Your Princess is in Another Army. Let's Play Wild Arms XF!

Hamsterlady: Jul 8, 2010; Corpse Party, bitches.

Video: House Brenton

Music: A Trusting Heart

You just don't get it, Father. You can't protect Elesius just standing around!

You're the one who doesn't understand, Levin. You need to give more thought to what it would mean to mobilize the Royal Knights!

We both want to protect the country! So why are you being so stubborn?

To mobilize the Knights without a royal decree would be treason! What you're advocating is nothing less than a coup d'etat!

...Father... Surely you understand what's happening in this country. Our ailing king is powerless to stop the Council of Elder Statesmen from running the country as they please. Now squads of thugs calling themselves the Martial Guard are terrorizing the people they're supposed to be protecting! But the princess has survived her accident! She's returned for us! There's still some good left in this country. There's still a chance to save it! But we have to act! As a scion of House Brenton, I have a duty to stand up and fight for this injustice!

And as the lord of House Brenton, I cannot condone any man who would defy the will of the Kingdom of Elesius.

One day, you too will understand... Stoically enduring the things you cannot change is another way of fighting for your country.

...We're as far apart as ever, aren't we, Father... We often argue when we speak, but I always thought our hearts were on the same side...

...

The men of House Brenton have pledged their swords to the kingdom since time immemorial. If you leave now, you will never be able to pass through our gates again.

...Then I disown you, Levin. From this day forward, you shall have no affiliation with House Brenton. You may go where you want and do as you please...

Levin leaves.

......

Music: None

...Protect your princess well.

Music: What You Seek is Certainly There

Thank you for raising me to be the man I am today. The gratitude I cannot convey with my words, I will convey with my deeds.

Levin departs from House Brenton, and the scene comes to an end.

Music: Spiral of Anxiety

...So you're saying the Council desires domestic stability as much as we do?

Of course, Your Highness. Lord Charlton is well aware that, due to unfortunate procedural deficiencies, the Martial Guard is not fully under control. Such matters pain him deeply. His desire is to work hand-in-hand with you to resolve these issues, Your Highness.

...Then I will meet with him.

Clar--

It's all right, Felius.

He will awair you in the Guardian Shrine, in the mountains north of here. It is Lord Charlton's hope that the divine Guardians of Elesius will bear witness as the future of our nation is written before us.

Very well...

I am quite certain that it will, Your Highness. I have relayed the message from my master in its entirety. If it pleases you, Your Highness, I shall now take my leave.

The robed man leaves.

Music: So Warm and Soft

And we're brought to the town menu. We're free to leave for the Guardian Shrine right away, but the NPCs have some new dialog.

These animal spirits are embodiments of the power that guides the world. You can't see them, but they're supposedly all-powerful. All of the things that exist in the world have Guardians for them--a water Guardian for the oceans, a fire one for the flames, and so on. There's also a spirit for every human emotion, from love to bravery...even fear, too. It's all a bunch of gobbledygook to me, though...

The water over there was contaminated with minerals from the earth, turning it into a large, poisonous swampland. You'd best be doubly sure you have enough Antidotes to make it through there before venturing off.

This is actually really good advice. It's worth stocking up on Antidotes for the next map, although it is fairly easy to get through without needing any.

I'm sure the Alcohol Guardian is blessing his biggest follower with this deep insight! I...I think I might be his Chosen One! Oh my gosh!

I wonder what kind of skills the Alcohol Medium would impart...

...Anyway, the rest of the NPCs here pretty much all just say "There's no way this isn't a trap," so we head out to the world map now.

Music: Filgaia Extra Land

We're allowed to return to Port Atraige now, if we want to. We don't want to, though.

Instead, we want to head north to Fallen Fowl Swamp, which stands between us and the Path to the Guardian Shrine (which stands between Fallen Fowl Swamp and the Guardian Shrine)

Music: Outrageous Folks

Bandit Samille: I think the expression is "squirrel with an acorn"...
Bandit El Jackson: Hey, "squid with an ear o'corn" works too!
Bandit Samille: Right, whatever. Either way, they got something good!

They seem awfully careless. I can't imagine the Council would use their troops this way. They're probably nothing more than bandits.

Bandit Samille: I think she's a bit long in the tooth to be called "girl"...

...We'll fight them. Poliasha is behind us...and they're heading straight for it.

Music: The Famous Me and the Can-do Woman

Our mission here is to wipe up all of these bandits...but that poison swamp is going to be a major hassle. Any unit that blunders into the swamp will be immediately inflicted with the "Poison" status ailment. Poisoned units lose a certain amount of HP with every turn they take. We should prepare a way to cure ourselves of poison, just in case. The bandits are just as aware of the swamp as we are. I doubt they will abandon their higher positions without a fight... We'll need units with long-range attacks to effectively deal with these people. Another idea is to take some high-MOV units and have them act as a wedge for the rest of the party. If we could combine the two, building units with high movement range and long-range attacks, I think that'd be the best option. The right combination of classes and skills can make a party many times more effective than otherwise. Try out some setups and see what you discover.

For this mission, we make Clarissa and Rudy into Elementalists, Virginia into a Gadgeteer, and leave Felius and Labyrinthia as a Halberdier and an Arcanist. (It probably would have been a good idea to change Felius to something else, but things work out fine anyway. (Spoiler: I win the battle))

Music: Birds Soaring Over the Battlefield

There's a narrow walkway leading across the swamp, and we'll be sending our units across it. It's a roundabout path to take, but it's much better than wading in poison (and taking a 1.5 MOV penalty on top of that, since the water is waist-deep)

There are Elementalists positioned on islands through the swamp, but they're easily dealt with by hitting their weaknesses with Elementalist originals.

As we cross the bridge, we encounter Samille, who's a Geomancer. Geomancer originals are centered around HEXes, with spells like Shut Out, which prevents movement in and out of a HEX for a couple turns.

Samille repeatedly uses Shut Out to cause mild inconvenience and irritation, but we hammer on him with spells from Clarissa and Labyrinthia, and attacks from Felius, and he goes down like a chump. He doesn't actually attack even once, he just spams Shut Out.

I guess it would really suck if you were in the swamp and he hit you with that? I suppose that's probably what they were thinking when they made him a Geomancer.

Unfortunately, the safe path across the swamp has a HEX with a height of 3, and Clarissa and Rudy only have a CLM of 2. The smart thing to do would have been to put them in a class with 3 CLM and give them the Elementalist OC skill, but I like to live on the edge. Rudy and Clarissa trudge through the poison swamp and go around the obstacle.

Meanwhile, I have Labyrinthia warp across the swamp to grab this treasure (it contains a Revive Fruit). I believe Tony has enough CLM to get up here, but why poison the poor dog if you can avoid it?

As we approach the cliff, the Elementalists on top start slinging spells down our way. El Jackson is particularly dangerous, since he's kind of like a "boss" unit, and has much stronger attacks and defense than his companions.

Since the Elementalists are on a high cliff, Felius has outlived his usefulness at this point. I equipped him with Fantastica OC and he does toss out a couple buffs, but he really doesn't do much.

Tony on the other hand, is incredible and can leap up a cliff in a single bound, so we send him up to start whittling down the enemies while we wait for Clarissa and Rudy to arrive from their slow trudge through the sludge. Labyrinthia can cast Lightning on them as well.

Once Clarissa and Rudy arrive, we have Virginia Mystic an Antidote to cure them both of their poison at once. They're both still in the water on this turn, but poison is added at the end of a unit's turn, so as long as they move out of the swamp on their next turns, they won't be poisoned a second time.

On Virginia's next turn, she Mystics a Heal Berry to restore the HP they lost in the swamp. These two actions are the only reason I brought a Gadgeteer at all.

Once everyone arrives at this end of the map, it's just a matter of tossing spells up at the enemies. Tony and Labyrinthia can both get up there, which can be necessary for Labyrinthia depending on the enemy position, since Lightning has a weaker range than elemental spells.

Before long, we defeat the last enemy and the mission comes to an end.

Music: Outrageous Folks

Bandit Samille: Hey...you don't remember this happening before, do you? I can't recall it all too well... Something about pretending to by the Founding Knights...?
Bandit El Jackson: Eh, who cares about the past? Not me! Even if it was a beautiful age of glorious, gleeful abandon...!
Bandit Samille: Well, you can act as unflappable as you want, but we're still going to run away, right?
Bandit El Jackson: Eee hee hee hee hee hee!

El Jackson and Samille flee.

Perhaps this is what the fall of a nation looks like from ground level.

They're as much victims as anyone else... Victims of the twisted chaos in this kingdom...

Meanwhile...

Music: The Lie Named Heavy Make-Up

This Alexia who claims to be the princess is an imposter--it is the only possible explanation!

Unless... Could this be a scheme of Charlton's to discredit me? To topple me from the Council?!

Gyaaah!

I...I'm just talking to myself! And how dare you question me--it's no business of yours!

Then I shall be on my way. But next time you have a conversation with yourself, I'd appreciate it if you would lower your voice. It's only natural for my interest to be piqued when I hear my own name.

Grrrrrr... Charlton! What's going on with that imposter princess?!

"Imposter Princess," indeed...

Why are you dragging your heels on this?! Hurry up and kill that swindler!

It's not quite that simple...

--!

Why are you so certain she's an imposter? Why won't you entertain even the slim possibility that the real Alexia has survived to oppose us?

...Because...I did it. I disposed of her... Killed her, myself...

Yes...I was the one who got rid of her! I buried her alive under a mountain of rubble! That's how I know!

Heh...that's right, it was you, wasn't it?

...

...Mock women all you want, pig. You'll swallow those words soon enough. For now, let's see how you're planning to "take care of" our impostor!

Edna storms out of the Council Chamber.

Music: Filgaia Extra Land

Meanwhile, back at the farm, we've been given access to the Guardian Shrine. The Path to the Shrine is just a place for free battles and searching, so we walk right through and into the shrine itself.

Video: Guardian Shrine

Music: None