The following is a series on Fire Emblem: Three Houses that analyzes the story elements, characters and theming. For reference, here are the links to each one:
Intro/Basic review, White Clouds (Common Part 1), Cindered Shadows (Ashen Wolves DLC Route - Part 1.5), Crimson Flower (Black Eagles/Eagle House Part 2, Adrestia route), Silver Snow (Black Eagles/Eagle House Part 2, Church route), Azure Moon (Blue Lions/Lion House Part 2), Verdant Wind (Golden Deer/Deer House Part 2) Non-house leader characters (Eagle, Deer, Lion, Church) Music analysis (very surface level)
Part 2: Verdant Wind - My Little Deer: Friendship is Magic
I finished the Golden Deer storyline second in my playthroughs and used New Game Plus when going through it, so a lot of the challenge in this storyline’s maps was probably lost on me because I was ridiculously over-leveled for most of the game. In fact, the only time my character wasn’t the highest level on the battlefield was when I faced the final boss, and even then Claude was only like 3 levels behind.
To be honest, though, I was actually grateful for the relative ease of this playthrough because it let me focus entirely on the story. Unfortunately, it led me to a very horrifying realization: the Deer House is made up of My Little Pony characters.
The house is more known for its memes than any of its actual content, and the final battle literally ends with a sanctimonious speech about the power of friendship. How did this even end up happening?
Ok, so a lot of these character archetypes are not new; it’s just weird that they all seemed to coalesce in the exact same configuration in a Fire Emblem game.
Anyway, beyond being the MLP-FE crossover fanfic that nobody asked for, does the Deer route, and more specifically, Verdant Wind, have anything worth looking at when playing? Actually, a lot, to be honest.
This game decided to shove nearly all its lore into the Deer’s story. And not just the extraneous, ‘why do I even care?’ kind of lore. Lore that is necessary to have any working understanding of what the heck is even going on.
Who are these villains we keep fighting? Go to the Deer House. What is the deal with Byleth and Sothis? Deer house. Why are Crests so important in the first place that we have to fight about them? Deer house. Why did this game open with a battle cutscene from 1000 years ago? Deer. House.
A large portion of what helps Fodlan and its surrounding areas feel alive is due in no small part to this storyline. And yet, ironically, while this route provides the most overall information for informing the world, it’s probably the storyline most disconnected to Fodlan’s major conflicts.
Being a third-party / On the Edge of a Major Conflict
When the War for Fodlan starts up, the Church and Kingdom default to being allies against the Adrestian Empire. The Alliance, however, opts to stay neutral and allows matters to play out. This is due in large part to Claude taking the lead role for the anti-Empire faction while Lorenz’s family leads the pro-Empire faction.
Since the Alliance’s houses are split along roughly even lines, very little is done. In non-Crimson Flower routes, their only interaction in the war is the Empire’s control of the Great Bridge of Myrrdin, which comes about as a concession because the Empire started a coup in the western part of the Kingdom and had Gloucester territory surrounded.
Much of the Alliance’s actions during the five years away are purely reactionary. The Alliance is doing what it needs to so that the conflict remains between the Empire and the Church, with the Kingdom acting as the Church’s meat shield.
Byleth’s return in Verdant Wind is the spark needed for Claude to make a run at unifying the continent under the Alliance’s control. And thus, a new player has entered the war!
Such a storyline speaks to the idea that lasting change sometimes does have to come from an interloper. Or a benefactor. Being too close to a conflict can cloud a person’s judgment. And such a lack of focus proves to be the downfall of the Empire throughout this storyline. Overlooking Garreg Mach and Claude’s forces, as well as ignoring the idea that Claude’s outside-the-box thinking might prove successful, come back to bite Edelgard and the Empire constantly.
I’ll come back to the idea of outside influences on a conflict in a bit, but first I want to talk about how Claude fits into these ideals of an outsider trying to affect positive change on a society.
Claude von Riegan - The Eternal Outsider
Claude’s backstory is very, VERY gradually revealed as the story progresses through White Clouds and into Verdant Wind.
On his father’s side, he is related to the Almayran royal family, though it is not made explicit what role specifically his father played. He must be fairly high up, though, because Claude assumes Cyril (an Almayran refugee working for Lady Rhea) would recognize who he is.
Almayra and Fodlan have been in conflict for a long time by the time the game starts. Prejudice reigns on both sides, and Claude’s heritage has been a hindrance in both locations. In Almayra, his mixed birth is seen as a problem (and might be one of the main reasons he tries to seek power in Fodlan first), and in Fodlan, Claude hides his origins out of fear the same prejudices will crop up (not an unfounded belief).
Because prejudice, nationalism and racism have affected him so deeply, Claude sees them as the greatest hindrances to peace long-term. When Claude finally does reveal his goal to Byleth early in Verdant Wind, he admits he wants to tear down the borders that separate his two countries and create a society where people from all walks of life live together.
(NOTE: In other routes, it’s made more explicit, but before meeting Byleth he intended to conquer Fodlan and then ascend to the Almayran throne to likely unify the two. This plot never materializes in any route, though, because even in this successful route, he still hands over control of Fodlan before heading back to Almayra.)
This has led to many people questioning why Claude and Edelgard don’t end up joining forces in any of the routes. Ideologically, they both believe in heavy reforms and seem to have a mutual understanding that the current system will likely never bend toward their way of thinking without making a big move.
The only major difference is in their points of emphasis - Claude’s primary interest is in combating prejudice and hatred; Edelgard primarily focuses on fighting abusive and controlling practices. Even then, going through their supports makes it clear that they do also believe in each other’s main ideals.
So where does the disconnect come in? I think Edelgard’s perspective on the matter can best be found in the battle conversation Claude has with Edelgard in Chapter 20 - their final showdown in the throne room.
She does not believe Claude can be trusted to enact the reforms she wants to make because he lacks the knowledge of all the pieces at play in Fodlan. Claude makes the point, though, that he has seen plenty of injustice and knows what sources he can tackle to finish the job that her war started.
It is a great opportunity to bring about reform, but it does speak to the cynical nature of Claude’s approach to the world. He only involves himself in fights if he believes he can win. Across all four routes, Claude keeps the Alliance as close to neutral as he can in the hope that an opportunity will present itself.
It just so happens that Byleth is that opportunity.
To the good fortune of the people of Fodlan, Claude is, in fact, a benevolent leader. But for all the positives generated by Claude and the real arguments in favor of an outsider helping implement reforms, Claude reveals the great negatives in such an approach as well. (Shock of all shocks, the people are the ones who suffer.)
A Human Chess Board
During White Clouds, there’s a scene where Claude shows frustration that Byleth got to the Sword of the Creator first. It had been his hope to find this ‘sword that could cut down a mountain’ and use it to destroy the mountain range that blocked Fodlan and Almayra.
Everyone recognizes Claude’s ambitions, but the idea that he was looking for Heroes Relics to tear down mountains and become the leader of all Fodlan could have just as easily been the desires of an Almayran mad man seeking only power. As it so happened, his plan was benevolent, but there was no question he would make moves if he had to.
The language is softened in English, but it’s still clear that Claude sees Rhea as a threat to his goals and even mentions the continent may need her to either step down or die to get there. When he meets with Edelgard in the throne room, there is no offer to join forces, even though Byleth tries to ask before the battle if there’s an option that doesn’t kill her.
Even after Byleth is let into Claude’s confidence, he still doesn’t fully reveal his plans, springing his alliance with the Almayran military on everyone at once. And when all is said and done, he leaves to claim the throne of Almayra, putting Byleth in charge (an action that Byleth protests in the S-support, if you so choose it.)
The biggest dangers that come with outside forces affecting the actions of another group stem from the fact that such interlopers do not have firm connections with the people they are trying to help. It can be hard to determine what the outside force’s motivations are, and when they do share their ideals, it can be difficult to know if they’re being honest with you.
I’m reminded of how so many lands were conquered by European nations, only to have the Europeans leave and re-partition the whole area in ways that made no actual sense.
Claude’s actions could have easily been villainized or at least taken as reckless. They likely would have been so if he had been the one to start a war. Only by having Byleth on his side did he gain full trust from the Knights of Seiros, and only by Edelgard being the spark to war did the board shift in a way that Claude’s plans could have a chance to succeed.
Had Byleth not been there and had Edelgard not chosen war, where would that leave Mr. von Riegan? Would he have turned tail back to Almayra? Would he have opened the border with the Alliance and risked the wrath of both the Church and the fellow Alliance houses? Do any leaders end up getting assassinated to ease his path? It’s hard to say because the war begins before Claude actually holds power.
Of the three house leaders, I find Claude to be the greatest enigma. He speaks so highly of helping others, but he won’t let anyone in on his full plans. He wants transparency of everyone while being patently unwilling to do the same. Watch his supports with Balthus to see how uncomfortable he gets when it’s clear someone does know one of his closely guarded secrets. He recognizes the need for sacrifice, and will even play up the importance of fighting for a cause, but when the rubber meets the road, he expects his people to suddenly give up while in that mental state.
Most notably, the S-support scene with Byleth shows just how much of his plan was based on using people. We had already talked in the Academy phase about how he demanded Jeralt’s diary, and given how the storyline ends, I do wonder how much Claude factors in the desires of other people. He very much expects people to do their due diligence, and I wonder if he knows the difference between someone wanting to do something and someone who feels they must do something out of a sense of duty/necessity. Or if he feels that difference is relevant.
Sometimes… It's hell getting to Heaven.
I have been considering this point for some time, and I think I can say definitively that Verdant Wind is the bloodiest route of all four War Phases (in the sense of casualties to Fodlan).
In the end, two actions make Verdant Wind bloodier than the others: the Javelins of Light, and Nemesis’ return.
The destruction of a major fort with the javelins (in VW’s case, Fort Merceus) doesn’t happen in Azure Moon, putting VW and Silver Snow at a disadvantage in terms of death toll. But what permanently puts VW ahead of SS is when Nemesis goes on a tear through the central countryside of Fodlan, wiping out all small towns in his way en route to Garreg Mach (echoing what Claude said would happen had they not stopped Lord Lonato back in Ch. 4). Silver Snow’s final battle was contained to the church itself. VW had multiple slaughters before the final battle even began.
Let’s be clear: The world created by Byleth and Claude ends up being a positive one that deals with most, if not, all of the problems that were inherent to the previous Fodlan system. But a higher price was required than in some other routes.
The mass destruction in this route represents a drawback to being on the periphery of this entire conflict. Claude spent much of his time trying to understand the secrets of Fodlan. This was a necessary action for him because he needed intel on how to best take control of the country and achieve his own goals. He also needed to understand the grander nature behind the war in part 2 so that he knew the best courses of action to take.
And thus, we get a scenario where Edelgard is killed, only for basically all of her goals to be met anyway. (The only notable difference I see is that since Arianrhod never falls directly, it’s likely that Cornelia survives and TWSD has a shot at reviving itself.)
The other tragedy of the matter is that the search for knowledge that was necessitated by Claude being an outsider is the reason we end up with Nemesis returning. Moving in to directly attack Shambhala was a good call, but with no precautions taken, Thales is able to unleash the javelins and force Seiros to transform again.
(By the way, I racked my brain to figure out why Nemesis doesn’t appear in Silver Snow, and my best guess is that Riegan was the main attendant for Nemesis, which is why he stood closest to Nemesis in the final battle. The blood of a Riegan gave him the final push needed to awaken him, while in Silver Snow, it’s just the bloods of Seiros and Sothis, which wasn’t enough.)
I do find the revival of Nemesis to be a unique ending from a gameplay perspective, especially since it brings in a fighter from the opening cutscene, but there’s no question it could have been prevented in-universe had some course of action been changed. Personally, I’d say the mistake was letting Rhea join the mission in Shambhala. The final boss of both SS and VW are a direct result of bringing her along, though not bringing her along likely leads to the whole group getting killed, so all things considered, it seems tragic death is an inevitability built into Verdant Wind’s ending.
Other notable story beats
Claude is extremely affable during this, as per his nature and endears himself back to you before taking you over to test your fighting skills. This chapter continues that proud tradition of Claude disguising his true aim amidst his friendly, jocular outer shell. It should come as a surprise to no one that he immediately tries to use the reunion as a chance to springboard a resistance to the Empire. He even gets the Church of Seiros in his corner!
Ch. 14 - The Empire tries to reclaim Garreg Mach as soon as they see people enter it. This is the chapter where Claude’s ambitions to break open the isolationist border policy of Fodlan is given, and post-battle is where Claude reveals he thinks Fodlan might be better without Rhea around. I’ve got to give Claude credit: He is excellent at picking his timing. Heck, he doesn’t reveal this to you until he’s already got the Church on your side with the Crest of Flames banner.
Ch. 15 - The Aileil battle is a rescue mission to get Judith, but it’s also a chance to regain Ashe as a unit. If you had recruited him in White Clouds, he stayed with the Gwendal’s army during the time skip. It’s notable that he must have already been recruited to bring him back; otherwise, the opportunity to spare him never pops up. I hadn’t recruited him during my VW run so I never saw the prompt during the playthrough.
Also, this chapter is worth revisiting with a translation of the Japanese script. They mention Claude’s nickname, which is different in English vs. Japanese. Understandably, the lines have to be reframed to fit.
Ch. 16 - The Great Bridge of Myrrdin must have been a map these devs were proud of because it shows up in every route. The most notable aspect of this fight is the post-battle where all the noble Deer go back to visit their families while Claude introduces Byleth to Nardel. Nardel reveals himself as an Almayran general in a couple of chapters, so it’s nice they gave the character and introduction here.
Ch. 17 - This is the rematch at Gronder Field. For keeps this time. This fight happens in all non-CF routes, but in Silver Snow, it occurs off-screen since you hold no allegiance to any of the territories. The dynamic between the Kingdom and Alliance is always odd in this one. Because of an interception of messages, the Kingdom and Alliance can’t connect with each other, and thus you have two anti-Empire groups fighting each other for no adequate reason. Then again, you have a decidedly anti-Rhea Alliance leader fighting alongside the Church of Seiros and a victim of TWSD using their power to try and end the war.
War makes for strange bedfellows.
The most important sequence here is that Lysithea mentions the mages from TWSD. She gives her backstory of how she was experimented on (which is virtually identical to Edelgard’s descriptions of the experiments in her C+ support) and thus we start to try to turn this story to make TWSD the main final bosses of the game.
Admittedly, they are the most unambiguously evil group of the game, but their most important actions were in White Clouds, and while they are still a threat, it holds less emotional weight as the very personal fights the game is currently putting the player through.
This is also where the Javelins of Light come down and destroy the fort. It was an act of desperation, and it was one that TWSD likely regretted because it gave away their location to Hubert.
Ch. 19 and 20 - The start of the month gives a scene where the Deer basically explain the wind metaphor, and honestly it’s kind of fitting. They see Claude as the wind that pushes them forward, which is generally what he does. He likes to place people in the right location, even if no one but him knows what position that’s supposed to be.
Also notable is that Claude talks about how Fodlan must be united under one ruler, and the only answer Byleth can give to disappoint him is to volunteer for the role. This actually does a good job of informing Claude’s character. He wants the Fodlan leader to be selfless and in line with the kind of leader Plato would have described as “a philosopher king,” one who is reluctant to hold the position. It does make sense that having ambitions to lead would not be what Claude wants, though if Byleth doesn’t want to lead, it is a rude move on his part.
Anyway, Ch. 20 is called “Conclusion of the Crossing Roads,” and it shares the name with the same battle in Silver Snow. I’ll be honest: This battle holds a lot more meaning in SS than VW. Wanting to walk the path with Edelgard, Edelgard confessing she did as well, the tragedy of her character… all these things read better when you had her as a student for an entire year.
That said, I hold the VW version in high regard anyway because it speaks to the overall importance of the Edelgard-Byleth dynamic. It’s an overriding theme of the entire game, and even in the most disconnected route, it finds a way to have meaning.
Explanations for everything are hinted at when you rescue Rhea, but the game drags them out… again.
Ch. 21 - The fight in Shambhala is the one fight I’d have liked to see in an epilogue for CF. I know the methods with which the Adrestian Empire would take them out would not resemble this one (because Edelgard would know a frontal assault would likely lead to the Javelins coming down), but there would have to be a way to work in a battle similar to this.
Anyway, there’s not much of importance in this chapter other than the destruction of the TWSD base and Rhea nearly destroying herself stopping the missiles. Nemesis gets revived as a result of all this, and thus we get to the final chapter.
Ch. 22 - “God-shattering Star” is the best final boss theme I’ve ever heard in any game and that alone makes this fight great. We do get a glimpse of the future Claude had in mind after the battle, and the power of friendship speech is great and all, but really, the bulk of this chapter is front-loaded.
Rhea’s account of the fight between her people and TWSD does a good job of explaining why the crests and Relics exist, though it doesn’t really go into why she felt like these remnants of her own people’s genocide should be given positions of prominence in the Church.
Ultimately, I see the maintaining of her people’s blood and bones as a means of A) honoring her loved ones, and B) having Nabatean blood on hand for her “questionable” resurrection experiments.
In all seriousness, for all her talk that she was going to give Claude and Byleth the full truth, she handwaves the crimes against humanity stuff pretty quickly. It’s only in Silver Snow that you get those details. As for the war details themselves, they do a fine job of setting Rhea up as a victim in this too, but it is worth noting that we only get her perspective on the matter. DLC content (which I go over in that blog) seems to indicate the dispute was fear-based so I’d be curious to see a past in which both nations are active.
Anyway, Verdant Wind is a great deal of fun, though it is not as morally black-and-white as many try to make it. As this blog has shown, this is the ‘ulterior motive’ route through and through. And for all the truth we gain, the most important truth is just how much people like Claude and Rhea can leave out while still claiming to be transparent.
It’s a lore-heavy route that would be a one-time-only playthrough if not for the excellent banter of the cast keeping the story from simply being exposition and nothing else. It’s definitely one to play once, and who knows? Maybe more.
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