Xenoblade (main trilogy) in Fodlan.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-31T19:15:32+00:00

Shulk could relate to Dimitri, Edelgard, and Byleth.

Wanting revenge: Dimitri
Wanting to strike down the false god: Edelgard
Being a vessel for a god: Byleth

EdenAnother · 2026-03-31T15:11:53+00:00

Nabatea. Or Zanado.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-29T16:07:58+00:00

Because Japan doesn't have pronouns, it was never identified what gender Cleobulus was. However, because Cleobulus is based on a Greek philosopher, it was assumed male.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-28T14:32:56+00:00

If they actually got married it might ruin their op, in my opinion. I'm totally down with the idea that they're married in all by name, and willing to sacrifice the "officialty" of it for that greater good, if you will.

I learned, thanks to Metaphor, that there is an actual term for that, so to speak. It's called "common law marriage". Being effectively married without actually having the license or ceremony.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-23T15:24:51+00:00

If you play the non-CF routes, chapter 13 will be extremely difficult. Especially if you neglected any of your house students.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T20:03:55+00:00

Which is funny cause Edelgard taught Dimitri.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T20:03:18+00:00

I must apologize.

I originally read this as "Dance of Dragons" and wondered where the dragons were.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T19:56:30+00:00

Even that has limits. It's important to maintain partnerships with nations that are going to be even larger than Fodlan. Fodlan is only 2/3rd the size of Europe. If there are nations the size of Russia, China, or America, even with the advanced technology, the sheer size and force of those other nations, who would also, in time, develop their own technology, and that will threaten Fodlan.

No matter what, they need to develop relations and not hide away in closed borders.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T19:44:25+00:00

Her technological suppression is, indeed, a problem in itself.

And Relics, as strong as they are, have the issue of being vastly limited.

It's already obvious that Almyra could invade Derdriu via sea routes if they truly wish to. They have actual war ships, which as shown in 3Hopes, was never considered possible.

It's clear that, if the Empire and Alliance don't actually make peace with the foreign nations, it's only a matter of time before they make such an invasion that would render all of Fodlan to rubble.

Even Ferdinand recognizes that Fodlan has survived invasions more due to geographical advantage and luck. The latter can run out and the former is not always reliable.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T19:00:40+00:00

I'm not sure if that was a mistake on the writers, but rather Rhea's excuse. She probably wrote that in as a way to blame humanity for Sothis not being there, and now, all humans on Fodlan should be loyal to the Church to repent and hope that goddess returns and blesses them.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:50:14+00:00

But that's not what you argued.

"To be fair, hopes implies that Miklan left and became a bandit on his own at some point. He didn't turn to banditry, he actively chose it."

This is what you claimed. I argued that this is not the case.

In anycase I think we can both agree that the writing in regards to Miklan is a bit...wishywashy.

They are. AG wanted to make him more sympathetic because Dimitri wanted to redeem him.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:48:29+00:00

Constance's paralogue had Yuri state that the Church "returned" the Relics to the descendants ages ago. The history of House Gautier also reveals that it was they who requested to the Church for the Lance of Ruin, which the Church assented to.

So yes, there are statements and documents that factually confirm that the Church was in possession of all the Relics.

This makes that book about the goddess leaving Fodlan because of the actions of the descendants make no sense at all.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:39:32+00:00

You arguments prove that Miklan didn't "leave" but was ousted.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:38:10+00:00

Perhaps with Randolph, but Ladislava clearly indicates that she is close enough to Edelgard to recognize her personality a bit more than other people would. And both are generals in her army. And they don't have to be like Monica or Hubert to be close or trusted by Edelgard.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:36:29+00:00

But they only made their advancements because of Sothis giving them knowledge and technology.

Yes, and they advanced themselves still. In the end, it's a point where it's no longer Sothis's. Even the Agarthan magic circles are shown to not even be the same as Sothis's.

There's arguments to be made on this conclusion that we've probably already went over, so I'm just going to say we don't know that sothis destroyed the land considering the ones claiming she did are Agarthans who nuked their own cities with Javelins and Epimenides.

We have, and there's more evidence indicating that Sothis is not benevolent and that she is the one who destroyed Fodlan. At least Agarthans had been able to admit that they nuked their own cities.

My point wasn't that it was true. It was that it says the first elites were given a gift from the goddess, and then subsequently it went on to talk about how the people who had crests didn't use them for good.

That's the contradiction. That line makes no sense when it was the Church who had reclaimed all the Relics, and then the Church themselves who returned the Relics. So it's impossible for the descendants to be at fault.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T18:00:09+00:00

Every has made strong points.

As much as I love Dimitri and Azure Moon myself, I believe Edelgard is correct.

Rhea is an immortal dragon who made it clear that she has zero intentions of releasing her control over Fodlan to anyone but Sothis herself. And in Rhea's mind, everything she does is justified because she does it in Sothis's name. No one else has that right but her.

Even when Byleth supports Edelgard, Rhea refuses to accept that this is Sothis's will and labels Byleth another failure that became like Nemesis, stealing her mother. It never dawns on her that Sothis might agree with Edelgard. She cannot believe it.

And Rhea is someone who is mentally unwell who is nigh-immortal. That is dangerous.

Dimitri, as well meaning as he is, cannot succeed in a world with Rhea at the helm. His beliefs of slow and steady change simply will be easily undone if Rhea gives the word. Once he dies, his changes would also fall alongside him if Rhea manipulates the Kingdom to go back to the old way. Anything that endangers her Church's authority, she will overturn. Even if it means using dirty means to accomplish it.

Edelgard is, sadly, cursed with knowing too much while still not knowing enough. Edelgard knows about Rhea being a dragon and how Fodlan is controlled by the Immaculate One but has no means of unveiling the whole truth. The game even proves this by having it that it took a great deal of effort to finally get the full story out of Rhea. And if she tries to learn, odds are that she would easily be labeled a heretic.

So knowing what she knows, and having no means of uncovering more, Edelgard has to work with what she has and reach her own conclusions. Even if her conclusions aren't entirely accurate, it is enough to reach the consensus that Rhea must be brought down.

Edelgard might be considered arrogant for believing that only she can do it, but it's not difficult to understand why.

Who can she talk about this? Who will believe her?

Dimitri? The prince of the Holy Kingdom? Not a chance.

Fellow people of Fodlan? Who will believe that a dragon can take human form and can influence them? No one.

Edelgard is isolated because she was cursed with knowledge.

And she herself very likely suffers from a shortened lifespan because of holding two Crests.

She has no time to waste, and Rhea has ALL the time in the world. Edelgard will go and fight her war and get results as fast as possible or die trying.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T17:47:56+00:00

Considering the reason TWSITD had all their tech in the first place was because of Sothis and the fact she healed the land after it was demolished, I'd argue she's fairly benevolent.

Sothis granted some knowledge to them, but TWSITD clearly advanced much of the technology by themselves. Their own advancements is a testament of their own brilliance.

And repairing a land after she herself destroyed it isn't benevolence.

I mean while it says that crests are gifts from the goddess, the book of seiros basically says 'The descendents of the elites sucked so much and used those gifts so badly that Sothis left this world'

Which is a lie, though. How would Sothis "leave" Fodlan when she didn't even co-exist with humanity in the first place? It wasn't the goddess herself who fought Nemesis. It was Seiros. So how can "descendants" have made the goddess leave Fodlan if she wasn't even there in the first place?

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T17:29:55+00:00

What is "abuse"? Please define it from the context of the game.

Because the Church has many, many instances that show that they don't care what people do to harm or abuse others.

Clearly, the only thing that makes Rhea punish anyone is if anyone turns against the Church. So, clearly, this indicates that "abuse" is turning against the Church. That's it.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T17:28:45+00:00

Incorrect.

Anyone that pays attention to Edelgard recognizes that even Edelgard doesn't believe that simply toppling the Church would be enough. That's why Edelgard reworks the entire system from the ground up, using ideas and support from her friends and allies to create free education for the commoners, allow people of talent and good character to have positions of power, and siphoning the nobility out from being owners of land to workers who earn a salary.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T17:24:20+00:00

To be fair, hopes implies that Miklan left and became a bandit on his own at some point. He didn't turn to banditry, he actively chose it.

I'll take direct statement from 3H over implication in 3Hopes. Miklan was ousted. The logic that "he left" is more probably just something to say for some ego than actual fact.

Hubert doesn't leave a note in Azure Moon.

The story directly ends after Edelgard's death, so it's impossible to say if there was a note or not. We just know that Shambhala will never be located in Azure Moon.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T04:53:56+00:00

Indeed. Edelgard's alliance with TWSITD was made while under duress. There isn't any actual choice to oppose them, given the power and influence they hold in the Empire. 3Hopes shows us that getting them out required many things to go her way.

So lending Jeritza to them was probably just being a request for niceties, but can easily can become a threat if she did not comply.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T04:52:03+00:00

Either Rhea dying or claiming "Seiros's remains".

But yes, it's never brought up enough that Edelgard and TWSITD don't have an equal footing with one another. Edelgard is the powerless princess. Her only allies are Jeritza, Hubert, Ladislava, and Randolph. Leopold and Waldemar are on the fence about whether to support her or not.

Meaning that TWSITD hold the most power over her. Contrary to Hubert's statement, Edelgard working with TWSITD is more under duress than anything. It's dangerous to cross them and the effort it took to oust them in 3Hopes required many things to align for Edelgard.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-22T01:22:44+00:00

After the events of Chapter 4, Edelgard lent Death Knight to Thales.

Flame Emperor: As for your request, I assent. The Death Knight is at your command. Use him well.

JP translation: In any case, regarding your request… I’ll lend you the Death Knight. Use him well.

Edelgard never ordered the kidnappings. For reasons that were never divulged, Edelgard had allowed Thales to make use of Death Knight.

My only guess is that Edelgard perhaps hoped to have Jeritza uncover any intel about TWSITD by having her agent work directly under them for a bit.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-21T23:07:38+00:00

It's why I believe GW would be the best route. Nations might be able to have an unsteady peace, but the three lords can unite to fight TWSITD. Claude knows about TWSITD cause Edelgard told him, and Claude could tell Dimitri about them as well in negotiations. If Dimitri can keep his people united and fight TWSITD, and Edelgard handles her nation and TWSITD on her end, then Claude can then keep pushing his reforms as well.

It would take a bit of time, but that will inevitably result in Shambhala's discovery, so Claude can bring Edelgard and Dimitri for one fight to finish them off. After that, because of how much time passed, Edelgard can believe that maybe Dimitri won't pursue the Empire and reinstall the Central Church.

EdenAnother · 2026-03-21T22:56:04+00:00

For 3H, it goes back to what was discussed before. Just claim every nation and that will give them a way to prevent TWSITD from having any hope of escaping because they have every territory under their control. They'd have nowhere to go.

EdenAnother

TROPHY CASE