takes refuge in the island nation of Talys. Several years later, Marth repels a pirate invasion of Talys, leading its king to conclude that he is ready to battle Dolhr; he sends Marth out with several of his most trusted men and his daughter, Princess Caeda. Marth first rescues the kingdom of Aurelis and enlists the aid of its king's younger brother, Duke Hardin and his retainers. He meets Princess Nyna, the last survivor of the Archanean royal family and leader of the resistance against Dohlr. She gives him the Fire Emblem, a legendary treasure given to the hero destined to save the world. The two march to Archanea and free it from Grust's grasp. After briefly invading Khadein in search of Falchion, Marth retakes Altea. He learns that his mother was killed in the invasion and that Gharnef is holding Elice prisoner. Marth next battles Grust and their top general, Camus, who rescued Nyna from execution at Dohlrian hands; he chooses to uphold his honor as a knight of Grust, and Marth is forced to defeat him. Marth is contacted by Gotoh, a wise old sage, who informs him that Gharnef wields the tome Imhullu, making him invincible; the only thing capable of defeating him is the magic of Starlight. Gotoh sends Marth to the Fane of Raman to find the materials needed to create Starlight; he also rescues the divine dragon, Tiki. Marth then invades Macedon and deposes the tyrannical King Michalis with the aid of Michalis' sister Princess Minerva. There, Gotoh reforges Starlight. Marth invades Khadein once more, defeats Gharnef, reclaims Falchion, and rescues Elice. He then makes his way to Dolhr, battles, and defeats Medeus, returning peace to the land. If Caeda has survived the events of the game, she and Marth declare their love for one another. Development Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light was co-developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo Research & Development 1. It began after Intelligent Systems turned its attention away from developing hardware for the Famicom towards creating what they called "simulation games". It was directed by Keisuke Terasaki and produced by Gunpei Yokoi. The initial concept was created by Shouzou Kaga, who acted as scenario writer and designer. The graphics and character art was cooperatively handled by Tohru Ohsawa, Naotaka Ohnishi, Satoshi Machida and Toshitaka Muramatsu. The music was composed by Yuka Tsujiyoko, with technical guidance from Hirokazu Tanaka.