Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (ファイアーエムブレム 聖魔の光石, Faiā Emuburemu Seima no Kōseki, literally "Fire Emblem: Shining Stones of Holiness and Evil") is the eighth game in the Fire Emblem series. It is the third and last game released on the Game Boy Advance, and the second game released outside of Japan, preceded by Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. The game takes place on the continent of Magvel, which has not featured in any other titles. The Sacred Stones features Eirika and Ephraim's quest.

Plot

The fall of Renais

In the castle of Renais, troops from Grado have breached the walls. Fearing the safety of his daughter Eirika, King Fado sends his paladin Seth to take Eirika to safety. On his way out, Seth is attacked by Valter, a Grado soldier. They manage to get past several bandits.

Soon, they meet Franz and Gilliam at Mulan, a border town, and rescue Princess Tana of Frelia. They reach Frelia and meet King Hayden, who advises them to stay in Frelia and be same from the war; however, Eirika decides to go help her brother Ephraim in Grado. Hayden worries about her, but he cannot spare many troops; he sends his vassals Gilliam, Vanessa, and Moulder to help.

As Eirika makes her journey towards Grado, she sees the conditions of Renais under Grado, who has no real interest in maintaining order. As they travel past the village of Ide, where they meet retired war General Garcia and his ambitious son Ross, Eirika's bracelet is stolen, and Seth insists that they recover it. She retrieves it from Colm, a young thief, at the stronghold of bandits led by Bazba. They are lead there by a tearful archer named Neimi.

A scene is shown in which Generals Duessel, Selena, and Glen of Grado converse about the recent strange behavior of Vigarde, the king of Grado. Normally, Grado would never attack Renais, a longtime ally. Vigarde introduces three new generals to help in the conquest of the continent: Riev, Caellach, and Valter. The king orders Selena and Caellach to take Frelia, Duessel and Riev to defend the empire, and Glen and Valter to find Eirika and Ephraim. The older generals seem to be at odds with the newer generals.

As they reach the Za'ha Woods, they find that the monsters of old legends have appeared. Artur, a monk, warns them to escape, but Eirika decides to help. They meet his friend Lute, an intelligent young mage. Additionally, they meet a group of three strangers, led by a lively young woman named L'Arachel, along with a snide rogue Rennac and boisterous warrior Dozla. She appears with the intention of conquering the monsters, but she is too late. They exit, leaving Eirika quite confused.

Eirika's army approaches Serafew, the border town of Renais and Grado. They meet a man who asks if they have seen a girl with indigo-colored hair. Next, they meet the cleric Natasha, who has been branded a traitor by Grado troops. The group also recruits a mercenary named Joshua, a gambling-loving myrmidon. After the battle, Natasha tells Eirika and Seth that the emperor of Grado plans to destroy the Sacred Stones for unknown reasons. According to her, the emperor has changed, and the holders of the Sacred Stones must be warned.

Eirika and Ephraim reunite

Meanwhile, the player is given a glimpse of Ephraim in Fort Renvall of Grado. With his two loyal knights, Forde and Kyle, along with the paladin Orson, he takes control of the fort, but he is forced to escape when enemy troops surround the castle.

Eirika continues on, meeting a Grado leader who threatens to feed a civilian family to monsters. He proposes that Eirika give him her bracelet, but Seth refuses. After Eirika rescues the family, Seth tells her of the bracelet's significance: it is half of a key to the chamber that holds Renais's Sacred Stone; Ephraim's bracelet is the other half.

At last, Eirika reaches Renvall to help her brother. She battles to get into the fort and reach her brother. As they arrive, Orson meets them and tells them that Ephraim is still captive. Orson leads the group into the castle, and encourages Eirika to entrust the bracelet to him or Seth. Seth then stops him, and confronts him asking how he knows the bracelet's significance, and reveals that Orson is hiding a blade. Orson reveals that he has betrayed Renais. Enemies interrupt them and destroy the bridge out of the castle, and a fight ensues.

During the battle, Ephraim, Forde, and Kyle arrive to help Eirika. They defeat the Grado forces and meet up to explain what has happened. Ephraim introduces Myrrh, a girl with indigo hair, who says a great darkness is approaching. The army makes the journey back to Frelia.

At Serafew, Eirika and Ephraim reminisce about Lyon, their friend and prince of Grado, son of Vigarde. They arrive in Frelia, where Tana happily greets them. Her brother Innes, prince of Frelia, has just returned from the war front.

Eirika and Ephraim discuss the war with Hayden, where Ephraim introduces Myrrh to Hayden. He reveals that she is a Manakete, part of an ancient race of dragon folk. Although she appears to be a shy little girl, she has large wings upon her back and can transform into a large dragon at will with her dragonstone. Myrrh explains that she and the other manakete had felt something ominous from the direction of Grado and went to investigate. However, she got lost and was captured until Ephraim came to rescue her.

A messenger arrives saying the Sacred Stone of Frelia has been destroyed by troops led by Generals Caellach and Selena. Caellach is shown destroying the stone, as Selena scolds him not to mercilessly attack those who are not powerless to resist.

The group decides to split up - Innes to Jehanna, Eirika to Rausten, and Ephraim directly into Grado. Here, the player chooses to go with Eirika or Ephraim. Either way, the whole army will go with the chosen character, except for the other lord. For example, if Eirika is chosen, all units go with her except Ephraim.

Eirika's journey

In Grado, Vigarde orders Glen to find Eirika, Valter to find Ephraim, Caellach to take Jehanna's Sacred Stone, Riev to take the Stone of Rausten, Duessel to find Ephraim also, and for Selena to wait in the capital for new orders.

Eirika goes to Port Kiris to find a ship to Rausten. Princess Tana flies over to join Eirika, saying that she will not be left out in the war. They meet L'Arachel and her companions again. L'Arachel informs Eirika that no ships are leaving port; she advises them to take the overland route. There is a sudden conflict as mercenaries appear to fight Eirika. During the battle, an young soldier of Grado named Amelia joins Eirika's army. Afterwards, Seth and Eirika learn that the mercenaries are from Carcino, meaning that the alliance between Carcino and Frelia has been broken. Since Innes is going through Carcino to Rausten, she realizes he is deep in enemy territory and hurries to help him.

In Grado, Glen confesses to his brother Cormag that he had met Eirika before, and she seemed a kindhearted, gentle woman; however, he has to obey the emperor.

In Carcino, Innes is surrounded by Carcinan troops with the mercenaries Gerik and Tethys. Innes urges them to leave, but Gerik chooses to stay. Eirika helps to save Innes; along the way, the myrmidon Marisa goes to Eirika's side. She successfully forces Pablo to retreat. Afterwards, Eirika meets Klimt, a member of Carcino's Council of Elders, who states that only part of the council has sided with Grado; the rest has chosen to stay with Frelia.

Eirika and Innes are now faced with the problem of how to travel to Jehanna and Rausten. Ewan, the younger brother of Tethys, informs them of Caer Pelyn, a mountain pass that goes directly to Jehanna; Eirika decides to take this route.

At Caer Pelyn, the army passes through a fort that Ewan claims to be empty; however, monsters appear. L'Arachel and Dozla appear again, without Rennac, and join Eirika's team. Afterwards, Ewan finds his teacher, Saleh, who was the man looking for a girl back in Serafew. He agrees to lead them through the mountains.

After the battle, General Glen arrives to kill Eirika and tells her she has been murdering innocents, obviously a lie told to him by Grado. He refuses to kill her, but when flies back, Valter stops him and kills him ruthlessly.

Eirika continues on in the mountains, starting to suffer from the lack of oxygen. Even more monsters appear; additionally, Ewan begins to fight as a novice mage.

Saleh talks to the elder of Caer Pelyn, who informs Eirika that it was the Great Dragon helped to seal away the Demon King, instead of just the hero Grado with the Sacred Stones. According to the elder, the Great Dragon watches the bones of the Demon King and ensures that it does not revive; however, recently the Great Dragon has disappeared. When Eirika says she has seen Myrrh, the elder reveals that Myrrh is the current form of the Great Dragon. She urges Saleh to leave for Grado at once to find Myrrh; he decides to go with Eirika, as the quickest route to Grado goes through Jehanna.

Valter tells Cormag of Glen's death and tells Cormag that it was Eirika who killed him. Cormag then angrily decides to avenge his brother and flies off to find Eirika.

Eirika prepares to fight many Grado troops; her goal is to hold out until Rausten troops arrive. In the middle of the battle, Cormag appears with the intention of killing Eirika, but she convinces him that he has been lied to. He then joins Eirika to avenge his brother. Near the end of the battle, Pablo shows up as well. Finally, Rausten troops arrive from the north and manage to rout the rest of the enemy forces. L'Arachel reveals to Eirika that she is the princess of Rausten, after conversing with the Rausten troops. They continue on to Jehanna to warn them of the crisis.

The game cuts to a flashback of Eirika and Lyon fencing, two years ago. Lyon loses, and begins to talk of himself in shame. Eirika encourages him that to be as kindhearted as he is is a gift. He is about to give a gift to Eirika when Seth rouses her out of her daydream. According to Innes, Jehanna Hall has been overrun with Grado troops, led by Lyon himself.

Queen Ismaire of Jehanna is held captive by Carlyle, her former most trusted commander. Blinded by love, he has captured her for her love. Lyon and Caellach arrive in the chamber. Caellach takes Ismaire and goes to find and destroy the Sacred Stone. Lyon attempts to resist and tells Caellach to stop, but he is ignored.

When Eirika begins to fight, Rennac, L'Arachel's former companion, appears in the castle, getting ready to loot the castle. However, Eirika or L'Arachel finds him and he joins Eirika's side.

After Carlyle is defeated, Caellach corners Ismaire and demands the Sacred Stone. He threatens to kill her; although Lyon tries to stop him, Caellach fatally wounds Ismaire and steals the stone. Eirika enters and finds Lyon, who still is the same person she has known; he leaves quickly. Ismaire calls Joshua to her side, and it is revealed that Joshua is the prince of Jehanna. She dies, leaving the Sacred Twin weapons of Jehanna: the sword Audhulma and the anima magic tome Excalibur.

Joshua reveals that he left palace life behind to see the world as a man, not a prince. By now he regrets his decision, and vows to fight Grado and defend Jehanna. They escape the palace, which has been lit on fire. Outside, Eirika finds that two Grado armies, led by Caellach and Valter, are coming their way.

Defeating the Demon King (Eirika's route)

Eirika is quite dazed from all the conflict. Seth urges her to rest, but she is determined to continue. Many Grado forces are closing in, led by Caellach and Valter, who vows to kill Eirika.

During the battle, Ephraim arrives with General Duessel of Grado and a shaman named Knoll on his side. The two twins reunite again, and manage to successfully defeat the Grado forces, including the two generals. Ephraim provides the group with two Sacred Twin weapons from Grado, the axe Garm and the dark tome Gleipnir.

Ephraim, Innes, and L'Arachel introduce themselves to each other. Ephraim tells them he has managed to seize Grado's capital and defeat Vigarde. However, he tells a story that Knoll had been talking about: a "Dark Stone" had been created, the source of the wave of energy that Myrrh had felt. Vigarde has already been dead for months, only acting as the stone's puppet. Ephraim reveals that although he hates to say it, Prince Lyon is the one controlling the stone.

According to Ephraim, Lyon is completely different from how Eirika saw him in Jehanna - Lyon had said he was behind the war, and only befriended Eirika and Ephraim so he could invade Renais. L'Arachel suggests that with the remaining Sacred Stones, they will be able to conquer the dark magic of Lyon's Dark Stone. They decide to return to Renais to reclaim Renais's Sacred Stone.

Eirika and Ephraim return to Renais, which is in a deplorable state of corruption and despair. Under the rule of Orson it clearly has suffered greatly. The twins prepare to go into the castle. Myrrh vows that she will start to fight as well.

Orson is seeing doting on his "wife", Monica, who is unseen. Riev arrives to tell him that Eirika and Ephraim are marching toward the castle at that moment, and threatens to kill Monica if he doesn't succeed in keeping them out. Riev leaves, along with Lyon, who appears to be suffering from some illness.

After they defeat Orson, the twins and Seth go into the room Orson had been in and find some creature that appears to be Monica, Orson's dead wife. She is some sort of haunting, reanimated corpse of Monica, revived by the same magic as with Vigarde. The twins find that outside, the Renais citizens are cheering.

Back to the throne room, Eirika and Ephraim open a seal by raising their bracelets, revealing a secret chamber that contains the Stone of Renais. Eirika and Ephraim can promote at this time; if not, then they can be promoted later. They find the Sacred Twin weapons, Sieglinde, the Thunder Blade and Siegmund, the Fire Lance. The army makes their way to Rausten.

Two years ago, Lyon is telling of how he plans to use the Sacred Stone to help people. In the present, Eirika's army is at the Narube River, on the way to Rausten. They see Frelian soldiers attacking and failing failishly against Grado troops. Civilians are trapped on the banks of the river.

Lyon appears to the group, and he does not remember what he said when he encountered Ephraim in Grado. However, he switches to a darker personality which appears to be taking over his body; "he" reveals himself to be the Demon King, formerly sealed in the Stone of Grado. During the battle, the Frelian general Syrene joins Eirika's side. When Lyon is defeated, he teleports away. Innes talks to Eirika and gives her the Sacred Twin weapons of Frelia: Nidhogg, the Serpent Bow, and Vidofnir, the Winged Lance.

Eirika and the others journey through Mount Neleras, a mountain of extreme heat and sulfur. Eirika asks L'Arachel if there is any way to bring back Lyon; L'Arachel tells her that Lyon no longer exists. It turns out that Lyon has led the army into a trap by bringing them to this place - it is full of dangerous lava and gorgon eggs. After the battle, Eirika meets Lyon, who tricks her into giving him the Sacred Stone by pretending to be the kind Lyon, asking for help. However, they look forward and continue to Rausten.

The army meets Mansel, Pontifex of Rausten. Eirika and Ephraim explain their long tale of eighteen-and-a-half chapters so far. As they go to sleep, there is an attack by Grado troops led by General Riev; they have breached the castle in several places. Eirika manages to hold out until the Grado troops retreat, or she defeats Riev. They receive the Sacred Stone and the Sacred Twin weapons of Rausten: the light tome Ivaldi and the divine staff Latona. They start to head for Darkling Woods, a home of myriads of monsters.

"Lyon", or rather, the Demon King is confronted by Morva, the foster father of Myrrh.

Characters

Main article: List of characters in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Gameplay

The Sacred Stones shares many game concepts with Gaiden, such as the ability to travel across a world map and the appearance of monsters. Otherwise, most of its gameplay is the same as Blazing Sword.