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    Friday, October 9, 2020

    Fire Emblem I drew Lysithea enjoying her cake~ I hope you like it!

    Fire Emblem I drew Lysithea enjoying her cake~ I hope you like it!


    I drew Lysithea enjoying her cake~ I hope you like it!

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:15 AM PDT

    Lachesis in Dimitri's Great Lord Armor

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:17 PM PDT

    I drew a casual autumn Altena

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 01:56 PM PDT

    What Claude and Ingrid's support should have been. (Drawtober Day....8???)

    Posted: 08 Oct 2020 10:42 PM PDT

    [OC] I drew the Ashen Wolves.

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 11:20 AM PDT

    Fire Emblem Black Ink II - Garnef

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 04:39 PM PDT

    Sunflower Annette (OC) Skip for improvement?

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 08:07 PM PDT

    Verdant Wind fanart

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:07 PM PDT

    "Jamke's Brief Respite" (Commission)

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:30 PM PDT

    Hunting Claude

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 03:48 PM PDT

    Architect of Undoing: A Gharnef Appreciation Post

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:46 PM PDT

    Over the past few months, I have undertaken a long-procrastinated-on journey through all the Fire Emblem games I have not yet played. I beat Shadow Dragon in July and New Mystery in August, and since completing my journey through Archanea, I've wanted to call attention to the OG FE Big Bad. ...no, not Medeus, he's just a big dumb bag of stats who pops up in the end as a final boss, even if I guess he has an intriguing backstory that happens entirely offscreen like a million years ago. Nah, I want to talk about the man who orchestrated the whole operation, one of the bastardliest bastards in FE history: Gharnef.

    I don't think Fire Emblem's first major foe gets enough credit, to be honest. For one thing, he's ugly. More importantly, his motivations are completely uncomplicated and utterly malevolent, and we Fire Emblem fans love us some complex, tormented antagonists. Not only is Gharnef black-hearted in the extreme, he spawned a succession of sinister Sorcerers in games to come, who are all just as two-dimensionally Saturday-morning-cartoon evil as he is. However, I believe that Gharnef stands head and hunched shoulders above these puny imitators, and should not have credit taken away from him just because a bunch of other assholes decided to throw on black robes, learn a few neat magic tricks, and then not get nearly as far as their ur-example did. That's right: what Gharnef has on these clowns is not only sheer depth of wickedness, but more importantly, competence.

    No dark mage to follow was nearly as devious, cunning, or even as wicked as the mighty Gharnef. Let me count the ways:

    He's a master of manipulation. Gharnef knew enough to know that no matter how cunning or deadly in combat, one ugly old dude warped by dark magic (or without a good skincare routine, whichever did it) would never be able to take over the world and get revenge on all of humanity alone. Proving himself to be quite knowledgeable about human nature as well as the arcane arts, he was clever enough to seek out those who had both enough power to aid him and enough of a weakness to be exploited. He convinces the cowardly King Jiol of Gra to join his side, ruthlessly kidnaps the king of Grust's children, and seeks out Emperor Hardin for corruption. There's also Eremiya, who is a rather minor FE12 villain, but he mocks her while he dies, so extra bastard points for that. But lots of FE villains do this, right? Manipulating people is standard mastermind stuff. Now that we've established his baseline cunning, let's move on to Gharnef's true genius:

    He made himself invincible. Famously, Gharnef's signature tome Imhullu makes him immune to all forms of attack, save the one: Starlight, a tome forged with the power of the Lightsphere and Starsphere both. This has led certain NPCs and several memers to proclaim that you cannot win against him. Quick bit of backstory here: both Archanea games include a wealth of information about how magic works in this original FE setting (and, presumably, provided a baseline from which future games in new worlds could model themselves after or differ from, as they pleased). Specific spell tomes can be created by powerful mages, and keyed to specific individuals, bloodlines, or even genders. Therefore Gharnef, one of the most powerful human students of magic the world had ever seen, a foremost disciple of the Archmage Gotoh, did what all powerful wizards doomed to darkness do: sought immortality. Here is the point I want to stress: there have been plenty of FE villains who make themselves powerfully resistant, or even immune, to physical assault, but every time - correct me if I missed someone - said villain got this power from some deity or dragon's blessing. Gharnef didn't need to rely on a higher power. He stole the Darksphere and manipulated its energy. He crafted this super-spell all by himself. And he even knew enough to know that it still had a potential vulnerability that hadn't even been invented yet. In case you didn't know (or forgot), Marth and pals forge the Starlight tome partway through Shadow Dragon. Therefore, its existence would have only been theoretical before. Gharnef truly is a master of magical knowledge to have deduced this, almost certainly 2nd to Gotoh himself (sorry, Linde's dad). Speaking of vulnerabilities:

    He covers all his bases. Despite being nearly invincible, Gharnef still creates magical doppelgangers of himself that are indistinguishable from the real thing, and which can even cast dark magic spells themselves. He also surrounds himself with other powerful dark mages, overlapping long-range spell users, and even insane dragons when Marth does confront him, making his maps a particular pain in the ass, especially in FE12. Knowing that Starlight could defeat him, Gharnef specifically brainwashes the last Divine Dragon, Tiki, into defending the remote Fane of Raman, where the Lightsphere and Starsphere were being held. In doing so, he also removed a dangerous threat to Medeus as well, since the Divine Dragon tribe's breath weapon is super-effective vs. other dragon-types, er, tribes. (In-game, Tiki is probably your best bet against Medeus in SD.) Knowing that the Falchion was the other means by which Medeus may be slain, Gharnef had a brilliant idea: what better place to hide this weapon than on his own invincible body? We see here multiple layers of protection: To defeat Medeus, one needs Falchion, but to get Falchion, one must defeat Gharnef, but to defeat Gharnef, one needs Starlight, and to get Starlight, one must make it to the Fane of Raman and get past a Divine Dragon. It's a pretty devious plan. Later, when Gharnef is revived for FE12 and he gets a second chance at enacting his plans. Since Starlight has already been forged, he hits upon a second brilliant scheme: can't use Starlight to kill Gharnef if Gharnef himself has Starlight (rollsafe.jpg), so he steals the Starlight tome. And yet he still loses, you say. Well:

    His failures are through no fault of his own. Unlike pretty much every single Sorcerer who came after him, Gharnef's schemes are only undone by the heroes' own might and cunning, and not through any unforced errors of his own. His schemes are, on paper, foolproof. In Shadow Dragon, he didn't account for one Fire Dragon to still be alive and sane, and that this specific Fire Dragon was one who could bring Tiki back from her brainwashing. (Or, you know, that Marth and pals were badass enough to kill a Divine Dragon. If that's what you did. Because you're a monster.) In New Mystery, he's even more careful to cover his weaknesses, but is foiled by Michalis swiping the Starlight tome and delivering it to Marth. Now, I don't know how Michalis managed to succeed. (Gharnef can't be harmed while he has Imhullu, and I would think he's too paranoid to ever not have both it and Starlight with him, so… what, did Michalis nab it while he was in the shower or something? Just kidding, Gharnef clearly never showers.) But regardless, it was through Michalis's deeds and/or the writers pulling shenanigans alone that his otherwise brilliant plans failed. He was so close to winning it all, but was only foiled by the greater might, tactics, and daring and/or Marty Stu bullshit of his adversaries. As opposed to, I dunno... letting the only one who could defeat you live when they're completely within your power and ability to eliminate (Manfroy, Jedah), or relying too much on fallible mortal servants who aren't as smart as you (Veld, Nergal), or just being a fuck-up in general (Validar, TWSITD).

    Overall, Gharnef is always in control. Even the mighty Medeus was little more than a tool in Gharnef's capable hands. While those Sorcerers who came after him were in thrall to a mighty dragon, demon, or god, Gharnef served no being but himself. Medeus was a means to the Dark Pontifex's ends, rather than the other way around, as it was with Loptous, Duma, Grima, or the Demon King. With plans within plans, supreme magical knowledge, and a willingness to commit even the most heinous of sins, Gharnef stands at the pinnacle of villainy through might, cunning, and ruthlessness alone - which is just the way he'd like it.

    I hope this post helped you to appreciate FE's first magical master of disaster. If not, well, it was fun to write. Just remember, villains don't have to be complex or sympathetic to be compelling! Gharnef might not be as tragic as some, or even funny in his assholery like Kempf or Valter, but I still find him to be a fantastic nemesis.

    Post your appreciation of Gharnef, or other comments and/or criticisms of this write-up, below!

    submitted by /u/RaisonDetriment
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    Rest in peace Cipher, your art will be missed✌️

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:15 PM PDT

    Edelgard and Byleth [OC]

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:46 PM PDT

    Christmas Sophia \O/ [commission]

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:40 AM PDT

    (OC) Edelgard von Hresvelg

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:59 PM PDT

    People after playing AM as their first route be like:

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:45 PM PDT

    "I have more questions than answers.

    Like, we still have no idea who Byleth really is, who Rhea really is, who Byleth's mother was, the truth about crests and relics, and what that mysterious group was in the academy phase.

    This entire game was litterly just everyone talking about The Tragedy of Duscur every 3 seconds and we never learn the actual truth about the incident."

    "Well, fair enough, I think you need to play the Golden Deer and Church routes to really get the true story."

    "Church route? What about the Black Eagles route?"

    "...Black Eagles route is...fine for the most part."

    submitted by /u/GeneratedSmasher
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    Fire Emblem Cipher Gameplay: Eirika VS Celica

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 02:36 PM PDT

    Byleth talking in battles is so weird.

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:39 PM PDT

    Byleth has the whole total silence semi-emotionless thing going on, with basically no voice acting, except, for some reason, during battle they have the same sort of barks (or whatever we call the things people shout during battle) as everyone else. It's really weird, and always throws me off, since they almost never talk as a character, but as a unit they do, and it feels out of character. If anything they should be more emotionless and composed on the battlefield.

    submitted by /u/ThorgilsBoomer
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    y'all ever just

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 04:29 PM PDT

    ...crit twice? That's what happened here, while I was playing a little bit of Sacred Stones, trying to kick some ass with Joshua, who I was focusing on leveling up.

    This was the funniest moment I had in Fire Emblem right after I promoted Joshua. Killing Edge is already a goof on its own, but this?!

    woowee

    submitted by /u/Asiliria
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    How Would You Guys Feel About an FE Fanfiction That's More 'Army-Centric' than 'Lord-Centric'? What Would You Guys Want to See in an Approach Like This?

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 07:24 PM PDT

    So, one of the interesting things about Fire Emblem is that it's very character-centric and centres on a small piece of the action.

    Even in games where there is writing that two huge armies are clashing, you really don't get the scale of two-armies clashing. Case-in-point, the 3DS games try to write huge armies clashing, but you see a very small part of the action rather than a large part. Three Houses does this differently with the battalion system, as it shows that there are other people fighting with the deployed forces and that they can be ordered around on the field. This helps the game feel a little bit more sombre when you do win because as a player you do feel that there are a lot more deaths that haven't been seen on the screen.

    For me, I was honestly playing Total War: Three Kingdoms when I thought that it would be a very interesting idea to kinda 'combine' Total War and Fire Emblem. This thought even came to me stronger when I watched and read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and played Medieval 2: Total War. The reason why I thought about this was because of the trait system in Medieval 2. It helped every general that you had in your army be different and show a story develop in the character. An example is reading through the traits of an old king and see how he is a great commander who is dreaded by all and respected by all. It shows that he has numerous followers who influence what kind of person he is. You'll read that he loved his father and saw him die on the battlefield. You'll read that he hates the faction which killed his father and he saves his most despicable tactics for them.

    One of the more interesting parts that Fire Emblem seemed to do well was showing how the lords and their 'retinue' to be larger-than-life characters. It wasn't just because it was a game, but because in most of the Fire Emblem games, one of the larger plot-points was how small groups of people were able to turn tides against much larger "faceless" forces. This kinda echoes Medieval 2 and Three Kingdoms bc you can see your characters grow from random 18-year-old kids to near demigods.

    That's when I thought it would be really interesting to have a self-insert fanfiction of someone going into the FE universe and instead of being the tactician like Mark in FE7 or Robin from Awakening, you could be more of an advisor to your noble. It would help expand the worldbuilding whichever Fire Emblem you pick by including politicking, advising the lord of your house to see what kind of buildings you can do to help the peasants, world build on how soldiers are trained and picked, or even be a deciding vote on whether your lord goes to war (which will be yes, but with quite a bit of debating and probably headcanon). When you get to the battlefield scenes, you're able to have all the RTS tropes because you can handwave that each regiment has pegasi/wyverns and you can basically relay orders down the line of battle quickly. We then take some of the tropes that are in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and have 1 v 1 clashes between the different larger-than-life characters. Additionally, you can even keep Mark or Robin and have them be the tactician of the royal guard.

    Now, you might be asking why I'm asking this question.

    One, I really haven't figured out which Fire Emblem game is really "good" for this. Some part of me wants to do Awakening because there are some really interesting things you can do with SIs in Awakening. An example is making the SI a very dreaded general who is dishonourable, very bloody and a "winning first" type of guy but slowly showing his more chivalrous side until he meets Walmart. When that happens, he realises that Walmart is... well... him and then spares him. That's able to upset the balance of power and help Robin to win against Grima easier. Shadows of Valentia seems like a good choice if I want to do the novelisation instead of SI because it's literally, 'Just write about the Deliverance and maybe explain more of the tactics.' The two Tellius games seem on very small scales and probably would not be good if I would do an 'army-centric' approach. Shadow Dragon might also be a good fit depending on where I start off.

    Two, it's like, "Hey are you guys interested in this?' While I'd love to write something like this, it's a massive time-investment and would be better served by me just playing stuff out in my head if nobody wants it :P

    Finally, this is also a discussion on what people would like to see if I were to do something like this.

    submitted by /u/AneriphtoKubos
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    I finally got my FE3H tattoo! I fell in love with Dimitri the moment I met him, I’m happy to have his crest too!

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 05:43 AM PDT

    Demonic Cat Robin

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:08 PM PDT

    What popular Three Houses ships do you not like?

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 12:04 PM PDT

    I don't Like Felix with Sylvain and Annette.

    submitted by /u/Cypresian
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    [FE4 Character Discussion] Examining the Crusaders #30 - Oifey, Veteran Paladin of Tragedy

    Posted: 09 Oct 2020 06:48 AM PDT

    Welcome back to Examining the Crusaders, the series where we look at all of the playable characters in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. Last time we looked at Deimne, Aspiring Archer, an archer who has a pessimistic outlook on life if only because of his lack of holy blood. Today, we are going to look at one of the most popular characters of FE4: Oifey, Veteran Paladin of Tragedy.

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    Oifey of course first appeared in the first generation as an NPC. He travelled with Sigurd as his tactician and assisted with planning out strategies for him. Oifey last appeared in Chapter 5; there, after the castle of Lubeck is seized, Oifey is instructed by Sigurd to flee for rural Isaach with his infant son Seliph. He is accompanied by Prince Shannan on that journey and it is understood that they along with Edain settled in the remote town of Tirnanog; there, Seliph along with five other children (Edain's children, Ayra's children, and Diarmuid, the son of Lachesis) were raised by Edain with the help of Oifey and Shannan. Oifey first appears at the third turn of Chapter 6, where he arrives back from a sortie he was doing with Diarmuid and Lester.

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    Chapter 6 introduction: Oifey, Diarmuid, and Lester arrive at the battlefield; Oifey exclaims that they're late because the battle has already begun. Lester concludes that while they were on their sortie, the imperial army learned of Seliph's hiding in Tirnanog; he says that he hopes everyone is fine. Diarmuid replies that most of the people at Tirnanog should be fine, but Lana cannot defend herself so they should be concerned for her if she is in the fighting. As a result, they need to hurry to help them. Oifey then calls Lester and Diarmuid and tells them to get going as the battle awaits.

    Here is Oifey's introduction, and we see here that Oifey comes back from his sortie with Diarmuid and Lester in a haste. He knows that Seliph isn't exactly ready to take on an entire empire by himself, so he has to get to Seliph to help him like a good knight would. He probably feels a little bit bad for not being there when Seliph gets attacked, and we will see this in the next conversation he has.

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    Chapter 6 conversation with Seliph: Oifey breathes a sigh of relief that Seliph is safe; Seliph feels the same and asks Oifey how everything is going on in the world. Oifey relays to Seliph that the Empire has become even more harsh to the point where people are rebelling against them. Seliph asks Oifey if it is feasible to assist other rebellions, but Oifey points out that they do not have the manpower to take on the Empire. Seliph responds that it's impossible to turn around from their own rebellion against Isaach, a sentiment which Oifey agrees with. After this, Seliph apologizes to Oifey for starting a rebellion while he was away and asks him to understand his decision. Oifey assures Seliph that he does understand and says that they have to go for Rivough where Dannan is before the Empire can send reinforcements.

    Oifey's relationship with Seliph is showcased for the first time; he acts as an advisor/strategist much like he did with Seliph's father. Seliph was drawn accidentally into fighting the Empire because of their attack on Tirnanog much like how his father was drawn into his adventure by the kidnapping of Edain; Oifey, just as he did 20 years before, sympathizes with Seliph for getting involved even though it may not have been the wisest decision. He sets out the facts but still is faithful to his lord and gives him confidence in his decisionmaking.

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    Chapter 7 conversation with Diarmuid/Tristan: Oifey asks Diarmuid if he has a sister in Leonster; Diarmuid replies that indeed, he does, but they were separated when he was very young. She apparently was raised by Finn. Oifey asks him if he is eager to see his sister again and Diarmuid affirms that he is ready to see her; after this, Oifey offers to give Diarmuid a quick lesson in swordplay. They then spar.

    Oifey looks over Diarmuid as well; he sees that Diarmuid wants to see his sister badly and trains him. From this conversation it's reasonable to conclude that Oifey served as a kind of father figure to the other Tirnanog kids too.

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    Chapter 9 introduction: Oifey appears in the Chapter 9 introduction if he is still alive. He speaks up after Lewyn lashes out at Seliph for feeling bad about fighting against the Thracians; Oifey asks Lewyn not to be so harsh on Seliph given that he's stressed out. Lewyn responds that everyone else is stressed too yet they are still fighting because they know that the war is necessary. Seliph thanks Oifey for speaking up but says that Lewyn is right; he strives to continue pushing on.

    Shockingly Oifey outright argues with Lewyn for being too harsh on Seliph. It makes sense that he would; he very well may empathize with Seliph's stress as he recalls how he himself felt that when he was younger. Headcanons aside, Oifey plays the role of a close friend of Seliph; when Lewyn attacks Seliph for being hesitant to fight a country that wasn't immediately hostile to them, Oifey feels attacked as well and comes to Seliph's defense. He will never let Seliph's honor be dirtied...

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    Chapter 10 conversation with Seliph: Oifey tells Seliph to look across the strait at Chalphy; Seliph sees Chalphy where his father is from and where Oifey is from. Oifey recalls his memories as a child growing up in Chalphy with Sigurd, Ethlyn, and the rest fondly; Seliph notes that he himself has never been to Chalphy. Oifey realizes that Seliph hasn't been to Grannvale at all given that he was born in Agustria, and Seliph expresses regret that this is the case. Oifey asks Seliph to understand that the people want him to become their prince, that he's their savior; he explains that some actually believe Seliph to be the second coming of Sigurd, a legendary hero. Seliph is terrified that people worship him. Oifey explains that this was a result of the Empire's harshness and brutality. After this, Seliph asks Oifey if he agrees that Arvis is actually the dark god (Loptous); Oifey responds that he doubts it. Seliph asks Oifey who he thinks it is; Oifey chooses not to speculate and instead says that Seliph has to hurry to heed the call of the people to save them.

    The army has finally gotten around to visiting Grannvale, and Oifey is eager to introduce Seliph his homeland, where his father is from and where he is destined to rule. Seliph understandably is hesitant to lead a nation which he has never visited up until now when he is 18, and Oifey as he always has sympathizes with Seliph; however, he still eases his lord into this position by explaining that Seliph must fulfill the people's will. This shows that Oifey is a good servant to Seliph - he combines being nice to Seliph while still edging him towards the right decision that has to be made.

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    Endgame conversation with Fee: Fee brings up the idea of scouting out the enemy and asks Oifey for approval; Oifey refuses as there are too many archers who can shoot her down. Fee then randomly brings up that she thinks it's noble of Oifey to live his life to serve Seliph; Oifey admits to her that he has guilt over surviving but feels that he needs to finish the mission that the first generation - including Fee's parents - failed to complete. Fee recalls that the war has taught her more about what her parents had to deal with and thanks Oifey for telling her about them; Oifey thanks her for this and says that he feels indebted to Erin. Thus, it is a privilege to help Erin's daughter. Fee wishes that she knew how to act more mature; Oifey replies that life will teach her how to act like an adult. After this Fee exclaims that she doesn't want Oifey to "get old on her" to which Oifey asks Fee to calm down.

    Interestingly we see Oifey admit that he has survivor's guilt over not being at Belhalla. However he channels this guilt into fueling his desire to accomplish what the Generation 1 characters died in vain for - to try to get their vision of a peaceful world realized. Oifey tries to pay back his "debt" to the dead by raising their children and helping get them to win the war; for him, it's a nice thing to get to do this even if he feels that he should have been with them when they died. This overall is a nice conversation for platonic friends as well...too bad that it's unlocked only through romance.

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    Epilogue: In the epilogue, Oifey will go back to Chalphy to become the next Duke. He tells Seliph this, which makes the latter extremely disappointed as he is insistent that he needs Oifey by his side as his advisor. Oifey tells Seliph that he trusts that he will be fine ruling on his own; he will just stay in Chalphy and protect it on his behalf. Seliph responds that he understands that Oifey as the last remaining heir of Baldr's blood is next in line to inherit Chalphy. Oifey reassures Seliph that he will be watching over him. Seliph emotionally then recalls how Oifey acted like a father to him and raised him right. Oifey says that he owes Sigurd for what he did for him by taking him in; and yet, Oifey feels terrible for not being with him when he died. At this point he starts breaking down and crying, and Seliph takes his turn reassuring him that it isn't his fault that Sigurd died. Oifey apologizes to Seliph for his emotional breakdown and bids farewell; Seliph does the same to Oifey.

    Oifey chooses to go to Chalphy because he feels that it will be the right thing to do; it disappoints Seliph but Seliph eventually has to accept it because nobody else will take Chalphy (we presume that Altena passed on the throne). But then Oifey breaks down and cries in front of his liege as the emotions overcome him. We saw in the last conversation it was mentioned that Oifey has survivor's guilt over not being at Belhalla, and it hurts him deeply now that he couldn't have been there. He still got to raise Sigurd's son right and guide him to become the Emperor, but nothing will heal the wound that he had from what happened to Sigurd.

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    Final thoughts: For much of the second generation, Oifey seems like he's had it figured out. He serves as a paragon of wisdom for Seliph and the other Tirnanog kids as he helps guide them to grow, not only as warriors but as leaders and as people. But in reality, the wound of what happened at Belhalla still hurts 17 years later, and Oifey is haunted by the failure of the first generation (including him) to accomplish their objectives in such a terrible fashion. Sure, Oifey survived and was able to accomplish it with their children, but from the perspective of a knight like him it was still a failure for him to die separately from his lord. But even so, Oifey grew from the little boy that we saw in the first generation. He persevered and he became to be that paragon of wisdom whom Seliph and friends look up to. This is what sets Oifey apart from other characters and makes him one of the most complete characters of the game.

    Thanks for reading. Next time we are going to look at the mysterious girl Julia, Crusader of Light. Until then!

    Previous: Deimne, Aspiring Archer

    Next: Julia, Crusader of Light

    submitted by /u/Skelezomperman
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