Template:Sideicon Template:Battle The Raid on Narshe is a small yet significant clash between the Gestahlian Empire and the stubbornly independent mountain city of Narshe in Final Fantasy VI. The raid, which is ultimately unsuccessful, strengthens Narshe's isolationist attitude both in respect to the Gestahlian Empire and to the Returners.
Battle
Armed with Magitek Armor, Biggs and Wedge are sent to Narshe to capture a recently discovered frozen esper, Valigarmanda. They are accompanied with Terra Branford, whom they control through a slave crown she is wearing.
Shocked by the appearance of Imperial Magitek armor, the Narshe guards rush into action, but are no match for the superior Imperial armor. The guards are beaten back in a series of encounters, resulting in the deaths of eight of them as well as some Silver Lobos and Megalodoths. The Imperial soldiers enter the Narshe Mines where they face Narshe's trump card, the Ymir. Once having defeated the beast, the team approaches the frozen esper that reacts to Terra's presence and starts flashing. Biggs and Wedge are presumably killed, while Terra—reacting differently to the esper—is knocked unconscious and rescued by Arvis.
Aftermath
Furious over the unexpected attack, the Narshe guards rush to Arvis's house to arrest Terra. They refuse to listen when Arvis tries to explain Terra was being controlled by the slave crown, and Terra has to make a run for it. Escaping from the guards, she falls into a shaft and blacks out again. Locke Cole of the Returners saves Terra, and together with eleven moogles they prevent her from being captured and escort her out of Narshe. They kill a Guard Leader and several Megalodoths and Silver Lobos in the process, causing Narshe to close its gates to the Returners. It would take the personal intervention of Banon, the leader of the Returners, to reconciliate with the people of Narshe.
Arvis commenting on Narshe's policy of neutrality.
Despite the Imperial aggression, Narshe insists on remaining neutral in the war between the Returners and the Imperials, although it takes steps to be better prepared in the event of future Imperial attacks (the esper is moved to the cliffs above the city to make it harder to reach). The Gestahlian Empire is not prepared to give up the frozen esper, and pays little respect to Narshe's policy of caution, as not long after the failed raid a larger force is sent under the leadership of Kefka Palazzo initiating the Battle for the Frozen Esper. This marks a turning point in the relations between Narshe and the Returners, as the Elder of Narshe accepts help from them to stand against the Imperial invaders. Afterwards the two will ally against the Empire.
Gallery
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Trivia
The party crosses the snowfield in Final Fantasy Type-0.
- The first video showing the Magitek Armor in Final Fantasy XIV was a short recreation of the opening to Final Fantasy VI, with a green haired female hyur and two other characters riding the Magitek Armor in a snowy region, and a remix of "Terra's Theme" playing in the background.
- The scene where the Magitek Armor approach Narshe is alluded to in Final Fantasy Type-0, where the party must cross a snowfield in a magitek armor.
- The raid on Narshe is one of the themes in the game's opening cinematic on PlayStation; see here.
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