1- Each participant will pm the host with their answers for the questions. You are not allowed to share your answers with anyone else.
2- Your objectives is parallel your answers with as many other players as possible, and get the highest score.
3- Try guessing the most popular answer.
4- There is no wrong answer.
Rules
1- The number of questions shouldn't exceed 12 questions and not less 8 questions.
2- "I don't know" will get 0 points. If you can't answer just use google or any search engine or simply put any answer.
3- The winner will host the next sheep.
4- In case we have 2 winners or more having the same points, The host will pick someone randomly as the winner or one of the winners would let the other do it.
5- If the winner didn't make the next sheep within 3 days the previous winner shall do it and if he didn't. Anyone can do it just to keep this game running.
6- Calculations and gathering answers is time consuming so the host has a whole week to do it. If he/she didn't post the answers and announce the winner after 7 days. The next sheep would be free to anyone to do it.
sheep #1
(1) -You are in a war, Which fighter you would like to be : 1- Archer.
2- Healer
3- Swordsman.
(2) -A famous inventor.
(3) -What is your favorite big cat ? 1-Lion
2-Tiger
3-Jaguar
(4) -What anime villain you would like to be.
(5) -Who wins ? Team Demacia vs Team Noxus, Which team you would choose to bet all your money on.
Upper limb is team Demacia..
Lower limb is team Noxus..
(6) -Which type of landscape do you like the most, Desert, forest, mountain, plain, ocean or arctic?
(7) -Do you care about lyrics in a song?
(8) -Pick a random number from (1~25)
(9) -What season suits you best?
(10) -How many holes do you have ?
Sheep
Winner
Second
Last
1
lakhan220
Brandish
kira
2
lakhan220
Irina_mashiro_22, EmptySoul, Organizized
YumaKuga
3
Brandish, Raven
kira, Belserion
lakhan220
4
YumaKuga
Miralicious akuma
kira
5
Brandish
lakhan220
kira, Organizized
6
kira
Organizized
lakhan220
7
Atom
Vici, EmptySoul
Brandish
8
EmptySoul, Raven
Organizized
Brandish
9
Raven
Organizized
xi0
10
Organizized
YumaKuga
xi0, EmptySoul
11
Raven
BrandyThema
xi0
12
Yuma, xi0
BrandyThema
kira
13
Yuma, Knightmare
Atom
Brandish
14
Shinyarcanine45
Knightmare of heaven 0
kira
15
BrandyThema
Raven
xi0
16
Vici
Brandish
kira
17
Brandish, zimbardo
Knightmare of heaven 0
lakhan220
18
DiMaria Yesta
lakhan
Brandish
19
Organizized
Knightmare of heaven 0, Battou
Brandish
20
A.ulq
Zimb
DiMaria, Brandish
21
DiMaria Yesta
xi0
Brandish
22
Organizized
Brandish, lakhan220
kira
23
EmptySoul
Vici
kira
24
Battou
GrySun
Brandish
25
TSPanda
Organizized
kira, Brandish
26
Farfalla
EmptySoul
kira
27
Belserion
GrySun
A.ulq
28
Ustegius
TSPanda
Knightmare of heaven 0
29
Raven
Brandish
kira
30
TSPanda
EmptySoul
Tempus
31
Kat
Farfalla
goodboy_lawlett
32
MonkeyD Dragon
Knightmare of heaven 0
Brandish
33
Belserion
Organizized
xi0
34
GrySun
Farfalla
Brandish
35
Atom
DiMaria Yesta, Organizized
Farfalla
36
MonkeyD Dragon
Belserion
lakhan220
37
Linali
MonkeyD Dragon
Brandish
38
EmptySoul
Ustegius
Brandish
39
Belserion
Arjuna
Organizized
40
Farfalla
GrySun
Emperor Spriggan
41
Darky
Gryffindor
xi0
42
riki
Raven
Purity of Magi
43
Atom
Lady pompom, Linali
Raven
44
riki
EmptySoul
Brandish
45
Brandish
Linali
Battou
46
Atom
Emperor Spriggan
kira
47
Valhalla777, GrySun
Lady pompom, Organizized
Brandish
48
Zirconium
Organizized
riki
49
GrySun, Linali
Gryffindor
kira
50
Linali, A.ulq
Zirconium, Emperor Spriggan
Brandish
51
Irina_mashiro_22
Organizized, Raven
Brandish
52
Lambu
SirSamuel016
DiMaria Yesta
53
Linali
Zirconium `
Emperor Spriggan
54
Organizized
riki
Brandish
55
GrySun
Lambu
Purity of Magi
56
Lambu
Arjuna
Demonspeed
57
-
-
-
58
GrySun
DiMaria Yesta
Lady pompom
59
Xadyu
Belserion
Brandish
60
Vici
Irina Mashiro
syx
61
GrySun, Linali
Vandred, Miralicious Akuma
syx
62
Linali
Holt
Lady pompom
63
Belserion
Shobu_Yoruichi
xi0
64
Organizized
Lady Pompom
Brandish
65
Linali
Seraph
xi0
66
GrySun
Gryffindor
Brandish
67
EmptySoul
Linali
Brandish
68
Lambu
Farfalla, Battou
kira
69
Linali
-
-
70
GrySun
Arjuna
kira
71
Asako
Holt
Brandish
72
Xadyu
Lady pompom, Linali
Brandish
73
Belserion
syx
kira
74
GrySun
xi0
Erinyes
75
Holt
Emperor Spriggan
Juviii
76
syx
Gryffindor
Purity of Magi
77
Gryffindor
Elusia
Arjuna
78
Copy Panda
Lambu
kira
79
Purity of Magi
Vandred
Erinyes
Sheep king/Queen coronation happen every #100 sheep game.. So whoever wins the sheep #100 will be the king or queen of the game until the next sheep coronation and will be added to the Hall of Fame.
Here is a thread to alert you to the start of new Sheep rounds
For anyone who plays this game: please follow this thread to receive warnings when new rounds are starting
Anyone making a round, please post a message to this thread when you do, so all prospective players will know to send a list (if you forget to do so, I will try to remember to do so for you).
This thread is currently just a test, to save on people having to go on mass tagging sprees - if the test is successful, we can keep on using it.
If the test fails (other than being extremely disappointed) then nothing will be lost and we can go back to ignoring it and tagging people like there's no tomorrow.
This Sheep looks interesting and quite...huge...
I'm not sure if i'll be able to play this one,but i'll try to.
It's gonna be open till next Friday/Weekend at least right?
*don't let this pic fool you, this story won't be sunshine and rainbows
This sheep is long. I certainly overdid it a lot. It's a big story, so I heavily recommend to answer the sheep questions while you're reading, instead of first reading the whole thing and answering afterwards. Trust me, it's probably a lot better this way. I'll include some music at some points, maybe it helps get you in the mood while reading, you can ignore it if you don't need/want it. I also learned the forum only allows 5 such soundcloud links in one post, so only 5 at some parts it is.
The continent of Valentia was ruled by two gods, Duma and Mila. They oversaw the land together and ensured a peaceful life for the continent's inhabitants, while in turn being faithfully revered by them. But one day Duma and Mila came into conflict with each other over a disagreement in ideologies. They both wanted to be good gods and create a paradise for their people, but they had a different view of what a paradise is.
Mila believed mankind should live their lives without any hardships, strife and sorrow, and instead be ensured easy lives of pleasure and comfort in peace. Everyone should be given happiness, and as gods they can create such a perfect environment for them.
Duma believed mankind must work hard and face many hardships to grow from them and become stronger, and as gods they should help their people develop rather than give them everything. Only by knowing misery do people know what happiness is, which is why he disagreed with a paradise only being happiness.
Their conflict was eventually resolved with the binding of a pact, the Divine Accord, that divides the continent between them. The lands of the north would be ruled by Duma and the lands of the south would be ruled by Mila. They agreed to never cross into each other's half or to intervene with each other's way of ruling, letting time itself judge which of them was right.
Many centuries passed since. The Kingdom of Zofia, which Mila founded in the south, prospered due to the goddess's love and blessings. Hers were a happy people who knew no toil and lived free of hardship. But Mila's gifts spoiled the Zofians, becoming slothful and blind to conflicts.
Meanwhile, in the north, Duma had built the Empire of Rigel. Due to the harsh lands of the north and the even harsher teachings of their fierce god, the people of Rigel had grown strong and capable. But in their constant quest for power, the Rigelians let their hearts grow cold and numb to kindness, while also making them people who are never content with their lives, constantly needing to seek more.
The two gods, while initially being heavily involved and physically present in forming their lands according to their wishes, haven't been physically seen in a very long time.
The citizens of both countries constructed big religious monuments for their gods, the Temple of Mila in Zofia and Duma Tower in Rigel. Nowadays it is said that both Mila and Duma live in these buildings and only show themselves to their most devoted followers and the leaders of the countries, which is why these have become the centers of Rigel's and Zofia's religions and filled with priests and clerics.
In this story you are Rigelian royalty, in your early 20s, the nephew/niece of the emperor of Rigel. Due to him having no children of his own you are the next in line to the throne. With that in mind, ever since you were young you've been educated and trained to be strong, to stand above others and to eventually rule over the nation.
The lands of Rigel are hard to cultivate and harvests are low, so food was always scarce and needed to be properly managed, but with working hard and good planning there was usually still enough for everyone. But this year the harvests have been unprecendently poor, and at this rate the food-stocks will run dry long before the next harvest. If nothing is done a famine will devastate the entire nation.
The emperor already tried asking the kingdom of Zofia for aid but they refused, so now the emperor has called an emergency meeting with the most relevant generals and royalty to find a solution. You have been called to the meeting as well.
Every option is eventually suggested by you or someone else and is discussed in-depth, but the final say is still on the emperor. But before he could make up his mind the high priest of Duma Tower arrives with an urgent message. He says that the Temple of Mila in Zofia is empty and that Mila disappeared, so if they go to war they don't have to fear Mila's punishment for breaking the Divine Accord. With this information everyone agreed to attack Zofia, as did the emperor.
The meeting is concluded, with everyone set on going to war. The Rigelian army is gathered together and then equipped and prepared for the conquest. All that's left is picking the army leader. Usually the emperor would assume command, despite his age he is still by far the strongest person in Rigel, but the long trip could be bad for his health. Whether you asked for it or not, he decides that you will be his replacement and lead the invasion. If you succeed in this war you will have demonstrated your strength and superiority and get the full support of the whole nation to become the next emperor.
Before departing you talk to your fiance. Your fiance is from a less prestigeous noble house but you two still found each other and fell in love. Your fiance is visibly distraught over the war, you assume it's because he/she doesn't enjoy bloodshed, is no warrior and can't accompany you and is worried about you a lot. You try to reassure your fiance by promising him/her that you will succeed, survive and make both of them the rulers of the whole continent. He/She manages to see you off with a smile as you leave for the headquarters near the border.
Arriving at the headquarters, you see that many of the soldiers aren't properly psyched up for war. Maybe it's fear of dying, the invasion failing, missing their families or being afraid of Mila and breaking the Divine Accord. You obviously need to make a speech to motivate everyone.
Regardless of which approach you take with your speech all the soldiers are a lot more motivated than before.
Before starting the invasion, you review what you know about Zofia. Their people have always been provided a good and safe life by Mila, but they still have their own army and royalty leading the kingdom. However, the royalty is far from competent. The king of Zofia, Lima IV, is said to spend his days indulging himself in pleasure and their bounty of wealth, food and entertainment. Due to that he had little interest in politics, which likely led to his refusal to help Rigel with their problem. He likely has many people within his castle, either subordinates or other royalty, which hate him and would wish to take rule instead, either because they're jealous of the life he leads or because they think he's incompetent and would lead the country to ruin.
Additionally, they don't have a history of infighting within the country, and thus likely lack any detailed battle strategies for which they know how effective they are. Their soldiers only ever fought in practice, and many of their generals are assigned to their high positions not by merit but due to their connections and status of birth. Only very few generals and knights are noteworthy and renowned for their strength and intelligence, even known of in Rigel, and those would be the most dangerous.
If it helps you imagine things, you can look at a more detailed map of the continent and some mentioned locations here. If not, the description below should suffice.
Geographically, the northern part of Zofia has three big fortresses where roughly 1/3rd of their army is stationed. The north also has some of the biggest villages of the kingdom. The southern part of Zofia largely consists of farmlands with many smaller villages, while the nearby small islands have more villages and several religious shrines and monasteries.
Between the north and the south, in the middle of Zofia, is the kingdom's capital and royal castle. That's where the other 2/3rds of the Zofian army is stationed, and that's where a big part of the population lives.
To continue with the story without branching the rest of the sheep into 5 different sheeps, let's generalize the current situation as follows: You and your army now have to take on the main army of Zofia at the capital(it fits for any answer since regardless of which option you pick you eventually have to take on the big army). The question now is how to do it. You either have a lot of self confidence in your leadership and strategic abilities, or a lot of confidence in your army's strength, so you believe you could win a fight with them head-on. But it's not all about winning or losing. These soldiers are all citizens in your future empire, and have their own families. So you'd ideally want to win while having as many survive it as possible.
While you're considering your options, a man approaches your army who calls himself a messenger and wants to meet you. After the soldiers confirmed he's unarmed you decide to meet with him. The man gives you a message from a Zofian chancellor named Desaix. He's been the right-hand man of king Lima ever since he ascended the throne and threw all his responsibilities as a king onto Desaix while he lives a hedonistic life, only rarely involving himself in decisions. Desaix sees your army not as a threat, but as an opportunity. Which reminds you of what you previously concluded before going to war, about king Lima likely having people that would betray him if possible.
He proposes the following: he would assassinate the foolish king and blame it on on Mycen, the kingdom's most renowned general, famous for his wisdom and strength. Desaix seemingly doesn't go along well with Mycen and considers him a nuisance, so with this plan he would eliminate both the king and the dangerous general. He previously already made sure, through different intrigues, that most of the other royalty in line for the throne are either dead or otherwise unable to become the next king, so with Lima and Mycen out of the way Desaix would become the new king of Zofia. He promises to fully cooperate with your army and Rigel, and that as long as he becomes king he doesn't mind Rigel taking over most of the country or being given their own share of Mila's blessings.
Desaix' plans, while somewhat questionable morally and having some inconsistencies, fully catch your interest. This would be a near perfect way of ending the war while the losses are still not too big, and would sooner or later get the entirety of Zofia under Rigel's rule. A deal like this is what's called "too good to pass up", although it's still up to you.
The sheep continues assuming you accepted the offer, though hard to say whether accepting it or not would've made a difference in what's to come.
Shortly after having accepted Desaix' offer, news reach you, and the rest of the kingdom of Zofia, that king Lima was assassinated by general Mycen, who managed to flee to the south. Additionally, the king's chancellor Desaix is assuming the position of king. You smirk as everything went according to plan, almost frighteningly easy. You meet up with Desaix in person, who is more than happy about this development and hopes for a good alliance between Rigel and Zofia, finally giving you the food supplies Rigel had initially asked of Zofia and send them to Rigel's castle.
Now all you have to do is wait. You dispatch several messengers to Rigel while occupying the northern fortresses with your army for the time being. Messengers from the emperor and other people arrive sometime later, either congratulating you on your success or in the emperor's case giving you further instructions and requesting constant status reports. But one of the messengers was from your fiance. He/She is glad about things going so well, but also misses you a lot and would like to come. With the war largely wrapped up you have the messenger tell your fiance to come to you so you spend some time. After he/she arrives you two spend a lot of time together, talking about the past, present and future.
But while spending time with your love you become too careless and too content with the situation. Meanwhile in Zofia, the army and the people are split over their king's death and the allegations on Mycen. This, along with Desaix' incompetent ways of resolving the doubts and inability of getting a firm grasp on his rulership, leads to half of the Zofian army to form a resistance against both Desaix and the invading Rigelian forces.
At first you don't mind, instead you think this could be even better for you. The Zofian army is split and fights each other, and after the dust settles Desaix will have even less of a way to bargain himself into a more favorable position for you, or alternatively you still have to go to war against the remaining resistance army if they defeat Desaix. So you decide to look the other way for now.
Instead of news, it is Desaix himself and a small number of soldiers that reach the gates of your fortress. You find out that the resistance army, who now calls themselves The Deliverance, have defeated Desaix at a battle for the capital. A lot of Desaix' soldiers abandoned him and joined the Deliverance instead, and he was forced to flee with what little soldiers he could keep to his side. You find it hard to believe that the Deliverance could reclaim the capital against an army of the same number with barely any losses. Apparently they were losing at first and were pushed back down to the south, likely because Mycen refused to participate in the war. But then Mycen's grandson joined the army in his stead, and due to his brilliant leadership and strength they completely turned the tides, reclaimed the south and even reclaiming the capital.
The young man, in the same age as you, is being heralded as a hero and savior by the Zofian people and his army. And he's marching from the capital to the first northern fortress, the one you and your fiance are currently in. His army size is less than 1/5th of the initial Zofian army number from before the war started, nothing compared to your full army. However, after you made the agreement with Desaix, during that temporary peace almost half of your army returned to Rigel, while the rest was spread out over the 3 fortresses in the north. The army you have at your command at the fortress right now is still stronger and numbers more men than the Deliverance has, but they still march confidently to the fort with the intent to take it. Do they not care about losses or the difficulty of taking a fort, or about fighting the Rigelian army? Or do they have a plan with which they can win, as successfully as when they took back the capital?
Regardless which option you pick, you will have gotten rid of Desaix for good as he is killed by the Deliverance. But also regardless of your choice the fortress falls and you manage to retreat towards the north with your fiance. This is the first defeat you ever had to suffer, and it feels even worse after your successful start of the war. You managed to win against a well organized army of a country, but now you're losing against a mere resistance group? While trying to cope with your loss and find reasons and people to blame for it, the Deliverance prepares to continue their advance into the other fortresses and remove the rest of the Rigelian army from Zofian soil.
Your fiance is still here with you to give you much needed emotional support, so he/she manages to calm you down. Now you start thinking about what to do. You could send a messenger to Rigel asking for reinforcements, but that would mean admitting you failed and all your previous messages of success would become meaningless. You decide that you can't live with such a shame, so you ignore that option. The Deliverance and their wannabe hero are the only thing in the way of your success, and they are walking straight towards you. If you play your cards right you can destroy them with ease and make up for your previous blunder and negligence without anyone finding out...
That said, the situation is as follows. You hold two fortresses, in each is an army slightly larger than the army of the Deliverance. The Deliverance is moving towards one of those two fortresses with the intent of taking it back. They have no noteworthy people in their army except their leader, but he is just a young man who's completely new to being in a war and leading an army. He may have been very efficient and successful several times already, but he lacks your experience and knowledge, meaning he could easily be fooled to make a reckless decision. So with that in mind you decide to include an ambush in whichever plan you pick to take them by surprise and completely ensure your victory.
But regardless of which option you take the Deliverance reacts perfectly to it, as if they somehow knew everything you're planning. Them not being fooled by your perfect ambush plan was the only thing that never crossed your mind, and due to an ambush requiring you to split up your own forces they manage to take advantage of that to pick the right battles and win them all.
The thoughts of a traitor among your most trusted generals and advisors come to mind, but thinking about that will have to wait for the time being as you're forced to flee over the border back to Rigel.
A total defeat as Zofia is reclaimed by the Deliverance. They are surely celebrating their victory now, while you're running back to the safety of your country... Words can hardly describe the anguish you're feeling right now. Anger, hate towards the Zofians, self-hate, sadness... a lot of emotions mixing together. Even your fiance can't help you feel better over this.
You go all the way back to the capital in the north to speak to the emperor. On your way you notice all the eyes in the castle being fixated on you, judging you for your failure. People whispering and talking about you as you pass them, some even talking loud enough intentionally for you to hear them speak how much of a failure and disappointment you are. And you can't even get angry and yell at them, their words just make you feel worse and worse as you walk to the emperor's chambers. Once there you tell your uncle everything that happened and try to explain your failures. But even though you're his only niece/nephew, the sad and disappointed look on his face doesn't change.
After you're done explaining yourself the emperor concludes that after liberating Zofia the Deliverance is very likely to cross the border and invade Rigel, bringing the war to us. He calls his servants and tells them to assemble all soldiers and prepare his armor, weapon and steed. From his words you notice that he intends to set out to, assume command of the army and deal with them himself.
He also tells you to remain here in the castle... If you say nothing now, even if the emperor crushes the invaders and takes over Zofia you will never be able to recover from your failure. Despite being the next in line for the throne it is unlikely for you to gain anyone's support, so the new emperor would become someone else. In Rigel nothing is as important as strength, not just physical strength but everything that makes a strong leader. There will never again be an opportunity for you to prove yourself, unless you fix your own mistakes.
You somehow manage to convince him with your words and the fire in your eyes, so he lets you take full control of the army once again.
The army you assembled is even bigger numbered than what you started with back when you tried taking Zofia. But in the meantime the Deliverance army has grown as well, all uniting under their savior to put an end to the war and defeat Rigel. The two armies are almost of the same size, with you being slightly stronger in number.
While all is not lost for the side that loses and is forced to retreat back deeper into their country, a loss here would be so demotivating that it could be impossible for either side to recover.
Either way, the battle is long and tiring for both sides. But eventually the outcome becomes apparent.
You lost. The Deliverance army managed to defeat the army of Rigel. Before you can even accept the circumstances, you are carried away by some of your other generals as the army is retreating. With this win they will continue their conquest of Rigel, while you... This was your last failure. In total disgrace you return to the castle and the emperor, but nobody there even has the time to scorn and ridicule you this time. Everyone is frantically preparing for battle. The few forts along the way are unlikely to stop the Deliverance as they make their way to the castle. You ask to accompany your uncle to the final battle to defend the castle, but at this point the emperor has had enough.
"A merciful leader may grant a second chance. Only a fool allows a third. My army has no place for the weak. You’ll remain here and watch in quiet.". Those are his last words to you, as he departs to the battlefield. And that is also the last time you saw your uncle. The emperor died in battle and the remaining soldiers surrendered. Rigel has fallen, the Deliverance won the war for Zofia. Distressed and in despair, you gather your fiance, the subordinates you had previously discarded and some more soldiers that refused to accept the loss, and take them all with you through the underground tunnel that connects Rigel's castle and Duma Tower.
As you arrive in Duma Tower you find yourself in front of your god's altar. It is there, in the altar's silence, that your mind clears up and you start to think about everything that happened and what is yet to happen. The hero who led the Deliverance, is he the protagonist of this whole story while you're just a villain on his path of conquest? Will history remember him as a savior and you as an evil invader who was stopped? You remember that things started going downhill as soon as your fiance joined you in Zofia. Was he/she the traitor that caused your downfall? There would be no reason for your fiance to do that, or so you had thought.
You also remember Mila's disappearence and just now question why that ever happened. Has something a lot bigger than this war been happening in the background all along? Has the matter of success or failure blinded you to the biggest issues, regarding the two gods, the cause of the famine and even the high priest of Duma Tower who came with the news about Mila?
It is then that you hear from your subordinates that the Deliverance leader and a small part of his army is also taking this tunnel to Duma Tower and will reach them soon. Of course you know he's not here for you, his destination is Duma Tower. Something big is indeed going on at the tower and his goal is to stop it. But that doesn't concern you, it's too late for you. Your dreams and your purpose of becoming emperor have shattered.
This is the end of this sheep, maybe I comment some more on some outcomes and story parts in the result post.
I will leave it open for 10 days or so, could be enough for people who feel like reading all this to play. I certainly overdid it But I had fun writing this different perspective of the FE Echoes plot.
*don't let this pic fool you, this story won't be sunshine and rainbows
This sheep is long. I certainly overdid it a lot. It's a big story, so I heavily recommend to answer the sheep questions while you're reading, instead of first reading the whole thing and answering afterwards. Trust me, it's probably a lot better this way. I'll include some music at some points, maybe it helps get you in the mood while reading, you can ignore it if you don't need/want it. I also learned the forum only allows 5 such soundcloud links in one post, so only 5 at some parts it is.
The continent of Valentia was ruled by two gods, Duma and Mila. They oversaw the land together and ensured a peaceful life for the continent's inhabitants, while in turn being faithfully revered by them. But one day Duma and Mila came into conflict with each other over a disagreement in ideologies. They both wanted to be good gods and create a paradise for their people, but they had a different view of what a paradise is.
Mila believed mankind should live their lives without any hardships, strife and sorrow, and instead be ensured easy lives of pleasure and comfort in peace. Everyone should be given happiness, and as gods they can create such a perfect environment for them.
Duma believed mankind must work hard and face many hardships to grow from them and become stronger, and as gods they should help their people develop rather than give them everything. Only by knowing misery do people know what happiness is, which is why he disagreed with a paradise only being happiness.
Their conflict was eventually resolved with the binding of a pact, the Divine Accord, that divides the continent between them. The lands of the north would be ruled by Duma and the lands of the south would be ruled by Mila. They agreed to never cross into each other's half or to intervene with each other's way of ruling, letting time itself judge which of them was right.
Many centuries passed since. The Kingdom of Zofia, which Mila founded in the south, prospered due to the goddess's love and blessings. Hers were a happy people who knew no toil and lived free of hardship. But Mila's gifts spoiled the Zofians, becoming slothful and blind to conflicts.
Meanwhile, in the north, Duma had built the Empire of Rigel. Due to the harsh lands of the north and the even harsher teachings of their fierce god, the people of Rigel had grown strong and capable. But in their constant quest for power, the Rigelians let their hearts grow cold and numb to kindness, while also making them people who are never content with their lives, constantly needing to seek more.
The two gods, while initially being heavily involved and physically present in forming their lands according to their wishes, haven't been physically seen in a very long time.
The citizens of both countries constructed big religious monuments for their gods, the Temple of Mila in Zofia and Duma Tower in Rigel. Nowadays it is said that both Mila and Duma live in these buildings and only show themselves to their most devoted followers and the leaders of the countries, which is why these have become the centers of Rigel's and Zofia's religions and filled with priests and clerics.
In this story you are Rigelian royalty, in your early 20s, the nephew/niece of the emperor of Rigel. Due to him having no children of his own you are the next in line to the throne. With that in mind, ever since you were young you've been educated and trained to be strong, to stand above others and to eventually rule over the nation.
The lands of Rigel are hard to cultivate and harvests are low, so food was always scarce and needed to be properly managed, but with working hard and good planning there was usually still enough for everyone. But this year the harvests have been unprecendently poor, and at this rate the food-stocks will run dry long before the next harvest. If nothing is done a famine will devastate the entire nation.
The emperor already tried asking the kingdom of Zofia for aid but they refused, so now the emperor has called an emergency meeting with the most relevant generals and royalty to find a solution. You have been called to the meeting as well.
Every option is eventually suggested by you or someone else and is discussed in-depth, but the final say is still on the emperor. But before he could make up his mind the high priest of Duma Tower arrives with an urgent message. He says that the Temple of Mila in Zofia is empty and that Mila disappeared, so if they go to war they don't have to fear Mila's punishment for breaking the Divine Accord. With this information everyone agreed to attack Zofia, as did the emperor.
The meeting is concluded, with everyone set on going to war. The Rigelian army is gathered together and then equipped and prepared for the conquest. All that's left is picking the army leader. Usually the emperor would assume command, despite his age he is still by far the strongest person in Rigel, but the long trip could be bad for his health. Whether you asked for it or not, he decides that you will be his replacement and lead the invasion. If you succeed in this war you will have demonstrated your strength and superiority and get the full support of the whole nation to become the next emperor.
Before departing you talk to your fiance. Your fiance is from a less prestigeous noble house but you two still found each other and fell in love. Your fiance is visibly distraught over the war, you assume it's because he/she doesn't enjoy bloodshed, is no warrior and can't accompany you and is worried about you a lot. You try to reassure your fiance by promising him/her that you will succeed, survive and make both of them the rulers of the whole continent. He/She manages to see you off with a smile as you leave for the headquarters near the border.
Arriving at the headquarters, you see that many of the soldiers aren't properly psyched up for war. Maybe it's fear of dying, the invasion failing, missing their families or being afraid of Mila and breaking the Divine Accord. You obviously need to make a speech to motivate everyone.
Regardless of which approach you take with your speech all the soldiers are a lot more motivated than before.
Before starting the invasion, you review what you know about Zofia. Their people have always been provided a good and safe life by Mila, but they still have their own army and royalty leading the kingdom. However, the royalty is far from competent. The king of Zofia, Lima IV, is said to spend his days indulging himself in pleasure and their bounty of wealth, food and entertainment. Due to that he had little interest in politics, which likely led to his refusal to help Rigel with their problem. He likely has many people within his castle, either subordinates or other royalty, which hate him and would wish to take rule instead, either because they're jealous of the life he leads or because they think he's incompetent and would lead the country to ruin.
Additionally, they don't have a history of infighting within the country, and thus likely lack any detailed battle strategies for which they know how effective they are. Their soldiers only ever fought in practice, and many of their generals are assigned to their high positions not by merit but due to their connections and status of birth. Only very few generals and knights are noteworthy and renowned for their strength and intelligence, even known of in Rigel, and those would be the most dangerous.
If it helps you imagine things, you can look at a more detailed map of the continent and some mentioned locations here. If not, the description below should suffice.
Geographically, the northern part of Zofia has three big fortresses where roughly 1/3rd of their army is stationed. The north also has some of the biggest villages of the kingdom. The southern part of Zofia largely consists of farmlands with many smaller villages, while the nearby small islands have more villages and several religious shrines and monasteries.
Between the north and the south, in the middle of Zofia, is the kingdom's capital and royal castle. That's where the other 2/3rds of the Zofian army is stationed, and that's where a big part of the population lives.
To continue with the story without branching the rest of the sheep into 5 different sheeps, let's generalize the current situation as follows: You and your army now have to take on the main army of Zofia at the capital(it fits for any answer since regardless of which option you pick you eventually have to take on the big army). The question now is how to do it. You either have a lot of self confidence in your leadership and strategic abilities, or a lot of confidence in your army's strength, so you believe you could win a fight with them head-on. But it's not all about winning or losing. These soldiers are all citizens in your future empire, and have their own families. So you'd ideally want to win while having as many survive it as possible.
While you're considering your options, a man approaches your army who calls himself a messenger and wants to meet you. After the soldiers confirmed he's unarmed you decide to meet with him. The man gives you a message from a Zofian chancellor named Desaix. He's been the right-hand man of king Lima ever since he ascended the throne and threw all his responsibilities as a king onto Desaix while he lives a hedonistic life, only rarely involving himself in decisions. Desaix sees your army not as a threat, but as an opportunity. Which reminds you of what you previously concluded before going to war, about king Lima likely having people that would betray him if possible.
He proposes the following: he would assassinate the foolish king and blame it on on Mycen, the kingdom's most renowned general, famous for his wisdom and strength. Desaix seemingly doesn't go along well with Mycen and considers him a nuisance, so with this plan he would eliminate both the king and the dangerous general. He previously already made sure, through different intrigues, that most of the other royalty in line for the throne are either dead or otherwise unable to become the next king, so with Lima and Mycen out of the way Desaix would become the new king of Zofia. He promises to fully cooperate with your army and Rigel, and that as long as he becomes king he doesn't mind Rigel taking over most of the country or being given their own share of Mila's blessings.
Desaix' plans, while somewhat questionable morally and having some inconsistencies, fully catch your interest. This would be a near perfect way of ending the war while the losses are still not too big, and would sooner or later get the entirety of Zofia under Rigel's rule. A deal like this is what's called "too good to pass up", although it's still up to you.
The sheep continues assuming you accepted the offer, though hard to say whether accepting it or not would've made a difference in what's to come.
Shortly after having accepted Desaix' offer, news reach you, and the rest of the kingdom of Zofia, that king Lima was assassinated by general Mycen, who managed to flee to the south. Additionally, the king's chancellor Desaix is assuming the position of king. You smirk as everything went according to plan, almost frighteningly easy. You meet up with Desaix in person, who is more than happy about this development and hopes for a good alliance between Rigel and Zofia, finally giving you the food supplies Rigel had initially asked of Zofia and send them to Rigel's castle.
Now all you have to do is wait. You dispatch several messengers to Rigel while occupying the northern fortresses with your army for the time being. Messengers from the emperor and other people arrive sometime later, either congratulating you on your success or in the emperor's case giving you further instructions and requesting constant status reports. But one of the messengers was from your fiance. He/She is glad about things going so well, but also misses you a lot and would like to come. With the war largely wrapped up you have the messenger tell your fiance to come to you so you spend some time. After he/she arrives you two spend a lot of time together, talking about the past, present and future.
But while spending time with your love you become too careless and too content with the situation. Meanwhile in Zofia, the army and the people are split over their king's death and the allegations on Mycen. This, along with Desaix' incompetent ways of resolving the doubts and inability of getting a firm grasp on his rulership, leads to half of the Zofian army to form a resistance against both Desaix and the invading Rigelian forces.
At first you don't mind, instead you think this could be even better for you. The Zofian army is split and fights each other, and after the dust settles Desaix will have even less of a way to bargain himself into a more favorable position for you, or alternatively you still have to go to war against the remaining resistance army if they defeat Desaix. So you decide to look the other way for now.
Instead of news, it is Desaix himself and a small number of soldiers that reach the gates of your fortress. You find out that the resistance army, who now calls themselves The Deliverance, have defeated Desaix at a battle for the capital. A lot of Desaix' soldiers abandoned him and joined the Deliverance instead, and he was forced to flee with what little soldiers he could keep to his side. You find it hard to believe that the Deliverance could reclaim the capital against an army of the same number with barely any losses. Apparently they were losing at first and were pushed back down to the south, likely because Mycen refused to participate in the war. But then Mycen's grandson joined the army in his stead, and due to his brilliant leadership and strength they completely turned the tides, reclaimed the south and even reclaiming the capital.
The young man, in the same age as you, is being heralded as a hero and savior by the Zofian people and his army. And he's marching from the capital to the first northern fortress, the one you and your fiance are currently in. His army size is less than 1/5th of the initial Zofian army number from before the war started, nothing compared to your full army. However, after you made the agreement with Desaix, during that temporary peace almost half of your army returned to Rigel, while the rest was spread out over the 3 fortresses in the north. The army you have at your command at the fortress right now is still stronger and numbers more men than the Deliverance has, but they still march confidently to the fort with the intent to take it. Do they not care about losses or the difficulty of taking a fort, or about fighting the Rigelian army? Or do they have a plan with which they can win, as successfully as when they took back the capital?
Regardless which option you pick, you will have gotten rid of Desaix for good as he is killed by the Deliverance. But also regardless of your choice the fortress falls and you manage to retreat towards the north with your fiance. This is the first defeat you ever had to suffer, and it feels even worse after your successful start of the war. You managed to win against a well organized army of a country, but now you're losing against a mere resistance group? While trying to cope with your loss and find reasons and people to blame for it, the Deliverance prepares to continue their advance into the other fortresses and remove the rest of the Rigelian army from Zofian soil.
Your fiance is still here with you to give you much needed emotional support, so he/she manages to calm you down. Now you start thinking about what to do. You could send a messenger to Rigel asking for reinforcements, but that would mean admitting you failed and all your previous messages of success would become meaningless. You decide that you can't live with such a shame, so you ignore that option. The Deliverance and their wannabe hero are the only thing in the way of your success, and they are walking straight towards you. If you play your cards right you can destroy them with ease and make up for your previous blunder and negligence without anyone finding out...
That said, the situation is as follows. You hold two fortresses, in each is an army slightly larger than the army of the Deliverance. The Deliverance is moving towards one of those two fortresses with the intent of taking it back. They have no noteworthy people in their army except their leader, but he is just a young man who's completely new to being in a war and leading an army. He may have been very efficient and successful several times already, but he lacks your experience and knowledge, meaning he could easily be fooled to make a reckless decision. So with that in mind you decide to include an ambush in whichever plan you pick to take them by surprise and completely ensure your victory.
But regardless of which option you take the Deliverance reacts perfectly to it, as if they somehow knew everything you're planning. Them not being fooled by your perfect ambush plan was the only thing that never crossed your mind, and due to an ambush requiring you to split up your own forces they manage to take advantage of that to pick the right battles and win them all.
The thoughts of a traitor among your most trusted generals and advisors come to mind, but thinking about that will have to wait for the time being as you're forced to flee over the border back to Rigel.
A total defeat as Zofia is reclaimed by the Deliverance. They are surely celebrating their victory now, while you're running back to the safety of your country... Words can hardly describe the anguish you're feeling right now. Anger, hate towards the Zofians, self-hate, sadness... a lot of emotions mixing together. Even your fiance can't help you feel better over this.
You go all the way back to the capital in the north to speak to the emperor. On your way you notice all the eyes in the castle being fixated on you, judging you for your failure. People whispering and talking about you as you pass them, some even talking loud enough intentionally for you to hear them speak how much of a failure and disappointment you are. And you can't even get angry and yell at them, their words just make you feel worse and worse as you walk to the emperor's chambers. Once there you tell your uncle everything that happened and try to explain your failures. But even though you're his only niece/nephew, the sad and disappointed look on his face doesn't change.
After you're done explaining yourself the emperor concludes that after liberating Zofia the Deliverance is very likely to cross the border and invade Rigel, bringing the war to us. He calls his servants and tells them to assemble all soldiers and prepare his armor, weapon and steed. From his words you notice that he intends to set out to, assume command of the army and deal with them himself.
He also tells you to remain here in the castle... If you say nothing now, even if the emperor crushes the invaders and takes over Zofia you will never be able to recover from your failure. Despite being the next in line for the throne it is unlikely for you to gain anyone's support, so the new emperor would become someone else. In Rigel nothing is as important as strength, not just physical strength but everything that makes a strong leader. There will never again be an opportunity for you to prove yourself, unless you fix your own mistakes.
You somehow manage to convince him with your words and the fire in your eyes, so he lets you take full control of the army once again.
The army you assembled is even bigger numbered than what you started with back when you tried taking Zofia. But in the meantime the Deliverance army has grown as well, all uniting under their savior to put an end to the war and defeat Rigel. The two armies are almost of the same size, with you being slightly stronger in number.
While all is not lost for the side that loses and is forced to retreat back deeper into their country, a loss here would be so demotivating that it could be impossible for either side to recover.
Either way, the battle is long and tiring for both sides. But eventually the outcome becomes apparent.
You lost. The Deliverance army managed to defeat the army of Rigel. Before you can even accept the circumstances, you are carried away by some of your other generals as the army is retreating. With this win they will continue their conquest of Rigel, while you... This was your last failure. In total disgrace you return to the castle and the emperor, but nobody there even has the time to scorn and ridicule you this time. Everyone is frantically preparing for battle. The few forts along the way are unlikely to stop the Deliverance as they make their way to the castle. You ask to accompany your uncle to the final battle to defend the castle, but at this point the emperor has had enough.
"A merciful leader may grant a second chance. Only a fool allows a third. My army has no place for the weak. You’ll remain here and watch in quiet.". Those are his last words to you, as he departs to the battlefield. And that is also the last time you saw your uncle. The emperor died in battle and the remaining soldiers surrendered. Rigel has fallen, the Deliverance won the war for Zofia. Distressed and in despair, you gather your fiance, the subordinates you had previously discarded and some more soldiers that refused to accept the loss, and take them all with you through the underground tunnel that connects Rigel's castle and Duma Tower.
As you arrive in Duma Tower you find yourself in front of your god's altar. It is there, in the altar's silence, that your mind clears up and you start to think about everything that happened and what is yet to happen. The hero who led the Deliverance, is he the protagonist of this whole story while you're just a villain on his path of conquest? Will history remember him as a savior and you as an evil invader who was stopped? You remember that things started going downhill as soon as your fiance joined you in Zofia. Was he/she the traitor that caused your downfall? There would be no reason for your fiance to do that, or so you had thought.
You also remember Mila's disappearence and just now question why that ever happened. Has something a lot bigger than this war been happening in the background all along? Has the matter of success or failure blinded you to the biggest issues, regarding the two gods, the cause of the famine and even the high priest of Duma Tower who came with the news about Mila?
It is then that you hear from your subordinates that the Deliverance leader and a small part of his army is also taking this tunnel to Duma Tower and will reach them soon. Of course you know he's not here for you, his destination is Duma Tower. Something big is indeed going on at the tower and his goal is to stop it. But that doesn't concern you, it's too late for you. Your dreams and your purpose of becoming emperor have shattered.
This is the end of this sheep, maybe I comment some more on some outcomes and story parts in the result post.
I will leave it open for 10 days or so, could be enough for people who feel like reading all this to play. I certainly overdid it But I had fun writing this different perspective of the FE Echoes plot.
Just stopping by to say I hope you can keep the game open until I get around to being able to do it, currently banged up with an injury but will try and get my answers up in the next day or so.
I'll answer sometime during this weekend.
If you read&answer one 
