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oracleether · 2 years

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Forging Bonds: Dueling Spirit!

So, I would upload screenshot, by screenshot, but that’d take ages and individual images attached to a textpost on tumblr are hell to manage... As a result, I’m just gonna write up the text snips from the taken event and give my commentary alongside them.

Also, obviously it’s going to be the one about the Radiant Hero, as I’m self aware of my own one-track-mindedness. :P

Ike: You there. Do you need something, or are you gonna watch me all day?

How avid of a watcher of people do you think Priam is? I think, given his zest for training and knowing how to measure people. It’s something he does a lot. It also strikes me as, by irony, a kid-like thing to do. When something just takes his full attention and he can’t be bothered to look away.

Priam: I was admiring your breath technique. An exhale seems to line up with every swing. Impressive rhythm. Your grip is also well-informed by your stance. Your form is deliberate and purposeful at all times.

Ike: You really were watching.

This is already a throwback to Priam’s support with Robin, and how long it’s been since I first got to see it.

Priam: I do wonder if you are equally well coordinated against a live opponent. Would you care to demonstrate?

NGL. What hit me about this one was my being curious if Priam was indirectly talking about Einherjar Ike from Awakening's DLC. Rogues and Redeemers, chapter 3. Because he has battle dialogue with Ike's spirit. Therein is the difference; fighting the spirit mirror and meeting the person in the flesh.

Priam: My name is Priam. Forgive me for skipping introductions previously. I was eager to cross swords with you. Ike: You're from Ylisse, like Chrom. Priam: Correct. I spent much of my life striving to become Ylisse's most powerful swordsman. My ambition was to surpass even the legend of the Radiant Hero, but... The power of your strikes made (it) clear that I still have much to learn. Ike: You're saying there are legends about me in your world? Priam: Yes. I could recount them for you in full detail, if you'd like, though it will take some time. Ike: I'm good, thanks.

Okay. I know Ike's not the gloating type, but me being an addict for backstory and lore... I kinda wanted Priam to go into telling the legends of what and how Ike is remembered. Just so I'm not doing my usual blind winging of how general history/Ylisse came to remember the story about the Radiant War (generalized term of what I'm calling it).

Priam: Fair enough. What matters is that I did not challenge you merely to test your strength. I did it so that I might see Ragnell at its peak. In its purest form. Ike: You did it for my sword, huh? Your sword, I mean. Priam: Ragnell is more than a mere sword to me. We are bound together. It is an extension of my body and will. After all we have been through, I felt I owed it to the blade to see its former glory.

Alright. This. Right here. Is the biggest thing I love about this forging bonds. Because Priam seems so sweet and genuine about his love of Ragnell. And the care he's tried to give it and leave it in a semi-usable state to have it around for longer, out of the sentiment and that love for the years that he's had it. It also tells me that he's had it for a majority of his life, maybe even from the years he was a kid and into the adult man that we see.

Priam: The legends say that Ragnell's light has shone throughout all ages. Ike: Ever since the time of the Three Heroes, when it was wielded by Altina, along with Alondite. The sword's done a lot of good for the people of Tellius. Priam: I would say it has played a pivotal role in history. And, of course, we cannot discount your contribution. With Ragnell in hand, you united the beorc and laguz and led them into battle against a god. This is why they call you the Radiant Hero.

I guess, barring some minute details, a lot of the Radiant War story is known and was memorized to time, even all the way on Ylisse.

Ike: Heh. You make it sound easy.

Because laughing is often an easy thing to do, Ike. Fighting wars? Not so much.

Priam: What I saw in Ragnell during our duel convinced me that it is indeed a very special sword. You know, some cultures believe that objects that are much beloved can take on otherworldly properties. If that is true, it may well be possible for this sword to have developed something of a will of its own. Perhaps even a soul. That could explain how it has chosen so many prominent heroes over the years.

I know FE is a Nintendo franchise, and sentient or semi-sentient weapons aren't a stranger to some of the games' lore. But I am very happy they said this, ever since FE10, or hell, even FE9. I fully believed that Ragnell (and by extension, Alondite) were living weapons. Not as in-depth, of course, but the twin swords might not be all that far removed from how the Master Sword is from Zelda in having, or come to having, a spirit dwell within the metal. It just makes me happy that my hunch was right.

And I need all the lore and story for those other heroes, IntSys. ASAP. Gimmie the food.

Priam: Either way, to me, Ragnell is much more than simple steel. More than the sum of its material parts.

I love this man.

Ike: You sure do like the sound of your own voice.

And I love this one, too. Which this is also a callback to Priam's support with Male Robin. I wasn't the biggest fan of the localization version. Since, in terms of tone, at least, I feel they had Robin brush Priam off in the English text. Where in the Japanese version, Robin listened to what Priam had to say and didn't try and cut him off.

Priam: Hmm? What was that? Ike: Nothing. Go on.

These two are nerds.

Priam: As I was saying, Ragnell is a part of me--that is why I treat it with such care and respect. I spend a portion of my day, each day, to ensure that the blade is given its proper maintenance. Ike: You sure you're doing that right? Priam: I am. In fact, my maintenance routine is impeccable. But unfortunately even I cannot stave off its degradation. As sad as it may make me to say, I must admit that the sword's time may be reaching its inevitable end...

I've got Divine Dew. I can fix her. The gods will let me fix the sword, I swear.

Ike: So Ragnell's bound to decay, huh? Fine by me.

I'm going to be honest. Of this whole forging bonds and for as long as I've known Ike's character? This is probably my least favorite thing he has ever said. In the last 17 years. I cringed at the indifference, the hurtful way his words came off and the general blasé in Ike’s tone of voice.

Knowing what Ragnell means to Ike, the journey he had with it. From his being (though Greil didn't have much choice in the matter) being abandoned by his father and Ragnell being abandoned by both the Black Knight and Alondite. That Ike carried Ragnell, in secret, and used the sword as his own pillar of strength and relied on it throughout his stories. It just seems incredibly callus.

Priam: Fine? How can it be fine?

I agree with Priam. Especially since he just voiced what the sword means to him, personally, and how he's tried to preserve the blade.

Ike: The way I see it, if Ragnell's time is coming to an end, maybe that's a sign that it's no longer needed. A sword is a weapon. It represents war. And a peaceful world doesn't have any need for weapons.

I called it the day I summoned Legendary Ike, way back when. Of how he was tired of fighting. And I get where he's coming from, but also that no peace can last forever. And I'm surprised he's just...not aware of this, given, you know. His whole character arc across Radiance and Dawn. Overall, their Forging Bonds was really good, aside from that overall last exchange from Ike. I got super well fed for Priam development content, and it makes me even happier that a lot of my guessing hunches of what to do for his character are on the right track.

#Fire Emblem #Fire Emblem Heroes #Priam #Zenith #Ylisse #Please appreciate and protect the Radiant Hero of Legend.

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