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moltz23 · 8 months

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Three Houses Trivia (& Analysis): How the writers roadblocked a Revelation-like route with impunity.

It’s no secret by now that Three Houses has no Golden Ending/Route where everyone lives and/or the big conflict is solved without the involved factions taking huge casualties, much to the chagrin of fans. IS & KT were even asked about it in a developer interview back in 2020, mainly because a previous entry in the series did feature one: Fire Emblem Fates:

In all four routes the player can go through, each story ends with Fódlan at peace, yet somehow there’s still this air of sadness. In Fire Emblem Fates, Revelation served as the all-encompassing “route” that wrapped up the games’ story. Was there any reason you didn’t make something like Revelation again?

Kusakihara: If we had created a route for Three Houses like Revelation was to Fates, that route would have definitely ended up being perceived as the “correct” route. In Three Houses, each route is its own history, and we wanted players to be able to decide that for themselves. In this game, the leaders of the three houses have their own unwavering beliefs and worldviews that are unique to themselves. We wanted to model the story and its themes after a dilemma that was grounded in reality, so from the beginning there were never any plans to make something like Revelation.

Yokota: I actually really love the big all-encompassing finales, but Kusakihara-san was so passionate about not including it we decided not to go with it. I also felt like we might just end up doing the same thing we did in Fates… I was pretty worried about it, so from the beginning I had decided I’d just go along with Kusakihara-san’s decision.

From a writing standpoint, I haven’t seen much talk about the specific decisions made for this purpose, which is why I wanna tackle the topic here.

To make things more interesting though, the focus will lie in how the Silver Snow route (the first story written for 3H) handles the conflict. After all, if there were truly no plans to make a definitive story branch, then we should be seeing some cues of it on this path alone.

Oh, and I know this is a given, but there will be spoilers for Three Houses (and almost none for Revelation).

With the introduction out of the way, let’s set the relevant context:

Fire Emblem Fates, and Revelation

Fates' artwork was something else man...

Fire Emblem Fates was released back in 2015 in Japan, and 2016 internationally for the 3DS. One aspect marketing made sure everyone would know about was its branching story. And while before Three Houses, Fire Emblem was no stranger to the idea (given games like Binding Blade and Sacred Stones had branching paths which converge later), no game beforehand had previously based its entire narrative on this idea.

Fates was advertised with two main routes which, unless you had the Special Edition, Korean, or Digital version of the game, were sold in separate cartridges: Birthright, in which Corrin supports the Japanese-inspired Hoshido opposing Nohr’s invasion; and Conquest, where instead Corrin’s loyalty falls to the Western-themed Nohr seeking to invade Hoshido. A third path, Revelation, was also announced ahead of time, but not much was said about it beyond being a third option where Corrin sides with no one, and players would need to pay for it sometime after Birthright & Conquest’s launch unless they got the Special Edition (good luck getting it through legal means nowadays, given the E-Shop’s dead and all).

Either way, regardless of the story chosen/bought, the plot’s main goal always lies in finding a way to end the war between the 2 main factions. Of the three stories, Revelation is the only one where by the end, the solution reached allows both sides to come out relatively unscathed, while also directly dealing with the main source driving the war. This is why in the developer interview quoted, the devs talk about Revelation being perceived as the correct path.

In contrast, Three Houses has no such solution, nor were the developers - by their admission - interested in making it happen. As a matter of fact, I dare say that if one analyzes all the key pieces and the nature of their involvement with the game’s conflict, we can find instead three roadblocks complicating the possibility of a Revelation-like route ever happening.

These, for those wondering, are the following:

1. Edelgard: Agency, and Rise to Power

She who commands her crimson destiny.

Silver Snow’s starting point from a story perspective is the conflict between Byleth and Edelgard (according to the game’s director), with the latter going from a big ally and deuteragonist during the first half of the story, to a major antagonist. Edelgard’s character, and her circumstances in which she assumes this role, is the story’s first identifiable roadblock.

As a quick backstory recap: In Imperial Year 1174, Thales (post body-snatching Lord Arundel) leaves the Kingdom along with Edelgard, and establishes a public partnership with the Adrestian Prime Minister Ludwig von Aegir under his Arundel disguise. With the assistance of House Vestra, Ludwig – in secret – had Edelgard and her siblings captured, and allowed his Agarthan partners to experiment on the Hresvelg children for the sake of, in Edelgard’s own words, “create a peerless emperor to rule Fodlan”, all while the actual Emperor was unable to do anything due to previously losing a power struggle vs Ludwig and the Adrestian nobility 3 years prior.

With only these events at hand, it’s clear Edelgard was intended in-universe to be a puppet emperor/super soldier hybrid meant to have the Empire wage war and conquer Fódlan. In any other instance, this context gives the narrative an easy way out for defusing the war; first by rescuing Edelgard, and then by spending the rest of the story dealing with Ludwig + Thales & their allies. That way, Edelgard is able to rise to power at the end and bring official closure to the conflict.

It’s right here however, where Edelgard’s own agency in the story shows the cracks with the idea, as the Black Eagles Route’s first half establishes:

Edelgard has her own bone to pick with the Church - one of the enemies she would inevitably face during the Empire’s conquest - and the social system it helped cultivate in Fodlan under Rhea’s leadership. Also-

Edelgard has been in talks with some of Ludwig’s own allies behind his back to ensure she reaches the Imperial throne on her own terms (which leads to her surprise coup from Ch. 11). And it’s all but stated this is possible because-

Edelgard has no qualms with waging war as long it’s a means to an end (see point 1), to the point she even assumes a secret persona - the Flame Emperor - to stage attacks against the Church before her coronation.

At many points in Part 1 of Black Eagles, Edelgard is even seen testing the waters with Byleth, confiding a bit on her ideology and plans for the future to see if they would be willing to stand by her side once the time comes, before finally relenting and continuing her plans as previously established before Byleth came into the picture.

These facts flip our understanding of the conflict and the key players driving it on its head. And this is considering only how Edelgard factors into everything, because with our other two parties involved, it gets even more complicated:

2. TWSITD: Scheming Outside Their Comfort Zone

Credit to sageofanys for their interpretation of Cleobulus btw.

In the context of Fire Emblem, “those who slither in the dark” stand out like a sore thumb due to how alien they are. For the sake of this post however, I will only focus mainly on how the group’s used in the narrative they were originally created for, as it showcases our second roadblock.

The group assumes the role of the puppeteers behind the scenes, having already infiltrated the antagonistic faction of the story (the Empire) and using them to achieve their goals, while also playing a noticeable role in the backstory of some key players of the conflict. And given the archetype they follow, it appears there’s a clear cut way to stop them: just deal with them directly - while avoiding their puppets as much as possible - and bingo. Problem solved.

…Which would be a viable solution, if it wasn’t for Three Houses complicating the slitherers’ job, forcing them to work outside their comfort zone:

Remember when I mentioned Edelgard did some deals behind Duke Aegir’s back? Well, the Agarthans were part of those deals too due to utilitarian (manpower, assets and tech) and practical reasons (Edelgard is not in a position to get rid of them normally), foreshadowed and implied midway through Part 1. This results in-

Having the puppeteers lose much of their agency in the story once Edelgard assumes the Imperial throne. As mentioned earlier, the “puppet” in question gets control of the Empire once she assumes the antagonist role, and has her own reasons to wage war and conquer. This begs the question: How much control do the slitherers even have in the story once the war starts? Their uncertain input is even compromised further because-

Their success is entirely dependent on Edelgard winning. The slitherers have no trump-card nor a “revive this ancient evil” button freely available which could potentially make the need of a war pointless, meaning that once Edelgard and her Empire is taken care of, they have no choice but go into hiding to scheme again in the future, which is what happens in the story. Lastly-

They are acting on borrowed time. In spite of all their bravado, smugness, hi-tech toys, and hubris (heck, partly because of it), Edelgard, thanks to their established alliance with TWISTD and her own spies (ie. Hubert.) eventually gains the info needed to get rid of the group once their assistance is no longer needed, proven through Hubert leaking Shambhala’s location to Byleth after him & Edelgard are hit with a sudden case of death. Meaning that by the end, any potential win the slitherers gain is bound to become a pyrrhic victory.

So to wrap up this part, TWSITD’s purpose in Silver Snow’ main plot can be summed up as the following:

Remove Jeralt from the story, which leads to Byleth fusing with Sothis while also (unintentionally?) foiling Rhea’s plan for them in the process, which would otherwise never happen without their involvement.

Give Edelgard the means to remove Rhea from the story between Chapter 13 and 19.

Wound Rhea lethally near the end of the story, unwillingly setting her up as the Final Boss.

And speaking of which-

3. Rhea: Snow in the Crimson Gardens

Not so immaculate as she wants you to think.

All I have covered so far comes from the antagonist-side of things. But because Three Houses' story is not done throwing wrenches at our understanding of how the war happens, it seems natural it would add one last, final roadblock within the main supporting roster of characters. And who else to give it than Rhea: Archbishop of the Church of Seiros; leader of Fódlan’s main religion; and Byleth’s boss for all of Part 1.

Within the narrative, Rhea’s role in the plot is very straightforward:

In the Academy Arc, she gives Byleth missions in the story for them & their class to do, while also delivering exposition whenever necessary.

Then in the War Arc of Silver Snow, she has to be rescued from the Empire, delivers one final piece of exposition the story teased late into Part 1 (what is Byleth and what’s up with their mom), and then becomes the Final Boss though circumstances beyond her control.

None of this is really a problem for writing a definitive 3H route. The crux at hand however, comes when we learn about Rhea’s character, painting a different looking picture:

She’s quite secretive, being her reasons for hiring Byleth as a teacher the best example of it in the story, as her vague justification for it puzzles Seteth (her right hand man), Jeralt, and even Edelgard.

As the story goes on, it’s also clear Rhea’s preparing and testing Byleth for something, later revealed to be their status as Sothis’ new vessel - with having them sitting on Sothis’ Throne the intended final step - which, not only doesn’t pan out as planned, it’s also something she kept everyone in the dark about on purpose up until it was too late.

Her answer against insurrections and direct threats against her authority is execution.

She is willing to cover-up truths if it means safeguarding the reputation of Crests and Nobility.

The last two points in particular stand out a lot considering that in Black Eagles’ story, these facets of Rhea’s character are often highlighted right next to Edelgard’s in adjacent events, further showcasing their differences.

Take Chapter 3, for example:

“Even if our enemies are the gods themselves... we must never lose sight of our goal. [...] Really, I'm just like Lonato. I, too, will be the sort of ruler who's willing to risk the lives of my citizens in service of a higher cause. It's not possible to change the world without sacrifice. Dying for the greater good is not a death in vain.” - Edelgard in A Harsh Reality

“I heard some of the students were...hesitant about fighting militia. However, we must punish any sinner who may inflict harm upon believers, even if those sinners are civilians. I pray the students learned a valuable lesson about the fate that awaits all who are foolish enough to point their blades towards the heavens.” - Rhea in Report: Garland Moon

And Chapter 5:

“I have already heard Gilbert's report about what happened. See to it that you keep what transpired at the tower to yourself. People would lose faith in the nobles should rumors spread of one using a Relic and transforming into a monster. All regions of Fódlan would fall into chaos. We must avoid that at all costs.” - Rhea in The Lance of Ruin

“People believe Crests are blessings from the goddess, that they're necessary to maintain order in Fódlan. But the people are wrong. Crests are to blame for this brutal, irrational world we live in. Their power is granted only to a select few, whom we elevate and allow to rule the world. Have you ever wondered if the only way to create a truly free world is to dispense with the goddess and the Crests?” - Edelgard in Crests: The Good and the Bad

The more the plot progresses, the more it becomes clear that both Edelgard and Rhea are not on the same wavelength, are up to their own devices, and that neither is willing to show their cards before their plans have reached completion. This ultimately causes tension, telegraphing to the player that both sides will eventually crash against each other, but without making certain when and how it will happen (one can guess Edelgard will throw the first stone, but…?).

Thus, with these 3 roadblocks set in stone, the seeds of Fodlan’s main conflict are allowed to blossom unopposed, setting the blazes of war loose.

… And all this is just as far as it goes in Silver Snow. Due to my self-imposed restriction, I deliberately didn’t cover stuff like:

Edelgard’s beef with the Nabateans and their involvement in Fódlan (which Silver Snow hints at but never elaborates upon).

The circumstances in which Dimitri’s rage and madness is unleashed towards Edelgard and the Empire.

The complicated relationship between the Alliance and the Empire.

What’s up with the TWSITD’s “Javelins of Light”.

What’s up with Nemesis coming back only in Verdant Wind.

And all the stuff that Warriors: Three Hopes shows, elaborates upon and makes clear with little room for ambiguity (like the fact Duke Aegir and Thales have history together), plus how the war happens in its timeline.

As a conclusion of sorts, I wanna say that: while I appreciate and see the potential of an hypothetical Revelation-like route in Three Houses, to me, it’s abundantly clear that’s simply not the kind of story IS and KT ever intended to write. Considering the sort of roadblocks at play, a major rewrite is required to even start entertaining such an idea, which would need to drastically shake the foundation of its story, lore, and characters as it currently is, to the point it’s worth raising the question if it would be far more practical to just start from scratch and create a whole new universe altogether…