#fire emblem sacred stones vanessa x lute

[sacred-stanning]

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

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

[secretlykoishi]

Lunessa real

[prof-kenny]

Lute and Seth are best charathers of sacred stones forever XD i coloring the images for celebration 18TH for anniversary the fire emblem sacred stones 

[femblemfemslash]

When this war is over, would you like to come visit me in Frelia? You could ride a pegasus if you'd like.

[mascindulgence]

A blunt confession between a prodigy and a knight

And a closeup!:

[merryfortune]

Lute/Vanessa with "the promise visit to Frelia"?

This was an old request that I wanted to get out of my system

Word Count: 769

  Vanessa’s Pegasus landed gracefully. Even when all four hooves were on solid ground, Lute still refused to let go of Vanessa. Her arms were tightly clamped around Vanessa’s waist in the most solid of embraces. Her face was smushed against Vanessa’s back, but she would never admit it was borne of fear. Not the fear of flying but the fear of falling.

  Vanessa awkwardly laughed as she tried to unpick Lute’s fingers from the knot they were in just beneath her breasts.

  “C’mon,” she said, almost breathless, “let go.”

  “Fine.” Lute grunted.

  Very slowly, Lute obliged the request. Her elbows jutted out and one by one, her fingers unlatched from the mess they were in. And finally, Vanessa could breathe. She sighed out of relief, only to feel Vanessa’s most offended stare drill into the back of her neck.

  “Don’t you wanna get off?” Vanessa asked. “Feel the cool Frelia breeze?”

  “Maybe.” Lute said.

  “I’ll get off first then.” Vanessa said.

  Lute reared back and although she was likely still in the way, Vanessa managed to dismount gracefully, without even grazing any of Lute’s limbs as she now sank into the helm of the saddle. Although, now she was here, hand on the handle, it didn’t feel too bad. Vanessa’s Pegasus’ wings twitched, and it whinnied. Lute smiled as she scanned her surroundings. Now that she had experienced the emotional wonders of flight – the wind in one’s hair, the change in visual scale, the taming involved in controlling a stead like a Pegasus mid-flight – perhaps it was a prime time to do some research into aerodynamics. Lute was willing to bet there would be some interesting literature on the topic in Frelia, home of the Pegasus.

  And Vanessa shook her head. She could just see the gleam of knowledge to be had and devoured in Lute’s amethyst eyes but damn if she couldn’t forgive her for it. That thirst to be enriched was one to be admired and Vanessa did admire Lute for it, but this was supposed to be a vacation. Not a study trip. But a twitch of a smile crossed Vanessa’s lips regardless.

  “Do you need a hand?” Vanessa asked, her voice pitched an octave louder than usual as she had to penetrate the grand veil of all of Lute’s spiralling thoughts.

  Lute blinked. “Huh? Oh, uh, yeah that would be most helpful.” Lute replied once she had mentally returned down to Earth as well.

  Vanessa held up her hand and Lute accepted the offer. Lute had such soft hands, save for a few callouses on the side of her fingers from working with quills; Vanessa had a much coarser hand from working with horses, Pegasi, and various weapons of war. Lute liked it though; and so did Vanessa.

  With a heaving breath, Vanessa safely helped Lute down. She was a lot tinier than her self-important prescence seemed. Her legs had been dangling off either side of Vanessa’s Pegasus like a child’s would. It was kind of silly, but Vanessa knew better than to laugh at Lute’s expense.

  Finally, Lute’s velvet boots were on the ground as well and a breeze whistled through. She shivered as she felt the icy fangs of the cold that Frelia was known for. Goosebumps prickled on her skin as she glanced at Vanessa who was most unperterbed by the sudden frozenness of the weather.

  “Aren’t you cold?” Lute asked, snapped really. Her eyes widened when she noted the vague drift of vapours on her breath.

  “Its summer, nothin’ to be cold about.” Vanessa teased her.

  Lute stared. Both offended but also in awe of the fact human bodies had such vastly different parameters of what could be dealt with just by having a tested threshold. There had to be studies on that, too, perhaps in Frelia but maybe in the realm of the other extreme, too, such as Jehanna with all its heat.

  “You Renais folk are too cute.” Vanessa said as she took off her short-sleeved jacket. It wasn’t much but she offered it to Lute who snatched it up without a second thought. Lute blushed as she wore it. It was bigger on her which was to be expected as Vanessa had such broad shoulders but even though it was loose and baggy and again, short sleeved, Lute was warmed by it. “Let’s go have a look around, eh? See more of Frelia on foot, yeah?”

  “Yes, but next time,” Lute said, already taking off without Vanessa and her Pegasus, “I’m showing you around my hometown. The weather is much more agreeable.”

  “It’s a promise then.” Vanessa chirruped.

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 9 Part 5: Lute and Vanessa <3

To start us off, Lute gets rid of this last reinforcement. After this, we can finally start moving up to the chests and Tana above, and to the boss room entrance down and to the right.

Franz gets the Luna mage.

I mentioned Luna's bad hit rates and 0 might before, but here we can see just how dire it is. 28 is awful hit, and since all the attack comes from the user's magic stat with no added might from the tome itself, it isn't even that dangerous in a low-level enemy's hands. Even if this guy actually did hit and crit Franz, he still wouldn't kill him.

I start to move Vanessa forward, and...Oh! What's this? A support conversation?

...with Lute???

So, some of you may have been able to guess from the very tiny and subtle clues I've dropped here and there, but I absolutely love Lute, so I'm actually going to look at this support a bit.

It starts off with Vanessa saying, "Ah, you're...Lute, right?"

I remember at least a couple of other Lute supports start off with the other person not being sure of what her name is. It's consistent enough a factor that we can guess that Lute doesn't really socialize a whole lot with people in the army. It's not surprising given her personality and her obsessive interest in specific things.

After introducing herself, Vanessa introduces her pegasus, Titania.

At which point, Vanessa has stumbled on one of Lute's interests: creatures.

So Lute proceeds to monopolize the conversation and info dump on Vanessa.

She starts by talking about the different names for pegasus. This part in Japanese involves her not only using the katakana, foreign-derived word "pegasus", but also two kanji-based words, "sky horse" and "has wings horse".

Kind of like how we often use Latin or Greek based words in English when we want to sound fancy, or for technical terms (due to the history of Europe's obsession with the Greeks and Romans often being viewed as the "initiators of European civilization") in Japanese there is a tendency for words made up of combined Chinese characters to sound more stiff, or like technical terms. In many cases, this is because these are literal loan words that Japanese educated people adopted into their language, sometimes a couple hundred-thousand years ago when China was viewed as a center of culture and learning.

I think a good example could be the word she uses for "sky horse". The two characters are jammed together, and usually in those cases, the "Chinese" reading is used, which is true here too, "Tenma". (Like I mentioned above, the "Chinese" reading is based on the pronunciation of the characters that some Japanese guy got from the Asian mainland at some point in history. Many kanji have multiple readings like this since there are many different Chinese languages in different areas of what's now China, languages also change over time, and of course, Japanese phonology is radically different from any Chinese phonology, so the pronunciations are more like approximations of how some group of Chinese people read the character at some point in time. If you look in a detailed kanji dictionary, it will often tell you the Chinese dynasty/ies in power at the time the character's reading(s) was/were adopted into Japanese.)

If this word were using "Japanese" readings of the characters, it would probably be "Sora no uma". Just based on feels, "Tenma" sounds a bit fancier and stiffer, whereas "Sora no uma" sounds very straightforward because the words "sora" (sky) and "uma" (horse) are used in everyday conversation, whereas the parts of "Tenma", "ten" and "ma" are not used on their own usually.

I explain all of this because it's interesting how it's coincidently very similar to something we can see in English too. Take a word like "autograph". It's two Greek words, "self" and "write" jammed together. These words aren't used on their own usually. (I mean, maybe this is a bad example since these two parts both are used on their own, but that's only because "auto" can be short for "automobile", and "graph" can also mean a table or chart. What I really mean is, we don't use "graph" as the word "write" in English on its own. No one says, "Please graph your name on this line here.") But these parts are frequently used to express meaning as parts of words.

Imagine how "self write" (both Germanic words) would sound in place of "autograph"? It sounds very basic, almost too straightforward. This same thing that we do in English all the time with Latin/Greek/Norman based words is similar to what they do in Japanese with the distinction between words with an "original Japanese" origin versus a "Chinese" origin.

In English, germanic words often sound straightforward and basic. In Japanese, Japanese origin words often sound more straightforward. In the same way, in English, words made up of Latin/Greek/Norman French parts often sound more educated or technical. And in Japanese, that's often the case for words made up of combined kanji using the "Chinese" readings.

----END INFO DUMP---

At any rate, now that I've info dumped at you, you may see why I like Lute so much.

Lute goes on to explain to Vanessa (who rides a pegasus literally every single day) how they fly by kicking the air, not by flapping their wings, and that their wings are used more for gliding.

To which Vanessa kindly responds that, yes, it would be really hard to ride them if they flapped their wings all the time.

She responds like this instead of, you know, getting all prickly about this random girl lecturing her about the animal she knows better than any other.

God bless you, Vanessa. You're a saint.

Lute also continues to talk about the origin of the word "pegasus" and its connections to "springs" and "oceans", and basically, go look at Wikipedia if you want to see the rest of what she said. :)

Vanessa continues to be an absolute sweety and says, "Thank you for the very clear introduction. I'm glad we're allies."

And then Lute says, "I look forward to working with you, Titania!"

Vanessa: "I'm Vanessa!"

Like a lot of people, I've jumped on the Dungeon Meshi bandwagon recently, and it's hard not to get flavors of Laius from Lute.

At any rate, the original reason I moved Vanessa there was to block the soldier from hitting Lute, and Vanessa does an admirable job of that during enemy phase.

I also discover that there is another guy with a sleep staff in the throne room. He misses Vanessa though.

You can see how low his hit is on her, with her good res.

It's this guy, here.

I start sending people up to deal with the enemies around the chests and Tana. I leave Vanessa in range of the mercenary, and Ephraim in range of the armor, though it later on turns out that that guy doesn't move.

Next time: More reinforcements, more sleep staff nonsense, and maybe we'll finally save Tana

[sacred-stanning]

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

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

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

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 18 Part 2: The Map

Here's my team for this map.

This was a hard one, because the eggs on this map are amazing for boosting experience, so it's tempting to bring everyone, which of course is impossible.

I'm bringing both Moulder and L'Arachel because they can both use Restore Staves, and I may need them.

We start in the lower-left corner of the map, with one initial path up and right.

Moving the screen up, we can see more eggs, and a Gargoyle. This is where the path splits and either continues up, or goes right.

And even farther up, there are more eggs, another Gargoyle, and a Gorgon.

To the right of the starting position, here's the other path that heads right, with more eggs.

...and a Gargoyle and an Eye.

Up from the above photo, we see more eggs and another Eye.

And in the upper right, where the two routes converge again, there are more Eyeballs, eggs, and a boss Gorgon.

Here is one example of a Gorgon enemy. They have a "magical illusion wave movement" ("Demon Surge" in the official translation) as their weapon.

The second two characters in the weapon's name are "hadou", like Ken and Ryu's "Hadouken".

Funny enough, this very weak Gorgon is the boss!

I think this boss may have been powered up in the US release, because I saw a higher level and better stats listed when I looked the map up online. In fact, I almost wonder if it was a mistake that the boss ended up so weak in the Japanese release.

The eyeballs are different than the ones earlier in the game. The name in Japanese says "bee-goo-loo", so...

"beagle"??? "biggle"????? (I like "biggle". That's a cute name!)

I looked it up, and I think they were called "Arch Mogall" in English.

Their attack is called "Evil Eye".

Here's another Gorgon. I'm showing this one because, even though it's a lower level than the boss one above, it has better stats! It really seems likely that the boss being so under-powered was due to some sort of oversight.

Here's an example of the Gargoyles we'll be dealing with.

And here's another Gorgon. This photo is here to show off the other weapon that some of the Gorgons have, which is the reason why I'm bringing two Restore Staves.

"Stone" has 1-3 range, and if it hits, the unit gets turned to stone and is unable to move for a couple turns. They also cannot avoid attacks, and enemies who attack them have a base 30% crit rate, <D.A.R.E.> so it's pretty dangerous to get stoned </D.A.R.E.>.

Syrene found Lute shortly before the small front line force was to head out. Lute was sitting on the ground near her horse, writing something in a book.

Syrene really didn't want to think of herself as an overbearing older sister who kept tabs on who Vanessa spent time with...but she also was so used to looking out for her sister since she was little that she couldn't help herself.

"I'm not going to be nosy and weird about it" she thought to herself. "I'm just going to say hi and see what kind of person she is."

"Hello, Lute, right?" Syrene stood in front of Lute and spoke to her.

Lute looked up at her. "Hello," Lute said in return. "You are the woman with the Linder's Pegasus."

"Uh, yes. My name is Syrene. I just wanted to thank you again for coming to my rescue."

"I did not know you were there. I was following Vanessa because she saw the townspeople from the air, and we wanted to try to save them."

"Right..." Syrene was struck again by how the conversation didn't quite go where she expected whenever she talked with this girl. "Well, thank you anyway for helping me, even if that wasn't your original goal."

Lute nodded and said nothing.

Syrene waited a moment, but it didn't seem like Lute was going to talk, so she continued. "Actually, I also wanted to thank you for helping out my sister."

Lute looked at Syrene blankly. "Who?" she asked.

Syrene smiled. "Vanessa! Vanessa is my sister! I'm sorry, I guess you didn't know that yet. I guess she hasn't ever mentioned me to you, right?"

"No, she has not mentioned you." Lute tilted her head slightly and looked at Syrene's face. "I can see the resemblance though. It is not surprising to find out that you are sisters."

"Well, at any rate, Vanessa told me that you have been good friends with her, and I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you looking out for her. She's my only sister, and I used to look out for her myself when she was younger, but we haven't even seen each other in almost 4 years now..."

Syrene stopped talking and looked at Lute's face. Lute was no longer looking directly at her, but instead was looking up in the air slightly and twirling a lock of her hair in one finger.

Without looking at Syrene, Lute suddenly asked, "Vanessa said I was a good friend?"

Syrene nodded, "Yes. And, well, not to embarrass her, but ever since she was a kid, Vanessa hasn't always made a lot of friends, so I was really relieved to hear that she had someone she was getting along with in this army."

"I also have never had many friends," Lute stated matter-of-factly. "I am glad to hear that Vanessa said that."

Lute was still twirling her hair as she spoke. "Although, to be fair, I do not think Vanessa is judging the situation accurately. I have not been a good friend because I am bad at explaining things sometimes, and I collapsed in the library and made her worry. I think that Moulder is a much better friend to her."

Syrene didn't respond at first. "It sounds like she's confessing to me! What am I supposed to say to this?" she thought.

As Syrene was looking at Lute, wondering how to respond, she noticed Lute's gaze drift beside her.

"Vanessica Vanessicus!" Lute said suddenly, and got up into a half-crouch position.

Syrene followed Lute's gaze and saw a bright green beetle perched on a tuft of grass near her feet.

"Oh! What a pretty beetle!" Syrene said. Then she asked Lute, "But what did you just call it?"

"I called it Vanessica Vanessicus. That is its scientific name. I gave it that name because I discovered it, so I get to name it, and its wings are a pretty green color, just like Vanessa's hair. It is a type of dung beetle, and I have seen it a couple of times in pegasus dung, though this is the first time I have seen it alighted upon the grass like this."

Lute spoke all of this quickly and excitedly, all while keeping her eyes firmly locked on the beetle. "Do you really think it is pretty?" she asked suddenly. "In my experience, many people do not like insects, so I was very happy when Vanessa saw it and thought it was pretty. But I guess since you are her sister, maybe you both share opinions on insects. I do not have any siblings."

"She named a dung beetle after Vanessa?" Syrene thought. But listening to the excitement in Lute's voice as she described the beetle (and she was still describing it as Syrene was thinking all of this) Syrene could tell that naming the beetle after Vanessa was done with only good intentions, as odd a "gift" as it was.

"...not sure what it might eat in the winter, although, if it is similar to other dung beetles..." Lute was still talking about the beetle.

Syrene felt bad for interrupting, "Um, Lute, thanks for talking with me, but I think your unit is marching out soon, so I don't want to take up too much of your time. Please keep looking out for my sister, and be careful out there yourself!"

Lute finally broke her gaze from the beetle and looked at Syrene. She smiled slightly, the first time Syrene had seen that, and said, "Ok, I will. Thank you..."

Syrene heard the pause in her speech. "Syrene" she interjected.

"Thank you, Syrene. I will be careful, and I will make sure Vanessa is safe."

Syrene started to return to her own battalion and left Lute to prepare (though she wasn't preparing, she was now crouched by the beetle and sketching something in her book, like she was on a picnic, not at war!)

Vanessa had made an interesting choice of a friend, but, well, at least this Lute girl did seem to be genuine. Syrene felt somewhat relieved, though she still had some questions...

Next time: Sweet, sweet egg exp

[sacred-stanning]

Ending Cards Part 2

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

Innocent Magician, Ewan

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

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

Crimson Flash, Marisa

She met her end in Chapter 15, Scorched Sand.

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

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

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

Silent Fountain of Knowledge, Saleh

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

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

Pure Manakete, Myrrh

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

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

Jade Wind Princess, Eirika

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

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

Jade Sky King, Ephraim

Princess of Light, L'Arachel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[sacred-stanning]

Parting Ways

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

"Ephraim, I must leave now."

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

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

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

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

"Ephraim..."

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

3 Travel to Frelia and see Vanessa.

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

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

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

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

Next time: Credits, and one last flashback

[sacred-stanning]

Taking Down the Demon King

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

Tethys lays down a dance to let Lute move again.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

BAM!

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

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

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

"Demon King...

I will be the one to defeat you!"

*stab*

*punch*

*stab*

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

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

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

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

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

Vanessa moves in with the Vidofnir...

miss -> punch -> stab

Time to give the ending boss kill to my favorite.

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

And Lute does not miss!

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

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

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

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

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

Next time: After the battle

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 21 Part 1: A Gift

Vanessa was making final preparations to her wyvern's pack when she felt a tap on her elbow. Without looking, she knew immediately who it was. Only Lute ever got her attention that way.

She turned around. Lute was standing there, looking up at her with her hands behind her back.

"Hey!" Vanessa said brightly. "Are you ready to go? Prince Ephraim said we're going down into the main area of the temple as soon as everyone's preparations are complete."

"Yes. I am ready," Lute responded. She stood there for a moment, and then continued. "Do you remember what I said outside?"

Vanessa thought for a moment, and then remembered. "Oh, yeah, you said you needed to talk to me about something."

"Yes, and I kept my promise and did not put myself in any risky situations, even when the Elder Baels came out of the woods. I really wanted to get a better look at their mandible structure too..."

Vanessa smiled weakly. She was too stressed and worried about the next battle to really be truly relaxed, but it comforted her that Lute was still thinking about studying monsters, even as they were about to go and fight the Demon King from the legends!

"So what is it that you wanted to say?" Vanessa asked.

Lute looked down slightly and shuffled her weight. Then she abruptly put out one arm and held up a piece of paper to Vanessa.

"As you know, I am not very good at talking unless I am explaining about something I read in a book. So I thought about it, and I decided to write down what I wanted to say. Please read it. We are going to face the Demon King, and we might die, so I want you to read this first."

"What in the world is this about?" Vanessa thought to herself. She took the piece of paper Lute had handed her. As soon as she had, Lute awkwardly raised up a hand, as if to say something, then stopped.

"Um, I need to go get ready. I will talk to you later." And with that, Lute walked off.

Vanessa looked down at the piece of paper. She realized that it was folded up. Unfolding it, she found that it contained some sort of letter.

Dear Vanessa,

I greet you on this day of the 13th of Elysia, in the year of the Stone 803. I hope that you are in good health and that the blessings of the Sacred Stones have been granted to you in abundance.

Vanessa stopped reading for a moment. How like Lute to start off a letter so formally! She felt like she was reading and official military missive rather than a letter from a friend.

"Also, did Lute really write this 2 months ago?" she wondered for a moment. Then she remembered, "Oh yeah, some of the month names are switched around in Renais. I think Elysia is this month, so I guess this is from just yesterday, when we were still at Rausten Castle."

I am writing this letter to you to inform you of my desire to initiate a romantic relationship with you, if you would have the same feelings as I do.

"Wait...what!?" Vanessa read the sentence again. "No, it really does say that: 'Initiate a romantic relationship'." Vanessa lowered the letter for a moment. Was Lute being serious? Sometimes her sense of humor was a little hard to parse, but even so, this didn't feel like a joke. She raised the letter up again and continued to read.

I realize that this may come as a surprise. Perhaps you only consider me to be a friend, and if that is the case, then please know that I do value our friendship. With that said, I would like to outline the reasons why I have come to this conclusion.

First of all, this desire of mine is genuine. I have considered deeply what my feelings were, and while it took me a long time to understand it myself, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that I love you in a way that is something other than friendship.

As evidence of this, I use the example of my good, childhood friend, Artur. While I am very fond of Artur, and his company gives me great joy, I do not have the desire to hold him in my arms or to engage in any other sort of physical intimacy with him. The same cannot be said of how I feel about you.

Vanessa had to put the letter down again. She could feel her face flushing, and she quickly looked around to see if anyone was looking at her. But everyone else was busy with preparations for battle, or praying for success.

Vanessa thought to herself, "This is totally genuine. Lute really means this." She wasn't sure what to think at first. Vanessa had pretty much grown up as a Knight of Frelia, so she was used to fellow knights being in relationships. But she hadn't ever even thought that it was an option with an outsider! Lute wasn't even from Frelia!

But the more Vanessa thought about it, the more the idea started to feel right to her. How did she really feel about Lute? Vanessa hadn't honestly thought much about romance up until this point in her life. She had been too busy trying to become a good knight and trying to catch up with her sister. But if she was honest with herself, she knew she liked Lute in a way that was fundamentally different from how she had felt about anyone else before.

Vanessa hurried to read the rest of the letter before they had to move out and attack. Why had Lute waited until now to give this to her?

Furthermore, I have also considered the practicality of a potential relationship between us. When I first started to realize what I felt for you, I did not admit it to myself. This is because I was unfamiliar with any social custom of 2 women engaging in a romantic relationship with each other. It is not a practice that I have ever encountered in my hometown. However, I have since learned of the custom of Hippolyta Marriages that you have in Frelia, and while I was initially concerned that the custom was only allowed within the ranks of Pegasus Knights, upon consultation with Syrene...

Vanessa closed her eyes and felt a wave of embarrassment wash over her. Lute had talked to Syrene about this? How much had she said to her? Is this why Syrene had been asking Vanessa about Lute so much? "I'm a full grown adult. I don't need to be embarrassed about this" she said to herself. "But Syrene just makes me feel like a child again, I can't help it..." she thought with frustration. She opened her eyes and continued to read.

...upon consultation with Syrene, I learned that the custom of Hippolyta Marriages is extended to non-Knights in some cases. When I inquired into the situation, Syrene related an example to me of such a relationship she had observed in her early days as a Knight.

"Oh stones!" Vanessa thought. "Syrene knows all about this, I bet. Lute's not exactly subtle."

Finally, I wish to list some reasons why I find you attractive and why I think that you would be a good match for me.

1. I think that you have a beautiful face, and I particularly enjoy it when you smile. This is why I sometimes say strange things to you. I am teasing you because I hope to make you smile. I hope I have not caused too much trouble.

2. I have always meant it when I say that I enjoy watching you when you fly, either on a wyvern, or on a pegasus. You are strong and graceful, and this is especially relevant because I am neither strong nor graceful, though I am extremely adept at memorizing things I have read and using magic, so I think that we compliment each other well.

3...

Vanessa realized that the letter was folded multiple times. Unfolding it, she saw that there was a long list of items--numbered all the way to 24--why 24?--still to come. Lute and her lists!

Vanessa knew that she didn't have time to read the entire letter right now. She could already hear around her that preparations were wrapping up. But as she had unfolded the letter to check the length of the list, another piece of paper had dropped out to the ground. She bent over and picked it up.

It was a drawing. Vanessa recognized her own face. Lute had drawn her--at some point!--beautifully, staring off to the side. "Maybe she did this the other night after dinner, when I was writing that letter to my parents? I didn't even notice her drawing..."

In the drawing, her green hair shimmered. It looked like Lute had used some glistening material to color it? To the side of her own face, Vanessa saw Lute had also drawn herself. The drawing Lute was looking towards the drawing Vanessa with a look of...what? Longing? Respect?

Vanessa noticed that Lute's purple hair was made of flower petals. She had just seen flowers like that recently. Where was that again...?

Vanessa carefully placed the drawing back into the letter and folded it up again. Then she stuck the whole thing into an inner pocket of her shirt. As she did so, she felt the warmth of the magic talisman Lute had made for her before as it pressed against her chest under her shirt.

She felt herself tearing up. The letter was needlessly stiff and formal, and the list of reasons was way too long and thorough, and the drawing was amateurish and showed Lute's lack of formal portrait drawing education...

But it was so honest! And she had taken the time to make this for Vanessa! When had she even found the time? They were marching almost every day, and fighting battles constantly! When had she even found the time to collect flowers and draw and write all of this?

"No one's ever given me anything like this before," she thought.

She walked off in the direction she had seen Lute go.

As usual, Lute had set herself up in a corner, a little ways off from anyone else. She was busy arranging the packs on her horse.

"Hey," Lute heard Vanessa's voice from behind her. She turned around and saw Vanessa standing there, with her hands on her hips and a serious expression on her face.

"Oh no," Lute thought. "Did I misjudge the situation after all? Is she angry?" She suddenly felt very vulnerable.

"Lute...How dare you..." Vanessa started to say, and Lute prepared herself for the worst. Vanessa sniffed, and Lute realized that her eyes looked slightly red.

"I may have really upset her..." Lute thought with a sinking feeling.

"Sorry, I just..." Vanessa continued. "No one has ever given me a gift like that before. And...and how dare you give that to me and then just walk away! Don't you want to hear what I have to say!?" Vanessa threw her arms up as she spoke.

Lute stood, frozen in place.

And then before she knew what was happening, Vanessa had grabbed her in an embrace. Lute was so surprised, so tensed up and her arms hung at her sides.

"Thank you so much! It really was the sweetest thing I've ever received. And, and the drawing! And where did you even find time to do all of this?" Vanessa was rattling off questions too quickly for Lute to keep up. She also seemed to be crying. "What exactly is this reaction?" Lute thought.

"...Are you upset?" Lute asked.

"Upset?" Vanessa said, as she released Lute just enough to look her in the face. "No! Not at all!" She wiped her eyes with one hand. "It's 'cause I'm crying, right? Sorry, I just got really emotional. The letter, everything, it was all really sweet."

Lute relaxed some of the tension in her shoulders. Ok, good. Vanessa was not upset. "Do you...How do you feel...Um, I wrote in the letter..."

"Yes!" Vanessa said and smiled at Lute. "Yes! I feel the same way you do! I'm sorry, I just never thought you might feel that way about me, so I never even thought to...I'm just surprised, but...it feels right."

Lute let the words settle in in her mind for a moment. Vanessa had said "yes". That was "yes" as in "Yes, I feel the same way about you as you do about me", right? So she was saying...why was language so imprecise sometimes!?

"Just to confirm," Lute started, "You are saying..."

But before she could finish, Vanessa interrupted. "Yes. I'm saying I love you too!"

"As in romantic attraction?"

Vanessa laughed. "I'm not sure what else it would mean in this case, but yes, that's what I mean. Are you asking for proof, my dear scholar? I can kiss you if you'd like?"

Lute was silent for a moment as she realized what was being asked. She answered quietly, "Yes. I would like that."

Vanessa, who still had her hands on Lute's shoulders, closed her eyes, leaned down, and gently placed her lips on Lute's. Lute felt warm. She felt Vanessa's lips on her own. She heard Vanessa's breathing, and she smelled Vanessa's scent. For a moment, that was her whole world.

Then Vanessa pulled back and smiled at her. They both laughed slightly awkwardly. Lute felt the hot flush on her cheeks.

"Also," Vanessa continued, "I'm sorry, but I totally did not read that whole list of reasons why you like me yet. I promise I will, but we don't really have time now."

Vanessa thought for a moment, then grinned mischievously at Lute. "Maybe you can read the list to me like you've done with your books before. I think I'd like to hear the words from your own mouth!"

Lute felt herself blushing. She looked down at the ground slightly, but she couldn't help herself from smiling. "OK," was all she could manage to say.

A voice rang out in the entrance hall of the temple, "Move out!" It was Ephraim.

"We have to go now," Vanessa said, suddenly serious.

"That's her knight face," Lute thought, looking at the expression on Vanessa's face.

"Promise me again, just like you did before outside, that you won't do anything risky while we're in there." Vanessa looked at Lute intensely. "I couldn't bear it if something happened to you."

Lute nodded her head. She felt her head clearing. Vanessa's serious expression helped her to get back to focusing on the task at hand.

"I promise I will stay safe," Lute said to Vanessa. "And I want you to stay safe too."

"Yes," Vanessa responded. "We both will get through this battle."

It was time to go and face the Demon King.

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 20 Part 6: Eirika and Seth

We're still moving our way slowly around the spiral path of this map, so let's start this post off with some comedy!

After a whole game of mediocre level-ups, here's Vanessa getting an actual, blank level-up! The first of the game, and the first I've ever seen in Sacred Stones!

>:(

So we're making our way left here before we start down, but we also have flying enemies coming at us from our back flank.

Lute and Vanessa <3

"Are you ok?"

Vanessa looked up from the body of the defeated monster in front of her. It was Lute.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I took a couple of scratches, but nothing major."

"Hmm," Lute frowned slightly. "Let me heal you just to be safe. Many of these monsters are rather putrid, and I do not think that we should leave wounds alone."

Lute raised her staff and Vanessa felt the gentle warmth of the healing spell envelop her.

"Thanks!" Vanessa smiled at Lute.

"Vanessa, I have something I need to tell you, but not now on the battlefield. You must promise me to meet with me and speak after this battle is done."

Vanessa looked at Lute's face, wondering what had brought this on. What could there be that she needed to talk about? Well, knowing Lute, it must be something important, right? "Lute is not the type to chatter idly," Vanessa thought to herself. "Although, at the same time, sometimes her judgment of what's important and what isn't is...a little different."

"Ok. I promise," Vanessa said. She crossed her arms and looked seriously at Lute. "But to make sure we can keep the promise, you stay safe out there. I've seen you eyeing all of these monsters. Don't let your enthusiasm to study them cause you to put yourself in danger!"

Even as she spoke, she saw Lute's eyes darting off to the side, probably tracking a monster in battle with someone else in the distance.

"Very well. I will promise not to put myself in any risky situations. In exchange, you must do the same."

Vanessa drew an X across her chest and chanted, "Cross my heart" then pointed upwards, "And to the sky..."

She waited for Lute to finish.

"I promise you I will not die" Lute put her right hand to her chest and finished the chant.

Vanessa smiled. "I see you've been reading that book about Frelia carefully! I wasn't sure if you were going to know that one!"

"Of course I knew it," Lute said in her usual monotone. "I remember everything I read."

Myrrh continues training

I love the goofy face she makes when she rears up to attack.

And here I caught her mid-transformation

So yeah, while we start to push down, we also have these fliers coming at us from behind.

Lute becomes even more impervious to enemy magic.

Eirika and Seth hit their B Support. Eirika asks Seth to teach her "Renais Knight Sword techniques". She says that she has only learned from her brother (who is primarily a lance fighter) in the past, and she thinks she would become more capable if she learned another style. Seth argues that Eirika, as the Princess of Renais, shouldn't risk herself by being out front in battle anyway, and she argues back that she can't just stand around and watch others in danger without trying to protect them. She insists that she wants to learn more so that she can also protect Seth.

My fliers head over for the top left corner to take care of enemy fliers who are appearing there. This includes Myrrh, who continues to get more and more broken strong.

Here's a level-up from Franz too.

And Ross and Gerik also hit their B Support!

It starts off with Gerik suddenly telling Ross that he should go to sea in order to train himself better.

He explains that when he was younger, he took a job as a guard on a cargo ship.

He goes on to explain that, in the beginning, he was horribly seasick, but that he got used to it after a couple of days.

He also says that, while he was hired to protect the ship from people aiming for its cargo, the forces of nature were at least as frightening as any human enemies.

He ends by saying that, when he got off of the ship, he felt like he had grown a lot.

He tells Ross that the sea is a strict teacher that will train you to be stronger.

After that, the conversation turns again to Ross asking how to get stronger, and Gerik explains that a lot of it is mental. If you think you can win against your opponent, then you can.

Ross declares that he is going to train not only his axe-arm, but his mind.

Then after he exits stage right, Gerik says to himself, "It's good that he has enthusiasm, but next time I need to teach him to calm down!"

This conversation is funny because of how it starts. It feels very out of the blue when Gerik just suddenly tells Ross he should go to sea. It does eventually connect back to the training topic of their supports, but it's still kind of amusing the way it starts.

Here is the only time in the map when anyone took any large amount of damage from any non-boss enemies. This one skeleton had an Armor Slayer, so it managed to do decent damage to Duessel.

Next time: More futzing around

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 20 Part 2: The Map

We start the map in the bottom right corner. Aside from the mountains, the darker colored trees are also impassible terrain (literally "deep forest", but maybe "dense woods" is a more natural translation) for non-fliers, so this start is totally cut off from the enemies. Aside from fliers (and Berserkers, like Ross, who can walk over mountains) everyone has to go up first.

After going up, the path goes left, and either continues left and up, or left and down. The Gorgon there has Stone.

Again, any unit that can't deal with terrain will hit a dead end if they go down and left, so most units have to go up and left. (Strictly speaking, it's not a total dead end, but the terrain has hills and forests, so it's slow to move through it.) I've moved the screen straight up from the last photo, and we can see the path that goes up and left, and the Centaur guys waiting at the end of it.

Moving the screen left, we see some cyclopses. There are also caves scattered around the map. Reinforcements appear around them at different times.

All the way left, we see the main path starts to dip down. Basically, the route land-based units have to take is a counter-clockwise spiral.

Moving the screen down, we see the center of the map where the two bosses are. Also note the eyeball at the left edge. It has a 3-10 range attack.

Moving down more, there's another Gorgon with Stone. We can also see the almost dead end that we would have hit if we had gone down and left in the beginning instead of up and left. Units can walk through the hills and forest just below the lake, but it does slow them down a bunch.

And moving the screen slightly right along the bottom, here's that original down and left path.

And here's one more shot of the middle of the map.

Walking around in a spiral is the most obvious way to do this map, and it can be good if you decide that you want to train up a unit that you haven't used much so that they can go to the last two maps in the game. The map is absolutely swamped with enemies. Including reinforcements, there are over 100.

The other option is to use some combination of warp staff / rescue staff / rescue dropping with fliers to get units over to the middle. If you can kill the dragon boss and have Ephraim seize the castle, the map is done. The map is probably possible to finish in just a couple of turns, and for all I know, maybe it can even be done in only 1 turn.

Here's the dragon boss in the middle. It's...

Morva. It's Myrrh's father!

:(

The description under his name says, "The chief of the Manaketes who has been transformed into a zombie by Lyon."

The weapon description says, "The breath of the dead dragon which leads everything into decay."

The other boss is Riev. He has an "Arujiroure" (Aura) tome again.

Looking at it online, I see this spelling given: "Argyraurae".

Actually, looking at Serenes Forest

They have a list of the origins of some names, including this tome, which may be based on the Greek word "Argyros" for "silver".

And here are some examples of the enemies on this map. This is a typical Cyclops. They carry different kinds of axes, including some who have Sword Slayer axes.

Here's a "Biggle" (Mogall)

There are a bunch of Gargoyles with different lances.

And Hellbones with swords, bows and lances.

And Centaurs, wait, "Magudairu" with either axes or bows.

Again, looking at that Serenes Forest page, it seems to be intended as "Macdaire". But in the English version, the name was Mael Dúin, which is from a Celtic mythological hero.

Here's a Gorgon.

And here's an Arch Biggle (Mogall). This is the one on the left side of the map, and aside from a "Bloody Eye" 1-2 range magic attack, it also has a 5-use, 3-10 range "Black Magic Missile" attack.

Lute awoke with no sensation of time having passed. She had fallen asleep almost as soon as she had laid down, but now the sunlight of the barely risen sun was pouring in the window of the room she was in and hitting her directly in the face.

She got out of bed despite still feeling tired. They were supposed to march early today, and she disliked being awoken suddenly by loud noises, which is what would happen if she stayed in bed until someone came around to rouse everyone. They usually did it by banging on a shield and yelling to everyone to wake up, and it was hard enough to deal with the noise even when already fully awake.

Besides which, Lute had something important to do before they left the castle. She put on her shoes and ran her hand through her hair in a half-hearted attempt to get rid of any bedhead she might have. Then she walked down to the courtyard where she had seen the flowers the day before.

There were some flowering bushes whose flowers looked very much like roses, but they seemed to be some other species that she wasn't familiar with. They were a vivid purple color, a color like her own hair, and one that she hadn't seen in a flower before. She regretted that there wouldn't be time to research the flowers before they had to march out later in the morning.

Lute knew that she probably wasn't supposed to be picking flowers from the castle garden, so she looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching and then crouched and snapped two flowers off from the bush. She carefully put them into one of the pockets that she had sewn into her dress for the purpose of carrying plant and bug samples.

She had plans for these flowers, but she would need to dry them out and press them first. Walking out of the courtyard, she hummed happily at the thought of the project she had in mind.

Next time: Starting the longest map

[sacred-stanning]

Chapter 20 Part 1: Heading to Darkling Woods

After fighting off Riev at Rausten Castle, Ephraim's army chases him to the Darkling Woods, where Lyon / the Demon King is also waiting.

The woods is the place where the Demon King was previously defeated by the original heroes with their Sacred Stones, and the defeated Demon King's blood befouled the area.

"The once beautiful forest became covered in a poisonous fog."

The scene then cuts to Lyon in the woods. He runs into this guy, who asks him, "You, human, what are you doing here?" He then warns him that it's not safe for a human to be here.

Lyon says that he has come to use the power of the Demon King to save all of humankind.

So this guy reacts to that by basically saying that he can see that Lyon has been corrupted and taken over by the Demon King.

Lyon then insists that he is here of his own free will, and not because of the Demon King's influence. He says that he will save all of Grado.

But this guy just tells Lyon that he's a fool. No human can stand up to the power of the Demon King, and Lyon has been manipulated by the Demon King to do what it wants.

He introduces himself as Morva (Muruva), the dragon who guards the woods.

He tells Lyon that he must carry out his duty and "put him to sleep".

Meanwhile, Ephraim's army is entering the woods. Ephraim comments on the awful atmosphere of the place.

Myrrh tells them all that there is a "Demon Temple" for the Demon King just beyond the swamp.

Myrrh continues and tells them about how she grew up here with her foster father, who adopted her after her birth parents were killed in the war with the Demon King, and that he protects the area by destroying all of the monsters who appear.

Myrrh then seems unsettled by something, and she warns them that they are about to be under attack by monsters.

The scene cuts to Demon King Lyon and Riev.

Demon King: "Ku ku ku ku ku ku..."

And here is the deployment for this map.

18 units!I can basically bring every unit I've been using at least somewhat recently except for Rennac. There are no chests, doors, or items to steal though, so it's not a hard choice to leave him behind.

After talking to Syrene, Lute wandered back towards the Rausten castle library. She knew that the army wouldn't be moving out until morning, so she had some time to think about her next steps, as well as to get some sleep. Though in truth, she was feeling so agitated she wasn't sure how well she would be able to sleep.

She felt a strange mixture of emotions. She was excited to tell Vanessa how she felt! She felt so sure of her feelings now. But because she didn't know how Vanessa would respond, she also felt apprehensive. What if she told Vanessa her feelings and then Vanessa didn't share them? What if Vanessa didn't want to talk to her anymore as a result? Could that happen?

"I haven't ever done sufficient research on how romantic relationships start, so I just don't have enough data to work off of..." she thought to herself. "Would the castle library have books on the subject?"

But just as she was thinking this, a familiar sight grabbed her attention from the corner of her eye. She was just passing by one of the rooms that had been given over to housing the army for the night, and she recognized the mop of orange hair in one of the beds. It was Artur! Lute suddenly had an idea.

"Artur might know something about the subject, and it would be faster to ask him than to search in the library for a book that might not exist in the first place."

Lute walked into the room. Artur was in one of the beds, and she recognized Moulder in another, as well as some other monks whom she wasn't familiar with. Lute stopped at the bed Artur was in and looked down. He was asleep. Well, it was late, and they did need to get moving again tomorrow. But still, him being asleep was a problem. She couldn't ask him any questions if he was asleep.

Lute crouched down next to the bed and stared at Artur's face. It was a familiar sight, not just his face, but his sleeping face. She had often watched him as he went about his day, including sometimes when he was napping, using the same patient observation techniques she used for animals and bugs to make notes about the daily life of an Artur. That was actually what she had titled the book where she kept her notes, "The Life Habits of an Artur". Artur had seem somewhat perturbed the first time he had seen the book, when she had mistakenly left it in the open on her desk at home and he had come over. But like in so many other ways, he had accepted that Lute was going to do the things she did.

Lute leaned in, wondering if it would be ok to wake him. But as she did, something caused Artur to groan in his sleep. A moment later he opened his eyes.

"Aaaaaaaahhhh!" Artur screamed and pulled back.

Lute was so surprised that she also jerked back, but since she had been crouching, she lost her balance and fell back on the floor.

She sat up and saw Artur sitting in bed, holding his chest and breathing heavily.

"Lute!" he hissed, "You just about killed me! What are you doing here!"

"Hello, Artur! I ca--" she started to speak.

"Shhh!" Artur shushed her and looked around the room. Amazingly enough, no one had woken from Artur's scream. They were all probably exhausted. Moulder's loud snoring communicated that much. "Don't speak so loudly. I don't want to wake the others," he whispered. "Everyone was really busy after the battle."

Lute whispered back "Hello, Artur. I came here to ask you a question. It is very important."

Artur frowned. "So important that it can't wait until morning?"

"Yes."

Artur sighed, but he started to get out of the bed and to put on his shoes. "Alright. But let's go somewhere else where we can talk without waking anyone up."

Artur and Lute walked out into the hall, and continued until they were away from any of the rooms where people were sleeping. Lute looked over at Artur as she walked, and she was overcome with feelings of nostalgia. She had walked with him many times before like this. Though Artur had no interest in bugs--he was rather squeemish around them--he had often accompanied Lute on her walks in the forest near their hometown when she searched for unusual animals and plants.

Artur also glanced at Lute as they walked. Since joining the Renais army under Ephraim, he hadn't had many chance to meet up with her. But now here she was, out of the blue, in the middle of the night. But somehow, it felt appropriate for the Lute that he had known since childhood to show up at an odd hour with no warning.

They stopped near a window that looked out on one of the castle's courtyards. The moon was almost full, so it was surprisingly easy to see the horses and pegasi that were resting below.

"Ok, Lute," Artur started, "I think we can talk here without disturbing anyone. What's the matter?" His face was tired, but he gave a wan smile. "I haven't talked to you in a while! Is everything ok?"

Lute thought. "No, I cannot say that everything is ok. The reason I wanted to talk to you was because I have a problem that I need to solve. I was going to look in the library for a book on the subject, but I am not sure if the library will have such a book. And as I was walking, I saw you in that room and I thought it might be faster to ask you."

"What's the problem you're having?" Artur asked, looking concerned.

"I want to start a romantic relationship, but I am not sure how to do this, and I do not want to make a mistake and destroy my opportunity."

Artur stared at Lute for a moment.

"What?"

"I said that I want to start..."

"No, no. I heard you the first time. I just...I guess I didn't expect this..." Artur put one hand to his head and closed his eyes.

Lute waited to see if he was going to continue talking.

"Hold on though," Artur continued. "You said that this couldn't wait until morning. You scared me half to death by waking me up in the middle of the night, and it's because you want to talk about romance? Lute, we're in the middle of a war, and we need to march again tomorrow, and I'm tired!"

Lute realized that what Artur was saying was not untrue. She suddenly felt bad for having bothered Artur. "I apologize. I did not mean to wake you up, or to surprise you. I was looking at you and wondering if I should wake you or not when you woke up on your own."

Now it was Artur's turn to feel bad. Lute was looking down at her feet and holding one hand in the other as she spoke, and Artur recognized that body language. Growing up, Artur had mostly seen the confident, knowledgeable Lute when they were together, just the two of them. Lute seemed to know everything, and Artur could enjoy listening to her talk as she explained whatever it was that had caught her interest recently. But he also had seen the embarrassed, ashamed Lute many times too, usually when they were in a group with others their age. Most of the kids in their village had gotten along with Artur well enough, and they didn't usually give Lute as much of a hard time when Artur was around, but Lute never did quite fit in with the others, and sometimes, when she seemed to realize that some joke had been said at her expense, he would see her shrink like this, like she wanted to disappear.

"I'm sorry," Artur said. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm just really tired, that's all."

Lute nodded. She tilted her head up and closed her eyes for a moment. "I understand that my inquiry may not seem very important in the context of war, but I would argue that it is precisely because we are at war and may die at any time that I am eager to act and not have regrets later."

Artur nodded. As usual, Lute had summarized the situation in a logical way that was hard to argue against. "You're right. We shouldn't discount the importance of love, even in the middle of a war. What's that line in the Book of Monk Felonius? 'Tomorrow is war...' what was it?"

Lute closed her eyes, and then recited in a smooth, slightly sing-song voice, "Tomorrow is war | so today we must love | with all of our hearts | we live our lives now" Lute immediately responded. "Chapter 9, Poem 12, in the third stanza."

Artur smiled. This was his friend, the confident Lute. He'd seen her do this so many times before, but it still amazed him every time. "As a man of the cloth, I should be the one who has that memorized, not you! You never fail to impress me!"

"I know" Lute said, matter-of-factly.

"At any rate...who is it?" Artur asked.

"Who is what?"

Artur laughed. "Who is the object of your affections? Who else would I be asking about?"

"Oh," Lute said. "You did not specify, so I was not sure. It is Vanessa."

"Vanessa? General Vanessa!?" Artur wasn't sure he had heard right.

"Yes," Lute replied.

Artur thought for a moment. He wasn't sure what he had expected. In truth, he had never really expected to hear Lute talk about love at all. She had certainly never had anything to say about it when they were growing up. But regardless, he had really not expected the answer to be this general from Frelia. And a woman! But then he remembered something he had heard from Moulder a little while back when they were talking about the differences between church duties in Frelia and Renais. Moulder had told Artur something about performing marriages for Pegasus Knights when he was stationed in a barracks up north. He had said something about one of the marriages being between two knights...right?

"Sorry, I was a little surprised that the person you said was...uh...a woman. I wasn't expecting that. But coincidently, I feel like I heard something like that from Moulder a while back. Some tradition they have in Frelia?"

Lute's face brightened in the way it often did when there was a chance to explain something. "You are probably referring to the practice of Hippolyta Marriages among the Pegasus Knights of Frelia. It seems to be a widely accepted tradition there, though it does not appear to be well-known outside of Frelia. I have been reading about Frelian customs recently, and..."

Artur cut Lute off. "Sorry, I'd love to hear about it some other time, but it is late, and we march again tomorrow." Artur didn't like interrupting Lute when she was trying to share some knowledge with him, but he recognized when she was about to dump an entire book's worth of information on him, and it was quite late.

"So let me just make sure I understand the problem," Artur continued. "You want to 'start a romantic relationship' with Vanessa, as you said, and you're not sure what to do. Is that right?"

"Yes, very good, Artur. You have understood correctly."

"Have you tried telling her how you feel?"

Lute frowned. Why was Artur's answer the same as what Syrene had said? Couldn't they see the problem? What if she told Vanessa and it didn't work?

Artur looked at Lute. Her brow was furrowed. She didn't like something about what he had said.

"I take it you haven't said anything yet," he guessed.

"I do not like unpredictability. I do not know how Vanessa will respond to me. What if she does not feel the same way about me?"

"Ah..." Artur thought, "There's the heart of the issue." He couldn't disagree with Lute's assessment of herself. As long as he had known her, she hadn't been a fan of surprises. But what could he say to her? Love was not like a magic spell where you could memorize the recitation and get the same spell every time...

"I'm afraid I don't know what to say," Artur said apologetically. "The only way to know how someone feels about you is to ask them. It can be a little scary to make yourself vulnerable like that, but...well, let's think this through. How long have you known Vanessa? And do you know her well? I'll be honest, I haven't had many chances to talk to you since joining this army, and I didn't even realize you knew her outside of..."

Artur stopped and realized something.

"Wait, you aren't following her around and observing her like you used to do with me, are you? Like with the book with the notes?"

"No," Lute said. "I got in trouble when my grandmother found 'The Life Habits of an Artur'. She told me that I should not write books about watching people. She told me that many people find it unpleasant to be observed like that."

Artur was relieved. "Ok, good. Um, so how well do you know Vanessa anyway?"

Lute thought. "I first talked to her when she came to our village and I followed her to fight the monsters."

"Ok, that's when you first talked to her. But, have you talked to her much since then? Outside of things like battle planning I mean."

"Oh, I see what you mean. Yes, I talk to her almost every day. We often eat meals together and when the army marches, she joins me and listens to me while I read books out loud for her."

Artur's mouth hung open. He was surprised, and a little hurt too. He knew Lute well enough to know that it probably just hadn't occurred to her to say anything, and it's not like they had had many chances to talk with each other recently, but still... He had known her since they were kids, and he had no idea she had made a new friend!

"I had no idea you knew her that well! I've been friends with you since we were kids! Why didn't you say anything to me?"

Lute considered Artur's question. "It did not seem relevant. I did not think that you needed that information."

"I don't need it, but I would have been glad to hear it! That's great that you two are getting along well!"

"Yes, it is," Lute nodded. "That is why I do not want to make a mistake."

Artur felt like he finally understood the problem. "I get it. You're worried that she'll reject you and then won't want to be friends with you anymore?"

"Yes," Lute said. She was glad she had asked Artur. He was rubbish at identifying insect species, but he had always had a keen eye for understanding what people were thinking!

"Ok, so like I said before," Artur continued, "The only way to know how she feels is to ask her. But, I don't think you need to worry too much about her not wanting to talk to you, even if she doesn't feel the same way. It sounds like you two get along really well, and it seems unlikely that she'd suddenly not want to be your friend anymore."

Lute looked away and twirled her hair in one finger. After thinking for a moment, she asked, "Can you guarantee this?"

Artur sighed. "No, sorry. I can't. I can only make an educated guess. I don't even know Vanessa all that well. I think I talked to her once, and that was on official business. But I really don't think you need to worry. She must like you a lot too if she talks to you every day!" He smiled at Lute and put his hand up to where she was twirling her hair and stuck out his index finger.

Lute recognized what he was doing and smiled. She took the hair she was twirling and wrapped it around his outstretched finger. Artur then pulled his hand back gently and let the hair slowly unwind and fall off from his finger. It was something silly they had done when they were kids, but it was somehow reassuring to do it even now.

Lute put her hands on her hips and scowled, "Don't be so childish, Artur!" she said, in a slightly nasally voice, in a flawless imitation of Artur's mother.

"I'm just being friendish!" Artur said in a high-pitched voice, as if trying to imitate what he sounded like when he was younger.

Lute made an exaggerated gesture of throwing her arms up as if to say, "Hopeless!", again, in a perfect imitation of Artur's mother. They both laughed. It was a private joke, based on something that had actually happened.

Artur had always loved Lute's imitations of people from their village. The imitations were spot on, and captured odd little details of people's voices and gestures, and to his knowledge, she had never shown any of these to anyone but him. It was their own private, stupid game.

Lute had to admit that she felt better now. Artur was right. There were no guarantees or rules when it came to people. Lute knew that all too well. It was why she usually preferred books, spells, and creatures. But she also had to admit that Artur's argument was logically sound. The fact that Vanessa met with her almost every day did mean that she liked Lute. Lute could feel it in her chest that she wanted Vanessa to like her in the same way that she liked Vanessa, but even if Vanessa didn't feel the same way, maybe it would be ok as long as they could still be friends.

"Thank you, Artur," Lute said. "You have been very helpful."

"Of course! We've always been friends, and we always will be. You can talk to me any time!" Artur smiled. "But, we should really get to sleep. We march out tomorrow morning."

Lute felt some regret at how little she had spoken to Artur recently. She hadn't meant to, but somehow time just passed by...

Lute walked with Artur back to the room he was sleeping in. Before going in to the room, Artur looked at Lute and said, "And tell me what happens, ok? I want to hear how it goes. Not because I need the information..." He looked at her expectantly.

"...But because you would like to know and share in my emotional state as a good friend should. I understand your life lesson, father Artur," she said with a dash of sarcasm thrown in. Lute recognized the technique that Artur was using where he didn't finish his sentence to try to confirm that she had heard and understood the point he was getting at. She had seen him use it many times before with the children he had taught in the church's classroom.

"I will tell you what happens," Lute said. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, and for love of all the gods, don't you dare go and start reading or something. You need to get some sleep too."

"Perhaps," Lute said in return. Artur gave Lute a stern look.

"Ok, I will go sleep," Lute said, and walked off.

Next time: Let's check out the map