An Inevitable Encounter

An Inevitable Encounter A Skirmish at Dawn

Location Remire Village New units Byleth, Edelgard, Dimitri, Claude Boss(es) Kostas Next chapter(s) Three Houses

“	Please forgive our intrusion. We wouldn't bother you were the situation not dire. We're being pursued by a group of bandits. I can only hope that you will be so kind as to lend your support.	”	— Dimitri

An Inevitable Encounter (Japanese: 必然の出会い Inevitable Encounter) is the prologue of Fire Emblem: Three Houses. It consists solely of a mission, A Skirmish at Dawn (Japanese: 夜明けの遭遇戦 Encounter Battle at Dawn).

Plot

Main article: An Inevitable Encounter/Script

In Imperial Year 91, the divine Seiros engages the Liberation King Nemesis in battle and slays him, avenging an incident at the Red Canyon. Approximately one millennium later in 1180, a person named Byleth has a dream of the battle and of a mysterious girl. Afterwards, they are woken up by their father Jeralt. The nobles Edelgard, Dimitri, and Claude appear and explain that bandits have attacked them while they were resting at camp. Jeralt agrees to protect them, and he and Byleth ride out. With Jeralt's guidance, the four rout the bandits and injure their leader Kostas.

As the battle ends, Kostas attacks Edelgard, but Byleth sacrifices themselves to protect her. They have another vision of the girl, who scolds them for being so reckless, introduces herself as Sothis, and grants them the ability to rewind time with Divine Pulse. Byleth redoes the past several seconds and this time counters Kostas's strike and drives him off. The group is then reinforced by the Knights of Seiros led by Alois. Alois recognizes Jeralt and reveals that he was once the respected captain of the Knights of Seiros who vanished approximately 20 years ago; he browbeats Jeralt into returning to Garreg Mach Monastery with him and invites Byleth to accompany them. The three lords thank Byleth for their actions and offer Byleth a position with their respective homelands.

Unused beginning log

In Remire Village, three youths pursued by bandits solicit aid from Jeralt and his mercenaries. Together, you help them fight off their pursuers and defend the village.

Chapter data

Normal/Hard Maddening

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Defeat Kostas	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Any player unit dies	4	{{{partner}}}	1	7	{{{third}}}
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Map dimensions: 21 columns by 20 rows

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Defeat Kostas	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Any player unit dies	4	{{{partner}}}	1	9	{{{third}}}
Map dimensions: 21 columns by 20 rows

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Character data

Characters
New units
Byleth Commoner HP 27 Inventory Iron Sword Vulnerary Level 1 Automatically from turn 1 Edelgard Noble HP 29 Inventory Iron Axe Vulnerary Level 1 Automatically from turn 1 Dimitri Noble HP 28 Inventory Iron Lance Vulnerary Level 1 Automatically from turn 1 Claude Noble HP 26 Inventory Iron Bow Vulnerary Level 1 Automatically from turn 1
Available characters
None

Item data

Items

Name Obtainment Method Iron Axe Dropped by Kostas

Enemy data

Normal Hard Maddening

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Dex Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Kostas Thief 3 1 28 10 5 7 7 5 6 1 6 5 Iron Axe He and his squad begin moving after the first four Ruffians are defeated. Thief Ruffian 1 6 18 7 4 5 9 4 5 1 6 4 Iron Sword The northwestern three begin moving if any of them are provoked.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Dex Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Kostas Thief 3 1 29 11 6 7 7 6 7 1 7 5 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 Begins moving after the Ruffians are defeated or he or the Thieves are provoked. Thief Ruffian 1 3 18 7 4 5 9 4 5 1 6 4 Iron Sword Sword Prowess Lv 1 The northwestern two begin moving if they or the nearby axe-wielding Ruffian is provoked. Thief Ruffian 1 1 18 7 4 5 9 4 5 1 6 4 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 Begins moving if a nearby sword-wielding Ruffian is provoked. Thief Thief 1 2 18 8 4 6 9 4 5 1 6 5 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 Begins moving after the Ruffians are defeated or they or Kostas are provoked.

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Dex Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Kostas Thief 6 1 32 12 7 9 10 7 8 3 9 5 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 3 Begins moving after the southern Ruffians and Thieves are defeated. Thief Ruffian 4 3 19 7 5 6 11 5 6 2 7 4 Iron Sword Sword Prowess Lv 3 The northwestern two begin moving if they or the nearby axe-wielding Ruffian is provoked. Thief Thief 4 4 19 8 5 7 11 5 6 2 7 5 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 • The southern two begin moving if either is provoked. • The northern two begin moving after the southern Ruffians and Thieves are defeated. Thief Ruffian 4 1 19 7 5 6 11 5 6 2 7 4 Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 Begins moving if a nearby sword-wielding Ruffian is provoked.

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NPC data

NPC Units

Name Class Lv # HP Str Mag Dex Spd Lck Prf Def Res Cha Lck Con Mov Inventory and Skills Jeralt Paladin 3 1 35 15 8 13 7 10 14 10 7 8 Iron Lance Blade Breaker • Canto • Keen Intuition • Lance Prowess Lv 1 • Bears the Crest of Seiros. • Immobile until all enemies but Kostas and his nearby Thieves are defeated, at which point he begins moving unprovoked. • If he attacks Kostas and would normally defeat him, his attack will instead leave Kostas at 1 HP.

Boss data

Main article: Kostas

Normal Hard Maddening

Thief Level 3 Movement 5 Crest --

Stats Max HP 28 Luck 5 Strength 10 Defense 6 Magic 5 Resistance 1 Dexterity 7 Charm 6 Speed 7

Inventory Abilities Iron Axe -- Combat arts Spells Battalion -- -- -- Skill Levels E E E E E E E E E E E

Thief Level 3 Movement 5 Crest --

Stats Max HP 29 Luck 6 Strength 11 Defense 7 Magic 6 Resistance 1 Dexterity 7 Charm 7 Speed 7

Inventory Abilities Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 2 Combat arts Spells Battalion -- -- -- Skill Levels E E E E E E E E E E E

Thief Level 6 Movement 5 Crest --

Stats Max HP 32 Luck 7 Strength 12 Defense 8 Magic 7 Resistance 3 Dexterity 9 Charm 9 Speed 10

Inventory Abilities Iron Axe Axe Prowess Lv 3 Combat arts Spells Battalion -- -- -- Skill Levels E E E E E E E E E E E

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Strategy

This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.

Every player unit is capable of wielding every weapon, and Claude's Iron Bow can be traded multiple times to allow for multiple attacks that the enemy cannot retaliate against; however, units only have a combat art tied to the weapon they start with, notably Dimitri is the only unit with Tempest Lance. Dimitri with Tempest Lance is capable of one-shotting every enemy but Kostas on every difficulty; Byleth with Wrath Strike and Edelgard with Smash can one-shot every enemy but Kostas on Normal and Hard. Enemies on Normal and Hard cannot double any units, but the sword-wielding enemies on Maddening can double a unit wielding the Iron Axe or Iron Lance. On every difficulty, without healing, and from full HP, Byleth and Claude can survive four attacks from the sword-wielding Thieves, while Edelgard and Dimtri can survive five; Byleth, Edelgard, and Claude can survive two attacks from the axe-wielding Thieves, while Dimitri can survive three—Edelgard can also survive three attacks from the west-most axe-wielding Thief; and Byleth and Claude can survive one attack from Kostas, while Edelgard and Dimitri can survive two.

Edelgard can safely provoke the western enemies into moving from the forest south of the rock, which she can reach after two full turns of movement; Dimitri can provoke the enemies present only on Maddening from the forest north of him, requiring the same movement. However, provoking both groups at once will require at least one unit to survive at least one additional round of combat, as there are four units but five enemies, and no enemy can be defeated on enemy phase; enemies will prefer to attack the unit with the bow as they cannot retaliate, however, equipping the Iron Bow raises every unit's attack speed to the point where they will not be doubled. Kostas can be defeated after two attacks using combat arts from any unit other than Claude; moving units east as they fight enemies will allow at least two to reach and defeat Kostats the turn after he moves.

If a route is already planned to be chosen, it may be beneficial to prioritize giving kills to Byleth and that particular lord; additionally, as the two lords whose routes are not picked will leave the party, trading their inventories to Byleth and the chosen lord may also be beneficial. If there is no plan for a route, items and experience can be given to Byleth.

Trivia

• During this chapter, Byleth and Jeralt are part of the "Mercenaries" faction. Both of them switch to the Church of Seiros after this battle.
• It is impossible to see An Inevitable Encounter's beginning log without hacking, as the preparation screen is skipped during this battle, leaving it unseen.

Etymology and other languages

An Inevitable Encounter

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	An Inevitable Encounter	--
Japanese	必然の出会い	Inevitable Encounter
Spanish	Un encuentro inevitable	An inevitable encounter
French	Une Rencontre Inévitable	An inevitable encounter
German	Eine unvermeidliche Begegnung	An inevitable Encounter
Italian	Un incontro inevitabile	An inevitable encounter
Korean	필연의 만남	An inevitable encounter
Simplified Chinese	必然的相遇	An inevitable encounter
Traditional Chinese	必然的相遇	An inevitable encounter

A Skirmish at Dawn

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	A Skirmish at Dawn	--
Japanese	夜明けの遭遇戦	Battle at Dawn
Spanish	Escaramuza al alba	Skirmish at dawn
French	Escarmouche nocturne	Nocturnal skirmish
German	Kampf in der Dämmerung	Battle at Dawn
Italian	Scaramuccia all'alba	Skirmish at dawn
Korean	새벽녘의 조우전	Encounter at dawn
Simplified Chinese	黎明遭遇战	Dawn Encounter Battle
Traditional Chinese	黎明遭遇戰	Dawn Encounter Battle

Gallery

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References

	An Inevitable Encounter	• Three Houses →