FEW3H NPC Analysis Pt. 3 - Countries outside of Fodlan
We all know that Fodlan has a fraught history with its neighbors. Claims of invasion, impending war, and forced isolation by the Central Church have made a mess of discussions about foreign policy by fans of the games. So in 3 Hopes, what prejudices and reconciliations do we see between Fodlan's general populace and those outside their borders?
This analysis takes a look into how citizens of Fodlan feel about various foreign countries through what the NPCs say. Sreng, Duscur, Almyra, Morfis, Dagda, and Brigid are all mentioned at least once by generic units throughout the camps in 3 Hopes.
Disclaimer: This is just for fun. The data was manually tagged & compiled, so may have errors. Also, counting was weird for this one, so %s might be off. Dataset used
Sentiment was split by foreign and domestic army members for all but Scarlet Blaze, where there are no NPC foreigners in your camp. The Tragedy of Duscur also got a separate category because it's a major negative event people mention, but the NPCs do not necessarily equate that to Fodlan or Duscur being evil.
Sreng is viewed completely negatively on all paths because there's both a language barrier and generations of invasions from them, much like Almyra before Nader swapped sides. You'll notice Almyra has similar negativity attached to it. For those who need more context, I've detailed Sreng's history and common misconceptions that have been disproven in 3 Hopes at the end of this analysis.
Scarlet Blaze NPCs largely don't care about the world outside Fodlan, though they're aware of international trading. Golden Wildfire NPCs mostly ignore foreigners or only talk about them being a threat. Azure Gleam NPCs dislike Sreng for their invasions but are making massive strides with Duscur.
Unsurprisingly, Scarlet Blaze doesn't talk much about other nations since it's primarily focused on domestic affairs, and Brigid's promised 'new relationship' is kept secret. In the small amount of text it does have, it mentions Morfis and trade routes across the sea that seem to be well-established.
Despite the focus on Almyra early in Golden Wildfire, it has the least amount of awareness or positivity shown by NPCs about foreign nations. Of the positive comments we get, the two by Fodlan natives are about Tiana's story (which they think is a fairytale) and rumors of Nader being both horrific and kind. It's noted that Almyran NPC(s) follow Fodlan rules because Nader says they need to, but all Almyran voices and mentions disappear entirely after chapter 12.
There is also no mention of Almyra by Fodlan NPCs after Chapter 9, nor of sharing cultures or trusting or hating them at all. Some members of the army are pro Sreng attacking the Kingdom (their enemy) when that happens in Chapter 12, going as far as saying they should have told Sreng the Margrave was dead, though that plan was shot down by Claude.
Azure Gleam is relatively meaty when it comes to foreign relations, featuring both the restoration of Duscur and ongoing Sreng raids potentially orchestrated by Cornelia. Their one mention of Dagda and Brigid is negative because it mentions the old war, not because they dislike the people from there. Since Petra is an optional recruit, all talk of her spearheading Fodlan relations as Queen is locked to her dialogue.
There is a notable amount of culture-sharing going on with Duscur from both sides in Azure Gleam. Naturally, the positive sentiment is somewhat stronger from the Duscur Generals than Kingdom soldiers, since the Duscur troops are volunteer-only and can self-select away from the Kingdom army.
There are a lot of misconceptions around Sreng and Faerghus' relationship due to 3 Houses being unclear regarding who owned what land when. This has led to most people in the past (myself included) believing that Lambert stole a bunch of land, causing Sreng to attack them in retaliation.
New textual evidence in 3 Hopes suggests they are NOT attacking to 'get back land' from modern Faerghus. It is likely that, while still an aggressive act, no part of Sreng was annexed in Lambert's campaign. Sreng has been raiding raided Fodlan for 300+ years with no change in border.
Per the ingame description of Sreng:
"Sreng was once the name of an enormous peninsula to the north of Fodlan. Today, only the northern half has kept the moniker, while the southern half now falls under the dominion of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus. Several warlike clans call this great wasteland their home. Certain areas of the region are comprised of rocky desert."
Yes, "Sreng" used to refer to a peninsula to the north of Fodlan. However, you can see from the map that the full peninsula includes not just Gautier, but Fraldarius and Blaiddyd territories as well.
You could argue that the peninsula here doesn't refer to the whole thing, implying the Gautier lands near the border were 'stolen' recently, but we can see that's unlikely from the "Military History of Partholon":
Harpstring Moon, Year 892
The Sreng people mounted a large-scale invasion. They crossed the Ruska Mountains in the north and descended south into Faerghus.
King Banfig built a string of strongholds along the north of his domain, from Blaiddyd to Fraldarius, including Conand Tower.
Wyvern Moon, Year 895
Having finally forced Sreng to retreat, Faerghus was in position to counterattack. However, Sreng's resistance and the harsh, snowy conditions caused them to abandon their attack. Thus, hostilities drew to a close.
After the campaign, a young and fierce general by the name of Laetitia Zoe Gautier, royal knight and descendant of the elite hero Gautier, was widely praised.
Great Tree Moon, Year 896
Banfig confers the northern part of his territory on Laetitia. She is given the title of margrave and tasked with defending Faerghus's border.
Laetitia sets to work strengthening defenses in the north, constructing strongholds throughout the Ruska Mountains on the border with Sreng, and reclaiming the Lance of Ruin from the Church of Seiros.
If you map out this history, it implies Gautier territories have belonged to Faerghus since at least 896 in the least-generous reading. In the most generous, the fact Faerghus failed to counterattack Sreng in 895 means that land was already Fodlan's when Sreng invaded in 892. It is entirely possible, given what we know about Nemesis, that the peninsula was actually split during his time, although there is no concrete evidence of this.
At least 10 generations of hostilities with no land exchanging hands is supported by other in-universe factors as well. Most notably, that Sreng and Faerghus didn't have any language sharing until Leif was taken, which is highly unlikely for territories conquered within the last generation.
Leif himself said his raid was necessary for his way of life, perhaps a reference to Sreng's resource poverty or culture, but not that the Gautiers stole his land.
Don't hate us for this! Our way of life hangs in the balance!
This payback has been years in the making, Gautier! Hahahaha!
But that doesn't necessarily have to refer to any sort of land exchange. More likely it relates to cultural or personal history.
Per the "Military History of Partholon" :
Horsebow Moon, Year 1169
The Kingdom Army is progressing northwest through the peninsula, but while engaging the Sreng chief Oleg and his forces, a gigantic beast suddenly enters the fray. It lays waste to both sides. Lambert sustains grave injuries, and Oleg disappears into a ravine.
Oleg's son offers his own youngest child Leif as a prisoner to House Gautier to broker peace.
Leif was a war prisoner from the nation that had killed that Margrave Gautier's wife, and yet was raised by him. At that point, the Margrave was known as the Wall of Ice and had given up on peace between their peoples. He was notorious for being a great general, but a poor, cold father to even his blood sons. Seeing how Miklan and Sylvain were treated, it's natural that a prisoner of a hated enemy like Leif would grow up resentful of Faerghus, and specifically, Gautier.
Unfortunately, there is still a large loose end in Sreng's recent history. We still don't know why Lambert's campaign happened - vengeance for the Margrave's wife? A deterrent counterattack to stop the ongoing raids? A failed attempt to conquer? What we do know is that Sreng has been raiding Faerghus for generations, before and after it, continuing a cycle of mistrust between their peoples.
