Prologue IV

Prologue IV File:Cm fe11 prologue 4.jpg

Location Altea Outskirts Boss(es) Captain

Prologue IV is the fourth chapter in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon on Normal difficulty, and the final chapter of the game's prologue.

Plot

Main article: Prologue IV/Script

Marth lays low in a forest on the Altean border, waiting for an opening to escape the kingdom. Eventually, the enemy watch begins to weaken, and Marth and company seize the opportunity to flee. Malledus explains that the plan is to escape to Talys, an island kingdom to the east which is allied with Altea. The group will cut through a prison to reach the northeast shore, where a boat will take them to safety. Malledus reminds Marth to be on the lookout for enemies who are fighting against their will or better judgement, who may be convinced to defect to Marth's side.

As Marth makes his way to the prison, the enemy captain decides to set a trap for Marth. The Gra forces dress up a captured Altean archer named Gordin in their uniform and leave him restrained and gagged in the prison, hoping for Marth to mistake him for an enemy soldier plotting an ambush. If Marth kills him, it will damage Altean morale by making Marth look like a tyrant who kills his own men.

If Marth sees through the ruse and frees Gordin, who promptly joins his group, King Jiol of Gra outflanks them with a retinue of Grust's elite Sable Order knights. Malledus realizes that their only hope of survival is to send a decoy dressed as Marth to lure the Sable Order away. Marth protests, realizing that the decoy would have almost no chance of survival, but Malledus insists. One of Marth's men dresses as Marth and flees, and Jiol and the Sable Order fall for the ruse and chase him. The Gra captain then unlocks the north door, allowing Marth to proceed. If Marth falls for the trick and kills Gordin, the captain mocks him for his foolishness before unlocking the door. The captain also unlocks the door if Marth's entire retinue is wiped out.

Marth overcomes the last of the enemy forces. An Altean knight named Draug arrives with a boat to flee Altea discreetly; if two or more of Marth's men have been killed during the escape, he is accompanied by a volunteer archer named Norne. If Marth recruited Gordin, Jiol and the Sable Knights realize their folly and prepare to kill the decoy, who bids Marth good luck before facing his fate. As Marth and his crew finally make for Talys, Marth laments the loss of his family and kingdom. He again vows to save Altea and defeat Gra and Dolhr.

Chapter data

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Seize	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Marth dies	5	{{{partner}}}	n/a	9+5+10	{{{third}}}

Character data

Characters
New units
Gordin Archer HP 18 Inventory -- Level 1 Enemy, talk with Marth
Available characters

Item data

Items

Name Obtainment Method Door Key Automatically at the start of the chapter Iron Bow Dropped by an enemy Archer Steel Bow Visit the village Vulnerary Dropped by the Captain

Enemy data

Enemy Units

Name Class Lv # Inventory and Skills Notes Gra Fighter 1 1 Iron Axe -- Gra Fighter 1 1 Hand Axe Vulnerary -- Gra Soldier 1 3 Iron Lance -- Gra Archer 1 1 Iron Bow -- Gra Archer 1 1 Iron Bow -- Gra Mage 1 1 Fire -- Captain Cavalier 2 1 Javelin Vulnerary --

Reinforcements

Name Class Lv # Inventory and Skills Notes Gordin Archer 1 1 -- Gra Pegasus Knight 1 4 Iron Lance -- Gra Knight 11 10 Silver Lance --

Reinforcements: Gordin appears in the prison at the end of Enemy Turn 1. Two Pegasus Knights appear at the western forts at the end of Enemy Turns 7 and 14. 10 Knights appear at the southwest corner of the map at the end of the turn Gordin is recruited, and leave the map once a decoy is chosen.

Boss data

Main article: Captain

Cavalier Level 2 Movement --

Stats Max HP 19 Speed 7 Strength 5 Luck 1 Magic 0 Defense 7 Skill 3 Resistance 0

Inventory Javelin Vulnerary Weapon Levels E C -- -- -- --

Strategy

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

The same cautious strategy will serve you well for the final chapter of the prologue. You can recruit the archer Gordin in this chapter. His base stats and growths are all sub-par, but this is a problem endemic to all of the game's bow units. If you choose to recruit Gordin, you will be attacked by a group of invincible Knights, forcing you to sacrifice one of your units. As you must be playing on Normal difficulty to access this chapter, Jagen is the optimal choice given that you will have little need of his good weapon rank. Make sure to trade the decoy's items to your other men before making the sacrifice. If you kill Gordin, or Marth's entire party save him is wiped out, the north door will open automatically and allow you to progress. You might want to stick around and let a couple of Pegasus Knights show up for some extra experience. The Captain makes good target practice for Marth's Rapier, which is effective against cavalry. Finally, if two or more units have died during the prologue (including the decoy), an archer named Norne will join you. Norne is a faster, frailer version of Gordin; the choice of archer is yours.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology, and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Prologue IV	--

References

← Prologue III •	Prologue IV	• Marth Embarks →