- Main article: Two Paths/Script
Leif's forces reach Solwood Pass, and they find themselves at an impasse, as they can either go west to Norden or east to Millefeuille Forest. Dryas advocates for going west, as they will face more difficult battles there and they need the glory from winning those battles to succeed. August advocates for going east, as the casualties will be lower and the Empire will be taken off-guard. Ultimately, both of them leave the final decision up to Leif.
In the meantime, Zyle commands his group of bandits to raid the nearby village and kidnap its women. At the same time, inside that village, Amalda leaves some children she saved from the child hunts under a bishop's care. She questions her servitude to House Friege and beats herself up for not being able to convince the Emperor to stop the child hunts, but Sleuf, who is also present, tells her that her position allows her to save at least some children. Amalda then leaves, and Sleuf mentions that he had received a vision in the Tower of Bragi that told him to go on a journey. The bishop bids him farewell, and Sleuf leaves.
Ralf then enters the building and warns the bishop that bandits are attacking the village and Amalda is helping to hold them off. He volunteers to help for free despite being a sellsword, but orders the bishop to escape the village alongside the women and children.
Eventually, Leif's army makes it to the village, and Leif talks to Ralf. Ralf readily joins Leif's army, because he wants to see the Empire fall. Mareeta can also talk to Shannam, who appears on a fort near the village. While posing as Prince Shannan, Shannam accidentally teaches Mareeta Astra.
Once the battle ends, the village's bishop offers to Warp Leif's army toward the west or east, depending on where he wishes to go. When Leif makes his decision, the army marches off in the respective direction.
This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.
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This is Thracia's split route chapter. You can head left for the Norden Line in the west, or Millefeuille Forest in the east. Alternatively, one can make this decision at the church (recommended for receiving a Restore staff, and required to recruit Sleuf if the A route is chosen). Be sure to recruit Ralf, a pre-promoted mercenary. The enemy brigands will make their way to destroy the houses containing various goodies, including the church (though an NPC Amalda and Ralf will distract the brigands). If the church gets destroyed, not only will you miss out on a Restore staff, but you will also lose your chance of recruiting Sleuf (and by extension, Amalda) if you choose the western route. As such, it is recommended to rescue-drop Leif across the mountains instead of taking the long way around from the east to reach the church quickly. Be mindful of the boss: not only does he hit very hard and have a lot of HP and decent defense, but he has 16 speed, enough to make magic units incapable of doubling him, and moves.
Shannam will show up in the middle top fortress on turn 11 (unless a unit is currently waiting there), and while he cannot be recruited here, he has a talk conversation with Mareeta that allows him to "teach" her Astra. Getting to him however can be quite annoying, since he tends to run away when approached, and the reinforcement thieves that show up will more often than not choose to block Mareeta's way just to annoy you, which is not helped by the forest terrain slowing down everyone's movement.
Each path has its own benefits and drawbacks:
- Heading west grants the bulky thunder specialist-Mage Knight Ilios (at the cost of Olwen needing to be dead/unrecruited), the unpromoted A-rank staves Priest Sleuf, the prepromoted Pegasus Knight Misha, and the staff-wielding Paladin Amalda. All four of these new recruits are great, but the enemy numbers and recruitment difficulties make these chapters anything but a cakewalk. The chapters also give out two Warp staves, a Rescue staff, up to two Fortify staves, and the Sol and Nihil manuals, amongst others, which cannot be obtained on the B route.
- Heading east grants the frail mage Miranda, the impostor low bases Swordmaster Shannam, as well as the solid bases Paladin Conomor. While these units are arguably not quite as useful as the units you can get on the opposite route, this route contains some unique items, like a second copy of the Vouge axe, a Restore staff, a Berserk staff, two Silence staves, and Luna Manual.
Regardless of your chosen route, you will be able to recruit Sara, albeit via different recruitment methods depending on the route.