MARREND PLAYS SUIKODEN 5!

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Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Right. This game. What the hell was I doing? Oh, yeah, we just liberated Lelcar. I seem to remeber reading a bit ahead in the walkthrough about the next set of characters, and there's quite a few in this town. However, I need to advance the plot at HQ before they're ready to go, so, let's see what's happening.

So, our talks with Sable have gone a bit sour. It appears there is bandit out that way who's impersonating me. Even Dinn and Boz have been fooled into thinking this guys is me! My job, now, is to go to Sable, figure out what's going on, and clear my name. However, before we do that, I believe that's my cue for new characters to recruit. Let's have a look at the list!

auto: Roy, Dinn
non-auto: Taylor, Jeane, Murad, Linfa, Nikea, Dongo, Faylen, Faylon


Taylor would be easier to recruit if I had the elevator. I brought Kyle for a bit extra dialog with Jeane, but, that's not part of her recruitment per say. She wants us to get something for her in a crater-like area (dubbed "the Big Hole") north of Rainwall. She'll even accompany me, which I'm sure Kyle won't mind.

After I finish with Jeane, it's the moment of truth. Will Murad join me? Hell yeah, he will! Sweet. I've already met Linfa in Estrise (and lost horribly in her mini-game), so, I have to find to her again in Yashuna, then a third time in Raftfleet. The walkthrough notes she won't appear in Raftfleet until a few story-events have passed, so, that sounds like she won't be joining the Loyalist Army until some events in Sable have passed. We'll see how that goes!

Which leaves Nikea and Dongo, with Faylen and Faylon absolutely related to Sable. Now, Dongo wants a better hammer, and the one he's on the lookout for is, guess where, Sable. As for Nikea, she's in Estrise, raring to duel against me, and show off her super-moves, before she'll join.

The guards at Sable are not happy to see me, and attack on sight. I mean, I get where they've coming from, and they don't really give me a choice outside of beating them senseless. Before they call for reinforcements, Dinn and Boz come by, and give the party a once-over. Yep, we're the real deal, not the bandits. One of the guards asks Dinn if he has any proof of this assessment, and he responds with, "No. You're going to have to trust me on this." I suppose raising my hand and showing them the Dawn Rune isn't going to fly.

At any rate, we enter Sable...





...with Dinn and Boz in tow. We meet with the lord of the town, and we discuss the situation. He might think I'm innocent, and may even want Sable to be in the Loyalist Army. However, his people are cautious. Part of that is from the Barrows deal with Armes, and my brief association with that family. Though, mostly, it's this imposter that I have to bring to justice. Dinn seems to think that the bandit camp is somewhere in the Ranro Mountains. However, before we hunt bandits, there's a few things I can do. Such as find the Silver Hammer, recruit Dongo, and spend a crap-ton of money sharpening everybody's weapons, not to mention making sure everybody's armor is up to snuff. It's okay! I've got unlimited potch!

After all that business is done, I still don't see Linfa in Raftfleet's inn. I assume that's where she pops up! Let's return to Sable, and make our way to the mountains. We've a bandit to snatch!

Getting to the bandit camp at (or near) the summit provides something interesting.





I wonder what would happen if my characters kept quiet, and let them think I was this Roy? Though, one of the bandits reminds the large guy that Roy's sleeping inside, so, we must be the real deal. Dinn asks them to surrender, and, of course, OF COURSE, they refuse. Geeze.

After I beat them senseless, it's high-time to meet with this imposter, and see for ourselves how closely he resembles Freyjadour. Sure enough, the only visual difference I can notice is that our imposter has yellow eyes.





He's initially willing to be taken away, but, after being talked down by Lyon, well, yeah. We duel instead. Afterwards, we learn this wasn't entirely Roy's idea. With what they say about who put them up to this, it becomes potently obvious that they are talking about Euram. See? I told you they'd be back. Anyway, Faylen and Faylon are willing to return what was stolen in an attempt to spare Roy's life, but, he'll have none of that. However, I'll have no part in executing Roy either. I'll spare his life, and Sialeeds seems to have formulated a plan in regards to how to get back at Euram.

She doesn't provide any details as to her plan, but, it becomes pretty apparent once it goes into action. I'm going to pose as Roy, posing as me. Sialeeds and Lyon will pose as a distressed civilians, who are "under attack" by Faylen, Faylon, and "Roy". Dinn's role is merely to say a few disparaging words to the "Bandit Prince". Euram was contacted about this attack, and we made him believe that he'll play the part of a savior of the people by beating back the "Prince". The expression Sialeeds and Lyon make when Gizel makes his entrance is pure gold.





After we beat him, Euram makes the mistake of calling the Prince "Roy", and saying that the plan was to loose on purpose, and beg for forgiveness. At which point, I raise my right hand, and the glow of the Dawn Rune shines forth. Welp!

Euram does his best to cover his tracks, like with his little outburst regarding the Dawn Rune. He says me meant to say he was expressing joy at catching the Bandit Prince. Of course, Dinn has Roy come forward in his princely getup, and the whole thing just falls apart on Euram from there.

After that ugliness, Sable officially joins the Loyalist Army, sending Dinn as their representative! Roy also joins us, on the provision that he allows himself to be used as a double for the Prince to trick our enemies. Faylen and Faylon also join during this time, thanks to certain choices I made earlier. Even if they didn't join me now, I'd have to re-climb Ranro to their camp with Roy in the party. This leaves Linfa as the only character left for this section. She's not in Raftfleet, and I take the risk of going to the plot-lockdown room to advance the story one more step. The gamble worked. I may not be able to swap party members (Luserina is continuously apologizing for her brother ;_;), but, I notice Linfa sitting in Raftfleet's inn. Geeze, I was getting a little worried here!
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Luserina being in the war room doesn't entirely prevent her from being my party-miester, like I thought it would. Advancing the plot is still very much an attractive option, but, apparently, there's two characters I can recruit before I do so. Why the walkthrough decides to mention these recruits now, and not in the previous section makes no sense, but, whatever.

Speaking of recruits, let's have a look at the list.

auto: Fuwalafuwalu, Maroon, Bernadette
non-auto: Nakula, Sagiri, Isabel, Mathias, Miroon, Moroon, Meroon, Byakuren, Babbage, Lu, Retso, Shun Min, Chisato, Yahr, Nelis


The stars I just mentioned/recruited were Nakula and Sagiri. The others, well...





...yeah, we should probably do something about that. There's nobody in the war room, but, Luserina is ready to party-switch in her regular location. I grab the new characters (stat-stone tiiiime!), plus two others. Viki's not 100% there, but, she manages to get us as far as the mountain path between Beaver Lodge and Yashuna. Thankfully, we're on the Beaver Lodge side of the pass.

Fire and panic have spread across the village. Not even five steps into it, we come across a Nether Gate assassin. Lyon is worried about Fuwalafuwalu, and wants to check up on him while I help evacuate the citizenry. Neither myself, nor Maroon agree to splitting apart.

We find the beaver elder in his hut, with Dolph. Lyon accuses him (and Gizel) of the act of burning down Beaver Lodge as a heinous act of vengeance. Dolph tells us that he's merely acting out the wish of Gazel to make a Falena for Falaenas. In this instance, it means eradicating the beavers. Falena doesn't "need" them. While beavers don't associate with humans, the thought surfaces that they don't "need" the humans either. The beavers may prefer to live in peace, but, Gizel obviously won't have that.

We beat Dolph, but, of course, he gets right back up after a bit, and disappears into thin air. Fuwalafuwalu is okay, but, we still have to evacuate the citizens, and put out the fires! A voice from outside calls out for me. It's Toma and Goesch! The beaver elder is a bit confused that people from Lordlake would help, but, like Goesch says, if there's anybody in Falena who knows what it's like to see one's hometown go to ruin, it's the people of Lordlake.

The fire has died down now. The damage to their village was certainly severe, and could have been a lot worse. Some beaver blurts out to never again be involved with human disputes, but, of course, Maroon and Fuwalafuwalu put them straight: it was because of their withdrawal from human civilization that Gizel decided to remove them. Though, I'm sure Gizel would find another reason for such genocide. He's very, very much against non-humans. Even if the beavers were more involved, he may barely tolerate them. Also, I bet they wouldn't entirely be for his cause, and he might use that as an excuse to attack them regardless. Remember how he treated Raftfleet?

At any rate, Beaver Lodge has a new theme...





...at least temporarily? I can't remember if this change is permanent. However, there's a small bit of business (armor, skills, Isabel, Mathias) that I can take care of now that it's "day", before I head upstairs to Lucretia to introduce our new allies.

So, apparently, Gizel also had Rainwall under attack while we were dealing with the beavers. Maybe setting Beaver Lodge ablaze was a diversionary tactic, maybe it wasn't. Either way, our trust/loyalty in Barrows hasn't exactly been particularly high to begin with. Also, let's not forget that Euram attempted to ruin my good name in Sable. We certainly don't owe them any favors, and it would be a huge huge act of forgiveness on our part to go and liberate them now. However, I bear the Dawn Rune, not the Rune of Punishment. I decide to leave Rainwall as-is. Both Lucretia and Luserina back me up on this decision.

Cut scene to the Sun Palace, and Gizel visiting the captive Lymsleia. The report of Rainwall being occupied has come to her attention. She doesn't really care, but, Gizel thought she might like to know because Euram was rather fascinated with her. Of course, she doesn't care for either Euram or Gizel, but lets Gizel know she thinks Euram would have been a thousand times better. Gizel hints that Euram did something to me in Sable, but, doesn't go into details. This leads into telling her about the coronation ceremony. Lymsleia's no fool, and declines. I don't know if Gizel's threat to do harm to Miakis if Lymsleia doesn't comply is serious, or not, but, Lymsleia can't take that chance. She might not enjoy the circumstances, and she probably ultimately recognizes that she's been Gizel's puppet-queen ever since Arshtat died. However, she cannot escape the fact that she is to be the next Queen, circumstances aside.

Back in Ceras Castle, there's a bit of follow-up in regards to Isabel and Mathias, but, after that clears off, it's up to the plot lock-down room. We're told of Lymsleia's coronation ceremony, of course. Of all the foreign dignitaries that will be invited, we especially want to speak to the Island Nations. Ferid was from there, after all. There is a stop-off point for ships going to and from the Island Nations at Nirva Island, which I can now get to via Estrise. Georg is also coming with me, which should prove helpful.

Ah, the Island Nations. This isn't an island we visited in Suikoden 4, but, it's going to be a throwback section, to be sure. I mean, it's not as much of a throwback as, say, re-visiting Gregmister in Suikoden 2, by any means, but, it's something. Anyway, one of the first sights we see is the Lino En Kuldes, the flagship of the Island Nations. No doubt, the mighty Kamiyama had to be decommissioned at some point. I seriously doubt that ship is even still around. I mean, that was over 150 years ago, or thereabouts.

Not shortly thereafter, we meet with Admiral Skald Egan, the Island Nations' dignitary. He knows who we are, which makes my job easier. I don't even care how he knows who we are, but, he tells us anyway. The events in Falena have reached even the Island Nations. He knew somebody from the Loyalist Army would come to Nirva, but, didn't think it would be Freyjadour himself! He says he can guess what we're here for (this would not surprise me either), however, it seems the Admiral has business to attend to at the moment. Maybe we should see what's up for ourselves?

Now that we have free(er) reign of Nirva...





...there's a character I need to meet that I can recruit later by the name of Chisato. Her puppet show...





...is a cute little throwback to Suikoden 4. However, she's not joining us right this instant. A bit further up, I meet Skald and his daughter again. Apparently, some pirates have holed up in the lighthouse, and have threatened to burn it to the ground unless the Lino En Kuldes departs immediately. Skald jokes that it would be best to see the lighthouse go ablaze at night. His daughter, Bernadette, is not partial to such humor, and gets duped into solving the matter herself. With a little help from me, of course.

What we end up doing is Georg and Bernadette will stall the pirates, as Lyon and I take the ladder outside, and take them from behind. We make it in plenty of time, as the negotiations Bernadette was attempting go sour. As they reach for the oil, Lyon and I stand in their way. Georg and Bernadette follow soon afterwards. The fight, itself, isn't anything to write home about, but the music...





...is, being a redux of the standard battle music from Suikoden 4. After that business is done, we meet with Skald on the Lino En Kuldes. Skald makes another joke about going straight to the Godwins, and giving them what-for. Bernadette falls for the trap again, and volunteers to fight with the Loyalist Army. She means well, but, she's not happy with her father's mind games.

We head back to Ceras Castle. While Bernadette cannot serve in any official capacity in regards to being a representative of the Island Nations, we're still more than happy to accept her assistance. The day of Lymsleia's coronation has come upon us, as is the day Gizel officially becomes Commander of the Queen's Knights. Lucretia predicts trouble ahead, as this means he'll be free to exert even more power than he could before, and we all know he will do exactly that. The expression Haswar makes during the ceremony...





...and Lymsleia's stoic face says they know it too. There's really nothing that can be done about it, and that's probably the most frustrating thing of all.

Back at Ceras Castle, we've lowered the water level, and have a new theme.





This translates to being able to recruit the rest of the recruits in this section. Let's get to that, shall we?

Miroon was at Yashuna's hot springs, and I'll need Maroon and Muroon in my party for her to join me. It's a very small dungeon before I run in with some dwarves that dug into the water supply. Welp! Miroon joins shortly after the conversation here.

Moroon and Meroon join at the same time, though, it's a bit of a trek. I first have to visit Beaver Lodge to talk to Meroon, and she'll mention Moroon. Moroon is the beaver at Baska Mines that we met back when we were breaking into Agate Prison for Lucretia. Logg's boat can take me there. Of course, he won't believe me that Beaver Lodge has been burnt down. So, I re-visit Meroon, and she absolutely insists on being taken to Moroon. He won't believe his sister either, but, at least he's willing to come with us to Beaver Lodge to "expose the human lie". Man, I wish it was a lie. Moroon initially blames me, but, the others back me up. The five beaver siblings are eventually reunited into the Loyalist Army.

As a side-note, the battle music is altered...





...when Moroon is in the party, much like Cornelio.

In any event, the walkthrough I've got isn't clear about Byakuren's location, but, she requires Genoh to be in the party. I looked this up on Suikosource, and as it happens, she's found at the bridge connecting Logg's new location and the exit that's nearby. I have to fight her first, and speaks in hisses, but, Genoh translates for her.

Babbage I could have probably used earlier (as he brings the elevator to the castle), but, what can you do? Though, he doesn't exactly join right away either. He has to have a look-see at a room that's now available, thanks to the water lowering. I'm not sure how long I have to leave him alone to his work, but, we've other characters.

Lu, unfortunately, has to wait, as we need Babbage on the force. Retso and Shun Min, however, should be okay-ish. The deal with Retso is that he wants to try to cook the Mythical Fish Sashimi to honor his former master. It sounds like he was absolutely hypnotized by this dish. Which is absolutely to be taken literally. Using a hypnotism technique is a thing he does in the Iron Chief mini-game in Suikoden 2. However, maybe he refuses to believe, or recognize, that right now? Either way, we need to go fishing with Subala for a bit. That should kill some time in regards to Babbage as well.

It only takes two bouts of fishing, but, I manage to fish up a rather strange-looking fish. Sublala wants me to throw it back, the thing is so disguising. I warp to Raftfleet, and show it to Retso. He seems to recognize the fish as the Mythical Fish, and refuses to believe that it tastes bad. Except that it does. Revoltingly so. He then insists to see where I fished it from. Warping back to Ceras Castle, and going outside takes me directly to Logg's platform, which is also where Subala hangs out. He's initially concerned that the fish in question is endangered, as this castle is the headquarters of the Loyalist Army, but, Shun Min is more positive about it. They join soon afterwards!

I swing by Babbage, and he's completed his research on the gear! The elevator is now on-line, and he joins the Loyalist Army! Sweeeeeet! Lu's recruitment involves look-look-looking for the gear she misplaced (the self-same as the gear that we removed from the Revolving Bridge to make it cease to function), and is a slight pain to find in that mess of a workshop.

This leaves Chisato, Yahr and Nelis, which all require going back to Nirva Island, and Bernadette in the party. I can't wrap directly to Nirva, though. I have to take the boat in Estrise, for some weird reason. Then again, I think Viki might have mentioned that her magic (or the magic of the Blinking Mirror) would work anywhere in Falena, and Nirva isn't in Falena. It's in the Island Nations.

Anyway, not five steps on Nirva, and we take note of a bunch of pirates that have taken a child hostage. They say they want to exchange the child for their captain, but, the general policy of the Obel Maritime Guard is not to negotiate with pirates. Bernadette asks the guards what their plan is for the hostage, but, her question is met with evasion. Hrm.

We have a little talk with Chitaso. The boy in question loves her shows, and she says she'll do anything to help. Bernadette initially thinks it's too dangerous to involve citizens, but, she has heard of Chitaso's ability to mimic voices. If Chitaso is certain she'll do anything to help this boy, Bernadette has a plan. We cover up Chisato in a robe, so that she cannot be recognized, and have her pose as the pirate captain. Her acting ability is in top form, and manages to fool the pirates. The exchange occurs, with us releasing their "captain", and them releasing their hostage simultaneously. Chitaso grabs the child, initially giving the pirates a hoot, thinking their captain is going some good, old fashioned, double-crossing. She then discards the robe, and runs away with the child, dumbfounding the pirates in the process. This gives Bernadette the opportunity to call the guards on them, and capture them.

When we find Chitaso, she's fallen over; her legs have given away. She humbly admits that she was petrified the entire time, and we part ways, for now. I meet with her again, and ask if she could join us. She considers that, despite the fear, she's found a little bit of confidence, thanks to our little adventure. She's still very much a shrinking violet, to be sure, and I have to take her back to Ceras Castle, but, she agrees.

Back to Nirva for Yahr and Nelis! We give ourselves a bit of a closer look at the Lino En Kuldes, and chat up a nearby guard concerning the cannons mounted on it. Those are supposed to be Rune Cannons, but, the technology to make the shells that go with them have been lost. For how long, they don't say, but, it's probably beside the point anyway. Afterwards, we visit the inn. One of the rooms has a conversation between Nelis and Yahr. We're not sure what brought them here, and being an Island Nation Federation affair, Bernadette drops the subject like lead. Awkwardly enough, the next course of action is to head back to Falena. Nelis and Yahr run up, requesting that I take them with us. Sure, why not? We see a curious thing along the way.





Is that a fireworks display, of some kind? Nope! It's a Rune Cannon! It's up to us to find out if there's any more shells in this area. We cannot allow something like Rune Shells and Rune Cannons to fall into the hands of pirates, or foreign nations! I'll join Yahr and Nelis in their search, even if it leads us into a wreckage among a reef.

We explore the reef, and find that it's also the home of a monster. That sucker's the real reason why there's a ship graveyard here! After we defeat it, we go a bit further in, and find the wreckage of a sixty-year-old ship that, according to Yahr, might still have Rune Shells in it's hold. We run across a few pirates on the top deck of the ship. They've been stranded, thanks to that boss I fought earlier. They are more than happy to be taken into custody. We're not totally out of the woods yet, though. That beast is still alive, and has it's eyes on my ship! It might be sixty years old, but, Nelis fires the Rune Cannon. Both cannon and shells still work, and fell the beast in no time flat. However, a weapon so powerful needs to be destroyed. Nelis initially complains, as their mission was to confiscate any Rune shells they may come across, but, gets with the program soon enough. We sail back to Nirva to let the pirates be taken in. After that, I invite the two into the Loyalist Army, and they agree, with Nelis having initial reservations, and eventually getting talked into it, as before.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Visiting the plot-lockdown room instigates an event. Here, Lucretia points out that even thought the Godwins are still our enemy, we may need to make the newly crowned Lymsleia, maybe Falena itself, as our enemy. I don't know if I have what it takes to wield a blade against my own sister, but, I do know that she's Queen in name only, and that my mission, the mission of the Loyalist Army, is to liberate her from Godwin's clutches. Thus, Lucretia suggests that we make a move against Doraat, a stronghold whose strength is second only to Stormfist. While Lymsleia's coronation undoubtedly gave the Godwins a morale boost, taking Doraat would be a pretty big hit.

Cut to the Sun Palace. Gizel notes that the Loyalist Army has made no moves to re-take Rainwall. Was it ever really ours to begin with? That aside, he thinks we'll make for Doraat, and wishes to send Alena and Miakis there. Miakis wishes to stay behind to protect Lymsleia, but, Gizel reminds her that Lymsleia is no longer a princess, but Queen. As Commander of the Knights, protecting the Queen is his duty.

Elsewhere, possibly Doraat (it's not a place I'm familiar with, that's for sure), Taylor is hawking his papers, which reveal the truth behind the fire in Lelcar. Oboro is there to back up the story, and incidentally, somebody from Lelar speaks out as well. Shigure and Sagiri are also there, checking the roads. Apparently, the rumors/news about Lelcar have spread like wildfire (if one excuses the pun), and this whole shebang with Taylor is part of Lucretia's plan.

Back at Ceres, I re-visit the war room, and give the order to start the siege of Doraat. Like Lelcar, this is a battle on both land and sea. However, unlike Lelcar, I can't entirely ignore the sea portion. If nothing else, I have to field the Dahak, so I might as well give it some support.

148 casualties later, and I achieve a victory. However, it becomes apparent that Alenia has the Twilight Rune that was once kept safe in the Western Palace. The way she uses it may not be very effective, but, I think it is more about having the strength to counter the Dawn Rune in the absence of being able to control the Sun Rune.

We've infiltrated Doraat, but, Alena's still around, and the Rune she bears might be more dangerous in close quarters. Sialeeds will take some soldiers to block off escape routes, while Zerase insists on coming with me. I'll also take Jeane (Thunder Rune), Alhazred (Rage Rune and Mother Earth Rune), and Viki (Cyclone Rune) with me for maximum value (Lyon has Mother Ocean). The random encounters here are pretty damn tough, but, I manage to get to Alena with some Medicine (and spells) to spare. We manage to defeat her, and the Twilight Rune goes ballistic on us. Or tries to. Zerase counters it, calms it, or something. Dolph appears to rescue Alena (well, more like he's making sure the Twilight Rune doesn't get into our hands), and we pursue. We run up against Miakis, and Lyon does her damn best to have her stand aside. She's not going to back down, though. Being a Queen's Knight is the only thing she has left. Or so she thinks. Still, I ask her to join us, but, she won't budge. We duel, and I come out on top.

Dolph and Alena have gotten away. No doubt, they'll be back to haunt us later. For now, the Loyalist Army has control of Doraat, and Miakis joins our ranks. Before we get to recruiting everybody else in this section, they want me to talk to Zerase. I get the first visitation from Leknaat instead.





I was wondering when she was coming around! I mean, she's not showing up as late as she does in Suikoden 3, but, it's still on the late side as the other games go. After this event, talking to Zerase will show me the Tablet of Destiny. After this we have a fun little run-in with Georg, that's more than a small spoiler, so, I'll put it into a hide-tag.


We learn that Georg actually was responsible for murdering Queen Arshtat. However, let's recall a scene in Sol-Falena (or maybe it was Stormfist?) when Ferid was asking Georg a big favor, and there was no details mentioned about what it was that Ferid was asking Georg to do. That is what they were talking about. We learn more details of this at a later time.


Georg doesn't respond to the situation at all. He just up and leaves Ceras Castle. He passes by Lucretia, and asks her to take care of the rest. She refuses, letting him know that only he can deliver on his promises. Miakis comes by my room that night, and apologizes. She begins to realize that having her be at Doraat, and joining the Loyalist Army, means she was bound to meet Georg, and cause a ruckus. Perhaps that's why Gizel had her be in Doraat the first place?

Speaking of, cut to the Sun Palace. Alena is profusely apologizing for loosing in Doraat, despite having the power of the Twilight Rune. Gizel is unemotional, saying they need to find a more suitable host for the Rune. Alena initially wishes another opportunity to prove herself, but, Gizel won't have it. Lymsleia, then, does something interesting. Sure, she pokes fun at the Godwins for loosing against the Loyalist Army, and how we utilized the people's trust. However, I don't think they ever expected...





...this. Gizel is against having the Queen, herself, go to the front lines, but, Lymsleia won't have it. She sees her duty as Queen to bring peace to her people, no matter what the cost. Marcsal gives an approving nod at this.

Back at Ceres, it's time to recruit. I have a list...

auto: Miakis, Galleon
non-auto: Levi, Bergen, Norma, Ernst, Gavaya, Raven, Haswar, Isato, Urda, Eresh (vs ???), Hazuki, Cathari


...and, as you can see, there is a choice of recruiting Eresh now, or another character (that I don't want to disclose without a hide-tag) later. However, I'm usually about recruiting people sooner rather than later, so, I'm going to go ahead with Eresh here...


...and forgo recruiting Euram. Yes, Euram. The self-same guy that tried to trick us with the Book of Condemnation, and the guy that attempted to use Roy to tarnish my good name in Sable. It might be worth it to see how that goes down, but, like I said, I'm more about recruiting people sooner than later. I mean, I usually choose Kasumi over Valeria in Suikoden 2, simply because doing so allows the recruit of three (or four?) ninja/characters sooner than if I chose Valeria.


In any event, Levi and Bergen join at the same time. We saw/met them when we were doing Jeane's sub-quest at the Big Hole. He didn't join us then, but, after sensing Freyjadour has a connection with both the Twilight Rune and the Star Rune, he's quite eager to join. Bergen, he just wants to see stuff explode.

With the recruitment of Levi, I now have a dedicated Tutor. Technically, Zerase also has the Tutor skill, but, her main service is kicking ass with the Star Rune the Tablet of Destiny. As far as having a dedicated Combat Teacher is concerned, that's Zegai. Georg also has the skill, though, obviously, Georg is going to be unavailable for a while. Also, I seem to recall Norma looking for a "great wizard", which is a description Levi happens to fill (even if he insists on being called a Rune magic scholar). Thank goodness she's moved to Raftfleet, otherwise, I seriously doubt she'd be a recruit now. Ernst joins with Norma. A bit of background: Ernst bears a Beast Rune (not the Beast Rune, thank you very much) that curses him to take a leopard form. He can transform back into a half-human form with the power of the Rune, but, it's only temporary.

Gavaya is one of those creeps that wants certain women in the party. If you recall, the guy had the hots for Lymsleia, and hit on Lyon when we met him in Stormfist. Bringing Faylen, Norma, and Viki to him makes him want to join the Loyalist Army. Don't look at me like that. A recruit's a recruit. Though, Viki's exact biological age is a question. We don't know when she was born, or at what point she began to travel time and space, but, such travel seems to be a theory in regards to how she's in all the games. There's even a theory that goes so far as to suggest that the games occur in the order Viki experiences them. Don't even get me started with Jeane, because I literally have no clue what her deal is.

Er, sorry about that! Anyway, Raven requires a bit of digging. First, I have to visit Sable, and listen to what the lord there has to say, then do an investigation sequence with Oboro.

For the moment, this is all we can get. Our next event is a war battle, unfortunately. Geeze, I'm really starting to hate these, even if they make perfect sense for the story-flow. At any rate, this war battle, we fight against Lymsleia, herself. Of course, Alena and Zahhak are there as well, but the lack of Gizel is somewhat disturbing. What's he planning?

Anyway, I manage to incur only 16 losses in this battle. The tough part's coming up, as I was asked to formulate three separate battle-parties. One must include Roy and Zerase, and will act as a decoy for Alena. Another includes Kyle, and will keep Zahhak busy. Meanwhile, a party that must include Lyon, Sialeeds, Miakis, and myself goes to "kidnap" the Queen. If we can pull this off, and Lymsleia joins us, the Godwins will loose all legitimacy, and there will no longer be any point to this war.

I won't let Galleon stand in my way. We defeat him, and his men, with a bit of doing. Lymsleia comes by to order him to stand down afterwards. She them turns to me, tearing up. However, as much as the game has set up that this is the final battle, it's also been setting up that Sialeeds has been having second thoughts. One was during Doraat, and the other was before the war battle we just had. As much as I would like this game to be over now, it isn't. Dolph injures Lyon with a poison blade, and Sialeeds declares that she's going to take Lymsleia back to Sol-Falena. I'm sure it's not just Freyjadour who wants to ask the obvious question.





Sialeeds doesn't really know, herself, but, I can only really account for about 80 of the 108 reasons why she's taking Lymsleia back to the Godwins. However, there is, at least, some payoff to this idiocy. Galleon relays his account of the attack on Sol-Falena, and insists both Kyle and Miakis hear it as well. Read the hide-tag for the deal.


Galleon does not deny that Georg killed Arshat. However, Georg did not kill Ferid, as the rumors have spread. That was Arshtat, under the influence of the Sun Rune. Yet, even as the sphere of light surrounded him, his very existence faded into nothingness moments later, Ferid mouths the words "I love you" to his wife.

Arshtat was overcome with grief of the loss of her husband, then the madness of the Sun Rune. She threatened the destroy all of Falena, as she destroyed Lordlake. At that point, there was no other option. She had to die, before untold suffering came to the land. Perhaps Georg would be branded as a traitor, and hated by the people. However, Arshtat, herself, let him know before she died that he did the right thing. Still, it must have been the hardest thing to do, and the hardest thing Ferid could ask anyone to do.


After that, it's high-time to check up on Lyon. Her condition isn't worse, but, it's not getting better either. Perhaps another use of the Dawn Rune might help, but, I don't quite have full control of it yet. Zweig thinks that visiting the Western Ruins might trigger another memory/vision, like it did with Ceras Castle. Which just so happens to be in the same general direction that the Dragon Cavalry are headquartered. Two birds with one stone, and all that. However, now that the Queen's Campaign is done, we can recruit the rest of the people on our list for this section. Let's go ahead with that!

Haswar has returned to Lunas, and she's all too happy to join. Of course, Isato follows, as does Urda. For Eresh, I'll need a letter from Jeane via the comment box, which I don't think I've received yet. I've other characters, so, I'll leave this for now. Hazuki and Cathari see me going to Port Spinacks...





...which is as far as Logg's boat can take me as far as getting to the HQ of the Dragon Cavalry. Hazuki apparently wants to meet Belcoot. Has some kind of vendetta against him. Of course, Belcoot won't fight her if I bring him to her. Cathari is upstream from Spinacks, at Hershville Navel Base...





...and is a member of the Howling Voice Guild. Also known as the guys with the guns. She's looking for a way to Sol-Falena to meet with an "acquaintance", but, it doesn't seem particularly possible, being in the middle of a civil war, and all. We meet again back in Spinacks. Apparently, her business is with Lucretia, and she knew I was the prince. Should I really be surprised by this, because I'm not. Anyway, she joins me after talking with Lucretia, and a question-prompt if I'm okay with her joining us.

This leaves Eresh. Jeane's letter eventually pops up, and I head back to the Big Hole with her in my party to meet with Eresh. Eresh speaks in the third person, and refers to Jeane as "comrade". All I can gather from what she says is that there is some kind of ordeal here that's waiting for her. However, I recall the last time I played this game (and doing it again now), and, Darigaaz, it's terrible. Getting back to the tomb that I took Jeane to initially is bad enough, but, Eresh requires that I go even deeper than that. The boss is no pushover either, but, I get an Epic skill and Eresh as a star for my trouble. I normally don't use Escape Scrolls, but, holy hell.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
Sauronix Castle (that's the Dragon Cavalry HQ) isn't that far off from Fort Spinacks. The game wants me to go straight into the castle proper, but, of course, I don't. Without even realizing it, I have a run-in with Rania, and eventually recruit her. This section is light on recruits...

auto: N/A
non-auto: Rania, <LaTiDo>, Killey


...but more is always welcome! Anyway, inside the castle, I meet Roog and Rahal. We chew the fat a bit, and talk a little bit about why we're here. They refer me to Craig Laden, who I meet momentarily. Of course, the Dragon Calvary will not ride to engage in the civil war that is occurring, but, is well aware of the possibility that the Godwins may invoke a foreign power. He assures me that should such a thing occur, The Loyalist Army would have the full support of the Dragon Calvary. He asks me to assure him that we aim to end this civil war as soon as possible. I mean, I really would like to do that for you, but, the game may have other plans.

For now, my business at Sauronix is done, as far as I can tell. Now to head west of Spinacks, and into the Deep Twilight Forest for the next plot event, and the other characters of this section.

I come across LaTiDo fairly close to the entrance of the ruins, which makes my job easier. The ruins themselves are something of a maze, but, I get to the door Zwieg and Lorelai couldn't get past before, and open it with the Dawn Rune. Killey has been just behind us, which Miakis detects. I let him in the party, for now, though, my guess is that he'll soon be recruited.

However, before that, boss fight, and a vision from the past. This time we see a light sprout forth from Ceras Castle, and another from these ruins. Rain falls upon the land filling the basin that eventually becomes Ceras Lake with water, as the Deep Twilight Ruins gets taken over by foliage. Truly, a spectacle of magic! Or, perhaps, Sindarian technology? Maybe both.

Leknaat makes another appearance, and refuses to answer any questions. She at least informs us that a new power has awakened within the Dawn Rune, thanks to the vision that we have witnessed. Thus, the third-level spell of the Dawn Rune, Light of Day becomes unlocked. The description of the spell is that it will heal one ally to perfect health. I assume this includes status removal, outside of resurrecting, but, Lyon doesn't need resurrection, does she?

When I leave the ruins, Killey decides to ditch the party, until I invite him to join us. He's more interested in Sindar Ruins than matters concerning Falena, but, a recruit's a recruit! I didn't bring an Escape Scroll, so, either I hoof it out of the Deep Twilight Forest, or I hack one into my inventory. Not gonna lie, hacking one is particularly tempting!

That was a pretty short section, story-wise, so, I don't think anybody would mind if I go onto the next one with this write-up. So, after some business involving an increased Combat Teacher rank, showing a Golden Hammer to my smith (and the associated weapon-sharpening that goes with that), stat-stoning and leveling the newbies, it's time to pay a visit to Lyon in the Infirmary. Lyon regains consciousness, but, it seems she'll be bedridden for a bit longer, maybe.

Lucretia has watched us. She returns to her office, where Lelei relays that the Godwins have had no success in securing alliances. Reconnaissance is be maintained all the same. Still, Lucretia has Lelei send messages to Sable and Estrise to prepare to evacuate, despite those being the places where the Godwins are most likely to attack.

Cut to the Sun Palace. I have no idea what these guys are even talking about, except that it raises some amount of concern. Though, whatever this operation is about, it's being headed by a new Queen's Knight. Which turns out to be none other than Childerich. Which gives me some pause, to be sure. Like, that guy is only really good for mass murder. Though, one recalls that Gizel ordered the genocide of the beavers, so, maybe this operation is something like that? Only one way to find out, unfortunately.

Back at Ceras Castle, Miakis drops by, and asks if I want to visit Lyon again. We find her sitting up in the bed, but, ultimately has to be put back down again. She has this ominous premonition that something terrible is going to happen, and not soon after she relays this concern, Lun barges in. Time to meet with Lucretia and see what's up.





Sending General Novum to re-take Doraat is one thing, but both Novum and Lugar? Childerich is also part of this deal, apparently. Meanwhile, Armes armies are approaching Sable and Estrise. There is no way our forces can take on all these fronts. Focusing on one will inevitably mean that we'll be open on the other two. Lucretia's plan is to whittle away the enemy forces with minor skirmishes while drawing them towards Ceras Castle. Estrise and Sable may fall to the Godwins in this process, but, the evacuation process that Lucreatia ordered through Lelei should help. Doraat serves as something of an issue, as it still mostly favors the Godwins. Raja will do her best to evacuate those citizens. Miakis then blurts out that the Dragon Cavalry should be helping us too. Before any response comes from anywhere, we get a few cut-scenes.

One is in Sable. The Armes armies there have taken quite a bit of casualties, but find the town, itself, empty. The Armes general notes that the Loyalist Army knows how to fight when we are outnumbered, and hopes to sweeten whatever deal they have with the Godwins. Next up is Estrise. The Armes armies there have not even as-so-much lifted a finger to overwhelm that town, though, I'm sure they could. Last is Dorrat. Three civilians welcome Childerich, and relay that the Loyalist Army has run off. Childerich wants to know where, and ends up accusing the townsfolk for letting us get away. Which he translates as high treason, and kills them off. Luger is utterly disgusted by this, saying such actions cannot be in the best interest of Falena. Novum disagrees, saying that this is the wish of Gizel, and they are not in a position to argue. Lugar reminds Novum that there is a difference between true obedience and blind obedience.

Back to Ceras Castle, the report is that we were able to evacuate everybody from Sable, yet only two-thirds of the people from Doraat were saved. Lucretia expected this much, but, it's still not great news. The plan may, generally speaking, be working, but, we cannot sustain it too much longer. What's worse, there has been no word from the Dragon Calvary. Miakis volunteers to head to Sauronix, and bring the entire division to Ceras if she has to. I'll go with her, of course, but, with Doraat under Godwin control, getting to Sauronix could be an issue onto itself. I mean, going by land or sea is clearly a no-go. We'd be captured/killed by the Godwins in moments. Going underground has it's own risks, but, seems to be the only viable option. Time to go talkin' to some dwarves!

Viki's teleport list is limited, as a lot of places are just plain too dangerous. However, it includes the Dwarven Camp in Baska Mines, which is exactly where I need to be. Thanks, Viki!

As soon as we drop in, we're being accused of killing dwarves. My bet is that this is Godwin's doing, but, humans look all the same to dwarves. Things are looking pretty ugly, but, Gunde shows up to vouch for us, diffusing the situation somewhat. We let him know what we're looking for, and he has us talk to Wabon. Apparently, the fastest way to Sauronix is to take Wabon's mining cart. I don't know how much of a wild/fast ride it is, but, we we run across some Nether Gate assassins at a transfer point. Must've been these guys that killed the dwarves! I can't go back to deal with the dwarves, I have to move toward Sauronix. Thus, the party splits up. Logg, Lun, and Gunde go back to the dwarf camp to do what they can while Kisara, Subala, Wabon, Miakis, and myself will push forward to Sauronix. So much for the "Family Attack" Unite!

We are ambushed by yet another assassin later on. We do our best to escape with Wabon's cart, but, the assassin runs after us. After we defeat it, it keels over. Not from exhaustion, or because we totally whooped it's butt, but because of a drug. As MIakis relays, this particular drug gives super-human strength, but, after it wears off, the user experiences a rather unpleasant after-effect of dying. This proves how far the Godwins are willing to go to have a "Falena for Falenans" to Wabon, and why it's in his best interest, and the interest of the dwarves, to ally with the Loyalist army. Gunde and Wabon become recruited shortly thereafter, though, Wabon has to go back to fix his cart after it was smashed by the assassin.

Down to four people, we find ourselves near the exit to the Deep Twilight Forest. Sweet! However, when we arrive at Sauronix, Miakis notices some Godwin soldiers. Huh. That's not a good sign, is it? There's no way we can get to Craig. At least through the front door. Is there a back door? Maybe. If there isn't one, I think we have some allies that can make one. Awkward as it might seem, but, it sounds like we're going back to the dwarves.

When we return to the Deep Twilight Forest, I meet with Roog, Rahal, and their mounts, Lance and Flail. However, not even they know why the Godwin soldiers are in Sauronix, and Craig won't tell them, for some unknown reason. They're hoping Craig will at least tell me what's up with that, and get me inside via the river.

This hope is a false hope. Craig tells me nothing of his reasons of why the Dragon Cavalry will not ride, only relaying his deepest apologies that they cannot. However, I'm not coming out of this completely empty-handed. Rogg and Rahal join my cause. Lance and Flail have to stay behind, but, we'll just have to deal with that, for now. Either way, we've got to make our way to HQ. Or use the Blinking Mirror. That works too.

While I might have recruited all the folks of this section already...

auto: Wabon, Gunde, Roog, Rahal
non-auto: N/A


...we're still very much in a tough spot, story-wise. Childerich's forces are advancing on Lelcar, and the Armes force from Sable are moving toward Lordlake. The Armes force in Estrise have still not moved, and, given who's in command of them, Lucretia thinks we can focus on the former two fronts more. We must protect these locations until such time that the citizens evacuate, and leave no provisions for the enemy to use. That said, I can only be in one place at a time to lead our forces. It's not often that one gets a choice of war-battles, but, I choose Lelcar. I'm more concerned with what Childerich might do if he gets his way than anything the Armes force might do.

Somehow, I manage 173 casualties in the process of defending Lelar, which might be the highest I've gotten yet. It's not a Victory+, but, I think I don't have to worry as much about that any more. At least, I hope.

Lucretia's strategy of leaving nothing behind for the enemy to use is still in action. She's even willing to vacate Ceras Castle entirely, and move the Loyalist Army base of operations to Raftfleet, if need be. The enemy may think that taking Ceres Castle will allow them to achieve victory, but, in the end, as long as we're willing and able to fight, we will.

Thus, we leave Ceras Castle. There is absolutely nothing here for Childerich, or the Armes armies. Childerich, barely containing his rage, wants the place searched just in case, but, I've the funny feeling that we were pretty through in what we took. They want to turn the place into a base of operations of their own, which I find interesting. I don't know if they know about how the water level could be manipulated with the Dawn Rune. It might be possible the Twilight Rune might activate the sluice as well, given what we observed in the Deep Twilight Ruins. However, this may be a fact we can use to take back Ceras Castle, when the time comes.

For now, we have Roy standing atop of the Dahak, sticking out like a sore thumb. Meanwhile, Lucretia has successfully duped everyone into thinking we've moved to Raftfleet, when, in fact, the actual base of the Loyalist Army is in the dwarf camp. We can move with some discretion now, which means this is probably a good time to figure out what, exactly, is going on with Craig and the Dragon Cavalry. Miakis senses that the issue lies in Gordus. This is where the mounts are trained (maybe born as well?), and if the Godwins are threatening them there, that could be the issue we need to resolve. Another thing of note is that women are not allowed in the town. At all. I can't even have them in my entourage! However, getting to Gordus, and what happens there, will be in the next write-up!
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
For those that have an interest, I was randomly on RMN's Discord channel this morning, and noticed Liberty posted a live-stream of Suikoden 5 on her twitch channel!

As for this humble LP, a thousand pardons, I haven't even started the next write-up yet. If it's any consolation, I should be able to start it tomorrow?
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
When last we left off, the Loyalist Army lost quite a bit of ground. Sable, Doraat, and Ceras Castle have fallen to the Godwins and Armes. However, we've left nothing behind for them to use, and we've duped them into believing our force has gathered at Raftfleet. The Dragon Calvary will not ride forth to vanquish the forgein foe, like they promised, and it's high-time to figure out why.

Viki's tleport service is not available at all at this time. However, I can take Wabon's mining cart to the Deep Twilight Forest, and go to Gordius from there. When we arrive, the place is way too quiet. There isn't even background music playing. This only raises our suspicions. What few people there are mention that the dragon horse lair is now guarded by Godwins. Which is suspicious onto itself. I don't want to jump to any conclusions about why they are there, or how they are allowed to be there in the first place, so, let's push forward.

It seems we're not the only people curious about why the lair is guarded. We come across a pair of trainees and their whelp foal. Rather than speak to them with Godwin guards ten feet away, we head back to the camp and use a tent. We now have background music...





...which is definitely a good thing. We grill them about why the Godwins are here, but, they don't know. All they know is that they came by, with orders from Craig, not to let anybody, and I mean anybody near the dragon lair. I don't like it. There is no reason why Craig would even give that order, that I'm aware of. Even if he did give that order, why use Godwin soldiers to guard the lair, and not his own men?

However, rather than just go up to the guards and probably ending up fighting them, Rahal has a plan to distract them, and take them out without raising any alarms. This plan involves him dressing up like his sister, Rania. It works, and I don't know if I should be happy, or embarrassed.

Whatever. Let's check this out already. We reach a position where we can see some foals fenced off by Nether Gate assassins. It would be foolhardy to approach them from the front, so, we use another distraction tactic, this time with the dragon horses themselves. We defeat them, sure, but, Dolph's here to mess with everything again. There happens to be a number of eggs by him, and he threatens to smash as many as he can if we move. Of course, we can't just sit here and stare at each other either. Apparently, there's reinforcements coming to finish us off. Rahal's plan is to rush the guy, despite the threat to the eggs. I don't know if that's such a smart idea. Dolph has proven to simply get up from a heavy beating in the past. All we would end up doing is delaying him.

Regardless of what I actually decide, Georg comes by to save the day. The messenger sent by Dolph had the misfortune of meeting him, see. Backed into a corner, Dolph turns to the eggs. We use the dragon horses again to make another racket, and causes Dolph to withdraw without harming any eggs. I don't know if we should consider ourselves lucky, or what. Rahal and Roog will try to peruse Dolph, but, predictably enough, he gets away. However, when we report to Lucretia back at the Dwarf camp, Georg finally joins the Loyalist Army on an official basis.

Speaking of, let's see who we're recruiting in this section.

auto: Georg, Craig, Lance, Flail, Shula, Nifsara, Shamista
non-auto: Nick, Yoran, Ax, Haleth


Anyway, with the support of the Dragon Calvary, we should be able to strike back. Lucretia wants us to retake Ceras Castle, but, wants me to do a job for her before we get to that. I've a funny feeling this job concerns the sluice, but, for now, we can take a breather. Not that there's much to do at the moment, so...

Back in Lucretia's tent, the Craig is there in person and the alliance with the Dragon Calvary is sealed. Lucretia asks me to take Zweig, and go to the ruins by Ceras Lake. While she doesn't outright say it, she's clearly asking me to manipulate the sluice there. We can use Wabon's cart to get there, which is exceptionally helpful.

I activate the mechanism, without too many issues. When I get back to Lucretia's tent, Nick and Yoran have arrived and join the Loyalist Army while they are at it along with Flail and Ax. Time to take back Ceras Castle.

We get an interesting scene at Ceras. The reports of the water level rising rapidly gets to Childerich. Outside, soldiers, both Godwin and Armes alike, are scattering about looking for higher ground, or boats. Scuffles emerge among the two factions, making the situation even more heated. Childerich mocks the Armes forces, then the report comes that the Loyalist Army has arrived. The camera pans over a gathering of Dragon Calvary, then some Loyalist soldiers, then some Raftfleet boats all poised toward Ceras. War-battle time? War-battle time.

The posted victory condition is to cause half damage in overall casualties to the enemy. They have 1500 soldiers, so, that means our aim is to deal 750 casualties, or thereabouts. That said, they have six units to their name. Two are at sea and the other four are on land. Thankfully, it seems that I was able to focus on the sea front, and take those ships out before I engaged with the Armes cavalry. It was a little cheap, but, I used Babbage's catapult ability to pick them off at extreme range for the Victory+. No losses on my end!

Ceras Castle is back in Loyalist Army hands. Meanwhile, in Estrise, Shula has still not made any moves. In fact, he decides to pull out. However, not one to allow Alenia to go back completely empty-handed, he shares with her the news of an Island Nations fleet sailing for Estrise. Armes is not exactly on good terms with them, and the orders Shula just received were to keep tabs on the fleet. So much for Armes assisting Gizel. I thought Gizel would be better at keeping allies than this, but, maybe not?

Anyway, back to Ceras Castle, where the water level has lowered even more. Which means we have a new theme...





...which generally translates to more stars. However, with the withdrawal of Armes, we are now in a position to strike both Doraat and Sable. However, I can only lead one such front. Dorrat involves Childerich, Lugar, and Novum. Sable involves the Armes Southern Mountain Corps. I choose to go to Sable because I don't want to mess with another battle that involves land and sea units. If I want to be honest, I don't want to mess with another war-battle at all. Yet, the recruits left in this section aren't available until after the war-battle concludes, so, there's only so much I can do.

The objective of this map is to get Freyjadour to Sable. Easier said than done, of course. Unless, of course, I do the unthinkable and use Cheat Engine to set the enemy armies down for me. Call me lazy, or terrible if you must. I just don't care for these war-battles anymore.

In any event, Sable isn't 100% free. Mara may, or may not have evacuated, but, Jidan is still very much still here, as are random encounters with Armes soldiers. We find them at the gate that would normally lead to Armes, except there are boulders blocking the way. I ask Jidan to surrender. There's no point in killing him off, is there? However, the guy insists on fighting, of course. The party I brought to this fight doesn't have a lot of Runes, but, the Runes we do have are pretty good. Levi has a Condemnation Rune, a Pale Gate, and a Drain Rune. I've got the Dawn Rune, of course. There's also the Maximilian Unite attack, which can be used every other turn.

Lord Raulbel is able to return to Sable, but, both Novum and Childerich were able to flee from Doraat, thanks to Lugar sacrificing himself. With this, we're pretty much back to where we were before Gizel got Armes involved. Lucretia suspects that allying with Armes was merely a delay tactic. What he's delaying for? I don't know, but we get a cut to the Sun Palace.

Alenia is profusely apologizing to Gizel for Estrise. Sheesh, is profusely apologizing the only thing she's good for anymore? Anyway, Gizel is characteristically nonchalant. Armes has served it's purpose, and they're ready to make their next move, whatever it is. It might involve Sialeeds.

Back to Ceras Castle, I'm on my lonesome. There's a small bit of business concerning the new recruits, but, a visit to the plot-lockdown room has Lucretia relay a message from Shula, the Armes general that was at Estrise. Apparently, he's at Yashuna with two of his assistants, and wants to see me. Cuis and Lelei thinks it a trap, but, Lucretia doesn't think so. I agree to meet with him, and the three of them tag along with me. However, before we do that, let's get Haleth.

Haleth is an official in Hershville that has something of a bet on that the Loyalist Army will win the war. He provides Loog with various items that pass through the port in a very much under-the-table fashion to help a little bit towards that purpose. Such goods have very little impact on the war, itself, to be sure, but, he's still, technically, on my side.

Right. Yashuna Village. Shula says he wants to help us while Cius and Lelei make it exceptionally clear that they don't trust Shula, or his cohorts. Lucretia is certainly more open-minded, and me? Well, I happen to know that these three are stars, so, my judgement is on the side of letting them help us. However, Shula tells us something interesting. Apparently, the Godwins promised to cede Barrow's turf to Armes in exchange for military support. However, if their research into the Sun Rune proves successful, they would ultimately use that power to overrun Armes. Good to finally understand what their deal was. However, it's in Armes' best interest to see that the Godwins are stopped, and are willing to lend us a hand, even if it's not an official alliance. This also explains Shula's actions in Estrise. As for Mara and what's-his-name (I can never remember it!) that were involved with Sable and Doraat, they were more acting on their own, it kinda sounded like.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
I don't know if anybody else has been counting, but, I've recruited 107 characters so far. High-time for that last star. This involves yet another war-battle, this time, to retake Stormfist.

The victory condition here is to get Freyjadour to Stormfist. It's a split land/sea battle, but, it looks like I can mostly ignore the sea portion. As the Loyalist Army advances, and old face spawns a unit to attack one of the enemy infantry. It's Shoon! I get that unit the hell out of there, and take out a few units with Catapult and Star before I feel confident that Freyjadour can move in. His unit is assaulted by the Twilight Rune, but, the attack is on several levels higher than when Alenia was using it. We have to withdraw for now, though, thankfully, we only take 20 casualties in the process. Childerich and Novum withdraw into Stormfist.

Shoon reminds us that there's a secret passage underneath the Arena of Stormfist the we could use to sneak in. We thought the passage blocked, but, Shoon and his gladiator friends dug it out. It might be risky, but, we'll go with Shoon's plan. With this, Shoon joins us, and, as mentioned before, is the last Star of Destiny. However, for the purposes of completion, here's the list of Stars available in this section:

auto: Shoon
non-auto: ??? (vs. Eresh)


So, if I didn't acquire Eresh earlier, the alternative to her would have been available later on. In any event, we make our way to the arena's stage, and find ourselves surrounded by Godwin archers and Childerich. However, a rain of fire comes down upon the archers, and takes them out. That was the Twilight Rune! Childerich is still very much in our way, and I decide to take him on in a duel, and take him out. Back on the trail of the bearer of the Twilight Rune, we run back into the arena corridors (I love how Zerase just kinda floats along), and move to the castle. General Novum appears at the gate, and we've no choice but to take him, and his men, down.

I rummage through the castle, and come across the bearer of the Twilight Rune. Which is a small surprise in a few ways.





She still refuses to tell us her reason why she's there, standing before us. Yet, here we are, fighting against each other. We manage to give her a good whooping, but, she escapes using her Wind Rune.

With Novum dead, and Sialeeds withdrawn, the chain of command at Stormfist is broken, and we claim it for ourselves. The only thing left for us to do is to take back Sol-Falena. The Godwins are preparing for it, too. It'll be the biggest battle yet.

In preparation for the upcoming battles, I make sure everybody has the best weapons and armor I can buy. I found the Platinum Hammer in Stormfist (allowing my weapons to be sharpened up to level 16), so, it's certainly a chunk of change. An event at the Sun Palace (and later on in my room in Ceras Castle) tells me that the Godwins have withdrawn their position at Rainwall. How the Godwins even got to Rainwall in the first place when the Revolving Bridge became inoperable before we left that place as our HQ is something of an interesting question, but, maybe it's one of those things we really shouldn't worry about too much. Not that I have any particular business in Rainwall, but, it's nice to know all the same.

Anyway, I've putzed around long enough. Tomorrow, we go to Sol-Falena and take back Lymsleia from Godwin's clutches. For now, we rest. Or, at least try to.





Obviously we need one more sequence where we can talk to various characters, and assess their thoughts on all that has happened, what is about to happen, or what they hope to do after the dust settles. It's at this point that I realize that I never found MiFaSo, and the walkthrough I've been looking at never mentions MiFaSo, outside of the initial fight of all five DoReMi elves in Haud way the hell back when I recruited Cornelio. For what little it's worth me now, I Google-searched it, and found out that it's in the Doraat region. I think that's west of Lelcar, so, the best time it can be recruited is probably somewhere between the events that occur there and after the Queen's Campaign? Whatever. With the end of the game so close, I'm not gonna let it bother me too much.

A new day dawns. I'm noticing a distinct lack of services in the castle. It seems the plot lock-down room is the place to be. Here, Lyon finally makes a comeback, and Lucretia discusses the plan to attack Sol-Falena. The Dahak will lead the charge from the south. Meanwhile, there's a bridge that connects Sol-Falena to both banks of the Feitas. Boz and Talgeyl will attack on one side of that bridge while Dinn and Wasil will attack the other side. However, I can mostly ignore the land portion of this fight, and focus on getting the Dahak to Sol-Falena. When I do so, Lyon notices Sialeeds waiting on top of the pier. Lucretia seems to think her intention is to destroy the damn. Should she do so, we'll be flushed out just like the Hatred Fortress. Zerase is distracting her for now, but, I don't know how long she'll be able to hold Sialeeds off. We've got to get in there, and stop her ourselves.

I have had no opportunities to update Lyon's equipment or skills since she left me, which is most unfortunate. However, she's nonetheless coming with me, along with the best spell-casters I've got. You know, people like Jeane, Viki, Alhazred, and Levi. We give Sialeeds another trashing, which Alenia observes. She has a messenger report to Gizel that Sialeeds has died, even if Sialeeds is still (sort of) standing. When Gizel hears this news, the Sun Rune is activated.





The Godwin scholars have somehow succeeded in activating the Rune's power. Thankfully, the combined efforts of the Dawn and Twilight Runes has staved the blast off. However, the damn still breaks, and the water lets loose on Raftfleet. However, Raftfleet isn't sunk. Lucretia had the beavers and dwarves make long-forgotten drainage systems serviceable again. Perhaps it was something of a gamble to rely on such an old system, but, the gamble paid off.

Back on Sol-Falena's pier, the Sun Rune looks like it's about to activate again. Once more, Sialeeds and Freyjadour use the Dawn and Twilight Runes to calm the Sun Rune. Sialeeds falls to the ground after the energy subsides, and the Twilight Rune transfers to Lyon. This means that the report that Alenia made of Sialeeds death has become true.

No time to morn for her death, though. Lucretia wants me to command the charge of Sol-Falena now. I reluctantly agree, though, I really, really would prefer to save first. However, that's not an option despite what I might be able to say.

Suffice it to say, we're involved in yet another blasted war-battle. Also suffice it to say, I use Cheat Engine again to zip through it, since I am so done with these war-battles. Darigaaz.

So, time to infiltrate the Sun Palace. There's only one party I can take for this mission, and that's...





...this party. Hands down, no questions asked. Our first opponents are none other than Zahhak and Alenia. One good trashing isn't enough for them to back down. They need two good thrashings. Though, they use Raging Nostrum on the second fight and basically go Super Saiyan. However, if I'm to use the DBZ analogy, we're fighting on the level of a Super Saiyan 2, so...

Next room is Gizel and Lymsleia. Lymsleia escapes from him, but, Gizel challenges me to a duel. Even if Gizel realizes that he's loosing, his reasoning is that so long as both of us stand, this civil war will never come to an end. One guess who comes out on top of that.

Thus passes Gizel, son of Marscal. We rightfully celebrate our victory...





...but the game's. Not. Freaking. Done. Darigaaz, I hate this game, sometimes.

Anyway, one reason why the game's not done is because the aforementioned Marscal Godwin has bickered off with the Sun Rune. Also, we haven't fought against a manifestation of a True Plot Rune, which is normally the final boss fight of a Suikoden game. Suikoden 4 might be the sole exception to this, but, it's fairly safe to say that the battles against Alenia and Zahhak was not final boss material. So, that means another dungeon. The Ashtwal Mountains. However, that mess will be for another write-up.
Marrend
Guardian of the Description Thread
21781
We start this section in Freyjadour's room in the Sun Palace. We meet up with Lyon, and head over to the Audience Chamber to discuss Marscal running off with the Sun Rune. We seem to know he's headed for the Ashtwal Mountains, but, our group is not particularly found of going after him. Ashtwal is a harsh place, and if he can activate the Sun Rune at will, we could be in some trouble. Haswar seems to have an idea about how we might follow Marscal, and it involves taking both the Dawn and Twilight Runes to Lunas. Thankfully, we have access to said Runes. Though, before going there, I can finally get Lyon up to snuff regarding her skills and equipment.

Anyway, there's something of a secret passage in Lunas the leads to Ashtwal. The purification pool that Lymsleia used is the way in, after we drain said pool via a mechanism reacting to the Dawn and Twilight Runes.

The ruins themselves is a split-party dungeon. It has three paths, which means three parties. One will be headed by Freyjadour, another by Lyon, and the last by George and Zwieg.

I knew this was coming up, but I didn't 100% plan who all was going where. However, Freyjadour's party included Miakis, Zerase, Nikea, Cathari, and Eresh. Lyon's party included Alhazred, Galleon, Jeane, Shigure, and Sagiri. Georg's party included Zweig, Viki, Levi, Killey, and Lorelai.

This dungeon probably probably wouldn't be too bad if it wasn't for the party-switching mechanic. Though, I personally think the game should have been over after we liberate Sol-Falena. Yeah, I recognize that it might make sense within the context of the story for Marscal to run away with the Sun Rune, and now we have to chase him down. However, that doesn't mean I have to be happy about it.

At some point, the parties reunite, only to slip up again as the noise of monsters coming toward our position cause us to split up again. Most stayed behind to fend off the critters as Frejadour, Lyon, Alhazred, Jeane, Viki, and Zerase push forward. There, deep in the inner sanctum (no, not that inner sanctum!), we find Dolph. Lyon wants the honor of dueling him, and I let her. This duel is pretty tough. Dolph's as difficult to read as Sasarai was in Suikoden 3. However, thanks to save-state technology (trademarked, patent pending, etc), Lyon is victorious. Of course, Dolph gets right back up again (that's what he does best, after all), as is poised to strike. Either we see a brief flashback of when Dolph knifed Lyon before, or he does it again, at super-hyper speed, but is not as effective. Either way, I banish him to oblivion with the Dawn Rune, and Lyon reports that she's fine. We push forward. I would love to have a save-point before doing so, but, apparently, that's just not gonna happen.

We have a small chat with Marscal, but, it's really a waste of time for what we knew was going to happen.





We wail on this thing with all the Runes I brought (which is not an insignificant amount), and come out on top. Lyon passes out afterwards. Maybe Dolph did knife her, and she's just now feeling the after-effects? Does that mean she was fighting the toxin through the entire boss battle? I don't know. Hard to say. All I know is that I'm getting this FMV of all the people that died in the context of this game. Arshtat. Ferid. Sialeeds. Gizel. Marscal. Novum. Lugar. Alenia. Zahhak. Lips are moving, but no words are spoken. They all gather around the Prince, the Sun Rune activates, encircling Lyon into a sphere of light. The Prince pulls her out, and embraces her.

Back to reality...





...it looks like Lyon's doing just fine. Though, what, exactly, did we just witness? Leknaat is somewhat hepful here. She tells us that what we just witnessed was the power of the Sun Rune, guided by the united hearts of the stars. Or some-such drivel. I prefer to think that it was Freyjadour's thoughts and memories that were interacting with the Sun Rune which caused that vision. Though, maybe Leknaat is saying exactly that, in her own way.

Back in the Sun Palace, Lymsleia sits upon the throne of Falena. She is rules not by the will of the Godwins, or even the will of the Senate (which we learn has agreed to dissolve), but by her own will. In the place of the Senate is a parliament with representatives from each town. Plans for the official coronation of Queen Lymsleia must be made! For real this time, not just in appearance!

Elsewhere, Georg, Lyon, and myself are looking on the re-submerged Ceras Castle. Georg can no longer stay in Falena. Regardless of what he has done for us, or the circumstances/reasons behind his actions, he still murdered Arshtat. At least he was able to keep his promise to Ferid. During our talk, George removes his eyepatch. You know, when first I played this, I don't think I even noticed that he didn't have one in Suikoden 2. Turns out he only wore it to remind himself never to be overconfident. He then turns to me to ask him what my plans are. I tell him that I wish to help Lymsleia rebuild Falena. I don't know how much work we got ahead of us, but, I'm sure we got our work cut out for us.

Back at the Sun Palace, Luserina as finished debriefing Lymsleia of Falena's current situation. Of course, she can't help but to mention that there is an ever-increasing desire by the people to see Lymsleia married. For real this time. Lymsleia really isn't interested in that, and proclaims that she'll banish the Sarced Games for good, and choose her own husband when she feels good and ready. Besides, Falena already has a person who's was well-established in making decisions in the best interest of Falena, and would fit perfectly into the shoes of Commander of the Knights.



Freyjadour's become the Commander, and Lyon is now a full-fledged Queen's Knight!


And with that, the fates of the 108 roll, then the credits. After that, the opportunity to create a clear game save for a New Game+. I didn't check it in-game, but, my listed game-time stamped on that save-file was 55 hours and 44 minutes.

This also marks the end of the Suikoden series on PS2. I believe there was one, maybe two, offshoot games on the DS. Saying that, there has not been a main numbered title in the series since the release of this game. There may be 108 reasons why this is so, but, that subject is beyond the scope of this LP.

In any event, I hope this was enjoyable for you! For my own part, well, I must confess, my interest in this LP waned in the later sessions/chapters, and it probably shows. I don't know if I'm going to do another one, or if so, what game.
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