Cohort of the Dead/Script

Part 1: A Pause in Hostilities

Pre-Battle

Sharena: Alfonse, what are you saying? Líf…is you?
Alfonse: He did not confirm it, but nor did he deny it. I fear I am correct. He is not the first king of Askr. He is me—from another Askr. He must know something about the Heart’s Rite.
Veronica: The Heart’s Rite? Now what’s that?
Anna: It sounds like an Emblian ceremony, perhaps… Wait—Princess Veronica? What are you doing here? HOW did you get here?
Veronica: Hel’s army has continued to advance. Embla is threatened. That is why. As for how, I asked Loki.
Alfonse: See. Have you come to help us defeat Her?
Veronica: Oh, yes. Hel must be killed. Until then, I will ally with you.
Sharena: Now that’s a surprise! I just hope you won’t end up stabbing us in the back.
Veronica: Shh. Enemies are approaching—over there.

(scene change to the map screen)

Veronica: The army of the dead… You take care of them. When you’ve finished, we can talk. I’ll rest for now. After coming all this way…I’m tired.
Sharena: So selfish! Just as I suspected—you have no intention of helping us!

Post-Battle

Veronica: The Heart’s Rite is a ceremony that can kill Hel. Hmm…
Alfonse: Indeed. But that’s all we know. Details were scant.
Veronica: Let’s be on our way.
Sharena: Where do you suggest we go?
Veronica: Embla, of course. If this Askr has records of the rite, then Embla here must have some as well.

Part 2: The Protector

Pre-Battle

Dimitri: I am Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd, crown prince of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Do not fool yourself into believing I will hold back!

Part 3: The Schemer

Pre-Battle

Claude: I’m Claude. Coming up with brilliant schemes, I can handle. No problem. But I’m not much for fighting. Go easy on me!

Post-Battle

Eir: I have something I must tell you, Kiran… I…remembered something. Something terribly important. Prince Alfonse and Princess Sharena… We met. Before. Not in the Askr where you live, but here…in this world.
(the screen flashes white)
Sharena: I am very glad to meet you! My name is Sharena, and this is my older brother, Alfonse.
Alfonse: It’s good to meet you. I am Alfonse, the prince of Askr.
Eir: Princess Sharena and Prince Alfonse…
Sharena: And you are?
Eir: I…
Sharena: Oh, don’t worry. If you prefer not to say…don’t feel pressured. But in that case, I wonder what to call you? Hmm… I’ll just have to come up with a nickname! Doesn’t that sound lovely? Oh, I hope you don’t mind…
Eir: Hee-hee. Oh, Princess Sharena…you are quite something. You’re bursting with the light of life…
Sharena: Re-really? When you put it so seriously, I feel a bit…embarrassed!
Eir: I am Eir. It is good to meet you, prince and princess…
(the screen flashes white)

Part 4: The Future

Pre-Battle

Edelgard: I am heir apparent of the Adrestian Empire, Edelgard von Hresvelg. I will test your true strength.

Part 5: My Sanity Died with Them

Pre-Battle

Veronica: The castle. It’s the same as ours. I’ll go inside. You wait here.
Sharena: Er, well… We’re happy to help you with your research…
Veronica: You misunderstand me. I am cooperating with you only as much as is necessary to destroy Hel. I have no intention of letting my goes wander around my castle.
Sharena: Er… You’ve made yourself clear.
Veronica: Now hurry. Your enemy has arrived, Prince Alfonse.
Alfonse: Him!

(scene change to the map screen)

Líf: …
Alfonse: Líf!
Líf: Alfonse… Your world. My world. This is the choice I face. I… I end lives only to save lives.
Alfonse: What does that mean?
Líf: I broke open a terrible curse…and performed a forbidden rite. It was all to defeat Hel… It was a terrible mistake. Everyone in Askr died, one by one…and I am to blame for it.
Alfonse: …
Líf: I was desperate to defeat Hel. I made a dangerous wager, and I lost. We all did. Hel won. Hel killed my sister… Sharena gave everything to try and protect me. Her last words were, “Save yourself.”
Alfonse: Sharena…
Líf: And in the end…after everything… Hel bade me balance the cohort of the dead. When someone from another realm dies…someone here is saved. It would be like no one every died… Even Sharena… On those terms, I forged a contract with Hel. To save our world…I will decimate yours.
Alfonse: No! To think I’d serve Hel… Have you lost your mind?
Líf: Lose my mind? How could I not? It was all my fault… The people of Askr and Sharena… Even Kiran… My sanity…it died with them.
Alfonse: …!

Post-Battle

Líf: I cannot fall here… I must stop them. I must save my people… I must balance the cohort of the dead.

(scene change off of the map screen)

Veronica: It seems your foe has fled. What a vengeful creature… The prince Alfonse…of this Askr.
Alfonse: Were you able to find any information about the rite?
Veronica: Angrboða’s Heart. That is what the ceremony requires. Angrboða is a being of great power… It was Angrboða who gave birth to Hel herself. By harnessing Angrboða’s power, we can kill Hel.
Alfonse: But the curse…
Veronica: Yes. The heart is sealed within an Emblian blood temple. If that seal is broken, someone will die each time the heart beats… Those who perform the rite are the first to die. All die, eventually… One by one. When all are dead, the heart grows quiet once again…
Anna: We can’t do this.
Veronica: I wonder…
Anna: You wonder?
Veronica: We cannot perform the rite in our world, of course. But the ceremony has already been performed here. It must be here. Somewhere. The weapon born of the Heart’s Rite. The weapon that can kill Hel…