Making This Site Free

Suikoden Marathon: Suikoden, Story of the Soul Eater < Back Day I           The hero, Tir McDohl, was waiting with his father for a meeting with the emperor, Barbarosa. After being summoned by His Majesty, Tir and his father, Teo McDohl, entered the palace throne room. Teo was sent on a mission to defend the northern border of the Scarlet Moon Empire. Tir was given a job under Kraze, which began the next morning. This concluded the meeting with His Majesty. On the way out, Tir introduced himself to his new boss and then him and his father left for the house. Upon their arrival, Gremio - Tir's longtime guardian and close friend - came dashing through the door, bombarding Tir with questions regarding his well being. Not noticing Teo at first, Gremio sprinted back to the kitchen to keep an eye on his famous stew. With that, Teo left the house and Tir continued upstairs, where his close friend Ted greeted him. The two boys went to Tir's room to discuss the results of the meeting. Just as Ted had asked Tir to keep a promise, Gremio called them to supper, and Ted postponed the topic. At the table, Teo left all of the occupants with responsibilities in his absence. Following dinner, Tir, Teo, Ted, Gremio, and two of Tir's other close friends, Pahn and Cleo, all went to bed. The next morning, Teo, with Gremio, visited Tir while he was asleep. Teo left his son in Gremio's hands while he would be gone. With that, Teo left to go north.           Tir awakened to find Gremio, who informed Tir that his father had left while he was asleep. The two young men went downstairs to find Pahn and Cleo arguing as usual, and then they joined up with Tir and Gremio. Ted, who was still asleep, quickly awakened and rushed out of bed to join the group in their first job. They all went to speak with Kraze, who sent them on a mission to retrieve the Astral Conclusions from Lady Leknaat at Magician's Island, to the northeast of Gregminster. Before leaving for Magician's Island, Tir and the group traveled to Rockland, where they made some quick cash in the best way they could think of: gambling. So after spending some time and money playing a game with the young Rockland citizen, Marco, the group left the town with about 100,000 bits. From there, they ventured to Lenankamp to buy supplies for the road, and then set out to train themselves against monsters (leveled up to about level 7-9). After this series of hard-fought battles, the group returned to Gregminster, where they met the young Dragon Knight Futch and his dragon, Black. After a brief feud between Ted and Futch, the group was flown to Magician's Island. Shortly after their arrival, a boy named Luc appeared and "greeted" them by summoning a golem to attack them. Being as prepared as they were, the golem never even swung once before falling. After Luc's "test," he led them to Leknaat's tower. There, Tir received the Astral Conclusions from Leknaat, who told Tir she saw much potential in him, as well as a future full of difficult decisions he would have to face. After their meeting, Tir returned to the group. As Luc was about to teleport them back to Futch at their landing spot, Leknaat assigned Cleo the role of Tir's guardian and gave her a Fire Rune. The group was then teleported back.           Back at Gregminster, Tir gave Kraze the Astral Conclusions, and then they were given another job to collect taxes from Rockland, who were overdue with paying their taxes. Kraze's obnoxious assistant, Kanaan, was sent with them on their mission. At Rockland, the group spoke with the mayor, Grady, who mentioned bandits from Mt. Seifu were pillaging the town, which was why they failed to pay taxes. The group agreed to capture the bandits, so they went to Mt. Seifu. About halfway through, they encountered the powerful Queen Ant, and were nearly bested, until Ted casted some sort of powerful magic that defeated the Queen Ant. After reaching the top of Mt. Seifu, the group clashed with the bandits and captured their leaders, Varkas and Sydonia. Upon returning to Rockland with the bandits, Varkas and Sydonia were held captive by the mayor, and the group was paid 10,000 bits, though Kanaan took it, claiming it was "dangerous business." The group returned to Gregminster, where Kanaan took Ted to the palace for a meeting. The rest of them regrouped at the McDohl home, where Gremio prepared supper. However, Ted had not returned as he said he would, so Tir left to find him. At the house's entrance, Tir and Gremio found Ted lying unconscious and mortally wounded by what seemed to be magic. Pahn and Cleo were called and they all helped Ted into bed. Ted came to his senses long enough to tell the others of the events in the palace. Apparently, Ted had been storing the Soul Eater - one of the 27 True Runes - in his right hand for 300 years, and the court magician, Windy, had been chasing him down for it. Upon their meeting in the palace, Ted refused to hand over the "Cursed Rune," and used its magic in attempt to escape, though he badly wounded himself in the process. Ted begged Tir to save him by accepting responsibility of the Soul Eater. Tir honored his friend's request and Ted transferred the rune to Tir's right hand. Ted passed out again afterwards, and Pahn left to get medicine. A loud noise was heard at the entrance shortly later, so Gremio and Cleo went to investigate, with Tir following shortly after. Kraze and imperial troops were at the door, demanding they surrender Ted to them. With the troops was Pahn, who sold Ted and the others out. Ted awakened and came to act as a distraction while the others retreated to the local inn.           The next morning, Tir encountered more troops and was nearly busted, when Gremio and Cleo came to his defense, as well as a man named Viktor, who helped them cover up and escape. It turned out Viktor only aided their escape in order to skip out on paying for a meal at the inn, and so he left. Tir followed Viktor and asked for his help in escaping from Gregminster. Viktor agreed to help, and so he bribed a guard (using money from the wallet he had swiped off of Gremio at some point) and they traveled to Lenankamp to meet a "certain someone" Viktor wanted to introduce to them. They stayed at the inn for the night after Viktor had left, but he never returned. In the middle of the night, imperial soldiers arrived, searching for them. With nowhere to escape, they suddenly heard a voice from behind a large grandfather clock. The voice was coming from a young woman by the name of Odessa. Odessa led them into a secret passage, where they met up with Viktor and a group of others: Flik, Humphrey, and Sanchez. This whole group of people revealed themselves as the Liberation Army, a gang of rebels against the empire. Odessa invited Tir and the others to join and with Tir's consent, they decided to do just that. When they were about to leave, they found someone collapsed at the entrance and carried them in to speak with Odessa. The man spoke of Varkas and Sydonia (who were actually working with the Liberation Army) being strung up and left to starve to death. Since Tir and the others felt it was their fault for capturing them to begin with, they volunteered to rescue them, and Odessa sent Viktor with them. The group left to Rockland and broke into the mayor's home and set the bandit leaders free. Varkas and Sydonia thanked them for saving them and offered to help in any way they could if Odessa requested it. The bandits left and so did Tir's group. Back at the hideout, Odessa presented the plans for the Fire Spears, and requested help from Tir's group in delivering the blueprints to the army's factory through a messenger at an inn at a town in the mountains, Sarady. Odessa joined the group and they left for Mt. Tigerwolf. Partially up the mountain, a strange man named Ledon offered a night's stay at his inn on the mountain for the night. The group needed the rest and accepted the offer. However, it turned out Ledon was a thief, and he gave the group poisoned tea, in an attempt to rob them. Shortly after the group had passed out, Ledon's partner, Kessler came in and discovered what Ledon had just done and demanded he give them the antidote. After many apologies, the group continued their trek up the mountain the next morning.           After clearing the mountains, the group arrived in Sarady. They spent the night at the inn. In the middle of the night, Tir woke up and walked out onto the inn's deck, where he had a conversation with Odessa. Interrupting their conversation was Kage, the messenger they were to meet. Odessa handed over the blueprints for the Fire Spears and then her and Tir returned to their beds. The next morning, the group hiked back down the mountain and returned to the hideout. At the Lenankamp inn, they found the place in a mess, and Odessa rushed down to the hideout. After Tir fought off some imperial soldiers, a screech was heard. When they went to investigate, they found Odessa surrounded. They fought off the soldiers and Odessa released a child she had shielded, and then fell to her knees, mortally wounded. With her last breaths, Odessa asked that Tir deliver an earring to a man named Mathiu. Her second request was to toss her body into the nearby stream, to hide the death of the Liberation Army's leader. Tir honored both of her last requests and then the group stayed at the inn for the night. [Tir gained the Deadly Fingertips spell from the Soul Eater rune.] Day II           After resting at the inn in Lenankamp, Tir traveled to the Kwanda fortress, where the group came up with fake names to use in crossing through the gate. Gremio chose the name _____, Cleo chose Maria, Viktor chose Scholteheim Reinbach III, and Tir chose the name Masamune. When attempting to pass, a guard suspected that Tir was indeed Tir McDohl, and so the fort's leader, Ain Gide came to ask what the ruckus was all about. Gremio acted out a cover-up, pretending to hate this "Masamune" character and offered to kill him. To this, the guards hesitated and Ain Gide apologized for the inconvenience, and then granted them passage. After Gremio apologized for his rash actions, Tir forgave him, and they continued to Seika to meet Mathiu. At first, Mathiu refused to take part in a war, but after the group rescued some children from imperial soldiers who came for Mathiu, he had a change of heart. It turned out that Mathiu was Mathiu Silverburg, brother of Odessa Silverburg. Mathiu suggested using an abandoned castle located out in Toran Lake. With that, Tir and the others left for Kaku to find a ride to the castle. After Gremio had an encounter with a girl named Camille, she agreed to join them in return for money that Gremio owed. They then met Tai Ho and his brother, Yam Koo, who were fishermen. Tai Ho refused to risk his life by bringing them to the monster-infested castle unless Tir defeated him in a game of luck, Chinchirorin. After successfully winning (with a STORM [win bet x3], at that), Tai Ho and Yam Koo brought them to the castle. Tai Ho also volunteered to join the team and assist them in their efforts to eliminate the monster occupancy. After wandering through some misty caves to the castle's interior, and then to the castle's basement, they fought and slayed a zombie dragon. After slaying the dragon, the fog cleared and the castle was now theirs. As suggested by Viktor, Tir named the castle, and he named it Dragon Castle, in honor of the slain dragon. During a celebration, Lady Leknaat appeared and presented a stone tablet to Tir, and also gave him Luc as a new recruit. After Leknaat left, Tir went to bed.           The next morning, Tir was called to a meeting with Mathiu. Gremio awakened him and joined him in the meeting. Mathiu suggested that Tir try to recruit as many allies as possible for their cause. One person in particular he had suggested was Lepant, a friend of his in a nearby town called Kouan. Viktor and Cleo joined the group, and Tir summoned Camille and Tai Ho to also join them in their journey to recruit Lepant. First, though, they revisited Seika and recruited a woman named Onil, who requested that she be allowed to join the Liberation Army. With that, she took off for Dragon Castle, and Tir went to Kaku to recruit an inventor named Sergei, who had created an elevator and needed a place to put it to use. Following the recruitment of Sergei and his invention, Tir prepared for their trip to Kouan. Day III           Once in Kouan, Tir visited Lepant's home, only to be turned away by his assistant, Giovanni, who claimed Lepant was busy and unavailable for an extended period of time. The group stopped by the inn and met an individual by the name of Krin. After moving into the sleeping room, Krin told them that the reason they would never meet Lepant was because he didn't want to get involved with people who defy the Empire. Krin tells them of Lepant's two greatest treasures: his wife Eileen, and his sword Kirinji. He suggests that they sneak into Lepant's home and steal the sword, as a lure to get Lepant to come after them so they could meet him face-to-face. To get them in later that night, Krin attaches a rope to a tree for them to use as access to Lepant's roof. Shortly after sneaking in through the roof, Tir finds a young man named Rock, who doesn't seem to care for his current job as Lepant's vault guard, since the vault is so small. Rock asks to join the Liberation Army in hope of guarding a much larger vault, and so Tir accepts his request, and Rock immediately leaves for Dragon Castle. After battling with some robot guards, and sneaking around some others, Tir and the others found themselves on the first floor of the building. There, they stumbled across a strange man named Juppo, who called himself a "Trickster," though he seemed to be a thief. It turned out that Juppo had made the large wheel "game" in the next room. Viktor told him to shut it off, but Juppo couldn't do it, so he agreed to turn off the robots they had to evade upstairs, and then he left. They moved into the next room and made several attempts to cross the contraption, eventually making it to the other side, after gaining and losing some experience points, fighting off more robots, and winning some Medicine and Dragon Incense. On the other side of the wheel was a hallway leading to where Kirinji was being held. Tir took the sword and then they all left the house to find Krin waiting for them.           Back at the inn, Krin attempted to give Tir and the others' tampered tea, but they didn't fall for it this time. After they tied Krin up and put him in a bed, Lepant came charging in, calling out the ones who stole his sword. Krin admitted that he had told Lepant where they were, so they would get captured in their sleep. They approached Lepant and admitted that they took Kirinji, and Tir mentioned that Mathiu sent them. Lepant said he wished he could help them in their cause, but he could not leave his wife. Tir, understanding him, returned Kirinji. Suddenly, Giovanni came barging in, saying that Eileen had been taken in by the new Military Commander. With that, Lepant bolted out the door with Kirinji, and stormed into the Military Commander's base, killing every man who got in the way. Tir followed and assisted Lepant in rescuing his wife. After finding Kraze, Kraze called upon Pahn to dispose of them. However, although Pahn didn't regret his decision of turning in Ted and the others, his heart ached, and he decided to help Tir. With that said, Pahn attacked Kraze, and then Tir told Kraze "Get the hell out of here." After Kraze fled in terror, Tir spoke to Pahn and recruited him. After Pahn left for Dragon Castle, Tir spoke with Lepant and Eileen, who thanked them and became members of the Liberation Army. While Lepant and Eileen made preparations to leave, Tir and the other went on ahead back to the castle. On the way back, however, they stopped by Kwaba Fortress again to recruit Chandler the peddler.           Upon their arrival at Dragon Castle, Varkas and Sydonia were found on the first floor, offering to join the Liberation Army. As suggested by Mathiu, a banquet was held that night to welcome Varkas and Sydonia, as well as all of the other new recruits. As Tir left the banquet hall for a moment, an assassin ambushed him. After defeating the masked assassin, Pahn, Viktor, and Cleo came to protect Tir. However, the assassin escaped. That night, Pahn and Gremio stood watch over Tir's room. The next morning, Gremio awakened Tir, and the two organized a team. Apparently, Krin and Juppo joined the army as well. After adding Juppo to the group, they left for Kaku. At the dock, however, Tir found an elf lying on the ground. They took him inside to rest, as it seemed he swam across the lake just to reach the castle. When he came to, he requested that the Liberation Army help the elves, who are planned for extermination by the Great Imperial General Kwanda Rosman. Tir said that the army was far too small for a full-scale attack, and Mathiu agreed. As to not leave the elves to die, though, Mathiu suggested a small reconnaissance mission be sent to gather intelligence first. The elf, Kirkis, thanked them, and agreed to join them and lead them to his village, southeast of Kouan. Gremio, of course, insisted on following. Before going to the elves' village, Tir stopped in Kaku, where he found a young girl named Meg, who insisted on joining the army after seeing that her uncle, Juppo, was a member of it. After recruiting Meg, they returned to the castle briefly to replace Juppo with Camille for their reconnaissance team.           Upon their arrival at the Great Forest village, a man came running up, saying something about elves being seen around there (which was apparently a rare sight), and then freaked out when he saw Kirkis and ran off screaming that there was an elf in the village. Kirkis recommended that they shouldn't cause a ruckus, and told them about the secret elfin trail nearby. First, though, Tir found a man by the name of Sansuke in a house. Sansuke was an expert at making baths, so Tir asked him to join the army, and he accepted the proposal. Upon visiting the blacksmith to sharpen weapons, the blacksmith himself, Maas, asked to join the army, and Tir accepted his request. After making more preparations at local shops, the group stopped by the inn for a rest before their journey into the Great Forest. Day IV           After the group rested at the Great Forest inn, they traveled westward to the Garan Fortress, and recruited a man named Kai, who taught Tir how to fight when he was younger. Once Kai was recruited, the group traveled back to the Great Forest and went into the forest itself. On their way through the Great Forest, a young girl suddenly appeared out of thin air behind Tir and the others. She stopped them and asked if she could stay at the castle for a while, because she had accidentally teleported herself and couldn?t go back to where she came from. Tir agreed, and the girl introduced herself. Her name was Viki, and she had joined the army to put her teleporting powers to good use. After Viki teleported to Dragon Castle, Tir and the others continued their walk through the forest. At the other end, they found themselves in an abandoned Kobold Village. A single young kobold named Kuromimi came up behind them and said something about all of the others being sick and captured, and that he would never forgive humans. He then ran off, seeming preoccupied. Tir traveled to the far east and found the Dwarf Trail in the mountains, which led to the Dwarves? village on the other side. It was there that the team took a rest from the long trek through the Dwarf Trail, and also stocked up on items and equipment. When visiting the blacksmith, Tir found Meese, a blacksmith, who agreed to join the Liberation Army after hearing that Maas had done so. The group then went back through the Dwarf Trail and found the elves? village.           There, a woman named Valeria was seen trying to warn the elves of the village about danger that was headed their way. However, the elves didn?t believe her, and threw her into a prison cell. Tir and his comrades rested and then visited the village elder. For leaving the village without permission, and bringing humans into the village, the elder put Kirkis and the others into the prison cell as well. Also in the cell were Valeria, the former Imperial soldier, and an elf named Stallion, who claimed to be the fastest living being on the planet. Tir spoke with Valeria about what the threat she spoke of was. She said that Kwanda Rosman had obtained a powerful weapon called the Burning Mirror, and was planning on using it to burn down the entire forest that the elves lived in. She had betrayed the Empire and tried to warn the elves of the village of the weapon, but they were all too stubborn and refused to believe her, so she found herself in the cell instead. Sylvina, a very close friend of Kirkis?, snuck into the prison and freed them. The very second she opened the door, Stallion bolted out at the speed of light, saying something about proving how quickly he could run. The others just kind of ignored this, and Valeria joined the group. They decided they should try going to the dwarves? village and asking if they knew anything about it. After they escaped from the village, Sylvina stayed behind and the others were to venture off toward the Dwarf Trail. First, though, they backtracked to Kaku and recruited Gaspar, after winning a game of Chinchirorin. With a bet of 5000 bits, Gaspar rolled a 1-2-3, which meant he had to pay double, and then join. Tir asked Viki to teleport them to the Dwarf Trail after this.           Nothing peculiar happened along the way through the trail until the end. Toward the end of the trail, they saw Kuromimi again, who was complaining that the dwarves were stingy, and then he left. At the dwarves? village, Tir?s group spoke to the elder regarding the Burning Mirror. It turned out that the Burning Mirror was one of the dwarves? greatest creations. Valeria said that Kage had broken into the dwarves? vault and stolen the blueprints for the Burning Mirror, bringing them to the Empire. However, the elder refused to believe a mere human could get through the vault, so as proof, he made Tir?s group go in to retrieve the Running Water Root and bring it back as proof of their success. They traveled north to the vault and were let in by the guard. After solving many puzzles and using a number of gadgets, they eventually reached the bottom floor of the vault, where they fought the vault guardian, Gigantes. After defeating the guardian, Tir found the Running Water Root, and they exited the vault with an Escape Talisman. By bringing the root back to the elder, he agreed to build what he called a Firewind Cannon ? another one of the dwarves? greatest creations ? to shatter the Burning Mirror. Tir and the rest of the group took a break at the local inn, and then returned to the Dwarf Trail to head back to the elves? village.           On the way back, they saw flames in the distance. They were too late. The Burning Mirror had already been used, and the elves? forest was set ablaze. They all rushed back to the village as quickly as they could, but only to find it was completely decimated. Kirkis nearly gave up hope, but Gremio talked him out of it, and Kirkis joined the group once more to return to the castle and make plans for their attack against Kwanda Rosman. On their way back, though, they found Kuromimi running away from the Imperial army in Kobold Village. The entire group is then surrounded by the soldiers. Valeria offers to give herself up to the Empire ? even though it means she will be executed for treason ? in return for the release of the others. The soldiers agreed, but attacked the others anyway, once Valeria handed herself over. Kuromimi joins the group and they fight off many soldiers, but still find themselves outnumbered. A soldier comes running, saying that the Liberation Army is coming, so they all retreat. Mathiu appears, along with Humphrey and survivors of the old Liberation Army. Mathiu says that he was told about the Burning Mirror by a certain someone, and then Sylvina comes running up and hugs Kirkis, telling him how Stallion helped her escape to Dragon Castle to request help from the Liberation Army. Mathiu tells Tir that Humphrey and Sanchez both survived when the Lenankamp base was attacked, and they showed up at Dragon Castle while Tir was away. After having a brief talk, Mathiu suggested that they attack Kwanda Rosman immediately, and so they did.           The battle outside of Pannu Yakuta Castle was a success. Kwanda retreated into the castle and threatened to use the Burning Mirror to wipe out the Liberation Army. Just as Mathiu was giving orders to disperse (to minimize the number of casualties) and retreat, the Burning Mirror suddenly shattered, and the elder of the dwarves appeared with the Firewind Cannon. Tir and his group charged into Pannu Yakuta Castle and fought off a dragon, and then headed to the roof, where Tir dueled Kwanda in a final showdown. After Tir defeated Kwanda, the Black Rune he said Windy had given him disappeared from his hand and he returned to his normal self. Tir realized that Kwanda?s wrongdoings were not intentional, and that the Black Rune was to blame, so Tir recruited Kwanda rather than executing him. It turned out the Black Rune was also the cause of the kobolds becoming poisoned, so with the destruction of Kwanda?s Black Rune, the kobolds were cured. Along with Kwanda Rosman, several others officially joined the Liberation Army, including Valeria, Kirkis, Sylvina, Stallion, and Kuromimi. They all returned to Dragon Castle afterwards. Three months after the defeat of Kwanda Rosman?           Along with Humphrey and Sanchez, Flik appeared in Dragon Castle?s conference room. When Flik asked why Odessa was not there, Mathiu revealed the truth. Odessa was dead. Flik refused to believe that Odessa died and that Tir, a mere child, had taken control, and so he left the castle and stopped in Kaku. Tir and Viktor left to speak with Flik in Kaku. Before speaking with him, though, Tir recruited Chef Antonio from the inn in Seika. They then returned to Kaku and spoke with Flik, who apologized for reacting the way he did, and he joined forces with Tir and the rest of the Liberation Army. Back at the castle, Mathiu and Flik organize a plan to attack Garan Fortress to the west and liberate the towns in Milich Oppenheimer?s domain. This battle ends in success. Although Mathiu feels uneasy about doing so, Viktor and Flik suggest attacking Scarleticia, Milich?s castle. Upon their arrival, the Liberation Army is quickly forced to retreat, due to poisonous spores released from the roses at Scarleticia. A reconnaissance team including Tir was sent to nearby towns in Milich?s domain to gather information. They visited a close town, Teien, and recruited a woman named Hellion, who was a powerful recall magician. She gave Tir a Blinking Mirror (used for teleporting back to Dragon Castle) and then left for the castle. The group stopped by in Rikon, to the south of Garan Fortress, and borrowed a boat to search for a famous doctor named Liukan. They found that rapids were blocking their path to where the doctor was located, so they returned to Rikon and went north to Teien. There, the group recruited Gen, an expert with boats, who then brought Kamandol, a scientist, with him. Kamandol designed a motor to use for a boat to travel upstream, and the entire group carries the motor south, to Rikon, where Gen and Kamandol build it into a ship. The next morning, Tir and the others travel out west of Rikon and Teien and find another town, Antei. There, they recruit Mina, a dancer, as well as Chapman, an armorer. When they return to Rikon, the ship is finished, and they ride it out to Liukan?s hermitage. When they ask him to make an antitoxin for Milich?s poisonous roses, he refuses to, and then Milich appears on a dragon and takes Liukan away to Soniere Prison. After this surprising turn of events, Tir and the others return to Dragon Castle to ask Mathiu for advice regarding breaking into Soniere Prison to free Liukan. Before speaking with Mathiu though, they revisit the now-populated Kobold Village. There, they recruit Gon, Kuromimi?s brother. They also meet a man wearing a tiger skin named Fu Su Lu, who claims to be a great warrior. In order to recruit him, Tir must pay off the 10,000 bits that Fu Su Lu owes the innkeeper for all of the food that he ate there. Tir does so, and so Fu Su Lu thanks him and joins the Liberation Army in return. After recruiting these two people at Kobold Village, Tir revisited the burned village of the elves and found a young cartographer named Templeton, who asked to join the Liberation Army. Once Templeton was recruited, the group returned to Dragon Castle. Day V           When the group returned to the castle, they spoke with Mathiu to get advice as to what to do next. Mathiu mentioned that an acquaintance of his, Kimberly, lived in Antei (aka Bier Blanche). He gave the group a letter of introduction to give to her so that she would know Mathiu was involved, and asked Tir to recruit her, along with a man named Tesla. Tesla, however, would be calling himself Albert, Mathiu said. Viktor and Flik came along, and when they asked Kimberly to join, she agreed only if she could have dinner with Flik that night. Flik - although he didn?t exactly want to - had dinner with Kimberly that night, and Kimberly joined the army the next morning. After recruiting Kimberly, Tir stopped by a house in which they found this man calling himself Albert. Viktor, knowing that this man was really Tesla, interrogated him until he slipped and revealed his real identity. He didn?t seem to content about getting involved with the war, but Viktor managed to intimidate him into becoming a recruit anyway. Before returning to the castle to speak with Mathiu, the group stopped by in Kouan and recruited Lorelai from the inn. Back at Headquarters, Kimberly and Tesla had forged fake ? though nearly perfectly copied ? Imperial papers to get them into Soniere Prison. Using the papers, the group successfully entered the prison and freed Liukan from his cell. However, on their way out, they were discovered by Milich. After a brief conversation, Milich planted ?Spores of Agony? and then fled the room, leaving them trapped. Gremio opened the door they had just come through by use of the lever in the room, but as soon as the others exited the room, he closed it, leaving himself alone in the room. The door could only be opened and closed by the lever, so Gremio said he had to stay behind in order to close the door and prevent the spores from following them deeper into the prison. Gremio said his final words and bid farewell to his comrades. Sometime later, Mathiu and the rest of the Liberation Army came to rescue them. On their way out, all that remained of Gremio was his cape and his axe. [Tir gained the Black Shadow spell from the Soul Eater rune.]           After returning to Dragon Castle and resting, Tir found many of his comrades waiting for him, trying to sympathize with him up after awakening. Tir continued into the conference room, where Liukan had revealed the antitoxin he created, and the Liberation Army led their attack on Scarleticia, now that they were unaffected by the poisonous spores from the roses at the castle. The battle was a success, and Tir and his own group broke into the castle. When they reached the top, they burned the toxic roses, and Milich appeared and the Black Rune melted off of his hand. Mathiu, who was with them at the time, noticed that Milich had changed after this occurred. Viktor, Pahn, and Cleo all wanted so badly to kill Milich for the terrible things he did, including planting the spores that killed their companion Gremio. However, Tir also realized that Milich Oppenheimer was now back to his regular self, so he did not kill him. Milich told them about how Emperor Barbarossa had become enraptured by Windy?s resemblance to late Empress Claudia. Stallion then ran in and warned them all that Imperial troops were advancing on Dragon Castle, so Milich joined and they all hurried back to headquarters.           Back at headquarters, Tir met Kasumi, a ninja who had come to ask the Liberation Army for help on behalf of Rokakku Hamlet, which had recently fallen to Teo McDohl?s forces. Kasumi joined the army and they were confronted by Teo?s forces. With the armored cavalry on Teo?s side, the Liberation Army didn?t stand a chance, so they retreated. Teo, along with his head lieutenants Alen and Grenseal, charged after Tir?s group. Pahn stayed behind to hold them off, while the others continued to retreat. Pahn faced Teo one-on-one and was killed by him. Teo?s troops then temporarily pulled back. Tir quickly had Viki teleport him to Antei, where he recruited Jeane, the beautiful rune sage. He then returned to Dragon Castle and they rested for the night. That night, while Tir was asleep, Leknaat appeared in his room and spoke with him. She spoke of the 27 True Runes, her older sister Windy. After their conversation, Leknaat returned to her tower and Tir returned to his bed.           The following morning, a meeting was held in the conference room. Flik suggested that they attempt to retrieve the Fire Spears from the old Liberation Army?s secret factory. Gen and Kamandol created a speedboat that could cross the maelstrom that was previously preventing them from going to Kirov. After adding Tai Ho to the group to maneuver the new boat, they traveled north to Kirov. In Kirov, Tir met a man named Georges, who agreed to join if Tir could best his record in a card-matching game. It took a try or two, but Tir managed to do it, and Georges joined the army. Tir also met a young girl named Sarah, who agreed to join if he could fetch her some soap. After much trading around town, Tir eventually got her soap, but she claimed to have already found some by that time, but she joined anyway. The group then walked north to Kalekka, which was completely destroyed in a recent battle. After crossing the ruins of the town, they traveled north to the secret factory. There, they saw a large woman named Ronnie Bell, who was arguing with two familiar faces. It turned out these two familiar looking characters were Kessler and Ledon, the men they had met on Mt. Tigerwolf previously. Tir saved Kessler and Ledon from being pummeled into oblivion by Ronnie Bell. The two men joined the army, and the group then followed Ronnie Bell into the factory building. Another familiar face was seen shortly after entering the factory. It was Kage, the ninja. With a hefty wage of 20,000 bits, Tir hired him to assist the Liberation Army for the remainder of the war. Tir then spoke to the man named Mose and obtained the Fire Spears. They then returned to Kalekka and recruited a farmer named Blackman, and then continued to Kirov. There, Tir met a boy named Melodye, who joined the army in return for the Sound Rune they had found in Kalekka. Tai Ho spoke with a man named Kun To to get some boats for carrying the Fire Spears back to headquarters. The man agreed to help, and also joined. Ronnie Bell and Mose came to Kirov to help to load the Fire Spears onto the boats, and then they both joined the Liberation Army. On their way back to the castle, Tir and the group stopped by an old fort owned by a band of pirates, who apparently knew Tai Ho. Their leader, Anji, asked Tai Ho to bring his brother as well, so they returned to Dragon Castle, added Yam Koo to their group, and went back to speak with Anji. Anji, infuriated by Tai Ho?s comment, challenged the group to a fight. The group managed to take down one pirate, Leonardo, but they were too much for them, so Anji let them go. Tir and his group then revisited Scarleticia and recruited Ivanov the painter and Kasios the singer, and then returned to Dragon Castle.           The Liberation Army attacked Teo?s forces, now that they had obtained the Fire Spears, and successfully defeated them. Teo challenged his son Tir to a duel, and Tir defeated Teo. Teo, unlike the other generals, was not under control of a Black Rune. Teo congratulated Tir on his accomplishments, and lent Alen and Grenseal as new recruits, and then died. [Tir gained the Hell spell from the Soul Eater rune.] Back in the castle?s conference room, Lepant suggested that they attack Lorimar while the Imperial army was shaken by the defeat of General Teo?s troops. At Lorimar, however, they found it to be completely deserted. Kasumi surveyed the fortress, but not a soul was found. Also, there seemed to be several dug-up graves, which lacked corpses. They continued south to Warriors? Village, where Tengaar and Hix were seen fighting. The leader of the village, and father of Tengaar, came out and broke up the fight, also mentioning the name ?Neclord.? At the sound of this name, Viktor went berserk and then Zorak, Tengaar, and Hix all returned into their house. Tir found the young boy Marco (the one they met in Rockland and played with in order to build up a great sum of funds before starting their journey) in the village. He requested Marco?s service, and Marco agreed to help if Tir could win 5,000 bits from him, which Tir did quite easily, and so Marco joined the Liberation Army. Tir then traveled west to a place called Qlon, where he met a blind man by the name of Morgan. It turned out Morgan was a fortuneteller, and he joined the Liberation Army. Tir then backtracked to the town of Teien, where he recruited the fighter named Eikei. After returning to Dragon Castle to take care of some matters, they had Viki teleport them back to Qlon, where they recruited the gardener, Zen, by giving him the red, yellow, and blue flower seeds he needed to finish his current job. The group then moved back to Kaku, where they took a break. Day VI           Once their break in Kaku was over, Tir decided that it would be a good idea to spend some time to specifically search for new recruits. They first stopped in Kobold Village, where they recruited Rubi the elf. They revisited Lorimar and found a man named Kirke, who claimed to only be good for lopping the heads off of his enemies, but Tir recruited him anyway. After all, what?s wrong with being good at decapitating your enemies? The next stop was Antei, where Tir recruited the young fellow named Qlon (Any relation to the Temple of Qlon?). After stopping by Antei, the group returned to the Pirates? Fortress and fought Anji and his buddies again. This time, however, they won, and Anji, Leonardo, and Kanak joined forces with the Liberation Army. From there, Tir and his group returned to Warriors? Village to speak to Zorak. Zorak said that the vampire Neclord had come, turned his own men into zombies and skeletons, and then threatened villagers and asked for Tengaar as his bride, which both Zorak and Tengaar refused to. Zorak then bored the group with one of his many longwinded tales, and after this history lesson of his, the group decided to go to sleep. Hix spoke to Cleo, asking why she fights even though she is a woman. Cleo told Hix about bravery and having a cause worth fighting for. They then parted ways and Tir went to his room. There, he spoke with Viktor, who told him about Neclord, who had become a vampire through use of the Night Rune he had stolen, and killed Viktor?s entire family, as well as the rest of the people from Viktor?s hometown, turning them all into zombie slaves. Tir then went to sleep.           The following morning, Neclord showed up at the village, asking that Tengaar become his seventieth bride, but she refused to. Zorak and other villagers attempted to attack Neclord, but failed miserably. Tir and the others then attempted to fight Neclord, but he was invulnerable to all of their attacks, and so they were defeated. Tengaar handed herself over to Neclord in return for the safety of the others, which Neclord agreed to, so he took her and left. After recovering, Viktor spoke to Tir, mentioning that they would need a special weapon in order to fight vampires, especially runic vampires. Zorak tells them to try searching at the Temple of Qlon for a treasure that is supposedly hidden there. The group decides that it is their only lead, so they decide to travel to the Temple of Qlon to the west of the village. Day VII           Before going to Qlon, however, Tir revisited a handful of towns, looking for new recruits. The first stop was in Kirov, where Tir found Chef Lester, who decided to join the Liberation Army as a chef. In Seika, a girl named Apple was looking for Mathiu, and so Tir told her to go to Dragon Castle, and she joined. Lepant?s son Sheena was also found in the Seika inn, hitting on women using the family?s name and wealth as means of luring girls into relationships. Lepant was infuriated by this and dragged Sheena to Dragon Castle. The group then returned to the Warriors? Village, where the blacksmith Moose was recruited, after he discovered that Maas, Meese, and Mose were all part of the army as well. The next stop was in Antei, where a young woman named Esmeralda was recruited with an Opal Ring (found while fighting Nightmares in Soniere Prison). After that was Jabba the appraiser in Rikon, recruited with a Nameless Urn that he could not appraise (found while fighting Holly Fairies). After recruiting Jabba, Tir traveled a bit further north, to Garan Fortress. There, a girl named Quincy was found thinking about which side she should take in the war. Tir convinced her into joining the Liberation Army, and so she did.           After recruiting this handful of people, the group finally went to the Temple of Qlon, where they met a preist named Fukien. Fukien seemed to have foretold Tir?s appearance, as well as his reason for coming to Qlon. He told Tir and the others about the ?108 Stars of Destiny,? of Heaven and Earth. Fukien then joined the army?s cause and brought them to the Cave of the Past, located behind the temple. It was there they would find the weapon needed to slay Neclord. Deeper in the cave, they found the Star Dragon Sword. Enraged by his awakening, the sword sent them back 300 years into the past, to the Village of the Hidden Rune. There, the group learned of Ted?s past. Windy and Neclord had come seeking the Soul Eater, which was contained in Ted?s grandfather?s hand. After refusing to hand it over, the town was set ablaze by a man named Yuber. They retreat long enough for Ted?s grandfather to pass the rune on to Ted, and then he acts as a distraction while Ted and the others escape along the outskirts of town. On their way out, however, Yuber confronts them. A terribly powerful force is felt from Yuber, and Cleo and Viktor can tell right away, this Yuber figure is far from human. Just when Yuber is about to annihilate the group, Neclord appears and tells Yuber that Lady Windy has summoned him. The two disappear, and then the others regroup to discuss the things that took place. A light is seen in the area where the group originated from after the Star Dragon Sword cast them away, so they go to enter it. The young Ted must stay behind, though. The group then stepped into the light and was teleported back to where they were in the Cave of the Past. There, the Star Dragon Sword agreed to help slay Neclord, so Viktor took it out of the rock it was held in.           On their way out of Qlon, Tir handed the War Scroll they found in the cave to Hugo, the librarian at Qlon. Hugo then volunteered to join the Liberation Army and left to make a library at Dragon Castle. The group returned to the Warriors? Village to find Zorak and a group of warriors assembled, ready to charge into Neclord?s Castle. Neclord was kind enough to send a wedding invitation to the village, saying that if they didn?t come to rescue Tengaar by sunset, then she would become his new wife. Viktor presented the Star Dragon Sword to Zorak, and then he and his troops went on ahead to Neclord?s Castle. Hix had to stay behind and watch, because he was not an official warrior yet. At Neclord?s Castle, Neclord locks out everyone but Tir and his group. Hix appears and joins the group after having his status as an official warrior of Warriors? Village confirmed. After fighting with many undead creatures and solving a puzzle in the castle, the group finally found themselves at the top of the castle, with the sun setting in the distance seen through the tinted stained glass windows. Neclord was found playing a rather disturbingly evil-sounding version of the Wedding March on his large church organ. He then turned around and Tir, Hix, Viktor, and the others challenged Neclord to a final showdown. After defeating Neclord, Viktor delivered a finishing blow with the Star Dragon Sword, which revealed that it was really the Night Rune transformed, and Tengaar was saved. Once leaving the castle, Viktor left to bring the news of Neclord?s fall to his hometown. Hix and Tengaar both joined the Liberation Army, as well as several warriors from the village. The group then decided to return to Dragon Castle.           Back at Dragon Castle, it was learned that Kasim Hazil had been assigned to the Empire?s northern defense in place of Teo McDohl. Humphrey suggested attempting to join forces with the Dragon Knights of the Dragon?s Den. Humphrey said he was an old friend of their leader, Joshua, so he joined the group, as well as Flik. When they arrived at the Dragon?s Den, they found that nobody was allowed in by very strict orders, so they figured something must have been up. They went to the nearest town, Antei, where they met a man named Vincent de Boule. Vincent introduced himself and then ran out on an unpaid meal, leaving Tir to pay the 200 bits, and he left for the Dragon?s Den, claiming he had to speak wth Joshua. Tir and the others followed him to the Dragon?s Den, though Vincent had problems getting in as well. Vincent revealed a hidden passage he knew of to Tir and the others, so they went in to sneak into the Dragon?s Den. When they were further into the cave, they found a group of sleeping dragons, as well as a young woman named Milia, who was a Dragon Knight. Futch also appeared after noticing that Milia had encountered the group, and they all went to the Dragon Knights? Fortress. There, Tir found a ninja named Fuma hiding in the shadows of the fortress walls. For discovering him, Fuma decided to join the Liberation Army. Inside the fortress, Humphrey caught a glimpse of an old opponent, Kreutz. Humphrey convinced Kreutz to join the Liberation Army, and then the group went up to the next floor, where they spoke with Joshua. Joshua said that they needed to speak with Liukan to find a cure to awaken the sleeping dragons, so Tir returned to Dragon Castle and took Liukan with him back to the Dragon Knights? Fortress. Liukan discovered that the dragons had actually been poisoned somehow. He knew of an antidote, but he required three ingredients: Moonlight Weed, Black Dragon Orchid, and he waited to tell the third ingredient. The Moonlight Weed could be found in Seek Valley. Milia?s dragon Thrash and Futch?s dragon Black were the only dragons who weren?t asleep, so Milia volunteered to fly Tir and the others over to Seek Valley on Thrash?s back. Deeper into the valley, the group encountered some creature called the Crystal Core and fought with it. After a hard-fought battle, they commenced their search for the Moonlight Weed, and sure enough, they found some. However, Windy appeared and tried to take the Soul Eater through manipulation of Ted. Ted had a link to the Soul Eater and Tir, so he used this link to speak to Tir and tell him that Windy was controlling him with her Conqueror Rune, and to forgive him for what he was about to do. After this brief intermission, Tir still refused to give up the Soul Eater, and Ted commanded the Soul Eater in Tir?s hand to take his own life in order to strengthen itself. The Soul Eater did just that and Ted sacrificed himself to give Tir more power. [Tir gained the Judgement spell from the Soul Eater rune.] Windy failed to take the rune by force, so she retreated. Ted said his final words and then died. Milia took the Moonlight Weed and they all returned to the Dragon Knights? Fortress.           Upon their return, they discovered that Futch had left to fetch the Black Dragon Orchid from the Empire?s Floating Garden. There, Futch encountered Emperor Barbarossa, though he let Futch leave with the plant. During his escape, however, Windy appeared and struck down Black when Futch attempted to fly away on Black. He awoke back at the Dragon Knights? Fortress. The dragons had been given the antidote. Futch asked what the third ingredient for the antidote was, and Joshua told him. It was the liver of a dragon, and that dragon was Black, who was found dead when they found Futch. Tir and Humphrey speak with Joshua again later regarding the army, and Joshua agrees to join forces with them. Joshua also put Futch in Humphrey?s hands, so Futch also joined the Liberation Army, now that he could no longer be a Dragon Knight since Black died. Milia also flew Liukan back to Dragon Castle and joined the army herself. Tir and his group returned to Dragon Castle as well, where they found Kasumi and Krin speaking about Krin?s ?hunch? that ?he? was a spy. The person Krin spoke of was not revealed until Tir went to the fourth floor to find Mathiu and some others, plus a man who was being held captive. The man?s name was Taggart, and he came to tell Tir that his master, Warren, and Viktor had been captured when his town was taken over by Kasim Hazil. Mathiu suggested that Tir rest before leaving to save Viktor and Warren. Before that, though, Tir and his group revisited Neclord?s Castle in search of a man mentioned in an Old Book in the library. On the top floor of the castle, where the showdown with Neclord took place, a knight dressed in a suit of black armor was found. The knight?s name was Pesmerga, and he was searching for Yuber. He was amazed that Neclord had been defeated by Tir and his group, so he agreed to join the Liberation Army, hoping to eventually encounter Yuber. They all then returned to Dragon Castle and rested. Day VIII           After resting, Tir took Maas, Meese, Mose, and Moose all out to Seek Valley, to speak with Mace, their mentor. After seeing how they had all grown up and become great blacksmiths, he decided to join the Liberation Army to help out and once again be a blacksmith for a good cause. Tir then stopped by in the village of Rikon, where he found a man named Clive, who seemed to be searching for somebody. He joined the Liberation Army in hopes of finding the one he was looking for. Once recruiting Clive, Tir went to Kalekka to speak with a man named Leon. Leon Silverburg, as a matter of fact. He?s apparently somehow related to Mathiu and Odessa. Tir then spoke with Mathiu back at the castle and then returned to Kalekka with a letter from Mathiu to give to Leon. When Leon asked about the letter, Mathiu came in the door and asked Leon that they set aside their differences and join forces. Leon understood this and joined the Liberation Army as another great military strategist of the Silverburg bloodline. Tir then went off to the cave of Qlon, where he had heard rumors of a great magician named Crowley being seen there. After finding a secret passage in the cave, Tir did indeed find Crowley, and he agreed to join the army. After recruiting Crowley, Tir traveled to Kaku to find the cat that belonged to a young girl he met in the Rikon inn. Tir managed to capture the cat successfully and return it to the girl, who called herself Lotte the Magician. In return for retrieving her cat, Lotte joined the army as well. Tir then returned to Warriors? Village, where he gave a Window Rune (found in another secret passage in the cave at Qlon) to a man named Window, who then joined the army as a stained glass window maker (ironic, isn?t it?).           Tir returned to Dragon Castle, where Mathiu told him about a recon mission into Imperial territory that he sent Krin and Kasumi on while Tir was away. They discovered that there is an intelligence leak in the Liberation Army, meaning that somebody is a spy. Mathiu asked to oversee military maneuvers the next day, which Tir allowed. Mathiu then asked if Tir hated him, and if he blamed him for the deaths of Gremio, Pahn, and Teo. Mathiu said that he was willing to sacrifice anything to win the war, and then left. The next morning, the army left to the Maneuvers Site, where Mathiu ordered the army to ambush the Imperial defenses at the Northern Checkpoint. This was Mathiu?s way of surprising the enemy, since their spy had known that the army was originally going out to simply train. The battle was a huge success, and the leader of the defense stationed at the checkpoint, Griffith, surrendered in return for his troops being spared. Tir asked Griffith to join the Liberation Army, so he did, and so did his men. The Liberation Army continued to march forth to the north. Lepant and Humphrey led battalions against Fort Duka and Fort Rakan (respectively), while Tir?s group snuck into Moravia Castle to rescue Viktor and Warren. Mathiu had Griffith present Mathiu as a captive in order for the group to get into the castle, and while Mathiu and Griffith distracted Kasim Hazil in a meeting, Tir rescued Viktor and Warren from the prison cell they were being held in. Back at the meeting with Kasim, Kasim realized that Lepant and Humphrey?s battalions were mere decoys after hearing about them and ordering his men to crush their forces. It turned out that Mathiu had tricked the City-States of Jowston into thinking that the Empire was going to invade their land, so a force from Jowston came in to attack Moravia Castle. Lepant and Humphrey then entered the room, as well as Viktor, Warren, and Tir, and Kasim realized he had been defeated. With the help of Milich Oppenheimer, Tir convinced Kasim into joining the Liberation Army to bring an end to the corrupt Empire. After recruiting Kasim Hazil, the group fled from the territory, which would shortly become occupied by Jowston?s forces. Just before leaving the castle, however, Tir returned to the prison cell and released Vincent de Boule, who had apparently been captured by Kasim. In return for saving him, Vincent joined the Liberation Army as well. They all then returned to Dragon Castle. On Tir?s way through the checkpoint, he met a man named Maximillian, along with his partner, Sancho. When Max heard that Tir was the leader of the Liberation Army, he begged Tir to allow him to join, and so he did. Tir returned to Dragon Castle after this.           Back at headquarters, Mathiu came up with plans to attack the Floating Fortress, Shasarazade the next day, and everybody rested for the night. That night, Humphrey discussed his relation to the Kalekka incident with Mathiu. Everybody else in the castle was pretty hyped up for the following battle as well, and many of them made preparations that night for the battle. Viktor stopped by Tir?s room, where he gave Tir Gremio?s hatchet. Viktor had taken it from Soniere and held onto it since then. He figured he?d give it to Tir, though, since Viktor knew he was putting his life at risk for the battle at Shasarazade. After that, Viktor returned to his room, and Tir went back to sleep. The next morning, Mathiu revealed his plan for obtaining the 500 boats needed to raid the Floating Fortress. He had Milia?s dragon, Thrash, freeze water into large ice blocks with its breath, which were then crafted into boats by Gen and Kamandol overnight. The army then commenced its attack on Shasarazade, which was guarded by the last of the Five Great Generals, Sonya Shulen. The attack was successful, and Tir?s group infiltrated the fortress to ignite a fire and burn the fort to the ground. After killing the Shell Venus found guarding the floodgate, Viktor closed the gate, and the group began to flee so that the fort could be set ablaze. However, Sonya stopped them at the exit, and the fire was also set too early. Sonya fought Tir and his group and lost. When she attempted to kill herself, since she wasn?t able to avenge the death of her lover, Teo McDohl, Viktor stopped her and took her prisoner. When they exited the fortress, they found an injured Mathiu lying on the ground, and Flik was staring down Sanchez. Sanchez revealed that he was the Imperial spy, and had been one from the beginning. Flik blamed him for Odessa?s death and tried to kill him, but Mathiu stopped him, for the sake of the Liberation Army?s morale. Sanchez continued to work with the Liberation Army as though nothing had taken place, and they all returned to Dragon Castle.           When Tir returned to headquarters, he stopped by the prison cell in the basement, where he saw Cleo speaking with Sonya. After Cleo finished speaking with her, Tir had a conversation with her, in which he persuaded her to join forces with the Liberation Army and bring an end to the corrupt emperor. Tir then went to the conference hall, where he spoke with Mathiu about the next battle. Mathiu gathered up all of the troops so that he and Tir could explain how things would go, and to raise the army?s morale. At the gathering, Leknaat appeared and told Tir more about Windy and the Gate Rune, one of the 27 True Runes that was divided between Leknaat and her sister Windy. After this conversation, the Liberation Army assembled and moved out to lead a siege on the capital, Gregminster. The enemy forces seemed to number approximately 100,000, though it seemed to mostly be monsters that were summoned by Windy. Leknaat used her half of the Gate Rune to send the monsters back to their world, but required the assistance of Joshua?s Dragon Rune?s power to send all of them away. After this, Yuber and Kanaan?s army attacked, which was trampled over by the Liberation Army. After this battle, the Dwarf Chief, Hanzo (leader of Rokkaku?s ninjas), and Zorak all came to lend a hand in the final bout. Tir went into Gregminster, where Viktor and Flik joined Tir?s group, and Tir decided on the remaining members of his final party: Pesmerga, Luc, and Crowley. Before the final battle, however, Tir returned to Dragon Castle to take a quick rest. Day IX           Once Tir and his group were well rested, they returned to Gregminster, which seemed to be pretty much abandoned, besides a couple of people still running their shops. At the palace gate, Tir found Ain Gide defending the palace. Refusing to back down, Ain fought Tir and the others, and died. Tir then entered the castle, where he was ?greeted? by several soldiers. Tir and his group fought their way through the castle all the way up to the Floating Garden at the top. There, Barbarosa was waiting for Tir and the others. Through the use of his Dragon King Sword, the emperor transformed into the 3-headed Golden Hydra, and attacked Tir. After the hard-fought battle, Barbarosa returned to his original form and fell to his knees. The four remaining Great Generals ? Kwanda Rosman, Milich Oppenheimer, Kasim Hazil, and Sonya Shulen ? came to speak with the emperor and question his actions, trying to persuade him to be the great emperor they once knew. Then Windy appeared and started to mock Barbarosa. She tried to take Tir?s Soul Eater by force, but it rejected her. The spirits of those whose lives it took ? Odessa Silverburg, Teo McDohl, Gremio, and Ted ? protected Tir and the True Rune. When Windy realized the Soul Eater had rejected her, Barbarosa rose to his feet and told her to give it up. He then took her by her arm and pulled her away. He apologized for his mistake of falling in love with Windy and wished Tir good luck with the new empire, and then he lept from the balcony with Windy. After mourning the fall of the emperor, the building began to crumble. Tir and his group commenced their descent back down through the castle. On their way out, they encountered a large force of soldiers. Viktor left to take care of the soldiers while Flik helped Tir escape. Further into the castle, Flik blocked an arrow from hitting Tir, and then he too stayed behind to hold off soldiers while Tir fled. Shortly after Tir safely retreated from the building, Viktor arrived, along with soldiers running after him. It was there that he and Flik disappeared into an onslaught of Imperial soldiers in order to ensure Tir?s safe retreat.           Outside, the army celebrated the fall of the corrupt Scarlet Moon Empire and their triumph over it. Mathiu, who was lying in bed in a nearby tent where he was being treated by Liukan, heard the crowd shouting and cheering outside. Liukan assured him that they had won the war. Mathiu admitted that he despised war and questioned whether he did the right thing or not by leading this one. As Liukan was about to answer him, Mathiu had drifted off into the sleep from which he would never awaken. Liukan congratulated him on his great achievements in his life and then let him rest in peace. Later that night, after the grand celebration, Tir snuck out and left the Liberation Army and ventured off across the land alone. Conclusion           Well, I didn?t get the ?good ending,? due to messing up with one thing: the duel between Pahn and Teo McDohl. If I had kept Pahn strong up to that point, I could?ve saved him. Had I done that, I could?ve actually successfully gathered all 108 Stars of Destiny, including Gremio, who would?ve been revived at some point if I had kept Pahn alive and gathered the rest of the Stars before a certain point. Besides those two, though, I did actually technically gather all 108. But oh well. Perhaps I will replay the game some other time and perfect my Tablet of Stars. Final Party Formation, Statistics, and Equipment/Inventory Flik (Short Range) Level: 61 HP: 685 MP: 8/6/4/2 ATK: 314, ARM: 266 PWR: 164, DEF: 124 SKL: 167, SPD: 168 MGC: 148, LUK: 129 Weapon: Odessa ++       Level: 16, ATK: 150       Lightning Rune Piece x3 Rune: Thunder Rune Equipment:       Hm: Silver Hat       Ar: Dragon Armor       Sd: Earth Shield       +1: Earth Boots       +2: Earth Boots Inventory:       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3 Pesmerga (Short Range) Level: 61 HP: 828 MP: 4/1/0/0 ATK: 387, ARM: 311 PWR: 227, DEF: 160 SKL: 86, SPD: 101 MGC: 60, LUK: 42 Weapon: King Crimson       Level: 16, ATK: 160       ---------- Rune: Clone Rune Equipment:       Hm: Horned Helmet       Ar: Dragon Armor       Sd: Earth Shield       +1: Power Gloves       +2: Crimson Cape Inventory:       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3 Viktor (Short Range) Level: 61 HP: 622 MP: 6/4/2/0 ATK: 379, ARM: 273 PWR: 194, DEF: 180 SKL: 88, SPD: 139 MGC: 101, LUK: 123 Weapon: King Dragon Sword       Level: 16, ATK: 185       ---------- Rune: Double-Beat Rune Equipment:       Hm: Silver Hat       Ar: Dragon Armor       Sd: ----------       +1: Power Ring       +2: Earth Boots Inventory:       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3 Luc (Short Range) Level: 61 HP: 335 MP: 9/9/8/6 ATK: 179, ARM: 125 PWR: 49, DEF: 60 SKL: 138, SPD: 162 MGC: 226, LUK: 66 Weapon: Gust Rod       Level: 16, ATK: 130       ---------- Rune: Cyclone Rune Equipment:       Hm: Silver Hat       Ar: Guard Robe       Sd: ----------       +1: Speed Ring       +2: Earth Boots Inventory:       Sacrificial Buddha       Sacrificial Buddha       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3 Tir McDohl (Short Range) Level: 61 HP: 689 MP: 8/7/5/3 ATK: 333, ARM: 268 PWR: 175, DEF: 149 SKL: 194, SPD: 180 MGC: 161, LUK: 162 Weapon: Heaven Fang Staff       Level: 16, ATK: 158       Fire Rune Piece x1 Rune: Soul Eater Equipment:       Hm: Silver Hat       Ar: Master Garb       Sd: ----------       +1: Crimson Cape       +2: Power Gloves Inventory:       Blinking Mirror       Dragon Seal Incense       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3 Crowley (Short Range) Level: 58 HP: 430 MP: 9/9/8/6 ATK: 208, ARM: 148 PWR: 78, DEF: 63 SKL: 99, SPD: 137 MGC: 221, LUK: 104 Weapon: Cosmo Rod       Level: 16, ATK: 130       ---------- Rune: Rage Rune Equipment:       Hm: Silver Hat       Ar: Master Robe       Sd: ----------       +1: Emblem       +2: Cape of Darkness Inventory:       Sacrificial Buddha       Sacrificial Buddha       Sacrificial Buddha       Mega Medicine x3