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The Black Pillar
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| “ | I wished to shield you from this knowledge, Corrin, but it's time you knew. The man you call Father...is not King Garon. Not anymore. The man masquerading as your father is not of this world. He's being controlled by something—by a demon of some sort. I know that's a lot to swallow, but I think I can prove it to you......with this. | ” | — Azura revealing to Corrin the truth about Garon. |
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The Black Pillar (Japanese: 鈍く崩れ落ちて A Slow Collapse) is the fifteenth chapter of the Conquest campaign in Fire Emblem Fates. In this chapter, Corrin, feeling conflicted over his/her decision to side with Nohr, follows Azura into a lake and into a strange land. Corrin, Azura, and Gunter, who ended up in this area after surviving his fall into the Bottomless Canyon, must make their way through the possessed local populace in hopes of getting out of the area. Upon returning, Azura reveals to Corrin the truth about Garon, prompting Corrin to draft a plan to find a way to reveal this truth to the rest of the army.
Plot
- Main article:
The Black Pillar/Script
In a lakeside forest, Corrin states that he/she can't fall asleep due to the thought of attacking innocents hurts inside his/her heart, noting the incident in Cheve and the hunt for the Cyrkensian singers; Corrin then states that he/she wonders if he/she did the right thing and asks himself/herself if siding with Nohr was a mistake. As Corrin mulls over whether he/she should have sided with Hoshido instead, then states that he/she could never betray Xander and his/her other Nohrian siblings, he/she catches sight of Azura by the shore of the lake and decides to talk to her about their decision to side with Nohr given her similar plight; as Corrin follows Azura's singing Lost in Thoughts All Alone toward her, Corrin notes the song as the one performed in Nestra that pained Garon and wonders if Azura was indeed the singer who made that performance before dismissing the idea. Corrin spots Azura walking into the lake fully clothed, then vanishing in a pillar of light; as Corrin notices Azura not coming back up, he/she decides to go after her on the presumption that she may be drowning.
(Cutscene: "Invisible Door") As Azura continues to sink into the lake surrounded by the light, Corrin steps into the light and gets sucked into a tunnel-like stream. Corrin later comes to in a field with numerous floating islands in view as well as some broken skies; upon Corrin catching sight of Azura, Azura saddeningly asks Corrin why he/she is in the area.
Corrin starts to explain that he was attempting to save Azura from drowning, only for Azura to tell Corrin that he/she shouldn't be in the area and to leave while he/she still can; Corrin then asks Azura where they are when an invader comes onto the scene and attempts to attack Azura, prompting Corrin to jump in and block the attack. Corrin asks about the invader and their motives, to which Azura states that they need to get Corrin out of the area quickly--the invader may look human, but it is now an emotionless monster that will surely destroy him/her if he/she gets too close--only for Corrin to state that there is nowhere to run; Azura notices that their path has closed and that they'll have to fight their way through, and asks Corrin not to die on her before the truth can be revealed. Gunter appears on the scene and takes out the invader that attacked Corrin and Azura, to which a bewildered Corrin asks Gunter if he's not a ghost; Gunter states that he's fine and won't tolerate being called a ghost, then states that he saw Corrin and Azura in trouble and arrived to help. Corrin, stating that he/she is glad Gunter is okay, asks Gunter why he's in this area, to which Gunter states that they can discuss matters later, that now is the time that they deal with the invaders, to which Corrin states is a valid point and that he/she is glad to have Gunter fighting by his/her side again. Preparations take place at this point; the battle begins once preparations are complete.
Should the end of turn 20 player phase be reached with neither the boss Hero defeated nor all player units escaped, Azura states that they have run out of time and tells Corrin that he/she did all he/she could; the Game Over screen implies that the group failed to escape the invaders.
Once the battle ends, Corrin asks Gunter where he's been, to which Gunter recalls Hans knocking him into the Bottomless Canyon, stating that he hit solid ground yet not the canyon floor, then reveals that he had to fight off invaders upon coming to; Gunter reveals that Azura came to him after multiple such skirmishes against invaders, prompting Corrin to ask him if he knows Azura, to which Azura confirms. Azura states that she often came to this area during times she felt lost and lonely during her time in Hoshido, trying to derive clues as to how to find peace for the world, and encountered Gunter on one such visit at the brink of death; Gunter states that it was Azura that taught him how to survive in this place and that he would not have survived if it weren't for her, to which Azura states that she doesn't deserve his praise--she was captured by Hoshidan soldiers after leaving Gunter's side and wasn't able to come back for him until just recently, then apologizes to Gunter for leaving him alone, to which Gunter states he's just glad to see Azura again. Corrin asks where they are currently situated, revealing both Gunter's route and the route he and Azura took; Azura states that they are in a land far away from both Hoshido and Nohr, one where time flows differently. Azura then states that Corrin and Gunter are not to talk about this area to anyone in the outside world, as a curse will cause anyone who does so to vanish and that they should all be fine if they heed the curse; Azura then beckons Corrin and Gunter into following her.
Over at the edge of one of the floating islands, Azura states that they're in an area that leads to the Bottomless Canyon back on the other side, and that if they jump from there they can return to the Bottomless Canyon; Corrin deduces that this is how Azura travels back and forth between the realms, to which Azura states that she always travels through the water. Corrin then asks why they don't travel back the way they came, to which Azura states that she and Corrin are the only ones that can travel between the realms through the water, and that the Bottomless Canyon route is the only way they can bring Gunter back with them--something she learned the hard way, having attempted to take Gunter back through the water the previous time but was unable to; Corrin asks why he/she and Azura are the only ones that can travel through the water, to which Azura states that the current time is not right to do so and that they should leave before more invaders arrive. We witness Azura jump first, followed by Corrin after deliberating with Gunter.
Corrin comes to again at the Bottomless Canyon and sees Azura, to which Corrin asks where Gunter is; Azura states that the differing flow of time means there's a lag between when one jumps and when one arrives, and that Gunter will arrive eventually. Azura then states that there's something she needs to tell Corrin--and that obtaining peace will involve dethroning Garon; Corrin questions this motive, to which Azura reveals his traits to which Corrin doesn't deny before asking if there's another way. Azura states that she hoped to shield Corrin from the information she's about to reveal, but states that it's time he/she knew--the figure Corrin knew as his/her father growing up isn't Garon anymore, but instead a man masquerading as him that's not of this world possessed by some sort of demon and that she can prove it to him/her with a crystal that she's holding. Azura states that the crystal ball came from the realm they were just in, and that it has the power to reveal the truth--but it can only be operated by either an incredibly gifted mage such as Leo or someone with highly potent dragon blood in their veins such as Corrin to access its power at will; Azura asks Corrin to touch the crystal, to which he/she does so, causing the crystal ball to reveal an image of Garon transforming into a disfigured creature, to which Azura states that Corrin now knows the truth about Garon. Corrin asks Azura if there's still a way they can save Garon, to which Azura states there is not--his soul is corrupted beyond salvaging, the best they can do for him is to release his soul into the afterlife, and that she did all she could to help when she sang the song on stage at the Cyrkensia opera house.
Azura states that she thought she could use Lost in Thoughts All Alone to turn Garon back to normal, and realized that he was beyond salvation when the song didn't work; Azura then states that it's her fault the innocent Cyrkensian singers were targeted and that she'll never forgive herself for that turn of events, to which Corrin states that he/she also suffered failures on the path to peace, wanting to end the war without sacrificing innocent lives yet couldn't stop the events in Cheve. Corrin states that Garon needs to be stopped and that Xander and the others need to know, then asks how the others can be made to know in a way that he/she will be believed yet without mentioning the other realm; Azura states that the method involved will be risky, and that it will involve conquering Hoshido, winning the war in Garon's name, then getting Garon to sit on the Hoshidan throne, to which Corrin states that Mikoto stated that whomever sits on the Hoshidan throne regains their true form and mind. Azura states that the crystal revealed the truth about Garon to them, then states that the throne can be used to do the same to Xander and the others, but for the plan to work, they'll have to continue following Garon's orders--and that means fighting Ryoma and their other Hoshidan siblings; Corrin states that he/she is willing to pay the price of his/her happiness for the good of the world, with Corrin and Azura vowing to obtain victory for Nohr on their path to peace. Gunter finally arrives on the scene, to which Azura states she's glad he made it back safely; Azura states that they should go and rejoin the rest of the army, stating that Garon will grow suspicious if they're gone too long. The player may save their game at this point.
Upon returning to My Castle, Lilith asks Corrin if she could have a moment of his/her time, then reveals that a familiar face has come to see him/her. Jakob/Felicia appears and states that he/she see that Corrin is doing well, and that he/she could not rest until they found him/her once word reached to him/her that Corrin went missing, stating he/she been traveling across dimensional barriers and states that now that he's/she's by Corrin's side again, that he'll/she'll now fight alongside him/her. Jakob/Felicia will now be available to the player's army at this point.
Summary
Corrin follows Azura, hoping to discuss King Garon's cruel methods. Mysterious enemies ruin the plan when they launch an unexpected attack.
Chapter data
Normal/Hard Lunatic
Character data
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Required Characters
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Note: Felicia is only a returning character if Corrin is male, while Jakob is only a returning character if Corrin is female; whichever of the two is not a returning character is recruited at the end of this chapter. The returning characters list does not include any characters recruitable in paralogues or xenologues, as the player may not have taken on any available paralogue chapters yet. The list also does not include any bonus units, as they are recruitable at the player's discretion.
Item data
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Dragon Vein data
The Dragon Vein in this chapter is stated to have the effect "Split each allied unit into two bodies". Note that, if either Corrin or Azura already have a Replica on the field created via Replicate, they will not have a Replica created over at the destination effect area of the Dragon Vein. It is located as follows:
- Column 8, row 7: One square south, one square west of Gunter's initial position
Enemy data
Normal Hard Lunatic
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Boss data
Normal Hard/Lunatic
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Strategy
| This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody. |
At the beginning of this chapter, Gunter makes his triumphant return. His growths are poor and his bases relative to his level are just as bad, but his powerful personal skill Forceful Partner makes him a serviceable pair-up bot for Corrin for the rest of the game. You are stuck with just Corrin, Azura and Gunter for this chapter, as for plot reasons, you are unable to use any other units, meaning your only sources of healing are items and Healing Descant (unless you reclassed Azura to Falcoknight or something). If you are the type of player who likes to promote their units at level 20, now is a perfect time to get Corrin to level 20.
Immediately have Corrin trip the Dragon Vein. This sends a bunch of replicas to the southern half of the map. Replicas share an HP bar and an inventory with their source units, will always have the same weapon equipped, will carry over buff and debuff effects, die if their source dies (and vice versa), and cannot use supports. Also, Replica-Corrin and Replica-Azura cannot use the Convoy and Sing commands. Pair up Gunter with Corrin and have her lure in the first Villager. Meanwhile, Replica-Gunter should also pair up with Replica-Corrin and pull in the nearby Soldier. The source units shouldn't have too much trouble making their way to the escape point to the east. You can chicken out and flee immediately, but why waste the experience and loot? You're going to want to keep a brisk pace in order to come under the 20 turn time limit. Be smart and aggressive, heal when you need to, and you should come out on top.
When you return to My Castle after this chapter, Jakob joins you if Corrin is male and Felicia joins you if Corrin is female. Jakob is extremely disappointing compared to his showing with a female Corrin. Without his early marriage to Corrin and access to good physical classes like Wyvern Lord, he's just a crummy Butler who can't fight like Kaze and can't heal like Felicia. Felicia with a female Corrin is much more useful. She starts off with a C rank in daggers, giving her instant access to the Flame Shuriken, and she can also serve as a good medic. She also compliments Leo's statline very well as a pair-up bot.
Trivia
- This chapter is the only one that takes place in Valla that is not playable in the Revelation campaign.
- This chapter's map is reused in Revelation Chapter 19.
- This chapter is one of a few in the Fire Emblem series, and one of even fewer on a Normal difficulty, to include a preparations phase that allows the player to deploy only two units initially (not including Gunter, who is on the field during the phase but does not appear in the deployment list); the battle preparations phase is included despite all chosen character deployments (Corrin and Azura) being mandatory, likely to allow the player to manage their inventory beforehand.
- Should Azura have been killed prior to this chapter's events, then this chapter becomes a rare instance in the series where a battle preparations phase is included yet the player may deploy only one character, with Corrin being the only deployable character in this instance.
- This chapter is also the first one in the series that is not a scenario DLC chapter to disallow deployment of bonus units in a situation where a player may have already earned access to them.
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology and in other regions | ||
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| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English |
The Black Pillar |
-- |
| Japanese |
鈍く崩れ落ちて |
A Slow Collapse |
| French |
La colonne noire |
The black column |
| German |
Die dunkle Säule |
The Dark Pillar |
| Korean |
서서히 무너지고 |
Collapses Slowly |
Gallery
This section has been marked as a stub. Please help improve the page by adding information.
References
| ← Voice of Paradise • | The Black Pillar | • Invasion → |
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