TheAed Massacre (Japanese:イードの虐殺Yied Massacre) was a skirmish between the armies ofLeonster andThracia which occurred in the south-western region of theAed Desert inGrann 761.^[1] In a final battle which broke the long-term tension between the two nations, Thracia's KingTravant led an ambush upon Leonster's PrinceQuan and hisLanceritter knights, overwhelming and slaughtering them.

Overview

Background

Ever since the Thracian Peninsula split into two countries – theMunster District andThracia – as a result of the actions of the second Thracian king, the two halves of the peninsula were pitted against each other in centuries of a cold war.^[2] Thracia sought to reclaim the fertile northern territory for itself, with its own territory highly unsuitable for farming and resulting in an impoverished nation needing to hire itself out for mercenary work to survive.^[3] It was never, however, able to successfully advance on the Munster District because of theLanceritter, the elite mounted knights ofLeonster, proving to be an impenetrable force to the Thracian army. It was under these conditions thatTravant came to become the Thracian king, both yearning for reunification for the good of his people and thoroughly despising Leonster and its people.

Leonster's prince,Quan, was a close friend and ally ofSigurd ofChalphy and was married to Sigurd's sisterEthlyn, and so in Grann 757 the two assisted Sigurd in his battles inVerdane andAgustria, and accompanied him in exile toSilesse after Sigurd was framed for the assassination ofGrannvale's prince,Kurth. Shortly into their time in Silesse, Quan and Ethlyn departed the country to return to Leonster, intending to raise support for Sigurd's cause and an army to assist him in the conflict against Grannvale.^[4] During their time back in Leonster, Ethlyn gave birth to their second child,Leif.

The battle

In Grann 761, Quan led a unit of eight Lanceritter knights on the mission to reinforce Sigurd,^[5] who was already battling the forces of Grannvale atLubeck Castle north of the desert. He was accompanied by Ethlyn, who had reluctantly taken with her their eldest child,Altena;^[6] neither intended for Ethlyn to remain with the party for long, especially in light of Altena's presence, but Ethlyn wished to remain with Quan for "just a little longer".^[6] Meanwhile, Travant had either directly or indirectly learned fromVeld of theLoptr Church of the passage of the Lanceritter through the Aed Desert,^[7] and so deployed with his lieutenantMagorn and thirteenWyvern Riders in pursuit of Quan.

As horseback riders, Quan's entire unit struggled to move in the desert, and so panicked upon sighting Travant's forces closing in on them, knowing the ability to put up a fight against flyers was limited under these conditions.^[8] With Ethlyn's encouragement,^[9] the group attempted to fight off the Thracian army, but was quickly overwhelmed and slain.

Aftermath

Upon the defeat of the Leonster group, one of the Thracian men found Altena near Ethlyn's corpse and handed her over to Travant upon his order.^[10] Travant took Altena and theGáe Bolg with him back to Thracia, leaving his army behind underMagorn's command under orders to fly north and assist with the fight againstSigurd's group, with the hope of winning the sizable bounty placed upon them by Grannvale.^[10]

Sigurd received word of Quan and Ethlyn's demise in the southern region of the desert from a village elder of Phinora upon seizing the castle back from Velthomer's army.^[11] Later, back in the Munster District, the four kingdoms attempted to prepare for all-out war against Thracia upon receiving news of the Aed Massacre; at the Great River of Thracia, the four marshalled their forces in preparation for the Thracian army under the command of Leonster's KingCalf, but were defeated through the betrayal of GeneralRaydrik ofConnacht, and the Munster District fell briefly under Thracia's rule. However, Thracia was soon betrayed again by Raydrik and defeated by the Grannvale army, which claimed the Munster District under its own rule and cowed Thracia into an alliance.

Survivors and casualties

Known deceased

• Quan
• Ethlyn
• All members of theLanceritter
• Magorn: Following the defeat of the Lanceritter, Travant tasked the Thracian unit to fly north to join withGrannvale's army in the battle againstSigurd. There were no survivors on the part of the Thracians.
• All members of the Thracian army except Travant: Following the defeat of the Lanceritter, Travant tasked the Thracian unit to fly north to join withGrannvale's army in the battle againstSigurd. There were no survivors on the part of the Thracians.

Known survivors

• Altena: The infant Altena was the sole survivor of the Leonster group, and was abducted by Travant along with theGáe Bolg and subsequently raised as his own daughter.
• Travant: Departed the battlefield with Altena and the Gáe Bolg following the defeat of the Lanceritter.

Not present

• Finn: Stationed in Leonster at the time, protecting the infant PrinceLeif. When the Munster District fell to Thracia, he fled with Leif and Lachesis, and over a decade later served in Seliph's liberation army.

Trivia

• InChapter 5, it is possible, though highly unlikely, for the Leonster army to survive against and defeat the Thracian army; however, this has no impact on the game's story, and it will continue as if they were defeated. If any Leonster units actually reach Phinora, they will seize it and softlock the game.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Artwork of the Aed Massacre fromThracia 776 Illustrated Works.Quan is on his horse, wielding theGáe Bolg lance, whileEthlyn is not far from him, holding their three-year-old daughterAltena.
• 
  The Aed Massacre in the opening ofThracia 776.
• 
  Quan's and Travant's clash, as depicted inFire Emblem Cipher.
• 
  Ethlyn and Altena during the Aed Massacre, as depicted inFire Emblem Cipher.

References