History Characters / FireEmblemAwakeningGrimaAndTheGrimleal

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Of both [[VideoGame/FireEmblemJugdral Loptyr]], and Medeus.

* AbsoluteCleavage: Takes the title of "most visible cleavage in the series" away from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Sonia]]'' (although it should be noted she's not ''quite'' as buxom). That's saying something.

* DontYouDarePityMe: At the end of Male Grima's level 40 speech, he furiously demands Kiran to stop giving him "such a piteous look".

* ZombieApocalypse: In the present, their mass appearance paves the way for a potential one. In the BadFuture it got there, ''big time''. The ''[[FromBadToWorse Future Past]]'' is this to a ''[[UpToEleven ludicrous degree]]''.

* OverarchingVillain: He's the antagonist who tries to resurrect an even greater evil. However, once The Hierophant, and by extension, Grima, reveals themselves, he is DemotedToDragon, although this is still in his interests.

* TheUnfought: Grima himself is never fought in ''Awakening'', only the future Grima in the Hierophant's body is battled.

* YouCantFightFate: A firm (and calm) believer that the future is set in stone. His calmness breaks down when Robin resists his control, believing it impossible.

* CuttingOffTheBranches: A reversal of Robin's situation. While they, like Robin, are not given a canonical gender, the version of Robin used to portray Grima in other ''Fire Emblem'' media is usually the female Robin. There was a brief exception in ''Heroes'' when the male Hierophant was revealed as a playable unit, but was DoubleSubverted when the female version was introduced a month later.

* PowerFloats: In ''Heroes'', the female Hierophant floats constantly in the air and is a flying unit despite having neither a winged mount nor wings of her own.
* PromotedToPlayable: In ''Heroes'', both the male and female Hierophant are summonable as dragon units. The male plays much like the FinalBoss as an overpowering juggernaut, while the female trades power for speed and flight.
* RedRightHand: While capable of appearing normally as Robin, they gain an obvious purple BattleAura when they drop the act. ''Heroes'' and the ''Cipher'' card game also give them [[RedEyesTakeWarning glowing red eyes]]. Also in ''Heroes'', the male Hierophant proudly shows off the [[MarkOfTheBeast Mark of Grima]] on [[ASinisterClue his left hand]], while unpossessed Robin typically covers it up with gloves.

* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Unlike the male villains she was brainwashed to be evil.

[[caption-width-right:325:The Brand of Defile/Grima's Mark]]

The BigBad of ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening Awakening]]''. The Fell Dragon who tried to destroy the world in ancient times, but was sealed away by the one with the Divine Dragon's blessing. While the Ylisseans fear the Fell Dragon, the Grimleal who control Plegia worship him as their god. According to legend, Grima is gigantic in size. A thousand years later, Grima is awakened when a suitable vessel is born and the Awakening Ritual is performed. This vessel turns out to be the Avatar (aka you - the player), and in the BadFuture, Validar succeeds in awakening Grima, who possesses the Avatar and kills Chrom. In the main story, the present Grima is revived once the Grima from the bad future uses his host Avatar body as a substitute for the real Avatar's, and the two fight Chrom and his army. The possessed body Grima uses is referred to as the Hierophant.

* BigBad: Out of all the villains Robin/the Avatar faces in ''Awakening'', Grima's the one who unquestionably poses the hugest threat. On a personal level, he is responsible for the Avatar's amnesia and possessed the Robin from the bad future.

* DeathByIrony: The person that he possesses is the one that ends up killing him once and for all. If the Avatar sacrifices themselves to kill him, the spell that they use to do so is ''Grima's Truth''.
* DespairEventHorizon: When he is about to be destroyed by the Avatar, he loses all composure and yells desperately a BigNo before he vanishes for good.
* DiabolusExNihilo: An example in-universe, at least in this game. No one discusses where Grima really came from, and he really is a God as far as the characters in the story are aware. Its real origins aren't explored until the ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden'' remake.

* DragonsAreDemonic: Grima is Naga's greatest rival, and is a malevolent dragon that possesses a suitable host and surrounds himself with a death cult of fanatical supporters, the Grimleal. Much like Loptous, his plan for full resurrection involves the use of a suitable host bred for the task, in this case the Avatar.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: When Avatar begins hearing the voices of their friends encouraging them in the Final Chapter, Grima is frustrated, unable to understand why his power cannot silence the voices that interfere with his attempt to take over Avatar's mind. If the Avatar chooses to [[HeroicSacrifice put him down once and for all]], Grima takes a moment to figure out that, yes, the Avatar ''will'' give their life for the greater good.

* EvilIsBigger: Grima is the largest creature seen in the entire franchise by far. The Fell Dragon makes any allied dragons look like houseflies in comparison.

* GodsHandsAreTied: Travelling back in time and subsequently botching his attempt to take over the present-day Avatar left Grima weakened, forcing him into a more reclusive role as Validar's advisor and working from the shadows to keep his desired future on track. At the end of the game, when the player is given the option to choose who will land the finishing blow (Robin or Chrom), he is completely helpless, so he can only rage desperately before he is taken down.
* GrandTheftMe: Possesses the Avatar of the Future, and tries to possess the Avatar of the present.
* HeroKiller: Personally kills Chrom, Naga's mark holder, in the future while possessing the Avatar's body.
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: In making a human avatar, Grima created the one being who could kill it for good.
* HopeCrusher: Grima thrives on causing as much despair in its victims as possible. The dragon tries all it can to break the spirits of anyone it faces before killing them. Also applies to the Avatar/Robin, although in their case it's "Crush their hopes and then possess them".

-->'''Grima (Female):''' Come to butter me up some more? How very irksome. I've nothing to chat about with a human. Humans spout their ideals, but it's nothing but lip service. Let's all join together and hold hands, you'll say. We can overcome our differences despite being different species, despite our differing core ideologies. The truth is what you see daily in this place. Day after day, night after night, all you have is never-ending war. One person's satisfaction means another must suffer. That is the truth of all worlds. But my power of destruction is the one true equalizer. If you think there's someone out there capable of leading the world with such high-minded ideas of love and bonds... I'd love to meet them.
-->'''Grima (Male):''' You are a curious one... You willingly come to chat with me? The fell dragon? Alone? You know full well how I detest humans. They have no qualms asking for divine assistance when it meets their fickle needs... But how quick they are to shun their benefactors once they get what they desire. They become arrogant and make the same mistakes repeatedly, incapable of learning the folly of their ways. They claim their actions are for the good of others, but that's merely a show of self-indulgence. Humans are selfish. And the ugliness of mankind has turned me repulsive. [[ThenLetMeBeEvil It's the world that wants me to be evil.]] And yet you claim to need me here? Enough of your lies, worm. How dare you look at me with such a gaze. [[DontYouDarePityMe Do not dare pity me!]]
* {{Kaiju}}: Definitely one of the biggest creatures ever seen in a ''Fire Emblem'' game. For comparison's sake, its wingspan completely encompasses Ylisstol and it itself dwarfs the royal castle. Lucina can't even come to the size of one of its ''eyeballs''. If its appearance on the world-map can be taken literally, it's ''country-sized'', with the entire final battle taking place on its back, specifically around the nape of the neck.
* KarmicDeath: If the Avatar lands the final blow, he is slain for good at the hands of the human he intended to use as his vessel to annihilate humanity and ForcedToWatch in the original timeline as he killed all his companions. For added points of LaserGuidedKarma, the dragon that relished in making his opponents despair and suffer ends up dying as a desperate wreck.

* MarkOfTheBeast: The Brand of Defile, which doubles as the Grimleal's symbol. The Avatar has it on the back of their right hand as a mark of their Grimleal heritage; when they come back from the dead after sacrificing themselves to kill Grima, it has disappeared from their hand, solidifying that he's DeaderThanDead.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: The first time the player sees him converse with Lucina, he tells her "Your Mother and Father are dead, tiny one." If you chose to make your [[PlayerCharacter Avatar]] a girl and romanced Chrom, then Lucina's mother is dead in a very ''[[VillainOverride different]]'' [[DeathOfPersonality sense]].
* MindControl: Grima shows the ability to control its followers when necessary. When it came back from the future, he immediately sought after the present-day Avatar, attempting to take control of their body. It fails, but leaves the Avatar with no memories save for Grima's visions of Chrom's fateful death. After reviving, it commands droves of its followers to [[PsychicAssistedSuicide feed themselves to it]].
* MirrorBoss: One of the very few enemies who has the Ignis ability, which can otherwise only be obtained by the Avatar and their children. And considering Grima already hits like a truck, if you see Ignis activate, [[OhCrap start praying for a Dual Guard]].

** In Lucina's timeline, Grima's resurrection was [[BadFuture game, set, and match]] due to Chrom being dead and the Avatar being his vessel. History ''almost'' repeated itself in the present timeline, but the Avatar's savviness saves them both and gives them a fighting chance against the resurrected Grima.

* {{Necromancer}}: Leaving aside the Risen, Grima is capable of fully bringing a person back to life. In order to keep the timeline on track, he brings Validar back after he gets killed in Chapter 6 - despite later saying that traveling through time and attempting to merge with the Avatar weakened him greatly, implying that this is one of his lesser abilities.

** In addition, Future Grima really messed up by following Lucina into the past. His attempt to merge with the Avatar early inflicted amnesia on them (which likely allowed the Avatar to form stronger bonds with Chrom's group), gave the Avatar memories that allowed them to make the fake gemstone plan, and his being in the past allowed for a loophole that could get him Killed Off for Real.

** When the Avatar successfully fights off Grima's control and doesn't become present Grima's vessel, BadFuture Grima uses his Bad Future Avatar body in his place to revive the present Grima and hold him together.
** Also a victim of this; Grima can only be permanently destroyed with his own power. The Avatar, who is connected to him, is capable of using that power - not a problem in the original timeline since the Avatar was fully under his control then, but the present day Avatar's knowledge of the future helped them avoid that fate, producing the sole being capable of killing the Fell Dragon. [[KilledOffForReal Grima realizes this too late.]]
* NonIndicativeName: In Japanese, at least. No matter whether you go by [[Literature/TheLordOfTheRings Tolkien]] or Myth/NorseMythology, Gimle is simply not a demonic name[[note]](in the former, it's an alternate spelling of the name of an unambiguously heroic dwarf, and in the latter, it's described as essentially the Norse equivalent of heaven, where righteous souls go after they die)[[/note]]. This is probably why the US and European versions went with "Grima" (the name of a [[TreacherousAdvisor more sinister Tolkien character]]) instead.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: Likes to claim that the Avatar and him are the same being (especially if the Avatar confronts him during the final battle).

'''Avatar:''' ......

* OhCrap: When the Avatar begins to charge Grima's Truth to land the final blow to kill him for good he ''loses it''. Being a deep believer of fate being set in stone, Grima ''definitely'' didn't expect the Avatar to take down Grima at the cost of his own live.

'''Avatar:''' For once, I'm glad you and I are the same. Now I can give my life to protect those I care for...\\

'''Avatar:''' I would and I will. The evils you would visit on this world are unthinkable... In some way, I—we share the blame. It's only right we meet our end together!\\

* {{Pride}}: ''In spades.'' As a Dragon, Grima has displayed a superiority complex and always looked down on humanity, especially when he rules in Lucina's BadFuture timeline, confident in his superiority and their inability to kill him, [[NighInvulnerable for admittedly good reason]].

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Delivers this to Lucina in the BadFuture and to the Avatar in the final chapter.

--> '''Grima:''' [[EverybodysDeadDave Your mother and father... are dead, tiny one.]] [[EvilLaugh Heh heh heh heh ha ha ha ha... hahahahahaha!]] And now it is your turn... to DIE!\\
** Avatar's: After devastating Chrom's army with a single spell, he rubs in the Avatar's face how human bonds are weak... Which blows up in his face when the Avatar's bonds allow him to resist Grima's control.
--> '''Grima:''' And so it ends, Avatar. See how frail these human bonds of yours are? How short lived? How pointless? You have all thrown your lives away, and the result is the same!
--> '''Avatar:''' We're not dead yet!

(After the Avatar hears the voices of his friends).
-->'''Avatar:''' I can hear them... I hear my friends!

-->'''Chrom:''' Return to us, Avatar! Your bond with us is stronger than even the fell dragon's might!
-->'''Avatar:''' Chrom! I'm coming, Chrom! Hold on!

* {{Sadist}}: In the BadFuture, Grima mocks his victims over killing their loved ones and talks about how he enjoys seeing humans in pain. He also takes any advantage it has to make his opponents suffer in the present... especially in Robin/Avatar's case.

* VillainOverride: Attempts this on the Avatar after following Lucina back in time in order to accelerate its plans. It fails due to the present-day Avatar's weaker Heart of Grima being unable to retain the massive number of memories, causing the Avatar's amnesia and Grima's own power to greatly weaken.

** When it is unable to take over the Avatar's mind thanks to the encouragement of their friends (and family if they get married), and when it gets defeated in the final chapter. It gets worse once it realizes that the Avatar has the ability to kill it once and for all (if the Avatar chooses to land the final hit, it first reacts totally dumbfounded, only to then rage desperately before the Avatar kills him for good, horrified at the fact that his end is coming... For real).

* WeCanRuleTogether: Offers this to the Avatar in the final battle; to join them and become a god.

* YouCantFightFate: A firm (and calm) believer that the future is set in stone. His calmness breaks down when the Avatar resists his control, believing it impossible.

The mysterious tactician of Plegia. Actually the Avatar of the future timeline possessed by Grima of the Future.

* AlternateSelf: The Hierophant is the Avatar from the future, their body serving as Grima's vessel.
* AmbiguouslyEvil: In the sense of their DemonicPossession. Based on the things the Hierophant says in the main story, their initial backstory was that they gladly accepted being Grima's vessel and murdered Chrom in cold blood, not to mention other Shepherds, and merged fully with Grima with no regrets; the third map in The Future Past series, however, shows the Avatar FightingFromTheInside and holding back Grima to give the children the chance to defeat them, implying something similar may be true for the Hierophant despite their claims.
* AndIMustScream: It's possible (and outright stated in the DLC) that the Avatar is still conscious inside their own body, forced to watch as Grima destroys everything they hold dear.

* BreastExpansion: Especially notable if you choose a body type 3 Female Avatar. When the Hierophant has their hood on, regardless of what your Avatar looks like, they take the appearance of a rather tall flat-chested individual. When they shows their face though, they morph completely into an image of the Avatar, including going up ''all the cup sizes''.
* CuttingOffTheBranches: A reversal of Robin's situation. While they, like Robin, are not given a canonical gender, the version of the Avatar used to portray Grima in other ''Fire Emblem'' media is usually the female Robin. There was a brief exception in ''Heroes'' when the male Hierophant was revealed as a playable unit, but was DoubleSubverted when the female version was introduced a month later.

* EvilCounterpart: To the player. It's heavily implied during the main campaign the alternate Avatar willingly accepted their role as Grima in the Dark Future, due to not having the same bonds to the group as the player. However, the Future Past DLC suggests they were ''not'' willing; all the same, it's unclear if the Avatar is meant to be the same as the one seen in the main campaign or the one from the original timeline.

* TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: In ''Heroes'', there are hints that Grima is affected more by his host than he likes to admit, as Fallen Female Robin noticeably has a SweetTooth that she desperately tries to hide from the public.

* ThatManIsDead: The Hierophant in the main timeline says that they are Grima entirely. If any trace of the original Avatar's personality still exists, it never surfaces.

--> ''"Heh heh... Leaving Plegia so soon? No, please, stay awhile. Stay...forever!"''

-->''"Fools. Struggle all you want. You cannot unwrite what is already written!"''

A [[EvilSorcerer sinister mage]] in service to a dark power - the Fell Dragon Grima, whose coming heralds the end of everything. He is the leader of the Grimleal, a cult that worships the evil dragon. His scheming sets the world on a course to destruction. He plans to resurrect Grima and is devoted to creating a suitable human vessel for that purpose. After finding that their infant child bears the Mark of Grima, marking them as a perfect vessel, Validar's wife betrays him and flees with their offspring. For many years Validar will search for his child in vain, hoping to subject them to their destiny. This child is later revealed to be the Avatar.

After the death of Gangrel, Validar becomes King of Plegia and poses as Chrom's ally in the war against Walhart. After Walhart is defeated, he lures Chrom to his castle and steals the Fire Emblem so that he can perform the Awakening ritual in order to resurrect Grima. He cuts off Chrom and the Avatar from the rest of the army, and feigns death before forcibly manipulating the Avatar into killing Chrom. Validar is revealed to be alive afterwards, laughing at Lucina and the rest of the army's attempts to change fate.

However, the Avatar anticipated Validar's plan due to their premonition and had Basilio fake his death against Walhart, allowing him to swap out the stones in the Fire Emblem with forgeries. This allows the Avatar to resist Validar's control, weakening their strike enough so that Chrom survives. After this is revealed, Validar launches a final assault against Chrom and his army, but dies in battle.

* ArchnemesisDad: Validar is both the Avatar's father and the primary human antagonist of the game. He can also be an Archnemesis Granddad to Lucina if the female Avatar marries Chrom.

* ClimaxBoss: During Chapter 23's second half, right after the revelation that Basilio ([[PlayingPossum who faked his death]]) switched the gems in the Fire Emblem with fakes thanks to the Avatar's quick thinking, throwing Validar's schemes to the gutter.
* CompellingVoice: Whether they like it or not, his wish is the Avatar's command due the Avatar being his son/daughter.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He seems unable to grasp that the Avatar has no interest in becoming Grima's vessel and destroying the world. Likely a result of being bred, and raised as a vessel himself.
* FatalFlaw: His belief that YouCantFightFate makes him overconfident, and he does not take things well when events deviate from 'what is written.' His attitude bites him in the ass in Chapter 6, and it bites especially hard in Chapter 23. He completely failed to see the possibility of Basilio actually being alive and one of the gems in the Fire Emblem being a fake. The Avatar is able to fake him out, and Validar loses his life for good at the end of the chapter.

* HighCollarOfDoom: Sports a mage's collar similar to the Avatar's, which on him looks sinister.

* LineageComesFromTheFather: His father and grandfather were also Grima vessels. The Avatar can continue this trend as well if chosen to be male.
* LukeIAmYourFather: He reveals to the Avatar that they are his child, and one bred to be Grima's perfect vessel.

* VillainousBreakdown: A minor one in Chapter 6 when his plan to assassinate Emmeryn doesn't go as planned. Has a much bigger one in Chapter 23 once Basilio reveals that not only is he alive, but that the Avatar [[OutGambitted had a counter plan]] against [[DemonicPossession his plan for him]] that went off smoothly thanks to Validar's spies not watching "dead" men, like Basilio, and it is glorious!

-->''"I can tell you like what you see. Heh heh..."''

* BattleCouple: Possibly with Male Avatar if S Support is achieved.

* CrazyPrepared: In chapter 9, she anticipated that the Avatar would have planned for Phila and the Pegasus Knights to try to save Emmeryn, and summons Risen archers to put a stop to them.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When facing off against Chrom, Aversa states that it's easy to sacrifice someone if you hold no love for the person in question. Chrom would later be greatly conflicted about allowing the Avatar to pull a HeroicSacrifice during the Endgame.

* MarshmallowHell: She smothers a male Avatar with her cleavage in her confession.
* MrsRobinson: Tries to pursue Chrom sexually in her supports with the Female Avatar. When the Avatar objects, remarking to Aversa that she must be at least 12 years older than Chrom, she responds defensively that she's only 8 years older than him. And, since Chrom can be estimated to be about 21 at this point based on other information in the game,[[note]]See "Vague Age" on the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening main page.]][[/note]] this means that Aversa could potentially be anywhere from 29 to 33 (which isn't actually "old" by modern standards, but would still represent a [[MayDecemberRomance notable age difference]] between herself and Chrom).

* NotBloodRelated: After being de-brainwashed she starts referring to a male Avatar as "big brother," since she was {{Brainwashed}} by Validar into thinking he adopted her and he is Validar's long lost son; she even does this in the support you marry her! The English version tones it down to her calling him "big brother" in a child-like tone just to aggravate the hell out of him in their B rank support with Robin himself saying they aren't related in any way.

* TheRival: In contrast to Male Avatar's support, she becomes this to Female Avatar in their supports.

* VillainHasAPoint: In Chapter 21. Granted she was only using it to justify her continued loyalty to Validar in the face of annihilation to Chrom, but yeah, turns out it's easy to speechify about how [[TheNeedsOfTheMany one life is outweighed by those of millions]] when you have don't have any emotional attachment to the one, but much harder to live up to it if you ''do''. The subsequent chapters show this with Chrom repeatedly protesting the possibility of the Avatar making a HeroicSacrifice, even if it's the '''only way''' to prevent Grima from ever coming back.

Tropes that apply to the Grimleal as a whole are:

!!Validar (Fauder / [[DubNameChange Valldar]])
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/validar_awakening.png]]

-->''"Fools. Struggle all you want. You cannot unwrite what is already written!"''

A [[EvilSorcerer sinister mage]] in service to a dark power - the Fell Dragon Grima, whose coming heralds the end of everything. He is the leader of the Grimleal, a cult that worships the evil dragon. His scheming sets the world on a course to destruction. He plans to resurrect Grima and is devoted to creating a suitable human vessel for that purpose. After finding that their infant child bears the Mark of Grima, marking them as a perfect vessel, Validar's wife betrays him and flees with their offspring. For many years Validar will search for his child in vain, hoping to subject them to their destiny. This child is later revealed to be the Avatar.

After the death of Gangrel, Validar becomes King of Plegia and poses as Chrom's ally in the war against Walhart. After Walhart is defeated, he lures Chrom to his castle and steals the Fire Emblem so that he can perform the Awakening ritual in order to resurrect Grima. He cuts off Chrom and the Avatar from the rest of the army, and feigns death before forcibly manipulating the Avatar into killing Chrom. Validar is revealed to be alive afterwards, laughing at Lucina and the rest of the army's attempts to change fate.

However, the Avatar anticipated Validar's plan due to their premonition and had Basilio fake his death against Walhart, allowing him to swap out the stones in the Fire Emblem with forgeries. This allows the Avatar to resist Validar's control, weakening their strike enough so that Chrom survives. After this is revealed, Validar launches a final assault against Chrom and his army, but dies in battle.

->'''Class:''' Sorcerer
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TakehitoKoyasu (Japanese), Creator/KyleHebert (English)

* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: A sickly, inhuman shade of gray to emphasize just how evil he is.
* ArchnemesisDad: Validar is both the Avatar's father and the primary human antagonist of the game. He can also be an Archnemesis Granddad to Lucina if the female Avatar marries Chrom.
* BeardOfEvil: With a skunk stripe down the middle of it.
* BlackMage: As a Sorcerer, Validar can wield normal magic in addition to BlackMagic.
* ClimaxBoss: During Chapter 23's second half, right after the revelation that Basilio ([[PlayingPossum who faked his death]]) switched the gems in the Fire Emblem with fakes thanks to the Avatar's quick thinking, throwing Validar's schemes to the gutter.
* CompellingVoice: Whether they like it or not, his wish is the Avatar's command due the Avatar being his son/daughter.
* DarkIsEvil: He's an EvilSorcerer with vast powers over dark magic, as well as an ObviouslyEvil appearance, and he's utterly devoted to bringing Grima back to life, which spells doom for the world.
* DubNameChange: He's called "Valldar" in the Non-English European versions.
* DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans: Why, exactly, he chooses to serve a god whose stated agenda is "Kill and eat everyone in the world, ''starting'' with my worshipers," is never addressed.
* EvilCounterpart: Not Validar himself, but Grima's Truth serves as one to the Book of Naga, being a Dark Magic tome that channels Grima's power, while the Book of Naga is a Light Magic tome that channels Naga's. They even have similar animations.
* EvilLaugh: Best shown off during the Premonition's cutscenes.
* EvilSorcerer: Literally. He has the class and everything.
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: He seems unable to grasp that the Avatar has no interest in becoming Grima's vessel and destroying the world. Likely a result of being bred, and raised as a vessel himself.
* FatalFlaw: His belief that YouCantFightFate makes him overconfident, and he does not take things well when events deviate from 'what is written.' His attitude bites him in the ass in Chapter 6, and it bites especially hard in Chapter 23. He completely failed to see the possibility of Basilio actually being alive and one of the gems in the Fire Emblem being a fake. The Avatar is able to fake him out, and Validar loses his life for good at the end of the chapter.
* TheFatalist: "It is already written!" is practically his CatchPhrase. Nothing freaks him out more than things not going as "written." Contrast with Chrom's [[ScrewDestiny "Anything can change!"]]
* FemmeFatalons: A creepy male example.
* FighterMageThief: The Mage to Walhart's Fighter and Gangrel's Thief, of the three major Human antagonists in Awakening.
* FlatCharacter: He's Grima's loyal pawn and is deeply fatalistic, and as far as personality goes that's all there really is to him.
* FreudianExcuse: A line reveals he was also bred and raised to be a vessel for Grima by the Grimleal cult.
* HadesShaded: It's pretty safe to assume he didn't always have a sickly purplish-grey skintone.
* HealingFactor: Has the Renewal skill on higher difficulties.
* TheHeavy: As Validar is subordinate to Grima, he's not the BigBad, but he does most of the acting, as he's responsible for the events of the premonition.
* HeroKiller: In the original timeline, he killed Emmeryn one evening in Ylisstol Castle on the eve of the war against Plegia, while another assassin gave Chrom a GameBreakingInjury. Lucina's presence in the new timeline however, ends up foiling the assassination attempt causing it to end with ''Validar'' dying instead. But the Hierophant ensures that the death doesn't stick.
* HighCollarOfDoom: Sports a mage's collar similar to the Avatar's, which on him looks sinister.
* ILetYouWin: During Chapter 23's first half. Blatantly obvious if the player checks his stats, which reveals that Validar has the same stats he had during the Premonition.
* KungFuWizard: Not displayed much in the game's limited battle animations, but the opening cutscene of the game shows Validar dodging and even [[BareHandedBladeBlock parrying]] Chrom's sword swings with surprising agility for an old sorceror, mixed with TeleportSpam.
* LeanAndMean: Despite sporting a ''six-pack'', he's far more wiry than any other antagonist in the game.
* LineageComesFromTheFather: His father and grandfather were also Grima vessels. The Avatar can continue this trend as well if chosen to be male.
* LukeIAmYourFather: He reveals to the Avatar that they are his child, and one bred to be Grima's perfect vessel.
* ManipulativeBastard: The entire second act of the game is him using your team as a cat's-paw to fight Walhart for him.
* MeaningfulName: His name means "Father", quite literally.
* MeetTheNewBoss: He ends up rising to the Plegian throne after Gangrel is deposed by Chrom and the others, and rules much like he did.
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: By siring Grima's vessel, he also sired the only person in existence capable of actually killing the Fell Dragon once and for all.
* NotQuiteDead: After his defeat in Chapter 6, Validar is spared from otherwise certain death by The Hierophant. Lampshaded when the gang crosses him again. After your final encounter with him in Chapter 23, [[KilledOffForReal he stays dead]].
* ObviouslyEvil: A BeardOfEvil, HadesShaded complexion, RedEyesTakeWarning, uses BlackMagic... it's not nice to judge a book by its cover, but seriously, ''look'' at him!
* OffingTheOffspring: Subverted. Although he's perfectly willing to kill Robin in-game (which nets you a GameOver), he claims that there's nothing he can do to Robin's body that [[HealingFactor Grima can't simply repair later on]].
* OverarchingVillain: He's the antagonist who tries to resurrect an even greater evil. However, once The Hierophant, and by extension, Grima, reveals themselves, he is DemotedToDragon, although this is still in his interests.
* PalsWithJesus: Spends a lot of time in Plegia Castle with the Hierophant. Considering just who the Hierophant is...
* PlayingWithFire: In Chapter 6, he wields an Elfire tome on lower difficulties, and an Arcfire tom on higher ones.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->''"It is all written!"''
* PuppetKing: Following Gangrel's defeat, with the Hierophant as Plegia's ShadowDictator. Given that the Hierophant is Grima, the object of his worship, he is quite content with this.
* RecurringBoss: Faced in the Premonition, then once in an early-game chapter, then finally ''twice'' in one of the last main chapters in the game.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: Just in case his wardrobe wasn't enough. They're ''glowing'' in the character art!
* ScaryBlackMan: More grey than outright black.
* SinisterMinister: He is the leader of the Grimleal, though it's technically the Hierophant who serves as this to him. Then you find out who the Hierophant really [[GodOfEvil is]]...
* SituationalDamageAttack: Has the Vengeance skill on higher difficulties, which increases his damage depending on how much HP he's lost whenver the skill activates.. On the Lunatic difficulty, he boosts the activation rate with Rightful King, giving him a 76% chance of activating the skill.
* SycophanticServant: Isn't bothered by the knowledge that Grima's resurrection will kill him, and even wanted to be his vessel.
* SuperToughness: Gets Grima's "Dragonskin" skill on harder difficulties that grants him this, halving damage and negating the Counter and Lethality skills, but only during Chapter 23's second half.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: He fills the role of EvilSorcerer/priest working for an evil dragon archetype by Gharnef. His role of breeding the ultimate vessel specifically takes inspiration from Manfroy from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Genealogy of the Holy War]]''.
* TheTeamBenefactor: During the Valm arc, he provides the Ylissean-Feroxi alliance with gold to finance the campaign against Walhart and ships to get them across the ocean. After all, he needs Walhart out of the way (hence the supplies), yet also needs sacrifices to resurrect Grima (hence the lack of troops).
* UndyingLoyalty: Tries to ensure Grima's success even though he knows it'll result in his own death.
* VillainousBreakdown: A minor one in Chapter 6 when his plan to assassinate Emmeryn doesn't go as planned. Has a much bigger one in Chapter 23 once Basilio reveals that not only is he alive, but that the Avatar [[OutGambitted had a counter plan]] against [[DemonicPossession his plan for him]] that went off smoothly thanks to Validar's spies not watching "dead" men, like Basilio, and it is glorious!
* WarmUpBoss: In the Premonition.
* WeaponOfChoice: [[BlackMagic Grima's]] [[CastingAShadow Truth]], a magic tome that [[TomeOfEldritchLore channels Grima's power]]! He uses it in the Premonition and during both of his battles in Chapter 23. In Chapter 6, he instead wields a normal Elfire tome.
* WillfullyWeak: Uses his Premoition stats at first in Chapter 23, but goes all out after Basilio reveals that the Gemstones were fake.
* YouCantFightFate: He is a deep believer in the concept of fate, and constantly tells the heroes that they can't unwrite what was already written. [[ScrewDestiny Chrom and Robin take his fate and shove it up his ass.]]

!!Aversa (Inverse)
[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aversa_awakening.png]]
[[caption-width-right:300:[[labelnote:Click here to see Aversa in ''Fire Emblem Heroes'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/aversafeh.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:300:''[[LadyOfBlackMagic Dark One]]'']]

-->''"I can tell you like what you see. Heh heh..."''

Gangrel's subordinate. A cunning vixen who leverages her "assets" to lead men to their ruin. She is actually the servant of Validar, as Validar supposedly saved her life in the past. In the fifth [=SpotPass=] chapter, it is revealed that Validar saving her life is a lie. In reality, he murdered Aversa's parents and brainwashed her to be his servant. She joins Chrom's army afterwards if she survives and fights for atonement, ever since she discovered she had been used by Validar. Bathes longer than anyone else in the army. Her birthday is November 3rd.

In the Outrealm, specifically the Champions of Yore DLC, an Aversa which hails from another world has gotten her hands on the Einherjar from Old Hubba, and Chrom has to help him get them back from her.

->'''Class:''' Dark Flier
->'''Voiced by:''' Kumi Tanaka (Japanese), Creator/CindyRobinson (English)

* AbsoluteCleavage: Takes the title of "most visible cleavage in the series" away from ''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemElibe Sonia]]'' (although it should be noted she's not ''quite'' as buxom). That's saying something.
* BadBoss: Kills one of Plegia's soldiers for [[YouHaveFailedMe failing to stop Chrom]].
* BathingBeauty: According to her description, she really likes bathing.
* BattleCouple: Possibly with Male Avatar if S Support is achieved.
* BeautyEqualsGoodness: The only decent looking member of the Grimleal, and was brainwashed to be evil the whole time.
* BeingEvilSucks: Downplayed. She's not truly evil, but nevertheless finds herself in an awkward position after joining the Shepherds. She sleeps out in the woods away from camp because she's convinced everyone hates her for her past crimes, even if they were committed on false pretenses and manipulation by Validar. There's a subtext that given her profound feelings of guilt after the truth is revealed to her, she also avoids them because of feeling unworthy to be around them. If Morgan is her daughter and asks for her story, she declines to tell her anything because she hasn't done anything a mother could tell her child with pride, and declines to hear anything about her own fate in the BadFuture.
-->'''Aversa:''' Gods know a sad, manipulative vixen like me is unlikely to meet a pretty end.
* BlackMagic: She has the unique Skill Shadowgift, which allows her to use Dark Magic Tomes even if she's not a Dark Mage/Sorcerer. She gets to keep this ability when she joins you, and passes it on to Morgan if she's her mother. Indeed Validar murdered her family and brainwashed her to get a servant with this trait.
* BladeOnAStick: She's a Dark Flier so she technically can use these, though she's much more adept at using magic. Oddly the cutscenes depict her using a Sword, so this trope might be subverted.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: Revealed that she was brainwashed via her memories being erased and magically replaced with [[FakeMemories fake ones]] only if she's downloaded through [=SpotPass=].
* CombatStilettos: Though she ''is'' established as fairly vain, one wonders how she can ride a pegasus in heels.
* CompetenceZone: Despite being in her late 20s at most, she's viewed as an old hag by other characters like Ricken.
* CrazyPrepared: In chapter 9, she anticipated that the Avatar would have planned for Phila and the Pegasus Knights to try to save Emmeryn, and summons Risen archers to put a stop to them.
* CustomUniformOfSexy: Her Dark Flier outfit is markedly quite different and more revealing than those worn by other Dark Fliers in the game.
* DarkActionGirl: Subverted when it turns out she was only evil due to being {{brainwashed}}.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Revealed in her [=SpotPass=] recruitment chapter. She was once just a normal girl with a power so unique that Validar killed her parents and brainwashed her into believing that he saved her so that she could become his servant.
* DarkSkinnedBlonde: She has very tanned skin, around the same as Flavia, and white hair.
* DeadpanSnarker: She gets a few viciously funny lines in, here and there. The one about [[EunuchsAreEvil Excellus]] in particular is choice.
* TheDragon: To Gangrel. In reality a {{brainwashed}} UnwittingPawn to Validar and the Grimleal
* DragonWithAnAgenda: To Gangrel. Gangrel knows about it.
* ElementalPowers: Can use magic tomes.
* EleventhHourRanger: Can pull her weight and fight the moment she joins your party.
* FacialMarkings: Mysterious markings along her face and body. Possibly a reference to her devotion to the Grimleal religion.
* FakeMemories: Aversa was once a normal girl, before she met Validar. One dead-family-and-brainwashing-special later...
* FemalesAreMoreInnocent: Unlike the male villains she was brainwashed to be evil.
* FemmeFatale: She often boasts in the campaign about using her beauty to lead weak-willed men into ruin.
* FemmeFatalons: Played with. Aversa ''is'' a FemmeFatale with long fingernails, but she's primarily a spellcaster and never uses them to fight.
* FluffyFashionFeathers: Her unique Dark Flier model has the feathery ruff of the Warrior class.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: When facing off against Chrom, Aversa states that it's easy to sacrifice someone if you hold no love for the person in question. Chrom would later be greatly conflicted about allowing the Avatar to pull a HeroicSacrifice during the Endgame.
* {{Gainaxing}}: If one takes the time to observe her battle model.
* HoneyTrap: Her official bio alludes to her doing this, but in one of the DLC chapters we find out she (or rather, she from a different world) pulled this on [[DirtyOldMan Old Hubba]] to get at his collection of summoning cards.
* HighCollarOfDoom: A feathery plumage.
* HighHeelFaceTurn: The lone named female in the Grimleal, and the only one to turn good, not even being a willing member.
* InterfaceSpoiler: She appears on the field during the setup screen for chapter 9 alongside Gangrel, and their stats are visible. It is clear which of them is strong enough to remain a threat in the lategame.
* LadyOfBlackMagic: Elegant and able to wield Dark Magic in any tome-wielding class thanks to her Shadowgift skill.
* LifeDrain: Comes with a Nosferatu tome when she joins you. In addition, she has a unique Dark Tome named after her called Aversa's Night, which is a beefed up version of Nosferatu, though oddly enough, she doesn't wield it as a boss nor has it with her when she joins, and can only be found in either event titles or barracks.
* LoveConfession:
-->''From now on, I live only for you. And as you may have noticed, I'm the fiercely loyal type.''
* MagicKnight: One which uses [[BladeOnAStick lances]] and [[BlackMagic dark magic]].
* MarshmallowHell: She smothers a male Avatar with her cleavage in her confession.
* MrsRobinson: Tries to pursue Chrom sexually in her supports with the Female Avatar. When the Avatar objects, remarking to Aversa that she must be at least 12 years older than Chrom, she responds defensively that she's only 8 years older than him. And, since Chrom can be estimated to be about 21 at this point based on other information in the game,[[note]]See "Vague Age" on the [[VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening main page.]][[/note]] this means that Aversa could potentially be anywhere from 29 to 33 (which isn't actually "old" by modern standards, but would still represent a [[MayDecemberRomance notable age difference]] between herself and Chrom).
* MsFanservice: From appearance to voice lines, everything about her is blatant sex appeal.
* MysticalWhiteHair: Indicating her special affinity for Dark Magic, which she can use even when not in the Dark Mage/Sorcerer class.
* NotBloodRelated: After being de-brainwashed she starts referring to a male Avatar as "big brother," since she was {{Brainwashed}} by Validar into thinking he adopted her and he is Validar's long lost son; she even does this in the support you marry her! The English version tones it down to her calling him "big brother" in a child-like tone just to aggravate the hell out of him in their B rank support with Robin himself saying they aren't related in any way.
* PlayingWithFire: Comes with a Bolganone tome when she joins you.
* PreFinalBoss: She's the last boss fought before Grima.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->''"Still clinging to hope?"''
-->''"All good things must end."''
-->''"Down you go."''
* RecurringBoss: But you only fight her twice, one being a late-game chapter, and one being the penultimate chapter before the final chapter. In her [=SpotPass=] Chapter, she is instead just an NPC unit with mirrors of your characters + a mirror of her serving as the opponents.
* RedEyesTakeWarning: It's hard to tell, but she has them as well.
* RedMage: Can use normal magic as well.
* TheRival: In contrast to Male Avatar's support, she becomes this to Female Avatar in their supports.
* SecretAIMoves: Not as bad as Walhart but on Lunatic she has [[ImprobableAimingSkills Hit Rate + 10]] which is an enemy only skill she doesn't bring with her when she joins you.
* SecretCharacter: The second-to-last [=SpotPass=] character, with the final one being Priam.
* SexyBacklessOutfit: It's hard to tell since she's always on her pegasus's back in battle, but her Dark Flier outfit is cut similarly in the back like the front.
* ShockAndAwe: Goetia is this crossed with BlackMagic.
* ShootTheMessenger: After learning from a soldier that the Plegian army failed to defeat Chrom and take the Fire Emblem, Aversa kills the soldier on the spot.
* SiblingRivalry: If recruited, she takes great pleasure in annoying Robin, though as he points out they aren't siblings at all.
* TheTease: Most of her battle dialogues are very flirtatious, and she hits on Chrom in her support tree.
* UniqueEnemy: A Dark Flier who wields Dark Magic. This is due to a skill: Shadowgift. She gets to keep it when she joins your team, and can pass down her class and skill to female Morgan as her daughter.
* UnwittingPawn: Validar and the Grimleal murdered her family and {{Brainwashed}} with FakeMemories. The localized version implies this was so the cult could make use of the Shadowgift.
* TheVamp: Openly admits in her parent-child event tiles with Morgan that she has used her beauty and body to get what she wants from men in the past, and encourages her daughter to learn how to do the same.
* VainSorceress: Her character interactions with Tiki in the Hot Springs DLC revolve around her envy of Tiki's ability to stay good-looking with time, grumbling that she doesn't mind not having eternal life if she can have eternal youth. She even says that she wishes she could go back to being ten years younger, despite, [[MsFanservice well...]]
* VillainHasAPoint: In Chapter 21. Granted she was only using it to justify her continued loyalty to Validar in the face of annihilation to Chrom, but yeah, turns out it's easy to speechify about how [[TheNeedsOfTheMany one life is outweighed by those of millions]] when you have don't have any emotional attachment to the one, but much harder to live up to it if you ''do''. The subsequent chapters show this with Chrom repeatedly protesting the possibility of the Avatar making a HeroicSacrifice, even if it's the '''only way''' to prevent Grima from ever coming back.
* VolleyingInsults: If she and Gangrel are recruited and talk to each other on the Hot-Spring Scramble map, their confrontation descends into an insult contest, ending with Gangrel doing a YourMom joke.
* WalkingSpoiler: She's initially presented as a subordinate to Gangrel, though it's made increasingly clear that she has a far more important role than him. Also, she's another recruitable villain, with a backstory that expands on why she is thus.
* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Was evil under Validar's brainwashing.

!!Excellus
Walhart's tactician who is secretly a Grimleal spy.
->'''Class:''' Sage
->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShinobuMatsumoto (Japanese), Creator/SpikeSpencer (English)
----
For Excellus's tropes, see their section [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningLesserAntagonists here]].


!!Chalard
The boss of Chapter 8. A member of the Grimleal.

->'''Class:''' Dark Mage
----

* FlatCharacter: He's Grima's loyal pawn, and as far as personality goes that's all there really is to him.

* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: He fills the role of EvilSorcerer/priest working for an evil dragon archetype by Gharnef. His role of breeding the ultimate vessel specifically takes inspiration from Manfroy from [[Videogame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar ''Genealogy Of The Holy War]].''

* BeardOfEvil: With a SkunkStripe down the middle of it.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/avatars_tvtropes_6487.png]]

[[quoteright:150:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Risen_chief_7822.png]]
[[caption-width-right:150:A Risen Chief]]

* PromotedToPlayable: Surprisingly, yes! Three versions of Grima, one possessing the body of Male Robin and two possessing the body of Female Robin became playable characters in ''Heroes'', complete with summoning Grima's dragon form during combat.

* YouGottaHaveBlueHair: The Hierophant's hair is the same as the Avatar's, which is customizable for a really wide array of hair color.

* NintendoHard: Especially in Lunatic+ of the main game or Lunatic in the Future Past arc. Ignis, Pavise+, Dragonskin, and Rightful God in the former; Aegis, Dragonskin, Hawkeye, Pavise, and Rightful God in the latter. Very deserving of the FinalBoss role.

* AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever: Only ''VideoGame/AsurasWrath'' bosses or Cronos from ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII'' could possibly rival him in sheer size. For a specific measurement, Lucina is smaller than just one of his eyes.

* VoluntaryShapeshifter: Averted: despite being Grima's vessel, Robin as the Hierophant is not a Manakete and cannot transform, instead manifesting their draconic might by fighting in tandem with their real body. If said body isn't present, like in the Future Past DLC, they can conjure a phantasmal Grima body that works just as well. They retain this fighting style in ''Heroes''.

* NotUsingTheZWord: Averted. Henry outright calls them zombies when you recruit him, and some other characters do the same at various points.

* BigBad: He's the overarching antagonist who tries to resurrect an even greater evil. However, once The Hierophant, and by extension, Grima, reveals themselves, he is DemotedToDragon, although this is still in his interests.

* NotSoDifferent: Likes to claim that the Avatar and him are the same being (especially if the Avatar confronts him during the final battle).

* SuperToughness: Has a skill called "Dragonskin" that grants them this, halving damage and negating the Counter and Lethality skills.

[[center: [-[[Characters/FireEmblemAwakening Character Index]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningTheLords The Lords]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningFirstGeneration First Generation]] ([[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningFirstGenerationMales Males]], [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningFirstGenerationFemales Females]]) | [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningSecondGeneration Second Generation]] | [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningAlliesandNeutralFactions Allies and Neutral Factions]] | '''Grima and the Grimleal''' | [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningLesserAntagonists Lesser Antagonists]]]]-]

* HumanityIsInfectious: Halloween Female Grima in ''Heroes'' has shown to have developed a fondness for candy, enough to dress up in a costume (and stick a pumpkin sticker on the larger Grima body). And her attempts to deny it and her fondness o the holiday to come off as being a {{Tsundere}}. All this suggests being in a human vessel is starting to affect her.

* NighInvulnerability: Only Grima's own power can truly kill him. Gameplay-wise, in ''Awakening'' he possesses the "Dragonskin" skill, which reduces all damage by half. At the hardest difficulty, he also has Pavise+, ''further halving physical damage'', and is probably ''the'' most resilient boss in ''Fire Emblem'' history. In ''heroes'', Grima gets a skill based on "Dragonskin" that negates a weakness and buffs their defensive stats when attacked.

* NighInvulnerability: Only Grima's own power can truly kill him. Gameplay-wise, in ''Awakening'' he possesses the "Dragonskin" skill, which reduces all damage by half. At the hardest difficulty, he also has Pavise+, ''further halving physical damage'', and is probably ''the'' most resilient boss in ''Fire Emblem'' history.

* PromotedToPlayable: Surprisingly, yes! Two versions of Grima, one possessing the body of Male Robin and another possessing the body of Female Robin became playable characters in ''Heroes'', complete with summoning Grima's dragon form during combat.

%%* SmugSnake: Not as much as [[DirtyCoward Excellus]], but in contrast to other similar dark magic users in the series, he is nonetheless this. Basilio even spells it out for him:
%%--> '''Basilio:''' [[PretenderDiss You're no Walhart, snake eyes!]] Not as [[TheJuggernaut strong]], or even as [[GeniusBruiser clever]]...

* {{Foil}}: To Emmeryn. Both are the older sister figure to characters bestowing the blood of Dragons, with Aversa being the adoptive sister to the Avatar. Both are opposites in many ways. The Plegian Aversa wears more revealing clothing, is impolite at best, and supports her father's actions, compared to Ylisse's Exalt Emmeryn, who is more clothed, is considered very kind to many, and atones the actions of her father. Lastly, while Aversa recovers her old memories in her Spotpass Paralogue, Emmeryn becomes amnesic.

* NotBloodRelated: After being de-brainwashed she starts referring to a male Avatar as "brother," since she was {{Brainwashed}} by Validar into thinking he adopted her and he is Validar's son; she even does this in the support you marry her! The English version tones it down to her calling him "big brother" in a child-like tone just to aggravate the hell out of him in their B rank support.

* SiblingRivalry: If recruited, she takes great pleasure in aggravating her adoptive sibling, the Avatar.

* BeautyEqualsGoodness: A beautiful member of the Grimleal, and the only member that can be recruited by the protagonists.

* ZettaiRyouiki: Grade A stockings with garter belts in the same vein as most Pegasus Knight classes.

For their tropes, see their section [[Characters/FireEmblem here]].