#and given how important Lehran is to the plot

[randomnameless]

Something I found out re-reading the script and typing about FE Tellius in general :

In the final chapter of FE10's Part 3, when Pelleas is dead, Almedha explains a bit of backgroud information to Miccy and the DB peeps - the convo flows differently if Pelleas is alive or was killed earlier on, but for this post, I'll use the convo she has when Pelleas died, aka when Almedha is at her lowest point ever :

Tauroneo: “I remember the horror of that disease. King Ashnard took the throne after the plague killed most of the royal family, including his father. The tragedy is still fresh in my mind.” Almedha: “That was no disease. It was the curse of a blood pact.” Tauroneo: “What?!” Almedha: “It was all plotted by my husband in a bid to claim the throne of Daein. He used the curse… to steal the lives of his family and citizens…”

tfw no dakimakura for Ashnard :(

Almedha: “Ashnard, he… always worried about the future of a world without equals. He was born an outstanding man, wise beyond his age, yet could never become king. So to shape his ideal world, he decided to resort to underhanded schemes. That’s right… he tricked his father into signing a blood pact with a traveling wise man.”

Note that Almedha still calls him an outstanding man, "wise beyond his age" after dropping earlier how he fucking killed his family and several randoms to gain the throne - it's just some "underhanded scheme" uwu.

-> bar showing Almedha has interesting feelings regarding Ashnard even after everything that happened to her, her son and her brother, she knew Ashnard was the kind of dude who would kill his family and his randoms to get the throne, and yet still remained by his side. That mutual attraction must have been hella strong!

Anyways, we have a follow up about who or what the "traveling wise man" did :

Tauroneo: “Who was he!? That wise man…?” Almedha: “I do not know the details… To cure my illness, that man gathered at Daein the most bizarre people on the continent… Izuka was one of those people. He said he was a scholar studying the properties of wildlife… but, in truth he was nothing more than a madman hell bent on developing biological weapons… Oh ho ho ho.”

What illness is Almedha refering to ? The "cannot transform in a laguz anymore" illness?

So, timeline wise we have :

Ashnard and Almedha meet, they develop a "strong mutual attraction", Ashnard meets Lekain and tricks his dad to sign a blood pact with Lekain so the royal family dies and he gets his ticket for the throne (random peons dying is just some unfortunate casualty!), Soren is born, Almedha becomes "ill".

Lekain gathers randoms at Daein, including fucking Izuka, to officially search for a "cure" to her illness or "study the properties of wildlife" - but actually starts to work on his Feral Ones project...

Soren has no stats, so Ashnard "reject" him and later casts Almedha away, but not before using Soren, as a bait, to lure Rajaion and ultimately turn him - and a red dragon platoon - in a Feral One.

The Tellius recollection book says she had a mental and emotional shock after losing her powers AND after witnessing Rajaion becoming Ashnard's mount.

So is Almedha going all "lol." actually representing how broken she is? At this point, her son was killed, she's still sure Rajaion died because of her and connected 2+2 = 4 : while Solon pretended to look for a cure to heal her, he was actually refining the Feral One drug to use on her older brother.

Despite everything, she doesn't seem to have a particular resentment at Ashnard, nor call him names. Almedha might lash out at random people (Miccy, Tauroneo), but imo, she sees herself as the biggest reason why the tragedy (the loss of her son, her brother, etc etc) happened - and I can't really shake away the feeling that it is fueled by her sudden loss of power.

Tl;Dr : Almedha, per that book, "descended into madness" when she lost her powers due to mating with a Beorc (and witnessing Rajaion turned into a Feral One).

Peak anti-racism duology : Laguz can die twice when they procreate with a Beorc, first they become "crippled", and second, they lose their mind. Very Progressive (tm) writing.

[canoncompanions]

The Best of Canon Companions Tracks 254-264

[Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Fire Emblem Tellius Series, Mansfield Park, Tales of Symphonia, and Fire Emblem Awakening]

1. "Nobody's Home" by Avril Lavigne Works represented: El Goonish Shive; Tales of Symphonia; Fruits Basket Characters represented: Ellen; Presea; Tohru While this song made it high in work because it represents El Goonish Shive, and it's a fantastic song regardless, both the eerie relevance and the prominent plot-importance (as well as the character points) came mainly from Tales of Symphonia.  Not only do the emotions demonstrate Presea's position perfectly, but "she wants to go home, but nobody's home" is a very good description of her character arc. 2. "Predictable" by Good Charlotte Works represented: Mansfield Park Characters represented: Edmund to Mary This song represents the point where Edmund realizes that Mary has been using him, which Fanny tried to warn him about but he brushed off.  It's an apt descriptor in both diction and tone, and the fact that it's about my favorite character in one of my favorite books as well as one of the best songs on the album it's from, puts it high on the list. 3. "Hopeless Bleak Despair" by They Might Be Giants Works represented: Fire Emblem Tellius Series Characters represented: Sephiran In this song Sephiran (really, Lehran) reflects on his life and how miserable he was throughout it, but after his near death experience and, many centuries in the future, he's feeling much better.  This is surprisingly literally apt for a They Might Be Giants song which is why it's as late as it is.  Even though Sephiran isn't one of my favorite characters, this is a hugely plot-important song, very good, and about my favorite game/work. 4. "Not Listening" by Papa Roach Works represented: Zootopia Characters represented: Chief Bogo This song demonstrates toughness, resolve, stubbornness, and protectiveness--all key traits of Chief Bogo.  The song is apt in both diction and tone, and the fact that it's about Chief Bogo, one of the important characters as well as my close second-favorite, and my favorite animated work/movie, makes it even better. 5. "You Found Me" by Kelly Clarkson Works represented: Fire Emblem Tellius Series; El Goonish Shive Characters represented: Elincia to Ike; Justin to Elliot In both cases, the song is more-or-less literally relevant: Ike found Elincia on the side of the road, and Elliot found Justin being beaten by bullies.  It's also about two of my favorite works, very plot-important in both cases, about two of my favorite characters on one side and one of them on the other, and a great song. 6. "My Way" by 3 Doors Down Works represented: Zootopia Characters represented: Judy Hopps to Chief Bogo and Chief Bogo to Judy Hopps This song represents the huge fight that Judy and Bogo have that results in Judy almost being fired, but culminates in Judy being given 48 hours to solve the case.  It's relevant to both of their positions as well as their mutual stubbornness.  It's also a great song about some of my favorite characters in my favorite animated work/movie. 7. "For the Sake of Revenge" by Sonata Arctica Works represented: Fire Emblem Tellius Series; Harry Potter Characters represented: Naesala to Skrimir; Sirius to Snape

This song is being narrated in both cases by someone who is being treated as an unforgivable murderer by another party who earnestly believes it to be the truth, but the narrator attempts, knowingly in vain, to explain that it's a misunderstanding: in the former case because of mitigating circumstances, and in the latter because of a blatant false accusation.  In addition to being relevant and plot-important, it's also about some great characters, my favorite game/work, and a great song. 8. "The Dead Skin" by Sonata Arctica Works represented: Tales of Symphonia Characters represented: Kratos to Lloyd This song does a surprisingly apt job at describing Kratos's feelings about Lloyd and himself in the moment where he demands that Lloyd kill him.  In addition to being both crucial and relevant, it's also beautiful and about one of my favorite characters. 9. "Perfect" by Simple Plan Works represented: Penny and Aggie/QUILTBAG; Goof Troop Universe Characters represented: Michelle to her dad; PJ to Pete Yet another lopsided duplicate, this time Penny and Aggie's side wouldn't be enough to make it onto the Best of Canon Companions at all, but Goof Troop's has an extremely apt song, both in content and in tone, which is not only great, but also very plot-important, about my favorite character, period, and about one of my favorite works. 10. "Slipped Away" by Avril Lavigne Works represented: Fire Emblem Tellius Series Characters represented: Jill to Shiharam This sweet, heartbreaking song is used to aptly describe Jill's feelings of sorrow after her father was made to be killed in battle.  I love the song as well as the work that it represents, and it's a key plot point too. 11. "2 Minutes to Midnight" by Iron Maiden Works represented: Fire Emblem Tellius Series; Harry Potter; Fire Emblem Awakening Characters represented: Ashera; Basilisk; Grima In every case a larger threat of death is looming over the environment, but nobody really knows what's going on or how to stop it.  It's hugely plot-important in at least two cases, which is perfect for a six minute heavy metal song alluding to a doomsday clock, it's a great song, and it's about some of my favorite works.