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“
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Not many make it out this far. You must be near exhausted from the sands. Here, then. Take this as a reward for your efforts. ...A mirage village? No, I'm afraid we're quite the ordinary one! Ha ha ha! Perhaps you'll find what you seek further west...
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”
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— An elder at the first mirage village in a sequence
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Shadow in the Sands is the fourteenth paralogue chapter in Fire Emblem Awakening. As a paralogue chapter, its events are not integral to the game's main storyline and can be done at the player's leisure. The chapter is unlocked after both clearing chapter 13 and Miriel being married. There are no additional requirements to reach the chapter, as the chapter connects to the areas chapter 6 and paralogue 1 took place at.
In this chapter, the Shepherds are in search of a legendary treasure of Tellius origin around a desert oasis filled with mirage villages, all while having to compete with a pack of brigands led by another treasure hunter to do so. Within one of those villages happens to be the son of a very intellectual Shepherd.
Plot
- Main article: Shadow in the Sands/Script
At a desert oasis in southeast Ylisse, Chrom meets up with an elder and asks about a mirage village; the elder states that the mirage village may be mere rumors, and reveals that people claim to have spotted a desert village that sometimes appears during sandstorms. Tales speak of a legendary Goddess Staff that sleeps there, but the elder isn't entirely sure of its existence; once Robin comes onto the scene, Chrom states that the Goddess Staff could be helpful--it may be mere idle talk, but it's worth further investigation. The elder asks Chrom to take care, as the sands are home to armed barbarians; every year sees a few villagers go chasing myths and instead finding their graves, but the elder won't stop Chrom--as long as Chrom makes sure the Shepherds are well armed and fully prepared. Preparations take place at this point, and it is revealed that there are two villages in the area with a heat effect applied to them, with heat effects applied to a few other areas that don't have villages.
Once preparations are complete, the leader of a band of brigands, Nombry, tells his men that they have arrived at the golden oasis. It is said that the villages in this area are filled to bursting with rare treasure, and tells his men to kick down every door they see and not let a single coin slip by. The battle begins at this point.
If anyone other than Miriel or Chrom visit the southwestern of the two mirage villages, a man named Laurent tells the visitor that one particular mirage village must be located very near to this one, although his own search for it has borne nothing but ill fruit; Laurent reveals his mother would have unravelled this mystery within moments if she were present. In this instance, visiting this village will have no effect whatsoever, and the player can send someone else to visit it should they so choose (a deviation in normal behavior for villages). Should Miriel visit this village, Laurent will recognize her as his mother, to which Miriel naturally says she has no recollection of making his acquaintance, although she does state there are few things as unreliable as the human memory; Laurent realizes that he and Miriel have not met before, introduces himself, then asks Miriel if she is here in search of the mirage village, to which Miriel confirms. Laurent states he's also here looking for the mirage village, although his efforts thus far have yielded little progress, yet excess evidence exists for the village to be at least baseless rumor; Miriel adds it being an assumption on his part. Laurent asks Miriel if he might accompany her in their search, that he feels certain her help will expose what has eluded him alone; Miriel says she's worried Laurent's hypothesis lacks a certain scientific rigor, yet possibility exists that Miriel is wrong on this count and allows Laurent to join the hunt, to which Laurent assures her he won't be a burden. Should Chrom visit this village, Laurent will recognize Chrom, to which Chrom naturally asks Laurent who he is; Laurent introduces himself and reveals himself to be a traveling mage and scholar, as well as Miriel's son. Chrom at first appears shocked at this mention, then reveals that Laurent traveled back from the future, asking Laurent to confirm if he's right, to which Laurent does, that Chrom's comprehension spares him the bother of further explaination. Chrom states that Laurent is indeed Miriel's child, and asks him if he came all this way in search of Miriel; Laurent confirms this, and reveals that she wrote of a mirage village in one of her records, thinking it might offer a clue to her current whereabouts, adding that acquiring the Goddess Staff is a worthy motive. Chrom asks Laurent if he's had any luck; Laurent denies this, both the Goddess Staff and the mirage village have eluded him thus far, to which Chrom states it wouldn't be a legend if he could just stumble upon it in the market. Laurent reveals all is not lost, meeting Chrom has been success enough, that he was quickly reaching the limits of what one man could do alone; Laurent asks if he could join Chrom's cause and assures him he won't be a burden, to which Chrom accepts. Once Laurent says he joins the fray, the player may now control Laurent at this point; his village will vanish, revealing it to have been a mirage.
The search for the Goddess Staff entails four mirage villages, one after the other; the first such village is the northeastern of the two villages that were there from the start. After that village is visited, a second mirage village appears in the northwest at the start of the following turn, followed by a third mirage village in the southeast in the same fashion. At each of the first three stops, an elder (possibly the same one) tells the visitor that not many make it out that far and that they must be exhausted from the sands; the elder will give out a reward for their efforts. The visitor will then apparently ask about a mirage village; what the elder says depends on the stop. At the first stop, the elder says that this is an ordinary village and they might find what they seek further west. At the second stop, the elder says that everybody can see this village just fine, and they might find what they see on the far side of the oasis. At the third stop, the elder reveals his mother used to sing cradle songs about a mirage village--they entailed the last tree north of the oasis shore, then two steps north and one step more, at least as far as the elder can recall; the elder then denies the existence of another mirage village. Once each of the three mirage villages in this mechanic have been visited, the village will vanish. Reinforcements appear at the start of the turn following the visit to each of the first three mirage villages.
The fourth mirage village in the above sequence does not visibly appear on the map; once the player has visited the third village in the sequence, the player may seek out this hidden village. The location of this hidden village is one square west, two squares south from Nombry's position. The elder at this village tells its visitor that the village does not often play host to outsiders; few hold faith in what cannot be seen to exist, yet he senses such faith in the visitor. The elder then tells the visitor he/she can claim what they came for, that he holds his own faith that they will use it with wisdom. This nets the player the only hidden treasure in all of Awakening, the Goddess Staff.
Once the battle ends, Chrom reveals that the battle is won and the sun is fading, that they'd best make tracks. If the Goddess Staff was obtained, Chrom will ask what exactly the mirage village that gave it out is anyway, it's probably something beyond their ken; it's possibly proof that faith, even intangible, can still be rewarded--such as faith in a better future, to which Chrom says is treasure enough for him. If the Goddess Staff was not obtained, Chrom will reveal that the mirage village it's in will remain just that and it's best that the Shepherds return their focus to the real world, and asks the Shepherds to press on.
Laurent pulls Miriel aside and asks her if he can have a word, to which Miriel agrees; Laurent asks Miriel for an honest assessment on his performance, to which Miriel reveals Laurent to have certain natural deficiencies yet compensates for them quite well, concluding that such is a product of considerable time and effort. Laurent reveals it's the best response yet, that Miriel is as perspicacious as she is blunt, calling her "mother" in the process; Miriel gives a shocked reaction, to which Laurent reveals he's her future progeny. Miriel asks Laurent if he has concrete evidence to substantiate his proposition, to which Laurent reveals he has a ring that's quite literally the same as Miriel's; Miriel notes this to be fascinating, that the rings do appear identical. Laurent asks if two instances of a unique object coexisting constitute sufficient proof, to which Miriel reveals time travel to be one viable hypothesis to explain the rings--yet the possibility also exists that Laurent pilfered the ring from said time traveler, and as a means of identification, Miriel finds this inconclusive, to which Laurent calls an astute criticism; Laurent reveals he's uncertain that any conclusive evidence can be mounted to prove his claim, but he intends to spend the rest of his life investigating the matter if necessary, a single-minded pursuit of the truth might be the best proof of his heredity, to which Miriel calls a reasonable assumption. Miriel, however, states that a unilateral investigation is hardly credible; Laurent is about to ask how he is to go about things, before Miriel states that she has no material evidence to suggest that Laurent isn't her son and that she shall conduct an inquiry of her own. They'll investigate the matter together until a clear conclusion emerges, and until then, Miriel will grant the fundamental assumption that Laurent is in fact her child, to which Laurent thanks Miriel.
Chapter data
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Victory: Defeat Nombry.
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Player
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Partner
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Other
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Enemy
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Third
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Defeat: Chrom or Robin die.
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13+1
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{{{partner}}}
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{{{other}}}
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17+29
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{{{third}}}
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Victory: Defeat Nombry.
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Player
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Partner
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Other
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Enemy
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Third
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Defeat: Chrom or Robin die.
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13+1
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{{{partner}}}
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{{{other}}}
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23+29
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{{{third}}}
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Victory: Defeat Nombry.
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Player
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Partner
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Other
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Enemy
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Third
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Defeat: Chrom or Robin die.
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13+1
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{{{partner}}}
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{{{other}}}
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29+31
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{{{third}}}
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The chapter's map is 20 columns by 20 rows.
Character data
Note: The returning characters list only those recruited by the time this chapter is unlocked. As a paralogue chapter, there is no set timeframe in which the chapter must be taken on; thus, it is possible to have recruited more characters than the above by the point the chapter is started. The returning characters list also does not include any characters recruitable in other paralogues, as the player may not have taken on any other available paralogue chapters yet. The list also does not include any bonus units, as they are recruitable at the player's discretion.
Item data
Shop data
After clearing this chapter, the shop at this location will become available.
Armory contents
Normal stock Possible merchant items
Item
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Price
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If a merchant is present in Desert Oasis on the world map, a random selection of three of the below items will also be available until the merchant leaves:
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Killing Edge
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1,470
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Killer Lance
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1,680
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Killer Axe
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1,860
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Killer Bow
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1,680
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Wyrmslayer
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1,500
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Beast Killer
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1,650
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Blessed Lance
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1,540
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Hammer
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1,850
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Blessed Bow
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1,540
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A rare item
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Varies
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The following items may randomly appear in any slot designated "Rare item": Hammerne, Seraph Robe, Energy Drop, Spirit Dust, Secret Book, Speedwing, Goddess Icon, Dracoshield, Talisman, Arms Scroll.
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Enemy data
Lunatic+ mode is set up exactly the same as Lunatic mode, only varying by enemies having two additional skills at random from the following pool:
Reinforcements
- On the turn after visiting the northeastern mirage village
- On the turn after visiting the northwestern mirage village
- On the turn after visiting the southeastern mirage village
Boss data
- Main article: Nombry
Strategy
This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.
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This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.
Trivia
- This chapter is home to the only hidden treasure in the game.
- This chapter is one of only two non-SpotPass paralogues to not include a green NPC faction at any point in the chapter including the preparations phase; the other such non-SpotPass paralogue is paralogue 1. These two paralogues also happen to be the only paralogues that take place in Ylisse.
Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions
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Language
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Name
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Definition, etymology, and notes
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English
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Shadow in the Sands
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French
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Une quête illusoire
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An illusory quest
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Gallery
This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.