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gascon-en-exil · 6 years

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A Not Actually Definitive Ranking of Fire Emblem Games

So after a lot of deliberation I’ve decided not to revisit last year’s Zelda ranking project on a full scale for FE, but that doesn’t mean it’s not something I really wanted to do. 2018 is the year we’re going to get alternatively hyped for and disappointed by FE16, after all. With that in mind have an abbreviated list that will end up being one very long post. I’ve got games to gush over and an anon or two (and very likely actual followers…eep) to piss off, so here we go.

The “personal favorites of the series, love revisiting them” Tier - FE10, FE2/15, FE4

I’m never going to argue that Radiant Dawn is a perfect game or even just a perfect FE game, but damned if it doesn’t manage to do so much right all at once. An extremely ambitious story that builds off its mostly conventional predecessor in a variety of interesting ways, deconstructing a bunch of series narrative standards (life in a defeated country kind of sucks and there are people that don’t warm that quickly to young and inexperienced rulers, go figure) and taking an eleventh hour hard right at Nietzchean atheism as read by a Pride parade. Kind of falls on its ass by the end, but every experimental FE story does the same thing so I can’t fault this one. I love the army switching as motivation to try different units almost as much as I love the oh-so-exploitable growth and BEXP mechanics. Its Easy mode also hits a sweet spot for me of being challenging enough to not be a complete snore while also allowing the freedom for all manner of weird self-imposed challenges that don’t even require grinding. By all accounts Hard mode is one lazy design choice after another, but I don’t play at that level so no complaints here.

Never played Gaiden, but to its credit around half of the unique gameplay mechanics I like in Shadows of Valentia were also in the original: the modest army size, the novel approaches to inventory management and magic, the pretty basic class system with just a hint of nuance. The remake threw in some hit-or-miss questing, dungeon exploration, and achievements, but all the rest was either a solid addition or a continuation of NES-era annoyances that I could live with. And the story…SoV makes me dislike the DS games even more just because this game does so much with so little. Even leaving aside the mostly great voice acting there’s a bunch of new content that characterizes almost everybody and makes half of them (the men, anyway, because this is a remake of a Kaga-era game and therefore misogynistic as can be) gay because why the hell not, and then some development that constitutes the only solid attempt at worldbuilding Archanea-Valentia-Ylisse has ever really gotten and also retcons some stuff from Awakening into making sense. It’s even got some solid DLC with lots of character stuff for the Deliverance, the least sucky grinding of the 3DS games, and probably the only context in which I’ll ever be able to comment on anything from Cipher.

No remake needed for Genealogy of the Holy War to make it competitive with the rest of the top tier - just an excellent translation patch and the standard features of an emulator. I’ve never watched Game of Thrones and probably don’t plan on it, but I gather that this game provides the same essential experience with less blood and female nudity and marginally more egalitarianism for all. I can forgive it for being the original Het Baby Fest since you’d be hard-pressed to find a single entirely healthy and well-adjusted individual anywhere on Jugdral and I relate to that just as much. Screwed up family dynamics for everyone! It’s also arguably got a more fun breeding meta than either of the 3DS games, lacking Awakening’s optimization around a single postgame map with very specific parameters or Fates’s high level of balance that ironically stymies analysis. This is another game for interesting inventory management and unit leveling that isn’t too obnoxious, which mostly makes up for the maps taking an eon to play through even with an emulator speeding through those enemy phases. This would be a strange game to remake, but if it got a localized one of the same caliber as SoV I fully acknowledge that this could climb to the #2 spot. SoV would probably have the queer edge though unless they do some strange things to the plot or just make Gen 2 really gay…but then again Gen 2 is the part that’s more in need of fleshing out as it is. (Also, this game has So. Much. Incest. That’s not even really a kink of mine especially as it’s all straight incest, but I just find that hilarious in light of how Tumblr’s purity culture speaks of such things.)

The “good games, but don’t come back to them as much” Tier - FE7, FE9, FE8

Blazing Sword is not here for nostalgia purposes, especially since when I first played the game at 14 years old most of what I like about it didn’t really register. It was just that game with RPG elements that I liked and permadeath that I didn’t, and it took a few games after that for me to become an established fan of the franchise. Massive props for putting such an unconventional spin on a prequel to a textbook FE; this is a game in a series about war in which no war is fought, how crazy is that? We actually get to see the backstory of FE6′s tragic antagonist, even as it’s completely tangential to the plot of this game and so just feels like random Jugdral-esque family drama without context, and on top of that we get the first hints of interdimensional travel and kinky human/shapeshifter sex several years before either of those became controversial talking points about how they were ruining the series. I am so there. Lyn doesn’t matter to the saga, but her character arc is distinct and self-contained and also she picked up a disproportionately large fanbase while being bisexual and biracial so go her. Eliwood is sympathetic and homosocially-inclined even if his growths frequently make me want to cry (at least he gets a horse unlike his similarly-challenged son), and I can live with Hector even if I could have done without his lordly legacy. Throw in some average-for-the-time gameplay with just enough variety across the two routes and even more good character work *waves at Sonia and Renault and Priscilla -> Raven/Lucius and Serra and…* and it’s all in all a solid experience. The ranking system can go die in a fire though, which funnily enough it did after this game. Yay!

Like most early 3D games - except on Gamecube so it’s even more embarrassing - Path of Radiance has aged terribly by every aesthetic measure aside from the soundtrack. It’s also painfully slow, and my computer can’t run Dolphin apparently so an emulator’s not going to fix that for me. Those obvious flaws aside, it’s still an entertaining game, and more importantly it’s the prologue that had the crucial task of setting up all the pins RD knocked over in stellar fashion, whether we’re talking about the basic storyline that actually isn’t or the many het relationship fake-outs (more so in localization…I guess we’ll never know if NoA was actively planning that when they pushed Ike/Elincia like they did). PoR is also a love letter to Jugdral in both gameplay and themes, albeit an occasionally critical one. The jury’s still out on whether Jugdral or Tellius succeeds the most (fails the least?) of the FE settings at developing a complete world with a nuanced and resonant saga narrative, but that Tellius manages to be competitive while being kind of clumsy overall with racism and shifting the series’s overarching motif of dragon-blooded superhumans to one of kinky interracial sex is pretty impressive. The less I say about Ike the better since it’s only his endings in RD that save him for me; suffice it to point out that his worldview and general personality were clearly designed to appeal to a demographic that does not include me.

And finally comes The Sacred Stones, truly my average benchmark FE as I like it but struggle to have any particularly strong feelings on it one way or the other. The story is standard but has a few intriguing quirks, like the light vs. dark magic meta, surprise necrophilia, and how the main antagonist’s sexuality sort of depends on which route you take (except he’s still never getting laid so does it really matter?). It also seems to have been the first game to have made a legitimate effort toward the kind of replayability that’s normal for RPGs, what with the branched promotions, the route split, and the actual postgame. That’s all much more engaging than just filling up a support log. The gameplay is also more polished and (I think?) more balanced than the other GBA games, if one is willing to overlook the minor issue of Seth. Let’s see…something something twincest that’s now an IS running gag, something something guys talking intimately about their lances, something something SoV did the whole dungeon crawling with monsters bit better but I can forgive SS for not taking it that far. Moving on….

The “they have Problems” Tier - FE14, FE13

Probably qualifies as a fandom heresy, but yes I’m putting Fates first of these two. Fates is in every conceivable way for me the “You Tried” game, because I had such high hopes for it from the moment we got the earliest promotional content. I was expecting a World of Warcraft-style conflict between two morally grey factions with myriad convoluted grievances against each other messily resolving themselves one way or the other according to player choice (though note that this is already somewhat damning with faint praise as no one’s going to call WoW a storytelling masterpiece), with Conquest in particular a true villain campaign that I imagined might play out as European Imperialism: The Game. What we actually got was…not that, not at all, but amid all the complaints about plot holes and idiot balls and moral myopia most fans seem to have forgotten just how much there is to this game. It’s three full stories that together average out to be just about passable, with possibly the biggest gameplay variety in the series that fixed most of Awakening’s more broken elements (pair-up, children being unquestionably superior to the first generation) while also adding in new features that undoubtedly appealed to someone or other like Phoenix mode and the castle-building aspect. I can even mostly forgive the obvious growing pains Fates exhibits in terms of queer content, as they were pretty much inevitable once the developers realized that (almost) everyone was picking up on the subtext and that that approach just wasn’t going to cut it anymore. Again, they tried, and if the results included face-touching fanservice and plot contrivances left and right and two-way cultural posturing that inevitably crosses over into real world racism at some point I can still step back for a moment and acknowledge that Fates began as a distinctive, high-concept setting on par with Tellius and Jugdral that was willing to do something different with the narrative norm (for two of its routes at least, and even so I’m not begrudging Birthright its conventionality because that grounding is important overall). And who knows? Maybe a later game will come along and retroactively make this setting coherent.

Fates might have more sexual fanservice, but if there’s any FE that I feel ends up a slave to fanservice in a broader sense it would be Awakening. Yeah, I get that when it was in development everyone thought this would be the final game, so it makes sense that the finished product turned out to be a nostalgia-laden greatest hits piece. It’s still hard to forgive Awakening for feeling so insubstantial, doubly so since it ended up revitalizing the franchise and now it and Fates are everywhere. It’s got a plot that only makes some sense in light of SoV and possibly on a meta level (following my theory that the plot structure is meant to mirror FE1-3 in sequence), the first iteration of an Avatar dating game heavily coloring the characterization and support system, and a queasily feel-good atmosphere that allows almost no character to actually remain dead and centers everything around the self-insert and the power of friendship. So much for the series’s traditionally dim view of human nature and recurring theme of the inevitability of conflict. What’s more, in spite of its theoretically broad scope (including a criminally under-explored time travel plot with a bad future) and numerous call-backs to older games Awakening does surprisingly little for developing the series’s most frequently-visited setting. I think it was in large part how generic this game has always felt to me even before release that I never got very hyped for it and as a consequence was never very disappointed by it. It’s just….there, with its nostalgia and its chronic “no homo” and its host of hilariously broken mechanics. I wonder if we’d have ended up viewing Awakening more favorably if it really had been the last game? Eh, probably not.

The “needs a remake or needs a better remake” Tier - FE5, FE6, FE3/12, FE1/11

I don’t have a specific order for these, except that FE1/11 is almost certainly the bottom since 5 and 6 have remake potential and, lack of localization aside, New Mystery was a better remake than Shadow Dragon.

I still haven’t fully played Thracia 776, but I’ve watched and read through Let’s Plays and have read more than enough analysis and meta on the game to where I can definitively say that I wouldn’t enjoy playing it too much and don’t feel all that emotionally connected to the story except insofar as it relates to the overall Jugdral saga. The concept of a standard FE plot that ends with the playable cast losing is an intriguing one, though they really could have done better than the weird non-ending that is this game’s final boss. I’m also not as invested in Leif the fallen aristocrat as I usually am those types of characters, possibly because it’s a foregone conclusion that he eventually gets his kingship anyway. I would like a remake, hopefully one that smooths over some of the original’s mechanical roughness and also makes a bunch of characters gay because the material’s certainly there in places, but I also admit that I’d rather have a remake of Genealogy first. Or, for that matter….

Binding Blade doesn’t have the potential for an amazing story-driven remake that Thracia does; after all, it’s basically a soft reboot of FE1 with an equally bland lord saved by his Super Smash Bros. fanbase and possibly his weirdly large harem. That said, there’s a fair amount of character potential and worldbuilding opportunities what with the series’s first true support system and the content of its unorthodox prequel. Even by itself I feel like BB does more to sell Elibe as its own distinctive world than any of Marth’s games ever did for Archanea, and that’s even with the reality that like the Archanea games this playable cast is inflated with some really forgettable characters (that seem to have followed a semi-rigid numerical quota by class in this instance. It’s weird.). This game never really stuck in my mind as a good playable experience either, not helped by the fact that it feels simple and antiquated compared not only to the GBA games that followed it but to the Jugdral games that preceded it. Good on them for throwing out some of Thracia’s more unwieldy mechanics, but did they have to throw out skills, hybrid classes, and varied chapter objectives too? The space limitations of the GBA couldn’t have been that severe.

While I’ve been spending much of this post ragging on Archanea, I will say that (New) Mystery of the Emblem has some interesting character beats, like the resolution of the Camus/Nyna/Hardin tragedy, Rickard and the situationally bisexual(?) Julian, and some of the antics of Marth’s retainers. I did like bits of the remake’s new assassin plot even if most of it is cribbed from the Black Fang; Eremiya’s no Sonia, but Clarisse and Katarina have their moments. Also, Kris isn’t that offensive to me since I was never all that engaged in Marth’s inconsistent personality and from what I’ve seen his/her supports don’t all devolve into a dating sim. New Mystery has a broader array of characters than either the original or the previous remake, without requiring the player to kill off characters just to get some of the new ones. That said, the reclassing in the DS games is still broken and allows the player to strip even more character out of their personality-deprived units. I’m getting to the point where I’m having trouble separating the two actually, so I’ll just go ahead and remark that I think everyone can agree that Shadow Dragon is the worst of the three remakes so far, with no supports, the aforementioned killing of units, a prologue that adds to the story but only exists on Normal mode and also requires you to kill someone off (seriously, what is it with this game? Is it commentary on the necessary sacrifices of war that they tried forcing on the player for one game until they realized it was a terrible idea?), the needless removal of features from earlier games like rescuing even as others like weapon ranks and forging were left in, that first clumsy iteration of reclassing, and little to nothing that I can see as elevating the story above the standard fantasy adventure fare of Dark Dragon and the Sword of Light that might have been good in 1990 but didn’t look so hot in 2008. Archanea just feels so lifeless overall compared to every other setting in the franchise, to the point where I don’t even feel that guilty about putting the first game in the series way down at the bottom when over in the Zelda ranking I raised the NES games above ones I found more fun to play solely because of their historical significance. Isn’t FE1 arguably the first tactical RPG? I feel like I should appreciate it more, but I just can’t. *shrugs*

#Fire Emblem #Mostly serious but not entirely

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four-loose-screws · 11 months

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Fire Emblem Novel Translations Sub-Master Post: FE8

A master post for the Fire Emblem novel translation based on FE8 (AKA Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones).

First, here’s a list of all the novels out there, fyi.

Link to my main FE novels translations folder on Google Drive.

For the Google Drive folder with high-quality scans of all the images and art, and two Google Docs containing the entire translation, click here!

Book 1:

Front Cover & Other Introductory Pages

Chapter 1: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 2: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3

Chapter 3: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 4: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 5: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 6

Chapter 7: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 8

Chapter 9: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 10: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3

Book 2:

Front Cover & Other Introductory Pages

Chapter 11: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 12: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 13: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3 - Section 4

Chapter 14: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 15: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3

Chapter 16: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 17: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3

Chapter 18: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 19: Section 1 - Section 2

Chapter 20: Section 1 - Section 2 - Section 3

Chapter 21: Section 1 - Section 2

#FIRE EMBLEM #FE #FE8 #FIRE EMBLEM THE SACRED STONES #THE SACRED STONES #EIRIKA #EPHRAIM #JAPAN #JAPANESE #TRANSLATION #NOVELIZATION #FE NOVEL TRANSLATIONS #FIRE EMBLEM NOVEL TRANSLATIONS

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four-loose-screws · 9 months

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Hey I was checking out your translation main post and the FE8 link goes to the FE7 post btw

Also seriously thank you for this amazing work

Thank you so much for catching that, I didn't notice at all when I reorganized the novel posts!! I've gone in and updated the links, the post should work properly now.

And thank you for reading, please continue to enjoy! :)

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four-loose-screws · 2 years

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FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 21, Section 1 (Final Chapter!)

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

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Chapter 21 - The Continent’s Wrath

Eirika did not touch the Sacred Stone once on the journey home to Renais.

Of course, she kept it on her at all times, but it was safely stored within its leather bag, and she did not try even once to take it out.

She was afraid that if she lay her eyes on the powerful light radiating from within it, that she would not be able to resist temptation.

Lyon had used the power he drew from Grado’s Sacred Stone to bring back Emperor Vigarde.

Orson’s wife had also been brought back into this world by the same power.

So that meant… that if she used this stone, she should be able to do the exact same as Lyon did. She should be able to give life once more to her father, who’d died with his regrets, and even bring back Lyon.

Eirika was afraid of her own heart. She knew full well that resurrecting the dead would be a desecration of the person they once were. The terrifyingly monotonous voice she'd heard in Orson's room… she never wanted to hear something like that ever again.

Still, she did not have the confidence that she could entirely suppress her wavering heart. If she could meet her father… and Lyon again… even knowing that they were nothing more than a reanimated corpse… then she might give in to temptation.

What truly scared her was the darkness within her own heart.

Eirika pushed the Sacred Stone out of her thoughts, and acted as if she had forgotten she held on to it.

ー

The people of Renais welcomed their prince and princess home with great fervor.

Seth had said before that the people were actually reacting to Orson’s terrible rule being overthrown. However, the people’s cheers this time were different. Ephraim and Eirika had defeated the Demon King and saved the world, just as the heroes told in the stories of old had. Now, everyone respected them from the very bottom of their hearts, and genuinely cheered for them.

However, the twins had no time to rest. Upon returning to the capital, there was a mountain of problems they had to solve. The moment they arrived at the castle, Ephraim requested for Eirika to come to his room.

“Eirika. About the Sacred Stone…”

“Yes?” She pulled it out of the leather bag it was in.

“We have to… seal it away, don’t we? Within the shrine once more, so that it will never be seen by human eyes ever again.” He looked at his sister with an expression showing that he was deep in thought.

Eirika looked away. She felt as if he could see right into her heart.

After a long pause, Ephraim said, “You seem unsure about something.”

“No, not at all…” She instinctively tried to deny it, but cut her words short.

She couldn’t hide anything from Ephraim. They had always been together, even before they were born. She felt as if she could sense his feelings, so surely he was able to pick up on whatever she felt as well.

“...I can’t help thinking. About the Stone’s power.” She offered the leather bag to him and whispered, “If we used this power, we could bring back those who died. Father, Lyon, and even many of the people who died in this war…”

She was prepared for him to yell at her. He would surely be angry that she was thinking about such a foolish idea.

However, opposite to her prediction, Ephraim nodded. “I know how you feel. To be honest, I’ve had the same thoughts.”

“Brother...”

“However, we mustn’t ever use this power. Of course you know that too, but still…”

“You’re right. No matter how sad we may be, we cannot use a Sacred Stone for such a purpose. If we do not fully accept the sadness within our own hearts, then…"

Ephraim looked at Eirika for a long while, then whispered simply, “Hey… if Lyon was here, what do you think he’d be wishing for?”

“If Lyon was here…?”

“Yes. His wish was always the same, wasn't it?”

“For everyone to be happy… right?”

“Yes. He didn’t just say those words. That was his true wish, and why he started to study the Sacred Stones. Everything started because of his kind feelings. But… at some point, it all went in the wrong direction.”

“It did…”

“Let’s take on his wish, and make the dream come true that he could not. We can do it, even if we don’t rely on the Sacred Stone.”

Ephraim’s voice was confident. Eirika accepted those words into her own heart, and nodded.

ー

Renais’ restoration was led by Ephraim’s wise orders, and progressed smoothly. It provided support for those who lost their homes, retook what was taken by bandits, and skillfully solved the many other problems caused during Orson’s rule.

Renais’ bonds with the other nations were stronger than ever before. Messengers frequently traveled between each country, updating the others about Renais' affairs, and vice versa.

Innes returned to Frelia. He aided King Hayden and openly displayed just how capable he was. He expressed right away his regret that he could not support Renais with its restoration, surprising Eirika and Ephraim. In the past, he likely never would have exhausted his efforts for anything other than his own country’s benefit.

L’Arachel, accompanied by Dozla and Rennac, returned to Rausten. Though she settled down and stayed by Pontifex Mansel’s side, her love for the legends of the ancient heroes was the same as ever. Ephraim and Eirika suspected that she might leave with her companions on an adventure again one day.

Joshua returned to Jehanna and officially inherited the throne, becoming king. The people welcomed him warmly upon his return after ten years away. Many of them had loved Queen Ismaire dearly, and had high hopes for him as her heir. Though he now had overwhelming support thanks to Queen Ismaire’s popularity, they would likely question his true merit one day.

And lastly, there was Grado. The country that suffered the most damage during the war was, ironically, the invader. The death of the emperor and the prince meant the end of the hero Grado’s bloodline. Duessel and Cormag worked tirelessly to rebuild the country, but it would likely still be a long time before Grado returned to stability.

All of their other allies each returned to their own livelihoods. Neimi and Colm started a new life in a village close to the one they had grown up in. Lute and Artur supported each other in their studies of magic; and Gerik returned to his exact same life from before the war, taking on work contracts as a mercenary. Those who served the royal family of their respective nation loyally served in their roles.

Myrrh returned home. With the Demon King gone forever, the land known as the Darkling Woods was gradually returning to its former beauty. Those of the Dragon Tribe have much longer lifespans than those of humans. Though generations of humans will be born and die, Myrrh will likely be the one to defend the forest across all of that time, just as the late leader of the tribe, Morva, had before her.

ー

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #fire emblem 8 #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #eirika #ephraim #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 2 years

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FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 19, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 19 - Night in Rausten (con’t)

Not even a second after she fell into a deep sleep, she heard someone sharply call out her name, and she shot up.

Lyon's voice was still ringing through her ears, and her head was racing. However, it was of course not Lyon who called out to her, but L'Arachel.

"Wake up, Eirika! This is an emergency!"

"Huh…?"

"We’re under attack!” L’Arachel rushed into the room and shook Eirika.

It cleared away her grogginess, and she stood up in a panic. “We’re under attack? No… could it be… Lyon?”

“It doesn’t appear to be Prince Lyon, but one of the mages that serves him. Right now, the castle guard is holding them off, but they won’t hold out for much longer. We must fight, too!”

Eirika quickly changed her clothes and ran out of the room with L’Arachel.

Her allies had already gathered in the throne room. When she and L’Arachel came in, Seth said, “Lady Eirika, please allow me to take charge of this fight. You get some rest…”

“No, Seth. Eirika is fine.” Ephraim cut in. He looked at her face and saw a cheerful smile on it for the first time in a long time. “You are, aren’t you? You can already fight again, right?”

“I am, Brother. Sorry for making all of you worry.”

She hadn’t spoken even a single word, yet Ephraim noticed that she had changed.

Eirika was confident that she could answer the question as to what Lyon wished for now. If she looked back on the time they spent together and the conversations they’d shared, it was easy to do.

Lyon had always wished for one thing. And that was for everyone to be able to live happily. That was his only desire.

She no longer had any doubts. Her heart was made up. “Let’s fight and combine our strength to defeat the Demon King!”

“We can do it!” Ephraim nodded and called over their allies. “Listen up, everyone! The enemy has already begun to invade the castle. The enemy commander is a general of the Grado Army, Riev. He is the last person remaining among the Six Generals. He can wield very powerful magic, so be careful!”

Pontifex Mansel, surrounded by Rausten guards, walked up to them and said, “Riev is not targeting the Sacred Stone alone. He probably wishes to take my life as well.”

“Your’s… The Pontifex’s…?”

“He and I have a history with each other.” Pontifex Mansel’s friendly smile suddenly hardened. “He was once a priest who served at Rausten Cathedral. However, deep down, he had almost no faith in his heart. He is a cunning man filled with greed. He tricked believers into giving him money, which he used to line his own pockets. And that was not the end of it. I knew that he even cast hexes on people. I of course excommunicated him immediately. I heard that he’d left Rausten and disappeared somewhere, but to think that he became a general of Grado…”

“...Are the rumors of him true?" Duessel whispered with a bitter look on his face. “Right after His Majesty chose to suddenly promote him to general, a terrible rumor circulated. That he was excommunicated by the Pontifex of Rausten. I didn't think that there was any way a person like that could be promoted by His Majesty, so I found it difficult to believe then, but now…"

"Lord Uncle, what are the Holy Knights doing? How could they be allowing an enemy army to invade?"

Pontifex Mansel shook his head at L'Arachel's question. "That's not it. A large group of them predicted an attack from the Grado Army, and placed knights around the perimeter of the city to guard it. Grado slipped around behind them and rushed the palace. I sent a messenger to tell them to return immediately, but it will likely take some time before they are able to do so."

"Then we should hold out against Grado until then, yes?"

"You are correct. Once they return, we will have no reason to fear this remainder of the Grado Army."

Eirika unsheathed her sword and turned towards her allies. "We must guard the palace until the Holy Knights arrive! Lute and Artur, please stay by Pontifex Mansel's side and protect him. Joshua, you lead a group of soldiers in guarding the northern gate. Everyone else, please follow me."

When Eirika was depressed, her allies didn't have any energy either, but her fighting spirit had finally returned. They all cheered at her sharp order.

L’Arachel said with a smile, “You seem to have cheered up, Eirika.”

“Yes, and it is all thanks to you. Your words cleared away all of my doubts.”

“Oh, I didn’t think I said anything that grand… Anyway, it is good to see you look so happy again. I couldn’t stand to see you with tears in your eyes any longer.”

Eirika felt once more just how much she had worried everyone. She couldn’t keep wallowing in her regrets any longer. She had to fight with all of the strength she could muster to protect the last Stone.

Eirika and Ephraim stood at the front of the vanguard and rushed towards the main gate.

Most of the Holy Knights were outside of the city, but the few knights that were left were protecting the gate. Though they were at an overwhelming disadvantage due to their small numbers, they were successfully holding back the enemy army.

But it was unlikely that they would hold out for much longer. When Eirika and her allies arrived, most of them had been defeated, and enemy soldiers had begun to rush inside the palace.

“Don’t let them progress any further inside! Armor knights, to the front line!” Ephraim shouted.

The armored knights, led by Gilliam, formed a wall, and utilized that strategy by providing cover for the mages and archers behind them.

The enemy soldiers were tough. They attacked with such ferocity that they seemed less like Grado’s remaining soldiers… and more like soldiers who had already been converted to fight for the Demon King himself. Their faces were expressionless, like they had lost all capability of experiencing human feelings.

Suddenly, the waves of a dark mage’s spell shook the air. Gilliam took a direct hit, and his huge body fell backwards with a crash.

Armored knights were weak to magic. Though swords and lances bounced right off their heavy armor, right now, they were being mercilessly destroyed.

“Sir Gilliam!” Franz and Ross shouted.

They worked together to safely carry the fallen Gilliam to the rear line.

The enemy forces were inexhaustible. New challengers simply stepped over the fallen soldiers.

“Do not fall back! We cannot allow them past this point!" Ephraim shouted, picked up his lance, and dashed out to the very front of the vanguard.

“Brother!” Eirika unsheathed her sword and also rushed forward.

Ephraim glanced over at his sister. A look of worry flashed across his face, but it was only for a moment. Once he’d confirmed that she was calmly swinging around her sword as she usually did, he relaxed.

As the enemy soldiers fell, they heard a frustrated man shout, “What are you doing?! If you waste time, their reinforcements will arrive! End this battle immediately…!”

Eirika looked in the direction of the voice.

There, she saw a short, thin man screaming and being guarded by soldiers. His large, glaring eyes stood out eerily against his sunken face. She knew just from one look at him that he was Riev.

“Over there, Brother…!”

“Got it!” Ephraim noticed him as well. He pushed away the soldiers standing in his way with his lance, aiming straight for Riev.

Riev's face twisted with hatred. He shrieked, "Know your place, boy…! Kill him! Soldiers of our lord, the Demon King! Kill them all, and then we will torture Pontifex Mansel!" He waved around a staff with great force. A bluish-white light surged forth from the tip. His target was Ephraim.

Ephraim jumped back, but he didn't react fast enough. His right foot was cut by a blade of light, and he lost his balance.

"Brother!" Eirika tried to run over to the fallen Ephraim, but Riev cast a spell towards her. She just barely managed to avoid it.

“Eirika, leave Ephraim to me!” L'Arachel shouted and raised her staff.

When the unarmored princess jumped out towards the front line, she became the target of the enemy soldiers. She screeched, and a number of soldiers lunged at her.

"Don't any of you take another step closer to Lady L'Arachel!!" The one to scare off the enemy soldiers with a single threat was none other than Dozla. He waved around his giant axe, protecting L'Arachel, and defeated several of them in an instant. Those remaining all panicked and fled.

Eirika decided that her target was Riev. If he got away, he would continue to be a thorn in their side later.

When Riev saw Eirika, he started fuming. The moment he readied his staff to cast another spell, a commotion started from the direction of the main gate.

The Holy Knights had arrived. The sounds of their swords slicing through enemy soldiers echoed through the air.

"Curses… so they've made it in time?! Those pesky Holy Knights…" Riev spat his words out and clutched his staff. "You've managed to escape death this time, girl. I shall allow you to escape. Come to the Darkling woods. The Demon King is waiting for you there."

"Wait…!" Eirika shouted, but Riev quickly turned around. She tried to chase after him, but his soldiers prevented her from doing so.

The main gate was being blocked by the Holy Knights rushing in, but Riev took advantage of the darkness of the night to hide himself. The knights raised up their torches and searched for him, but he was already nowhere to be seen.

“We lost him…?” Ephraim said in frustration. Thanks to L’Arachel’s quick action and first aid, the foot injury he’d sustained had at least closed up for the time being.

Eirika sheathed her sword and whispered, “He said… to go to the Darkling Woods.”

“That does seem like an area that the Demon King would choose.”

“We must hurry and follow after him, Brother. If we waste time, the Demon King will only get stronger.”

L’Arachel said, “Then let’s ask Lord Uncle now… to allow us to unlock the seal on the shrine where the Sacred Stone is kept. Come with me, Eirika.”

Eirika and Ephraim followed L’Arachel and returned to the throne room.

The Pontifex agreed to L’Arachel’s request, and immediately unlocked the seal on the shrine.

The door creaked open. It was one that even L’Arachel herself had never walked through before. She entered the shrine with Eirika and Ephraim behind her, and Myrrh behind the twins.

The moment she took her first step inside, Eirika felt how sacred the place was. It calmed her feelings of high tension from battle.

Though the air smelled a bit musty from the shrine’s many years of being sealed off, there was not a hint of mold anywhere. The carvings of the saints etched into the walls quietly looked down at Eirika and the others.

Even the always chatty L’Arachel did not speak a word. Even if they walked with the intent of quieting their footsteps, the sound echoed off the high dome-shaped ceiling, making it sound as if there were many more people walking the halls.

At the very end of the hallway was a small circular room. In the center of it was an altar, and atop the altar was a small stone. It emitted a faint light, just as Renais’ Sacred Stone had.

All three stared at the Stone in silence for a long while. It was the continent’s last hope… That thought made a special feeling well up within them. The lives of everyone living in Magvell depended upon a small stone no bigger than the palm of a hand.

L’Arachel reached out and took the Sacred Stone. “What a beautiful Stone… Holding it like this makes it feel as if my heart is being cleansed of its impurities. Its power is so strong and pure.” L’Arachel offered it to Eirika.

Eirika was surprised, and shook her head. “You should be the one to hold on to it. It is a very precious treasure of Rausten.”

“No, Eirika. I’ve made my decision. To defeat the Demon King… and return peace to this continent, I will fight together with everyone. And the person leading all of us is you. That is why I entrust this to you.”

“But, I…” Renais’ Sacred Stone had been destroyed because of her mistake. She no longer deserved to hold a Sacred Stone ever again.

Yet L’Arachel curled Eirika’s fingers around it. “Look, it seems to sparkle even brighter when you are holding it.”

“L’Arachel…”

“When I think back on it, I’ve always loved the sidekick who supports the main character. That’s also why I want you to hold on to the Stone. If I had it, then that would make me the main character, wouldn’t it? I want to be your sidekick."

Eirika didn’t know if L’Arachel was serious. Such words were very much like her. Utterly lost, she looked at Ephraim.

He nodded with a smile.

And with that, her mind was made up. Eirika gently took it and held it above her head. "I understand. Then I shall be the one to hold on to Rausen's Sacred Stone."

The three tried to leave the room, but something seemed to be wrong with Myrrh. She was staring blankly at one spot and shivering in fear.

Ephraim noticed this and said, “What's the matter, Myrrh? Are you feeling sick?"

"No… No, that's not it, Ephraim. I just feel it. The ominous energy. It's getting strong. We should hurry."

Ephraim's expression stiffened. "Where is it coming from?"

"The Darkling Woods… where the Demon King was defeated…"

"Riev said he's waiting there, too. Then let's get going."

"Ephraim… in the Darkling Woods is my…" She said in a fragile voice that sounded like she was about to burst into tears. It was the first time her words had ever shaken so much.

Ephraim had begun to walk out of the room, but turned around. "What? What's in the Darkling Woods?"

Myrrh swallowed her words and shook her head. "Nothing... Let's just get going. We must hurry…"

"Before he left, Lord Uncle said he had something he wished to talk about." L'Arachel said. "Perhaps he'd like to give us a farewell gift? Either way, let's hurry and go see what he means. He's such a worrywart, so he might talk for a while…"

ー

When they returned to the throne room and said they wished to begin marching as soon as possible, Pontifex Mansel looked worried, just as L'Arachel had predicted.

"You have finally returned from your long journey, and you're already leaving? L'Arachel, don't you wish to rest for a while?”

“I have no time to rest! I am a princess who fights evil!”

“That may be true, but…”

The Pontifex seemed to be feeling half worried, half lonely. His niece was his one and only family member. He probably just wanted more time to spend with her.

But L’Arachel’s tone was firm. “You have no need to worry about me. My allies will be fighting by my side!”

“Yes… You have been blessed with many good allies. But if you could please wait for just a little bit…”

“I cannot. I will rest after we have defeated the Demon King and saved the world from evil.”

“You’ve grown into a fine young woman, L’Arachel. I’m so proud of you.”

“Save such words for after we’ve won the war, and I can afford to truly appreciate them. Well then, we’ll be going now! See you later, Lord Uncle!”

“Even though I told you to wait? I have something to give to all of you.”

L’Arachel turned to dash out of the room, but the Pontifex held her back.

He motioned for Eirika to come closer to him, then took two items from a Holy Knight standing behind him, and handed them over to her.

One was an old tome. The other was a beautiful staff.

“Are these…?”

“They are Rausten’s Sacred Twins. The tome is called Ivaldi, the Glorious Light, and considered the most powerful of all light magic tomes. And this is the Saint’s Staff, Latona. It is a very useful staff that can heal the wounds of many people at once. Both were used by our ancestor, Saint Latona, during the ancient war. Lady Eirika, please accept them both. I want you to feel that you can use them as freely as you wish."

Eirika took the Sacred Twins and looked at L'Arachel.

L’Arachel was staring at them with a look of wonder on her face. "These are the weapons of legend that Saint Latona used…? I always prayed I could see them with my own eyes one day. I'm moved beyond words."

Eirika offered Latona to L'Arachel. "Please take it. I'm sure you'll be able to use it."

"Me? Are you sure?"

"Of course! And who can use Ivaldi…? Hmm… I know, I'll let either Lord Saleh or Artur use it. Do you have any objections to that?"

"No, I don't think I do. Thank you, Eirika! I never thought that the day would come where I would wield Saint Latona's staff. Oh, I really feel like I am living inside of a legendary tale…!"

L'Arachel tightened her grip around the Saint's Staff. She looked just as magnificent as the tapestry hung in her room. It was only natural that Rausten's princess was the most fitting person to hold Rausten's Sacred Twin. "Now, we will depart. Lord Uncle, thank you for being so considerate of us."

"Come home safe, L'Arachel."

Eirika and her army were seen off by the Pontifex and Holy Knights, and left Rausten Palace. Their destination was the Darkling Woods, where the Demon King had been defeated, his blood tainted the land, and no human had ever gone before....

#fire emblem #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #fe8 #fe #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #eirika #ephraim #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 2 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 20, Section 2

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

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Chapter 20 - The Lord of the Darkling Woods (con’t)

After Ephraim defeated Riev, he checked his surroundings.

Myrrh was nowhere to be seen. While he'd been focused on his fight, the Draco Zombie disappeared, and so had Myrrh.

Ephraim grabbed Eirika and asked, completely out of breath, "Where's Myrrh? Didn't you see her?"

"I heard she defeated the Draco Zombie. I was able to confirm that much, but after that… she quickly disappeared…"

Was it possible that they'd both taken the other out? Could that revolting Draco Zombie have killed her?

All of the color drained from Ephraim's face, and he looked around. "I'm going to look for her. Eirika, you head towards the Demon King's palace."

"But Brother…!"

"I'm sorry. But please understand. I could never leave Myrrh behind.”

"Brother…" She understood how he felt. Their fight with the Demon King was a race against time, but they couldn't ignore a girl from the Dragon Tribe for even a reason like that. Since the very beginning, her people and no others had kept the miasma held back in this forest where it originated from. "I'll look for her, too."

"No, you shouldn't…"

"We'll likely find her faster if everyone splits up. We need her with us." Ephraim turned away without even thanking her.

Eirika pushed herself through the thick woods, calling out Myrrh's name. She stopped to strain her ears from time to time, but all she heard was her allies' voices. Myrrh did not respond even once.

Perhaps she had sustained a serious injury during her battle with the Draco Zombie. Still, she should know every corner of the Darkling Woods. There was no way she could have gotten lost, and there was little chance she could have gone far.

Eirika's gut feeling was right. Before long, she faintly heard crying coming from deep within the woods.

"Myrrh…?" Eirika called out to her and started getting closer, then stopped.

Myrrh was crouched over under the shade of a tree and crying. Her entire body was shaking, she was hitting the dirt with her fists, and she was screaming and sobbing like a toddler.

Eirika couldn't bring herself to speak a word. This was the first time she had ever seen Myrrh burst out in such intense emotion.

"...Myrrh." Eirika waited for Myrrh's crying to quiet, then finally called her name one more time.

Myrrh looked up and wiped away her tears in surprise.

"What's the matter, Myrrh? Why are you crying…?"

"Um… I saw my father a little while ago. It's been a long time since we last talked, and… it brought back a lot of memories." She said in a panic while rubbing her tear-stained cheeks.

Something seemed off about the way she was acting, but Eirika did not see any reason why she would lie.

Eirika smiled and said, "That's right, the leader of the Dragon Tribe should be close by… Where is he? Please let me meet him. I want to thank him for protecting humanity until now…"

"No." Myrrh shook her head with great force. "Father said he cannot associate with humans. As the leader of our tribe, he should avoid meeting with people as much as possible…"

"Oh, is that so? It's unfortunate, but rules are rules."

"Though he is cheering you on. He said to fight magnificently, then return home."

"I understand… He sounds like a kind father."

"Yes, he is. Very much so." Myrrh laughed, though it sounded lonely. Her expression looked more grown up than Eirika had ever seen her before. "...I'm sorry I wandered so far away from everyone. Let's get back to Ephraim and the others."

Myrrh started to walk away, so Eirika said, "Are you sure about this? You really wanted to see your Father."

"I can see him any time once the war is over. Once I return home here…" Her voice was filled with stronger conviction than she had ever mustered before. She looked straight into Eirika's eyes and said, "I'm going to fight. Twice as hard for Father. Let's fight as hard as we can, and defeat the Demon King."

Eirika couldn't figure out exactly what Myrrh was feeling, but nodded.

ー

When Ephraim saw Myrrh appear together with Eirika, his voice was like a sigh of relief as he said, "Are you alright, Myrrh?"

"Yes. I'm sorry for worrying you, Ephraim."

"No, you don't have to apologize…" Ephraim seemed to notice that Myrrh was forcing herself to smile, but he could tell from that expression that it would be best for him not to ask her about anything.

He shifted his gaze from Myrrh to Eirika. "It's finally time, Eirika."

"Yes. Inside this building… the Demon King is waiting for us." Eirika stepped inside the Dark Palace.

Though it looked old from the outside, it was even more in ruins on the inside. It had likely been a magnificent building when it was finished. From the elaborate style of the pillars to the high ceilings, it displayed many hints of its former glory.

However, eight hundred long years had already passed since it lost its lord. The cracked floors were covered in sludge from the swamp, and a terrible stench wafted from it. The bizarre plants native to this region snaked up the walls, all the way to the ceiling, and their vines, the diameter of a person's arm, hung down from the ceiling.

Eirika's allies, who now had the experience of fighting countless battles, spoke few words, if any. Colm usually cracked jokes no matter how grim the situation, but even his expression was stiff, and he was utterly silent. The Demon King's energy was so powerful that they could hardly withstand it.

Suddenly, a person appeared in the open room before their eyes. It was Lyon, his body hunched over like a person trying to withstand cold.

Tension was high, and everyone could collectively feel it. Ross, and the others short tempered like him, looked like they were going to lunge and start swinging their weapons at any moment. However, Ephraim ordered them to hold back, then stopped moving.

Eirika wanted to look away. If she saw Lyon's face, there was no doubt in her mind that her will to fight would shrivel up. She was sure that this was exactly like Mt. Neleras… a trap the Demon King plotted, meant to try and crush her spirit.

But though she had that thought, at the same time, she couldn't look away. Lyon, crouching over and shivering, looked so weak and feeble.

"Eirika…" He said to her in a fragile voice.

Eirika instinctively started to move towards him, but L'arachel stopped her. "Please be careful! He may be trying to obtain Rausten's Sacred Stone as well."

Eirika placed a hand on the Sacred Stone in her breast pocket.

Atop Mt. Nerelas, she'd been tricked, and lost the precious Sacred Stone. She would never repeat that same mistake ever again. This Stone was the last one left on the entire continent.

But Lyon was just staring at her sadly. He didn't want anything, nor was he looking for anything.

Eirika couldn't stand it any longer. She called out to him, "Lyon…!"

Her allies all watched her in utter silence. L'Arachel already looked like she was going to stop her.

"Lyon… It's not the Demon King… it's really you, isn't it?"

"Yes…" He smiled a lonely smile.

"It is… I think. I am Lyon. But I do not have confidence in that fact any longer. I've been almost completely taken over by the Demon King, and… I will soon be gone. I wanted to apologize before then."

"Lyon…"

"I'm sorry, Eirika. This all happened… because I was too weak…"

"None of it is your fault!" She shouted instinctively while squeezing the Sacred Stone with one of her hands. "You didn't do anything wrong. The Demon King deceived and controlled you…!"

"That's not true, Eirika." Lyon shook his head. His expression was sad, but his eyes were calm and at peace.

She could sense that he was utterly determined to make a serious decision, and it deeply shocked her.

"It is I who has been deceiving you this entire time. I said that the Demon King was controlling me and eating away at my heart. I had this vile feeling that if I did… you would sympathize with me.”

"Lyon…"

"But I am going to be honest with you now. I am still here. My consciousness is mixed together with his, and while there have been times where I didn't know what's really me and what's not… I am still alive." Lyon breathed out a pained sigh. “My heart was not taken over by the Demon King’s control. I accepted him into it.”

“...What?”

“He whispered many things to me… That I could become whatever I wanted to be… That I could become someone different from who I am now… That I could become my ideal self… I could not resist his temptation. I chose to be controlled by the Demon King.”

“Lyon!” Eirika shouted, but Lyon continued speaking to cut her words short.

“It was all because I had so many ugly feelings swirling around within my heart. Envy… vanity… I wanted to be strong like Ephraim. I wanted everyone to say I was an ideal prince. An ideal prince who wouldn't embarrass his father's name. ...But in reality, I'm not like that at all. I'm a weak prince who can't be relied on for anything, and can't do anything. When I was told that Father had a grave illness and was in critical condition, I didn't know what I should do. I was scared… I couldn't see what my future was going to be at all, and felt utter despair. That was when the Demon King spoke to me. I gave in. I borrowed the Demon King's power, and tried to become a strong version of myself. I did not know one bit what terrifying result that would cause.”

“Lyon, don’t blame yourself so much!” Eirika screamed. “We all have weak hearts. I do, and so does Brother… If we were told that we could become a stronger version of ourselves, we might give in to that temptation, too. It isn't your fault, so don't blame yourself…"

“Thank you, Eirika. You were always so kind. But you've done enough."

“Lyon!”

"Listen, Eirika. The Demon King is going to use my body as an offering to try and revive his own. I want you to destroy me before that happens…" Lyon then hid his face for a moment. His body, hunched over and frail, suddenly seemed to fill with power.

When he raised his head once more, his expression was already no longer Lyon's.

The Demon King slowly stood up, and his cold stare turned towards Eirika and her army. “Now, enough of that drivel. Let us begin my resurrection ceremony, and the purge of you fools.”

Eirika narrowed her eyes at the Demon King.

If her voice could reach Lyon even now, then she wanted to tell him that he wasn’t a weak prince. That his courage gave her strength.

“I won’t allow you to desecrate Lyon’s body any further!” Eirika’s brave voice echoed through the ancient palace. She put strength into the hand gripping her sword, but her heart was so calm it felt strange. She didn’t feel any fear, nor worry, nor confusion. “I will defeat you myself!” Her words were not a threat, nor a bluff. They were a declaration of her confidence.

The Demon King cackled. “Could you do it, princess?! I’ll tell you the reason why I haven’t yet consumed all of Prince Lyon’s heart. It is because I take great pleasure in his suffering. You understand, don’t you? Within this body, the heart of that crying, terrified, shaking prince still remains. Can you still cut me down, knowing that? Can you kill Prince Lyon as he writhes in agony?”

“I can.” The Demon King’s words were meant to make her falter, but she did not. To her now, such a cheap strategy was actually comical.

Lyon feared nothing. Instead, he was cheering her on. She would not let his courage be for naught.

Eirika shouted, “It is my promise to him!”

That one sentence made the last bit of nervousness within her vanish.

Her allies all took a deep breath and began to move. However, just before they could attack the Demon King, he swiftly turned around and disappeared deeper within the Dark Palace.

They tried to follow him, but a horde of monsters appeared. Wights and Dragon Zombies guarded the narrow passageways, and tried to block their paths. However, there was no longer a single monster that could slow Eirika's army down.

Myrrh transformed into her dragon form and breathed bright red fire. The monsters too slow to run away were burned to a crisp, turning to ashes in the blink of an eye.

The monsters that did avoid the fire and kept coming towards them were all showered with Innes and Neimi's arrows, who were standing at the rear line behind Myrrh. The power of Innes' Nidhogg was especially great. When shot with his arrows, the monsters shrieked and breathed their last breaths within seconds.

As the fight continued, they all realized that the air within the Dark Palace was slowly changing. The ominous energy was gradually rising further and further up. The moment the Demon King would be resurrected was close at hand.

Eirika's army slayed all the monsters blocking their path, and finally reached the altar.

The Demon King stood at the top of the altar, waiting for them. His voice echoed ominously throughout the room. Even if he tried to emulate Lyon's kind voice, he couldn't possibly do it.

"Come, you insignificant little pests! Your bones shall be used as offerings for my second coming!"

Eirika sheathed her well-loved rapier and took Sieglinde into her hand, one of the Sacred Twins used to defeat the Demon King during the ancient war.

When she was a child, she was afraid of thunder. Looking back on that time, she realized she hadn't just felt fear towards the loud noise and bright flash of light that came with it. She also couldn't help feeling dread towards an overwhelming power that could tear open the heavens and shake the earth.

Thunder Sword Sieglinde had destructive power locked away within it that was befitting of its name. Just gripping the hilt sent energy coursing through her entire body.

The Demon King's eyes moved slowly, then stopped on her sword. His expression twisted into one of slight displeasure.

"Oh really…? So you're going to use that sword? Can you stab that abhorrent blade through this body? Can you do it?"

Eirika softly whispered Lyon's name. 'Please watch me, Lyon. I will kill the one making you suffer.'

Eirika stepped closer towards the Demon King. Her allies were already in position to back her up, but none of them started to launch an attack. They were all waiting for her signal.

The Demon King's expression finally changed. His sad voice begged pitifully. "Eirika, you're going to kill me? That's so horrible… I don't want to die…"

Her shout was filled with anger. "Stop! I will not allow you to degrade Lyon any further!" She started running and lunged at the Demon King.

The end of her blade stabbed sharply through his chest like a bolt of lightning.

Blood gushed from the wound. Eirika pulled Sieglinde out.

She clenched her teeth. If she had not, she might have screamed. 'I hurt Lyon. I wounded his body with my own hand…' Though her mind had been made up, the shock she suffered was still too great.

The Demon King stumbled and grabbed the back of the throne, narrowly being able to keep himself up. The blood pouring forth from the wound began to make a puddle on the floor. Though it was likely enough blood loss that he would no longer be able to stand anymore, he showed not a hint of pain in his expression.

He laughed, then plastered a stiff smile across his face. "Remember this, girl. You killed him. You killed your friend. You killed your pitiful friend as he asked for help…"

Eirika dropped her sword. There was no strength in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes, but not because the Demon King's words got to her. They were easy to see through. He was just trying to provoke her. Even now, she would not falter.

Yet she couldn't stop the tears.

They could never meet again. Lyon was no more.

The kind prince who was always disheartened when he lost to her in sword fighting… who showed her around his garden, and taught her the names of all his plants… he was gone, to a place she could never reach.

Ephraim stepped forward to protect her. In his hands was none other than his Sacred Twin, Flame Lance Siegmund.

He started to move to deliver the final blow, but the moment he lifted Siegmund, she called out to him, "Wait, Brother!"

She wiped away her tears. Lyon's body had already lost all of its strength, and was lying on the floor. His hair covered his face, so they couldn't see it. But Eirika knew.

The ominous energy was disappearing. The Demon King had already left his dying body. His evil spirit was no longer near them.

She tried to approach him, but Ephraim stopped her, worried. "Get away from him, Eirika. You still need to be careful…"

"No. He is Lyon now. Our friend, Lyon…" Eirika knelt down next to Lyon's fallen body.

He raised his head ever so slightly. On his pale face was a shy smile. It was her favorite of his expressions. "You did it, Eirika! You… you won." He sounded calm.

She put a hand on his shoulder and gently moved closer towards him.

"Yes, I won. Lyon… I…"

"You really are amazing, Eirika…" He breathed a shallow breath. It felt as if his life was slowly leaving him with each breath.

Eirika could hardly bear the sight.

"Um, Eirika…? There's something that I want to tell you. I didn't have the courage to say it before now, but…" He whispered in a voice that only she could hear, "...I love you."

Eirika squeezed his hand.

Lyon no longer had the strength to squeeze back. He softly closed his eyes.

Eirika stayed that way, with her hand holding his, for a long moment. All the conversations she'd had with him came vividly back to her, one by one.

The day her and Ephraim's visit in Grado ended, and they returned to Renais… Lyon looked so sad as he watched them leave. He asked so seriously when he could see them again, that it made her smile. She answered casually that they would come back soon.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind then. She truly believed they would meet again sometime soon. That the only thing separating them was the distance between their two countries, and if they just made the few days' journey, they could see him any time.

Somehow, that had all only happened a year and a half ago. The person she had been at that time, who could so innocently believe in tomorrow, felt like something from long ago.

Eirika carefully let go of Lyon's hand. 'I don't want you to worry about a single thing anymore. Please sleep peacefully. You've suffered enough.' She said to him from within her heart.

The moment her last finger pulled away from him, his body disappeared.

He vanished so suddenly that she didn't know what happened. She froze for a moment before reaching out to where he had been lying.

Then, a voice echoed through the air.

"The time has come."

Eirika raised her head. Her allies were all looking around, startled. They couldn't tell where the voice was coming from.

"I will be resurrected here. I will fill you with anguish, you foolish humans! Despair me! Fear me! Worship me! Bow down before me! The end of your world is coming! This is my second coming…!"

Eirika felt numb, and couldn't move. Her hands and feet felt cold, and her body was shaking as if a cold wind was blowing over it. The ominous energy that previously filled the room could not compare to the presence of absolute evil she felt now.

She took a deep breath, and could finally move her body again.

When she turned around, her eyes saw the very embodiment of evil - a giant so tall he nearly touched the ceiling.

It was the Demon King that had in ancient times brought this continent to the brink of complete destruction, and made all of humanity despair. The king of evil, with unlimited power and insatiable greed, had finally returned to his true body and been resurrected.

She hadn't made it in time. Eirika felt her strength leave her body. Fighting Lyon and striking her blade through his heart… had all been for nothing. The Demon King had still been brought back...

"Eirika!" A voice called out to her.

She turned her head.

It was Ephraim. He had Siegmund in his hand, and was facing the Demon King head on.

Among every single one of her allies, all at a loss for words and standing frozen in place, Ephraim alone had not lost the powerful light in his eyes. He was filled with a will to fight greater than ever before, and was glaring straight at the Demon King.

"The battle is only just beginning! Don't be afraid. Your allies are here for you. So long as we have their hearts and the Sacred Stone's protection, we cannot lose!"

"...Brother…?"

Eirika couldn't believe it. Before this evil, flaunting it's overwhelming power unlike anything they had witnessed before, even now, he had not lost a shred of confidence, and could stand straight in front of it.

Their allies remained entirely silent. It was unsurprising that no one seemed to be able to agree with Ephraim's words.

But then, a laugh mixed in with a sigh came from behind him. It was Forde. He rested his long lance on his shoulder, and looked up. "Jeez… It's stuff like this that makes it impossible for me to leave Lord Ephraim's side. Don't you feel the same way, Kyle?"

"...Yes." Kyle nodded.

Ephraim puffed up his chest, and had a look on his face that said, 'Well, of course!' He didn't even look back at them.

Forde and Kyle readied their weapons at the same time. Forde carried a lance, and Kyle, a sword. As one would only expect of two soldiers that had always been with Ephraim throughout their long battles together, they showed not even a hint of fear on their faces.

Eirika put a hand around the Sacred Stone in her breast pocket, and gripped it tightly.

She was embarrassed that she had lost hope. Ephraim was right. Nothing was over yet. The battle was only just beginning. "Let's fight! Just like the heroes of old did. We will defeat the Demon King with the Sacred Stone's power…"

"Eirika!" A voice cut into the conversation. It was L'Arachel. She shook her staff, showing that she disagreed with Eirika's words.

'Has L'Arachel lost her will to fight?' Eirika worried, but then Rausten's princess said with strength in her voice, "The Sacred Stone will not defeat the Demon King."

"...Huh?"

"The source of the Sacred Stone's power is our hearts that wish for peace. When we pray from the very bottom of our hearts for peace, and wish for our future to be as it should be, the Sacred Stone will react to that all on it's own. Let's fight with our prayers in our hearts!"

L'Arachel's words struck a chord within Eirika. She instinctively smiled and nodded. "Yes… you're right, L'Arachel!"

Eirika looked around at all of her allies.

Their faces were all returning to the bright expressions they'd had before. Eirika felt the power grow within the Sacred Stone in her hand.

She saw Innes and Joshua, who both bore the burden of the fate of their respective country. She saw Garcia and Ross, who waged their pride as warriors with each battle. She saw Amelia and Neimi, who still had the faces of sweet young women. And she saw Duessel and Cormag, who'd followed their convictions and fought alongside her...

Though each and every one of them all had their own circumstances, they all felt the same. They all fought for the right future to prevail. They would do their very best to fight this final battle for the happiness of everyone.

Eirika thought of the friend that wasn't here with them… Lyon, who'd always wished for everyone to be happy. His prayer had undoubtedly become one with those of her other allies, and reached the Sacred Stone.

"We're going to win!" Ephraim said, and lowered his lance.

At that same moment, they heard an angry growl.

Eirika looked at the Demon King.

"You foolish humans… dare to challenge me…? You have no chance at victory! Bow down before me… Beg me for forgiveness!"

Contrary to the Demon King's words, he was losing his composure. The Sacred Stone was responding to the soldiers' prayers, and trying to seal him within it.

"Don't think you can seal me away again… when you only have… one Sacred Stone… I will crush it… and all of you… into pieces….!"

Eirika felt a tinge of warmth come from the Sacred Stone. It wasn't really increasing in temperature, rather, the power it was radiating was rapidly growing.

"Foolish… humans…" The Demon King's curse changed into an unintelligible voice, and he drew in his long tail.

The ominous energy was quickly fading. They could all clearly feel that the Demon King was losing his power.

The Demon King's soul was once again being sealed within the Sacred Stone.

L'Arachel shouted, "Eirika, don't let your guard down! It isn't over yet!"

Eirika looked up.

L'Arachel quickly continued, “The Demon King's soul is violently trying to free itself! If we don't destroy the body he is trying to return to, then the battle will not be over!" She pointed her staff at the Demon King's body.

Though they had sealed away his soul, the presence within his body was still overwhelming.

Eirika readied Sieglinde. She could tell that her heart was calming down, and a strength unlike any she had felt before was bursting forth from deep within her body.

Eirika let out a battle cry, and charged at the Demon King.

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #fire emblem the sacred stones #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #ephraim #eirika #gba #game boy advance #nintendo #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 3 years

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FE8 Novelization Translation: Book 2 - Front Cover & Other Introductory Pages

Yup, you read that right! It’s time for book 2 already!

And here’s the big announcement - I recalculated the number of parts I’m going to split the chapters into, so I don’t have to take a break in-between books 1 and 2! Some chapters have more scene breaks than others, so it was an easy thing to do without compromising pacing at all.

Let’s get started!!

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Book 2

Written by TAKASE Mie

Illustrated by SUZUKI Rika

Published by Square Enix

(inside flap)

Author

TAKASE Mie

TAKASE Mie was born on July 31st in Tokyo. She graduated from Waseda University. Her recent hobby is the cello, which she was inspired to start learning after watching a certain sailing movie. Though she has dreams of one day being able to play Bach’s cello suites, she still has a hard time with even basic scales.

Cover and Obi Design: atelier THiRD

Princess Eirika vowed to rebuild her home country of Renais, gained the help of their ally nation Frelia, and started to fight back. As her army marches, she crosses paths with all sorts of people, and grows her group of allies. Finally, they make it to Renvall Castle, a critical strategic location for the Grado Army, and attack it. During the battle, she succeeds in reuniting with her elder twin brother Ephraim, who disappeared on the front lines. However, after having only a moment to confirm each other’s safety, Ephraim states that he will march to Grado Castle. Eirika volunteers to travel to the Theocracy of Rausten to support him, but then...

(inside flap)

Illustrator

SUZUKI Rika

SUZUKI Rika currently lives in Yokohama. She is a freelance illustrator who has contributed to titles such as the Monster Collection TCG (published by Fujimi Shobo) and Angels of Dawn (written by KAYATA Sunako and published by Chuokoron-Shinsha, Inc.). She also created the manga Tableau Gate - Volumes 1 & 2 (published by Kadokawa Shoten).

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Book 1

Written by TAKASE Mie

Illustrated by SUZUKI Rika

Table of Contents

Chapter 11: Caer Pelyn

Chapter 12: The Wyvern Rider’s Wrath

Chapter 13: The Desert Palace

Chapter 14: Reunion

Chapter 15: The Day the Empire Fell

Chapter 16: Repatriation

Chapter 17: The Demon King’s Shadow

Chapter 18: Encroaching Trap

Chapter 19: Night in Rausten

Chapter 20: The Lord of the Darkling Woods

Chapter 21: The Continent’s Wrath

Character Introductions

Eirika

The Princess of Renais. She is kind, and does not like war itself, but still dedicated herself to the current war without hesitation to retake her country, a goal entrusted to her by her father, the king.

Fado

The king of the Kingdom of Renais. In his youth, he was renowned for his military prowess, and he is adored by his people as an honest statesman.

Seth

Though he is the youngest of all Renais’ generals, his loyalty and superb skills in both combat and discernment make him the ideal image of a knight.

Franz

He may have just only become a full-fledged knight, but he has a very serious and earnest personality, and is skilled in combat as well, ensuring him a promising future.

Valter

A general of the Grado Empire also known as the Moonstone. He was discharged from the army for the crime of massacring ordinary citizens for fun. However...

Gilliam

A devoted knight of Frelia with a long history as a fearless soldier. He is a man of few words, but his power is known throughout the entire Frelian Army.

Tana

The princess of the Kingdom of Frelia. In contrast to her friendly personality that is beloved by all of her retainers and servants, she also has military experience, and is an active member of the pegasus knight unit.

Hayden

The king of the Kingdom of Frelia. His resourcefulness is unparalleled, and has earned him the title “The Wise King.” He is a long time friend of Fado’s and spares no effort in aiding Eirika and her allies.

Vanessa

An outstanding knight, even among the prided Frelian pegasus knights. She is very serious, but kind.

Moulder

A priest. Within his calm appearance lies a very intelligent mind. He can not only heal with staves, but is also knowledgeable in medicine.

Selena

A mage general of Grado, also known as the Fluorspar. One of the empire’s three generals. She has vowed her undying loyalty to Emperor Vigarde.

Ross

A boy living in Ide Village in Renais. He is saved by Eirika and her allies when his home is attacked by bandits.

Garcia

Ross’ father. A former troop commander in the Renais’ army known for his dauntless courage. When his wife passed away, he retired from the army to raise his son.

Neimi

A girl born in Lark Village in Renais. Her home was burned down by bandits. She cries easily, but undoubtedly inherited her grandfather’s famous skills with a bow.

Colm

Neimi’s childhood friend. They were the only two to survive the bandit attack on their hometown. He has sticky fingers, but is kind to Neimi.

Artur

He meets Eirika and the others while carrying out the orders given to him by his monastery to purge the lands of monsters. He has a deep love of learning and is a devoted monk.

Lute

Artur’s childhood friend. Though it is true that she is an exceptionally skilled mage, the words and actions she chooses as a result of her confidence in that fact are a bit detached from reality.

L’Arachel

A young woman with a strong sense of justice on a continuing journey to take out the monsters roaming the lands. She actually appears to be of noble standing based upon the way her companions talk to and act around her.

Dozla

A warrior traveling with L’Arachel. He cannot hide the fact that he is her loyal retainer, though perhaps it is more accurate to say that he is not really trying. He’s not one to sweat the small stuff.

Rennac

He is actually a master thief, and just under contract with L’Arachel, but all she does is drag him around everywhere.

Natasha

A cleric being pursued by the Grado Army because she was deemed a traitor. She asks to travel with Eirika so she can spread the word to other nations about the strange things occurring within the empire.

Joshua

A skilled mercenary who loves to gamble above all else. He becomes Eirika’s ally after losing a bet with Natasha.

Ephraim

The prince of Renais and Eirika’s older twin brother. He is blessed with a strong sense of justice and decisiveness. He also excels in spearmanship, and his skills are highly respected by the cavalier unit.

Kyle

A loyal retainer who has served Ephraim ever since he joined the cavalier unit. An exceptional knight who’s skilled in serving as a guard.

Forde

Like Kyle, he serves Ephraim as both a guard and close confidant. He and Kyle have been rivals since they were young. He is also Franz’s older brother.

Orson

The commanding officer of the Renais cavalier unit. He is a devoted cavalier who has served the royal family for years, and that King Fado trusts deeply, however...

Innes

The prince of The Kingdom of Frelia. He always has a strong sense of duty towards his role as a member of the royal family. He is extremely confident in himself, and has the strength and abilities to back it up.

Myrrh

A girl who is neither human nor monster, but a member of the dragon tribe. She leaves The Darkling Woods to tell the humans about the abnormalities occurring across the continent.

Amelia

A girl who became a soldier because of her respect for General Duessel. However, she feels lost when she learns that he opposes the war.

Gerik

The brave leader of a band of mercenaries. He joins Eirika’s army because Prince Innes hired him as his guard.

Tethys

A dancer whose bewitching dances attract the soldiers around her and heighten their morale. Once she joined Gerik’s Mercenaries, she became an indispensable member of the group.

Marisa

A female mercenary is rare enough, but her beauty and skills make her even more of a diamond in the rough. She is registered in the guild as a member of the same mercenary group as Gerik.

Ewan

Tethys’ little brother. He aspires to become a mage, and convinced a renowned sage to become his teacher. He is at the age where he cannot help but want to be treated as his own person.

Saleh

The sage of Caer Pelyn, and the only person of this age to associate with those of the dragon tribe. His abilities are very widely known. He is also Ewan’s teacher.

Glen

A general of the Grado Empire who is also known as the Sunstone. One of the empire’s three generals. He also questions the current war…

Cormag

A dragon knight of Grado. Glen’s younger brother. He trusts and respects his brother completely, but after a certain event happens, he leaves the Grado Army.

Lyon

The prince of the Grado Empire. He has been a friend of Eirika and Ephraim’s for many years. His research into dark magic has made him even more knowledgeable in magic than the palace mages.

Ismaire

The beautiful queen of the Kingdom of Jehanna, known as “The Queen of White Dunes.” She has gained the overwhelming support of the people for her accomplishments in running the country since her husband’s passing.

Duessel

A general of the Grado Empire with the title “Obsidian.” One of the Three Imperial Generals. Though he has been accused of being a traitor, he is working together with Ephraim to warn the emperor of the error of his ways.

Knoll

A palace mage of the Grado Empire who studied dark magic alongside Lyon. He is one of the few people who knows the reason why the emperor, once known for his virtue, changed so drastically.

Caellach

A general of Grado known as the “Tiger Eye.” He started out as a mere mercenary, and rose up to his current position, but he is an ambitious person who wishes to rise even higher.

Vigarde

The emperor of the Grado Empire. He is beloved for his virtuous ways, including opening up the national treasury to the people in times of disaster. However, ever since that fateful day, his personality has changed completely, and he began the invasion all of the countries across the continent of Magvel...

Syrene

The commander of Frelia’s third unit of pegasus knights. She is Vanessa’s elder sister by blood, but Tana also looks up to her like an elder sister.

Mansel

The Pontifex who rules over the Theocracy of Rausten. Known for being highly educated and devoted to his beliefs, he is worshiped by the deeply devoted people as the representative of the gods.

Riev

A mage general of the Grado Empire known as the “Blood Beryl.” Ever since he learned the reason for the emperor’s change, he has served the emperor to support his dark ambitions.

#fire emblem #fe8 #sacred stones #fe #nintendo #game boy #game boy advance #gba #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 2 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 21, Section 2 (Final Post!!)

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 21 - The Continent’s Wrath (con’t)

It happened on the day that the restoration plan started to progress smoothly.

Eirika entered Ephraim’s room with a letter she’d received from Tana. It explained the current status of Innes, Vanessa, and their other allies in great detail, putting their hearts at ease.

“Brother, how about we take a break from the restoration for a bit, and try visiting Frelia, just this once?"

Eirika’s proposal made Ephraim smile and nod.

“I like that idea. We have a lot to thank King Hayden for, and I do like to hear Innes’ snark every now and again.”

“Brother..”

“I’m kidding. There is much that I wish to speak with him about. We can’t act like children with each other forever…”

It happened the moment Ephraim finished his words.

The room suddenly shook so much that the objects within it rattled.

Eirika and Ephraim both looked at each other.

Eirika felt scared, but the shaking did not get any worse, instead quickly ending. “An earthquake… that’s rare.”

“It is. We’ve been told that they’re common in Grado, but the people of Renais aren’t used to them. It probably surprised them.”

Since the earthquake was big enough for them to feel it even within the castle, it was possible that it had caused some damage, such as collapsing the half-built houses in the mountain villages that they had only just finally started to revive. The thought hurt Eirika’s heart.

ー

A few days later, Eirika was called into Ephraim’s office. Standing by Ephraim’s side was Seth, who had a grim expression on his face. When she looked at both of their expressions, she felt uneasy.

“Eirika, something terrible has happened.”

“What is it…?”

“Seth, please explain.”

Seth nodded and opened his mouth. “We just received a message from Grado. The earthquake that occured the other day caused great damage there.”

“...I was afraid of that...”

She had suspected it. Since it was an earthquake so great that they felt it in Renais’ capital, in Grado, where earthquakes were a frequent occurrence, it was highly likely that the damage there would be great.

Her face clouded over. “Just how bad is the damage?”

“Their current state is one of absolute chaos, so we do not know the details. The messenger said they were only sure of one thing. That the damage is greater than any they have experienced before. The earth split apart, and nearly all of the buildings within all of the towns and cities were destroyed. Many, many dead have been found. ...And they have not confirmed it yet, but they said that the southern portion of the country was swallowed up into the sea.”

Eirika was at a loss for words. The damage was far greater than she had imagined.

Grado had already lost its emperor, posing the greatest threat to the empire since it had been founded. For such a disaster to befall the nation, and hit it while it was down...

“I will go to Grado.” Ephraim said.

“Brother, I will go with you.”

“No. You stay here in Renais.”

“But…”

“If you leave too, then what will happen to Renais? You stay here and protect our country.”

“...I will.” She wanted to confirm Grado’s current state with her own eyes and do something to help, no matter how little. Yet while that feeling was sincere, what Ephraim was saying was right. “I will take responsibility for your work until you can return. Please be careful…"

"I'll be counting on you. Seth, you stay behind in Renais as well, and help Eirika."

"Understood."

"...We were also told that some of the people have been saying this great disaster is retribution for Emperor Vigarde and Prince Lyon's terrible rule." Ephraim’s voice lowered. "We cannot blame them. They've lost their homes and family members to the war. We cannot help the fact that they will blame Lyon. But I will respond with action. I will take on what Lyon tried to do. I will not allow anyone else to die, be they from Grado or Renais." He spoke with stronger conviction than he'd ever shown before.

The next day, Ephraim, joined by Forde, Kyle, and a few others, left for Grado.

ー

That night, Eirika wrote a letter to Innes and Tana.

Frelia had likely also received a report about the disaster that had assaulted Grado, so she wanted to write not an official report, but her own words.

It was a quiet night. The only sound Eirika could hear was that of her pen gliding across the paper. But whenever she thought about Grado, where the people were spending the night shaking in fear and unable to sleep… it only made her heart sink. As she wrote in detail about Grado's dire situation that Seth had explained to her, and Ephraim's decision, she nearly cried several times.

Partway through the letter, Eirika put her pen down and sat up. She could no longer endure the pain in her heart, and so she softly pushed open the window that led out to the terrace.

The moon looked incredibly beautiful as it rose. She unexpectedly smelled the scent of a flower.

'Though this continent has suffered a deep wound, it still holds the power to nurture life.' Eirika had that calming thought, and stood at the open window for a long while.

She did not know the name of the flower this sweet scent wafted from. But if Lyon were here, he could probably tell her. He knew the names of even the flowers growing inconspicuously in the deepest corners of any garden.

She found herself reminiscing about the day that she and Ephraim first met Lyon.

It had been during the season when the flowers were unquestionably at their most beautiful. Lyon came to greet them in Grado Castle's garden, where the flowers were blooming brightly.

ー

"Hello. Nice to meet you." Lyon said very nervously.

He surprised Eirika, who thought that a prince would certainly meet them more formally.

He looked at their faces and continued on shyly, "I wanted to meet you right away, and have been waiting. I don't have any friends my age, so…" His expression was a mixture of anticipation and unsurety.

When Eirika smiled at him, he laughed in relief. "My name is Lyon. And you're Prince Ephraim and Princess Eirika, correct? I look forward to getting to know you better!"

ー

Eirika remembered clearly the smile Lyon had on his face at that time.

She would likely remember it her entire life. Though the time they'd been able to spend together was short, she would always consider him a lifelong friend. That feeling would never change.

"Please watch, Lyon. Brother and I… will do our best together to make sure the people of Renais and Grado will be happy…" Eirika whispered, and gently closed the window.

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #fire emblem the sacred stones #eirika #ephraim #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 2 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 20, Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 20 - The Lord of the Darkling Woods

Eirika's army halted their march just before entering the Darkling Woods.

A number of the soldiers were already saying that they did not feel well. They couldn’t walk another step further, and some even had to be healed.

Sections of the soil were turning black, and a foul stench wafted forth from those areas. The blood of the Demon King that had seeped into this earth long, long ago was, to this very day, still eating away at it. The miasma wafting from the rotting ground was so thick that it was difficult to endure.

The person among them most deeply affected by it was Myrrh. Her face was pale, and without support, she would likely fall from atop the horse she was on.

Ephraim was worried about her, and asked countless times, “Myrrh? Is it painful for you? Are you alright?”

"I am… The ominous energy is very strong, and getting stronger…"

"Do you want to rest for a while?"

"No. I am fine. I can withstand it, because Father is here…"

"Your father? That's right, Myrrh, you said you came from the Darkling Woods, didn't you?"

"Yes. I lived here with Father, across from that swamp…" Myrrh pointed straight ahead.

There, they could see a swamp filled with jet black water.

"The Demon King's palace is there. His corpse should be resting there to this day."

"Of course, just because his soul has been revived, doesn't mean his body has moved yet. Things will become more difficult for us if we don't defeat him before his true body regains its strength."

"Father is near that palace. He watches over the Demon King's corpse. I'll be able to see him soon!" Myrrh's voice cheered up slightly.

Eirika was listening in on their conversation, and Myrrh's expression made her feel a bit relieved. She always had a grim look on her face, but when she was talking about her father like this, she was happy. That fact soothed Eirika's weary heart. "What kind of person is your father, Myrrh?"

When asked, Myrrh answered, sounding a bit embarrassed, "He's not my real father. My real father and mother died during the ancient war. After that, the leader of the dragon tribe became my father and raised me."

"I see…"

"Father is very strong and kind. He fights the monsters that are born here in the Darkling Woods. He always has… since the ancient war…"

Eirika remembered what Grandmother had told her in Caer Pelyn.

During the ancient war, the Great Dragon saved humanity and defeated the Demon King. The Great Dragon Grandmother referred to could have very well been Myrrh's father. Even after the war, the Great Dragon stayed in the Darkling Woods and continued to watch over it so that the monsters would not get out into the human world…

"The peace we have lived in was all thanks to Myrrh's father. Us humans forgot our debt to him, and convinced ourselves that we built up our prosperity by our own power… It was so very foolish of us." Eirika noticed that Myrrh's expression had changed.

Until this moment, her face was a bit brighter, likely because she was reminiscing about her father. But now, her eyes opened wide, and she pursed her lips together, looking as if she were holding back a scream. What appeared on her face was worry… no, fear.

"Myrrh? What's wrong? Are you feeling sick…?" Ephraim asked.

"No, I am fine. Let's go and do our best to defeat the Demon King."

Eirika and Ephraim's eyes met for a moment. They both noticed that Myrrh's behavior was strange. However, they had no time to ask her for any details.

"Lady Eirika, Lord Ephraim, the enemy has begun to move." Seth reported.

The skies before them had begun to cloud over. The sounds of many monsters' erratic breathing and flapping wings reached Eirika's ears.

And the miasma bubbling forth from the ground was getting ever higher.

"The Demon King is in the palace across the swamp. Let's go!" Ephraim said as encouragement to himself.

Eirika unsheathed her sword and swung it into the air with great force. "All units, charge!"

The soldiers' battle cries shook the Darkling Woods.

The horses' powerful hooves took off against the rotting earth. The horde of monsters trying to intercept their path finally showed themselves.

The monsters' shrieks of intimidation shook the air. Some sounded like shrill laughter, and others like groans rumbling across the ground. Both melded together to create an ear-grating echo.

Yet Eirika's army did not slow their momentum.

The monsters standing as the enemy vanguard were creepy reanimated skeletons known as Wights. They were the many soldiers and travelers who had lost their lives on this land long, long ago, after which the miasma seeped into their bones and reanimated them.

The skeleton horde waved large swords around to attack. The noises of their bones clacking together sounded like laughs mocking Eirika and her army.

Eirika did not falter. She flew into the wave of enemies and swung her sword around as if she were in a trance. When their joints took a hit, the bones lost their connections, scattered, and stopped moving. They had all once been humans… then were turned into these abominations...

Every time Eirika defeated an enemy, her anger towards the Demon King grew even stronger.

Behind the Wights appeared one-eyed monsters so giant she had to look up to see their faces, called Cyclops. Their roars shook the air, and they put all of their strength into swinging their axes downwards. They were not very good at landing a hit on their targets, but when they did, it was an instant kill. Of course, their pressure halted the army's momentum.

The one person pushing his way through the panicking and fleeing soldiers was Artur. While his body appeared to be delicate and gentle, the perfect image of what a holy man should look like, his light magic was incredibly powerful. And now he possessed one of Rausten's Sacred Twins, Glorious Light Ivaldi. The sturdy, giant Cyclops could shrug off an entire group of soldiers, yet exploded from the inside out and disintegrated with just one of Artur's spells.

"Your magic is truly a sight to behold, Artur." Lute praised him, though she sounded a bit frustrated. While she also of course had exceptional skill in spellcasting, when fighting against monsters, no one could compare to a wielder of light magic.

Artur turned around and grinned. "Thank you, Lute."

"But I won't lose, either." She rapidly cast a series of fire spells at a herd of oncoming Cyclops.

The Cyclops were afraid of the fire, but had nowhere to go. Cormag's dragon lunged at them, his lance stabbing straight into their single eyeball. The monsters wailed in intense pain.

Reinforcement hordes of monsters appeared one after the other, seemingly with no end in sight. Yet Eirika's army marched steadily onwards.

Finally, the palace on the opposite end of the black swamp came into view. It looked more like a giant headstone than a palace.

"So you still haven't given up, you foolish humans?!" A hoarse voice echoed through the air.

Riev was standing in front of the palace and being guarded by monsters. His eyes were the same as the monsters', murky and stagnant. Eirika sensed the endless hatred and malice overflowing from within them, and shivered.

"It's useless… no matter how you struggle… you cannot stop my lord’s resurrection!" His voice was filled with a deep-seated resentment.

L'Arachel fired back at him, "You said your name was Riev, right?! The Pontifex told me the reason why you were chased out of Rausten! You once served the gods, but stooped down to the level of one of the Demon King's lackeys! Aren't you embarrassed by that?!"

"Shut your mouth!" Riev shrieked in a shrill, grating voice. "It was your fault… It was all the fault of the Pontifex and his followers! They did not even try to understand my power… they all looked down on me… and stole everything from me! I won't forgive them! I'll never forgive them!"

"Silence! You were excommunicated because of your own countless wrongdoings! It is no one's fault! If you repented, then a day may have come where you were forgiven, but… you unjustly resented humanity, and sold your conscience to the Demon King. You will not go unpunished for your sins!"

"Keep talking, girl! But I will not let you interfere with the Demon King's plans! The time of his resurrection is close at hand! I will not let you pass…!" Riev raised both of his hands. Dark, wicked energy poured forth from his small, shriveled body.

"Eirika, that's…!" L'Arachel shouted.

The soldiers started to stir up a commotion.

A gigantic monster appeared from behind Riev, called a Draco Zombie. It more closely resembled a dragon than a monster.

Rotted flesh clung to its skeleton, though what eerily stood out was its sharp claws and teeth. It had no eyeballs. In their place within its gaping wide eye sockets was a hollow darkness.

The Draco Zombie raised its head with a stiff, awkward movement, then opened its mouth and exhaled a stream of rotting breath. Eirika's army panicked and ran from it.

"I'll go handle it!" Ephraim shouted, but Riev cast a spell that exploded where he stood.

Riev's laugh echoed through the air. "It's useless! Give up! These woods will be your grave!"

It was then that Eirika noticed Myrrh had walked away from the rest of the army and was approaching the Draco Zombie. "Myrrh! You can go over there, it's too dangerous! Stand back!"

"Stop, Myrrh!" Ephraim stepped forward, trying to save her.

However, she stopped him with a tone that made it clear she had made up her mind. "Please don't follow me, Ephraim."

"Myrrh!"

"I'm fine, Ephraim… I'll be fine." Myrrh pulled out a small object from within her breast pocket.

It was her Dragonstone. She was gripping the stone that Selena had returned to her, holding it to her chest, and closing her eyes as if she were praying.

Then, her body changed.

Eirika couldn't believe what she was seeing.

In place of Myrrh's small body, a dragon appeared. It was much smaller than the Draco Zombie, but very beautiful.

The small dragon opened her mouth and let out a powerful roar to intimidate her foe.

"Myrrh…?"

"...This is Myrrh's power." Ephraim murmured. "The Manakete… no, those of the Dragon Tribe, are a people that have both human and dragon forms. They cannot return to their dragon forms if they do not have their Dragonstone, so that is why Myrrh was suffering. Now, she can finally unlock her true power."

This was Eirika's first time seeing Myrrh's true form. She couldn't take her eyes off of her. The image of this small dragon, standing bravely before the far bigger, ghastly Draco Zombie… was stunningly beautiful.

"Provide back-up for Myrrh! Our target is Riev!" Ephraim shouted, and assumed a battle stance with Siegmund.

Eirika's army swallowed their fear and regained their senses. The creepy Draco Zombie had left them so petrified that it was as if they were under a spell, but the sight of Myrrh's dragon form had given them courage.

They crushed the monsters defending Riev one after the other, and were getting ever closer to him.

A spark of insanity shined in Riev's sunken eyes, and he continued to scream, "It's useless! You should give up, fools! You’re all going to die. No one can stop my lord’s resurrection…!”

ー

Though the noises of battle were engulfing the Darkling Woods, Myrrh could not hear any of the sounds coming from around her.

No, she heard then all, but was not aware of them. All her eyes saw were the creepy form of the Draco Zombie. All her ears heard was the erratic breath coming from its rotting throat.

‘Father…’ Myrrh called out to him from within her heart. ‘I worried the entire time I was gone. That the ominous energy getting stronger and stronger meant that… You had… I worried and worried and worried…’

The Draco Zombie lifted one of its large forelegs and swung at Myrrh with its sharp claws. Myrrh flew up to avoid the attack.

‘Father, it’s me… Myrrh… don’t you know that?’

Myrrh roared. When she wasn’t in her human form, she couldn’t speak using words and language. However, her great and powerful father Morva should know it was her from the sound of her roar.

The Draco Zombie did not let up its onslaught for even a second. It exhaled another stream of rotting breath, irritated by Myrrh’s dodging of each of its swift attacks.

‘Why did things come to this? Did the Demon King do this to you, Father?’ Myrrh desperately flapped her wings, looking into the Draco Zombie’s hollow eyes the entire time.

Morva’s kind eyes, the ones that had always looked down tenderly at her, were gone. His eyes, that had taught her more than any of the words he’d ever spoken, were now nothing more than black holes that made her shudder at the sight.

It was then that Myrrh realized. Her great and powerful father, the leader of the Dragon Tribe, Morva, had been killed. After his life had been taken from him, he was now being controlled. It was the same as what happened to the Grado Emperor and Orson’s poor wife.

The being here in front of her was not Morva. It was an unknown being residing in Morva’s physical form. A creature of darkness desecrating Morva’s memory.

Myrrh’s screams turned into war cries, and echoed through the air. They encouraged Eirika’s soldiers to keep up their assault on Riev.

Myrrh turned towards the Draco Zombie and breathed out hot fire. It wailed in pain and fell to the ground.

Myrrh was trying to make a follow-up attack, but the Draco Zombie launched its own counterattack. The breath that came out of its rotting throat inflicted pain that stung like heavy burns, yet Myrrh still did not falter. She withstood the pain and breathed out a stream of intense fire once more.

The Draco Zombie howled, and its rotting flesh turned black. The smell was almost unbearable.

‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Father…’

‘If only I had come home sooner.’

‘If only my Dragonstone hadn’t been stolen, and I hadn’t been forced off track…’

‘If only I’d been by your side, no matter what may have happened, I might have been able to protect you. To repay you for protecting me for so long…’

Myrrh mustered up all of the strength she had, and exhaled one last breath of fire. The Draco Zombie stopped moving.

All that was left already was just the charred skeleton. It could no longer support its own weight, and slowly collapsed.

The moment the skeleton hit the ground, it turned into black ashes that fluttered away. Those were the final moments of the great Morva, leader of the Dragon Tribe.

#fire emblem #fe8 #fe #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #ephraim #eirika #translation #localization #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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four-loose-screws · 3 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 18, Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

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I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 18 - Encroaching Trap

The lands of Neleras were covered by cooled and hardened lava. Many long years had passed since the last large volcanic eruption, but even now, the stench of sulfur was thick in the hot air, and not a single plant was to be seen, much less any animals.

Eirika's army started their grueling climb. There was of course no road, so their only option to progress forward was to search for places that looked sturdy enough to climb. If they made a wrong decision, they would risk falling into the bubbling magma, so they could not speed up their pace.

"The mountain road to Caer Pelyn was also very steep, but this volcano is even moreso, Dozla!" L'Arachel said a rare complaint, though her complexion actually looked quite fair in comparison to the sweat-soaked soldiers around her. She’d been born into a noble position as a princess, but after traveling through each country to fight monsters, her legs had become very strong.

"Oh my! If you're tired, then allow me to carry you! You don't have to be polite!" Dozla turned his back to her, but she went right past him.

"I cannot be the only one to take it easy while everyone else is walking!"

"How honorable, to be so thoughtful of your allies! I'd expect nothing less of you, Lady L'Arachel!"

"Be that as it may, what I really cannot stand is this foul stench. I wonder where it is coming from. It smells as if something is rotting…"

It happened the moment L'Arachel covered her nose with her sleeve.

Suddenly, a large tremor shook the ground beneath them.

L'Arachel’s feet gave out and she stumbled, but luckily fell atop Dozla, and was not injured. “Wh… What was that? The volcano couldn't be erupting, could it…?" Unsurprisingly, this event made even L'Arachel's face go pale.

The soldiers all screamed, starting an uproar.

"No, that is not likely. This is a standard tremor. There's no need to worry." Said a blank whisper. It was Knoll.

L'Arachel hadn't talked with him much at all yet. Her impression of this man, that Ephraim had brought with him from Grado, was as nothing more than that of a gloomy mage. However, his whisper piqued her interest, and so she asked in response, "Now that you mention it, I've heard that Grado has many tremors… So the natives must be used to them, correct?"

"Yes. I've experienced them many times since I was a child… But those that have occurred recently were exceptionally big."

"Oh dear, I wonder why? Are they of some relation to the Demon King's revival, perhaps?"

"I do not think so. Quite the opposite, actually…" Knoll started to say something else, but looked at L'Arachel, and changed his words. "But it’s not important. Never mind."

"Oh my, hearing you start to say something, then stop, makes me very curious! What is it?"

"It is nothing… Anyway, if the tremors are only as small as that one just now, then the volcano is unlikely to erupt." Knoll put his hood back up and continued to trudge up the mountain.

L'Arachel watched him walk away and tilted her head to the side. "What a strange fellow! He knows something. I can see it in his face. I wonder why he won't tell us about it?"

"L-Lady L'Arachel! Are you injured?" Dozla asked, still lying under her.

She finally realized he was there, and stood up. "I'm perfectly fine! What about you, Dozla?"

"That is but a trifling matter! So long as you are safe, I am relieved!!" After he stood up, he also turned his head up, and sniffed loudly. "What is that horrible stench…?!"

"That's right, that's what I was asking about! What is this smell…?"

The soldiers in front of them began to make more and more noise. They could only make out the word "eggs."

"Eggs? Whatever are they talking about? Where are these eggs?"

"Lady L'Arachel, look over there!" Dozla realized what the soldiers were referring to and pointed at them.

Between scraggly clumps of cooled lava were many dull white objects. There was no question that they looked like eggs. L'Arachel tried to count them one by one by pointing with her staff, but quickly gave up. There were several dozen… no, hundreds of them laid across the rocky terrain.

And a countless number of them were each pulsating slightly. A faint light was starting to emanate from within.

That sight made L'Arachel shiver. "No… Are they about to hatch…?"

She then heard Ephraim give his order from the front line. "All units, prepare for battle! Those are monster eggs! If we don't destroy them before they hatch, then we'll be in trouble!"

ー

Ross raised a hand to wipe the sweat from his brow.

The eggs' shells were harder than he thought they would be, and most of them couldn't be cracked with just one attack. And there were many times when the moment he did crack the egg, the monster came flying out from inside, so he couldn't let his guard down.

"Just how many of ‘em are there?! There's no end to 'em, no matter how many I destroy…" He complained as he swung his axe down atop an egg that was moving strangely.

The shell burst open, and something came flying out from inside. It was a Gorgon, a monster with an appearance similar to that of a woman and had hair that slithered like snakes.

"Ahhhhh...!" Ross was taken by surprise, and staggered back.

The Gorgon turned toward Ross and wriggled its long tongue at him to threaten him.

Ross raised his axe, dodged the Gorgon's attack, and let out a high-pitched scream.

"Huh?" He froze, still mid-attack. He couldn’t move, as if his entire body was stiff.

"No way! Dammit, what kind of magic is this…?" Ross looked down at his feet and swallowed.

His feet were beginning to turn to stone. First his ankles turned grey, then his knees, then his thighs.

"Grr… How dare you…!" Ross shouted, but his mouth went numb, and he couldn't pronounce his words clearly.

"Ross, are you alright?" Natasha rushed over. He could no longer speak, but she could tell that his eyes pleaded, "Help me!!"

A white light emanated from the staff in her hands.

It enveloped Ross and gradually unpetrified him. The force left in his stance caused him to fall on his butt. "Thanks, Sister Natasha! You really saved me!" He said with a deep breath in and out.

The Gorgon tried to scream again, but it no longer had any effect on him.

Ross swiftly brought his axe down on its head.

Ross wasn't the only person that had been hit by the petrification spell. Several of their other allies had also been rendered helpless by the Gorgons.

A shriek echoed through the air. It came from Ewan. He was being chased around by a newly hatched Gorgon.

Natasha panicked and started to run over towards him. "Eeek…!"

A gargoyle holding a lance attacked her from above. She’d been so wary of the Gorgons that she didn’t notice the gargoyle until it was too late.

Natasha held her head in her hands and curled her body up, but the gargoyle’s scream that reached her ears was its death cry.

Natasha timidly looked up. The gargoyle had been cut cleanly in two at the waist, and was already dead.

“Don’t push yourself, Sister.” That voice was none other than Joshua’s. He’d saved Natasha in the nick of time.

“Thank you, Lord Joshua…”

“Just Joshua is fine. You can’t fight, so don’t rush recklessly out to the front line. That’ll just make you food for the monsters.”

“I know… But Ewan…” Natasha tried to start running again, still concerned for the boy’s safety.

Joshua held out his arms and stopped her. “Like I said, don’t rush out to the front line… You may not look like it one bit, but you’re awful rash. Come with me. Do not wander too far away from my side.”

“Huh…?”

Joshua cut down the monsters coming at him, then rushed towards Ewan to save him. Natasha followed after him so she wouldn’t be left behind.

Ever since they’d learned of his true identity as the prince of Jehanna, their allies had been at a loss for how exactly to address him. They couldn’t call him over casually like they used to, and many were now very distant with him.

Natasha thought it was a bit lonely. She was the person who had first approached him in Serafew and added him to Eirika’s army. As they'd conversed deeply with each other, she'd come to like him.

However, ever since his social standing became known, she couldn’t speak to him as she had before. He was suddenly very distant to her, and she avoided seeing him face-to-face as much as she could.

But the Joshua who had casually protected her just now was the same Joshua as before. Both his way of speaking and his mannerisms were rough, and completely inappropriate for a prince. It made Natasha happy.

“Stay close.” Joshua knew she had a tendency to fall behind, and so turned around and called out to her again.

“Yes, Joshua!” Natasha nodded firmly and ran lightly after him.

ー

The seemingly endless number of monster eggs slowly dwindled as Eirika’s army destroyed them.

Now, there were just a few left. Eirika crawled up an area made of volcanic rock, and swung her sword down at an egg nestled at the top.

She slashed the hard shell several times. It was back-breaking work.

Finally, the shell cracked, and when she looked up, a person flew into her field of vision.

It was Lyon. He was standing atop an even higher rock ledge, and looking down at her.

The moment their eyes met, Lyon pulled back in surprise, and turned around.

“Wait, Lyon!” She shouted, but Lyon did not stop. He quickly moved behind a rock and out of sight.

She was entirely focused on trying to catch up to him, but Ephraim yelled out to stop her. “Don’t go, Eirika! Don’t rush ahead on your own!”

“But Lyon’s further up here! We can’t let him get away!”

“Eirika!”

She ignored her brother’s warning and continued up the rocks.

Why had Lyon run when he saw her? If he were being controlled by the Demon King, he would probably do the opposite and attack her. But if Lyon’s heart was still alive… then maybe he was avoiding her out of fear that he had hurt her. She was sure that must be why.

“Lyon! Lyon, where are you?” She called out and looked all around her, then finally sensed that she’d heard a response from far away, and strained her ears.

“Eir… ika…?” It was a weak voice that came from further up the rocky terrain. There was no questioning it. It was Lyon’s voice.

“Where are you? Where are you, Lyon?!”

“I’m… I’m over here… Eirika…”

She continued further and further up the volcano, following his voice.

She finally found him in a place where the ground flattened out. He was crouched over, and breathing heavily.

“Lyon!” Eirika rushed over to him.

He weakly lifted his head. On his face was not the wicked expression of the demon king.

When he looked up at her, he blinked with sadness in his eyes. “Eirika…”

“Hang in there, Lyon. Are you hurt? Let’s get you to a healer…” Should she call over Natasha or L’Arachel? Or should she take him with her?

As she was trying to decide, Lyon said to her in a quiet voice, “I'm sorry, Eirika… It’s all over for me now.”

“Lyon…”

“My heart is… dying. Before long, I will be taken over completely by the Demon King. Before then… there was something I wanted to say to you."

Eirika squeezed his hand.

He said with a lonely smile, “Thank you, Eirika. I’m sorry… If I had… a stronger heart like you and Ephraim, this never would have happened…”

“Don’t give up, Lyon! What should I do? What can I do to return you to normal? Please tell me. Whatever it is, if it is something I can do, then I will do it…”

“The Sacred Stone…”

“Huh?” Lyon’s voice was so hoarse it was hard to hear. She strained her ears as hard as she could.

“You have the Sacred Stone, yes? Right now…?”

She gasped and pulled away from him.

This had to be a trap. The Demon King was pretending to be a weakened Lyon, and trying to get his hands on the Sacred Stone.

But there was nothing off about his behavior. He had always been weak and in pain.

“I’m sorry, Eirika. I don’t mean to trouble you. But…” Lyon opened his eyes and looked at her. “If I have the Sacred Stone… If I use the Stone’s power, I can seal away the Demon King… and return to my normal self. Then I’ll be able to be together with you and Ephraim again…”

Eirika looked back at him.

If this was the Demon King, then surely she would be able to see through his act. No matter how weak he made his voice sound, his wicked scheme should be clear as day to detect.

But right now, she did not sense the Demon King’s shadow in Lyon’s sad eyes. Eirika felt utterly lost.

If the Sacred Stone’s power could really save Lyon, then she shouldn’t hesitate to use it.

...Should she trust him? Was she sure this wasn’t a trap?

Tears formed in Lyon’s eyes. “Please, Eirika. If you have the Sacred Stone, grant me its power… I don’t want to die… I’m scared… of the Demon King eating me up… and making me disappear forever…”

“Lyon.” Eirika gently held his hand once more.

All of her doubts cleared. He wasn’t the Demon King. There was no doubt in her mind that it was Lyon who was pleading with her now.

Eirika knew Lyon’s weaknesses. She knew very well that he didn’t have any confidence in himself, and was often brought down by even small matters.

Whenever she saw his miserable expression, it made her heart sink. She remembered that she used to tell him all sorts of things to try and give him courage. As she cheered him on, his clouded expression would slowly brighten…

She couldn’t abandon him in his time of need. Right now, she was the only person who could save him.

Eirika put her hand in her breast pocket, where she always kept the Sacred Stone that Ephraim had given her. She gently pulled it out and squeezed Lyon’s hand. “This is Renais’ Sacred Stone. Lyon, please use its power to save yourself…”

Eirika looked into Lyon’s eyes, and saw a dark abyss within them.

A chill ran down her spine.

All of the weakness disappeared from his face without a trace. He looked at Eirika with glee and laughed. “Human feelings are not something I can underestimate… Or so I thought when you first saw through me. But now, those feelings have proven fatal to you, foolish princess.”

“You’re…” Eirika shouted, and reached out to try and take back the Sacred Stone.

But the Demon King swiftly turned himself around.

“Lyon… Give Lyon back to us! Get out of his body…!” Eirika shrieked.

But the Demon King simply laughed and ignored her screams. “It’s no use. That pathetic prince is already dead. I’ve eaten him all up. You cannot bring him back, even with the power of a Sacred Stone. Prince Lyon is gone.”

The Demon King raised his hand holding the Stone into the air.

A power more wicked than the miasma that wafted from a poisoned swamp flowed into the Sacred Stone.

Eirika didn’t have any abilities that could stop him.

The Sacred Stone flashed one last powerful light, then shattered. She felt as if she could hear her own heart being crushed.

The people’s hope had been destroyed… and all because of her foolishness and naivete. The Sacred Stone was the one way that they could stand up against the Demon King… and it had been destroyed.

The Demon King laughed and reached a hand out towards her. “You’re next. I will crush you, the princess who loved that pathetic prince… just like I crushed the Sacred Stone.”

However, his hand suddenly stopped moving. Ephraim’s voice was nearing them, loudly calling out Eirika’s name.

“So they’ve come for you… I’ve changed my mind, Princess. It would be easy to kill you here, but that wouldn’t be any fun. I’ll let you live a while longer. It would be much more fun to let you watch the world perish because of your foolishness until your inevitable demise. Once you are full of despair, I will appear before you once more.”

The Demon King vanished.

Eirika was standing frozen in place. She couldn’t bring herself to chase after the Demon King or respond to Ephraim. It was as if both her head and her body had stopped working. She couldn’t think, either.

“Eirika!” Ephraim appeared from within the shadow of a boulder. When he saw Eirika, he rushed over to her with a look of relief on his face. “Are you alright, Eirika?!”

“Brother…” She finally managed to speak a single word, then immediately burst out crying. She didn’t know if it was because of her sorrow, her despair, or her anger at her own foolishness… but she could not stop the tears.

When Ephraim saw her, he realized everything and wrapped his arms tightly around her shoulders.

“Brother… Lyon, he…”

“I know. You don’t have to say anything, Eirika. Let’s head back for now. Everyone’s worried about you.”

“I… I don’t know what to say to them…”

“Don’t tell them anything.” Ephraim said sharply, and squeezed her hand.

Eirika continued to sob. It was the hardest she had ever cried in her entire life.

Her allies climbed up the rocky terrain soon after.

The person to find and approach her right away was none other than the carefree Colm. “Hey, so what happened? Did ya find the Demon King?”

“Colm…” Neimi said to stop him.

Eirika wiped away her tears, but anyone would be able to see that something serious had happened.

Ephraim stepped away from Eirika and looked around at everyone.

“The Demon King escaped to the other side of this cliff. And… there is something I must tell all of you. Renais’ Sacred Stone was…”

“Ephraim!” L’Arachel stopped. It appeared clear to her what the Demon King had plotted and what had happened, even though neither of the twins had said anything yet. “I don’t mind if you don’t say anything. It’s alright. This doesn’t mean we’ve lost yet.”

“L’Arachel…”

“Have you forgotten? The final Sacred Stone is in Rausten. So long as even one remains, there is still hope. Let’s go to Rausten.”

“...Yes, let’s.” Ephraim nodded, expressing his thanks to L’Arachel.

He turned back towards Eirika and said to her with confidence, “L’Arachel’s right. We haven’t lost yet. Let’s go to Rausten, Eirika.”

Eirika couldn’t respond. Neither L’Arachel nor Ephraim’s words reached her ears, as the Demon King’s voice was still mercilessly echoing through them.

“It would be much more fun to let you watch the world perish because of your foolishness until your inevitable demise.”

☆

#fire emblem #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #the sacred stones #fe8 #gba #game boy advance #ephraim #eirika #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

17 notes · View notes

four-loose-screws · 3 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 19, Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

If you are interested in donating to support my work, please check out my Ko-fi here. Thank you!

———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 19 - Night in Rausten

The Theocracy of Rausten.

That name held a special meaning to the devout across the continent. The cathedral towering over the capital city was always bustling with people on pilgrimages from all over the continent.

It was also renowned as a city that respected the arts, as countless religious paintings and statues from long ago were preserved there. And they were even known for their many bards, who sang their epic poems to the tune of the beautiful melodies they played on their lyres. The most well-known among them, the magnificent Saaga, was famous among everyone, both male and female, young and old.

“Whoa… This city's somethin’ else! They call this place a theocracy, so I thought it’d be pretty borin’…” Colm seemed to really like the city. He looked around at all of the pilgrims walking down the bustling streets, as they were so strange and unusual to him. “And hey, everyone’s got their guards down, so maybe I can snag some fancy-lookin’ jewels…”

“Don’t you even think about stealin’ anything, boy.” Rennac teased.

Colm huffed and replied, “I ain’t thinkin’ of no such thing! I ain’t like you! I’m an honest man!”

“Hey, don’t get smart with me. I’m just tryin’ to give you a word of advice. Those may look like just regular old necklaces, but they’re proof that one is a person of the cloth. They don’t mean much to us worldly people, but to those of faith, they’re no mere piece of jewelry. They’re valuable treasures given to them as a blessing from the Pontifex himself.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Just try stealin' one. They are no mere beads. The scary Holy Knights will come get you and take you straight to the top officials in the church…” Rennac lowered his voice to scare Colm.

Colm shivered as he listened.

“...They’ll preach to you about bein’ thankful for hours, even days! They’ll take the thief right out of you, and keep goin' ‘til you turn into an honest man!”

“D-Don’t joke around like that! I don’t wanna be an honest man! A borin’ life like that would be totally lame!” Colm’s voice shook. He seemed to have forgotten that he’d boasted about being an honest man just moments ago.

Neimi made a scary face and elbowed him in the side, so he walked away from his bad older influence and started talking to her.

In his place next to Rennac’s side sauntered up Dozla. “Does this ever take me back! It seems like only yesterday that I started our travels from this very city with Lady L’Arachel! Even though it was against Pontifex Mansel’s wishes… But when he sees what a fine young woman she has become, he’s sure to forgive me!”

“Say, does this Pontifex Mansel person have money?” Rennac slid up closer to Dozla and asked.

Dozla was so offended by the question that he closed his eyes and huffed. “Does HE have money?! How rude! Lord Mansel is THE pontifex! He’s the most noble person in the entire world! Such worldly values as money and honor mean nothing to him!”

“But he does have money, right? The pontifex can’t be poor, can he?”

“...I mean, of course... he does have the fortune one would expect of the ruler of a theocracy…”

“Alright! You’ve told me all I need to know, old man. You know how hard I’ve been working to serve the princess.”

“Seems to me like you spend much more time scrounging around for treasure chests on the battlefield…”

“Don’t be so stingy. You’ve been workin’ me for free this whole time! The Pontifex could pay me in full. I gotta do whatever it takes to...”

“Dozla, look! Our house! Oh, the memories are all flooding back to me now!” L’Arachel exclaimed in a sing-song voice so loudly that her words echoed through the air, cutting Rennac’s sentence off short.

The moment Rennac looked in the direction that she was pointing, he took a flying leap back. He’d been enjoying his leisurely conversation so much that he didn’t notice, but at some point, Rausten Palace had appeared right before Eirika’s army.

And what surprised him was not just the great splendor of the palace. Lining their path from the gate all the way to the building were Rausten’s esteemed Holy Knights, all there to welcome the princess home.

“Welcome home, Princess!”

“It is good to see you home safe!”

Every single knight greeted her all in order, and she responded to each of them with a smile as she gracefully proceeded through their formation. Ephraim and Innes were used to such treatment, but that was not the case for their allies from commoner backgrounds. They followed behind L’Arachel in such shock they looked terrified.

However, only Ephraim, Eirika, Innes, and the other royalty were allowed inside the throne room. The rest were all asked to wait in the anteroom.

ー

“I have returned. It is good to see you again, Lord Uncle.” L’Arachel bowed deeply before the Pontifex.

The magnificent Pontifex Mansel, revered by all those deeply devoted to their faith as the voice of the gods, narrowed his eyes and opened his arms. Though he was known for his extensive knowledge and devout faith, there was not a single hint of strictness in neither his expression nor his gestures, as he was full of kindness.

“L’Arachel… You’ve returned home safe!”

“Of course! Justice will always prevail over evil!”

“Yes, it always will! You’ve slowly grown into a very reliable young woman, L’Arachel!”

Pontifex Mansel turned his gaze towards Eirika and the other royals, all standing in wait behind L’Arachel. “And your companions are?”

“Allow me to introduce them! They are my dearest friends that I met on my journey..”

Eirika was the first to step forward.

Ever since the events at Mount Neleras, she’d hardly spoken a word to any of her allies. Every time she thought of what her foolishness had caused, she became unable to look at anyone at all.

However, she could not remain silent before the Pontifex. She quietly bowed, then introduced herself, “It is nice to meet you. I am Princess Eirika of Renais… I come as a messenger from the Kingdom of Frelia.”

Ephraim and Innes introduced themselves next.

Mansel could not hide his surprise at seeing each of the royals of each country gathered together like this.

“Lord Uncle, all of us have come together for a very important purpose.”

“Yes… I heard that you won the war against Grado.”

“That is not all. I will start at the very beginning.” L’Arachel explained in detail the Demon King’s revival and that Prince Lyon was pulling the strings from behind the scenes. When the Pontifex learned that every other Sacred Stone had been shattered, he sighed deeply.

“So that is what has been happening… I had heard that the monsters from the Darkling Forest were growing in number, but for things to have gone this far…”

“Lord Uncle, the only Sacred Stone remaining on this continent is ours. And so, I would like to ask you for permission to break the seal on the shrine.”

“Hm… of course I am hesitant to give my permission, but given the circumstances… Although you must be tired from your long journey. How about you rest here for the night, and break the seal tomorrow?”

“But…” L’Arachel seemed impatient, yet when she realized that Eirika’s face was pale, she nodded. “That is a good idea, Lord Uncle. It would be best if we got some rest, for everyone is very tired. Eirika shall sleep in my room.”

It was decided that the entire army would retire to their designated rooms, then rest however they wished until mealtime.

ー

Hung on the wall of L’Arachel’s room was a large tapestry of the heroes and princesses of old.

And her bookshelf was unsurprisingly packed with books about folklore and legends. There were also pictures that L’Arachel had likely drawn herself. Though she was not very skilled, they were hanging in ornate frames. It was clear just by one glance at the room that L’Arachel had spent countless hours within it before she left on her journey.

“Ahh, this brings back so many memories! It’s just as I left it… Lord Uncle seems to have kept good care of this room while I was gone.”

L’Arachel weaved her fingers together and stared closely at the tapestry, then turned towards Eirika. “The people drawn on this tapestry are the ancient heroes. The one in the middle is Grado. The person holding the staff is my ancestor, Father Latona. And the person holding the sword is the progenitor of your House Renais.”

“...They all look so magnificent.” Though those were the words she spoke aloud, her heart was so very heavy.

In the ancient war, warriors gathered together from every region of Magvell, with the hero Grado as their leader, and combined their strength to defeat the Demon King. If their war followed the same chain of events, she wondered how much better it would be. No matter how brutal the battles may become, if only Lyon was fighting alongside them, then...

“Eirika, you cannot make such a face. It spoils your beauty.” L’Arachel said to her.

She tried to smile, but she couldn’t. She simply kept her eyes on the tapestry and whispered, “L’Arachel… what should I do? I… want to save Lyon. But how could I possibly do that…?”

“Eirika.” L’Arachel stood beside her. “That man is the Demon King in human form. Your friend, Lord Lyon, has already left this world… Still, even if I say that, I don’t think you will be so easily convinced.”

Eirika looked down at her feet. If she’d accepted that Lyon was dead, then the Sacred Stone wouldn’t have been stolen and shattered… It was a painful thought.

“I don’t know Prince Lyon, so I might not be able to truly understand your sadness. Just try thinking about it this way. If Prince Lyon was here, what would he say to you? What would he wish for?

"If Lyon… was here…?"

"Yes. Try talking within your heart to the Prince Lyon you know. If Prince Lyon really is your close friend, you should know how to do that.”

L’Arachel’s words shone a ray of light into Eirika’s heart, which was shut tight.

Until now, Eirika had thought about what she could do for Lyon. But if Lyon was here, what would he be wishing for…? What would he say? She hadn’t thought from that perspective yet.

Her heart suddenly felt lighter. Where she felt that she’d lost her way and become confused… a sign leading her in the right direction had appeared.

“Thank you, L’Arachel. You’re right. I will try thinking carefully from Lyon's perspective.”

“There’s no need for you to worry so. You are not fighting alone. Now, let’s eat. If your stomach is empty, you won’t have any energy, and won’t be able to think clearly.”

“Yes, let’s…” Eirika turned towards the tapestry one more time before leaving the room.

The hero Grado, standing in the center, seemed not only brave, but also to have a hint of suffering hiding within his expression.

ー

That night, Eirika sat in the middle of the floor and began to think.

‘If Lyon was here, then what would happen? What sort of look would he have on his face? What might he say?’

He would surely have a sad expression on his face, and would probably apologize. “I’m sorry, Eirika. Everyone is suffering because of me.”

Eirika tried responding to her image of Lyon. “What do you wish for? Do you want to fight us?”

Eirika thought for a long time about how he might respond to that.

She thought of many different expressions and answers he might respond with.

"Of course I don’t want to fight you, Eirika."

"If we fought, it would mean one of us would die. I couldn’t bear to go through with that."

"Please help me, Eirika. I want to return to who I was before…"

That was how her thoughts played out, but something about them felt wrong. None of this was what Lyon wanted. These words were a reflection of what she herself wanted. 'Empty your heart, and think. What would Lyon probably say? What would he want?'

As she was thinking, Eirika was so tired from their journey that she began to nod off. Just as she was about to fall asleep, Lyon's voice echoed in her heart.

"There is just one thing that I wish for, Eirika. I wish for everyone to be happy. I chose the wrong path, but surely you can walk the right one. Eirika, please save everyone…"

ー

#fire emblem #sacred stones #fire emblem the sacred stones #fe8 #fe #gba #game boy advance #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation #the sacred stones #ephraim #eirika

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four-loose-screws · 3 years

Text

FE8 Novelization Translation - Chapter 16, Section 1

If you would like to start from the beginning, read a missed part, etc., click here!

FE Game Script Translations - FE Novel Translations - Original FE Support Conversations

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———————————

I call this a “section” because it is not a separate part of the chapter in the book, but divided from the rest of the chapter by a scene break.

———————————

Chapter 16: Repatriation

Ephraim finished his long story.

Eirika stared straight at her brother's face and did not move. “...That cannot be true.” The words escaped her lips before she could even realize it. “I… I cannot believe that Lyon would say such horrible things.”

“I can’t believe it either. But they are what I heard him say. That it was not the emperor who ordered the invasion of Renais, but he himself… that he was the one who killed the king of Renais… and that he got close to us just to get us to share information that would help him prepare to invade Renais.”

“That’s… It’s…” She couldn’t think of the news as anything other than one big joke, but Ephraim’s expression was entirely serious. “I met Lyon, too. It was several days ago, at Jehanna Palace. He hadn’t changed a bit. He said he couldn’t talk about what’s going on at that moment, but he will always be my ally, no matter what. I could see it in his eyes that he wasn’t lying.”

“I don’t know which one is his true personality. All I know for sure is that the Dark Stone affecting him. When I met Lyon, he clearly was not normal. He looked as if he was someone else… no, he looked as if he was not human.”

“That can’t be…”

“Maybe the kind Lyon you met appeared before you when the Dark Stone’s effect on him was weaker, and that was his true personality… that is what I want to believe.”

“Perhaps we’ll save him if we destroy the Dark Stone?” Eirika asked in desperation.

Ephraim kept his mouth shut. The expression on his face was very grim.

According to what Myrrh had said, the ominous energy changed a person from their very core, and that would be why he still couldn’t go back to being his normal self if they destroyed the Dark Stone.

But Eirika did not want to believe such a tragic story. If even a sliver of his kind personality was left within him, they should be able to save him for sure. That was what she thought.

Innes cut into their conversation by saying, “In any case, we know for sure that the Dark Stone is the source of all the various bad things happening. And Prince Lyon is the one who possesses it. We must pursue him.”

“There is something we should do before that.” L’Arachel said. “The Dark Stone is a stone we should fear that was made when the magical power of a Sacred Stone was extracted from within it, right? In that case, we cannot match it with our human strength alone.”

“That is true… but what should we do, then…?”

“Use the Sacred Stone!" L’Arachel said in a loud, majestic voice, and everyone looked at her. “The opposite of dark magic is light magic! It is a simple yet profound truth!"

“But L’Arachel, the Dark Stone is more powerful than a Sacred Stone…”

“That’s just what Prince Lyon said, is it not? We can’t trust him. Light magic cannot lose to dark magic!"

L'Arachel's words were a total assumption, which was very much like her to say, but shockingly, Innes agreed with her. “It makes logical sense. The fact that Prince Lyon is destroying each country's Sacred Stone is proof. If they were not powerful enough for him to fear them, then he shouldn't have any reason to destroy them."

"Now that you mention it… the Grado Army has attacked me several times in pursuit of my bracelet, so that they can destroy Renais' Sacred Stone. For them to be that determined, then the Sacred Stones must be that powerful, right?"

"Wait. Wasn't Renais' Sacred Stone destroyed already?" Innes questioned.

Eirika explained, "No, Renais' true Sacred Stone is kept safe in a place with a seal on it. The bracelets that Brother and I wear are the keys that break that seal. So long as they are safe, then there should be no one who has seen the Sacred Stone."

"We must make sure of that." Ephraim said. The bracelet on his wrist, which closely matched Eirika's, glittered in the light.

"So that means, Brother, that we will…" Eirika looked at him.

He nodded. "Yes. The time has come… for us to return home."

☆

The army left Jehanna, and they began to follow the long road home.

Rumors of the Grado emperor's death and the end of the war were spreading quickly across the continent. Eirika's army was welcomed everywhere they went.

Even the Grado territories, which were supposed to be their enemy, were no exception. The people cheered for them with pure joy, and welcomed their entire army. Eirika felt all over again the pain that the war had forced the ordinary citizens to suffer through.

Of course, the people did not know that Prince Lyon had fled with the Dark Stone. Their faces shone with the feeling of relief that peace had finally been achieved. However, for Eirika and her army, they were at a critical point with many battles still ahead of them.

Compared to Grado, overflowing with joy over their return to peace, Renais’ territory had no such liveliness at all. What unfolded before their eyes was actually the absolute opposite. It was a sight that they could hardly believe they were seeing.

Renais was entirely devastated. The fields had been utterly destroyed, the villages were burned to ashes, and the remains of ruthless violence lay exposed out in the open.

It appeared that both bandits and monsters had run rampant across the land.

And as they neared the capital city, the damage only became worse. They could now see emaciated people squatting alongside the road.

Information slowly began to be delivered to Eirika and her army, piece by piece. Rule over Renais had been entrusted to Orson, the former knight who betrayed Ephraim at Renvall Castle.

However, he gave not a single order to his retainers, and stayed locked up inside his room in the palace. He did not allow anyone inside, and rarely took meals. He had done nothing to combat the bandits and monsters laying waste to the land, and that was why all of Renais was in ruins.

When he heard the news, Innes shook his head at first. “I don’t understand. This man, Orson, betrayed Renais for his personal ambitions, did he not? If he was living as freely as he wished and making the people suffer, then I could understand, but… If he just stays locked up in his room, then I don’t understand at all why he betrayed his country to Grado.”

“Now that I think about it, even since before Grado’s invasion, he had been acting a bit strangely.” Ephraim said.

Seth stepped up and explained, “I did hear that his wife had passed away. They were known to be a very close couple, so it had a huge impact on him. He became depressed, and neglected his duties towards the knights. Considering how devastated he must have been, there was probably nothing anyone could have done, and we were forgiving of his behavior, but…”

When she heard that detail, it reminded Eirika of something.

It was when Orson had tried to take her bracelet. Seth saw through his plan, and he turned on them. At that moment, he had whispered something enigmatic to her.

‘That man returned my wife to my side.’

At the time, she thought that Orson had probably meant that the Grado Army was holding his wife hostage. But if she'd already passed away, what exactly did those words mean?

Eirika remembered her uneasiness that she could not put into words.

#fire emblem #fe #fe8 #sacred stones #eirika #game boy advance #gba #japan #japanese #translation #novel #light novel #fe8 novelization translation

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