SoV Countdown | Forsyth’s Influence Upon Alm’s Story
Many attribute Alm's and Celica's routes to be separate because of their stark personalities forcing them to go separate ways: Alm was destined to fight, Celica destined to look for the truth. However, I will argue that Alm is not as rash ( at first ) until he makes a concrete decision, and that the reason Alm chooses to take up arms against Rigel is, in fact, because of one man that many tend to gloss over as insignificant to the plot: Forsyth, member of the Deliverance under Clive.
Once again, I'll be only using text from Gaiden and will not at all be tying Shadows of Valentia to this post. My points consist of going through the story in Chapter 1 and all the way to the end of Chapter 2, though I do mention Alm's ending in the game. If you would like to avoid reading it for this point, feel free, but I try to be as brief about it as possible.
The following interaction occurs when Alm goes to recruit Forsyth. For the sake of this argument, I'll assume that recruiting Forsyth is canon to the plot, though it IS possible to skip him altogether in Gaiden.
Forsyth: It seems that Desaix's requested aid from the northern power Rigel. Zofia's forces can't compare to the might of the knights of Rigel. If the Kingdom of Rigel makes a move, we won't stand a chance.
Alm: But the "Pact of the Gods" upheld by Zofia and Rigel means we shouldn't come to blows, right? Our guardian, the Lady Mila, would never permit such a thing.
Forsyth: Yeah, but see... There's a rumor, it seems, that Lady Mila's disappeared. Hey, hey. Don't be so surprised. After all, it's been kind of weird lately, hasn't it? Around here, the crops have been failing, and all that's showing up are a bunch of strange demonic creatures. You can't help but wonder if the powers of Lady Mila, Protector of the Earth, are waning. Well, if you go to the Temple of Mila, you should be able to find out if this rumor's true.
When Forsyth talks about the fate of Zofia should Rigel make an invasion upon it at the request of Desaix, Alm brings up his first point of naivete: Zofia and Rigel can't possibly go to war because both countries' patron god made a pact. In his mind, if Rigel were to invade Zofia, Mila would put a stop to it before the soldiers would have to.
This introduces a strange idea that Alm holds a lot of faith in promises as well as his goddess, so strong that the idea of betrayal doesn't really cross his mind. I haven't played SoV yet, but if this is still kept in, then Fernand defecting will probably have a HUGE impact upon his views, much like several other events shared between it and Gaiden, that will cause him to lose confidence in his ideology-- a striking contrast to the uphill progression of Celica whilst Alm is mentally going downhill.
Nevertheless, Alm places too much confidence upon a pact made literally thousands of years ago, believing it to be resolute and unlikely to tear apart after years. This could be tied to the idea that post-game, Alm's ending focuses so much on never forgetting lest the unified Valentia be shattered into war again; Alm desires the bond of a promise to never weaken. Alm is very similar to Mila in her love for the people and their livelihood, and him stating specifically that Lady Mila would never "permit" Rigel's invasion is special because he uses that specific word: permit. Alm's not implying any force used on Mila's part to stop the invasion but rather a lack of consent; he portrays Mila as a defensive wall against Rigel which, to be fair, makes some sense considering how Duma is simplified to represent strength and the Zofian vice given by Mila is the flaw of sloth-- they don't have to initiate anything because Mila's plenty blesses them in excess. Meanwhile, Duma teaches Rigelians to take initiative to overcome hardship and become strong. Alm is showing in his belief in Mila that he clearly does not want to fight ( also made obvious by the rest of the line ) if he doesn't have to and he would prefer to merely keep things at peace, even if tense peace.
Regardless, continuing on, Forsyth provides a retort: Mila has disappeared, and this is the possible reason as to why Zofia's prosperity is dying. Mila can't stop Rigel if she's up and gone M.I.A. Additionally, he continues and mentions how Alm is surprised. Though one can make an argument that Forsyth is merely perceptive, this can't be confirmed or denied, and it's possible that Alm simply wears his emotions on his sleeves and was thus super obvious in his shock. If so, his reaction highlights his own naivete as Forsyth attempts to further explain things to provide him some comfort.
Interestingly enough, and I'll be using this point for later, Forsyth also notes that Alm can find out the truth to the rumor and the current problems Zofia's facing if he goes to investigate her disappearance at Mila's Temple. This is the same mission that Celica goes on, causing her to meet with Alm in the first place at the Zofian palace.
Not too long after this conversation, the Deliverance takes a hold of the Zofian palace and stays there. Celica meets up with Alm and holds a conversation with him. The two discuss their goals of what to do.
Celica: Leaving that aside, Alm, I have a request for you. Is there no way war against the Kingdom of Rigel can be avoided?
Alm: That's impossible. Emperor Rudolf of Rigel has seized the opportunity to attack while Zofia's still weakened by civil war. He's already started an invasion. At this rate, the Kingdom of Zofia is going to be destroyed.
Celica: But when it comes down to it, both Rigelians and Zofians are the same, aren't they? We are all people of Valentia. Even if these divisions of country no longer existed, we should all still be able to live together in happiness.
Alm: That's no good. You can't just tell the people of Zofia to go live under the barbarous rule of Rigel. Seeing as how Rigel aided Desaix in ravaging the lands of Zofia, we've got no choice but to fight.
Alm, as we've established, holds some strong degree of reliance upon Zofia's patron goddess Mila. Though he agrees to go in Mycen's stead to meet with the other members of the Deliverance, he doesn't want to have to fight Rigel. He possibly only is fighting against Desaix because Desaix has already committed a severe crime against Zofia and has, as a result, crossed a line. Once crossed, Alm feels compelled to take action. There is emotion fueling his resolution to assist the Deliverance against Desaix.
However, when Celica brings up the possibility of avoiding war with Rigel in the hopes of keeping Alm safe, but Alm is suddenly very adamant about going to war. Alm percieves Rigel to have committed a wrong by invading Zofia and thus a line has been crossed. This directly parallels with Alm's decision to go fight against Desaix. Alm's opinion has changed around, but he also has now lost faith in Mila in stopping Rudolf.
It is very likely that Forsyth's conversation with him was a stepping stone in disswaying himself from keeping his passive mindset that Mila will protect them. It should be noted that Alm did not actually start to do anything about the Desaix situation until Lukas arrived at the village and Mycen refused, once again portraying Alm as only going to action when he feels that the situation is dire for it. Alm was the last resort option for Lukas's recruitment in a sense. So, in relation to the Rigel situation, we can look at how Alm is in full power to make a decision now that he's the leader of the Deliverance. He does not have to go along with whatever Clive or anyone else wishes, yet he decides to go on a full-out counter and not rationally think about it. He quickly brushes off Celica's suggestions to find alternatives to war, not necessarily depending upon Mila, but Alm reacts strongly and in the negative.
The point here is that had this been the same Alm from the beginning of the game, Alm would have waited it out a bit and taken a solely defensive move but he has now decided it is best to actually head into Rigelian territory despite the fact that the Rigelian Empire's armies are known to be much stronger than Zofia's. Taking up arms himself was Alm's last resort in “typical” circumstances such as with Desaix, but he is leading the initiation with no hesitation. He will only back out of it now should he find the lost Zofian princess.
His emotions have once again driven him, but Forsyth was the one to eliminate the possibility of waiting or hoping on Mila to help. Forsyth, in a sense, accelerated Alm's sense of urgency. Alm has gone from being willing to listen to the other party in Forsyth's conversation to outright refusing to budge within Celica's conversation. This is a dramatic change in how stubborn he is.
Alm has had the time to mull over whether or not Mila has failed them, and by the time he reaches Celica, he's already considered it thanks to Forsyth bringing the topic up. Celica's goal of seeking out Mila first is out of the question. He has turned his back on Mila in a sense, and he lacks the curiosity to investigate. This becomes his flaw that, when he actually makes a decision, he gains a narrow view and this will shut out opportunity.
Forsyth's involvement, in a sense, since it takes place before Celica's, has pushed Alm's focus to dismiss Mila before Celica could ever suggest it, which prevents her from being able to sway her childhood friend from resorting to violence. Had Forsyth not discussed with Alm about Mila, Alm might have been more willing to consider the option as he was willing to hear out Forsyth at the Deliverance Hideout-- mostly because he had yet to make a decision. In essence, Forsyth had unknowingly impacted what road Alm was going to go for the rest of the game, separating him from Celica and, as a result, the person who could help him keep his wits about him and exercise caution, which allows all the later plot points to unfold much more easily for the fighter.
