It’s all fun and games until a giant axe busts through the carriage and chops the prince in half. Byron is horrified and shocked beyond all belief, especially since the axe that killed the prince is none other than the mighty Helswath. Langobalt towers over Byron expressing regret that the axe didn’t chop Byron in half as well. Byron unsheathes the Tyrfing and charges at Langobalt.
Byron vs. Langobalt
The two men clash. Byron’s speed is enhanced by the Tyrfing while Langobalt’s durability is enhanced by the Helswath. Byron can dish out 2 hits for every one that Langobalt delivers but Langobalt can take twice the punishment that Byron can. Both men wound each other and they’re both bleeding. Eventually Byron gets the upper hand and is about to kill Langobalt when Reptor steps in.
Byron vs. Langobalt & Reptor
Reptor dishes out a lightning blast with Mjolnir and Byron just barely manages to absorb the blow with the Tyrfing. Byron gets sent flying against a tree and a nearby healer starts closing up Langobalt’s wounds. Byron’s now in a really tough position. It was hard enough for him to face off against Langobalt in a 1-1 fight but now he has to fight against TWO regalia wielders instead of one. To make matters worse Langobalt’s wounds are starting to heal while Byron’s aren’t. Oh and they both can use their Regalia from a distance while he can’t. Byron tries to stand up to them but is unable to take the punishment and the Tyrfing shatters after absorbing a blast from Mjolnir. Byron takes another hit from the Helswath and he’s in critical condition. Byron collects all the shattered pieces of the Tyrfing, gets on a horse, and flees. Reptor and Langobalt order their troops to chase him. Byron’s only thought is to get to Sigurd and hopefully enlist his help in dealing with these traitors before it’s too late. We see Claude recoil in shock, having seen all of these events in Blagi Tower.
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Meanwhile back at Agusty Sigurd and Diadora finally get married! It’s a grand occasion. There’s a lot of food, music and dancing. Everybody’s having a good time. Even Eldigan shows up, much to everybody’s surprise. Eldigan congratulates Sigurd and tells Diadora that she’s a lucky lady. Lachesis has a heartfelt reunion with him and the two of them talk. Beowulf shows up too and says hi to Eldigan. It takes Eldigan a minute to remember Beowulf but he eventually does and they start talking about some of their previous adventures together.
*** Note to the reader: In the previous half of the season I mentioned that Beowulf told Lachesis that he and Eldigan knew each other. The game never says how they met and we never get to see these two interact so here I’m simply just expanding on that conversation. Plus if Beowulf knows Eldigan it’ll be easier for Lachesis to trust him. Now back to the story.***
Finn feels a little jealous of Beowulf right now and looks for a way to get in on that conversation with Lachesis. Cuan interrupts Finn, noticing that he’s looking a tad miserable. Finn explains his situation but Cuan says that he’s been noticing how Lachesis looks at him and he thinks that Lachesis definitely likes Finn. Cuan also mentions that he’s got something for Finn that’ll cheer him up. Cuan unwraps the Hero Lance and presents it to Finn. Cuan says that Finn’s skills have improved a lot since they fought together in Grandbell. Finn feels flattered by the gift and embraces Cuan. Lachesis drops by and admires Finn’s new lance (no that’s not a sexual innuendo. Get your mind out of the gutter :P ). Finn tries showing it off, pleased at the sudden attention that he’s getting from her.
Meanwhile Lex and Ayra look longingly at Sigurd and Diadora, hoping that one day it’ll be them at the altar. Ayra makes a comment like this and Lex tells her that once this occupation is over they can go home and he’ll gladly marry her. He then says that he has a gift for her. He unwraps the newly made Brave Sword and hands it over to her. Ayra’s in awe. She swings the sword and says that it is a well crafted blade. She puts the sword down and says that she’s lucky to have a man like Lex around. They start kissing, but are quickly interrupted by Shannan.
Shannan: “Get a room you two! You’re being gross. And you…” He points toward Lex, “Aunt Ayra has been waiting for you to slap a ring on her finger for months now. You break her heart and I’ll kill you.”
Oifey laughs his head off while Ayra smacks Shannan, telling him that he wasn’t supposed to say that out loud while Lex chuckles and mentions that he’d rather not get killed by a kid so in the interest of saving his neck they’d better get married. Meanwhile Mideel is showing off his new bow that he got from Aideen.
While the party goes on Eldigan pulls Sigurd aside and asks if he can have a word with him alone. Sigurd agrees and they talk outside. Sigurd and Eldigan have the conversation similar to the one the end of Chapter 2 in the game here. Eldigan mentions how Grandbell has dispatched officials in each of the newly conquered castles and how the people of Agustria have complained about their treatment at the hands of these officials. Eldigan mentions that Agustria is being treated like a tributary state under Sigurd’s watch and that he’s very disappointed at Sigurd for not reigning these governors in.
Sigurd mentions that he tried to reason with King Chagall but the man refused to listen to him. Agustria’s officials turned hostile against him even as he was leaving and that he was forced to take up arms. Plus Sigurd notes that if it hadn’t been for him Lachesis would have been killed. Eldigan expresses his gratitude but warns Sigurd that if he fails to stop these new Grandbellian officials that conflict will broil over and that Eldigan will be forced to intervene. Sigurd says that the officials are only here to keep the peace and once order has been restored to Agustria both he and the officials will leave, returning control back to Chagall. Eldigan tells Sigurd that he’s been naive but Sigurd assures him that all will be well and that after a year Agustria will be back in Chagall’s control. Eldigan tells Sigurd that he hopes for both their sakes that Sigurd’s right. However, if Sigurd turns out to be wrong, and more importantly if Sigurd fails to do anything to stop the abuses caused by the Grandbell officials, Eldigan will put an end to all of you. He unsheathes the Mystletainn in a threatening manner before returning his sword back to its sheath and walks away. Sigurd stands there stunned at the fact that his own friend just threatened him at his wedding.
We fast forward about six months into the future and see that things are getting worse under Grandbell’s control. We see a Grandbell official conduct a witch hunt even bigger than the one committed by Macbeth’s troops while another one starts throwing random people in jail for crimes they did not commit. Another Grandbell official starts ordering Agustrian citizens to pay a hefty sum of gold to the Grandbell army “for their protection” lest a “random thug” burn their homes down. We see Sigurd try to stop these officials but is ultimately ineffectual. Each time he tries to stop them a powerful official from Barhara shows up to free them and reprimand Sigurd. On the bright side though, Seliph’s born. Diadora tells Shannan that he can protect both her and Shannan. Shannan’s really happy about this.
Chagall and Eldigan are pissed. Eldigan is pissed because the abuses caused by Grandbell’s officials are getting worse which means that Sigurd isn’t doing a good enough job at stopping them while Chagall’s mad that Grandbell controls most of the country. Eldigan does point out that King Azmur from Grandbell was promising to return control of Agustria back soon. Chagall doesn’t care though. He wants his throne now and since Agustria’s more pissed off at Grandbell than they were at him when he was in power he believes that it’s the appropriate time to launch an attack. Eldigan mentions that this course of action is impossible since most of Agustria’s military was wiped out during the battles that were fought six months ago. Chagall mentions that he’s bought a lot of mercenaries who will help them in this endeavor.
Enter Trabant. The King of Thracia gives off an arrogant smirk while clutching a bag of money. He makes a remark about how well Chagall pays and tells the King that his Wyvern Knights are ready to attack Sigurd’s forces. Jacoban also moves in and says that he’s ready too. Chagall smiles and then orders them both to annihilate Sigurd.
One of Sigurd’s scouts sees the oncoming armies approaching and relays the news to Oifey who interrupts Sigurd, who was in a meeting about ceding control back to Agustria. Sigurd facepalms when he hears the news while Cuan gets very concerned at the mention of Thracia’s Wyvern Knights. He tells Sigurd that Thracia is ruthless and that they’ve been continuously trying to invade and destroy The Manster District. He says that this fight will not be easy and he prepares for war.
And thus the clash begins! Just as Cuan predicted the Thracian Wyvern Knights prove themselves to be formidable foes. Since they can fly they can pick and choose when to strike and then safely retreat back to the skies before their enemies can retaliate. Meanwhile Jacoban’s troops charge at them from the ground making it difficult for Sigurd’s troops to focus on Thracia.
Cuan vs. Trabant
Trabant sees Cuan in the battle and decides to try and eliminate him. Cuan is saved by Mideel who shoots down Trabant’s wyvern with his new bow, causing Trabant to take a massive fall. Cuan charges Trabant on horseback in attempt to finish Trabant off before he can get up but one of Jacoban’s troops impales Cuan’s horse, killing it and sending Cuan flying. Now that Cuan and Trabant are on equal footing the fight is on! The two of them try stabbing each other with their lances, but both of them are deflect each other’s blows with their shields. Neither warrior gains ground on the other. Cuan mentions that Trabant is a bloodthirsty warmonger who needs to die while Trabant mentions that once Cuan’s dead he’ll be able to take control of Manster and effectively feed his starving nation. The two trade blows both suffering wounds but still able to continue the fight.
Trabant subtly signals Papilion to sneak up behind Cuan and stab him while Trabant keeps him preoccupied. Just as Papilion gets close enough Finn leaps at Papilion and skewers him with his new Brave Lance. Cuan looks behind in shock and then tells Trabant that he’s a coward who can’t beat him in a fair fight. Trabant charges at Cuan, attempting to skewer him now that his plan failed. Cuan manages to block Trabant’s blows, stabs Trabant’s shield arm (knocking it away) and manages to wound Trabant. Trabant crumples back in defeat. Cuan is prevented from delivering the final blow when a stray arrow hits him. Trabant takes the opportunity to flee now that his force has been routed. He escapes on a different Wyvern and retreats, telling Cuan that they will meet again and next time Cuan won’t be so lucky.
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Meanwhile Ayra kills Jacoban while the rest of his forces are routed. Sigurd’s troops cheer on but he notices that they’ve incurred significant losses. They bury their dead while he takes note of the fact that Eldigan’s Cross Knights are not far away ready to fight at a moment’s notice. We cut back to Claude who is still in Blaggi Tower. He sees Byron on the run and sees a vision of King Mananan getting killed by Reptor. He then sees a shadowy outline (it’s Manfroy’s outline but Claude doesn’t know that) and a dark veil surrounding him. Claude next sees Reptor and Langobalt organizing an army, stating that they plan to apprehend the “traitor” Sigurd. After the vision’s over Claude calls to Tiltyu to tell her that he needs to see Sigurd immediately. Tiltyu mentions that if they’re going to do it they need to do it now since the pirates to the east are getting restless. They stop by a village on the Agustrian sea shore and Claude says that he has to do something first. He writes a quick letter, seals it and then pays one of the villagers to deliver the message to Queen Rahna of Silesia. The villager takes the letter and sets sail for the neighboring kingdom of Silesia.
We then move on to the Orgahil pirates who watched the carnage between Sigurd’s forces and the mercenaries hired by Chagall. Dobarl mentions that both Grandbell and Agustria’s militaries are too weak and that northern Agustria is ripe for the plundering. Briggid tries to stop them, but the pirates aren’t having any of it. Pizarl mentions that Briggid isn’t actually the captain’s daughter and that they were only following her orders because the captain told them to. Now that the captain’s dead they don’t have to follow her orders anymore. Dobarl says that they’re going to kill her too since she plans on standing in their way. So Briggid flees with the Orgahill Pirates on her back. She runs into Tiltyu and Claude who were on their way to see Sigurd. Knowing that they can’t outrun the pirates they take shelter in a nearby village. The pirates see them enter the village but cannot find them so they start plundering and looting it.
Sigurd gets word that pirates are raiding the northern countryside and leads a small force to deal with them. Diadora wants to help him but he mentions that she needs to stay behind and watch over Seliph. Diadora protests but Sigurd puts his foot down. Diadora tells Shannan how much she hates waiting around and doing nothing. She orders Shannan to watch over Seliph while she heads out to help Sigurd rout the pirates. Diadora barely steps outside the castle when Manfroy shows up. Manfroy instantly kills the guards and tells Diadora to make things easy and come with him. Diadora asks how he knows her name and refuses to do what he says. Manfroy tries to overpower her, but she resists his attempts at subduing her. Manfroy increases the power of his blasts and eventually knocks her against a wall. Diadora cries out in pain as he blasts her. She dodges his next attack and blinds him with light magic as she flees from him and hides. Shannan heard her cry of pain and rushes to her aid. Manfroy undoes the blinding effect of Diadora’s spell on him, but can’t find her. He senses that she’s close by though and notices the charging Shannan.
Shannan’s sword breaks in half against Manfroy’s magical barrier and Manfroy hits him with a magic blast. Shannan screams in pain after the first attack. Then Manfroy delivers another. And another. And another. Manfroy dishes out an uninterrupted flurry of dark magic at Shannan torturing the boy whose screams of pain become more horrifying and deafening. Diadora lets out a barrage of light magic attacks hoping to put an end to Manfroy’s torture. None of her attacks work. Manfroy intensifies his dark magic barrage on Shannan and gives Diadora an ultimatum:
- Desist and surrender to him
OR
- Watch him torture Shannan to death
Diadora begs Manfroy to stop, but he says that her plea means nothing to him. Unable to bear watching Shannan get tortured anymore Diadora tells Manfroy that she’ll go with him if he’ll leave the boy alone. Manfroy stops torturing Shannan and walks over to her. Manfroy erases all of Diadora’s memories, removes her wedding ring from her finger and warps the two of them away leaving Shannan there to die.
*** Note to the reader: There’s a couple of reasons why I’m choosing to take this liberty with the source material:
- In my opinion this story route is even more tragic than the game: It’s also more ironic since Shannan was supposed to be the one protecting Diadora and yet in the end he’s the one who gets tortured and she has to save him. Diadora could have escaped Manfroy, or at least hid from him long enough to hold out until Sigurd and co made it back. For a capable woman to have to sacrifice all of that to save the boy who was supposed to be protecting her seems all the sadder since it could have been prevented.
- It sets up Shannan’s character arc: At the end of the game, after Barhara is captured, Shannan expresses remorse to Seliph about Diadora’s disappearance. I always interpreted that little line of dialogue to mean that Shannan had been carrying guilt about that moment for the rest of his life. Here this change in the story helps to amplify that so that Shannan has something to overcome in the second generation.
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Back to story, Sigurd and co get back from dealing with the pirates when they find a nearly dead Shannan on the doorstep of Agusty Castle. Sigurd also notices Diadora’s wedding ring next to him. Ayra loses her mind since she was supposed to protect him and failed. Once Shannan’s healed more he unleashes a lot of tears. He apologizes to Sigurd for being unable to protect Diadora and how it was his fault that she got captured by “the man in the hood”. Lex comforts Ayra as she cries over Shannan’s beaten and bloody corpse.
Sigurd’s pissed at this point and realizes that Chagall has to be put down otherwise he’ll just try to reclaim Agusty again. Sigurd at this point decides to lead the charge to end him. Ethlin gets a bad feeling about going out to ride against Chagall since it’s highly likely that they’ll have to fight Eldigan. She hands Cuan the Gae Bolg stating that she’s been keeping it from him due to her fear of the curse of the Gae Borg. Cuan tells Ethlin that it’s just a myth and rides off with it.
Eldigan’s troops see Sigurd coming and ride forward to meet him half-way between the two castles. Sigurd orders Eldigan to stand aside since his quarrel is with Chagall. Eldigan refuses to move claiming that once Chagall dies Agustria dies with him. Sigurd says that it doesn’t have to be this way. He tells Eldigan that he could be the ruler of Agustria. The people are clamoring for him to be on the throne. Eldigan has that look in his eye, the temptation setting in. He then mentions that if he were to become king he would simply be a puppet. He would be siding with those who destroyed his country and that he would be forced to bow to Grandbell’s every whim. Eldigan also mentions that he’s pissed at Sigurd for failing to stop the Grandbell officials from abusing their power. In his eyes Sigurd is just as responsible for their crimes as they are. He says that Sigurd must be punished for his disgraceful conduct. Lachesis begs Eldigan not to fight and to please listen to Sigurd for once. Eldigan pays her no heed and prepares for battle. Sigurd sighs and then orders the attack.
Sigurd’s knights charge, but Eldigan’s Cross Knights repel the attack. Eldigan cuts down anyone who stands in his way. He charges straight at Sigurd but is interrupted by Cuan. Eldigan is surprised to see Cuan carry the Gae Borg and Cuan mentions that if Eldigan wants to get to Sigurd he’ll have to first go through Cuan.
Cuan vs. Eldigan
Gae Borg vs. Mystletainn. It’s an intense battle as both warriors trade blows. One them attacks, the other one blocks and returns with an attack of their own, then gets blocked and the cycle continues. The two gradually accumulate more wounds as the fight continues but neither of them is willing to retreat. Eldigan moves in for the attack, but Cuan blocks it with his lance. Cuan aims for a killing blow but Eldigan dodges it just in time. Eldigan thrusts at Cuan who dodges and then returns the favor by stabbing him. Eldigan recoils from the hit. Cuan charges at Eldigan with a finishing blow when Eldigan side-steps and slashes Cuan’s torso. Cuan falls to the ground from taking such a massive hit. Eldigan may have been torn apart but he’s still strong enough to deliver the finishing blow.
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Before he gets the chance Sigurd moves in to block the attack. He fends off Eldigan and prepares for the worst.
Sigurd vs. Eldigan
Sigurd is in an interesting predicament in this fight. On the one hand he doesn’t have a Regalia weapon while Eldigan clearly does. This puts him at a major power disadvantage. On the other hand Eldigan is heavily wounded and torn up from his fight with Cuan meaning that he’s been severely weakened. Sigurd starts the fight with a series of blows that send Eldigan on the defensive. He goes with a wide swing which Eldigan dodges and manages to strike a blow against Sigurd. Sigurd is hurt but then retaliates with an attack of his own. Eldigan is sent reeling back from this hit. Sigurd disarms Eldigan and gets cut in the process. Eldigan pulls out his backup sword, the Runesword, and drains some of Sigurd’s life in order to heal himself. Thus the battle is even again and now it’s Eldigan who’s on the offensive. Sigurd moves back to deflect Eldigan’s blows and turns the tide back in his favor. Even after Eldigan drained him Sigurd still has the advantage and gets the upper hand. Sigurd presses his advantage and even stabs Eldigan in the knee. Eldigan falls down and braces himself for the end when Lachesis jumps in between them and stops the fight.
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Lachesis pleads with Eldigan to stop this senseless fighting. There’s no point in dying here. She convinces him to talk to Chagall one last time. Before Eldigan limps toward his horse he hands Lachesis his Runesword claiming that she’s going to need it. Eldigan and Sigurd order their troops to stand down and Eldigan makes his way toward the castle. Eldigan tries for the last time to convince Chagall to end the war since he’s essentially lost, but Chagall responds the same way that he does in the game and beheads Eldigan. Like the Oosawa manga Chagall sends Eldigan’s head to Sigurd’s army in the evening in an attempt to demoralize them. This certainly works on Lachesis who loses her mind at the sight of her brother’s severed head. Beowulf comforts her during this time and the two hit it off eventually resulting in the birth of Delmud.
Eldigan’s Cross Knights turn on Chagall upon seeing his severed head and join Sigurd and Lachesis as they beat Chagall into a raw, bloody pulp.
Season Finale: Now that Agustria has been completely destroyed our heroes think that everything is truly over and soon their lives will return to normal. Lex and Ayra get married alongside Mideel and Aideen. It’s a double marriage and everybody’s happy. Well, okay Sigurd’s missing Diadora really bad and Shannan and Cuan are still recovering form their injuries, but everybody else is really happy.
Claude waltzes in and gives Sigurd bad news: Reptor and Langobalt are right on his doorstep with a huge army and they’re about to kill them all. One of Sigurd’s scouts confirms this exact same story and suddenly everybody panics. Just then a Pegasus Knight appears. This Pegasus Knight calls herself Mahnya and she says that Queen Rahna got Claude’s letter requesting ships and asylum for Sigurd and his army. Sigurd’s impressed at Claude’s foresight, but Mahnya points out that the ships are on the northeastern tip of Agustria. In other words it’s going to take a long time to get there.
Just then Reptor and Langobalt step in and accuse Sigurd of treason. They call for Sigurd’s arrest but Sigurd refuses and orders his troops to escape. Thus the chase begins. It’s the race of death as Sigurd and his forces flee northward with Reptor and Langobalt right on their heels. To make matters worse a good chunk of Sigurd’s army consist of wounded men (Cuan and Shannan are also heavily wounded) and he has to carry Oifey and baby Seliph with him. Naturally many of the slower riders get cut down by the Grandbell forces. Langobalt catches up with Lex and the two of them have a chat. Langobalt considers Lex to be a failure and Lex considers Langobalt to be a tyrannical douchebag. The two of them have a brief skirmish, but since Langobalt has the Regalia he wins the fight. Ayra steps in to intervene and save Lex allowing him to escape.
Sigurd’s troops realize that not all of them will make it so many of Sigurd’s men alongside the remnants of Eldigan’s Cross Knights sacrifice themselves so that Sigurd can escape on the boats provided to them by Mahnya.
Sigurd breaks down in tears as he leaves Agustria. He just lost his wife, one of his best friends is dead while the other one is just on death’s door and he’s been framed as a traitor for crimes he did not commit. His life has hit rock bottom. All he can do is clutch baby Seliph in his arms and pray that at least tomorrow will turn out better than today….
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