Fire Emblem Three Houses Thoughts - Part 6: The Narrative of Black Eagles

Hello, and welcome to the sixth part in my very long write up series in which I share my experiences and thoughts on the massive game that is Fire Emblem: Three Houses. In this part, I talk about the narrative of my third playthrough, that saw me choosing the house of Black Eagles.

WARNING, THE FOLLOWING POST CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE STORY OF BLACK EAGLES, BLUE LIONS, AND GOLDEN DEER

Let’s start with how I went about the major choices:

Final Playtime - 90 hours

Difficulty – Hard & Classic – New Game+

Following the path I set, I am increasing the difficulty of each playthrough. With this one, I chose Classic rather then Casual, increasing the difficulty as I now had to ensure no one died in battles. This was made easier with the help of divine pulse, but it still made certain battles difficult. I also continued the path I set with Blue Lions, and spent no renown in this playthrough.

House – Black Eagles

I don’t have much to say here. I was very curious to see and learn about this house, given the important role Edelgard played in both the Blue Lions and Golden Deer routes.

Recruits – Lysithea, Mercedes, Marianne, Annette, Leonie, Ignatz

Following my goal of obtaining all support conversations, I recruited Lysithea due to her having supports with Edelgard, and Mercedes with Jeritza respectively. After that I had time to recruit more students. First I picked Marianne, because well…reading the lore and characters of Three Houses, I stumbled upon some information regarding Marianne that rocked me to my core. I learned that if you do not recruit her, she does not appear in any of the paths, implying she kills herself. This broke me, as suicide is something that makes me very sad. Knowing her character from my previous playthroughs added to this feeling, so I recruited her to save her. Besides, a part of why I did not want to recruit many students is because I think having to kill old friends is central to the Three Houses experience. But because you never fight Marianne after the time skip…that exempts any reason for not recruiting her. As for the other characters…see my experience with the narrative of Black Eagles below to understand why I ended up recruiting three more students after that.

Dancer – Dorothea

This was a no brainer. Of all the Three Houses character, Dorothea is the most fitting for the Dancer class.

With that out of the way, let’s get to the narrative of Black Eagles. How did I find this story after knowing those of Blue Lions and Golden Deer?

To start, I should emphasize that you cannot talk about my experience with Black Eagles without discussing previous playthroughs. This might have been my first time playing the Black Eagles path, but it was my third time playing the game. I had spent over 200 hours in stories that saw Edelgard start a war for seemingly irrational reasons and seem like an evil tyrant. This was in the back of my head throughout the journey. These two playthroughs gave me the idea that Edelgard was basically the villain of Three Houses, Hubert’s character further confirmed that. For this reason I went into this path ready to be a villain, wanting to role play as one even. I picked Male Byleth because he looks angry and like more of a villain then Female Byleth, I planned on picking many of the narrative choices I had not picked previously because I would not, those that went against the church and criticized others, because I was a villain. I entered this path ready to embrace the dark side, to join Edelgard in our evil plan for world domination.

But then…something happened, something that, in hindsight seems obvious, but that took me by complete surprise. I began to…see Edelgard’s perspective. The more I got to know her, the Adrestrian Empire, its history, culture, and characters, the more I began to wonder if maybe…she was not as evil as I had thought. In fact, maybe she was dare I say, the hero? Edelgard’s C+ support was a turning point. Learning that just like Lysithea she had two crests, was a product of the corrupt crest system of Fodlan, but that she also bore the Crest of Flames, sparked a response. Suddenly Edelgard, who I saw as so different from myself, from Byleth, wasn’t that different. She bore the same Crest as Byleth, and similarly, had a tragic upbringing that led to her lacking close relationships. I began to wonder if maybe…maybe she has a point. Maybe the system set up by the Church of Seiros is corrupt to such a broken and flawed degree, that it needs to be fundamentally changed, and maybe…force is the only way to do that.

As these thoughts swirled in my head, my perceptions of the characters of Black Eagles began to change. Ferdinand, who I initially was not fond of for being full of himself, begins to apologize and confront his weaknesses in his B supports, and I began to grow invested in his character. Hubert, who I had for so long seen as a generic and simple villain meant to be silly, had moments of humanity in some of his C and B supports, and I began to feel a strange investment in convincing him to see myself and the other students fondly. Dorothea, who through two playthroughs I thought was a simple flirt began to reveal her core motivations, complex feelings and relationships, and I began to grow sympathetic to her plight and journey.

Through all this, I began to believe in the characters of Black Eagles, and a core theme of the house emerged: ambition. Ambition is central to the Black Eagles house, moreso then the others. Dimitri and Claude may have grand plans, but they keep quiet about them. Edelgard on the other hand boasts proudly about how she will change the world. How could she not? She knows of the grand legacy of the Adrestrian Empire, and frequently speaks of it and the history of Fodlan during the first half of the game. The history of the empire was also markedly different from the Blue Lions kingdom. While the kingdom was haunted by a dark tragedy that left a feeling of hopelessness and stagnation, the empire had recently gone through large political changes. There was a clash between the king and various nobles, and a coup saw leading nobles battle it out in a move that weakened the emperor and allowed a dark group to emerge as a power player in the empire. Where the history of the Kingdom was haunted by mystery and tragedy, the Empire’s felt more dynamic: all the big players were still around, there was still bad blood, and it still felt like battles were to come, as nobles made secret deals and those who had risen through the ranks hoped to use their new power to change things. This was reflected in the students as well, of the Three Houses, the Black Eagles students were the rowdiest, the most likely to talk back to Byleth, and the most independent. They had plans and did not want them altered, reflecting the nature of the empire. It was a dynamic shifting land filled with ambitious and hopeful characters. It was a land of wealth, power, prestige, and constantly changing alliances.

Learning all this and getting into its atmosphere, I became absorbed in the politics of the empire: the powerful nobles, Arundel and those who slither in the dark, the prime minister, the church, the previous emperor, and most of all, Edelgard. The more I spent time with her, the more I found myself gravitating towards and beginning to believe in her vision, her grand ambitious plan to make all of Fodlan into a more meritocratic and fair system.

As this continued, I began to have a mid-game crisis, if you will. As I was recruiting students, making choices, I began making the same choices I had in my previous playthroughs, no longer pretending to be a villain but being myself, because I began to truly believe in Edelgard. But this meant I would be willingly, with a conscience, killing former students, students I had spent entire playthroughs with beforehand. I suddenly wanted to save as many as I could, because this was not an evil world conquest I was about to embark on like I originally thought, this was to be the difficult but necessary steps to create a better world for all, a world that I wanted these students to be a part of. I did all I could to recruit as many as I could, excluding spending renown to buy supports. I bought gifts for students each month, invited them to meals and choir, and boosted the stats they wanted to recruit them. I was successful, more then I anticipated, and ended up recruiting three more students. I could have kept going, I could have recruited Ingrid, which was my next pick, but…I had to stop myself. I did not want to go against having to kill your own students, a feeling that again I believe is crucial to the Three Houses narrative, so I stopped with Ingrid, who narratively I thought would never betray the kingdom. Leonie and Ignatz made sense to me due to them having less of an investment in the church, and Annette I recruited mostly so that Mercedes and her would have each other in this new world I was to create.

Then I got to the choice, the big defining choice of Black Eagles in which you can choose to either side with Edelgard or the Church of Seiros. I will admit, despite planning to pick Edelgard from the beginning, I hesitated and wondered which to pick. I could not help but wonder which I would pick if it were my first playthrough. I could see it going either way.

However, when the choice approached and it was now or never, I do believe that had it been my first playthrough, I would have chosen to side with Edelgard. This is because of the nature of the choice. Rather then present it as siding with Edelgard or the church, it was presented as obeying the church and killing Edelgard, or not killing her, and choosing to protect her. I did not necessarily see this as meaning to side with either, but rather to escalate or deescalate the conflict. At the same time, Edelgard was my student, and despite how rowdy she and the Black Eagles had been, despite how much more they talked back to me then the other houses, I had grown fond of them, and like I should be there to protect and help them, even if I do not agree with what they are doing. My choice to side with Edelgard did not come from me agreeing with and supporting her, but feeling that she is my student, and that despite everything, I have faith in her to do the right thing if I am there to help and guide her. I felt that I could stop her from going down a dark path and help her to see other perspectives more. With this, I made my choice, and the true Black Eagles path began.

The war and lead up to the time skip stuck with me because of how well the events of the story were adjusted in a way that was pro Edelgard. Rather then portray Rhea as a benevolent figure to all, she was shown to be a terrifying and vile monster when she freaks out at your choice of siding with Edelgard. This gave a perfectly valid reason for going to war against the church, especially when her true form is revealed. This happens again when the time skip takes place, and I could not believe it. During Blue Lions and Golden Deer, Rhea’s transformation is portrayed as grand and meant to inspire awe in the player. But here, Rhea’s transformation is portrayed as dark and terrifying, like a monster who has lost all control has been let loose and must now be faced. It was incredible to see the same moment be portrayed in two different ways, and it made me understand Edelgard and her perspective so much more, and again wish to side with her.

Before the skip however, Edelgard gives a motivating speech to the students which captivates and motivates them, and it even had that effect on me. Everything she said rang true, Rhea was a monster, not human, and she used her power to portray herself as a magical goddess and keep the people of Fodlan below her and weak. We had to destroy her to destroy the corrupt systems of Fodlan and create a better world, and we could do it with our strength.

You are then taken to a short explore section in which you are underground or something, and I loved this. One big complaint I have with Three Houses is that you can only explore the monastery. I wanted to see you go to other places such as Almyra and explore there, and so at last, to my great surprise, you explore another part of the world in Black Eagles. Granted it is not much and is super small. Still, I appreciated this, it felt like I was truly going down a new path and perspective, one that would change everything.

The battle then that takes place at the monastery was fantastic. Once again it might be my favorite battle in the game, but it was especially cool to see it from the other side. Having to fight the Knights of Seiros was terrifying but exciting, seeing all these kind characters I’d gotten to know suddenly treat me so coldly and like some kind of monster only motivated me more in my choice to help Edelgard. Having the death knight join was great, and seeing Rhea act so angry and completely different from how I had seen her for so long was incredible. I’ve always been afraid of battling the Death Knight, but Catherine might have been the scariest enemy to face. The game did an incredible job at presenting the other side of things in a way that felt legitimate and like Edelgard isn’t completely in the wrong here, with the church and those who follow it not being as great as they appear. It made for a satisfying end to the first half of the game and got me extremely excited for the second half.

However, given that the second half of Golden Deer and Blue Lions let me down, I lowered my expectations, especially when I had learned that Black Eagles was a few chapters shorter then the others and did not have any cutscenes. It made the scenes that showcase your disappearance and time skip garner some chuckles from me at how short and quick it happened. However, I was not prepared for how much I was going to enjoy Black Eagles. After two playthroughs of being let down, somehow, in some way, Black Eagles blew me away in its second half.

To start, when you return after five years of disappearance, the scene with Edelgard took me by surprise. She is so happy to see you that she hugs you, and this touched me. No other character has embraced Byleth in such a way, and from this, I started to feel a connection with Edelgard. I always thought of her as cool and admirable, but when it came to marriage, I had my sights set on the other students. I chose Bernadetta for the goddess tower scene for example. However, starting here…I began to have second thoughts.

What’s more, reuniting with all the students was wonderful. Caspar’s remark that Edelgard was lost without you, only to have her respond by looking down and blushing, made my heart flutter so. But even more then that, I don’t know how it is in English, but in Japanese, Hubert’s response to Byleth’s return is the happiest I had ever heard him and it made my heart melt because I had been trying so hard to get him to like me and I was so happy to see us growing closer. It made me realize that I had become quite invested in these characters and their story.

With that, things continued with the assault on the Alliance. I liked that now that the monastery was our base and that Byleth had returned, Edelgard and the students felt more ready to go on the offensive. My return felt significant given that Hubert said earlier that Byleth helped keep the students motivated and united behind Edelgard, and Edelgard’s joy at my reappearance clearly showed that this was important for her. I also enjoyed that we wasted no time in beginning the attack. Progress had been made, as parts of the Alliance and Kingdom were loyal to the empire, so it felt like things had changed in those 5 years, but we were now ready to accelerate those changes.

See, at this point in the other paths I had issues with the state of the world and story. To start, I found it strange that the monastery was left abandoned by Edelgard. Why would she not hang on to it when it is not only strategically important to all operations in Fodlan, but is also significant as the symbol of the Church of Seiros? It is the last place she would leave unoccupied, so it felt strange that this monastery that was conquered was now vacant.

Additionally, I always found the missions up to and including the three way battle odd. In one of them you encounter some Imperial soldiers, alerting Edelgard that you are within the monastery. However, afterwards she never attacks the monastery despite it being your base, which felt strange to me given its importance. I also found it odd that you then have to backtrack to regain supplies. This is war, why would your students not carry supplies and men to the monastery, especially given how dangerous of a journey it was?

Lastly, the three way battle, which I’ve critiqued in my Golden Deer write up, made little narrative sense to me. Why would Edelgard come out of her palace for this one battle on Gronder Field, and then retreat back to her palace afterwards? Why would the Blue Lions and Golden Deer forces not ally? And why was the battle so similar to the pre time skip battle? All these little things hurt my ability to immerse myself in the story.

 

Yet in Black Eagles, all of these problems are gone. You are not attacked until later in the story, which makes more sense since by that time your enemies know it is your base. Edelgard and the black eagles are based in the monastery because they conquered it and it is strategically imoprtant, you do not have to go back and get supplies, and most of all, there is no silly three way battle. From all this, the battles that saw you taking the bridge to the Alliance and then battling Claude were excellent, and I found myself getting more and more into the story, finding few things that bothered me. The battle against Claude in particular was fantastic, as you battle the terrifying Hilda and Nader while Alliance and Almyran reinforcements continue to charge. It was an intense and satisfying battle, and I loved the cutscene at the end after I spared Claude and he and Edelgard got to have a farewell. It reminded me why I adore the two of them.

The next battle saw you being attacked at the monastery and having to defend it. I loved this! This was another complaint I had with Blue Lions and Golden Deer. In those routes, Edelgard never attacks you, and it feels like you are always on the offensive and just pushing at a wall until you finally win. But in Black Eagles, the Church of Seiros suddenly attacks you after taking the Alliance. It was sudden, made sense given we were distracted with the Alliance, and made for an intense battle and environment. The enemy felt dynamic, like they could attack at any moment, and like we had to be on our toes at all times and really try to out smart them if we wanted to win. It felt like an actual war and like we were facing actual opponents that had their own plans and games to challenge. In summary, the mission added much to the narrative and I continued to get into the story.

Fighting Flayn was difficult, as she is one of my favorite characters. I had Byleth finish her, and the dialogue between them made my heart ache. However, learning after the fact that in doing so I spared her and Seteth made me happy. I was doing this my way, and saving the life I could. True, many were dying, and this path I was walking was soaked in blood. Nonetheless, I still felt that with Edelgard, we could create a better world, and that I could break through any challenge.

This feeling would be thrown into chaos in the next chapter, in which you must take the fortress at the border with the Kingdom. This was a fun battle, I enjoyed getting to end Felix I must admit, but I was not prepared for the gut punch I would feel when I faced Ingrid. It is less terrifying in English, but in Japanese, the shriek that Ingrid gives when you finish her off, along with her dialogue about uniting with her dead fiancé and dying a true knight, broke me to my core. Suddenly I questioned the path we were going, and questioned my love for Edelgard. This path…I had to kill characters I loved to do this, forced them to turn on me and become such monsters, this…was Rhea’s dark change my fault? Ingrid made me question everything and it was fantastic. I don’t think any character death of the previous playthroughs impacted me to such a degree, and it really felt like a moment that perfectly embodies the tragedy of war and Three Houses experience.

This brings me to another part of Black Eagles that I adored: choice. Unlike in Blue Lions and Golden Deer, I got to make important choices in this route. I got to choose whether I spared or killed Claude, which had large ramifications for what takes place after and what characters said in the following month. I unintentionally had the choice of sparring or killing Flayn and Seteth, which impacted the following scene with Rhea. The students I chose to recruit and avoid had large ramifications on future battles. Most of all, I got to choose whether or not to side with Edelgard. I wish you could choose which side to be on in Blue Lions or Golden Deer, because having this choice really made it feel like the Black Eagles path was my path. I had chosen this and had to live with the consequences, and I really felt that with Black Eagles and Edelgard, I was a part of the story.

As that story continued, I was now at the final missions: the battles against Dimitri and Rhea. Of course, Those Who Slither in the Dark had their own plans, and it was interesting having an ally that left us so skeptical and speechless. I liked that Edelgard seemed to hate them as much as she hated the Church, it made the story interesting to have so many players to watch for and navigate in the difficult politics of the war. It was the sort of shifting alliances that was core to the themes of the Adrestrian Empire, and I thought it made the story more interesting. It reminded me of the Conquest route of Fire Emblem Fates, in which you have your own internal enemies to deal with as much as external ones. You might recall this was a part of why the Conquest route had my favorite story of the three paths of Fire Emblem Fates. This was also the case here, I liked that in Black Eagles it was less clear that you were the good guys, and it felt darker in general for that reason, there was no clear answer and good side here. In Golden Deer and Blue Lions it felt more black and white with Edelgard being clearly evil in contrast to the other houses, but here it was more grey.

I digress, returning to the ending, the battle on the Tailtean plains was exceptional and blew me away. Battling on the same plains that Seiros defeated Nemesis lent a powerful weight to the clash. Furthermore, the endless rain created a fitting atmosphere for the whole battle. This was it, the face off between two powerful forces, and it would be a tragic sad affair that had no happy ending in sight. The somber music, while a common song, felt fitting for this great battle.

The first surprise came when Dedue revealed that he had given crest stones to soldiers on the Kingdom side, without letting Dimitri know. Such devotion to the Kingdom, to go so far as to destroy themselves, was powerful, and only made the battle more difficult and tragic. Then Rhea showed up, bringing her own powerful warriors and terrifying monsters. But she was also dressed as Seiros, adding more to the historical significance of the battle, while also showing that she was summoning all her strength for this difficult battle against her mother’s soul. It was terrifying to face both Kingdom and Church forces, and I was on the edge of my seat the whole time, almost running out of divine pulses.

But then, the big twist, the one that really caught me off guard, was Dedue. For him to also take a crest stone, be willing to absorb it and become a powerful demonic monster, all for his kingdom, all for Dimitri…it was powerful. Such devotion, such undying loyalty and faith in their king and cause, I could not help but admire it, and admire Dedue and the Kingdom. Through all three paths, Dedue has had an incredible role each time, elevating my love for him.

But all this, these tragic soldiers going so far for their cause, destroying themselves for it, the rain, Seiros, it all made this battle incredible. It created an amazing tragic atmosphere, ending in a scene that changed everything for me. Edelgard faces Dimitri, but unlike Dimitri at the end of Blue Lions, who foolishly still believed he and Edelgard could make peace, Edelgard could see the truth. She could see there was no hope for reconciliation, and that Dimitri was simply too lost, too obsessed with his own views to be understanding of others, to see Edelgard’s perspective the way Claude had when he wished her good luck a few chapters earlier. Edelgard calls Dimitri out on all this, and her final line of calling him the King of Delusion was such an incredible and badass moment that it made me fall for Edelgard completely. This is who I wanted to love, who I wish Dimitri was: someone who can see what really matters, see past the tragedy, and see that despite how awful all this is…it must be done. The theme of Black Eagles, of whether the ends justify the means or not, was conveyed best in this tragic battle, yet also confirmed to me that I believe they ultimately do matter here. It pumped me for the final battle, and reaffirmed my love for the Black Eagles route. I never thought it would happen after playing Blue Lions and Golden Deer, but the Battle of Tailtean Plains was the first battle that I enjoyed just as much as the final battle in the academy phase of the game before the time skip, maybe even more, making it my favorite battle in the game. It was an incredible highlight of not just Black Eagles but the game as a whole, and will stick with me forever.

With that, the final battle remained. Rhea in being cornered, unable to win, begins to go mad and lose herself as she desperately hopes for any last attempt at victory, setting fire to her own people and the kingdom capital that housed her for so long. This hit me because it was so similar to Edelgard’s breakdown at the end of the Blue Lions route, in which she embraces all sorts of dark magic to become a terrifying uncompromising monster. It really drilled home a core theme of Three Houses that you can only experience by playing multiple paths: that anyone can be good and evolve into great things, or fall into darkness. Dimitri can overcome his own darkness to become a great king, or give in to revenge and hatred. Claude can become a brilliant and patient lord that brings different people together, or misjudge situations terribly and get himself killed in the process. Rhea can be calm and know when to step aside and let others rule, or cling to power irrationally and want nothing but to destroy her enemies, even if she must burn her own people.

But Edelgard: Edelgard can fall to darkness, cling too much to her ideals as in Blue Lions, or fight far too long in a war she cannot win like in Golden Deer. But in Black Eagles, after seeing her fail twice, to see her emerge as a powerful and just leader, one who wanted to minimize death and save the people Rhea sought to destroy, to not cling so much to her ideals but let them slide for the sake of others, it was incredibly satisfying in a way I was not expecting. As Edelgard gave a final motivating speech for the battle against Rhea, I was captivated beyond anything. It felt like this was the final battle, not just of Black Eagles but of the game as a whole, the battle in which Edelgard, who has finally become a just and merciful ruler, will cement her rule and create a new and wonderful world that will help all inhabitants of Fodlan.

I enjoyed the battle overall, it was tragic like the previous one, but more intense. I felt a desire to end this war as quickly as possible while saving as much life as I could, as Edelgard commanded. With that in mind I went about the battle in a silly way. I found the shortest and quickest path to Rhea, and sent all of my guys through this little path, avoiding Ashe, Gilbert, and Catherine in the process. Enough blood had been shed. I did not want to cause anymore tragedy. Unfortunately, the one path I took led me face to face with Cyril, who I did not want to kill. However…I knew it had to be done, it was hard, and I hurt for doing it, but I finished him off, telling myself I will never forget him and his undying loyalty to Rhea.

Rhea would be difficult to defeat given how strong she is, and I had to use all units to defeat her. To my surprise, when I began attacking her, all the characters I spared began to charge at me, as did other enemies. This made the battle with Rhea intense and I was on the edge of my seat trying to defeat her as quickly as possible.

At last however, I did it. After the battle I was granted one last surprise: a cutscene! I had gotten the wrong information regarding Black Eagles, as I thought there would be none, but to see one excited me, and oh what a cutscene it was. It was an epic conclusion as Byleth and Edelgard worked together to finish off Rhea, with an element of tragedy, but then Byleth’s fall took me off guard. As I watched intensely, something happened that I never saw coming. Byleth…was saved. Their god powers from Sothis vanished, Byleth’s hair returned to normal, and they…regained their humanity, their emotions. It was such a perfect way to end the story. With the creature that has cursed Byleth since birth now gone, Byleth can finally step out of its shadow and become their own person. Byleth had walked their own path, turned against their creator, and become their own person by defeating them. It was such a fitting ending that I could not help but love it. 

With Rhea defeated and Byleth saved, we could now defeat Those Who Slither in the Dark, Edelgard’s creators who had made her as monstrous as Byleth for their own sake, and hopefully help Edelgard to lose her 2^nd crest, become a normal person, and regain her hair color as well. I am sad the game ended there, but I like to think that is what took place next, as these two lost souls that found each other created a better world rid of their evil creators, while saving themselves in the process.

This…what more do I have to say? This write up is a testament to why I loved Black Eagles so much and it was far and away my favorite of the three routes I’ve played. Unlike the other routes, with Black Eagles I found just about every battle after the time skip memorable, interesting, and fun. They were all battles worth talking about and sharing my experiences because of the impression they all left on me. I did not think I would like any route’s second half as much as I did the first half of the game, but here….I did, in fact, I might of even preferred the second half of Black Eagles to the first. Every single battle added to the story and themes in significant ways. Claude had a spectacular finale, the attack by the church showed the horrors of war and our opponents, the city on the Kingdom border showed how difficult navigating the politics of war are and the horrors of fighting friends, and the final two battles marked a tragic yet satisfying conclusion to the journeys of both Edelgard and Byleth. I was floored at how much I got into and loved the story of Black Eagles. It was excellent, its themes of strength and doing what must be done, no matter how difficult and wrong it is, nailed perfectly for me, especially the theme that the best way to accomplish your goals is to do so in the company of others, to have a friend, a professor there to guide and help you, and to be willing to compromise for your friends in difficult times. I will talk about all these and more when I discuss why I fell in love with the characters of the Black Eagles house in my next write up. But of all the routes, this one is what I will remember as the high point of Three Houses, and I am so happy I got to experience it. Thank you for joining me in this journey, it is not done yet, but already has become a personal favorite of mine.

Image Source: https://beanynne.tumblr.com/post/187921345036/crimson-flower