So there's been at least two Mad Kings within the entire Fire Emblem series... Anyway, last time Red and the Shepherds were not exactly successful in their mission, but they were able to return to Castle Ferox. Oh, and there are still spoilers, so consider yourself warned.
Back at Castle Ferox, everyone was lamenting over Emmeryn's death and how everything we had done was for nothing. Flavia asked Basilio what would happen next, but he just reminded her she was the one who had recently come into power.
I apologised to Chrom for not being able to save Emmeryn, but he just thanked me for doing my best. Chrom felt the blame lay with him for the events happening as they did. I tried to tell him that he had no fault in it either, but Chrom had a hard time accepting that.
Chrom claimed to be powerless, but I just reminded him that I had been powerless once, as well. I admitted that alone, neither Chrom or I were half the person that Emmeryn was, but we could be something more if we worked together. I would remain Chrom's ally and friend, picking him up whenever he falls.
Chrom was worried about not being worthy of Emmeryn's ideals, but I just told him to keep at it until he was, and that we could rely on our friends as well. Everyone backed me up, all reassuring Chrom that they had faith in him.
Chrom was thankful for the reassurance, but there was still one thing that remained for us to do; Mad King Gangrel still needed to be defeated. Once again, all the Shepherds agreed to help out with this mission. Flavia allowed us to use the whole of the Feroxi army, and Basilio insisted on joining the fight as well.
Olivia, the dancer who had been responsible for our escape earlier, insisted on joining us as well. Emmeryn had done her a favour once, and she said she would be honoured in having a part in giving her justice.
According to Basilio, Olivia was a Feroxi treasure, who was the finest dancer in all the realms. Basilio then addressed Chrom as commander, believing he had earned his way up to that title.
The plan would have Flavia and Basilio lead the Feroxi in a head-on assault, while the Shepherds would focus on taking down Gangrel. Oh, and Basilio immediately went back to addressing Chrom as boy, but he wasn't given any time to object.
Basilio complemented my ability to lead troops to victory, and said that both Chrom and I still had some growing to do yet. With the talking down, we started making preparations to set out.
Chapter 11: Mad King Gangrel
Our destination was the Border Wastes. We would finally take down the Mad King, and bring a close to the war between Ylisse and Plegia. Naturally, both Gangrel and Aversa were waiting for us.
Frederick had some good news for us; Khan Flavia had a delivered a message, stating that the Plegian army was in disarray. Many of the soldiers were opposed to further violence, and there had been infighting and desertion among their ranks.
Gangrel had tried to stop the chaos, but only his most loyal followers stood by his side. Supposedly the deserters were chanting Emmeryn's name as they abandoned the field. She had become a folk hero of sorts. Chrom now understood that Emmeryn had known that, deep down, all people wanted peace. It was Emmeryn's actions that brought forth their desire.
Chrom immediately decided to strike at Gangrel, and bring peace back to the land.
Gangrel greeted Chrom once we were on the battlefield. Chrom had no intentions of listening to his words, and just told him that he would die, and peace would be brought back to both Ylisse and Plegia. Gangrel tried to psych Chrom out, but Chrom had none of it. He would have his friends to stand by him, whereas Gangrel believed he and Chrom were naught more than beasts.
At this point, Olivia officially joined us on the battlefield. As a dancer, Olivia was able to refresh her allies.
Gangrel's army consisted of mercenaries, mages, wyvern riders, fighters and thieves. Naturally, the thieves were more interested in the treasure chests scattered around the Border Wastes rather than the fight. The others however, advanced towards us. We fought together to take them down.
Amongst the other enemies, there was also a hero and a sage. Both were experienced units, and they possessed slightly more power than the other enemies. Regardless, we were able to take them down as well.
To our south, several forts spewed forth enemy reinforcements, making our march towards Gangrel slightly more difficult.
As we were dealing with the reinforcements from the south, enemies appeared from three forts located to our northwest. Fortunately, Tharja and I were closest to the scene, so we were able to defeat them before they could reach the main bulk of our army and do any major damage.
As Lissa tended to our wounds, she became more than experienced enough to use a Master Seal. Lissa used the Master Seal's power to become a sage, gaining a new outfit practically identical to Emmeryn's. With her newfound abilities, she was able to use tomes to attack enemies in addition to healing her allies.
We advanced south after Lissa's powerup and the northwestern reinforcements had been defeated. Whilst we focused on Gangrel himself and his lackeys, Gaius and Sully made a beeline for the last unopened chest whilst Cordelia set her sights on an enemy thief that had stolen a large bullion.
Gangrel marched toward us as we drew closer to him. First we focused on taking out his allies, so we would have no interference when it came to cutting down the Mad King himself. Nowi and Donnel were able to weaken Gangrel sufficiently for Chrom to strike the final blow.
Despite defeating Gangrel, we still had a few more Plegians to deal with before we could claim the battle was a victory. There was also the matter of the last chest; Gaius opened it to find a Goddess Icon inside. The remaining enemies fell before out strength, finally bringing an end to the war between Ylisse and Plegia.
The remaining enemies started to surrender en masse, so Chrom had our forces stop fighting.
Chrom, Basilio, Flavia and I gathered to discuss with each other the end of the war. We just had to wait for the messenger to deliver the terms, and then everything would be over. Despite claiming victory, Chrom was in no mood for a celebration. Basilio told him victory could be both bitter and sweet.
There had been many lives lost in the battle, and Flavia said they would need to see to their dead. Afterwards, she would rebuild their army. Chrom apologised to Flavia, telling her that her sacrifice wouldn't be forgotten. When Chrom said Ylisse would compensate Regna Ferox however necessary, Flavia joked that he hand over the Fire Emblem.
Ylisse wouldn't have to worry about compensating Regna Ferox; reparations would fall to Plegia. Apparently Plegia was a fairly well-off nation, so there was no worries there.
Sumia flew in, happy to see that Chrom was safe. She then hugged him, and Flavia said that the pair would need some room. Sumia's embrace was so tight that she was choking Chrom. She started to faun over him, worrying over every little detail. Lissa told Chrom to say something, but he just said he was trying to. Lissa then suggested herself, Flavia and I should depart, which we did.
After we left, Chrom proposed to Sumia.
After the war had finished, both Chrom and I worked tirelessly to restore Ylisse's splendour. Fortunately, we had both Feroxi muscle and Plegian to gold to help us out, and peace was able to return to Ylisse. Chrom never took on the title of exalt, out of respect for Emmeryn.
Despite not taking a title, the Ylisseans wanted Chrom to take a wife. He did so, and there was a royal wedding. Thousands from near and far attended in order to see Chrom marry Sumia.
There had been many sacrifices, but having had a hand in bringing peace back to Ylisse had been a great experience for me as a tactician. Admittedly, there were times when things didn't go in my favour, but I'm glad I was able to pull through for Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds in the end. One hopes that this may be the last entry in my journal, yet I get the sense that there are still more trials awaiting the Shepherds in the future...
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