- "I understand my father's fears. I recall a time when he laughed as he rolled on the grass with me, when he sang to my mother. He loved her dearly, perhaps as much as Elwin and I love each other. And then he lost her. I understand his sorrow, but why can't he see my love for Elwin?"
- ―Shaera —
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True Love is the third scenario in the Elwin and Shaera campaign in Heroes of Might and Magic IV.
Walkthrough[]
Elwin embarks on a quest to prove his worth to Shaera's father, only to be betrayed by Lord Harke. Forced to become a criminal in the eyes of the Elven Court, Elwin battles Harke's loyal troops while forging an artifact that will reveal who is really Shaera's true love.OffBck
After being tricked into an ambush in the woods by Lord Harke and his men, Elwin learns that Shaera has suddenly fallen in love with Harke. Suspecting foul play, Elwin constructs the Mirror of True Love to reveal the truth about Shaera's feelings.
This scenario includes a lot of quest huts, and quite a lot of fetching to solve those quests.
Heading north from his starting position, Elwin can capture the nearby Preserve, next to which is a quest hut that will allow him access to the blue keymaster's tent for four potions: the Potions of Mirth, Quickness, Resistance, and Endurance. All four potions can be found nearby, and are guarded by neutral creature stacks.
After delivering the potions and visiting the keymaster's tent, Elwin can head north, to the first hostile Preserve. North of the town is the next quest hut, which will open the path to the next quest hut for 40 gems. Capturing the nearby gem mines and picking up the Gem Casket will make this far easier, but don't be afraid of using gems to aquire an army and defeating Elwin's opponents, as there is no rush to complete the quests. Scout around and capture any hostile or neutral Preserve Elwin happens to wander past, and he should have seven towns very soon. In the north-eastern corner of the map is a red Preserve that Elwin can't reach, but they can't send any forces out either.
In the south-eastern part of the map is the next quest hut, but it won't be reachable until Elwin pays the 40 gems at the previous hut. This one requires 10,000 gold, in return for which they'll let Elwin continue on his quest. After paying up, head further east, where a dragon cave holds the one of the last red dragons. She will craft the Mirror of True Love (Elwin's objective) if he rescues a black dragon - the red dragon's mate - from the red Preserve in the northeastern corner. Their army can be quite large, but since Elwin has seven towns to provide creatures, the battle should be short.
After freeing the black dragon, head south to the dragon cave to finish the scenario.
Strategy[]
The enemy has a lot of towns and can quickly build a powerful army. If Elwin captures some towns, the enemy can quickly seize them. To avoid that, Elwin should avoid capturing mines or collecting resources after he passes the gate, as the enemy in northeastern corner cannot leave the city, allowing Elwin to build up his army to conquer the town and rescue the dragon.
