Last time, Red and the Shepherds fought Mad King Gangrel. Two years after that conflict, a new threat arises, forcing the Shepherds into battle once more. Naturally, expect to see some spoilers, although nothing too major just yet.
It has been two years since our fight against Plegia. We had enjoyed peace for a while, but things began to change when Raimi arrived from Regna Ferox with a message from Khan Regnant Flavia.
Flavia had requested Chrom's presence at a summit, as the continent to the west, Valm, had launched warships. Their emperor had gained the name "the Conqueror", and he seemed to have his sights set on conquering the world.
Naturally, Chrom did not hesitate to go, and Sumia insisted on going as well. Chrom objected to this, as Sumia had only just recently given birth to their daughter, Lucina. Sumia suggested the she be wet-nursed, and that Lucina was a strong child. No matter what Chrom said, Sumia insisted on joining him no matter what.
Lissa taunted Chrom, saying Sumia had him well-trained, Frederick rode off ahead to prepare an escort, and I was impressed by Chrom's abilities as a ruler. Still, although he had grown as a leader and a father, Chrom was very much still the same man I met a couple of years ago.
We arrived at Castle Ferox, where Flavia confirmed that Valmese warships had set sail. Unfortunately, that was all the information she had for us at that moment. Flavia then called Basilio, who told us that they had someone we should hear from. Someone we had already met; it was Virion.
Virion was accompanied by someone else; a woman by the name of Cherche. She revealed that Virion was a duke, and she was his humble servant. At Chrom's suggestion, Cherche spoke on Virion's behalf, just to keep things going at a decent pace.
Cherche revealed that she and Virion had come from Rosanne, a territory on the continent of Valm. Virion was the head of House Virion, and rightful ruler of Rosanne. Virion then revealed the reason that he and Cherche had travelled from their home; Walhart the Conqueror had led the Valmese people and conquered the continent.
Although he tried to hide it, everyone was aware that Virion had ran for his life from Walhart's armies; a fact that Cherche confirmed. Cherche witnessed as Rosanne was swallowed up by Walhart's forces, leaving her with no other choice but to flee to Regna Ferox as well.
With the Valm continent conquered, Walhart had his sights set on ours. Basilio told us that Cherche claimed that the Valmese fleet would be at our shores in a matter of days. Basilio seemed to have some doubts, but Chrom believed both Virion and Cherche and suggested securing Regna Ferox's ports as soon as possible.
Virion told us that Valm had the strongest cavalry in the world, requiring us to utilise units who had experience fighting mounted units.
As we were preparing for battle, I encountered Tharja. Not the same questionable Tharja I had grown used to being around, but one who acted... normal. After being forcefed some liver and eel pie (which was actually quite good) Tharja revealed to me she had been practising being normal. She quickly snapped out of it when I told her that her "typical normal" was actually very unusual. When I asked Tharja to go back to the way she actually was, she wasn't sure whether she would be able to, due to practising being normal too much...
Anyway, we travelled west to Port Ferox, where we would have our first encounter with Walhart's soldiers.
Chapter 12: The Seacomers
Just as Cherche had predicted, the enemy had arrived at Port Ferox. When we arrived, we saw the enemy's leader mercilessly cut down an innocent civilian who had boarded his ship, but not before making several bold claims. He said that the Conqueror himself, Emperor Walhart, had claimed dominion over the lands. He went on for a bit, eventually demanding the surrender of the Fire Emblem.
With no other choice, Chrom ordered us to engage the enemy. Cherche also joined us on the battlefield; she was a wyvern rider. Her wyvern was named Minerva, and apparently she hungered for a bite of the action as well.
The first line of enemies we had to deal with were knights and cavaliers. The knights blockaded our way towards the enemy's ship, whilst the cavaliers and one paladin were coming at us from the west. As both Vaike and Cherche were wielding hammers, they were able to easily put down a couple of the knights with very little effort.
As for the cavalry to our west, Nowi, Sully and I saw to them, with backup from Donnel, Gaius and Tharja respectively. After Nowi and Donnel weakened the paladin, Tharja and I finished him off. The other cavalry units were swiftly taken down by Gaius and Nowi.
The knights who had been in our way were also advancing towards us, but they were made trivial thanks to Miriel and Lissa blasting them with their magic.
Lissa was also there to tend to any wounds, allowing our allies to fight longer. This worked out when the enemy knights started to close in on Vaike and Cherche, who were backed up by Chrom and Virion respectively.
After taking out the initial lineup of knights, our forces split into two. I was with Chrom, Tharja, Sully, Gaius and Lon'qu. Our group took the western side of the port, whilst the others remained where our battle started, dealing with the enemies as they came towards them.
During the battle, I became strong enough to make use of a Master Seal. Once there was a decent opportunity, I used the seal. I was granted more power, and I was no longer a mere tactician; I had become a Grandmaster.
Shortly after that, the enemy's commander, Dalton, advanced from his ship. He was a paladin, and his short spear allowed him to attack from a distance. Fortunately, he was one of the last enemies left. Tharja and I attacked him together and were able to defeat him. However, seeing their commander defeated did not phase the enemy forces, so we had to wrap things up before we could claim victory.
Whilst we were able to defeat Dalton's forces at the port, Basilio's army hadn't been so lucky, and neither had the town. Hearing that Feroxi soldiers had struggled against this new threat was ominous indeed. Flavia than said that the enemy we had defeated were just the vanguard, and that we could expect more of them.
Basilio knew that we wouldn't stand against Walhart's armies, and Chrom admitted that Ylisse wouldn't be able to handle an attack from the sea. It fell to me to come up with a plan.
As we knew that their cavalry was their greatest strength, we would be at a disadvantage on land. We just needed to catch them at sea, which would be problematic, as neither Ylisse or Ferox had any warships.
Basilio caught on to my way of thinking, suggesting we ask a land that bordered the sea and had wealth to spare: Plegia.
Chrom was against the idea, but Basilio and Flavia insisted on it. We were left with no other choice, so I asked Chrom if he would reconsider. He gave in, and ordered a messenger to be sent.
Flavia went on to tell me how impressive she found my victory against the Valmese forces, noting how that both Chrom and I had grown quite adept.
So, after two years, Ylisse's peace had been threatened once again. Naturally, it comes down to me as the Shepherd's tactician... no, wait, Grandmaster, to find some way to prevent the Valmese forces from washing over Ferox and Ylisse. As long as Plegia can provide us with the ships we need, I should be able to come up with something...
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