all of my good units have particularly good unique abilities. Her stats seem okay, though adding on another unit to train at this stage seems like a bad idea unless they have something truly good to offer. And as it stands, she doesn't. Still, she's here, I can't send her back, so I might as well use her for now.

As for this guy... Oh dear, what happened to him? Anyway, knights are kind of a gimmick class. You're only as tough as your lowest defensive stat, as I say, so against magic users, knights go down really quickly. Still, while he's here, he should be handy to beef up one of my units.

Like so.

Time to bait these two wyvern riders.

Oh dear, outlaws are going after the villages. Looks like I'll have to bring out the big guns to rush them. This also gives us a good excuse to get on the villagers' good sides, if we can make it there in time.

Thankfully, we seem to have a bit of time, as this outlaw seems to be somewhat hobbled for some reason. Still, taking it slow probably isn't a good option.

Better get rid of these guys fast and proceed to rush the town.

Mozu does what Mozu does best.

Mozu: A dread fighter fears no parlor tricks, charlatan. Were even a tenth of your alleged abilities genuine, your vision of this day would have soiled every garment you own. For though you will not die, mortal, you will learn to fear the Dread Mozu like the coward fears the reaper!

The other diviners, upon seeing their leader fall so quickly, correctly conclude that victory is impossible and instead decide to spite me by lining up on the bridge.

Their callous act of defiance nets Camilla her first level I've seen from her, and as I hoped, it's pretty good, particularly for a pre-promote.

The usual plan, rally up, auras on, Mozu away.

...Okay, I can understand people like Peri and Niles getting accepted by Garon, but now that I think about it... this is supposed to be Mikoto's chief retainer?

And with this, the outlaw is gone, and the gratitude of the villagers is ours for the taking!

Step 16 on my path to greatness.

But just in case their gratitude is less than desired, I have my least useful deployed unit (hopefully just for the moment) visit the house.

We get 5000G, bringing our minimum budget up to 16,500, and...

Ooh! I was hoping we'd get one of these, just in case.

Before getting the last two houses, I have Percy use his critical shield to protect Mozu while she softens up Takumi for me.

NEVER. SHOOT. MY SISTER. AGAIN.

The last two villages give us some good presents too. Though neither of them do it out of gratitude for the rescue, but out of fear of Garon.

...Excellent. Discontent runs high all over.

I go to take out the leader, but a token number of reinforcements arrive. Luckily they're too thinly spread to do any damage before being taken out.

YOU ARE. Don't you dare compare yourself to your mother, twerp, you're barely comparable to your father yet.

And like that, the rebellion is non-lethally crushed! Right then, time to tell Hans the battle's over and he can report back to-

...Uh...

...Hans, Hans, bring it down a notch.

...Damn it all! It's as I feared, Hans is doing what he always does: senseless killing, on Garon's orders, AT MY EXPENSE.

...No, no, no... This is... in a certain sense... perfect. This is exactly the catalyst I need to turn my siblings and soldiers against Garon. An atrocity committed. On Garon's orders. In full view of my entire army. All I need to do is sow some further seeds of discontent... make it clear that I disapprove of this... and gauge my army's reaction.

...I will report back to you later, War Journal.

Edited December 23, 2016 by Alastor15243