The Heart of Crimea/Script

Before Battle (Castle Gallia)
Tibarn According to our scouts, the enemy has split into two forces. One is east of the Ertz Mountains. The other is approaching from the north, by crossing through Crimea.

Ranulf So, they plan on flanking Gallia from the north and east. If we don't stop them, this is gonna hurt.

Caineghis Agreed. What is the Crimean army doing?

Tibarn From what the scouts have said, nothing at all. I'm guessing they're waiting to see how everything pans out.

Skrimir Crimea let Begnion pass without a fight?! What about their alliance with Gallia?

Ranulf It's not that simple, Skrimir. Begnion is Crimea's suzerain state. It's difficult for Crimea to refuse Begnion's demands.

Skrimir A suza-what? Someone explain to me what that means.

Ranulf Hmm, how can I explain... All right, how's this? Begnion still holds political power over countries that won independence from them. Anything you want to add, Ike?

Ike Don't look at me. I've always thought the whole idea was ridiculous.

Skrimir Never mind what it means. Has Crimea broken its treaty with us?

Ranulf Not...as such. I didn't say it was right, just that it was complicated...

Skrimir It's not complicated at all! Crimea has betrayed Gallia! We cannot let this pass! How da--

??? Control yourself, Skrimir. You're acting like a fool.

Skrimir M-my apologies, Your Majesty. It is just--

Caineghis I doubt that Crimea has sided with Begnion. Queen Elincia is very clever, and I will not stop trusting her judgment just yet. She most likely allowed the Imperial Army to pass through her lands in order to avoid a slaughter.

Nailah Who is this beorc queen who warrants so much trust? Please, enlighten us.

Caineghis She is a delightful woman, both in manner and in reign. Her late father, King Ramon, and I forged an alliance between beorc and laguz. We sought to bring our peoples closer. She has taken her father's ideals as her own and strives to create a country where anyone, beorc or laguz, can live free and in peace.

Rafiel How times have changed... I never could have dreamed of a time where such a beorc ruler would exist. I must admit, I still have doubts.

Reyson I don't blame you, my brother. Change has been slow, but the circle of acceptance in Tellius has been widening. As you can see, both Leanne and I have many beorc friends. Queen Elincia of Crimea is one of them.

Skrimir Both the king and Reyson speak well of this woman! Is she truly so special?

Ike She truly is. But right now, that's beside the point. The most important thing is, Elincia will never betray her allies in Gallia.

Ranulf I couldn't agree more. We can trust her.

Caineghis All right. Let's assume for now that Crimea will not aid the empire in any military fashion during this conflict. Hawk King, let's hear your thoughts.

Tibarn Well, if Crimea won't make a move, then I see no reason to wait until the empire reaches Gallia. I'd prefer to take an army up north and end this mess for good.

Caineghis Very well. Ike, do the Greil Mercenaries have anything to add?

Ranulf ...I agree with Tibarn's idea. We should strike while their army is split in half. I'm pretty sure that General Zelgius will be there, though. We'd better be careful.

Caineghis Very well. Hawk King, may I ask that your forces protect the eastern border? While they do that, I would like you to lead our strike force to the northern border. Take Ranulf with you, as well.

Skrimir Send me too, Your Majesty! Please, let me reclaim my honor! I beg you.

Ranulf I second that, Your Majesty. Skrimir is perfect for this mission.

Skrimir Ranulf?

Caineghis ...Very well. Will you look after him, Hawk King?

Tibarn Sure, I can handle him. He's easier to keep under control than you are, Lion King.

Caineghis Hmph. He's all yours, then. Now, everyone. Prepare to leave before daybreak. We are all depending on you.

Before Battle (Battlefield)
Gallian Soldier Insects of Begnion! We'll show you the power of the beast tribe!

Phoenicis Soldier Beorc scum! For the razing of our homes, we'll make you wish you'd never been born!

Begnion Soldier Filthy sub-humans! This war ends now. Prepare yourselves!

Gallian Soldier 1 A beorc army is approaching from the hill to the left! That flag... It's the Crimean army!

Gallian Soldier 2 C-Crimea intends to side with the empire after all!

Ike Elincia? What are you doing...

Valtome Uwee hee hee. Finally, they see the light and are coming to fight with us! Excellent. Took them long enough. I suppose when you have the brain of a gnat, these things take some time to sink in.

Elincia I am Queen Elincia of Crimea. I have a message for the commanders of both armies!

Elincia I am here to declare the will of Crimea and its people! Crimea has been ruled under the ideals of peace and equality since the reign of my father, King Ramon. As such, I cannot and will not allow you to spill blood upon our land! Therefore...

Elincia I demand that both the Laguz Alliance and the Imperial Army leave Crimea at once!

Valtome Withdraw our troops?! You foolish girl! We will not be ordered about by the proclamations of a peasant like you! Puppet rulers such as yourself should stay inside their pretty castles and play dress-up. Begnion's patience has worn out. After we finish slaughtering the sub-humans, we'll be coming for you in Melior.

Elincia Commander of the Laguz Alliance. How do you respond?

Tibarn ...You have some serious guts, jumping into the middle of a battlefield all by yourself. But your high-and-mighty beliefs don't change the fact that Begnion must answer for its crimes. Step aside.

Elincia ...Very well. I've heard from both commanders. Then--

Elincia This is Crimea's answer. We will not sway from our ideals. My countrymen stand united. We will not use force. But we are willing to do whatever it takes to end this here and now.

Valtome What?! Have you lost your mind?

Tibarn Heh...

Elincia ...

Tibarn ...Ha... Hahahahaha!

Tibarn Ike, I thought you were the craziest beorc I'd ever met, but you have some serious competition! Crimea's queen is one tough woman... Your Majesty, I like your style! Skrimir! I can't let such a pretty woman down. Let's get out of here.

Skrimir Of course. The beast tribe will not use our claws against unarmed beorc. Soldiers, back to the forest!

Elincia Thank you, King Tibarn.

Tibarn This is only temporary. The war between the Laguz Alliance and Begnion isn't finished yet.

Elincia Yes, I understand that. Even so, I want you all to know where Crimea stands in this.

Tibarn ...Hey, you and I should get together and chat sometime. I'll be seeing you again soon.

Levail General Zelgius! What are your orders? Shall we launch an attack?

Zelgius No. We will withdraw.

Levail Are you certain, General?

Zelgius Could you cast aside your weapon while surrounded by armed soldiers?

Levail I don't know, sir... No, probably not.

Zelgius Queen Elincia has done something that even I would be hard pressed to do. For that, we must show our respect.

Valtome Stop this instant! Wait! Where do you think you're going?! Attack those mangy beasts!

Zelgius Please forgive my audacity. However, we are withdrawing. Every battle ebbs and flows. To go against these tides is unwise. Please understand, Senator.

Valtome You self-righteous fool... You'll understand something else, once we're through with this battle.

Mist I don't want to go back yet... Do we have time to talk to Elincia?

Titania It has been a long time since we last saw Queen Elincia. We should at least say hello.

Ranulf Sure, sounds great to me. There's probably not much time for small talk, but we'll see.

Valtome ...Soldiers! Kill the queen of Crimea! That girl is a traitor to Begnion!

Ranulf Whoa, this isn't good! The Imperial Army is on the move. They're after Queen Elincia!

Ike So much for imperial honor. Greil Mercenaries! Looks like we have our old job back! Protect Queen Elincia!

Geoffrey Tch! I knew it! Follow me, my knights! We shall protect Her Majesty!

Valtome Kill every living thing that stands in our way! Show them that I--no, the senate--controls this pathetic land!

Sergei Of course, Senator Valtome! I'd be happy to kill the wench.

Levail General Zelgius! Senator Valtome is about to run down the queen of Crimea!

Zelgius That useless parasite. Attacking an unarmed woman... This is beneath even him.

Levail The Crimean army and a part of the Laguz Alliance have joined battle in order to rescue the queen. They are fighting Senator Valtome. Shall we assist the senator?

Zelgius Prepare to leave. We are not fighting.

Levail But, General... That would mean that we abandoned Duke Culbert's force...

Zelgius I will take all responsibility for this. Make my command clear to all of the men. I will not accept more units joining this fight!

The end is near
Begnion Soldier Commander! Our force is taking heavy losses! Defeat is imminent. Even our strike force cannot keep the enemy at bay! Please, you must escape!

Valtome I've been defeated? Me? By worthless rabble like this?! Ugh, blast that Zelgius! How dare he not assist me! I'll have his pompous head for this!

After Battle (Laguz Alliance, Crimea)
Ranulf Phew... Begnion's finally given up! That took some doing.

Ike Tell me about it. But we did get some good information out of all this. Now we know for certain that there are serious leadership problems in the Imperial Army. I'm glad General Zelgius was honorable enough to withdraw. If the full strength of the two armies had clashed, Elincia's effort would've been wasted.

Geoffrey Sir Ike! Sir Ranulf! Thank you for helping us save Queen Elincia.

Ike Geoffrey. I'm really surprised you let Elincia do such a dangerous thing. You must be more relaxed these days.

Geoffrey It wasn't easy for me, as you could guess. But I can never really say no to Queen Elincia. What choice did we have, anyway?

Ike You didn't have any, and you all did what needed to be done. I'm really impressed. Crimea's become quite strong.

Geoffrey Don't talk like such a stranger. The Greil Mercenaries are also from Crimea. You're part of that strength.

Ike True. I'm very proud of my homeland.

Geoffrey Let's go see Her Majesty. You do have time to speak with her, right?

After Battle (Central Army)
Valtome I shall now dispense punishment for disobeying my orders! General Zelgius! Do you have anything to say? I would hear your pleas now.

Zelgius ...I am prepared to face the consequences of my actions.

Valtome Quite an admirable sentiment, General. Although I imagine you should have thought about the consequences before you abandoned your allies! Now, on your knees. It's time for your execution. Good-bye, General Zelgius.

Levail Wh-what?! Senator! I must ask you to reconsider! To execute a man of General Zelgius's caliber without a trial... It's madness! It's horrible!

Valtome Levail, are you questioning a senator? A senator holds the right to punish a prisoner however he sees fit! Oh, I'll make sure to tell our people that the general was cut down in battle after felling hundreds of sub-humans. That way, the people will not trouble themselves over details that they couldn't possibly understand.

Levail You would bury the truth?! Do you think the apostle is as easily fooled by your lies?!

Valtome Oh, I sincerely doubt the apostle will ever get to hear them. ...All right, I've waited long enough. Your wait is over as well, Zelgius. Execute him!

Valtome Don't worry, Zelgius. I'll make sure that your lands are looked after. They'll be mine, of course. Uwee hee hee!

Zelgius ...

Valtome What?!

??? Silence, Valtome! All soldiers loyal to Begnion are to stand down immediately!

Tanith Hello, Senator Valtome.

Valtome You...! You're one of the Holy Guards!

Tanith The apostle will be here shortly! Soldiers, sheathe your weapons and kneel before the apostle!

Valtome What?! No... It's impossible!

Begnion Soldier 1 Ah! It's her! There's no doubt about it!

Begnion Soldier It's the apostle! The apostle is here!

Sanaki ... My soldiers. I apologize for my sudden disappearance.

Sanaki I am here today to explain things, and to bring you news from home that is of the utmost importance.

Sanaki My soldiers, listen to me carefully. I never wished for this war. It was started by those who wanted me dead. It was spurred on by their desire to rule Begnion for themselves. This war was the work of the senate and was organized by Vice-Minister Lekain of Gaddos!

Begnion Soldier 1 The senate wished harm upon the apostle?!

Begnion Soldier 2 No... Impossible! How can that be?

Valtome ...Lies! She lies! Do not be tricked, proud soldiers of Begnion! She is not the true apostle!

Sigrun Ah, I see. Then are we not the real Holy Guards? Is that what you are trying to say?

Valtome N-no! This is a farce! You cannot trick us! You are using a fake apostle to disable the senate and take over Begnion! Men, we must act! That vile Sephiran is their leader! The fact that he's been put in chains is our proof! Hurk!

Zelgius ...I will not allow you to disgrace my master's good name. One more syllable and I shall snap your neck, Valtome.

Valtome Urk...! Ahh!

Zelgius Apostle. Words cannot express how good it is to see you alive and well. We have been awaiting your return.

Sanaki Thank you, General Zelgius. You and I have much to discuss.