History Characters / FireEmblemThreeHouses

* Main Characters:

** [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesRhea Rhea]]

** [[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesOtherCharacters Other Characters]][[note]](Sothis, Anna, Miklan, Shahid, Nader, Pallardó, The Gatekeeper, The Abysskeeper, Shez, Arval, Lord of the Desert, Lord of the Lake, Wandering Beast)[[/note]]

!The Three Nations of Fódlan
!!The Adrestian Empire
[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe3h_adrestian_crest.png]]
The oldest and largest nation in all of Fódlan, encompassing the southern part of the continent. Founded 1000 years ago by Seiros and Emperor Wilhelm I during the War of Heroes, the Adrestian Empire has been ruled by the same dynasty for its entire existence. Over time, various territories seceded from the Empire, forming both the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance. Despite its power having waned over the millennium, the Empire still has the largest army and most land on the continent. Adrestian students at the Officers Academy are members of the Black Eagles.
----
* AnimalMotifs: The eagle as it is both the Empire's coat of arms and the name of the house for students from Adrestia.
* AmbitionIsEvil: At the start of the story, the Adrestian Empire is by far the most corrupt territory on the continent. The Empire's nobility are very ambitious in their desire for wealth, status and power. This will often lead them to make outright villainous decisions to get what they want, regardless of who they betray, hurt or kill.
* AristocratsAreEvil: The Prime Minister and some of the other Imperial ministers stripped the Emperor of power in a soft coup and enforced their own laws on the Adrestian Empire. Several of them are implied or outright stated to be corrupt and power-hungry, particularly Duke Aegir (who heavily abused the people of Hrym during his regency and [[spoiler:approved the horrific Crest experiments Edelgard underwent]]).
* AnAxeToGrind: Imperial non-magic combatants are often seen wielding axes, such as Ladislava, Edelgard and Caspar.
* BlackMarket: Adrestia's capital has one, which serves as the centerpiece for Balthus and Hapi's paralogue.
* TheCoup: Nine years before the story, the current Adrestian Emperor Ionius IX was a victim of one by seven noble houses after he attempted to push reforms that would consolidate all the power to his position, which came to be known as the Insurrection of the Seven. By the time the plot begins, he’s nothing more than a PuppetKing, leaving the ''de facto'' ruler of the nation the Prime Minister.
* TheCycleOfEmpires: By the time of the game's plot, Adrestia sits firmly in Phase 3, having lost multiple territories over the years while also having a corrupt bureaucracy obsessed with Crests where the Emperor and their lineage have little to no actual power.
* DarkIsEvil: The Empire is primarily associated with the colors black and red. Not only is it by far the most corrupt territory at the start of Part I, in all non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:Edelgard declares war on the rest of Fódlan, making the Empire the primary antagonist faction.]]
* DarkIsNotEvil: On the Crimson Flower route. Thanks to Byleth's influence, Edelgard tones down her more extreme actions and becomes more merciful towards her enemies, including being more accepting of those who still worship the Goddess. While she still makes morally questionable decisions, she is more willing to resolve things peacefully rather than through violence.
* DecapitatedArmy: On non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:Edelgard's death marks the end of the war and forces Adrestia's military to surrender towards the victorious faction.]]
* ElectiveMonarchy: [[spoiler:A variant of an Elective Monarchy is Edelgard's plan for the Empire long term should she win, planning to have the throne be for "the most well suited" individual rather than just for the Hresvelg dynasty, with Edelgard even willing to pass over her own children should they not be qualified.]]
* TheEmpire: Once had dominion over the entirety of Fódlan, and still controls the southern half and at least one vassal state.
* EmpireWithADarkSecret: [[spoiler:Unbeknownst to the general populace, after the Insurrection of the Seven took place and Lord Arundel came back from the Kingdom, the heirs to the imperial throne were captured and experimented upon with the stated intention of infusing them with a Major Crest (as opposed to the Minor Crests some of them already had) to create a "perfect emperor", a process which led to the deaths of almost all of them.]] [[spoiler:It's heavily implied this happened as a result of those who slither in the dark capitalizing on the Insurrection to [[KillAndReplace replace some of the imperial staff]] with their own agents to further their own goals, with one of the victims being none other than [[DeadAllAlong Lord Arundel]] himself. For them, the purpose of providing the means and resources for the experiments was not to make a perfect emperor, but to create an ultimate weapon against the Church of Seiros and the remaining Children of the Goddess. Their greatest success was Edelgard, who they used Sothis' blood (referring to her as the "defiled beast") on to make her into the second person since Nemesis to bear the Crest of Flames.]]
* FactionCalculus: Powerhouse. The empire primarily relies on hard-hitting magic-users and armored knights to overwhelm the enemy.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: It's a mixture of Austria and the Eastern Roman Empire.
** The German-sounding names, the black eagle and the color red of their associated house both call to mind the House of Habsburg, which ruled over the Austrian Empire. Unlike the Holy Roman Empire which was more a confederacy of states, the Adrestian Empire is an authoritarian Empire. Their political situation even sort of mirrors the later Austrian Empire at the dawn of [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarI WW1]], having had many parts of it break off and becoming independent but the Empire being militaristic and inclined towards reconquering lost lands.
** Like the [[UsefulNotes/ByzantineEmpire Eastern Roman Empire]], Adrestia is an empire in decline. It once controlled most of the continent before losing many of its former territories. Despite this, it still remains a powerful nation culturally and militarily. Its architecture even resembles that of Italy and Rome and it borrows the Eastern Roman double-headed eagle as part of its heraldry.
* FatalFlaw: Arrogance and {{Pride}}. Adrestians believe themselves to be the wealthiest and most powerful nation in Fódlan, and the continent's rightful rulers. Because of their hubris, there is much discord among the ministers and they outright refuse to let go of their pride for any reason. This makes the Empire tragically easy to manipulate, [[spoiler:and to goad into war under these pretenses against nations they don't see as legitimate. In non-Crimson Flower routes, this eventually leads to the nation losing their leadership and ending up fairly damaged as a result.]]
* FighterMageThief: Mage. Adrestia relies heavily on its mages in its military.
* GeodesicCast: As most of the Black Eagles[[note]]with the exception of Petra and Dorothea[[/note]] are children of prominent nobles, most of the important figures in the Empire have a counterpart in the Black Eagles class that helps inform their character and place in the empire. Duke Aegir's superseding the Emperor is a dark parallel to his son's attempt to constantly challenge Edelgard, for example.
* {{Greed}}: A grave flaw of the Empire is their ruling class's insatiable desire for power and wealth. Compared to the other two nations' nobility, those of Adrestia appear to most value the status that comes with a Crest in the family over any practical uses it may have. Many Imperial nobles are only concerned about their own status and will do whatever it takes to advance themselves or gain power.
* {{Leitmotif}}: "The Leader's Path" plays during scenes related to the Empire.
* MeaningfulName: Adrestia was the name of a Greek goddess of revolt and equilibrium between good and evil. [[spoiler:Edelgard revolts against both the corrupt government that stole her nation from her and later against the Church of Seiros in the hopes of creating a better world.]]
* {{Pride}}: The Empire's FatalFlaw. They believe they're the strongest and wealthiest of the three nations, which makes them look down on the [[KnightsInShiningArmor Holy Kingdom of Faerghus]] and the [[TheAlliance Leicester Alliance]]. This can also cause problems as stated by Linhardt in his C-Support with Dorothea. He points out that his father, the Minister of Domestic Affairs, and Caspar's father, the Minister of Military Affairs, don't get along, yet they value each other greatly. However, because of Count Hevring's pride, he refuses to make amends with Count Bergliez. This leads to discord between civil ministers and military officers.
* ThePurge: Upon taking power, [[spoiler:Edelgard and Hubert conduct one on the corrupt nobility and those who oppose them. The lucky ones, such as Count Varley, are simply stripped of their titles and placed under house arrest. The unlucky ones, such as Marquis Vestra, are killed outright. Some, such as Count Bergliez are allowed to join the army as generals during the timeskip.]]
* RedIsHeroic: Red is a national color in the Adrestian Empire, shown by the Imperial banner and the red cape Edelgard wears during the Academy phase. On the Crimson Flower route, it's played straight as they re-unify the land [[spoiler:and defeat the "false goddess" Rhea]] while refraining from more questionable actions.
* RedIsViolent: On non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:the Adrestian Empire often serves as the main or a major antagonist, and red is their primary color.]]
* ResurgentEmpire: On the Crimson Flower route, the empire [[spoiler:successfully unifies Fódlan once again by conquering Faerghus and the Leicester Alliance, restoring it to its original size.]]
* SecretPolice: House Vestra's role in the Empire is described as such. Some of their tasks include protecting the imperial lineage and dealing with the Empire’s "most unsavory duties" while acting from the shadows.
* UnwittingPawn: Played with in particular once Part II rolls around. [[spoiler:While "those who slither in the dark" are manipulating the territory to accomplish their own goals, the same can be said of the Empire as they take advantage of their allies' resources and troops to further theirs. Moreover, not only does Edelgard [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness plan to dispose of them once the war is over]] (and she actually does wipe them out on Crimson Flower and allows Byleth to do the same on Silver Snow and Verdant Wind), "those who slither in the dark" are also fully dependent on the Empire's support and success to achieve their agenda.]]
* VestigialEmpire: Downplayed. While Adrestia is nowhere near the peak of its power like it once was, it's still the most powerful force on the continent, [[spoiler:which is proven on non-Crimson Flower routes where they've all but won the war in five years by the time Byleth comes back with Faerghus effectively a PuppetKingdom, the Leicester Alliance divided and unable to muster support for or against them, and the Church forces scattered thanks to their leader being imprisoned, requiring Byleth's aid to turn the tide to their respective faction. Only a unified Faerghus with the Church's and especially Rhea's backing on Crimson Flower is able to fight Adestria to a draw with the caveat that Edelgard can't fully commit everything with the risk of the Alliance catching them unawares, and once Byleth arrives to give the empire their support all resistance quickly crumbles.]]
!!The Brigid Archipelago
An archipelago off Fódlan's west coast. They serve the Adrestian Empire as a vassal state.
----
* BornUnderTheSail: Petra mentions they have a rather strong sailing tradition, fitting for an island nation.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: It shows aspects of various Native American cultures and the Kingdom of Hawaii, though their names and attire are distinctly Celtic.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Duke Aegir]]
!!Duke Ludwig von Aegir
!!!'''Class:''' Fortress Knight (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Crest:''' Cichol (Minor)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Daisuke Endou (Japanese), Doug Stone (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/duke_aegir_portrait_8.png]]
The prime minister of the Adrestian Empire and the father of Ferdinand. He masterminded the Insurrection of the Seven and stripped Emperor Ionius IX of much of his power.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: In the original game, he wasn't exactly shown to have any skill in combat. ''Three Hopes'' turns him into a Fortress Knight who can take a hit and dish it back out in return.
* AlasPoorVillain: The former duke [[spoiler:is killed by the people of Hrym who blamed him for their current hardships, since he was the ruler who initially taxed them harshly.]] Though Lysithea, who's from House Ordelia and knows the history of Hrym and Ordelia, has reason to hate him, she remarks that it really wasn't his fault this time, [[spoiler:as he hasn't been in charge of Hrym for several years]], and feels [[spoiler:his murder]] wasn't deserved.
* AssholeVictim: While he [[spoiler:can be killed]] because of something that [[NotMeThisTime wasn't his fault this time]], the fact that he's a corrupt EvilChancellor who [[spoiler:masterminded the Crest experimentation that gave Edelgard her second Crest and killed or crippled the rest of her siblings]] can make it hard to feel sorry for him.
* BaldOfEvil: He's noticeably losing hair, and he's corrupt.
* TheDogBitesBack: After the insurrection, Duke Aegir was put in charge of Hrym, and he levied brutally heavy taxes and fines on the people, more than that of his own territory. Once he was stripped of his power, [[spoiler:Arundel took his place. A group of rogues from Hrym found Aegir traveling alone in the forest. Blaming him for their misery, they killed him and stole his belongings.]]
* DealWithTheDevil: His alliance with Lord Arundel during the backstory and Part I very much counts as this. While the deal in question is never directly stated, evidence points out [[spoiler:Duke Aegir facilitated those who slither in the dark's infiltration into the Empire and their Crests experiments in exchange of producing a SuperSoldier that could be used as a [[PuppetKing puppet emperor]] to take over Fódlan.]]
* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: [[spoiler: In Ferdinand and Edelgard's C-Support in Three Hopes, he reveals that he's visited his father in prison. Duke Aegir has insisted that Ferdinand stay away from him for his own safety.]] As much as a tyrant Duke Aegir was, it was never implied that he was abusive towards Ferdinand and genuinely loved him.
* EvilChancellor: He led a conspiracy of nobles to seize power for themselves, leaving the emperor their puppet. [[spoiler:According to Edelgard, he also masterminded and approved the Crest experimentation that infused her with a second Crest and ended up killing/crippling the rest of her siblings, which was possible thanks to the Duke's connections with those who slither in the dark.]]
* FatBastard: He has a noticeable gut, and he's counted amongst the corrupt nobility.
* FatalFlaw: {{Greed}}. Duke Aegir's greed and corrupt lust for power led him to lead the Insurrection of the Seven and becoming the ''de facto'' ruler of the Adrestian Empire. He also heavily taxed the people of Hrym territory at the start of his rule and forcing grave hardships on them. [[spoiler:This allowed Lord Arundel to take charge of Hrym during Duke Aegir's imprisonment and forced even harder burdens on the people of Hrym in his name. Because of Duke Aegir's well-known corruption and evil, this caused the people of Hrym to blame him for pushing them to the brink and killing him.]]
* KilledOffscreen: In ''Three Houses'', [[spoiler:he dies during the timeskip if Ferdinand isn’t in your party in non-Crimson Flower routes.]]
* KnowWhenToFoldEm: When Edelgard is made Emperor and places Duke Aegir under house arrest as one of her first decrees, he briefly tries to argue before backing down, realizing that he's not dealing with a feeble old man anymore but someone with every reason and ability to have him killed.
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Duke Aegir is pretty much the exact kind of noble Ferdinand despises, and is likely the reason why Ferdinand tries to act as a proper noble. In fact, though Ferdinand is not happy about Edelgard deposing his father, he will still readily admit that the man was indeed greedy and arrogant.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: Ferdinand's comments about his father in Chapter 11 and the Duke's reaction towards Edelgard's coronation in Enbarr all but state Duke Aegir was kept in the dark about Edelgard and Hubert's movements in the Empire and [[spoiler:their dealings with both "those who slither in the dark" and other fellow members of the Insurrection.]]
* MinorMajorCharacter: Despite the Duke's actions casting a huge shadow over many events of the story, it can be striking to find out he only appears onscreen in only ''two scenes'' in the whole game (with both being easily missable, and the other being exclusive to Black Eagles).
* MisplacedRetribution: Played with. He did in fact harshly tax the citizens of Hrym, far more so than those of his home territory, to the point of causing droves of people to attempt to flee to Ordelia in desperation. After he lost his noble title, [[spoiler:he's imprisoned in Enbarr for years while Lord Arundel took charge of Hrym. Arundel imposed even heavier taxes on the people, and they're conscripted for war as well (with brutal repercussions for the slightest hint of defiance) — this Arundel did in the name of Aegir, stoking the people's fury and [[FrameUp directing it at Aegir]]. When the former duke finally escapes imprisonment, rioters at Hrym kill him.]] As Lysithea explains, he was by no means a great ruler, but he was not the villain this time.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: He's only referred to as "Duke Aegir" or "Prime Minister" with no first name given aloud in ''Three Houses'', but ''Heroes'' and ''Three Hopes'' gives him the name "Ludwig".
* StoutStrength: He's a portly fellow, but he's still a Fortress Knight with a massive shield in ''Three Hopes''.
* UnwittingPawn:
** Ultimately, the main beneficiary of his conspiracy was [[spoiler:Lord Arundel/Thales, who used the opportunity to amass power and conduct experiments on the imperial family. Indeed, in ''Three Houses'', Arundel openly turns against him the moment Edelgard takes the throne]].
** In ''Three Hopes'', [[spoiler:as Edelgard and the Church's army quickly advance through Enbarr, Ludwig is used by Arundel as a distraction as he tries escaping the Imperial Palace unharmed]].
* VisionaryVillain: If Edelgard's choice of words and comments about him are any indication, [[spoiler:the reason Duke Aegir approved the experiment "those who slither in the dark" performed on herself and her family was because of the prospect of having a "peerless emperor" that could be used to [[TakeOverTheWorld rule Fódlan]].]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On the ''Three Houses''' Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:the paralogue in which he dies never occurs, because since Ferdinand remained loyal to the Empire, he assumed the leadership position of his territory rather than it being passed to Lord Arundel. What happens to Duke Aegir never gets revealed, but in many of Ferdinand's endings he officially earns the title of Prime Minister so Duke Aegir either remained imprisoned or at the very least was stripped of his titles and power.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord Arundel]]
!!Lord Volkhard von Arundel
!!!'''Class:''' Dark Knight (''Three Houses''), Warlock (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MasakiTerasoma (Japanese), Creator/ChristopherCoreySmith[[note]]Credited as "Chris Smith"[[/note]] (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lord_arundel_three_hopes.png]]
Edelgard's uncle and regent of the empire. While he was initially just a noble from a small house, he rose to prominence after his sister married Emperor Ionius IX.
----
* AndThereWasMuchRejoicing: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:after he meets his demise at the hands of the Kingdom army, Hubert calls it "a drop of joy amid a pool of sorrow".]]
* BigBad: According to Hubert, [[spoiler:he's the leader of "those who slither in the dark" as not only have Solon and Kronya once served him, but he is also in control of the group's troops.]] [[spoiler:Since he's actually Thales, this makes sense.]]
* BigBadDuumvirate: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:he shares the role of main villain with Edelgard. While he's more malevolent and is directly responsible for most of the tragedies in both her and Dimitri's backstories, she is more prominent and personal of an antagonist, eventually becoming the FinalBoss. Azure Moon is also the only route where their alliance doesn't implode one way or the other.]]
* CharacterDeath: While it is ultimately left ambiguous in ''Three Houses'', it is noted on the Azure Moon route that [[spoiler:Arundel was a very generous donor to the Church of Seiros up until a few years before the game started (specifically, right before he returned to the Empire with Edelgard), so it is heavily implied the real Arundel [[KillAndReplace was disposed of and replaced by Thales]] at that point]]. [[spoiler:As for the man we see during the story, he either dies during the invasion of Derdriu in the Azure Moon route, is implied to be taken down alongside those who slither in the dark in the Crimson Flower route, or dies under his true identity on the Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes as Shambhala collapses over him.]]
* ClimaxBoss:
** He's the last boss defeated before the BigBad and their CoDragons in the ''Azure Moon'' route of ''Three Houses''.
** He's the last boss before the TimeSkip in the Scarlet Blaze route in ''Three Hopes''.
* CoolUncle:
** Played straight in the past. Edelgard's supports with Manuela reveals he once took her to the Mittelfrank Opera Company to watch Manuela's performance, and according to Dimitri's supports with Hapi, Lord Arundel went to great lengths during the Insurrection of the Seven in order to ensure Edelgard's safety, taking her out of the Empire and even hiding her presence in the Kingdom just so she couldn't be turned into a political pawn.
** Unfortunately averted ''hard'' in the present. By the time you meet him, he's become a callous sociopath who clearly has no actual love for Edelgard and merely sees her as a tool. [[spoiler:That's because Arundel is almost certainly long dead.]]
* CrypticBackgroundReference: There are various hints scattered through ''Three Houses'' that he is not what he seems. Specifically, [[spoiler:that the Lord Arundel seen in the present [[ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter is actually Thales impersonating him]]]]:
** In Garreg Mach's library, one of the books mention he's ''believed'' to have supported the Insurrection of the Seven from its very beginning due to his partnership with Duke Aegir being quickly established just after returning to Enbarr. Not only this implies Arundel had to have been in contact with Aegir in advance for this to be possible, it also goes against the stated motive Arundel had — according to Dimitri — for fleeing the Empire with Edelgard to begin with.
** [[spoiler:During his meeting with the Flame Emperor, Arundel calls Nemesis a "thief" in front of his associate, which puzzles the Flame Emperor as there are no official records of Nemesis being described as such, and the way he speaks of Nemesis' "King of Liberation" title hints at an odd sort of knowing amusement.]]
** In non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:when Edelgard requests backup from her uncle, in the following cutscene Thales shows up instead of Arundel.]]
** In Crimson Flower, [[spoiler:not only is he referred to as the boss of "those who slither in the dark" (as is considered as such by Hubert), he also happens to be absolutely delighted over the idea of humanity being freed from a "false beast of a goddess".]]
** If you're a Blue Lion, Sothis drives attention to the fact [[spoiler:he suddenly stopped donating to the church for some time ago, suggesting it could've been due to him perishing, which is seemingly disproven a few chapters later when he's shown talking to Dimitri in the flesh]]. In Azure Moon proper, [[spoiler:no javelins of light are ever deployed in the story compared to the other routes, and the path just so happens to be the only one where Arundel is slain under that identity. Also, not only Edelgard and Hubert consider his demise in Derdriu a ''good thing'', in Azure Moon's last chapter, Myson is seen acting as the interim leader of the Agarthans supporting Edelgard's last stand, not unlike how Odesse takes a similar position in Verdant Wind's final battle after Thales' death.]]
** Lastly, [[spoiler:many characters mention how his personality and behavior feels off as he changed quite suddenly at some point (much as is said about Cornelia and Monica), which played a huge factor in Edelgard acquiring trust issues as he suddenly brought her back into Enbarr to experiment on her and her siblings]].
* DefiantToTheEnd: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:once he's at Dimitri's mercy and the latter demands him the truth about her stepmother's involvement with the Tragedy of Duscur, Arundel chooses to spite him and carry the secret to his grave]].
-->'''Arundel:''' [[spoiler:You are not qualified to look into the darkness.]]
* DidntThinkThisThrough: [[spoiler:On Crimson Flower, in response to Edelgard and the Black Eagle Strike Force killing Cornelia, he has those who slither in the dark use a "javelin of light" to destroy Arianrhod so he can MakeAnExampleOfThem. In doing so though, he instead strengthens Edelgard's hatred for him and his allies, and thanks to this, it's implied that Hubert, like he does on Silver Snow and Verdant Wind, is able to trace it back to their base. His act of petty vengeance ends up leading to the loss of their last bastion.]]
* DragonInChief: Arundel takes a bigger role in the Imperial Army during Azure Moon after Edelgard is badly wounded at the Gronder Field bloodbath and is forced to step back during her recovery. He personally leads the attack on Deirdru, the only instance in the entire game where he can be seen on the battlefield. [[spoiler:At least under this guise.]]
* EarlyBirdCameo: He makes a brief appearance after the end of Chapter 4 while speaking to the Flame Emperor, revealing he was using the Western Church as pawns, before he's introduced properly later in the story on the Azure Moon and Crimson Flower routes.
* EvilUncle: He's Edelgard's uncle and Dimitri's step-uncle, [[spoiler:who experiments on and kills the siblings of the former and tries to kill the latter.]] [[spoiler:However, he's heavily implied to be a subversion since the man the player knows as Arundel is indicated to be a disguised Thales, who murdered and replaced the original Arundel.]]
* FaceDeathWithDignity: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:where he finds the light he longed for in death.]]
* FauxAffablyEvil: In Hubert's Paralogue, Arundel remains polite throughout and asks for "help" in dealing with some [[spoiler:Demonic Beasts that went out of "those who slither in the dark's" control]], and even allows Hubert and Byleth to take the "Arrow of Indra" as a gift for their work in saving the mages caught up in the chaos. Hubert, however, makes it abundantly clear Arundel was using the incident as a means of demonstrating [[spoiler:"those who slither in the dark"'s]] power with even the "gift" being a prototype magical lance nearly as powerful as a Hero's Relic yet capable of being wielded by ''anyone''. Arundel is also significantly less polite if some of the mages end up dying, even saying he "expected too much" of Byleth and Hubert.
* FakeKing: [[spoiler:It's implied Thales replaced Arundel just so he could abuse the regent's position in the Empire, allowing him to join the Insurrection of the Seven and thus the ability to experiment on Edelgard and her siblings. On non-Crimson Flower routes, after the timeskip he also imposes heavy taxes and brutal conscription practices on the Hrym territory [[FrameUp under Duke Aegir's name]] after the latter is put in house arrest and stripped of all his titles and territories.]]
* FantasticRacism: On the Crimson Flower route, he is downright jubilant at the prospect of [[spoiler:Rhea's death]] and humanity's supremacy.
* {{Guyliner}}: He sports some subtle eyeliner beneath his eyes.
* InterfaceSpoiler: Averted. Unlike Cornelia, who has [[spoiler:Agarthan Technology]] as her personal skill, Arundel has the [[ContractualBossImmunity Commander]] skill instead. Moreover, [[spoiler:his spell list when fought in Azure Moon[[note]]Hades Ω and Thoron[[/note]] is wildly different compared to when he's fought as Thales on the Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes[[note]]Death Γ and Quake Σ[[/note]].]]
* KarmicDeath: On the Azure Moon route [[spoiler:he's killed by Dimitri's army, the man who lost his family in the Tragedy of Duscur which Arundel helped orchestrate. The kicker is that Dimitri never finds out who was responsible for it, [[DramaticIrony so he avenges his family without even knowing it]].]]
* KillAndReplace:
** [[spoiler: His shared voice actors with Thales and sudden shift in personality in Imperial Year 1174 indicate that the real Arundel was most likely murdered and subsequently replaced with the former. While this was implied in ''Three Houses'', ''Three Hopes'' explicitly confirms it when Arundel turns into Thales onscreen.]]
** Hapi and Dimitri's support has Dimitri speculate [[spoiler:he had no idea what was going on with his sister just as Dimitri and Lambert knew nothing about Edelgard, implying that Cornelia had a hand in killing and replacing him.]]
* ManipulativeBastard: Instigated [[spoiler:the Tragedy of Duscur via his underling Cornelia and Edelgard's mother. In ''Three Hopes'', it's also mentioned he rewarded the corrupt Kingdom nobility that supported the Tragedy with Imperial money and resources.]]
* MyNameIsQuestionMarks: How Lord Arundel's name is displayed during his first appearance.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Do not oppose me!''"\\
"''I control your fate!''"\\
"''Perish!''"\\
"''Time to take your leave!''"
* RemovedAchillesHeel: He has the Cavalry Effect Null skill, which removes the weakness his class usually has towards anti-cavalry weapons.
* SpeakIllOfTheDead: On the Azure Moon route, Arundel indirectly calls [[spoiler:[[TheMole Cornelia]]]] an idiot once he realizes [[spoiler:she failed to keep the Kingdom under her thumb since Dimitri and his allies have come to Claude's aid.]] In a similar vein, [[spoiler:should Dimitri fight him, Arundel will claim he has become just like his father: a savage.]]
* SugaryMalice: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:after the battle at Arianrhod, he politely talks to Edelgard the way one would expect a lord to speak to his empress, but the underlining sentiment behind his words makes it clear he sees the death of his underling Cornelia as a betrayal and that he will exact penance. True to his word, Hubert almost immediately comes running after this declaration to reveal Arianrhod has been destroyed entirely by "those who slither in the dark"'s "javelins of light".]]
* TurnsRed: Lord Arundel's magic stat receives a huge boost once he's low on health thanks to his Defiant Magic skill.
* TheUnreveal:
** Downplayed in ''Three Houses'' as far [[spoiler:his true identity]] is concerned. [[spoiler:While it's never spelled out outright in-game, there are a lot of hints scattered across the four routes that the Lord Arundel we see during the story is actually Thales in disguise.]]
** Averted with impunity in ''Three Hopes'', as Scarlet Blaze [[spoiler:quickly [[TheReveal forces Thales to discard his Arundel disguise once Edelgard and her allies manage to corner him in Enbarr]]]].
* UnskilledButStrong: Arundel's spells have low accuracy and he even lacks the Reason skill, yet the damage they can deal are nothing to scoff at.
* TheUsurper: According to Hubert, it was Lord Arundel who [[spoiler:spirited Edelgard off to Faerghus as a child]] and later, with the aid of Prime Minister Aegir and Hubert's father rendered Ionius politically impotent.
* VisionaryVillain: Shows shades of this on the Crimson Flower route. [[spoiler:Right before the FinalBattle, he suggests Edelgard that once the war is over, she could try seeking a future where [[TakeOverTheWorld the Empire is in control of the whole world]]. Edelgard herself shoots down that idea, as she's only interested in ruling Fódlan.]]
* WeaponForIntimidation: On the Crimson Flower route [[spoiler:he has the fortress city of Arianrhod destroyed and a good portion of the Imperial army stationed there slain by the "javelins of light" to try and put Edelgard in her place for killing Cornelia. This only motivates Edelgard, Hubert and Byleth even further to give him and his group what's coming to them.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: In the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, he makes no other appearances after Chapter 4. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, given it's heavily implied he still reappears in the story later, but under his true identity instead.]]
* WolfInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:His real identity is Thales, the leader of "those who slither in the dark", himself.]]
* YouRemindMeOfX: Hubert in his B-Support with Byleth mentions that he senses something similar about them to Arundel, specifically that they have a "second self" they are in constant dialogue with. This doesn't bode well since Hubert ''hates'' Arundel.
* XanatosSpeedChess: In the prologue of ''Three Hopes'', upon hearing of [[spoiler:Kronya's defeat and Solon's outing as TheMole]], Lord Arundel quickly shifts gears and [[spoiler:notifies Cleobulus/Cornelia of the recent events to stay alert, which leads her to convince Rufus to stage a coup in Fhirdiad with her support]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Count Bergliez]]
!!Count Leopold von Bergliez
!!!'''Class:''' War Master (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Crest:''' Cichol (Major)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/count_bergliez.png]]
The Minister of Military Affairs and Caspar's father.
----
* AncestralWeapon: Fights using the sacred gauntlets Járngreipr.
* AnimalMotifs: Bears. Leopold von Bergliez is a stout, muscular man who wields gauntlets as weapons, similar to bear claws. He has a shoulder guard on his left shoulder resembling a bear's face.
* BarbarianLonghair: He has long hair and the ''Three Hopes'' demo depicts him as a lot rougher in personality compared to the more refined Count Hevring.
* BloodKnight: The ''Three Hopes'' demo depicts him as loving combat to the point that Count Hevring mentions that he'll end up knee deep in gore.
* TheDreaded: Caspar is terrified of his father, and if opposing him worries that his army can't possibly win if Count Bergliez takes the field. Justified when, before the invasion of Enbarr, Caspar reveals that over the course of the war the Empire has won every battle in which Count Bergliez was present.
* AFatherToHisMen: On Verdant Wind [[spoiler:and Silver Snow, after the conquest of Enbarr, he apparently gives up his life so that his men would be spared.]]
* FourStarBadass: Minister of Military Affairs in Adrestria and one of the empire's most powerful warriors, having headed the counterinvasions of Dadga and Brigid after their attempt to invade Adrestia.
* TheGhost: He never appears onscreen, at least until ''Three Hopes'' makes him UnseenNoMore.
* HeroicSacrifice: On Verdant Wind [[spoiler:and Silver Snow, Count Bergliez sacrifices himself to save the lives of his men.]]
* InterserviceRivalry: He and Count Hevring, the latter of whom is the Minister of Domestic Affairs, can't stand each other. Ironically, their sons are best friends.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He participated in the [[TheCoup Insurrection of the Seven]], which ultimately lead to the war being started. [[spoiler:The war that ended up with him dead years later]]. That said, [[spoiler:he also always survives ThePurge of corrupt nobles following Edelgard's ascension, and is granted important command positions, suggesting he earned his pardon (something backed in ''Three Hopes'', where he and Count Hevring assist Edelgard in purging the Agarthans' influence from the Empire).]]
* RatedMForManly: His appearance in ''Three Hopes'' just oozes with sheer manliness.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: In ''Three Hopes'' it's shown in the demo that Caspar gets his love of getting into fights from him.
* StoutStrength: In the ''Three Hopes''' demo he's noticeably short and round, but lives up to every story Caspar tells about his strength.
* TeethClenchedTeamwork: With Waldemar and Petra. He is the rival of the former and killed the father of the latter.
* TheUnfought: He's never actually faced on any of the routes that feature the Empire as an enemy.
* UnseenNoMore: He never physically appears in ''Three Houses'', but ''Three Hopes'' has him as an allied NPC on the Scarlet Blaze route.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Count Hevring]]
!!Count Waldemar von Hevring
!!!'''Class:''' Warlock (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Crest:''' Cethleann (Minor)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/count_hevring.png]]
The Minister of Domestic Affairs and Linhardt's father.
----
* AdaptationalBadass: Played with. He is TheGhost in ''Three Houses'', and his role as Minister of Domestic Affairs gave off the impression that he's mostly a bureaucrat. In ''Three Hopes'', not only is he UnseenNoMore, he's classed as a Warlock skilled in both offensive and support magic, just like his son.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: His hair is green, like his son. His eyes are green too.
* TheGhost: He is unseen in ''Three Houses'', until ''Three Hopes'' makes him UnseenNoMore.
* GreenAndMean: He has green eyes and hair, wears a green outfit and is a snarky minister of TheEmpire.
* InterserviceRivalry: He and Count Bergliez, the Minister of Military Affairs, often butt heads with each other. Their sons are best friends however.
* KarmaHoudini: Despite his involvement in [[TheCoup the Insurrection of the Seven]], which eventually led to the war, [[spoiler: he is spared from Edelgard's purge of corrupt nobles and is given an administrative position in her empire, which suggests he earned a pardon (something backed in ''Three Hopes'', where he and Count Bergliez assist Edelgard in purging the Agarthans' influence from the Empire). Unlike Count Bergliez, there is no word of his fate on routes where Edelgard is an antagonist.]]
* TheRedMage: He's a Warlock, and can use offensive and support magic with equal aptitude.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: Portions of his son's snarky and critical demeanor apparently come from him. Count Hevring often directs it towards Count Bergliez.
* SmartPeopleWearGlasses: He's a smart mage and wears glasses.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks a lot like his son, with shorter hair and glasses.
* UnseenNoMore: He never physically appears in ''Three Houses'', but ''Three Hopes'' has him as an allied NPC on the Scarlet Blaze route.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Fleche]]
!!Fleche von Bergliez
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Yui Nakajima (Japanese), Creator/EdenRiegel (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fleche_portrait_1.png]]
The younger sister of Randolph and aunt of Caspar. She accompanies her brother as he aids the Empire.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:after Byleth mortally wounds her to prevent her from killing Dimitri, she dies crying for her already-dead brother, begging him to save her.]]
* AntiVillain: Just like her brother Randolph, she's technically considered a villain outside of the Crimson Flower route because [[spoiler:she's with the Adrestian Empire, opposing the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus/Leicester Alliance/Church of Seiros.]] On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:she tries to kill Dimitri and Rodrigue dies taking the blow, but she does it to avenge the death of her brother.]]
* AvengingTheVillain: While Randolph isn't ''exactly'' evil (though he is a sworn loyal enemy commander with, ahem, more than a few lives taken by him), [[spoiler:she hates and tries to murder Dimitri in response to his death.]]
* BigBrotherWorship: She's shown to have quite the high opinion of Randolph. [[spoiler:Her attempt at avenging him on the Azure Moon path most certainly came from a place of love.]]
* BrokenBird:
** She's ordinarily a NiceGirl; however, on the Azure Moon path [[spoiler:she can't stand how Randolph met his end and plots to kill Dimitri once he drops his guard.]]
** Averted on the Crimson Flower route where [[spoiler:she handles her brother's death better. She's sad, but she doesn't wish to seek revenge, likely because she witnessed his death of battle wounds rather than believing he was tortured to death.]]
* DeathByIrony: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:she tries to kill whom she ''thinks'' murdered her beloved brother, but she gets struck down by the person who was ''actually'' responsible. Granted, Dimitri planned to torture Randolph to death, while Byleth's action was a MercyKill.]]
* {{Irony}}: It's strongly implied on Azure Moon that [[spoiler:she acts as she does based on the belief her brother was tortured before Dimitri killed him. Not only does Dimitri never get the chance, Byleth does the deed to spare him. Fleche ends up being similar to Dimitri in [[MisplacedRetribution misplacing their target of revenge]] due to lacking key details.]]
* MumLooksLikeASister: Well, aunt, but she visibly looks ''much'' younger than her nephew Caspar. She could easily be mistaken for Caspar's little sister, especially considering she's only encountered after the timeskip. [[JustifiedTrope Makes sense when you factor that she and Randolph are half-siblings to Caspar’s father]]; their mother implicitly had a MayDecemberRomance with the previous Count Bergliez. Adding further credence to this is Fleche and Randolph's father retiring due to poor health and their elder half-brother succeeding him, despite Fleche and Randolph being ([[UnreliableNarrator or so their mother believed]]) his favoured children to inherit the Bergliez title.
* NightmareFace: She sports an ''absolutely deranged'' snarl as she [[spoiler:attacks Dimitri and rants at him for murdering her brother.]]
* NoNameGiven: She's only ever referred to as the "Maiden" in Azure Moon.
* {{Revenge}}: Attempts to avenge [[spoiler:Randolph]] on the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:stabbing Dimitri before being struck down. Rodrigue's death and last words from her assassination attempt causes him to realize the pain he's caused and start the path of atonement.]]
* SmallRoleBigImpact: Her most prominent appearance is on Azure Moon, where her actions [[spoiler:indirectly set the final quarter of the plot, as it were, into motion.]]
* YouMonster: On the Azure Moon route, she snarls that Dimitri is a monster after swearing that [[ThisIsUnforgivable she'll never forgive him]] for [[spoiler:Randolph's death]], right before she [[spoiler:attempts to stab him in the back.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Duke Gerth]]
!!Duke Gerth
!!!'''Class:''' Mage
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_duke_gerth.png]]
The leader of House Gerth, one of the six great Houses of the empire, and a member of the Insurrection. His duties involving overseeing all Foreign Affairs. Appears in the Paralogue "The Cursed Relic".
----
* IOweYouMyLife: He gives Constance the Hero's Relic he obtained from Dagda after the war, all to honor her parents who are implied to have saved him during the war with Dagda and Brigid.
* {{Irony}}: He risks his life to reclaim the Hero's Relic he got from Dagda, only to happily give it up to Constance who spoke badly of his family at the start of the Paralogue.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: He's the only leader of one of the Empire's great houses who does not have a child attending the academy.
* PetTheDog: Petra is grateful towards him even as an enemy for ensuring she was spared and allowed to live. [[spoiler:Him siding with Edelgard is the only thing that makes her conflicted about opposing the Empire.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Gerth is portrayed as a man who puts his duty and loyalty to the Empire above nearly everything, making his part in the Insurrection to be implied due to believing that Ionius' actions threatened the stability of the Empire. Notably, his House isolated itself from the others afterwards, choosing to perform his duties and not much else, and even then, in Constance and Yuri's paralogue it's shown [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight he's willing to turn a blind eye to it if it means fulfilling a debt]]. This is likely why in ''Three Hopes'' [[spoiler:after Edelgard and the Eagles oust Thales/Arundel and Ludwig, despite Gerth taking no part in the battle on their side unlike Leopold and Waldemar, he is simply sent off to fulfill his duties by negotiating with western Fódlan in the aftermath rather than suffer execution, imprisonment, or being set up in a UriahGambit.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Emperor Ionius IX]]
!!Emperor Ionius IX
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kouichi Souma (Japanese), Creator/PaulStPeter (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ionius_ix_portrait.png]]
Edelgard's father and the current ruler of the empire. However, his prime has long since passed, leaving him but a shadow of his former self wracked with age and illness.
----
* AbdicateTheThrone: Just before the TimeSkip, he abdicates his throne in favor of Edelgard, believing that she will be a more capable monarch than he was.
* TheCasanova: Downplayed. According to Edelgard, out of necessity and need for heirs, he had a bevy of lovers despite being married. He fathered a total of ''eleven children'' during his reign, though only Edelgard survived.
* CreepyShadowedUndereyes: They highlight his age and illness.
* FirstLove: Also doubles as LoveAtFirstSight. [[spoiler:Meeting Edelgard at the Goddess Tower will reveal that her mother, Anselma (a.k.a. Patricia, Dimitri's stepmother), was this for him. Ionius was a student of the Officers Academy before becoming Emperor and when he was crowned after graduation, he married for political reasons. One day, he visited the monastery and snuck up the Goddess Tower out of nostalgia. There, he met Anselma, who had just enrolled, and the pair fell in love immediately. Immediately afterward however, Edelgard admits that's how the "story" goes, suggesting it could just be Imperial propaganda and that despite the chance it isn't the truth, she wants to believe her parents were indeed in love with each other.]]
* TheGhost: In ''Three Hopes'', he's briefly mentioned early into Scarlet Blaze but never makes an appearance.
* GoodParents: There are plenty of signs that he truly loves Edelgard, and he expresses regret at how he could do nothing to help her [[spoiler:when she was experimented on with the rest of her siblings and how she was taken to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus.]] The fact that Edelgard bears no grudge against him further cements this, though as shown by the Cindered Shadows DLC, she does at least think he could have done more.
* IncurableCoughOfDeath: His speech is peppered with coughs, showing just how weak he's become.
* KilledOffscreen: After [[AbdicateTheThrone abdicating]] and passing on his throne to Edelgard, he is not seen again. Given that he was already half-dead from illness at that time, it should come as no surprise when Edelgard mentions near the end of the story that he died quite a while ago, as she reflects on all the tragic events that have shaped her life.
-->'''Edelgard:''' Everything that's happened... it's all just part of the ebb and flow of history. The Tragedy of Duscur, our days at the academy, Father's death, and the five years you were gone... After all of that, at long last, we're here at this point in time. I hope you'll stay by my side until the very end.
* KingOnHisDeathbed: Given his [[IncurableCoughOfDeath constant coughing]] and the weariness in his voice, it is evident that he is not long for this world.
* PuppetKing: What he's been reduced to as a result of his age, illness, and the machinations of the corrupt nobility, all of which have left him too weak to effectively fight policies he doesn't agree with. However, it is still he alone who has the ability to crown his successor as Emperor, which he grants Edelgard when she comes to him for it.
* SmallRoleBigImpact:
** The man appears in only one scene on the Black Eagles route, and an optional one at that. In spite of this, the events of this scene canonically happen in all routes (with Byleth's presence being the only variable), and it forever alters the entire course of the continent.
** His powermongering also resulted in the Insurrection of the Seven, which in turn [[spoiler:led to those who slither in the dark gaining influence over the Empire, and thus being able to experiment on Edelgard.]] As such, the central plot of the game is [[DownplayedTrope partially]] [[UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom a result of his actions]].
* SoapOperaDisease: He's practically on his deathbed when encountered in the Black Eagles route, though the reasons for his poor health are never disclosed.
* StrongEmpireShriveledEmperor: Adrestia may be a VestigialEmpire in the current day, but it's still the most powerful nation in Fódlan. Ionius himself, by contrast, is an old man wracked with illness and reduced to a PuppetKing by several traitorous nobles, and he hates it [[spoiler:for what his weakness cost his children and sole surviving heir Edelgard.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Possibly downplayed. Besides gathering all the power of the other noble houses for himself, [[LostInTranslation in the Japanese version of Hubert and Hanneman's C-Support]], the latter mentions how Ionius also wanted to dissolve the privileges of the consort kin (as in, his multiple wives), which is suggested to have been the reason Anselma ended up exiled from the Empire despite [[ShroudedInMyth the rumors claiming she was the one he loved the most]] and providing him a child with a Minor Crest of Seiros.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Ladislava]]
!!Ladislava
!!!'''Class:''' Cavalier → Wyvern Rider → Wyvern Lord
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Noriko Namiki (Japanese), Creator/KatelynGault (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ladislava_portrait_0.png]]
A soldier of the Adrestian Empire, and leader of Edelgard's personal guard.
----
* AHeroToHisHometown: She's rather popular amongst the citizens of the empire, who see her as a war hero.
* AntiVillain: Even outside of the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Ladislava is not what you would call evil, as she's an honorable woman well-loved among the Empire's citizens as a hero, only being considered a villain because she's participating in a war of conquest.]]
* ContractualBossImmunity: Ladislava's personal skill is General, which grants immunity to instant death and reduces damage caused by gambits.
* DragonRider: She's a powerful Wyvern Rider, although oddly she's a Cavalier in her GuestStarPartyMember appearance on the Crimson Flower route during [[spoiler:the battle of Garreg Mach]].
* KilledOffscreen: According to Randolph, she [[spoiler:meets her end during the Church's attempt to recapture Garreg Mach]] on the Crimson Flower route.
* KryptoniteProofSuit: On routes other than Crimson Flower, she has the Aurora Shield by Part II, which nullifies any Flying weakness she might have unless it's stolen from her.
* HumbleHero: Despite her abilities, she doesn't boast about them, which makes her rather relatable to citizens.
* LightningBruiser: She's reasonably fast and is quite bulky on the physical side.
* MauveShirt: On the Crimson Flower route, she's basically a high-ranking mook with her own face and personality.
* PraetorianGuard: She's the head of Edelgard's personal guard.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''For the Empire!''"\\
"''For Her Majesty!''"\\
"''Prepare to die!''"\\
"''I'll break you!''"
* RankUp: Post-timeskip on the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:she's gone from head of Edelgard's personal guard to a general in the army. Of course, this means she's no longer capable of protecting Edelgard herself and thus she entrusts that role to Byleth.]]
* RecurringElement: Sort of. She is what happens when you take one half of the Wyvern Duo, being the red-colored wyvern rider girl that was pioneered by [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Minerva]], except not making her recruitable at all (even when you're siding with her) like 'sympathetic female enemy generals' like [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar Ishtar]].
* RedBaron: She's called the "Scarlet Warrior."
* SupportingLeader: On the Crimson Flower route, she takes care of important logistical concerns in running the Adrestian army that Byleth can't (such as maintaining order in recently occupied territories).
* UndyingLoyalty: Is eternally loyal to Edelgard, stating that she'd changed her life forever, and is willing to die on her behalf.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Monica]]
!!Monica von Ochs
!!!'''Class:''' Monk (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Age:''' 18
!!!'''Crest:''' Macuil (Minor)
!!!'''Height:''' 157cm
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MarikaKouno (Japanese), Creator/ColleenOShaughnessey (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monica_academy_portrait_three_hopes.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Post-Timeskip ''(Three Hopes)'']]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monica_war_portrait_three_hopes.png]][[/labelnote]]
Heir to House Ochs and a member of last year's Black Eagles, who vanished for reasons unknown. [[AlternateTimeline Depending on the game]], she's either discovered in the hands of the Death Knight during Horsebow Moon/August (''Three Houses''), or rescued in a hidden fort between Empire and Kingdom territory in Harpstring Moon/April (''Three Hopes''). Either way, she always rejoins the Black Eagle House.
----
* AffectionateNickname: In ''Three Houses'', she calls Edelgard "Edel." Averted in ''Three Hopes'', in which she addresses Edelgard as formally as Constance and Hubert do, usually calling her "Lady Edelgard" if not "Your Highness[=/=]Majesty." [[spoiler:Like with many other tropes, this is a difference between Monica and Kronya]].
* AncestralWeapon: Comes up with Wind Caller's Genesis, a sacred weapon linked to the Crest of Macuil, upon rejoining in ''Three Hopes''' post-timeskip.
* AngstWhatAngst: Discussed InUniverse in ''Three Houses''; a few characters like the Gatekeeper and Hilda notice that she acts too cheerful for someone who went missing for a year and was found kidnapped and unconscious underground, and they wonder if she's just trying to hide her trauma with an overly cheerful façade. [[spoiler:This is because she ''wasn't'' kidnapped in the first place, as she is Kronya, who took on her identity to infiltrate the Officer's Academy. That being said, the real Monica in ''Three Hopes'' is also unfazed by her experience, just glad it's thankfully over.]]
* AscendedExtra: In contrast to ''Three Houses'' [[spoiler: where she never actually ''appeared'', as the Monica met there is actually just a disguised Kronya]], ''Three Hopes'' promotes her to a full supporting character.
* ClingyJealousGirl: ''Three Hopes'' shows that Monica is very devoted to Edelgard, to the point of practically grilling Shez about things like if Edelgard noticed a flower or cake in her room during their supports. Her supports with Hubert also make it clear she's jealous of how close he is to her, and gets very clingy to Edelgard when she can. For her part, Edelgard is confused by it and tries to get her to focus more.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Her hair and eyes are red.
* DeadAllAlong: [[spoiler:It's heavily suggested in ''Three Houses'', and outright stated by Edelgard herself in Balthus and Hapi's paralogue [[DevelopersForesight if it was done after Chapter 10]], that the real Monica von Ochs likely died long before you "discovered her" in Chapter 6.]]
* DevotedToYou: Monica is as strongly devoted to Lady Edelgard as [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Faye is devoted to Alm]]. She even argues with Hubert due to his own loyalty to Edelgard, not wanting to be talked down by him.
* {{Fangirl}}: ''Three Hopes'' reveals that she's this for Dorothea for her opera performances, who she treats with the same reverence as Edelgard.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: In ''Three Houses'', after her rescue, Monica can often be found spending a great deal of time in Edelgard's company. [[spoiler:The reveal that she's actually Kronya, a member of "those who slither in the dark", is a big hint towards Edelgard working with them.]] Unlike Flayn, she will always rejoin the Black Eagles, and on a Black Eagles playthrough, will decline to participate in assignments, supposedly so as not to take opportunities from younger students.
* {{Irony}}: Monica loves to swim and dislikes sweets, while her idol Edelgard doesn't know how to swim and has a SweetTooth.
* IOweYouMyLife: Her reason for rejoining the Black Eagles in ''Three Hopes''. Though given that she does not join the Blue Lions or Golden Deer if she is rescued by them, this is probably only partially the reason.
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:Implied to have been the victim of this in ''Three Houses''' timeline, like Tomas was. It's noted that her personality before disappearing the year before was different.]]
* MyNameIsQuestionMarks: In the Blue Lions and Golden Deer versions of ''Three Hopes''' Chapter 2, she is identified as ??? during the battle and only gets a chance to introduce herself afterwards. This is not the case on the Black Eagles route, since Edelgard already knows who she is.
* NonStandardCharacterDesign: In ''Three Houses'', her portrait is angled differently compared to the other characters, [[spoiler:foreshadowing she's not who she claims to be.]] In ''Warriors: Three Hopes'' meanwhile, she has a more standard design for her portrait, [[spoiler:signifying that this Monica is the real deal]].
* NonUniformUniform: She has red ribbons on her chest, and her tights are red instead of the standard blue.
* PhotographicMemory: She boasts of her ability to remember everything she sees, which is reflected in her Perfect Memory ability in ''Three Hopes''.
* ThePollyanna: She's quite cheerful for someone who was kidnapped and went missing for a few months before the start of the story. [[spoiler:While the real Monica is just as cheerful in ''Three Hopes'' upon being rescued and thus fits this trope to a tee, in ''Three Houses'', this is used to imply the woman you're interacting with was never kidnapped in the first place.]]
* PromotedToPlayable: Monica becomes a playable character in ''Three Hopes'' on the Scarlet Blaze route.
* SixthRanger: Of the Black Eagles after she's rescued [[spoiler:in ''Three Hopes''. She even starts getting along with her junior Black Eagles upon rejoining]].
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: The biggest one in ''Three Hopes''. Jeritza was the one who helped find her, but in the end she proves to the worst captive to be rescued for Those Who Slither In The Dark, as she actively identifies Tomas early, which basically leads to all of Fodlan knowing TWSITD's method of sowing chaos and gaining control. It's not enough to save the existing power balance and it pretty handily puts TWSITD on the back foot throughout the conflict that follows.]]
* SparedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:In ''Three Hopes'', you get to Monica before Kronya is able to KillAndReplace her, allowing you to save her for real.]]
* SquishyWizard: Comes with the territory of being an all-around spellcaster with good speed and middling defenses.
* UndyingLoyalty: ''Three Hopes'' shows that she is really loyal to Edelgard to the point that she more or less becomes one of her retainers during the war.
* WalkingSpoiler: It's hard to talk about her without mentioning the twists of the Academic Phase in both ''Three Houses'' '''''and''''' ''Three Hopes''.
* WolfInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:In ''Three Houses'', Kronya [[ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter takes her identity]] in order to infiltrate the Officers Academy.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Baron Ochs]]
!!Baron Ochs
!!!'''Class:''' Trickster → Forlorn Beast
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/78001.PNG]]
The father of Monica. He is the head of an Imperial noble family that has fallen on hard times since the death of the previous family head. Appears in the DLC Paralogue "Black Market Scheme".
----
* AllForNothing: His attempts to free his daughter are meaningless since, by the time the paralogue featuring him becomes available, Byleth has already freed Monica. [[spoiler:It's eventually revealed that the rescued "Monica" is an imposter and the real Monica is long dead, so he never had a chance of saving her to begin with.]]
* AntiVillain: He's simply a desperate man trying to save his daughter. He only comes into conflict with Balthus because Ochs needs the Vajra-Mushti to save his daughter.
* DegradedBoss: The Demonic Beast he transforms into during the second phase of his fight reappears later in the story as a normal monster enemy for specific chapters.
* DyingAsYourself: After being mortally wounded as the Forlorn Beast, he spits out some last words in his human form before perishing.
* IHaveYourWife: He's trying to sell the replica Heroes' Relic Vajra-Mushti to Monica's kidnappers in return for her safety.
* OneWingedAngel: After being defeated, he attempts to use the Vajra-Mushti but turns into a demonic beast due to his lack of a crest. The party has no choice but to put him out of his misery.
* OptionalBoss: Appears in Balthus and Hapi’s paralogue, where he is attempting to sell the Vajra-Mushti in order to get his missing daughter back.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:His daughter is almost certainly dead, having been murdered so that Kronya could infiltrate the Officer's Academy.]]
* PapaWolf: Isn't afraid to attack the freaking ''heir apparent'' of his homeland if it means that he can save his daughter.
* PoorCommunicationKills: He might have been able to survive the paralogue if he had just told the heroes why he needed Vajra-Mushti; Edelgard even demands he explain himself if they fight, but he just brushes her off.
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Those who slither in the dark were manipulating him into giving them the Vajra-Mushti in return for releasing Monica, a hostage that they already killed.]]
* YouAreTooLate: His goal is to get the Vajra-Mushti to save his daughter, [[spoiler:who's already long dead.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Randolph]]
!!Randolph von Bergliez
!!!'''Class:''' Warrior
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Jun Konno (Japanese), Creator/BenPronsky (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/randolph_portrait_1.png]]
The uncle of Caspar and older brother to Fleche.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: In the Azure Moon route when Dimitri has him dead-to-rights, Randolph drops any confidence and pride as he pleads Dimitri to be let go so he can be with his family. Dimitri [[ShutUpHannibal isn't convinced]], throwing Randolph's pleas back into his face and pointing out that [[MoralMyopia he's destroyed plenty of families]] by acting as Edelgard's attack dog during her bloody coup and following war.
* AntiVillain: Even outside of the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Randolph is not what you would call evil, only being considered a villain because he is with the Adrestian Empire, and actively participating in a war of conquest.]] This is somewhat {{Deconstructed}} on the Azure Moon route, as Dimitri points out that he's still killed countless people in battle.
* BigBrotherInstinct: He keeps Fleche from joining him in battle, especially on the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:where he fears the "One-eyed man" (Dimitri), who is infamous for brutally killing soldiers.]]
* BigEater: Never actually seen first hand, but in the Crimson Flower route a smitten NPC you can talk to after the mission in Derdriu actually mentions that Randolph has quite the appetite.
* BreakTheHaughty: At the receiving end of a BreakingSpeech in a combination of ArmorPiercingQuestion, a NotSoDifferentRemark, and TheseHandsHaveKilled by Dimitri to which he tries to deny, but Dimitri refutes his responses because they're in a war while shooting down his excuses.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Randolph's personal skill is General, which grants immunity to instant death and reduces damage caused by gambits.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: On the Azure Moon route only, of the NobleTopEnforcer antagonists often seen in ''Fire Emblem''. While he fights for sympathetic reasons, his honour-bound tendencies end up being his downfall, and Dimitri makes a solid point that trying to claim the moral high ground in war doesn't make one any less of a killer.
-->'''Randolph:''' This... this is war. I did what I had to; for the Empire... for my people... for my family.\\
'''Dimitri:''' So, you are piling up corpses for the people and your family. And I'm doing the same for the salvation of the dead. After all is said and done, we are both murderers, both stained... both monsters.
* FatalFlaw: His HotBlooded nature and [[GlorySeeker glory seeking]] tendencies prove to be this, as in every route except the Crimson Flower route, during the defense of Garreg Mach from Imperial forces, one of Byleth's allies (Seteth in Silver Snow, Gilbert in Azure Moon or Claude in Verdant Wind) [[IShallTauntYou taunts him]], intending to trick him into marching his soldiers headfirst into a fire trap. In every route where this crops up, Randolph is so incensed by the taunting that he sends his men forward, right into said trap.
* GlassCannon: His attacks carry a ton of weight but his lackluster defenses mean it won't take much to take him down.
* GlorySeeker: Seeks glory for the sake of his family and little sister.
* HeroicSacrifice: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he dies of his wounds from defending Garreg Mach from the Church's surprise attack.]]
* HotBlooded: He's not too far off from his nephew Caspar in this department. Fleche is constantly worried about him because of it.
* InSpiteOfANail: No matter what route you pick, [[spoiler:he ultimately dies in an attempt to retake Garreg Mach Monastery from Byleth and their allies. The differences are: whether he's one of the defenders (on Crimson Flower), the head of the attackers who then lives to be threatened with torture before being put out of his misery (on Azure Moon), or the head of the attackers who dies right after being defeated (on Verdant Wind and Silver Snow).]]
* MauveShirt: On the Crimson Flower route, he's basically a high-ranking mook with his own face and personality.
* MercyKill: On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:after he is defeated and captured by the Blue Lions, Dimitri contemplates how he is going to torture him, either by forcing Randolph to watch his comrades be killed one by one before him or by simply [[EyeScream gouging his eyes out]]. To spare him, Byleth steps in and quickly executes Randolph before Dimitri is able to do either of these things.]]
* MoralMyopia: When he begs to be able to return to his family, Dimitri calls him on having this -- noting he must have, directly or otherwise, ended the lives of many who want the same thing. Randolph’s only retort is to claim that [[YouMonster a monster like Dimitri]] [[EvilCannotComprehendGood could not understand love]], which backfires as he's subjected to a ''vicious'' BreakingSpeech that evidently shakes Randolph to his core.
* ParentalFavoritism: His father, the previous Count Bergliez and Caspar's grandfather, favored his second wife, Randolph's mother, and she hoped that Randolph would succeed him to the earldom, despite the previous count having an older son from his first marriage, Caspar's father and Randolph's half-brother. Ultimately, Caspar's father inherited the countdom after the previous count was forced to retire early on account of poor health.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->''"I won't fail!"''\\
''"I'll show you!"''\\
''"I'll protect my family!"''\\
''"I'll do what I must!"''
* SadisticChoice: Upon being captured after the battle for Garreg Mach, he's given a choice either to watch his subordinates killed one by one or to have his eyes ripped out. At that point Byleth [[EveryoneHasStandards steps in]] to give him [[MercyKill a third option]].
* StraightForTheCommander: In non-Crimson Flower routes, he'll attempt to invoke this trope at one point during his second appearance by charging right towards Byleth as a last resort.
* SupportingLeader: On the Crimson Flower route, he takes care of important logistical concerns in running the Adrestian army that Byleth can't (such as keeping the monastery secure when Byleth and co. are on the front lines).
* TallDarkAndHandsome: The same NPC that points that he's a BigEater? Also mentions that he's quite the eye candy and it's made clear that she prefers his traditional {{Hunk}} looks to Hubert's EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette looks.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Count Varley]]
!!Count Grégoire von Varley
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/count_varley_6.png]]
The Minister of Religious Affairs and Bernadetta's father.
----
* AbusiveParents: He treated his daughter abominably, such as tying her to a chair in order to mold her into an obedient wife, and prohibiting her from befriending commoners. Some of Bernadetta's behavior implies he may have been physically abusive.
* TheGhost: He never appears onscreen. However, his house is allegedly behind the reinforcements Enbarr receives during the final stage of the Azure Moon route. He is UnseenNoMore in ''Three Hopes.''
* {{Greed}}: His daughter mentions his obsession with money, and he only sees her as bait for a rich husband.
* HatedByAll: He's perhaps one of the most despicable characters in the game who isn't part of "those who slither in the dark". It's even acknowledged a couple of times in ''Three Hopes''; Gilbert notes that he has heard nothing but awful things about him both as a person and [[SinisterMinister in his religious teachings]], and at the end of the Black Eagles prologue, after the remaining Black Eagles are informed of [[spoiler: Edelgard's successful coup, in which Ferdinand's father was arrested, Bernadetta hopefully asks if her dad was arrested too, to which Edelgard replies "Unfortunately, not."]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: In ''Three Hopes'', when Hubert tells him about what was done with Duke Aegir for what he did, he seems to be shocked about it and proclaims he's nothing like Duke Aegir. If you've seen Bernadetta's supports with Byleth and Dorothea in ''Three Houses'', you'll know that he had the gall to say that when he's not much better since he put Bernadetta through immense emotional trauma, and possibly even worse since Ludwig, for all his sins, [[EvenEvilHasLovedOnes genuinely seems to love his son Ferdinand and never abused him]].
-->'''Count Varley''': I had no idea Ludwig was capable of such things. Still, rest assured that I am nothing like him.
* {{Irony}}: Count Varley is the Minister of Religious Affairs (which would imply that he has some decency), yet he is by far one of the most loathsome characters in the game because of his severe mistreatment of Bernadetta.
* LaserGuidedKarma:
** Count Varley's abuse of his daughter resulted in her becoming a reclusive shut-in. After Edelgard takes the throne, he's forced into house arrest.
** Count Varley's goal was to marry Bernadetta off to Ferdinand to improve House Varley's status. If Bernadetta ends up with Ferdinand, she renounces her claim to House Varley, meaning that Count Varley gets what he wants, but doesn't benefit in the slightest.
** The abuse he afflicted on her, causing her extreme shut-in nature, led to rumors about her (that she was a scary shut-in princess who made cursed dolls) that caused Ferdinand to ''beg'' his parents not to engage them as he was terrified of her, as revealed in their A+ support. His treatment of his daughter actually made her appear ''less'' marriageable.
** It's entirely possible to ''never have Bernadetta marry.'' If this is done, she becomes one of the Varley territory's greatest leaders, and her father doesn't get a cent.
** Even in the Crimson Flower route, no matter who Bernadetta marries, her father doesn't benefit at all, because he's under permanent house arrest. He's forced to become a shut-in like his daughter, and like the Emperor he stripped power from.
** In ''Three Hopes'', he's granted a position as the Bishop of the Southern Church by Edelgard... which, because his function is actually to be a religious mouthpiece for Edelgard and the Empire, makes him a prime target for assassination by the Central Church at least once. It's all but stated that this was Edelgard's intention, as she and Hubert even quip about the situation, noting he deserves it.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In ''Three Hopes'', no one tells him of Edelgard's plan until it has already happened. He's also the last to know about the parts of the ongoing plan that concern him.
* OffscreenVillainy: All of his abusive treatment of Bernadetta is confined to her backstory; the audience never meets him in person until the prologue of ''Three Hopes'', and he acts cordially towards Edelgard and doesn't interact with Bernadetta during his scene.
* PapaWolf: Had an ambiguous moment of parental fury in Bernadetta's backstory. [[spoiler:When Yuri was hired to kill her by other nobles, he hesitated since he valued his friendship with her. This hesitation allowed the Count to find him in her daughter's room and beat him to within an inch of his life, but not enough to kill him. It's unclear whether he was genuinely concerned for his daughter's safety or was simply "protecting the merchandise" which is more likely.]] Either way, he [[PoorCommunicationKills never explained his actions to his daughter]], which permanently terrified her out of trying to be friends with other people, especially commoners like Dorothea.
* ParentalNeglect: According to Bernadetta, by the time she hit her teens Count Varley "calmed down" from his previous abuse and now simply ignores her existence most of the time and treats her like a disappointment the few times he ''does'' interact with her. Bernadetta considers this infinitely preferable, and it's hinted he stopped the abuse only because he now considers her a lost cause to marry off.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: He kept Bernadetta from having friends (especially if they were a commoner) for completely cruel reasons, but he is nonetheless vindicated in his practices when [[spoiler:Yuri]] reveals to Bernadetta that she was frequently a target for assassination due to the power her family's house had. If [[spoiler:Yuri]] hadn't hesitated, she would've been killed by her childhood commoner friend.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: Like Bernadetta, he's a rather nervous person.
* UriahGambit: Implied to be on the wrong end of one in ''Warriors: Three Hopes''. [[spoiler:Just before the timeskip, Edelgard appoints him to be the bishop of the newly reformed Southern Church. This has the double effect of delegitimizing the Central Church and painting a large target on Varley's back due to him having to be the Empire's religious mouthpiece and thus earn the ire of Seiros followers in the other nations; Varley is targeted for censure and assassination by the Central Church, and Hubert's sarcastic response implies this was all according to plan to make Varley's life less than comfortable.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Marquis Vestra]]
!!Marquis Vestra
Hubert's father, and the Minister of the Imperial Household.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: Why exactly did he betray the Emperor despite his House's loyalty? Hubert doesn't care for the answer and despises him for it regardless of reasoning, but Hanneman states that the Marquis Vestra he knew wasn't the type who desired power for personal gain and believes [[VicariouslyAmbitious he did it for Hubert's sake]].
* ArchnemesisDad: He is Hubert's, though it seems to be one-sided as far as the Marquis is concerned. Hubert hates him for taking part in the Insurrection of the Seven, viewing it as a betrayal of House Vestra's loyalty to the emperor, [[spoiler:and more saliently, for personally abducting Edelgard.]] As such, he has no problem with [[SelfMadeOrphan having him killed]] as part of Edelgard's purge of the corrupt nobility following her ascension.
* BodyguardBetrayal: As House Vestra had always served as the main protectors of the imperial line, his decision to side with the Insurrection against Ionius was effectively this.
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:In ''Three Houses'', he is assassinated by Hubert as part of Edelgard's rise to power. In ''Three Hopes'', he is said to have been killed in battle while assisting in Edelgard's coup against Lord Arundel. However, given the source of this reveal is Hubert and his animosity towards his father in the source game, it's unknown [[UnreliableNarrator how reliable]] this information is.]]
* HoistByHisOwnPetard: He raised Hubert to be unwaveringly loyal and protective of Edelgard; which may have been a mistake considering he [[spoiler:was involved with the torturous experiments inflicted on her by the Agarthans. Hubert takes proxy revenge for Edelgard by having the man executed.]]
* TheGhost: While his influence on the backstory is immense, he never makes a direct appearance.
* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler:He is among the nobles subjected to ThePurge following Edelgard's ascent to power in both ''Three Houses'' and ''Three Hopes''. It's implied he ''could'' have been taken prisoner and simply put under house arrest like Varley and Aegir, but Hubert had him killed to ensure he couldn't become a problem and partly because ItsPersonal.]]
* LikeFatherLikeSon: When Hanneman offers the possibility that Vestra's betrayal of Ionius was motivated in part by a love for Hubert, Hubert's response is that if that's the case, then his own betrayal of his father was motivated in part by his love for Edelgard and he's just following in his footsteps.
[[/folder]]

!!The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus
[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe3h_faerghus_crest.png]]
Located in the northern part of Fódlan, the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus was founded by Loog I, King of Lions in [[AlternativeCalendar Imperial Year 751]] after the War of the Eagle and Lion. Due to the harsh cold of the continent's frigid north, Faerghus is a highly disciplined kingdom that values chivalry and its knights above all else. Students from Faerghus are placed in the Blue Lions.
----
* AnimalMotifs: Lions. Students at the Officers' Academy from the Kingdom are assigned to the Blue Lions and the founding king of Faerghus, King Loog, earned the nickname the "King of Lions".
* BladeOnAStick: The preferred weapon of choice for most Kingdom warriors is the lance. It's reinforced by the fact that most Heroes' Relics from the Kingdom are lances, including Areadbhar, the Lance of Ruin, and Lúin.
* BlindObedience: One of the Kingdom's gravest flaws is their promotion of knights blindly following their master's orders. To make it worse, some people romanticize BlindObedience and portray it as the equivalent of being an honorable knight. Felix criticizes this heavily and is one of the major reasons why he hates chivalry and knighthood.
* BlueIsHeroic: Blue is a predominant color in Faerghus due to the founding king, Loog, being known for wearing clothes of the same color. The house for Faerghus students in the Officers' Academy is the Blue Lions and Kingdom soldiers are shown to wear blue in their armor. [[AvertedTrope Depending on which route you take can ultimately avert this, especially since the Kingdom has committed actions that can't be considered heroic.]] It's played straight in Azure Moon thanks to Dimitri regaining his sanity and changing Faerghus for the better.
* DecadentCourt: While not as spotlighted as the Adrestian Empire's nobility, remarks from a few characters reveal that many of the Kingdom's nobles viewed Lambert's push for reforms as a threat to their own authority, [[spoiler:and they conspired with the Agarthans to instigate the Tragedy of Duscur.]]
* DecapitatedArmy: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:despite Dimitri's death, this situation is averted, as Faerghus' military and populace then rally behind Rhea and the knights of Seiros instead, due to the country's long-standing support for the church.]]
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheGoodKingdom comprised of KnightsInShiningArmor. While the people of Faerghus may view themselves as a righteous and honorable people, some of their actions are far from such. This includes the Tragedy of Duscur, Lonato's rebellion, the actions of the Western Church, and [[spoiler:some Kingdom nobles aiding in killing King Lambert.]] Because of their immense reverence for honor, knighthood and chivalry, most of them are often blind to when they don't act nobly. This causes them to fall into self-righteous hypocrisy, promote blind obedience and act on nothing but zealotry to destroy their enemies.
* FactionCalculus: Balanced. Faerghus's knights rely less on raw power or numbers, preferring to balance out their forces.
* FalseFlagOperation: A large portion of Faerghus' population holds prejudice toward the people of Duscur and treat them with suspicion or worse. Relations had been bad for some time already, but they completely fell apart when King Lambert and many Kingdom officials and soldiers with him were horribly slaughtered during a diplomatic mission to Duscur. This assassination was pinned on the people of Duscur and came to be known as the Tragedy of Duscur. In truth [[spoiler:the assassination was a high level conspiracy by certain Kingdom nobles who opposed Lambert's reforms, said conspiracy also being enabled/planned by "those who slither in the dark" agents and taking advantage of the pre-existing prejudices toward Duscur to make them the scapegoats and sow instability in the Kingdom (the Tragedy inciting a series of bloody rebellions, bandit proliferation, and overall chaos that also drove a deeper wedge between the Western and Central Church). Said prejudices meant most in the Kingdom did not question that Duscur was to blame, despite the things that did not add up about it. As Sylvain notes, the people of Duscur logically lacked the power and numbers needed to so completely slaughter the king's elite forces, and it's implied they also lacked motive due to how Lambert was a reformist who sympathized with the people of Duscur, and therefore should have been the ''last'' person they would want to kill. Prince Dimitri's own testimony was ignored despite being the sole available witness and adamantly testifying that the people who attacked were not of Duscur. The resulting punishment/retaliation was the mass-killing of the Duscur population and the destruction of their land, the survivors losing all rights to govern their homeland.]]
* FantasyCounterpartCulture: France and England. The Kingdom's treatment of knights and chivalry parallels how real-world France and England treated theirs. The lion, which is an important animal in Faerghus, is also the symbol of England. Its GrimUpNorth traits and names also give it some elements to the Holy Roman Empire or Germany (particularly to Adrestia's Austria) and Russia. There's also major Celtic influences as well, shown by some of the names used.
** Faerghus (name of the Kingdom). Faerghus is a variation of the name, Fergus, an Irish, Scottish and Manx name meaning "man strength".
** Blaiddyd (surname of the Royal Family). Blaiddyd is Welsh for "Wolf Lord" and the name of a legendary Brittonic king who promoted the use of necromancy.
** Fhirdiad (Capital of Faerghus). Fhirdiad is a variation of the Irish Ferdiad, the foster brother of Cúchulainn from the Ulster Cycle.
** Arianrhod (A fortified fortress in Faerghus, also called the Silver Maiden). Arianrhod is a figure from Welsh mythology.
** Areadbhar (The Hero's Relic of House Blaiddyd). Aréadbhar was a spear in Irish mythology wielded by the hero, Lugh. It translates to "Slaughterer".
* FatalFlaw: Their KnightTemplar tendencies. The people of Faerghus tend to view themselves as righteous, acting on nothing but zealotry to destroy those who disagree with them and falling straight into [[TautologicalTemplar self-righteous hypocrisy]], whether it be the Western Church, the Tragedy of Duscur, Lonato's rebellion, or the [[spoiler:Dukedom.]] Notably, they are usually blind to it and don't recognize when they aren't acting nobly, unlike Dimitri [[spoiler:who even at his worst is wracked with guilt over what he's become]] or on Crimson Flower, [[spoiler:where it's the desperation of being forced into a corner, with their loved ones, nation, and king on the line, that leads to the soldiers turning themselves into demonic beasts (even knowing what [[MercyKill Dimitri would have to do]] even if they defeated the empire).]]
* FighterMageThief: Fighter. The kingdom's military is disciplined and has a sense of chivalry instilled in them.
* GodEmperor: After [[spoiler:Dimitri is slain by Edelgard]] on the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Rhea seizes leadership of Faerghus and becomes this to the kingdom.]]
* TheGoodKingdom: It's a holy kingdom full of [[KnightInShiningArmor knights in shining armor]]. Its exact relationship with this trope varies depending on the route.
** On the Azure Moon route, it's played completely straight. [[spoiler:After Dimitri recovers from his SanitySlippage and the RightfulKingReturns, you are cast as the heroic kingdom trying to stop a power-hungry warlord from conquering the world.]]
** On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, it's subverted. [[spoiler:The Kingdom is beaten down into a puppet state, the rightful prince is utterly AxCrazy and gets himself killed with little fanfare, and it's ultimately up to either LaResistance or TheAlliance to save the world.]]
** On the Crimson Flower route, it's zigzagged. [[spoiler:The Kingdom is basically well-intentioned and is fighting against a war of conquest, making them a HeroAntagonist, but they continue to oppose you on behalf of the Church even after Rhea goes fully AxCrazy and burns Fhirdiad to the ground in order to kill you.]]
* GoodOldWays: Faerghus has a notably more traditionalist bend compared to the other two nations. They are undyingly loyal to historical allies (sometimes even beyond the point of reason, such as [[spoiler:toward the Church at the end of Crimson Flower when Rhea is literally burning Fhirdiad to the ground]]) and the royal bloodline. In ''Three Hopes'', Dimitri notes that the Kingdom would not easily accept Edelgard's radical reforms despite the fact that he himself does agree with many of those changes. Dimitri argues that implementing those changes slowly, while ensuring the stability that the people have lacked ever since his father's murder, is the only way reforms in Faerghus will actually stick. [[spoiler:It's PlayedForHorror with the reveal that the Tragedy of Duscur was orchestrated by Kingdom nobles (spurred on by TWSITD) who felt Lambert's own intended reforms were so radical that it necessicated murdering their own king to stop them.]]
* GrimUpNorth: Downplayed. Faerghus is able to sustain a functioning kingdom with little issues, but the cold environment forced them to adapt and made them vulnerable to sieges. This is stated by Dimitri in Crimson Flower [[spoiler:after the fall of Arianrhod and the deaths of Rodrigue, Felix and Ingrid (if the last two aren't recruited).]] Dimitri says that if the Empire lays siege to Fhirdiad, then the Kingdom's defeat would be inevitable.
* HonorBeforeReason: The Kingdom populace values honor and chivalry above all else. Because of this, they are determined to do whatever they believe to be honorable to the point where it can lead to [[LawfulStupid self-destructive obsession]] or [[TautologicalTemplar self-righteous hypocrisy]]. [[spoiler:Their zealotry leads to their destruction on the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes because they blindly follow Dimitri to Enbarr, despite the fact that he's become violently insane and only cares about killing Edelgard. Likewise, on Crimson Flower, when Dimitri falls in the Tailtean battle, the remaining Kingdom commanders join and support their other supreme authority, [[GodEmperor Rhea]], even going along with her obviously insane order to torch their own capital city and last stronghold.]]
* HufflepuffHouse: On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, the Kingdom gets the least amount of focus of any of the three nations in Part II. The closest you get to visiting Faerghus is Chapter 15, which takes place on the Kingdom/Alliance border, and you only fight Kingdom forces in that chapter (against defectors to [[spoiler:the Empire]]) and the Battle at Gronder on Verdant Wind, after which [[spoiler:they are permanently removed from the war due to Dimitri's death.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: The Holy Kingdom of Faerghus could undoubtedly be seen as the most self-righteous and hypocritical of the three nations. They believe themselves a righteous and honorable people, yet they've used their zealotry and beliefs to justify morally reprehensible actions.
** After King Lambert's death, the people of Faerghus immediately blamed the Duscur populace (with no legitimate proof) for his death and slaughtered them to near extinction. While King Lambert's death was a tragedy, the Faerghus army slaughtered men, women, children and elderly when they destroyed Duscur. Because they did it to avenge their king, it's justice in their eyes instead of a genocidal massacre. Hardly the actions of a "chivalrous and honorable" people.
** The Western Church has been plotting to kill Rhea and take control of the Church of Seiros because they believe themselves to be the true disciples of the Goddess. However, while they accuse the Central Church of being irredeemably corrupt and wicked, they use their beliefs to justify their extremist actions. This includes attempting to assassinate Rhea on several occasions, manipulating others (most notably Lonato and Christophe) for their own agendas and raising rebellions. Though they blame the Knights of Seiros for the Tragedy of Duscur, the Western Church advocates for the extreme separation of class, race and culture. During Ashe's paralogue, the Western Bishop hypocritically claims they didn't use Lonato and instead helped him. [[BewareTheNiceOnes Ashe is clearly infuriated by this and calls the Bishop out.]]
--->'''Western Bishop:''' All we did was provide Lonato salvation from his misery!\\
'''Ashe:''' Salvation!? You used him and threw him away!
** Lonato also falls under this from his rebellion. [[spoiler:Though he was right that Christophe was executed under false circumstances, Christophe still knowingly tried to help the Western Church assassinate Rhea due to being easily swayed by their arguments.]] To avenge his son, he started a rebellion that involved innocent people both as militia and destroying those who opposed him. Despite the lives he endangered, Lonato believed that he was on the side of righteousness when in reality, he was acting out of rage and grief. This made it tragically easy for the Western Church to manipulate him just as they did his son.
** [[spoiler: In Azure Moon and the ''Three Hopes'' demo, it's revealed that Kingdom nobles, including Viscount Kleiman and Grand Duke Rufus, were the ones who helped orchestrate the death of King Lambert and framed the Duscur populace for the crime, leading to the Tragedy of Duscur. Rufus did it so he could have the throne for himself and expressed some remorse as he was being executed, but according to Kleiman's servant, the Kingdom nobles who took part in the Tragedy of Duscur believed what they did was justice because they felt King Lambert's reforms were far too radical. [[TautologicalTemplar Despite their actions having led to the near extinction of the Duscur populace, the deaths of many Kingdom soldiers, knights and officials, the near collapse of Faerghus's government (and the resulting suffering of the common people due to bandit proliferations and riots), causing a revolt in Fhirdiad over who would become king and, on a lesser note, psychologically scarring Dimitri]], the nobles responsible for the Tragedy believe they were on the side of righteousness.]]
* KnightInShiningArmor: The Holy Kingdom has a proud tradition of knights, and chivalry is one of their most important values. Their banner is decorated with a knight atop a griffon.
* KnightTemplar: The Kingdom's FatalFlaw. Because of their belief that they are righteous due to their reverence for honor and chivalry, the people of Faerghus will fall back on nothing but zealotry to destroy their enemies and justify their actions. Any action they take, whether it be the near genocide and persecution of the Duscur populace, the Western Church plotting to take power from Rhea by manipulating both Lonato and his son, Christophe, or [[spoiler: betraying the Kingdom and siding with the Empire after war breaks out]] is justified in their eyes because of their zealotry. [[spoiler: Perhaps one of the biggest examples is during Azure Moon, Dimitri discovers that Viscount Kleiman, a noble who betrayed Faerghus, was involved in the Tragedy of Duscur. When confronting the servant who revealed this, he states that he believed the Viscount to be the embodiment of justice and he did what he thought was right. Unsurprisingly, Dimitri chews him out for this in a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech.]]
-->'''Dimitri:''' [[spoiler:And so, in the name of justice, he caused massacre upon massacre out of love for his homeland. You murdered your own king, killed our soldiers and involved innocent citizens. And yet you have the gall to speak of justice!?]]
* LaserGuidedKarma: Before the beginning of the story Faerghus massacred much of the population of Duscur, erasing it as a nation in the name of their "[[TautologicalTemplar ideals]]" concerning retribution out of the belief they conspired to slaughter their king and his retinue, and some treat even the memory of Duscur as something that should be forgotten as they are seen as nothing but a bunch of evil kingslayers. [[spoiler:By the end of the story, in three out of four routes they suffer the same fate as Duscur: being destroyed and then promptly forgotten about by the rest of the cast, in the name of Edelgard's ideals. They are then regarded as a bunch of loyalist idiots following an insane king's (or in the case of Crimson Flower an insane archbishop) "plan" which either doesn't work (Crimson Flower) or just plain old ''wasn't a plan to begin with'' and was just the most violent suicide in the history of Fódlan.]]
* LawfulStupid: One of their biggest flaws is their obsessive devotion to honor and chivalry. This causes problems for Kingdom citizens on both a personal level (Gilbert left his family in shambles because of his self-flagellation over the Tragedy of Duscur, and Rodrigue's views on Glenn's death permanently strained his relationship with Felix) and the whole Kingdom on a macro level (throughout Verdant Wind and the first half of Azure Moon, [[spoiler:the Kingdom army follows Dimitri despite the fact that he's clearly violently insane and doesn't care about the Kingdom's best interests, and this outright leads to the complete collapse of Faerghus on Verdant Wind and Silver Snow (the latter route especially notable as the Church of Seiros offers to assist them in battle against the empire if they will only wait for the church's troops to recover, but Dimitri refuses to delay)).]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: "The King of Lions" plays during scenes related to the Kingdom.
* MartyrdomCulture: The Kingdom prides itself on knightly chivalry, right down to the idea that it's a knight's duty to die following their king or lord's orders. Naturally [[LawfulStupid this has disastrous results]] on Silver Snow and Verdant Wind. [[spoiler:Without Byleth around to give the now unhinged Dimitri pushback, the Kingdom gets driven directly to their own destruction.]]
* MeaningfulName: Faerghus is a variation of the name, Fergus, which means "man strength". It is very fitting for a nation of KnightsInShiningArmor who prioritize martial skills and personal combat.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: In Faerghus, some people romanticize BlindObedience and portray it as the equivalent of being an honorable knight. In Azure Moon, [[spoiler: after Gwendal is killed in the Valley of Torment]], Gilbert states that it's the way of knights to obey their master's orders without argument and that Gwendal was a good man. [[spoiler: Dimitri is not convinced by this since Gwendal willingly followed his master, Lord Rowe, after betraying Faerghus and siding with the Empire.]]
* ProudWarriorRace: A knightly and chivalrous variant, but with some GrimUpNorth flairs, especially as children are taught to wield a weapon before they learn to read or write.
* TheRemnant: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:the last remnants of the Faerghus army (led by Annette and Ashe, if they didn't defect) comprise about a third of the enemy composition of the final battle.]]
* RoyalInbreeding: Ingrid tells Shez in their C-Support in ''Three Hopes'' that due to a millennia of intermarriage amongst the noble houses throughout Fódlan almost all of them are to some degree related, and as a result it's not unusual for a noble to have a Crest that doesn't belong to their noble house, though it's preferred that they do if they're to inherit the family title (as only someone with the correct Crest can bring out the full power of a family's Relic). For instance, Ingrid mentions that the current Duke of Ifan, a branch of House Blaidyyd, has a Crest of Charon, her grandfather had a Minor Crest of Fraldarius, and another of her ancestors had the expected Crest of Blaidyyd. Downplayed due to both the sheer number of nobles and how distant the blood relations can be, Ingrid noting that the nobles are mostly all related only if you "go back far enough," and her point being not that everyone is closely related but that none of the major noble families can be considered truly "pure blooded," and that only a bit of another family's blood is enough to potentially pass on a Crest in a otherwise distant relative.
* SuccessionCrisis:
** King Lambert's assassination as a result of the Tragedy of Duscur briefly caused one of these, as while crown prince Dimitri survived, he was deemed [[YouAreNotReady far too young and inexperienced to take the reins in a tumultuous time]]. The Grand Duke of Itha and Lambert's older brother, Rufus (who was passed over the line of succession originally due to his lack of a Crest), took charge of the kingdom with the intent of passing it back to Dimitri once he came of age, though his regency has had its own share of problems thanks to the Western Church stirring up trouble and Rufus proving to be a fairly inept, skirt-chasing ruler.
** Depending on the route taken, this can potentially spring up again post-timeskip. [[spoiler:Specifically on non-Crimson Flower routes where Dimitri is framed for the assassination of Rufus and forced to go on the run, with the major conspirator and court mage Cornelia becoming Faerghus' PuppetKing. It's resolved on Azure Moon where Dimitri gets his act together and rallies his people to oust the puppet state, but on Verdant Wind and Silver Snow, Dimitri's death or ambiguous disappearance without an heir left behind effectively destroys any hope of salvaging Faerghus' ruling structure and leaves them out of the rest of the war.]]
* TautologicalTemplar: Comes with their FatalFlaw of their KnightTemplar tendencies. Because many people of Faerghus are so convinced of their own righteousness, they believe that any action they take is justified through their zealotry and dedication to chivalry. The Kingdom army slaughtered the Duscur populace because they blamed them for King Lambert's murder, claiming it was justice. The Western Church started numerous rebellions and manipulated Lonato as well as his son, Christophe, because they viewed Rhea as a heretic and believed themselves the true disciples of the Goddess. [[spoiler:Viscount Kleiman and several other Kingdom nobles are revealed to have been involved in the Tragedy of Duscur in the Azure Moon route. Despite the tragedies they caused and the atrocities they committed, some of the Kingdom nobles involved believed what they did to be justice because they acted out of love for their homeland.]]
* TheTheocracy:
** It is called the ''Holy'' Kingdom of Faerghus, and was founded due to mediation from the Church of Seiros to end the War of the Eagle and Lion, which Loog initiated to fight for its independence from the Adrestian Empire. That said, it is noted that the country's rulers are long-time supporters of the Church and this automatically puts them at odds with the empire when [[spoiler:Edelgard initiates her plan to destroy the Church's grip on Fódlan.]]
** On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Dimitri readily grants Rhea and the knights of Seiros asylum after the empire attacks the monastery, and fights alongside her troops in his LastStand against Edelgard. Despite his death, the country's support of the Church also prevents it from collapsing, as its people and military then submit to Rhea's authority as archbishop.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: The people of the country respect and adore serving both their royal family and the church. On the Azure Moon route, [[spoiler:despite his long absence, the violent acts he committed, and the fact that he had been publicly declared a traitor by Cornelia, Dimitri receives a warm reception from his subjects when he finally returns to Faerghus to assume his responsibilities as king, having even openly rebelled beforehand when he returned.]] On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:after Dimitri is killed in battle by Edelgard, the populace then submit to Rhea's authority as the archbishop of the church. Despite Rhea's decision to burn Faerghus' capital to slow down the empire's advancement, the kingdom's soldiers still fight alongside the Knights of Seiros out of loyalty to their fallen liege.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Christophe]]
!!Christophe Gaspard
The son of Lord Lonato, and adoptive older brother to Ashe.
----
* CoolBigBro: Of the adopted variety, towards Ashe. In Ashe's Support with Mercedes he favorably compares his TeamMom classmate to Christophe, stating that his older brother shared the same kind of playful and warm personality that made him very easy to get along with. Outside that, its made very clear that Ashe holds Cristophe's memory in incredibly high regard and fondness, and his death affected Ashe just as firmly as it did Lonato.
* EveryoneWentToSchoolTogether: He was a student at Garreg Mach around the same time Catherine (or Cassandra, as she was known at the time) was, both were members of The Blue Lions and actually became close friends during their school years.
* FatalFlaw: During Ashe and Catherine's C-Support, Catherine tells Ashe that Christophe was too trusting of others, which made him an excellent UnwittingPawn for the Western Church. Had he not been so naïve and blindly idealistic, [[spoiler:he would've realized that the Western Church was using him as a pawn to kill Rhea and secure their own power.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: His death motivates Lord Lonato's actions, and is key to the supports between Ashe and Catherine.
* StupidGood: "Stupid" might be a far harsher word than necessary, but considering Catherine describes him as being foolish and the kind of man who did not have it in his nature to distrust others, it's tragically clear that his good nature, idealism, and genuine NiceGuy personality was ruthlessly taken advantage of and it made him a perfect UnwittingPawn to be used.
* UnwittingPawn: Ashe's support with Catherine reveals that [[spoiler:while he wasn't involved with Duscur, he was part of another plot by the Western Church to assassinate Rhea, and she comments he was too naïve and idealistic because he was easily swayed by their reasons. While he knew the plot was to kill Rhea, he was unaware that the Western Church was only using him for the sake of increasing their own power.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Cornelia]]
!!Cornelia Arnim
!!!'''Class:''' Gremory
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/AkemiOkamura (Japanese), Creator/JessicaGeeGeorge (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cornelia_portrait_7.png]]
Originally an Imperial scholar invited into the Kingdom by King Lambert, she was later appointed the high position of court mage of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, in recognition of her deeds in saving the people from an epidemic. However, in the present, she gives a very different impression.
----
* AbsoluteCleavage: She has a deep plunging neckline to compliment her enormous breasts.
* AdaptationalEarlyAppearance: Both story-wise and chronologically, Cornelia appears far earlier in ''Three Hopes'' than ''Three Houses''. In ''Three Hopes'', Azure Gleam sees her appear in Chapter 3 before the TimeSkip, while in ''Three Houses'', Cornelia doesn't appear until Chapter 13 (Azure Moon), or Chapter 16 (Crimson Flower) after the TimeSkip.
* AmbiguousGender: [[spoiler:"Cleobulus" is the name of a male Greek poet and Thales refers to Cleobulus with male pronouns, which raises a lot of questions in regards to what exactly the fake Cornelia's gender is.]]
* BreakThemByTalking: When she's defeated, she [[spoiler:reveals to Dimitri that it was his stepmother, the woman whom he saw as his own mother, who arranged for his father's assassination at Duscur for selfish reasons. The revelation greatly shakes an already unstable Dimitri, but didn't last quite long since Dimitri has also recovered a majority of his psyche thanks to Byleth and a previous incident]].
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: PlayedWith. She readily admits she [[spoiler:killed Dimitri's uncle and framed him for it]], but also states that until Dimitri asked her she had "forgotten all about that loveliness".
* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:Of the Blue Lions route for both ''Three Houses'' and ''Three Hopes''.]]
** [[spoiler:In the former, her death is what kickstarts the Endgame where Dimitri has to deal with Lord Arundel and Edelgard.]]
** [[spoiler:In the latter, her defeat allows Dimitri to overthrow his uncle and is the last battle before the TimeSkip]].
** [[spoiler:In both cases, Cornelia's demise leads to revelations about the Tragedy of Duscur and Dimitri taking the throne]].
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:despite the Black Eagle Strike Force aiming to kill her, Cornelia ''still'' orders her Titanus warriors to kill Kingdom soldiers if they can, despite the fact said soldiers are her only other hope of surviving.]]
* ContractualBossImmunity: She has the Unsealable Magic skill in all of her appearances.
* CourtMage: Cornelia's position in the Kingdom is that of the primary court mage, awarded for curing the plague that ravaged it.
* DefiantToTheEnd: In her last moments on Azure Moon, [[spoiler:she readily accepts her impending death and spends her final act revealing [[AwfulTruth uncomfortable truths]] to Dimitri to mess with him.]]
* DeathFakedForYou: In non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:after Dimitri manages to escape his execution for having allegedly killed his uncle, Cornelia publicly claims he was slain regardless for the sake of destabilizing the Kingdom. In Azure Moon, it's revealed the fact she never allowed anyone to see his body convinced Gilbert that Dimitri was most likely still alive somewhere.]]
* FallenHeroine: Originally an Imperial scholar, she became beloved as a saint by the Kingdom when she cured the plague that ravaged the country, [[spoiler:though the real one was likely killed and replaced by Cleobulus, a member of "those who slither in the dark", sometime after these heroic deeds]].
* FalseFriend: To [[spoiler:Patricia]], who was friends with [[spoiler:the real Cornelia.]]
* {{Foreshadowing}}: There are various hints scattered through the dialogue in the monastery over the course of the game that she is not what she seems, and that her interests do not align with either Faerghus or Adrestia. [[spoiler:One bit of dialogue notes how her personality and behavior changed quite suddenly (much as is said about Arundel and Monica), and at one point after the timeskip a merchant wonders about why she has imposed ridiculous levels of taxation on the parts of Faerghus she rules over. He points out that it makes no sense to drain a region so completely if they intend to keep making use of it as a conquered land. However, the goals of "those who slither in the dark" are just that, the complete ruining of Fódlan.]]
* TheGhost: On Silver Snow and Verdant Wind, she is mentioned a couple of times in dialogue and at the beginning of Part II when the narration explains the state of the world after the timeskip, but never personally encounters Byleth.
* GiantRobot: On the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes, she commands several Titanus, giant metal warriors armed with {{BFS}}es that can fire {{Sword Beam}}s. [[spoiler:These are the very same mecha that guard Shambhala in the other two routes.]]
* GracefulLoser: [[spoiler:Takes her death]] on the Crimson Flower route well, [[spoiler:declaring how everything is going as planned as she dies.]][[note]]In the original Japanese text, she dies impressed with the fact that Edelgard was the one using them all along.[[/note]] She's similarly accepting in Azure Moon, simply remarking "so this is as far as I go".
* ImpossiblyLowNeckline: Her revealing dress appears to be strapless, so it looks as if it could fall off from a single motion.
* ImprobableAge: Idle dialogue from Sylvain in Chapter 8 reveals that she saved the Kingdom from a plague about 15-20 years ago. Datamining reveals that she's currently [[spoiler:30, meaning she would have had to have done this at no older than ''15'' and somehow become a Imperial scholar even younger than that.]] [[spoiler:This is a hint that the real Cornelia was probably bumped off by the Agarthan plant Cleobulus who was younger than she was.]]
* InterfaceSpoiler: Checking her status screen on both Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes reveals [[spoiler:she has [[DamageReduction Agarthan Technology]] as her personal skill, the same one Solon and Kronya had as enemies in Part I. This gives away that her true allegiance lies with "those who slither in the dark".]]
* KarmaHoudini: On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, [[spoiler:she abandons her position in Faerghus when Edelgard is defeated and is never seen again, getting no comeuppance for selling out the Kingdom to the Empire and causing Dimitri's exile and eventual death. It's unknown if she was killed during the fall of Shambhala or if she was even present there at the time.]]
* KickTheSonOfABitch: [[spoiler:She kills Rufus and blames Dimitri for it, but the ''Three Hopes'' demo reveals that Rufus was in league with her the whole time and tried to have Dimitri killed at least once, on top of being a bad ruler in general, so if not for said framing she would've basically done Dimitri a favor by eliminating his only real competition for the throne.]]
* KillAndReplace: [[spoiler:Implied. Her sudden shift in personality sometime after saving the Kingdom from the disease afflicting it and access to "those who slither in the dark"'s technology indicate that the real Cornelia was most likely murdered by the group somewhere between Imperial Year 1165-1168, and that some high-ranking Agarthan assumed her form and took her place.]] [[spoiler:Said Agarthan's name is Cleobulus, as revealed in ''Three Hopes.'']]
* KilledOffForReal: While it's ultimately left ambiguous, it is noted on the Azure Moon route that [[spoiler:Cornelia used to be far more kind and different before the game started (to the point that by Dimitri's own admission, even her likes and dislikes changed), so it's heavily implied the real Cornelia [[KillAndReplace was disposed of and replaced]] [[ImpersonationExclusiveCharacter by a high-ranking Agarthan]] at that point]]. [[spoiler:As for the woman we see during the story, she will always die on the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes as Cornelia's an obstacle for both Edelgard and Dimitri's goals]].
* LadyOfBlackMagic: A cruel and self-serving Gremory, [[spoiler:whose true allegiance lies with "those who slither in the dark"]], with powerful dark magic spells at her command.
* LockedOutOfTheLoop: In Crimson Flower, it's all but stated [[spoiler:Edelgard kept Cornelia in the dark about the Empire's movements to ensure she would be killed off during the Black Eagle Strike Force's siege of Arianrhod.]]
* MagicStaff: On the Azure Moon route she wields the Asclepius, an ancient magic staff that restores her HP every turn.
* MsFanservice: Falls into the series tradition of being the designated sexy mage antagonist. She wears a very revealing dress that exposes her back and cleavage, and has an enormous bust size.
* NamedByTheAdaptation: [[spoiler:''Three Hopes'' reveals that her true Agarthan name is Cleobulus.]]
* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Very downplayed, but in Azure Moon, [[spoiler:Cornelia's attempt to demoralize Dimitri by revealing Patricia's involvement with the Tragedy of Duscur ultimately helped undermining his hatred towards Edelgard and, by proxy, made his parley with her near the end of the route possible, as Dimitri had been fully convinced beforehand that Edelgard was the one responsible for the massacre.]]
* NoNameGiven: [[spoiler:Unlike Tomas and Monica, who were explicitly replaced by Solon and Kronya, or even Arundel, who was implicitly replaced by Thales, it's never revealed or hinted at what the fake Cornelia's true Agarthan name is. In ''Three Houses'', at least.]] [[spoiler:''Three Hopes'' reveals her true name is Cleobulus.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: Pre-timeskip Sylvain speaks of her and considers how beautiful she was said to be back when she saved the kingdom. He then adds how long ago that was (over 15 years before Part I of the game) and that he expects her to be pretty old by now and wonders if she has aged like fine wine. He hasn't actually seen her at this point, but she clearly doesn't look as old as Sylvain seemed to think she was even five years later. Downplayed of course given that Manuela shows how well even normal people can age, and while datamining the game reveals [[spoiler:Cornelia's 30 years old (and 35~36 after the timeskip)]], we don't actually know if this refers to [[spoiler:Cleobulus replacing her or simply to the age their disguise is meant to invoke...]]
* PoisonIsEvil: Cornelia carries the [[PercentDamageAttack Poison Strike]] skill every time she's fought.
* PragmaticVillainy:
** When Dimitri's return inspires uprisings among the Kingdom citizens, Cornelia refuses to send troops to suppress them. It's not out of any sense of mercy to the people, but rather because she knows she has to confront Dimitri with every soldier she has and can't afford to send any elsewhere if she is to have any chance of winning.
** On the Verdant Wind route with the defeat of the [[spoiler:Empire and Dimitri's death, Cornelia disappears along with her most stalwart allies in the Dukedom. Due to not appearing at Shambhala, it's implied she held out with their forces across the continent to wait until they can regroup and continue the Agarthans' battle against the new United Kingdom of Fódlan, which is mentioned in Claude and female Byleth's ending.]]
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''I'll take good care of you!''"\\
"''Don't look at me like that!''"\\
"''Muahahaha!''"\\
"''Sweet dreams!''"
* TheQuisling: She's put in charge of the parts of [[spoiler:Faerghus the Empire conquered, and wages war on the loyalists in the Empire's stead. This gets averted in Crimson Flower, where Rhea's retreat ensures Faerghus's stability and stops Cornelia from sabotaging it like she did in other routes. Furthermore, while she initially expects Edelgard to call for her support, [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness Edelgard chooses to do away with her instead]] as part of her opening salvo against "those who slither in the dark".]]
* RecurringElement:
** While the franchise is no stranger to the 'corrupt older politician that sold out the good kingdom and ruling like a tyrant' which was kickstarted by [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Jiol]], Cornelia is the first female example of this type of character; other differences include a lack of cowardice and being competent at her job.
** Cornelia is also an example of the Dark Lady Archetype, being a skimpy, evil sorceress, and is heavily implied to be [[spoiler:part of "those who slither in the dark".]]
* RuleOfSexy: So what if her dress defies the laws of physics? It's hot!
* {{Sadist}}: She revels in causing pain and suffering. [[spoiler:Not only did she take Hapi captive and experiment on her just to discard her, Hapi makes it clear she loved tormenting her]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, Cornelia is TheUnfought, opting to abandon [[spoiler:Faerghus after Edelgard's defeat.]]
** In ''Three Hopes'', Cornelia abandons Rufus when his attack on Dimitri goes south, all while blaming [[spoiler:Thales]] for everything going wrong here.
* SensibleHeroesSkimpyVillains: While some of the heroes may be hit-or-miss when it comes to "sensible" attire post-timeskip (i.e. Manuela, Dorothea, Petra, etc.), Cornelia puts them all to shame with how revealing her outfit is.
* ThemeSongReveal: The second clue that she is part of [[spoiler:"those who slither in the dark"? [[{{Leitmotif}} The fact that "Those Who Sow Darkness" plays for her before the battle]].]]
* TokenEvilTeammate: In the Crimson Flower route you can pick up from her dialogue that Cornelia is this to [[spoiler:King Dimitri. Unlike the other routes, in which she openly betrays the exiled Dimitri in order to make her own power grab, Dimitri was anointed King in this route, so Cornelia is forced to publicly remain loyal. During the Black Eagle Strike Force's attack on Arianrhod, Cornelia sees it as the perfect opportunity to [[UriahGambit get rid of Lord Rodrigue and Gwendal]] in order to weaken the power structure around Dimitri.]]
* TheUnfought: She is [[spoiler:fought and killed]] on the Crimson Flower and Azure Moon routes, but [[spoiler:ditches the kingdom after Edelgard's death on the Verdant Wind and Silver Snow routes]].
* TheUnreveal: Unlike [[spoiler:Solon and Kronya, who have their identities and true forms revealed, Cornelia dies in her presumably disguised form and doesn't revert back when she dies]]. [[spoiler:''Three Hopes'' on the other hand reveals the Agarthan who impersonates her is named Cleobulus.]]
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: Her Asclepius cannot be wielded by any of the playable characters.
* YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Edelgard opts to have her killed during the assault on Arianrhod, viewing it as a useful preemptive first strike against "those who slither in the dark"]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Baron Dominic]]
!!Baron Dominic
!!!'''Class:''' Paladin
Annette's uncle and Gilbert/Gustave's brother, and the head of House Dominic.
----
* CainAndAbel: The Cain to Gilbert's Abel. The two come to blows when Kingdom forces try to claim the Crusher.
* EvilUncle: Downplayed. He's not voluntarily evil, but [[spoiler:the threat of Imperial invasion]] forces him to oppose his niece Annette.
* TheFaceless: He gets a generic knight portrait, with a helmet covering his face.
* HeelFaceTurn: After being defeated, he surrenders, hands over his Heroes' Relic to his niece and swears to protect his sister-in-law.
* PunchClockVillain: He's not a bad person, but the threat of [[spoiler:the Empire annexing his lands]] forces him to not only refuse to hand over his Hero's Relic to his niece, but also try to take her and Gilbert hostage.
* ToughLove: According to Annette, he would scold her rather harshly for making mistakes.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Margrave Gautier]]
!!Matthias Gautier
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/margrave_gautier.png]]

Sylvain and Miklan's father, and the current lord of the Margravate of Gautier on the border between Faerghus and Sreng.
----
* TheGhost: In ''Three Houses'' he never appears onscreen.
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Matthias Gautier is a stern and serious man with a broad build while Sylvain is an easygoing and joke-cracking young man with a more slender build.
* ParentalFavoritism: Due to how House Gautier operates, it only accepts heirs who have Crests. When Sylvain was revealed to have a Crest, he immediately became heir of House Gautier, robbing Miklan of his chance to inherit anything. Eventually, Matthias Gautier disowned Miklan and exiled him from his territory.
* ParentalNeglect: It was implied by Sylvain that after he became heir to House Gautier, Matthias neglected Miklan due to him not having a Crest. This would fuel Miklan's murderous jealousy towards Sylvain and blame him for all his troubles. Instead of comforting Miklan and reassuring him, Matthias disowned him and exiled him from House Gautier.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks a lot like Miklan but less scarred.
* WhatTheHellHero: Not directly, but Dimitri and Sylvain both express disappointment at Matthias for how he mistreated Miklan. Instead of treating him like a son, Matthias neglected him because he lacked a Crest. While the need for a Crest due to House Gautier's responsibilities and position is understandable, Matthias's ParentalNeglect towards Miklan and ParentalFavoritism towards Sylvain led to Miklan becoming a sociopathic, murderous bandit.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Glenn]]
!!Glenn Fraldarius
The firstborn son of Lord Rodrigue, Felix's older brother, and fiancé of Ingrid.
----
* TheAce: Rodrique states that at the age of 15, he was already serving the King and Dimitri as a loyal knight.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: An InUniverse example. Felix, Dimitri, Ingrid, and Rodrigue have conflicting opinions on him due to the nature of his death. Rodrigue and Ingrid see him as a heroic figure who died doing what he thought was right, and that his death was noble. Dimitri sees him as a tragic and loyal knight whose death was a SenselessSacrifice, and not heroic, a perspective Ingrid comes to share by the end of their supports. Felix sees him as being a LawfulStupid fool who gave up his life for a pointless reason as a result of his ideals. Nobody is painted as being right or wrong for their outlook on it, and Rodrigue concedes that Felix has a point about his frustration with it but argues Glenn would have felt horrible for running away.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: To Felix, as Felix tells Byleth in their A-support how he was never able to best him before he was killed.
* ChronicHeroSyndrome: According to Rodrigue, Glenn wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if he survived the Tragedy of Duscur through cowardice and instead chose to die protecting Dimitri.
* CynicismCatalyst: His death was this for Felix and Ingrid, causing Felix to become cold and angry, and causing Ingrid's xenophobia towards the people of Duscur to manifest.
* HeroicSacrifice: He died protecting Dimitri during the Tragedy of Duscur.
* KnightInShiningArmor: By all accounts he was this, given how everyone talks about him posthumously.
* NotSoDifferentRemark: While Glenn seems to be very different from the Felix of the present day, Dimitri claims that Glenn was "[[DeadpanSnarker sarcastic]] and [[BloodKnight looking for a fight]]", just like Felix, implying that the brothers are more alike than most think.
* PosthumousCharacter: Died in the Tragedy of Duscur.
* SmallRoleBigImpact: He's a PosthumousCharacter whose physical appearance is never revealed and has only one known truly noteworthy deed to his name, yet his HeroicSacrifice at the Tragedy of Duscur and the fallout as a result contributes to no less than four different characters' current outlooks (Dimitri, Felix, Ingrid, and Rodrigue).
* VitriolicBestBuds: Implied to be this with Dimitri. In Dimitri's supports with Ingrid, Dimitri recalls that he and Glenn often argued. Dimitri is surprised to hear Ingrid recall Glenn praising Dimitri, since Glenn was not as complimentary when speaking to Dimitri.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Gwendal]]
!!Gwendal
!!!'''Class:''' Great Knight
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Ryo Sugisaki (Japanese), Michael Sorich (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gwendal_portrait.png]]
A knight in service of House Rowe within the Holy Kingdom. He is acquainted with Lord Lonato.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: Defied. While he's relatively sympathetic, some of the knights around the monastery say that mourning Gwendal's death would be an insult to the way he lived his life.
* BloodKnight: He wishes to fight to the death in combat, and is unforgiving to his enemies even if they were kids. On the Azure Moon route, he even [[spoiler:betrays the kingdom and fights against Dimitri's forces because he thinks they'll be a good challenge]].
* ContractualBossImmunity: His personal skill is General, making Gwendal immune to instant death and resistant to gambits.
* CoolOldGuy: Yuri will reveal in battle he was this to him in the past, treating him as an equal. He makes clear that it was all in the past, however, and Yuri striking against Rowe ruins the respect he once had for the youth.
* AGoodWayToDie: On non-Crimson Flower routes, he's happy when [[spoiler:he meets his end]], thanking Byleth's army for [[spoiler:killing him.]]
* InsultBackfire: When fighting [[spoiler:Dimitri]], the latter calls him a lowly beast. Gwendal responds by proudly agreeing.
* MightyGlacier: By virtue of being a Great Knight, he has high HP, defense and mobility but has a weakness in speed and resistance.
* MyMasterRightOrWrong: As a true knight, he and others muse that he would have been happy to fight for whatever side his master chose. Though it's also made clear he's not happy with [[spoiler:Count Rowe siding with the Empire in most routes]].
* OverprotectiveDad: According to both Ingrid and Sylvain, he was ''not'' happy when the latter hit on his daughter.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Choke on this!''"\\
"''The lion's fury!''"\\
"''I will not waver!''"\\
"''You're weak!''"
* RedBaron: Known as the Gray Lion.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:King Lambert]]
!!King Lambert Egitte Blaiddyd
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShinobuMatsumoto (Japanese), Creator/PatrickSeitz (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lambert_portrait.png]]
Dimitri's father, and the King of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus until Imperial Year 1176.
----
* BaseBreakingCharacter: Zigzagged InUniverse example. While Lambert was beloved by the Faerghus smallfolk, it is noted by Catherine that he was also a controversial figure with the nobility, due to him pushing for a major political reform at the time. [[spoiler:Which is why some of the nobles [[KilledOffForReal chose to dispose of him]] once the ideal situation presented itself.]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Prisoner from House Kleiman:''' My lord had long felt that King Lambert's radical ways were dangerous. At the time, [[ForegoneConclusion he was approached with an offer to take part in the incident at Duscur...]]]]
* ChildhoodFriends: Much like their sons Dimitri and Felix, Lambert and Rodrigue grew up together and attended the Officers Academy alongside each other.
* FormerTeenRebel: According to Rodrigue, he and Lambert used to sneak out of lectures during their days at the Academy. Evidently, though, both men grew up into heroic and noble figures.
* TheGoodKing: By all means he was one, even attempting a major political reform that would benefit the people of Duscur.
* LoveAtFirstSight: He was apparently taken with Patricia the moment he saw her, according to Dimitri.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[UnreliableExpositor Assuming Dimitri's memory of events is correct]], then Lambert's last words to his son was a plea to avenge their deaths. [[GoneHorriblyRight Boy, did he take that to heart.]]
* OffWithHisHead: How he died, according to Dimitri. This is the reason Dimitri is so focused on beheading the Flame Emperor, once he believes they had a hand in the Tragedy of Duscur.
* PosthumousCharacter: Assassinated during the Tragedy of Duscur.
* RecurringElement: Serves as the "long-dead father of the Lord character" archetype started with [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Cornelius]] for Dimitri, who's the closest to Marth among the three Lords.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: If he grew a beard and kept his hair neater, post-timeskip Dimitri would look exactly like his father.
* YoungestChildWins: Like Sylvain, he is the second son of his family who became heir because he had a Crest. His older brother, Rufus, was passed over in the line of succession for Faerghus' throne because he lacked a Crest, and was instead given the title of Grand Duke of Itha.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord Lonato]]
!!Lord Lonato Gildas Gaspard
!!!'''Class:''' Paladin
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Kazuhiro Anzai (Japanese), Creator/DaveBMitchell[[note]]Credited as "Raymond K. Essel"[[/note]] (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_ronato.png]]
The lord of Gaspard in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the adopted father of Ashe. He raises an army of troops in rebellion against the Church of Seiros, an act that bewilders his adopted son.
----
* AntiVillain: Most people who know Lonato say he's a good man, and [[spoiler:he's rebelling because]] he believes his son was wrongfully executed by the Church of Seiros. He even expresses remorse over [[spoiler:fighting Dimitri.]]
* FatalFlaw: Grieving too much for his son Christophe, to the extent that everything else he loves becomes secondary, and he even becomes willing to strike down Ashe if he (thinks he) has to. This likewise allows the Western Church, the very people who manipulated his son, to manipulate him into a futile rebellion. Spelled out in Ashe's supports with Gilbert.
-->'''Gilbert:''' Lord Lonato took up his sword for his son. Even if that meant turning his back on the goddess... As a father, I cannot condemn Lord Lonato for raising an army. ...Yet, perhaps he too lost sight of what should be protected. Just as I did.\\
'''Ashe:''' I don't understand what you mean. What should Lonato have protected?\\
'''Gilbert:''' You, Ashe. Because you are also his son.
* FogOfWar: Intentionally causes this in his battle, with a Gaspard Commander creating the fog via magic.
* GeniusBruiser: Aside from being a skilled warrior, talking with Ashe reveals Lonato taught him all about various herbs, such as identifying them and how to make medicines out of them.
* GoodParents: Lonato loved Ashe as if he were his own blood, teaching him to read and offering him all the benefits of nobility despite Ashe's lowly birth. This is after he caught a young Ashe snooping around his mansion looking for valuables to steal. Thus his actions against the Church of Seiros shock the poor boy.
* {{Hypocrite}}: Because of his rage at the Central Church for executing his son, Lonato rebelled against them in the name of avenging Christophe. Despite claiming to be on the side of the Goddess, he willingly involved innocent citizens and militia in his rebellion, doing the same thing he hated the Central Church for doing. Sadly, he was too blinded by his rage to realize that he was being nothing more than a pawn for the Western Church.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Clear the way!''"\\
"''Filthy servant of Rhea!''"\\
"''Impudent brat!''"\\
"''I will not fall!''"
* {{Revenge}}: Desires revenge against the Central Church for executing his oldest son Christophe for the Tragedy of Duscur. Specifically Catherine herself, who is the one who detained his boy.
* RevengeBeforeReason: Lonato got so caught up in anger against the Central Church and Catherine [[spoiler:he allowed himself to be set up by the Western Church, the ones truly responsible for the incident Christophe got involved in and was executed for.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: His men have this towards him, with many generics declaring their loyalty to him.
* UnwittingPawn: The Western Church uses his grief over his eldest's death to make him attack the Central Church. [[spoiler:Making it even more tragic because they were responsible for why Christophe got executed having swayed him into assisting in a different plot to assassinate Rhea.]]
* UriahGambit: Per the Western Church's Bishop, [[spoiler:Lonato was set up in a suicide mission for the sake of furthering the branch's goals, since they intended to have the Central Church discover the plot to assassinate Rhea, allowing the Western Church to infiltrate the Holy Mausoleum in the confusion.]]
* VillainHasAPoint: For as many lives as he ends and jeopardizes to get back at the Central Church, [[spoiler:he's correct to believe they executed Christophe under false pretenses. In truth, he was killed for assisting in an assassination attempt on Rhea, and not for any involvement in the Tragedy of Duscur.]]
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Raises a rebellion against the Central Church because he [[spoiler:rightly]] believes it lied about the reasons for his son's execution, thus in his mind making the entity hopelessly corrupt. Catherine argues it was necessary to avoid further public panic and disorder in the wake of the king's murder, that the people didn't need to know [[spoiler:Rhea herself was now being targeted.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Patricia]]
!!Patricia / Anselma von Arundel
The younger sister of Volkhard von Arundel. At different times in her life, she served as the empress of the Adrestian Empire, during which time she gave birth to Edelgard, and Queen Consort of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, becoming Dimitri's stepmother.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: Given that [[spoiler:her brother Arundel was killed and replaced by one of those who slither in the dark]] it's entirely possible she could have been too. On the other hand, she still has a plausible motive for [[spoiler:being involved in the Tragedy of Duscur]] even if this weren't the case, and the story offers no clear evidence for either.
* DealWithTheDevil: According to some, after being forced into exile in Faerghus, Queen Patricia wanted so badly to see her own daughter again, [[spoiler:that she sacrificed the King (Dimitri's father) by conspiring with Cornelia to cause the Tragedy of Duscur]] to make it happen.
* TheExile: She was exiled from the Empire just a few years after giving birth to Edelgard. According to Dimitri, this was a result of finding herself caught in a "political strife" of sorts that also forced her to adopt a completely new identity in the Kingdom.
* FirstLove: Doubles as LoveAtFirstSight, but [[spoiler:Ionius IX was this for her. However, by the time they met, he was already in a political marriage, which resulted in her being one of his paramours instead of his wife. Despite that and her exile from the capital, Edelgard believes they truly did love one another.]]
* GoodStepmother: According to those who knew her, she seemed to be this to Dimitri, and apparently cared for him dearly, despite not being his biological mother. However, on the Azure Moon route, after being defeated, Cornelia claims that [[spoiler:Patricia never loved Dimitri at all and instead conspired with "those who slither in the dark" to orchestrate the Tragedy of Duscur, just so she could return to the Adrestian Empire and reunite with Edelgard. Also, Dimitri's support conversation with Hapi reveals that while she may have cared for Dimitri, she also believed that Lambert was keeping her away from Edelgard during the time she was exiled from the empire, or so Cornelia told her.]]
* LoveAtFirstSight: According to Edelgard and Dimitri, their respective fathers both fell for Patricia the moment they saw her.
* NeverFoundTheBody: [[spoiler:There was no evidence that her carriage was attacked, and her corpse was never found. While Gilbert ultimately confirms she was in on the Tragedy, the player never finds out what her final fate was.]]
* OneDegreeOfSeparation: It's revealed in [[spoiler:Dimitri and Hapi's support conversation that Patricia had met Hapi herself and become acquainted with her, helping Hapi however she could throughout her captivity.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: In his support with Hapi, Dimitri reveals that despite them being wed Patricia and his father were not actually allowed to be truly alone together, [[spoiler:and that Cornelia made a point of getting between them when they tried to become closer. It's implied this was on purpose, to keep Patricia from asking Lambert about Edelgard, and thus learning that he was not trying to keep them apart but was doing what was required of him to protect exiled royalty in hiding.]]
* PosthumousCharacter: Died during the Tragedy of Duscur. [[spoiler:Or so it seems...]]
* UnwittingPawn: [[spoiler:Cornelia used her and made sure to keep her from getting close to Lambert and talking with him to sort out any problems they had. All to make her a willing accomplice to the Tragedy of Duscur.]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: She's widely believed to have died at Duscur when her carriage was attacked. [[spoiler:On the Azure Moon route, it's revealed she helped Cornelia start the massacre in Duscur. Someone involved in the events at Duscur confirms that they had strict orders to avoid her carriage. Furthermore, as Thales impersonated her brother, it raises further questions as to what became of her.]]
* WomanScorned: [[spoiler:She was led to believe that Lambert was keeping Edelgard from her by Cornelia, leading her to become involved in the Tragedy of Duscur.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord Rodrigue]]
!!Lord Rodrigue Achille Fraldarius
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Taira Kikumoto (Japanese), Jake Eberle (English)
!!!'''Class:''' Holy Knight (''Three Houses''), Cavalier (''Three Hopes'')
!!!'''Crest:''' Fraldarius (Minor)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rodrigue_portrait_3.png]]
Head of House Fraldarius of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and the father of Felix. He has a strained relationship with his son due to their differing opinions over his eldest son's/Felix's older brother Glenn's death during the Tragedy of Duscur.
----
* ArchnemesisDad: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:if Felix is recruited, the two end up on opposite sides of a war.]]
* ChildhoodFriends: Much like their sons Felix and Dimitri, Rodrigue grew up alongside Lambert and attended the Officers Academy with him.
* CombatMedic: As a Holy Knight, he's got access to the area-of-effect heal Fortify spell and the offensive Faith magic spell Aura. In his appearance as an allied, but uncontrollable unit on the Azure Moon route at Ailell, he's there to fight the forces of House Rowe and keep Dimitri healed up as well.
* ContractualBossImmunity: His personal skill is Commander, making Rodrigue immune to a multitude of effects other than just instant death and granting him resistance to gambits.
* EarlyBirdCameo: On all the routes, he makes a brief appearance during Part I in the monastery (specifically, he was to be the one originally tasked with retrieving the Lance of Ruin after it was stolen by Miklan, only to accept the Church intends to have the students and Knights retrieve it) before making his reappearance on Part II as either a major player on the Azure Moon route or a major enemy on the Crimson Flower route.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Twofold in Azure Moon:
** Despite joining your party during the story, he never becomes a playable unit. [[spoiler:This hints he won’t be around for too long]].
** His warning to Dimitri about how some people who fight in the name of revenge can end up losing their resolve along the way becomes this for the crown prince's fate as a whole. [[spoiler:Not only does this hint that Dimitri in Azure Moon will eventually abandon his personal vendetta in favor of [[RedemptionQuest redeeming himself by following his duty]], it also heavily suggests [[ShaggyDogStory his fate in the Golden Deer and Church routes]] comes to pass partly due to self-sabotage on Dimitri's part.]]
* FormerTeenRebel: According to Rodrigue, he and Lambert used to sneak out of lectures during their days at the Academy. Evidently, though, both men grew up into heroic and noble figures.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:He intercepts a fatal knife blow from Fleche in her attempt to kill Dimitri]] on the Azure Moon route. [[spoiler:His death and the entire event becomes a huge wake-up call for Dimitri.]]
* HeroicSelfDeprecation: Rodrigue doesn't think too highly of himself at times; in a conversation with Byleth on the Azure Moon route, he calls himself a "failure of a man," and laments his own mistake of turning Felix against him by speaking carelessly about Glenn's death.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: The root of why he and Felix have a strained relationship. When Glenn died, Rodrigue, despite his grief, was at least able to feel peace that his son died doing what he believed was right. However, his attempt to explain this to Felix came across as him saying that he was glad Glenn died as a knight, causing Felix to resent him and the concept of chivalry. Rodrigue himself acknowledges that Felix has a point about how it came across, he just felt that Glenn would have been angry at himself if he didn't stand up for what he believed in.
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:On the Crimson Flower route, he has to be killed to progress in the story. He also bites it during Azure Moon, where he sacrifices himself against a fatal blow meant for Dimitri, and in Silver Snow, he dies off-screen at Gronder Field.]]
* KilledOffscreen: On the [[spoiler:Silver Snow]] route, [[spoiler:he is counted among the dead at Gronder Field by Dimitri ([[AmbiguousSituation or his ghost]]).]]
* KnightInShiningArmor: He does his best to live by this ideal.
* LightEmUp: He's no slouch when it comes to faith magic, his Aura can deal an immense amount of damage to his foes.
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: While Glenn is suggested to be cut from the same cloth, Felix is an anti-social swordsman with reason magic potential, while Rodrigue is a personable KnightInShiningArmor that uses faith magic.
* NiceGuy: Unlike his son, who's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold significantly rougher around the edges]], Rodrigue is generally a polite and friendly individual, as shown in his interactions with Dimitri, Byleth and their allies.
* OffingTheOffspring: If Felix is recruited in Crimson Flower and made to face him in battle, he expresses regret that his son has strayed and as a parent it is his duty to clean up after his child's mistakes, before declaring that Felix [[IllKillYou "must die here and now!"]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: He looks more like Felix's older brother than father.
* OutlivingOnesOffspring: He's already outlived his older son, Glenn. [[spoiler:If Felix isn't recruited on Crimson Flower, he can also outlive his younger son, although it's downplayed as Rodrigue will also be killed on the same map.]]
* ThePaladin: Although his class itself is Holy Knight, he fits the role as a KnightInShiningArmor with powerful light magic.
* ParentalSubstitute: To Dimitri, whom he calls a second father, and has a much better relationship with than his own son.
* ParentsAsPeople: He tries to be a good parent, but his relationship is strained with Felix over Glenn's death, and he even admits he shouldn't have said that Glenn died like a true knight as it wasn't comforting in the slightest. He even appreciates Byleth understanding him. [[spoiler:However, when he dies on the Azure Moon route, Felix is devastated and demands that Dimitri not let the death be in vain.]]
* PrecisionFStrike: If his health drops below half in "True Chivalry", he curses that he was "Outmatched by a damn bandit..."
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Prepare yourself!''"\\
"''I will not allow it!''"\\
"''On my family's honor!''"\\
"''For the king!''"
* PromotedToPlayable: Rodrigue becomes a full-fledged playable character in ''Three Hopes'' on the Azure Gleam route.
* RealMenHateSugar: His profile in ''Three Hopes'' shows that he dislikes sweets just like his son.
* RedBaron: He's known as the "Shield of Faerghus".
* RemovedAchillesHeel: On the Crimson Flower route, he has the Cavalry Effect Null skill, which removes the weakness his class usually has towards anti-cavalry weapons.
* SharedFamilyQuirks: ''Three Hopes'' reveals that Felix inherited his dislike of sweets from Rodrigue.
* SkewedPriorities: Felix accuses Rodrigue of caring more about honoring Lambert's memory by protecting a village important to the late king than about saving the lives of his people.
* StrongFamilyResemblance: If Felix let his hair down and grew a small beard, he'd look like Rodrigue with a different eye color.
* TraumaCongaLine: Ye Goddess, he's suffered from this:
** The Tragedy of Duscur had him suffering [[OutlivingOnesOffspring the worst possible form of this with the deaths of both his own son Glenn]] and his best friend and liege King Lambert, while his best friend's son who he practically raised as another child was left traumatized with permanent psychological scars.
** His relationship with his remaining son Felix has been strained greatly following Glenn's death after he claimed that Glenn died as a true knight, which seemed to have been his way to cope and rationalize with it. Depending on the route and the player's actions, it's possible they aren't able to reconcile and their relationship deteriorates FromBadToWorse. [[spoiler:The worst-case scenario is if Felix is recruited on the Crimson Flower route, leading to him allying with the people trying to conquer his home kingdom. Father and son end up on opposite sides of the war, and the possibilities are [[OffingTheOffspring unpleasantly]] [[SelfMadeOrphan obvious]].]]
** On the Azure Moon route, he suffers from his crown prince and ward Dimitri, who is also the sole remnant of his dead best friend and former king Lambert, being framed for treason and sentenced to death. While Dimitri does escape, Rodrigue is unaware of this and is left worrying for five years, all while his kingdom falls into chaos as a result of Cornelia's actions and the Empire's war. When he finally finds Dimitri again, he sees his crown prince has been driven into a [[SanitySlippage feral]] and self-destructive warrior hellbent on revenge.
* TsurimeEyes: Like his son, his eyes slant upwards.
* UnwittingPawn: On the Crimson Flower route, Rodrigue dies at Arianrhod defending both the city and Cornelia from the Black Eagle Strike Force never learning that Cornelia [[spoiler:was a plant for "those who slither in the dark" and has been for years]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On the Verdant Wind route, once the timeskip occurs, he is never mentioned again or appears. [[spoiler:As the Kingdom is nearly steamrolled by the Empire in all routes but the Crimson Flower route, he likely died in battle. This is implied by Felix should you have him recruited in the route, mentioning that he hasn't heard a word from his father and the silence is worrisome.]]
* WhatTheHellHero: Should Felix join the Black Eagles and [[spoiler:confront his father on the Crimson Flower route, the latter will not mince his words about his son's decision and declares his intent to kill him. By the end of the route, it's made clear Felix agrees with him.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Grand Duke Rufus]]
!!Rufus Thierry Blaiddyd
!!!'''Class:''' Prionsa (''Three Hopes'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rufus_3h_portrait.png]]
The Grand Duke of Itha Plains and regent of the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, he is the elder brother of Lambert, the paternal uncle of Dimitri, and the regent of the Kingdom until Dimitri comes of age.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: [[spoiler:In ''Three Hopes'', despite Rufus having tried to have him killed multiple times, Dimitri still feels troubled about executing his only remaining close kin. Felix tells Shez that Dimitri has to do it because Rufus' treasonous actions leave Dimitri no choice.]]
* BeingEvilSucks: [[spoiler:Rufus' various crimes have left him a paranoid, nightmare-tormented wreck of a man, and a slovenly, inept ruler unable to utilize the great intelligence he was so known for in his youth. When he is put to death in ''Three Hopes'', a part of him seems genuinely relieved.]]
* CainAndAbel: ''Three Hopes'' reveals [[spoiler:he was complicit in the Tragedy of Duscur, the event that got his brother killed]].
* TheCaligula: He's described as an incompetent clod of a regent, with Faerghus suffering from instability including roving bandits, the scheming Western Church, and Lonato's rebellion all under his watch. This is all before ''Three Hopes'' fleshes him out with such reveals as [[spoiler:being complicit in the Tragedy of Duscur and trying to get his nephew killed]].
* ClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:He and "Cornelia" are the two last bosses faced before the timeskip in ''Three Hopes'' if Shez picks the Blue Lions]].
* CreateYourOwnVillain: [[spoiler:A lot of things that went wrong in Dimitri's life, such as the Tragedy of Duscur, are all Rufus' fault, yet he is one to call him a monster either due to PsychologicalProjection, paranoia, or just because he is a massive jerk. Not only does Dimitri have the chance of becoming a rampaging boar due to all of the mental trauma he had suffered, but he is the one to both capture and execute him after Rufus makes his move in ''Three Hopes''.]]
* DiesDifferentlyInAdaptation: [[spoiler:If you side with Dimitri in ''Three Hopes'', he gets publicly executed by Dimitri after he gets captured as opposed to getting assassinated by Cornelia during the timeskip.]]
* EvilUncle: In ''Three Hopes'', it's revealed he kept Dimitri under effective house arrest, tried to have him killed a couple of times, and ultimately launches a coup against him. He is also emotionally abusive to his nephew, calling him a savage monster several times.
* TheGhost: In ''Three Houses'', he never appears onscreen and is at most only talked about by various characters [[spoiler:before being KilledOffscreen by Cornelia to frame Dimitri in non-Crimson Flower routes]]. In ''Three Hopes'' he is UnseenNoMore.
* GracefulLoser: Even though he acts like an unrepentant jerk during his limited screen time, [[spoiler:when defeated by Dimitri, he finds his execution by his nephew "the fate he deserves" and calmly accepts his death]].
* GuiltInducedNightmare: [[spoiler:Implied, he tells Cornelia that every night he dreams a lion is ripping out his throat. His licentious, slovenly rule is implied to be due to him trying to drown out the festering guilt and paranoia from these nightmares.]]
* HiddenDepths: A Knight from Faerghus notes his supposedly unmatched political acumen, and wonders what they might accomplish together had he worked together with his brother. Additionally, in ''Three Hopes'', [[spoiler:he finds it fitting to be punished for his crimes by Dimitri's hand, showing a degree of remorse.]]
* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: He constantly calls Dimitri a monster and taunts him over being willing to kill his own kin, but Rufus helped orchestrate his own brother's death during the Tragedy of Duscur and has tried to kill his nephew several times. In the end, Rufus has no right to call his own nephew a monster when he's the one who caused so much death and devastation.]]
* InformedAttribute: Though he is mentioned to possess great political acumen, he is continuously manipulated by Cornelia and is by all accounts an awful and deeply unpopular ruler. It's implied this is due to [[spoiler:his guilt and paranoia over his willing involvement the Tragedy of Duscur]] eating at him.
* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler:Lambert supposedly died by decapitation, which was all Rufus' fault. So rather fittingly Dimitri returns the favor by beheading Rufus in ''Three Hopes''.]]
* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler: In ''Three Hopes'' on the Azure Gleam route, he is publicly beheaded by Dimitri after being defeated.]]
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler:In ''Three Hopes'' Dimitri sends him a missive in an attempt to have him step down without having a bloody battle in Fhirdiad, but Rufus interprets it as a veiled threat for his head and sends no answer back, forcing the conflict.]]
* RegentForLife: Given Rufus was named regent of Faerghus after Lambert's death and meant to pass the crown to Dimitri when he comes of age, ''Three Hopes'' revealing [[spoiler:he was complicit in the very disaster that got his brother killed and nearly killed his nephew, plus was willing to [[UriahGambit send his nephew to his possible death fighting]],]] definitely seems to suggest he's fully willing to become this if circumstances permit.
* RightForTheWrongReasons: [[spoiler: When we meet him, we quickly learn that he sees Dimitri as TheDreaded out of the fear of him being a vengeful beast out for his head. While [[VillainHasAPoint he's not entirely wrong]], as Dimitri does possess a hidden AxCrazy side that drives him to be obsessed with avenging those who died in the tragedy of Duscur, it's clear that this is born more out of his paranoia and whatever semblance of guilt he possesses, seeing as he ignores Dimitri's legitimate attempts to end his revolt bloodlessly.]]
* SiblingYinYang: He's described as being the polar opposite of his brother Lambert.
* TheUnfavorite: In a similar manner to Miklan with Sylvain, despite being the firstborn over his brother Lambert, Rufus was passed over the line of succession due to lacking a Crest. ''Unlike'' Miklan, he at least got the consolidation prize of having a noble title and some form of power [[spoiler:though ''Three Hopes'' makes it clear he did in fact harbor resentment enough over it to be complicit in the very event that got his little brother and nearly his nephew killed.]]
* UnwittingPawn: Of Cornelia. [[spoiler:His ineptitude and backstabbing ultimately serve only to further the agenda of Those Who Slither in the Dark.]]
* UriahGambit: In the ''Three Hopes'' demo, Dedue expresses his open contempt for Rufus and mentions his belief that Rufus had Dimitri involved in frontline combat during the Western rebellion in an attempt to get rid of him. [[spoiler:Rufus confirms it himself in a conversation with Cornelia.]]
* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler:In spite of being the regent of Faerghus during the Academic Phase and the first ClimaxBoss during the Azure Gleam route of ''Three Hopes'', he dies in Chapter ''3'' and ''appears '''''only''''' in this chapter''.]]
[[/folder]]

!!The Leicester Alliance
[[folder:In General]]
[[quoteright:271:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe3h_leicester_crest.png]]
The youngest and smallest of the three nations. The Alliance is a loose confederation of noble houses who refuse to bow to any king or emperor, located to the east of Fódlan. However, they allow one family to lead them: House Riegan. Each house's territory is technically an autonomous region, though they all swear allegiances of loyalty to each other. Leicester students are assigned into the Golden Deer.
----
* TheAlliance: A loose coalition of territories united under a single banner. It's deconstructed in that the nobles ruling the Alliance are far more concerned with their own personal advancement than the welfare of the nation as a whole; two of the three Part I paralogues involving the Golden Deer have you put down an ambitious and unscrupulous noble's attempts to gain more power, and in Part II [[spoiler:the country falls apart when Adrestia declares war on everyone.]]
* AmbitionIsEvil: The Alliance is nowhere near as corrupt as the Empire at the start of the story, but they undoubtedly have morally unscrupulous lords. Many Alliance lords are mostly loyal to themselves and put the welfare of the Alliance aside. The most prominent example is Count Gloucester [[spoiler:as in every route, after war breaks out, he defects to the Empire and is the leader of the Alliance lords who align themselves with Edelgard.]]
* AnimalMotifs: Deer. The Alliance views deer as the protectors of their lands and Leicester students are assigned to the Golden Deer House in Garreg Mach.
* TheArcher: The Alliance is known for having highly skilled archers.
* AristocratsAreEvil: Several Alliance Lords are shown to be very opportunistic and more concerned about their own houses and agenda rather than the nation. Prominent examples are Count Gloucester, who openly opposes House Riegan to the point of causing division, [[AbusiveParents is implied to be abusive towards Lorenz]], [[spoiler:possibly had Raphael's parents killed]], and [[spoiler:betrays the Alliance when Edelgard declares war]], and Acheron, who launches an attack on Gloucester lands out of a desire for power and [[spoiler:betrays the Alliance when Edelgard declares war (unless Byleth sides with her).]]
* BlueBlood: Unlike their neighbors, the Adrestian Empire and Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, they lack royalty and are governed by a coalition of nobility who refuse to swear fealty to any royal.
* ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: While the nobles of the other nations have shades of this, it is most pronounced in the Leicester Alliance. Despite the vows of loyalty its nobles swore to each other, they are ultimately portrayed as opportunistic and more invested in furthering the interests of their own houses rather than the country as a whole.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of TheAlliance. Though it is a land free from the rule of kings and emperors, it is a pit of vipers among the nobility. Many Alliance Lords are very opportunistic, self-serving and more loyal to themselves rather than to the nation as a whole. [[spoiler: In all routes, after Edelgard declares war, several Alliance Lords, led by Count Gloucester, join the Empire and go to war with the Alliance faction loyal to House Riegan.]]
* DividedWeFall: The Alliance's FatalFlaw. The Alliance lords are more concerned about their own ambitions and welfare rather than the nation. Because of their conflicting ideals, loyalty to themselves rather than the Alliance as a whole, and opportunism, the Alliance is barely kept together by its leaders. [[spoiler:In all routes, because Alliance lords side with the Adrestian Empire when Edelgard declares war, Claude is forced to pit the Alliance against itself to make it appear as a unified front. Depending on which route Byleth takes, this could backfire and lead to the Alliance's destruction.]]
* FactionCalculus: Subversive. Leicester's military is looser than that of the other two nations, consisting of more peasant levies.
* FantasyCounterpartCulture:
** The various Merchant Republics of Italy, and the Kingdom of England. Their refusal to be led by a king and a quarter of the playable Golden Deer characters being the children of merchants draws this parallel. Additionally, a lot of the place names are taken straight from England, the Alliance being known for the use of the bow, and the presence of a fortified wall along the border add to the real-life comparison with England. In addition, many of the well known characters from the alliance are named after a Shakespearean play, ''Theatre/KingLear''.
** The country's governing system, comprised of autonomous states with their own hereditary rulers, and all of the rulers participating in a forum to decide on the governance of the country as a whole, calls to mind federal monarchies such as Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.
** As they were once part of the Empire, and are an Alliance/Confederacy, they also have some aspects of the Old Swiss Confederacy, and is even quite mountainous. The history of independence from a Holy Roman-esque empire and being a HereditaryRepublic also reminds us of the Dutch Republic, though unlike that one, the Alliance is significantly less united.
* FatalFlaw: [[DividedWeFall Their disunity.]] The Kingdom and the Empire both have their share of infighting among the leaders, but it's nowhere near as bad as the Alliance. Because of their ChronicBackstabbingDisorder tendencies and their status as AHouseDivided, the Leicester Alliance suffers from a grave lack of unity due to their leaders barely keeping it together. Though the ruling lords swear loyalty to each other, the majority of them are ultimately very opportunistic and are quick to turn on each other when it benefits them. [[spoiler: In all routes, Edelgard takes advantage of this and manages to rally several Alliance lords to her side, led by Count Gloucester. Depending on which route the player takes, it could lead to the complete annihilation of the Leicester Alliance and Claude's death or disappearance.]]
* FighterMageThief: Thief. A lot of their military are hunters proficient with bows.
* HereditaryRepublic: Despite it being explicitly stated that the country is ''not'' a monarchy, its governing positions are nonetheless generally hereditary, such as membership of the governing Roundtable, which includes the country's overall leader. However, a noble house in the Roundtable can lose its position through loss of standing among its peers.
* AHouseDivided:
** Post-timeskip, due to the ChronicBackstabbingDisorder that the country's nobles suffer from, [[spoiler:half of them are quick to support the Adrestian Empire when it declares war on the church, which basically fractures the Leicester Alliance from within.]] Claude is forced to [[spoiler:effectively pit the two sides (one for the Empire, the other for the Holy Kingdom) against each other in order to maintain their neutrality.]]
** While the other two nations have their infighting amongst the leaders, it's [[FatalFlaw notoriously bad]] for the Alliance. [[spoiler: In every route except for Verdant Wind, the Alliance ultimately ends up falling apart after the Battle of Gronder Field because they were never able to fully unify. In the Azure Moon route Claude reads the tea leaves and realizes it's best to put all of his hopes in Dimitri being able to win the war and lead a unified Fódlan. Claude does the same in Crimson Flower, arranging things so that no matter what happens, the Empire and Alliance will join together with minimal bloodshed. In Silver Snow, Claude goes completely MIA after the Battle and the Alliance collapses shortly after, with the lords becoming loyal to Byleth in the aftermath.]]
* IFightForTheStrongestSide:
** This is the main reason half of the country's noble houses sided with the Adrestian Empire in the face of the possibility that the empire may attack. They reasoned that their country cannot capably fight back and thus viewed capitulation to the empire as the only way to survive.
** Even in the Verdant Wind route, Claude is only able to fully unify the Alliance [[spoiler:by getting them behind Byleth's [[PropagandaHero status symbol as Seiros' chosen]].]]
* KeystoneArmy: The coalition of noble houses that comprise the country is so fragile that without a unifying figure to lead them, they will instantly fall apart due to infighting. On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:Claude's death or desertion leads to the ''entire country'' being too weak and disunified to resist the Adrestian Empire's forces.]]
* {{Leitmotif}}: "Golden Deer and Crescent Moon" plays during scenes related to the Alliance.
* MeaningfulName: "Leicester" derives from Leicestershire, the name of a town in England that was built on the site of a Roman settlement. The Leicester Alliance specializes in the bow, just like England, and was formerly Kingdom territory before breaking off and becoming its own nation.
* SuccessionCrisis: One occurs for the leading House Riegan in the Imperial Year 1179, a year before the events of the game, when Godfrey, Claude's uncle and the family's heir, passes away unexpectedly, and his sister is unaccounted for. This is resolved when Godfrey's father, Duke Riegan, legitimizes his heretofore absent grandson Claude. Prior to this, Holst Goneril was viewed by many as the favorite to succeed Duke Riegan.
* ThickerThanWater: This is the reason for the country's general disunity and lack of ability to put up any efficient resistance to outside aggression. Despite agreeing to mutually defend each other, the noble houses that comprise the Leicester Alliance are more loyal to their own interests than to the country's welfare as a whole.
* WeAREStrugglingTogether: Despite the fact that aggression from [[spoiler:the Adrestian Empire]] threatens the country's existence, it is difficult to get its nobles to mount a unified resistance when half of them think that it's better off to capitulate to [[spoiler:Edelgard]] rather than fight. The best that Claude can accomplish is to try and keep the country from fracturing at the seams while giving off the impression of neutrality.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Count Gloucester]]
!!Count Gloucester
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/count_gloucester.png]]

The head of House Gloucester and Lorenz's father. He has the second-highest voice in the Alliance Roundtable, often clashing with House Riegan.
----
* AbusiveParents: A minor example. Lorenz is shown to not question his father about anything even if it goes against his beliefs. He's also scared of failing his father as shown if he loses the Heron Cup and believes he will be disowned. While two of the four routes have him throw his son into battle knowing that it will get him killed and one route where he excommunicates his son for siding with Claude, Lorenz is able to get back in his father's good graces should he stand up and speak to him.
* DirtyCoward: Zigzagged repeatedly, as he's put in situations where one could really argue that trying to fight would be suicide.
** In the interim between Parts I and II, [[spoiler:he leads the faction of the Alliance that supports cowing to the Empire. However, Lorenz provides a more nuanced view of his actions, noting that the Gloucester people would be the first to die if open war with the Empire broke out.]]
** At the end of the Verdant Wind route, [[spoiler:he takes his men and flees from Nemesis. Given that Nemesis was able to defeat Holst, described as the biggest badass in the Alliance, it may have been [[KnowWhenToFoldEm a tactical retreat]].]]
* TheGhost: He never appears onscreen in ''Three Houses,'' but becomes UnseenNoMore in ''Three Hopes.''
* HereditaryHairstyle: As shown in ''Three Hopes,'' he has the same hairstyle as his son Lorenz in the timeskip.
* HiddenDepths: Despite his less than savory traits, Count Gloucester apparently works to develop new foods himself, suggesting he is somewhat of a chef.
* HumblePie: At the end of Verdant Wind [[spoiler:Lorenz states how his father fled from Nemesis and his army instead of staying to fight. While it was a smart move given how someone like Holst couldn't stop Nemesis, Lorenz states that this retreat will make his father go down in history as a coward.]]
* ItsAllAboutMe: In Verdant Wind, Lorenz comments at one point his father's number one priority is the position his house and himself have in the Alliance.
* KarmaHoudini: He is responsible for [[spoiler:the deaths of Claude's uncle and Raphael's parents, as well as the murder of innocent traders in order to advance his own political power, but is not punished for his crimes. The only thing that happens is the HumblePie given at the end of Verdant Wind, but that isn't enough for him to lose everything that he has gained.]]
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:It's heavily implied he was involved in the death of Claude's uncle and Raphael's parents. He set it up to make it seem like an incidental attack by monsters, but it's implied they were monsters trained by bandits he hired. For what little it is worth, Godfrey (Claude's uncle) was the target and Raphael's parents simply got caught up in the attack as they had been hired by the count. Raphael chooses to treat it as a rumor, but the appearance of monsters controlled by bandits set on interfering with trade to House Riegan in a paralogue supports said rumor.]]
* PetTheDog: Mixed with PragmaticVillainy, his only good deed is hiring Jeralt to take care of the poachers that were harassing Leonie's village. Lorenz notes that it was simply duty, as Leonie's village had the rights to hunting in the area. His hiring of Jeralt directly led to his meeting Leonie.
* TheQuisling: In every route, [[spoiler:Gloucester sides with the Empire. He will only switch to the Kingdom/Alliance/Resistance side if the Great Bridge of Myrddin is recaptured and he has nothing to fear.]]
* TheUnfought: The player never engages in combat with him [[spoiler:even though he's sided with the Empire. In the Azure Moon and Silver Snow route, he sends his son to fight instead.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Acheron]]
!!Acheron Lethe Phlegethon
!!!'''Class:''' Mage → Cavalier/Warlock
!!!'''Voiced by''': Ryou Nishitani (Japanese), Creator/DougErholtz (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/acheron_portrait.png]]
The head of the smallest noble house in the Leicester Alliance, known as "The Weathervane" for his political opportunism.
----
* AintTooProudToBeg: When defeated in Lorenz's paralogue, he unceremoniously begs to be spared.
* ButtMonkey: He's treated as a joke by the Golden Deer students before the timeskip; combined with his [[SmugSnake arrogance]], they end up making a fool of him every time. When Claude faces him and Acheron is at his most haughty, Claude reveals ''they've set his castle on fire'', and turns his taunt about the Alliance collapsing back at him.
* CavalryRefusal: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he's sent to reinforce Judith at Myrddin, but the moment he sees his fellow reinforcements fall he decides to cut tail and run for his life, resulting in Judith being forced to retreat and ultimately be cut down]].
* ContractualBossImmunity: He has the Unsealable Magic skill in Land of the Golden Deer and in Part 2 of non-Crimson Flower routes.
* DirtyCoward: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he runs away and leaves Judith to die if Leonie/the generic Paladin who replaces her is killed.]]
* DiscardAndDraw: On the Crimson Flower route, he drops his magical abilities in Part I for a horse in Part II.
* EmbarrassingNickname: He's nicknamed "The Weathervane" for his political opportunism.
* FairWeatherFriend: [[TheFriendNobodyLikes "Friend" is pushing it]], but all the other Leicester nobles are still nominally allied to him despite his infamous opportunism. Count Gloucester opts to spare him after he incites a violent conquest of his territory, considering it too inconvenient just to kill him. [[spoiler:Claude, however, isn't so restrained.]]
* TheFriendNobodyLikes: In a country characterized by its nobles suffering from ChronicBackstabbingDisorder, he stands out in particular for his political opportunism, which garners him the distaste of practically every other noble house in the nation. It is particularly notable on the Verdant Wind route, where Claude doesn't even attempt to convince him to join the other noble houses in a united offensive against the Adrestian Empire. Instead, Claude simply remarks that he is "nothing but a nuisance" and should be shown no mercy for siding with the empire.
* IFightForTheStrongestSide: He is noted for being one to gravitate towards power, and either sides with the Adrestian Empire on the Azure Moon/Verdant Wind/Silver Snow routes, or flees from its forces on the Crimson Flower route.
* {{Irony}}: Despite his infamous opportunism, he invariably ends up siding with the losing team in every route and will likely be unceremoniously cut down for it.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In Lorenz's paralogue, he gets away with launching an armed insurrection against Count Gloucester with nothing more than a slap on the wrist. He isn't so lucky in Part II; [[spoiler:he ''will'' end up dead if you aren't Empire-aligned, and if you are, Edelgard's views on so-called "nobles" like him do not bode well for him remaining in a position of power even if he does survive.]]
* LameComeback: If Claude fights him in Lorenz's paralogue, Acheron will respond to being called a "good-for-nothing" by pulling a NoYou on Claude. Claude then remarks that Acheron not recognizing ''the future leader of the Alliance'' doesn't speak well of him.
* MeaningfulName: All three of his names are three of the five rivers of the Underworld in Greek mythology; Acheron is the "river of woe", Lethe is the "river of forgetfulness", and Phlegethon is the "river of flames" — fitting for someone whose power comes from controlling a major river crossing and is known as an opportunist.
* PoisonIsEvil: In spades. Not only his personal skill is [[PercentDamageAttack Poison Strike]], he also has access to the Poison skill, which has a chance to inflict the [[StatusEffects poison ailment]] to any target he hits.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Unsightly, aren't you?''"\\
"''Scum!''"\\
"''I've got ya!''"\\
"''Just die already!''"
* TheQuisling: In all non-Crimson Flower routes, [[spoiler:he sides with the Empire and ambushes the resistance army while they are battling Ladislava]].
* RecurringElement: Acheron is the "corrupt noble that backstabs their faction for selfish gain" like [[Characters/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Jiol]], especially for the Golden Deer (and he'll also betray them when seen in other routes). He's a more classical example than fellow Jiol Cornelia, given that he is motivated by cowardice while she [[spoiler:was either an Agarthan plant from the beginning or was murdered and replaced with said Agarthan plant]].
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:he resents having to obey Claude's orders, and if the other general defending the Great Bridge of Myrddin dies, he flees with his units.]]
* SkippableBoss: Acheron is one of the few bosses in the game who can be avoided entirely during all of his appearances.
** In "Land of the Golden Deer", even though the mission is wrapped up as soon Acheron falls, it's also possible to win by simply protecting the marked tile in the map during 10 turns.
** In the missions located on the Great Bridge of Myrddin (Chapter 13 in Crimson Flower and 16 in other routes), by abusing the game's mechanics, it's perfectly viable to ''prevent Acheron from ever spawning'' by defeating the boss(es) already present on the map.[[note]]In Chapter 16's case, defeating Ferdinand/his Imperial General replacement will also make Lorenz/his Alliance General replacement spawn as well, and they need to be swiftly defeated so Acheron can't get the chance to do so.[[/note]]
* TemptingFate: Brags about his fair-weather nature when engaged in combat, before quickly worrying if he's in for a beating. Given his lackluster stats, [[CurbStompBattle he is]].
-->'''Acheron:''' As they say, if you can't beat them, join them. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck I'm not in for a beating, am I?]]
* TooDumbToLive: In Part II, he spawns in the middle of the battlefield. In the middle of your units who are likely stronger than him, and is likely to get one-shotted by any of them with no effort. [[note]]As added insult to injury, Acheron is one of the very few enemies to still adhere to Hard mode reinforcement mechanics on Maddening, meaning even on the highest difficulty he is likely to be casually cast aside.[[/note]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On the Crimson Flower route should he either run off or be spared, he never makes another appearance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Holst]]
!!Holst Sigiswald Goneril
!!!'''Class:''' Swordmaster (''Three Hopes'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/holst_portrait_three_hopes.png]]
The head of House Goneril, and older brother of Hilda. Charged with defending the Leicester Alliance from the neighboring kingdom of Almyra, he earned a reputation as the Alliance's greatest general.
----
* TheAce: Hilda describes her brother as perfect at everything, and he's considered the Leicester Alliance's greatest general. Her supports with Byleth also [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruct this]] by Hilda explaining that he was more or less forced to become one, as the expectations of their parents were intense and stressful. He's still good at what he does, but he had to work towards it, and its made Hilda very self-conscious as a result.
* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Toward Hilda. Hilda describes him as such. It's also deconstructed in that Hilda is letting herself be seen as worse to avoid responsibilities.
-->"I have a very impressive big brother. I'm not just saying that. He's strong, smart, nice. He's basically perfect."
* BigBrotherInstinct: Hilda describes her brother as clingy and overprotective, and he's constantly sending her letters worrying about her life.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Pink hair and eyes.
* FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: The Responsible sibling to Hilda's Foolish, being a highly accomplished commander.
* TheGhost: While Hilda, Claude, Lorenz, and Balthus mention him quite frequently, he never makes a personal appearance. He becomes UnseenNoMore in ''Three Hopes.''
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Is a close friend of Balthus. They can potentially end up as BestFriendsInLaw.
* {{Hunk}}: Holst is a big, burly, and muscular man, something which Raphael is quick to notice during his introduction in ''Three Hopes.''
* KnightTemplarBigBrother: According to Balthus, Holst would not only murder him if something happened to Hilda but would beat the tar out of him if he even laid a finger on her. Naturally, he's scared at the idea of pissing off Holst.
-->'''Balthus:''' Holst would have my head if he knew I raised a hand against you.\\
'''Hilda:''' As if he'd stop with your head!
* LikesOlderWomen: According to Balthus in his support with Claude, it's implied that he once had a crush on Claude's mother, Tiana von Riegan, and cried when he found out that she was gone.
* MySisterIsOffLimits: In Balthus' paired ending with Hilda, he has to win a duel against Holst to get Hilda's hand in marriage.
* NiceGuy: According to Hilda, he's always kind and hates to disappoint people. He also seems to lack prejudice towards Almyrans despite being tasked with fighting them, as he tells Hilda in a letter in her C-Support with Cyril that one's character is more important than their place of birth.
* OfficerAndAGentleman: ''Three Hopes'' shows him to be incredibly personable, the kind of man who has deep respect for the abilities of others (as seen when he openly praises Claude's tactical skills), incredibly charming, and a overall NiceGuy while utterly living up to his status as TheAce.
* TallDarkAndHandsome: According to Hilda. ''Three Hopes'' shows that this is very much true, albeit he has pink hair matching his sister's.
* TheWorfEffect: At the end of the Verdant Wind route, [[spoiler:he is easily defeated by Nemesis. While he survives, the fact how the characters put him as a high profile warrior shows how dangerous Nemesis is despite just being brought back from the dead.]]
* WorfHadTheFlu: In Hilda's paralogue and Edelgard's [[spoiler:post-timeskip after the fall of the Leicester Alliance]], they're forced to take command of his position because he's suffering from ''severe'' food poisoning. Hubert describes it as him being incredibly pale and ''smelling'' bad.
* WorthyOpponent: Granted, he ''does'' mitigate it by dryly using the wrong ''nom de guerre'' for Nader (as the Almyran general points out), but his brief interaction with Nader in the ''Three Hopes'' prologue has him show a warrior-like respect towards the Almryan general and invites Nader to "settle the score."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Judith]]
!!Judith von Daphnel
!!!'''Class:''' Lord
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Yoko Soumi (Japanese), Creator/RachelRobinson (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/judith_portrait_7.png]]
The head of House Daphnel in the Leicester Alliance, who are considered amongst the elite defenders of their lands. During part II, she becomes one of Claude's most consistent and loyal allies.
----
* AbdicateTheThrone: Before the events of the game, she willingly gave up her seat as one of the five ruling lords of the Alliance.
* AntiArmor: Her rapier allows her to deal extra damage to armored units.
* AntiCavalry: Her rapier also allows her to deal extra damage to horseback units.
* ContractualBossImmunity: Her personal skill is General, making Judith immune to instant death and resistant to gambits.
* DeadpanSnarker: She has quite the sharp tongue and shows no qualms about chewing up both Claude and Lorenz in the Verdant Wind route.
* EarlyBirdCameo: On the Verdant Wind route, she makes a brief appearance during part I in the monastery before becoming an important player in the story.
* FamedInStory: She’s a very renowned hero in the Alliance and the rest of Fódlan, to the point multiple characters in Garreg Mach, the Kingdom and Alliance have heard of her exploits.
* FragileSpeedster: Judith’s good at dishing out damage and avoiding enemy attacks, but she falls short when it comes to receiving multiple hits.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: Despite joining your party during the story in the Verdant Wind route, she never becomes a playable unit. [[spoiler:In a perplexing example, she remains that way during the story despite not sharing Rodrigue’s fate]].
* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:On the Crimson Flower route, she has to be killed to progress in the story]].
* LadyOfWar: A celebrated, dignified female commander who [[RoyalRapier wields a rapier]] and leads a battalion of duelists in battle.
* LadyDrunk: Downplayed. One of Catherine's comments implies she can be quite a heavy drinker.
* MsFanservice: Judith's unique lord wardrobe showcases her cleavage and accentuates her hips.
* NoHeroToHisValet: Judith has no shame calling out the Alliance's new leader on their sloppy job.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Past my prime? Never!''"\\
"''And now you've made me mad!''"\\
"''How invigorating!''"\\
"''Here's how it's done!''"
* RedBaron: Hailed as the "Hero of Daphnel".
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** On the Crimson Flower path, [[spoiler:she will make a hasty retreat if the battle is turning south for her. It's to no avail however as the map requires that she be killed before she can escape.]]
** [[spoiler:Claude tells this to her again]] on the Verdant Wind route. Unlike on the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:she never has to resort to running away.]]
* SorryThatImDying: [[spoiler:When she's killed on Crimson Flower, Judith sends her apologies to Claude as she draws her last breath.]]
* SurveillanceAsThePlotDemands: [[InvertedTrope An unusual heroic version.]] Judith has a wide web of spies across all of Fódlan. On non-Crimson Flower routes, this proves to be quite handy as it lets her know [[spoiler:Rhea was captured during Adrestia's invasion of Garreg Mach.]] On Silver Snow and Verdant Wind, she reveals this information to her allies as soon she provides them reinforcements, while in Azure Moon, Claude delivers it in her stead.
* UnderestimatingBadassery: On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:she notes she was told to run by "the boy" (Claude) if she was in danger but disregards it, believing she can certainly hold out until reinforcements arrive. The Black Eagle Strike Force proves her wrong, prompting her ScrewThisImOutOfHere moment.]]
* UniqueEnemy: Notable for being the only NPC in the ''Fire Emblem'' series thus far to be of the [[TheHero Lord class]], which is normally given to the main player characer.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On the Silver Snow route, after Chapter 15 she is never mentioned again or makes another appearance.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tiana]]
!!Tiana von Riegan
The daughter of Duke Oswald von Riegan, and Claude's mother.
----
* TheDreaded: [[spoiler:In Almyra]], she is referred to as the "Demon Queen".
* TheGhost: Has not made a physical appearance at all and is only mentioned.
* HairTriggerTemper: Some of Claude's supports imply that she has a temper often resorting to violence. She earned the nickname "Demon Queen" for a reason.
* TheRunaway: She left Fódlan to marry the love of her life, [[spoiler:the King of Almyra]].
* StacysMom: Balthus and Holst found her hot in her youth. Even if she has aged according to Claude, Balthus still thinks she's beautiful.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Berling]]
!!Berling
!!!'''Class:''' Bow Knight
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/berling.png]]
The captain of Berling's Mercenaries who took in Shez at some point after they lost their adoptive mother. She challenges Jeralt's Mercenaries and is killed in battle by Byleth.
----
* DecapitatedArmy: With her defeat, the rest of her mercenary band quickly collapses against Jeralt's forces.
* DoomedByCanon: Considering Jeralt and Byleth are both fine at the start of ''Three Houses'', her plan to usurp their status as top dog was doomed from the start.
* GloryHound: Her entire reason for targeting Jeralt's Mercenaries is just to boost the reputation of her own mercenary band.
* SacrificialLamb: She and her mercenaries are killed off in their first mission to motivate Shez to get revenge.
* SuicidalOverconfidence: While it's understandable not to expect it from someone that looks so young, she still recognises Byleth as [[TheDreaded the Ashen Demon]] and not only taunts but challenges them, leading to her entire mercenary band being ''annihilated''.
* WeHardlyKnewYe: She's killed toward the end of the first battle in ''Three Hopes''.
* YouMonster: Her final words are calling Byleth a monster.
--> '''Berling:''' No... Just when my dreams was... finally in sight... You... monster...
[[/folder]]


!Other Characters
[[folder:Sothis]]
!!Sothis
!!!'''Height:''' 135 cm
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TomoyoKurosawa (Japanese), Creator/CassandraLeeMorris (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_sothis.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see Sothis in ''Fire Emblem Heroes'']]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sothisfeh.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Girl on the Throne]]'']]
->''"Your will and mine are now as one. Both sides of time are revealed to you...and you alone. You know I am the Beginning. What will you do?"''
A mysterious girl with no memory of herself or her past who saves Byleth during a fateful night. She does not physically appear, appearing only inside their mind, so nobody except Byleth knows of her existence.
----
* AmbiguousSituation: Sothis's S-Support implies that she fell in love with Byleth during the course of the game. She has no other RelationshipValues, and the player can choose to S-Support her without any prior effort. If Byleth reciprocates, Sothis wonders if her own feelings somehow influenced theirs. No other ending is able to confirm or deny this, as Sothis never reappears.
* AmnesiacHero: She's lost all of her memories except her own name, but regains bits and pieces over the course of the game.
* AncientAstronauts: [[spoiler:She arrived in Fódlan before the beginning of recorded history, long before the War of Heroes, from... somewhere else.]]
* AnguishedDeclarationOfLove: When Byleth overhears Sothis wonder if her own feelings subtly influenced Byleth, a flustered Sothis decides to come clean and confess her love.
-->"Oh, fine! I shall admit... I do. I love you deeply! Overwhelmingly! Passionately! Ours is a love without an end!"
* AntiquatedLinguistics: Despite looking like a young girl, her speech patterns are somewhat archaic.
* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Implied to be what happens to her [[spoiler:when she fuses with Byleth, as well as something of an innate/special nature of how her soul works. In Cindered Shadows Rhea explains that Sothis' soul is "omnipresent" (implied to mean she is present in both the material and nonmaterial world, but not all-knowing and literally everywhere at once) which is why it is at all possible to revive her (normal souls pass on completely to the afterlife and no known method can return them). We see this displayed by how even after seemingly leaving Byleth as a independent mind, she remains aware of the overall state of events in Fódlan and through Byleth can continue to influence the material world. She also is able to speak with Rhea when Rhea has a near death experience. Likewise, near the start of the game when she first reverses time, the magic circle she summons has the phrase "the goddess always lives in heaven and Fódlan." If S-ranked she can reverse this state and return to a more limited existence in Byleth's soul.]]
* BewareTheNiceOnes: Sothis appears to have made it her mission in life to teach and aid [[spoiler:entire civilizations. Push her hard enough and you'll be reminded that the kindly serial uplifter is a dragon goddess of time and perfectly capable of wiping highly advanced civilizations off the map if given enough reason to do so.]]
* BigDamnHeroes: Despite having already [[spoiler:merged with Byleth and giving up most of her individual personality,]] it's ultimately Sothis that [[spoiler:wakes Byleth from their five year long coma.]]
* BizarreAlienBiology:
** She has [[spoiler:a rock for a heart (a trait shared by her children) and can asexually reproduce with her own blood, though the children produced seemingly cannot reproduce this way and are never as powerful, lacking many of her other abilities. She can also shapeshift at will (her appearance as a young girl is stated to be the result of her changing her form to resemble a human) and has enough scientific knowledge to assist in building a futuristic {{Magitek}} society capable of making robots and [=ICBMs=]. Justified, as Rhea's explanation that Sothis came to the continent from "somewhere far away and descended upon [Fódlan]" implies that Sothis is an alien, though it's impossible to know for sure, as Sothis seemingly never spoke about where she came from and doesn't remember her past life anymore to confirm it.]]
** Related to the above, a text found in the Abyss library that may have been written by an [[spoiler:Agarthan refers to Sothis (or "the False God" as they call her) as having a "looming, heteromorphic vessel"]] suggesting that Sothis used a monstrous transformation in battle, or that they were at least aware she had more than one form.
* BrattyHalfPint: Downplayed. Sothis has a penchant for condescension and sarcasm, but she wants what's best for Byleth and sometimes has to be a little harsh with them.
* DarkIsNotEvil: In ''Heroes'', Sothis is a Mythic Hero of Dark, but in reality she is actually a good person underneath her rough exterior.
* DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Once you learn her backstory, she is basically [[spoiler:a divine dragon champion for humanity in the vein of [[Characters/FireEmblemRecurringCharacters Naga]], [[Characters/FireEmblemGaiden Mila, and pre-degeneration Duma]] and [[Characters/FireEmblemFatesOtherCharacters Anankos]]]] gone horribly wrong. [[spoiler:Like previous such characters, she is a powerful dragon who is worshipped by humanity and can empower humans with blood-bonding. However, Nemesis murdered her in order to take that kind of power for himself and his followers, and in the present Rhea deliberately cultivates her reputation as an omnipotent creator goddess to justify several actions that are morally dubious at best and flat-out tyrannical at worst.]]
* {{Deuteragonist}}: She is the secondary main character of Part I, and a significant part of the story is devoted to finding out who she is and why she's hitching a ride in your skull.
* DivineDate: Due to both [[spoiler:her status as the Goddess of the Church of Seiros]] as well as [[spoiler:her status as one of Byleth's]] romance options.
* DoNotTauntCthulhu: [[spoiler:The Agarthans, in their arrogance, attempted to kill Sothis with all of the technology they had. Sothis responded by destroying the Agarthans and wiping their civilization off the map. [[BrokeYourArmOutPunchingCthulhu That said, the surviving Agarthans were able to eventually kill Sothis after she went to sleep after reforming the land, but the civilization that they had built was already long gone]].]]
* DoesNotLikeShoes: She's barefoot, only wearing a pair of very large gold anklets with sapphire stones. She does get a pair for her winter variation in ''Heroes'' and another pair for her Harvest variation in said game.
* DragonsAreDivine: While not explicitly confirmed [[spoiler:as a dragon in her home game, the fact that all her children are various kinds of dragons and she herself is definitely an otherworldly existence at minimum bordering on the divine (and certainly worshiped as such) makes her this.]]
* FusionDance: To save Byleth and herself from [[spoiler:being in a FateWorseThanDeath inflicted by Solon, she merges her powers and most of her being with Byleth. This awakens the Sword of the Creator into the Sublime Sword of the Creator, gives Byleth the Enlightened One Class, and causes their hair and eyes to turn almost the same shades of green as Rhea's. She vanishes for a good portion of the game after, but makes a few comments to indicate she has a presence still.]]
* TheGadfly: In addition to [[LittleMissSnarker her snarky attitude]], Sothis has a tendency to be this and TheTease.
* GaiasLament: [[spoiler:In the distant past, after she was forced to annihilate the ancient Agarthans, Sothis spent much of her energy restoring the earth back to a livable state. Unfortunately, the now-drained Sothis had to rest, and the machinations of those who slither in the dark resulted in her getting slain in her sleep and things getting worse from there.]]
* GaiasVengeance: [[spoiler:In the distant past, the ancient civilization of Agartha dared to strike against her in their hubris. Sothis' vengeance stomped them so hard that they were forced to go underground and become those who slither in the dark. A text in the Abyss library refers to her as enacting cruel retribution upon "the children of men who spilled too much of the blood of life" by flooding the land with despair (it's unclear just what this flood really is).]]
* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Zig-zagged. In NewGamePlus, [[spoiler:once she disappears, the Byleth of the opposite gender takes her place in the Holy Tomb. However she still comes out to activate "Sothis Shield" when you use it.]]
* GodIsDead: [[spoiler:PlayedWith. She was murdered by Nemesis a thousand years ago so he could use her corpse as materials to make the Sword of the Creator. That said, her soul still lives on, she is still able to affect the world with Divine Pulse, and even her FusionDance with Byleth doesn't actually destroy her as an individual.]]
* GodIsGood: The [[spoiler:Goddess worshiped by the Church of Seiros]] is Sothis. [[spoiler:She's as benign as the Church proclaims her to be, even if others believe it to be a lie. [[CorruptChurch The Church and Seiros, on the other hand, are not necessarily as good.]]]]
* GoodIsNotSoft: Despite her kind nature, even as an amnesiac, Sothis sometimes displays a quite merciless view on justice that is, perhaps not surprisingly, similar to that of [[spoiler:her daughter Rhea]]. Particularly when it comes to certain affronts to what her people regard as very important/sacred. She feels grateful to Byleth for them killing off the bandits who trespassed in Zanado, and in the DLC this is slightly expanded on: in Abyss, Byleth can encounter a survivor from Kostas' gang, who begs that Byleth not report their presence as he is quite certain he will be executed by the Knights of Seiros for his crimes. Byleth can let them go after making them swear to never harm another person again, but should they turn the bandit in Sothis will be pleased (shown by her support rank rising). That said, she never pushes for Byleth to take any particular action when it comes to mercy or justice in the story, wanting them to make their own decisions.
* HiddenDepths: One of the memories she regains [[spoiler:is that she once wrote a song, which Rhea is heard singing on the night of the ball]].
* HistoricalBadassUpgrade: [[spoiler:She's by no means a weakling, having the ability to block orbital bombardments and heal a ravaged continent through nothing but sheer personal power. However, the texts of Seiros portray her as an omnipotent, omniscient capital-G Goddess, a level of power she isn't quite capable of.]]
* ItsAllMyFault: Downplayed. [[spoiler:She comes to the conclusion that Byleth's [[TheStoic stoic]] behavior from infancy is because she was sleeping within them for most of their life. She is remorseful about it, but isn't given the chance to dwell on it too much, as she and Byleth [[FusionDance combine souls]] soon after.]]
* ItIsDehumanizing: An Abyss text written by one who slithers in the dark only refers to Sothis as an "it".
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sothis is very sharp-tongued, and much of her early dialogue is scolding Byleth. But every decision she makes is to Byleth's benefit, from saving their life when they almost took a blow for Edelgard at the beginning, to giving them the Divine Pulse ability to turn back time, to [[spoiler:sacrificing her individuality to fuse with Byleth so Byleth can escape Solon's trap.]]
* LittleMissAlmighty: She appears as a little girl, and was the single most powerful entity in Fódlan. A text in Abyss, likely written by an [[spoiler:Agarthan, describes how in their war with her they used their weapons to the point that several nations/lands were destroyed by them, only for Sothis to remain standing. Averted though in the form the Agarthans knew her as, which is the adult woman briefly seen near the start of the game looking down from her throne.]]
* LittleMissSnarker: The little girl in Byleth's head is quite sharp-tongued. She retains this trait during Byleth's ''Smash Bros.'' reveal trailer; some things never change.
* LivingMemory: She's the [[spoiler:ghostly impression of the dead goddess of the Church of Seiros, remaining fully sapient, though she's lost her memories of her life.]] Only Byleth can see or hear her when she manifests in the physical world, and she exists only within Byleth's mind and soul, communicating with them through their dreams.
* LuminescentBlush: While all characters have this to varying degrees, Sothis' blush covers about half her face.
* TheMaker: She's [[spoiler:the goddess of the Church of Seiros, and she created the [[OurDragonsAreDifferent dragons]], who naturally are known as the "Children of the Goddess," out of her own blood. The blade created from her bones is fittingly called the Sword of the ''Creator.'' How much of the rest of creation she is responsible for is ambiguous, however. When she first summons the magic circle to turn back time, among the sentences that swirl about it are phrases such as referring to the goddess as the "mother of all". These phrases are presumably true things about her given they are independent of any doctored lore, though how literal they are is still ambiguous. In ''Heroes'' she implies she's had at least some role in the creation of multiple worlds (pondering if the world of ''Heroes'' is one of the worlds she made), though it's not clear if that included the formation of life in those worlds or if she still had the power to do such things after she started living in Fódlan (her being exhausted just by restoring Fódlan implies she does not).]]
* MeaningfulName: ''Sothis'' is the Greek pronunciation of ''Sopdet'', an Egyptian goddess who is the personification of the star Sirius. In Egypt, Sirius was a very positive star, as its reappearance marked the flooding of the Nile and the return of fertility to the land. In Greece, Sirius was negative, appearing during the long, hot summer. And indeed, she is the Goddess who is called the "Fell Star" by those who slither in the dark, all of whom have Greek names and, interestingly, were originally banished from the surface by a flood Sothis called forth.
* MysteriousWaif: Just what she is remains a mystery even to her for most of the game, though her appearance suggests that she may be a Manakete like [[Characters/FireEmblemRecurringCharacters Tiki]] or [[Characters/FireEmblemAwakeningFirstGenerationFemales Nowi]]. [[spoiler:This is given a lot of weight with the reveal of Rhea being a Sky Dragon, and her appearance in ''Heroes'' confirms that Sothis is a Divine Dragon (though curiously, she doesn't transform in battle). Even when her identity is revealed, her origin remains mysterious. That mythology refers to her as having arrived on a star, and those who slither in the dark even calling her "Fell Star" could imply that she actually came from another world entirely. Furthermore, while the Children of the Goddess like Seiros and Cichol are referred to as her children, it's stated she "made" them, not that she birthed them, and she made them by somehow using her own blood. As such, it just adds even more mystery to what exactly she is.]]
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Uplifting the people that would become [[spoiler:those who slither in the dark with technology resulted in them using weapons of mass destruction left and right, eventually trying to kill her with an {{orbital bombardment}}. It ends up being a CurbStompBattle in Sothis' favor, but she still had to sleep for a long time after fixing the entire continent, which allowed Nemesis to get the drop on her and kill her, then desecrate her corpse to make the Sword of the Creator.]]
* NotQuiteDead: Her physical body was [[spoiler:killed by Nemesis to create the Relic weapons, but being an immortal goddess of time, that doesn't completely finish her off, and she remains alive in spirit form.]] Later, she says she'll vanish when [[spoiler:she and Byleth perform their FusionDance. However, it's her voice that wakes Byleth from their coma. This is the most we hear from her after the FusionDance... unless Byleth S-Supports her. She implies she likely could have popped back up at any time if she chose to. That is rather than having truly vanished when her powers and spirit fused with Byleth, her mind is actually quite intact but in another world, as she states in the S support that she came back to "this world" because Byleth was lonely. She likewise will speak with Rhea, presumably from this other world, as Rhea mentions talking with her during her near death experience in her own S support with Byleth.]]
* OlderThanTheyLook: While she looks like a young girl, Sothis claims she is actually much older and is described as talking like an old lady. [[spoiler:While datamining reveals her current body (as least as Byleth sees her) is biologically 9 years old, her actual age is unknown and she lost her original body over a thousand years ago, but before that she had already been in Fódlan for over a thousand years (albeit an unknown amount of that time was spent in dormancy). Artwork depicting a Church of Seiros fresco of the goddess is implied to be Sothis' original appearance in life, as is a figure briefly seen near the start of the game, both confirmed in an interview to be the humanoid form Sothis had in life.]]
* PersonOfMassDestruction: At her full power, Sothis is far and away the most powerful being in Fódlan. [[spoiler:The nation of Agartha possessed magitech equivalents to modern weapons and beyond, including ballistic missiles and mechs. When they attacked Sothis... they were utterly destroyed in the war that ensued (Sothis built the Holy Tomb to protect her children from Agarthan weapons, but there is no sign she herself needed protection). Those who slither in the dark are their remnants. This didn't even tire her — fixing the damage to the continent over a immense period of time did.]]
* PhysicalGoddess: [[spoiler:When she was alive, she easily qualified as this. She was able to single-handedly take on a nation that had technology equal to or greater than modern-day Earth, including ''orbital bombardment'', and heal all the damage afterwards, albeit at the cost of needing to go into a coma-like sleep afterwards to heal]].
* PointyEars: [[spoiler:Like her children]], she sports these.
* PreAsskickingOneLiner: Sothis has one of these, but because she is only an NPC, it [[DummiedOut cannot be heard in normal gameplay]].
-->"''Leave all to me.''"
* RecurringElement: She takes after Naga and her successors, [[spoiler:i.e. a divine dragon who continues to watch over and influence the material world well after they lose their body and become spirits. Of course there are notable differences in the path they take to becoming like this, and even to their own natures (i.e. Naga stating she is not a god while Sothis states she is one).]]
* RedBaron: When she properly introduces herself to Byleth, Sothis says that she's also known as "The Beginning." Those who slither in the dark refer to her (and by extension Byleth) as "the Fell Star." At one point, Thales also calls her "the defiled beast," though this may be a term of contempt rather than renown.
* {{Reincarnation}}: Rhea's ultimate plan was to [[spoiler:create a vessel for Sothis to reincarnate into, something Byleth inadvertently became. However, Sothis is quite content with just existing alongside Byleth's mind, though it's never made clear how she felt about the idea of reincarnating via them.]]
* RomanticFusion: Later in the game, if Byleth chooses Sothis as the partner they [[spoiler:wish to marry, Sothis will reveal that she is in love with Byleth no matter the gender and they will be married in mind, body and soul, to the degree that Sothis says that Byleth wearing one ring for the both of them is sufficient.]]
* ScrewYourself: PlayedWith and joked about if Byleth S-Supports her. [[spoiler:After joining their souls together permanently, Sothis and Byleth become nearly one and the same, to the point that when Byleth asks how they can possibly give their new wife their ring, Sothis just says to wear it themselves.]]
* SheepInSheepsClothing: As you play through the routes, you gradually learn that [[spoiler:the Church of Seiros is, while not really evil, at least keeping some major secrets from you (Rhea in particular is keeping a lot of secrets)]], so the player might suspect that Sothis, [[spoiler:the goddess worshiped by the church, is also shady]]. As it turns out, while she can be sharp-tongued, Sothis really ''is'' [[spoiler:the benevolent goddess she's worshiped as; she even sacrifices her individuality to fuse with Byleth to help them escape Solon's trap]] Granted, [[spoiler:one of the books of dubious validity in the Abyss library paints Sothis as a false goddess who floods the world with "Despair" when mankind commits too many atrocities.]]
* ShesGotLegs: Her artwork puts a lot of emphasis on them, at least.
* SlainInTheirSleep: [[spoiler:Sothis was killed by Nemesis while she was in her coma-like sleep.]]
* SleepModeSize: PlayedWith. [[spoiler:Sothis is weaker within Byleth's mind than she was in life (unable to use her true power directly as she lacks a body), but her form is not due to weakness specifically so much as remembering so little about herself, including what she looks like. Thus, according to a [[https://serenesforest.net/2020/03/24/three-houses-nintendo-dream-interview-reveals-first-route-claudes-real-name/ interview]] she adopted a form that was "halfway" to her original humanoid form, in both shape and size. This original form is seen briefly near the start of the game.]]
* SpannerInTheWorks: She ends up being this [[spoiler:to Seiros', aka Rhea's, entire plan when she merges with Byleth. Rhea wanted nothing more than to bring back Sothis via Byleth, but never expected Sothis to ''not be interested''.]]
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Sothis's dress is cut in [[AbsoluteCleavage such]] [[SexyBacklessOutfit a]] [[ShowSomeLeg way]] that would ''easily'' make her a MsFanservice if she wasn't so youthful looking.
* SymbioticPossession: For the first half of the game various characters (such as Indech and Seteth) believe Sothis has in a sense [[spoiler:reincarnated/incarnated in Byleth, her mind/memories being treated as something like a suppressed side of Byleth. In fact, they are truly different spirits]], so they share the body and regard themselves as separate individuals. Put another way, Rhea thought [[spoiler:Byleth's body had inadvertently become a vessel for Sothis's soul to escape from its SoulJar, but Byleth had their own soul and it ended up a mix of this trope and SharingABody, with Byleth having control over the body. Whether or not Rhea accepts that they are not and cannot become Sothis depends on the route.]]
* TimeAbyss: While it's never discussed much in-game, Sothis is easily older than recorded history in Fódlan. [[spoiler:She's also older than the recorded history of the previous civilization on Fódlan, Agartha. And going by her dialogue in ''Heroes''... she's older than recorded history for at least one other world too. Sothis is very likely the absolute oldest character in the entire franchise. A developer interview noted that if one includes everything referenced in the game's lore of Fódlan's history, then it covers as much as 10,000 years of time, and Sothis arrived at the start of that known history. And then it's implied in ''Heroes'' that she's been helping create and uplift life on numerous other worlds even before she came to Fódlan.]]
* TimeMaster: Her ability to manipulate time allows her to outright change the past, as shown when she uses it on Byleth to save them in the intro. She gives this ability to Byleth as well. This manifests in gameplay as the limited ability to undo moves, much like [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Mila's Turnwheel]].
* TogetherInDeath: In her S-Support epilogue, she promises that when Byleth inevitably dies, she will follow them to whatever afterlife awaits.
* TrulySingleParent: There's no mention of her ever having a mate, and the Children of the Goddess are stated to have been born from her blood.
* {{Tsundere}}: She constantly scolds and berates Byleth, calling them an idiot for any mistake or slight... but generally cares about them, even beyond her own self-preservation. Gets {{exaggerated|Trope}} if she is S-Supported, where she shows up because Byleth was lonely, only to berate them again. When she is ''finally'' confronted about her feelings, she loudly gushes that she is passionately, overwhelmingly in love with them.
* WalkingSpoiler: The truth behind her mysterious nature is crucial to several plot developments.
* WarGod: Dedue reveals through his supports that Sothis was incorporated into the Duscur pantheon. She was viewed as a God of War prayed to before battle.
* WhatTheHellHero: Dishes these out like candy on Halloween.
** She gives one to Rhea for [[spoiler:blindly letting a sociopathic madman work as her librarian.]]
** She gives one to Byleth for [[spoiler:falling right into Solon's trap despite Rhea telling them to their face that they were likely being baited and nearly getting the both of them killed.]]
** A more humorous example occurs when she attempts to wake Byleth from their 5 year coma; if you choose the dialogue option asking who is speaking, she berates you for forgetting so easily. If you instead comment that [[IWasHavingSuchANiceDream you're still sleepy]], she berates you for not wanting to wake up when there is a ''literal war'' going on outside. Either way, she calls you childish and more or less ''drags'' you from your slumber to kick off the second half of the plot.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Anna]]
!!Anna
!!!'''Class''': Commoner → Myrmidon → Thief → Assassin/Trickster
!!!'''Age''': 25 (6/9)
!!!'''Crest''': Ernest (Major)
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Saori Seto (Japanese), Creator/KarenStrassman (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feth_anna.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Trickster Outfit]]https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/annatrickster.png]]
[[/labelnote]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Traveling Merchant'']]
-->''"For true merchants, the customer's trust is more valuable than gold. Squander that trust, and you'll be out of business before you can say 'profits'!"''
The recurring shopkeeper of the ''Fire Emblem'' series. At some point in ''Three Houses'', Anna sets up a secret shop in the market that is outside of the monastery grounds. She can be recruited with the third wave of paid DLC.\\\

Her personal ability, ''Business Prosperity'', grants her an increase in Luck. She bears the Major Crest of Ernest, which will occasionally stop enemy counterattacks when using a weapon.
----
* BornLucky: Her personal ability, Business Prosperity, gives her a flat +5 to her Luck stat, and she has one of the highest maximum luck stats in the game, only being surpassed by Ignatz and Shamir.
* ChestInsignia: Has the Crest of Ernest, a "lost crest" on her clothing. It's not just for show either; she actually bears the Major Crest of Ernest as well.
* CurtainsMatchTheWindows: Her red eyes match her hair. Unlike the other Annas, hers are a unique fuchsia tone.
* DemotedToExtra: Unlike in ''Awakening'' and ''Fates'' (albeit as DLC for the latter), Anna returns to being a simple merchant, although she does show up in some support conversations. Even after being released as DownloadableContent, she still has no [[RelationshipValues support conversations]] of her own, so she is something of a "lesser" party member in that respect.
* DownloadableContent: She can only be recruited with DLC wave 3.
* EveryoneHasStandards: She finds merchants who scam others to be atrocious individuals, and believes they should always be honest and not trick clients.
* HiddenDepths: In Chapter 10, she compares Byleth's different appearance to how lots of things around the monastery seem different lately. She then asks if Byleth's noticed that too. [[spoiler:This foreshadows the imminent Imperial attack on the Holy Tomb.]]
* HorseArcher: Has bows as a specialty and a budding talent in Riding so she's a decent candidate for the Bow Knight class.
* MagicKnight: Has a specialty in Faith that makes it completely possible to take up the Holy Knight class. Not to mention, her canon advanced/underground class is Trickster, which specializes in both swords and magic.
* MemeticHandGesture: Wouldn't be an Anna without her finger on her cheek. She'll even do it during a critical cut-in or when using a Gambit.
* MoneyFetish: As usual, Anna's obsessed with money and charges her wares with rather high prices, something that is lampshaded by Petra early in her Support with Ashe. Unfortunately for Anna, the latter happens to be an excellent haggler and has her give them a 20% discount.
* MysteriousPast: Anna, like her sisters, is a bundle of oddities. Not only does she somehow have a Major Crest with no indication of being a noble, but apparently she also knew Jeralt long before she met Byleth.
* MythologyGag: The skills she has strong growths in can be seen as a reference to the weapon skills used by the main/primary classes of her previous playable incarnations: Swords for ''Awakening'' (Trickster) and ''Fates'' (Bow Knight), Axes for ''Heroes'', Bows for ''Fates'' (Outlaw and Adventurer or Bow Knight) and ''Warriors'', and Faith (substituting Staffs) for ''Awakening'' (Trickster) and ''Fates'' (Adventurer). Her budding talent in Riding refers to the various mounted class options they had access to, primary or alternative. She even has a custom goal set called 'Business as Usual' focusing on Faith and Sword Play.
* NewJobAsThePlotDemands: She works as everything from an apothecary, a bookseller, to even a bartender given how she shows up in multiple supports. Granted, considering [[MassiveNumberedSiblings the]] [[UncannyFamilyResemblance precedent]] [[InexplicablyIdenticalIndividuals set]] by ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'', they may not all be the same Anna.
* NoTrueScotsman: She holds Pallardó in contempt and believes he is not a true merchant due to his ruthlessness and backstabbing nature.
* OlderThanTheyLook: She looks about the same age as the students, but she's 25 pre-timeskip and 31 after it.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: After [[spoiler:Jeralt dies at the end of Chapter 9]], Anna has no sales pitches or [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall metatext]] for Byleth when talking in the monastery; just [[spoiler:mourning the loss and consoling Byleth for it.]]
* PreAsskickingOneLiner:
-->"''Aye aye!''"
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Business is booming!''"\\
"''You will pay!''"\\
"''Cha-ching!''"\\
"''I sell first-aid kits!''"
* PromotedToPlayable: She is made playable as paid DLC in wave 3.
* SecretShop: She runs one outside the monastery, which the player can gain access to by completing a sidequest in Part II.
* TarotMotifs: Through her Crest of Ernest, Anna represents TheFool, which is typically a wild card. Anna seems to be nothing more than a mere merchant, but she has a lot more potential than she lets on. The Fool is sometimes designated as Card 0 in the Major Arcana, and Anna is the only playable unit that cannot bond with other units.
* WalkingTheEarth: In her ending, [[spoiler:she uses her business savvy to help in reconstruction of Garreg Mach and then vanishes, but stories claim she continues to peddle her wares despite centuries having passed.]]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Miklan]]
!!Miklan Anschutz Gautier
!!!'''Class:''' Armored Knight → [[spoiler:Black Beast]]
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Daisuke Endou (Japanese), Creator/ArmenTaylor (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/miklan_portrait.png]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[[labelnote:White Clouds spoilers]]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/small_portrait_black_beast_fe16.png]][[/labelnote]]
Eldest child of the Margraviate of Gautier. Due to Miklan lacking a Crest, his younger brother Sylvain became heir to House Gautier in his stead. He has turned to banditry and desires one of the legendary weapons.
----
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:His transformation into a beast]] was something unexpected and [[spoiler:a horrible way to go]], but given how he's a violent thief who tormented Sylvain for much of his life, it's hard to feel sorry for him. The revelation that his villainy goes further than being a murderous bully certainly didn't help his case, either.
* BigBrotherBully: His resentment toward Sylvain resulted in him bullying him growing up. One of the worst instances was pushing Sylvain down a well and then leaving him there. It's also stated that he made multiple attempts on Sylvain's life, in the latter's supports with Mercedes and Byleth.
* CainAndAbel: Has a murderous grudge against his younger brother Sylvain.
* EvilRedhead: His hair is a faded shade of red, and his horrible abuse of Sylvain and [[RapePillageAndBurn savage behavior as a bandit leader]] show that he's quite the nasty piece of work.
* ForTheEvulz: His gang of thieves raids several villages, apparently for fun, and taking so much that the villagers will have difficulty surviving the winter. While Dimitri can understand stealing in order to survive, even if he disapproves of it, he considers this [[ThisIsUnforgivable unforgivable]]. Yuri also states that he’s infamous for terrorizing towns in Margrave Gautier’s territory, stealing food and abducting women.
* FreudianExcuse: He was denied his inheritance as a first-born just because he wasn't born with a Crest, something he had absolutely no control over. This prompted the murderous resentment that eventually led to him being disowned and then becoming a bandit.
* FreudianExcuseIsNoExcuse: Although he has justified reasons for being bitter about the Crest system and being passed over because of it, several characters (Sylvain and Claude most notably) point out how ultimately that doesn't justify any of the things he does. If Sylvain's supports are to go by, Miklan was a terrible person before he was disowned, even trying to drown Sylvain once by pushing him in a well. It's very likely that ''this'' is what led to his family outright disowning him, and not merely being born without a Crest. If Sylvain fights Miklan, he yells at him about how he's sick and tired of Miklan blaming him for everything bad that happened to him, even though Sylvain isn't responsible for it.
* GoodScarsEvilScars: He's the leader of a gang of bandits that steal a Hero Relic to aid in their plundering of villages. Unlike his smooth-skinned younger brother, Miklan has a large nasty-looking scar running down his face and a smaller one on his chin.
* GreenEyedMonster: Envied Sylvain all his life, blaming every problem on him due to his brother bearing a Crest in his stead.
* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Wanted the power of the Crests or their weapons for himself after being denied it by his birth.
* KarmicTransformation: Wanted to be special, and so ended up [[spoiler:transforming into the Black Beast, a special form of monstrosity, from misusing a Relic weapon without a Crest]].
* LoneWolfBoss: He's the only enemy in Part I who isn't connected in some way to the Flame Emperor or "those who slither in the dark".
* NeverMyFault: He blames Sylvain for all of his problems in life, ignoring the fact that he was the one who chose to become a murderous, pillaging bandit. If Sylvain confronts him, Sylvain calls him out on how he's always blamed him for his problems despite it being something he had no control over.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''You can't stop me!''"\\
"''You brat!''"\\
"''The relic's power is mine!''"\\
"''Out of my way!''"
* PsychopathicManchild: Miklan's personality can be accurately summed up as that of an overgrown teenager throwing a particularly violent temper tantrum, with his constant attacks on his father's territory and stealing the family Hero's Relic coming off as a childish, if dangerous way of acting out.
* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: While it's never blatantly mentioned, Yuri's disgust towards Miklan is ''strongly'' indicated to be due to this, with him citing his frequent abductions of women as a vile sort of line he'd never cross.
* RapePillageAndBurn: What his gang of bandits does.
* SympathyForTheDevil: His FreudianExcuse of being disowned for not having a Crest causes some characters such as Edelgard and Dimitri to pity him.
* TarotMotifs:
** Death, which signifies change. [[spoiler:He certainly changes alright, and his transformation into a Black Beast leads to his own death. Interestingly, his Beast form has [[https://imgur.com/a/dQamxVH a marking on the face]] that has 'DEATH XIII' and the Gautier Crest on it, implying that it was completely intentional.]]
** The reverse also serves true. That signifies refusal of necessary but painful change, hopes destroyed, and stagnation. His lack of a crest destroyed his hopes as he became ineligible for the head of the family. He stagnated as soon as Sylvain was born, as he piled all of his problems on the one with the crest and tried to give up all responsibility in life because he was crestless. This refusal to change is reflected by him running a bandit crew for as long as he could. If he accepted his faults and tried to make amends instead, he could have gotten over his jealousy [[spoiler:and never steal the Lance of Ruin, avoiding his death. As Edlegard's comments show, he could have been a respected and powerful individual if he applied his talents toward a better cause.]]
* TsurimeEyes: In contrast to his younger brother, he has these to signify that he is dangerous.
* TheUnfavorite: Margrave Gautier desired only a child with a Crest to be his heir (as had been the custom for the family for ages, as being able to wield their Relic weapon was essential for defending their land). Miklan being born without it already made him a disappointment, but Sylvain being born with it just cemented Miklan's status as the eternal unfavorite.
* WakeUpCallBoss: He's the first boss type enemy that you have to actually be smart about fighting (not counting the Death Knight who is optional). He wields the Lance of Ruin and is an armored unit, requiring the player to carefully plan how they will approach him. In addition, due to how the map is setup you need to fight through a gauntlet of enemies to reach him, meaning you need to plan for fighting him, and dealing with his goons. [[spoiler:His second form]] is a brutal wake-up, [[spoiler:introducing monster enemies and their tactics. He's almost certain to plaster Gilbert, and is likely to take out one or two of your own students if you're not careful.]] Essentially he acts as a test of a players ability to properly make sure they know how to equip their characters.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Because Miklan is a LoneWolfBoss who is not related to the game's main conflict, he does not appear in the ''Three Hopes'' demo due to how vastly the story steers from the original path, and as such his current situation is not known.
* WouldHitAGirl: Or would abduct a girl, according to Yuri. What he does with the girls he abducts is left up in the air.
* YouCouldHaveUsedYourPowersForGood: Edelgard notes that despite not possessing a Crest, Miklan managed to make something of himself by becoming the leader of a successful group of bandits, demonstrating that he had fine leadership and strategic skills and charisma. She scorns the prevailing idea among nobility that Crests are the be-all, end-all of potential, and wonders what he could have done as a noble with proper training.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shahid]]
!!'''Shahid the Great'''
!!!'''Class:''' Gurgan
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shahid_3h_portrait.png]]
A prince from Almyra who wants to take over Fódlan in order to impress his father, best his brother, and get the throne.
----
* AnAxeToGrind: He wields the axe Dahaka.
* BigBrotherBully: Implied to be a jerk of an elder brother towards Khalid/[[spoiler:Claude]].
* {{Bishonen}}: He seems slightly androgynous.
* CainAndAbel: The Cain to Khalid/[[spoiler:Claude]]'s Abel.
* ClimaxBoss: The last boss before the TimeSkip in the Golden Wildfire route of ''Three Hopes''.
* CoolCrown: He wears a gold circlet with a red jewel inlaid to emphasize his status as a prince of Almyra.
* DragonRider: He rides a wyvern.
* TheEvilPrince: He is ready to attack a neighbouring country in order to impress his dad and get the throne [[spoiler:and has no problem trying to kill his little brother on the way]].
* FailedASpotCheck: Even after shouting at Claude that he reminds him of his brother, Shahid somehow does not connect enough of the dots to realize that [[spoiler:Claude ''is'' his younger brother.]]
* FantasticRacism: He calls the people of Fodlan "brutes", among other things, and considers them all beneath him.
* GoldColoredSuperiority: He wears a golden armor , is the prince of Almyra and the first ClimaxBoss.
* HateSink: The guy is a {{Jerkass}} with no redeeming qualities so far.
* {{Jerkass}}: His interactions with Nader and Claude show him to be an arrogant, prejudiced, vindictive, and overall unpleasant human being.
* OpportunisticBastard: He takes advantage of the internal strife plaguing Adrestia and Faerghus to launch an invasion of Leicester. Unfortunately for him, he badly underestimates the Golden Deer, and pays for it with a beatdown and the humiliation of failure.
* OutsideContextProblem: InUniverse he's this. His sudden attack on Fódlan comes out of nowhere and poses such a major threat that Claude has to step up and lead a defense of Fódlan's Locket while the rest of Fódlan is dealing with political shakeups. Pretty much all of the Alliance aligned characters express confusion and concern for him doing so.
* RecurringElement: He's an ambitious DragonRider antagonising his younger sibling like [[Characters/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLightNonPlayableCharacters Michalis]] and a complete jerk like [[Characters/FireEmblemTheBindingBladePlayableCharacters Narcian]].
* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: His outfit is partially red and black and he's pretty much evil.
* SmugSnake: He believes that the Alliance's warlords are beneath him and calls himself "Shahid The Great". He's also confident that he will win over Khalid in their clash to get the throne. More than that, he believes he'll be able to lead his army of poorly motivated soldiers (who know they are acting against their king's orders) to conquer all of Fódlan. Even with two of the nations dealing with their own internal issues, his invasion is a foolish display of overconfidence. [[spoiler:Not to mention, ''he doesn't even recognize his own brother.'']]
* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks a lot like his younger brother [[spoiler:Khalid/Claude]], but with wider lips. Which makes it baffling that he fails to recognize that Claude [[spoiler:''is'' Khalid]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Nader]]
!!'''Nader the Undefeated'''
!!!'''Class:''' Wyvern Lord
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Ryo Sugisaki (Japanese), Brad Venable[[note]]Credited as "D. Roy Bradley"[[/note]] (English, ''Three Houses'')
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/nader_three_hopes.png]]
A warrior general of Almyra who despite his jovial nature has no issues leading his people in raids against Fódlan. He is also Claude's former combat instructor and occasionally does him favors while posing as a retainer named "Nardel".
----
* ActionDad: Implied. Claude and Balthus's ending in Verdant Wind says that the latter goes on to become Nader's son-in-law, suggesting that Balthus married Nader's child.
* AnAxeToGrind: His main weapon is an axe.
* BigDamnHeroes:
** On the Verdant Wind route, [[spoiler:he joins forces with the Alliance to attack the Empire during the siege of Fort Merceus.]]
** He tries to do this on the Crimson Flower route [[spoiler:to support Claude against the Black Eagle Strike Force, during their invasion of Derdriu, but his forces and himself are overpowered.]]
* BigFun: He has a gut, but he's very jovial even to his enemies.
* BoisterousBruiser: He goes into battle with laughter and a smile.
* ContractualBossImmunity: He has General as his personal skill.
* DragonRider: His class is Wyvern Lord, and when he appears as a boss he's always accompanied by ever-spawning numbers of wyvern riders.
* FashionableAsymmetry: His left arm is sleeveless compared to his right.
* FourStarBadass: Portrayed as one of Almyra's premier and most well known generals and he has both the brain and brawn to back said status.
* FriendlyEnemy: In Edelgard's paralogue, he sincerely compliments the player characters on having the courage to face him, and maintains a jovial, amicable tone throughout the battle.
* ImprobableAimingSkills: As Alliance forces infiltrate [[spoiler:Fort Merceus, Nader enters with forces of his own. He and Claude meet in a test of skill and draw their bows toward each other, and the arrows collide mid-air]].
* KryptoniteProofSuit: Always carries an Aurora Shield on his inventory, which allows him to remove his class' weakness to bows.
* LightningBruiser: He's quite fast and resilient in battle.
* OutOfFocus: Unlike many other significant [=NPCs=], he doesn't appear at all on the Silver Snow and Azure Moon routes.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Accept the inevitable!''"\\
"''I am undefeated!''"\\
"''My skill is unmatched!''"\\
"''A thrill of battle!''"
* RedBaron:
** He is referred to as "The Undefeatable." However, Judith snarks about how the name [[CowardlyLion came from him running away from battle before he could be defeated.]] This point gets repeated in his own words when he is driven off in ''Three Hopes.'' As far as he's concerned, its simply smart to not keep fighting a battle you can't win.
** On the Crimson Flower route, [[spoiler:after the fall of the Leicester Alliance, facing him in an unlockable paralogue with Edelgard will have the two amusingly comment they'll have to call him "The Once Defeated" after his defeat at Derdriu now and that it doesn't have the same ring to it.]]
* SmarterThanYouLook: While it would be very easy to write him off only as a HotBlooded, BoisterousBruiser, his interactions with [[SmugSnake Shahid]] in ''Three Hopes'' basically shows that one does not become one of Almyra's top [[FourStarBadass generals]] without brains. He immediately counsels Shahid not to rush Fódlan's Locket without a plan because that's a worthless waste of resources and advises him not to underestimate Holst. And while he might be a ProudWarriorRaceGuy like most Almyrans, he's wise enough to clearly KnowWhenToFoldEm. You actually get the idea that he much prefers to be [[spoiler:Claude/Khalid's retainer]] than Shahid's because of it.
* SueDonym: He poses as a retainer named "Nardel" whenever Claude needs him to do a favor within Fódlan.
* TurnsRed: He has access to the [[ActionInitiative Desperation]] and Defiant Avoid skills.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: On the Verdant Wind route, he makes no other appearances after Chapter 18.
* WorthyOpponent: ''Three Hopes'' shows that he holds Holst in this regard, warning [[SmugSnake Shahid]] to ''not'' underestimate the Goneril General and having a warrior like respect for the other man.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Pallardó]]
!!'''Pallardó'''
!!!'''Class:''' Thief
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Tasuku Kida (Japanese), Joe J. Thomas (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pallard3f_portrait.png]]
A bandit leader that takes refuge in the ruins of Garreg Mach monastery during the time skip.
----
* AlasPoorVillain: Subverted. After he's killed during Reunion at Dawn, Seteth remarks that Pallardó used to be a merchant in the Garreg Mach region, but after the monastery's defeat at the hands of the Empire, he was among the people who fell on hard times and turned to banditry to get by. Anna's Paralogue, however, reveals he was always a thug exploiting people for a profit.
* BodyDouble: The first Pallardó you face down during Reunion at Dawn is one of these; after his defeat, the real one comes out of hiding. Incidentally, this makes him and his double a close approximation of the recurring "bandit twins" archetype seen throughout the rest of the franchise.
* GetBackHereBoss: After you defeat his body double in Reunion at Dawn, the real Pallardó comes out of hiding and tries to flee the battlefield; you're then tasked with defeating him before he escapes.
* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: On the Azure Moon and Verdant Wind routes, you can fight him in Anna's paralogue in Part I, but he gets away with trying to screw Anna out of her profits and kill her and her friends. He isn't so lucky when you fight him in Chapter 13.
* KilledOffscreen: His fate in the Crimson Flower version of Anna's DLC Paralogue, where [[spoiler:he's disposed of by Jeritza]].
* LoneWolfBoss: He's the first boss of the second part of the game in three routes out of four, but he has no ties with any of the major factions battling each other.
* MuggingTheMonster: In Anna's DLC Paralogue, he is confident that his mercenaries are capable of double-crossing Anna, but he is unaware that she has connections to some of the strongest warriors in the Church of Seiros. It's even worse on the Crimson Flower route, where [[{{Irony}} he fails to realize that Anna has]] [[spoiler: [[TheDreaded the Death Knight]]]] [[DidntSeeThatComing on her side]], and he pays for this mistake [[KilledOffscreen with his life]].
* OptionalBoss: Is the boss of Anna and Jeritza's [=DLC=] Paralogue.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''My, my!''"\\
"''I'll take your money and your life!''"\\
"''What did you expect out of a bandit?''"\\
"''Empty your pockets!''"
* StarterVillain: He's the first enemy fought during Part II for all routes save Crimson Flower, [[spoiler:as on that route Garreg Mach has become a base of operations for the Empire. Instead, he becomes an OptionalBoss on the Crimson Flower route through Anna's Paralogue]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Gatekeeper]]
!!'''The Gatekeeper'''
!!!'''Class:''' Soldier (''[[TabletopGame/FireEmblemCipher Cipher]]''), Green Mage (''[[VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes Heroes]]'')
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/ShinobuMatsumoto (Japanese), Creator/KyleMcCarley (English)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/fe16_soldier_portrait.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[labelnote:Click here to see the Gatekeeper in ''Fire Emblem Heroes'']]\\
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brave_gatekeeper_feh.png[[/labelnote]]]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''[[{{Catchphrase}} Nothing to Report]]'']]
-->''"Greetings, Professor! Nothing to report!"''
The unnamed watchman who guards the monastery's main gates. He will often discuss the current goings-on with Byleth.
----
* BackupTwin: [[spoiler:Played with; if the player chooses to side with Edelgard, after the timeskip the Gatekeeper will have an unique dialogue mentioning the fact he has a twin brother after the realization there is still a Gatekeeper in Crimson Flower; probably intented to be a joke for the fact that all the generic male soldiers look the same.]]
* BlowThatHorn: As a playable unit in ''Heroes'', his personal weapon ([[ImprobableWeaponUser and that's putting it loosely]]) is the Charging Horn, which he uses to summon a stampede of the other cast members.
* BreakoutCharacter: He's nothing but a MauveShirt, but his unexpected popularity due to his kind demeanor and catchy catchphrase led to him getting cameos in ''Cipher'' and ''Super Smash Bros.'' and winning Choose Your Legends 5 with more votes than either of the top two most voted heroines ''combined''.
* TheCameo: He makes an appearance in the Garreg Mach Monastery stage in ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'', watching the fight along with Dimitri, Dedue, and Ingrid in the marketplace.
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Greetings, Professor! Nothing to report!" [[NoExceptYes Which is always followed by a discussion of current events.]]
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: He's still refered to as the Gatekeeper even in ''Heroes''. [[spoiler: It's more apparent in the Forging Bonds event when fellow ''Three Houses'' representative Marianne [[SayMyName calls out to him using his title]] when Thòrr is close to breaking him.]]
* ManlyTears: He can barely hold himself together talking to Byleth [[spoiler:after Jeralt's death.]]
* NiceGuy: He's never anything but cheerful and polite in his conversations.
* NoNameGiven: Despite being a recurring character, he's only ever called Gatekeeper.
* PreMortemOneLiner: In ''Heroes'':
-->''"Stop right there!"''\\
''"The way is shut!"''\\
''"No one gets through!"''\\
''"You're suspicious!"''
* PromotedToPlayable: He won the 5th Choose Your Legends contest, earning himself a spot as a playable unit in ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes''.
* TheRunaway: In ''Three Hopes'' he reveals that he's actually an Adrestia native who ran off to Garreg Mach when he was younger. He comes back to Adrestia to help Edelgard's army at the request of his parents during the TimeSkip. He's happy to have reconciled with his family, but admits he does not like that he now has to fight against Garreg Mach.
* SubvertedCatchphrase:
** In Chapter 6, when [[spoiler:Flayn is abducted]], he drops his usual greeting in favor of "Greetings, Professor! Today... there is quite a bit to report!"
** In Chapter 12 [[spoiler:on all routes other than Crimson Flower]], he states, "Greetings, Professor! Something to report!" That something is [[spoiler:the Imperial army coming down on all of your heads.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: To protecting the gate; it's pretty much a gag with him considering it's how he finds familiarity when summoned in ''Heroes''.
* YouShallNotPass: His fighting style in ''Heroes'' in a nutshell. He has a jacked-up personal version of Obstruct as his B skill, and he gets stronger if there are allies or destroyable structures nearby.
* ZergRush: His ''Heroes'' attack animation has him summon various characters from ''Three Houses'' to trample the enemy, including that game's incarnations of generic Myrmidons, Soldiers, and Fighters, and cameos from Cyril, Alois, Hanneman, Aelfric, and base versions of Sylvain, Lorenz, Manuela, and Rhea.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:The Abysskeeper]]
!!'''The Abysskeeper'''
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Vernon Dew (English)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/abysskeeper.png]]
-->''"Hey, you. Listen up. I've got something to report."''
The Abyss's watchman and The Gatekeeper's underground counterpart. He will often discuss the current goings-on of the Abyss and his life with Byleth.
----
* {{Catchphrase}}: "Hey, you. Listen up. I've got something to report."
* DownloadableContent: He can only be seen by purchasing the game's DLC pass.
* ForWantOfANail: Downplayed overall, but The Abysskeeper goes through slightly different events during Part II depending on the route.
* OddFriendship: Forms one with a Knight of Seiros assigned to provide extra security, whom he calls "Mr. Backup". Despite initially being quite passive-aggressive and against having to associate with a knight, the two bond and the Abysskeeper is quite sad when he goes back to work on the surface. [[spoiler:Sadly, the knight is killed when the monastery falls to the Empire]].
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Shez]]
!!Shez
!!!'''Class''': Myrmidon → Fluegel
!!!'''Age:''' [[VagueAge ??]]
!!!'''Height:''' 170 cm
!!!'''Male Shez Voiced By:''' Creator/TasukuHatanaka (Japanese)\\
'''Female Shez Voiced By:''' Creator/MiyuTomita (Japanese)
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shez_3h.png]]
The [[PlayerCharacter Avatar]] of ''Three Hopes'', Shez was a mercenary who once encountered the mysterious "[[Characters/FireEmblemThreeHousesByleth Ashen Demon]]" in Imperial Year 1179 before being left for dead and has been honing their skills ever since for the event of a rematch. They're willing to help out one of the three nations of Fódlan in an oncoming war.
----
* ArchEnemy: To Byleth following their confrontation in which they end up killing their fellow mercenaries, and leaving them for dead.
* BrutalHonesty: They tend to be very honest with their thoughts. On the serious side, they don't mince their words when telling Edelgard [[spoiler:the cost of the war she's waged on the Scarlet Blaze route.]] On the humorous side, they blatantly lampshade how much of a {{Tsundere}} Felix is, and they outright call Lysithea a child to her face.
* CanonName: Shez is this, though of course their name may be changed to whatever the player wishes.
* CharacterCustomization: No more than with Byleth, and not to the extent as Kris, Robin, Corrin or Kiran.
* CommonalityConnection: Shez and Raphael connect in their C-Support over being orphaned commoners trying to make their way in the world.
* ConditionedToAcceptHorror: Shez isn't too broken up being the SoleSurvivor of their mercenary group, being used to "parting ways" with others, including their own biological and adoptive parents.
* ContrastingSequelMainCharacter: While both Shez and Byleth are mercenaries capable of wielding Hero's Relics, this is where their similarities end:
** Whereas Byleth was TheStoic on account of being a blank-slate character [[spoiler:combined with the nature of their birth (that of being a revived stillborn due to Sothis' Crest Stone being implanted in them)]], Shez has a defined personality and dialogue, and the player can only choose their gender and name.
** Byleth was given the opportunity to become a professor at the Officers' Academy despite barely being older than their students (heck, younger than Mercedes) due to their connections to Jeralt, Shez by comparison was only offered to become a student at the Academy, as despite their skill, they're just a random mercenary.
** Despite their lack of social skills, Byleth is implied to be good at seeing people's inner selves, whereas Shez comes off as mostly well-adjusted but has issues seeing past their first impressions of people.
** Byleth is considered a close confidant to the Lords, whereas Shez is respected by the Lords but isn't treated as particularly more important than their fellow House members during the prologue and early war stage.
** Byleth is relatively polite in most of their dialogue choices, whereas Shez is far more [[BrutalHonesty brutally honest]].
* CurbStompBattle: On the receiving end within the very opening chapter. Shez can barely damage Byleth and gets utterly thrashed until Arval gives them a power up, [[CurbStompCushion and even then it's still not enough to best Byleth.]]
* CurtainsMatchTheWindow: Have both purple hair and eyes in their portraits.
* DarkAndTroubledPast: Shez never knew their birth parents, their adoptive mother died some time ago, and they've lost so many of their fellow mercenaries over the years that they purposely avoid forming intimate connections. They also mention that they've done "terrible things" over the course of their service as a mercenary.
* DoomedByCanon: PlayedWith. In the narrative of ''Three Houses'', Shez died long before the start of the game with the rest of Berling's Mercenaries, being so insignificant that they aren't even worth mentioning. The entire narrative of ''Three Hopes'' is based on this not being the case, with them surviving their battle with Byleth and changing the course of the narrative.
* DualWielding: Shez wields two swords at once in their personal class, one being a regular sword and one resembling a Heroes' Relic colored white and blue. Note that their official art switches in which hand they hold the Heroes' Relic sword between genders.
* ForWantOfANail:
** In the original game's timeline, it's implied Shez was simply killed by Byleth alongside their fellow mercenaries. However, the plot of ''Three Hopes'' occurs due to being saved by Arval, with Shez fulfilling a similar role to that of Byleth.
** Additionally, thanks to Arval's intervention, Shez meets with the three house leaders before Byleth does, preventing them from meeting and causing Jeralt and Alois to miss each other. This results in Byleth not becoming a professor at the Officer's Academy and by extension Jeralt not being reinducted into the Knights of Seiros.
* GenderedOutfit: Male Shez is more armoured, with a gauntlet on his left arm. Female Shez has shorter sleeves and a boob window.
* HeroesPreferSwords: Shez wields two swords in their unique class.
* AnIcePerson: They start with Blizzard for magic.
* IdiotHero: Downplayed as Shez is quite tactically intelligent, but discovering that Arval can bail them out of danger leads them to become extremely casual about their own life when it comes to training. An annoyed Arval points out after the prologue that they have saved Shez 22 times in six months ...three times of which was after ''jumping off a cliff'', to, quote, "get tougher."
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Extremely blunt and headstrong, but nothing but polite to people they don't have a reason to hate, and always willing to put their own life on the line for others. That said, they are slow to form genuine connections with others (Arval noting a almost disturbing lack of sentimentality in them when their mercenary comrades are killed), having not been particularly close with anyone since the death of their adoptive mother. Even the band of mercs who took him in, while they respected them, are noted to have only been united by a desire for money. Finding genuine friendships, and a bigger purpose than getting their next meal, is part of their character growth.
* LongHairIsFeminine: The female Shez has longer hair than their male counterpart.
* MagicKnight: Shez's unique Fluegel class allows them to use magic in combat on top of their swords.
* MysteriousPast: Shez remembers very little of their own past before being raised by their adopted mother (who they mention was a person uninterested in social interaction) in Leicester, and their profile in the prologue even lists the years where they were born and became a mercenary as "???".
* NewTransferStudent: Following their saving of Edelgard, Dimitri and Claude, they're enrolled as a student at Garreg Mach Monastery as thanks for doing so.
* NoPlaceForAWarrior: In Golden Wildfire, Shez has issues finding work that allows them to battle (as opposed to just train) prior to Claude recruiting them again two years after the prologue because the relative peace within the Alliance means less mercenary work is available (having to settle for guard duty and such instead). Arval even points out a silver lining in war starting up again is that it means they have a higher chance of running into Jeralt's mercenaries, and by extension Byleth, for Shez's rematch against them. Counter that with the other two routes where Shez is installed as a military leader, thus ensuring that they are well paid and are able to fight regularly.
* NoSenseOfDirection: They frequently find themselves getting lost or heading in the wrong direction. Reading maps is one of their dislikes.
* ParentalAbandonment: Shez mentions that they never knew their birth parents, and the woman who raised them is dead.
* PeekABangs: Regardless of the gender chosen for Shez, a shared trait between both of them is a bang covering their right eye.
* PowerStrainBlackout: Arval forces the initial use of the Awakened form on Shez to save their life, but can only maintain it just long enough to keep them on their feet until Byleth leaves, whereupon the accumulated strain causes Shez to pass out.
* PurpleIsPowerful: They have purple hair and are a skilled and powerful mercenary.
* ReverseGrip: Their artwork shows them wielding their Heroes' Relic weapon in reverse.
* ScarfOfAsskicking: Both versions of Shez wear a scarf in their default appearance and they're a powerful warrior.
* SecondHourSuperpower: They start off as a common Myrmidon and promote to Fluegel during the tutorial battle.
* SoleSurvivor: Byleth completely wipes out Berling's mercenaries except for Shez, and that's only because Arval ensured they wouldn't die.
* SoldierVsWarrior: Discussed in their C-Support with Raphael when Shez mentions that being an officer in an army is much different from being part of a mercenary band, as while before they only needed to worry about themselves in order to get their pay when they were a mercenary, being part of an army means having to look after the whole group in order to maintain unit cohesion.
* SoreLoser: Losing is listed as one of their dislikes, and they are motivated to take down Byleth because they lost to the Ashen Demon, despite the fact that they struck Byleth's company first and was given the chance to flee. They admit that wanting revenge is simply the only way they know to honor the people who took them in, and that they don't have any other connections or life to go back to.
* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler:Shez surviving the initial fight with Byleth leads to them saving the real Monica before Kronya can KillAndReplace her. This lets Monica expose Tomas as Solon much sooner, and the resulting demonstration of Agarthan shape-shifting allows Edelgard to expose Arundel as Thales and ''ally with the Church to rid Adrestia of Agarthan influence''. This also has the effect of causing the top Agarthan mole in the Kingdom, Cornelia/Cleobulus, to overplay her hand and get herself ousted from the Kingdom as a result. TWSITD's master plan is set back by quite possibly several decades and the lynchpin of the original ''Three Houses'' plot has all but disappeared, all because one person survived a battle they weren't meant to.]]
* SummonToHand: In Shez's C-Support with Sylvain they mention that their second sword, a mysterious weapon born when they first transformed, appears in their hand when needed and disappears the moment they let it go.
* SuperMode: Shez is able to briefly enter a powered up state that gives Dragon-like properties to them, taking inspiration from Arval's look. Referred to as "Awakened" the form first appears when nearly killed by Byleth and allows Shez to stand their ground against Byleth until Jeralt calls the fight off. When in the form their attacks become more powerful and they cannot die for as long as the transformation is maintained. Whatever the form is, Arval and Shez both note [[spoiler: it has similarities to the Agarthans ability to shapeshift into other people]], a comparison Shez doesn't take very well.
* UnusuallyUninterestingSight: Despite their search for Jeralt's mercenaries in order to rematch Byleth, they don't react either internally or externally when Leonie mentions that she knows Jeralt and considers him her captain in their C-Support. This is due to a translation choice in the localization, as the original line never mentioned Jeralt.
* VagueAge: Though the game has characters state that Shez is about the same age of the other students (roughly mid to late teens or early twenties), Shez's in game history is vague on details, only having a note of where they were born (Leicester), and the year being just question marks. Shez notes they have no memory of their birth parents, and thus no knowledge of who they come from.
* WreckedWeapon: Destroys Byleth's Silver Sword in a duel in the first trailer.
* WrongContextMagic: Shez's second sword, which they obtained after they first transformed from utilizing Arval's power, is similar in some ways to a Heroes' Relic, but the point is made that they are Crest-less, meaning it must be something different.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Arval]]
!!Arval
!!!'''Voiced by:''' Creator/MutsumiTamura
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arval_borderless.png]]
A mysterious being who feels like something is missing. They appeared by Shez when they were about to be defeated by the Ashen Demon, saving their life. They do not physically appear, talking to Shez like they are living inside of their head.
----
* AmbiguousGender: Arval's appearance and voice are both quite androgynous, making it difficult to tell what gender they are.
* AmbiguousSituation: While the game wastes no time establishing Arval has a very blatant connection with the Agarthans, as of the events of the prologue/demo, the exact nature of their link is shrouded in mystery.
* DeadpanSnarker: They're even sassier than Sothis, and almost always have a snarky quip for every situation, with a particularly sharp tongue toward authority figures. They do have a blatant soft spot for Shez though despite snarking at them all the same.
* DoesNotLikeShoes: They are barefoot, but since they're a SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute of Sothis who DoesNotLikeShoes either that is not really surprising.
* EveryoneHasStandards: PlayedForLaughs. In the prologue, Shez is about to [[BrutalHonesty tell Alois to his face that his jokes are not funny]]. Arval stops them before they can finish their sentence, saying Alois' heart would be unlikely to handle the shock very well.
* GuardianEntity: Without Arval's protection, Shez would've died several times over by now, 22 in fact, and they're willing to hold this over Shez's head, especially considering how a lot of the near deaths were from suicidally dangerous behavior like throwing themselves ''off a cliff'' to "get tougher" (and this happened ''3 times''). Arval notes as early as their first meeting that keeping them alive is tiring.
-->'''Arval''': At any rate, we all make a few mistakes along the way. And by "we," I mean you. And by "a few," I mean far, far more than average.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: While they seem to understand how their powers work, various aspects of society, etc. they have no memory at all of anything from before they met Shez. Even encountering Agarthans doesn't elicit memories but rather a outpouring of "pure emotion" that Arval can't tell is love or hate.
* RealityWarper: Like Sothis, Arval is able to manipulate reality to a degree. When Shez is on the verge of death, Arval directly prevents it from happening - unlike Sothis who manipulates time to prevent it, Arval seemingly manipulates space to stop it from happening. Or at least uses some power to keep their body alive/held together, they at least early on don't explain what they are doing to enable Shez to recover, noting that for the time being they only need to know they will get back on their feet, not how they will.
* SmugSuper: Never lets Shez forget they depend on Arval to stay alive.
* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Their overall presence is almost identical to that of Sothis in terms of being "a mysterious person who saves the protagonist's life, who only talks to them in their mind". But since Byleth is still around, Shez cannot be associated with Sothis so Arval takes that role for them. The intro cutscene of the game, along with various moments in the first few chapters, implies Arval may be connected to [[spoiler:the Agarthans]] instead.
* VitriolicBestBuds: With Shez, who Arval often snarks at, but also helps with insight and advice. Downplayed in the sense that Arval is also very open about mentioning how much they love certain things about Shez, enjoy being around them, etc.
* WhatIsThisFeeling: They admit to Shez after meeting Kronya that they're filled with what they can only describe as "pure emotion", not knowing exactly what the feeling was.
[[/folder]]

!Divine Beasts
[[folder:Lord of the Desert]]
!![[spoiler: Macuil,]] The Wind Caller
!!!'''Class:''' Lord of the Desert
!!!'''Crest:''' Macuil (Major)
[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fe16_wind_caller.png]]
A massive avian dragon who can sometimes be seen in the Sreng Desert.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: He's [[spoiler:''the'' Macuil of the Four Saints.]]
* TheAloner: Prefers living isolated from society, even losing track of how long he's been alone over the ages.
* BlowYouAway: Has innate power over wind as a wind dragon.
* CoolUncle: He has a soft spot for his niece [[spoiler:Cethleann, a.k.a. Flayn.]]
* FeatheredDragons: A quadrupedal dragon with avian wings and talons, a feathered tail and a birdlike head and beak.
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: He doesn't have a particularly good view of humanity. [[spoiler:Even when Seteth asks for his aid in rescuing Rhea, he rebukes him, detesting human civilization in general and wanting nothing to do with even his fellow Children of the Goddess. That said, he does warn your regular units to leave rather than simply fight to kill from the start.]]
-->'''Wind Caller:''' You have had your fun. If you are going to flee, now is your chance. If you are not going to flee... I shall take your life as payment!
* {{Jerkass}}: Unlike the Immovable, the Wind Caller is noticeably bitter and hates humans to the point that not only will he kill them on sight if they don't heed his warnings, [[spoiler:''especially'' if they bear the blood of the Ten Elites, but he refuses Seteth (his own ''brother'') when he pleads with him to help them save Seiros (one of his few living relatives) simply because it would involve fighting alongside humans in a human war. Even his progenitor Sothis is not exempt from his vitriol, as even though he does respect her power, he remarks Byleth has her "stench" on them.]]
* MoralityPet: He's much nicer to [[spoiler:Flayn in their conversation than he is with Seteth, Byleth, or Claude]].
* OptionalBoss: He's the boss of Claude's Paralogue, so he can only be encountered on Verdant Wind.
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: He's a large feathery bird that is also a dragon.
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''You must prove yourself!''"\\
"''Tremble before me!''"\\
"''Wretched children!''"\\
"''Your spirit is weak!''"
* SemiDivine: Being one of the Children of the Goddess, The Wind Caller is this by default. [[spoiler:Flayn calls him "uncle".]]
* SinsOfTheFather: In his conversation with Claude, he notes that he smells the blood of one of the 10 Elites on him, and then declares that he cannot allow anyone who bears their blood to live. [[spoiler:Clearly, Macuil isn't over the slaughter of the Children of the Goddess even after all these centuries, and given the Abyssal Library reveals Seiros deliberately defied this trope by sparing the descendants of the Ten Elites and letting them join the Empire, it also explains why Macuil chose to vanish from Fódlan shortly after Nemesis's defeat]].
* SpannerInTheWorks: Seteth and Flayn have been [[spoiler:keeping their identities as Cichol and Cethleann a secret]], and if Flayn interacts with The Wind Caller during battle, he unknowingly (nearly) spoils it by [[spoiler:speaking fondly to her and addressing her as "Ceth-", causing Flayn to hurriedly interrupt and ask him to keep quiet]].
* {{Sleepyhead}}: The battle against him ends when he decides to, of all things, fall asleep during the battle. Justified by the fact that Children of the Goddess do sleep to recover from injuries.
* SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration: The Wind Caller in ''Three Houses'' is the only character in the game shown with the Crest of Macuil, though House Nuvelle (and by extension, Constance) pretended to have Macuil's Crest in order to conceal their ''real'' one. It's revealed in ''Three Hopes'' that Monica has Macuil's Crest, but it remains unknown how or why she has it at present, including whether or not [[spoiler:Macuil himself - the Saint with the least trust in humans after [[HumansAreTheRealMonsters the battle at Zanado]] - ever willingly shared his blood with humans]].
* TarotMotifs: Through his Crest of Macuil, he represents the Magician, which when upright, represents resourcefulness, but when reversed, represents confusion and ill-intentions. The Wind Caller is very distrustful of humans and makes it very clear he will kill them if they don't leave him alone.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Lord of the Lake]]
!![[spoiler: Indech,]] The Immovable
!!!'''Class:''' Lord of the Lake
!!!'''Crest:''' Indech (Major)
[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fe16_inexhaustible.png]]
A massive black turtle dragon who resides in Lake Teutates.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: The guardian of Indech's legendary bow [[spoiler:is Indech himself. Doesn't help that he's bad at hiding it and even says the bow was his own when defeated]].
* BloodKnight: He enjoys a good fight and is more than willing to reward those who best him in combat.
* DentedIron: Whether it be from old injuries or simply age is unclear, but if he speaks with Seteth (who notes the turtle dragon is holding back in the fight), he admits his power is not what it used to be and the best he can do is "have fun meddling with humans who wander in here". [[spoiler:As such, it's decided it'd be best for him not to help with the search for Rhea, as it might be too much for him.]]
* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: {{Averted}}. Unlike the Wind Caller, The Immovable carries no grudge against humans and indeed admits he enjoys testing and rewarding them. He gives those who find him chances to run and lets them come to him if they wish to fight (though his phantom soldiers and he himself will not hesitate to strike down those who do), and upon being defeated, he gives up Indech's weapon without complaint. [[spoiler:However, given that his Paralogue becomes inaccessible if Seteth and Flayn (his brother and niece, respectively) die during Chapter 15 of Crimson Flower regardless if Leonie is recruited, he may hold a grudge against humans who have killed both his fellow Saints and last remaining family.]]
* JustToyingWithThem: Linhardt notes that The Immovable's movements during the fight are not those of someone fighting seriously. The Immovable acknowledges this, but as he said at the beginning of the fight, this is a ''test'', not a true battle.
* MakingASplash: He is a water dragon and uses water-based attacks.
* OptionalBoss: He appears in a Secret Paralogue only if Leonie and Linhardt are recruited into the same house. On the Crimson Flower route, he's also only accessible as long [[spoiler:as you don't kill Seteth and Flayn in Chapter 15.]]
* OurDragonsAreDifferent: He's a turtle dragon!
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Your ashes are for the wind!''"\\
"''You must prove yourself!''"\\
"''Insignificant creature!''"\\
"''I see right through you!''"
* SemiDivine: He is one of the Children of the Goddess. And, like The Wind Caller, [[spoiler:Flayn calls him "uncle".]]
* SociallyAwkwardHero: He shows himself as being incredibly friendly when fighting the heroes, even enjoying just how much enthusiasm Leonie has about facing him while declaring she has no crest, but [[spoiler:actual social interaction is incredibly difficult for Indech, and so he retreated away from the world]].
* SpannerInTheWorks: Seteth and Flayn have been [[spoiler:keeping their identities as Cichol and Cethleann a secret]], and if Flayn interacts with The Immovable during battle, he unknowingly (nearly) spoils it by [[spoiler:speaking fondly to her and addressing her as "Ceth-", causing Flayn to hurriedly interrupt and ask him to keep quiet.]]
* TarotMotifs: Through his Crest of Indech, he represents Temperance, which represents moderation. The Immovable restrains himself to test those who challenge him.
* ThresholdGuardian: He acknowledges that he is mostly there to provide a challenge for heroes to acquire a special weapon.
* TurtlePower: He's a massive turtle with a spiky shell.
* WorthyOpponent: When he believes Byleth is Sothis' incarnation, he wants to face them and see such power for himself. He also acknowledges Leonie as worthy of the Inexhaustible bow upon being defeated.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Wandering Beast]]
!!'''[[spoiler:Maurice]], The Wandering Beast'''
!!!'''Class:''' [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Wandering Beast]]
!!!'''Crest:''' "The Beast" [[spoiler:Maurice]] (Major)
[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/portrait_fe16_wandering_beast_6.png]]
A sapient Demonic Beast that has terrorized the forests south of Garreg Mach for many years.
----
* ActuallyIAmHim: He is [[spoiler:Maurice, the progenitor of the Crest that Marianne bears]].
* TheCameo: In ''VideoGame/FireEmblemHeroes'', he appears in [[spoiler:Brave Marianne's Phantasm Tome animation as well as her Special attack artwork.]]
* DeathSeeker: [[spoiler:Not immediately obvious due to his love of killing and eating, but Maurice]] secretly wants to die. Seeing the Sword of the Creator is enough for him to [[spoiler:get his hopes up and pray that Byleth could finally kill him in battle.]]
* DeadlyEuphemism: Should Byleth confront the Wandering Beast, [[spoiler:he will beg for his death by asking Byleth to "liberate" him]]. [[spoiler:Considering Maurice precedes this request by noting Byleth is using the "sword of the king" and that he used to be one of the Ten (or rather, at least Eleven) Elites, this also serves as {{Foreshadowing}} for Nemesis' true nature and the origin of his moniker as the "King of Liberation".]]
* DyingAsYourself: He regains his lucidity in his final moments, and congratulates Marianne for killing him.
* FogOfWar: His paralogue features this, which conceals the fact that many demonic beasts lurk around the map.
* GracefulLoser: He [[spoiler:congratulates Marianne and her retinue in defeating him, also thanking them for freeing him from his unenviable state.]]
* HorrorHunger: [[spoiler:Despite having retained his sapience, Maurice]] has been left a monster hungry for flesh and blood with a heavy amount of {{Bloodlust}} to keep him from trying to fight it.
* LaserGuidedKarma: His current state is a result of [[spoiler:being an ally of Nemesis, the man who caused the murder of Sothis and the genocide of the Children of the Goddess, since his sword made of their bodies is what caused him to transform into a monster.]] It's hard to say [[AssholeVictim he didn't deserve it]].
* LivingDistantAncestor: As [[spoiler:Maurice]], he is this to [[spoiler:Marianne]].
* MercyKill: Your goal during the fight with him is to put him out of his misery.
* OptionalBoss: Only faced in [[spoiler:Marianne's Paralogue.]]
* PreMortemOneLiner:
-->"''Die!''"\\
"''I cannot be stopped!''"
* TakeUpMySword: [[spoiler:Upon his death, he bequeaths to Marianne his Hero Relic Blutgang, trusting that she will be able to wield it better.]]
* TarotMotifs: Through his Crest of the Beast, he represents the Devil, which is associated with temptation, materialism and enslavement when placed upright. [[spoiler:Maurice, being the unacknowledged eleventh member of the Ten Elites, wielded a weapon created from the massacre of the Children of the Goddess in a war of conquest and turned into a monster that is now defined by his craving for flesh and blood.]] When reversed, the Devil represents freedom, [[spoiler:and Maurice earns his freedom in death.]]
* {{Unperson}}: [[spoiler:Maurice]] originally fought alongside the other legendary heroes of yore, but [[spoiler:turned into a Demonic Beast during a battle, leading to his name purged from most records and his descendants treated with scorn (if not outright executed).]]
[[/folder]]

* MysteriousPast: Shez remembers very little of their own past before being raised by their adopted mother in Leicester, and their profile in the prologue even lists the years where they were born and became a mercenary as "???".

* {{Hypocrite}}: [[spoiler: He criticizes Dimitri for being willing to kill his own uncle, but Rufus seems to conveniently forget that he helped orchestrate his own brother's death during the Tragedy of Duscur and has tried to kill his nephew several times.]]

* InformedAttribute: Though he is mentioned to possess great political acumen, he is continuously manipulated by Cornelia and is by all accounts an awful and deeply unpopular ruler.

* GuiltInducedNightmare: [[spoiler:Implied, he tells Cornelia he's had multiple dreams about a lion coming to kill him.]]

* NiceGuy: According to Hilda, he's always kind and hates to disappoint people.

* WorthyOpponent: Granted, he ''does'' mitigate it by dryly using the wrong ''nom de guerre'' for Nader (as the Almyran general points out), but his brief interaction with Nader has him show a warrior-like respect towards the Almryan general and invites Nader to "settle the score."

* HateSink: [[spoiler: Not only is he responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur, leading to Faerghus nearly collapsing, traumatizing Dimitri, and the near extinction of the Duscur people, but he also emotionally abuses Dimitri and has the gall to criticize him for killing his own kin when he did the exact same to Lambert. Not only that, but instead of ruling Faerghus effectively, he has let it fall into disrepair while he womanizes. He shows no remorse for any of his wrongdoings.]]

* NoHeroToHisValet: Judith has no shame calling out the Alliance's new leader their sloppy job.

* UniqueEnemy: Notable for being the only NPC in the fire Emblem series thus far to be of the [[TheHero Lord class]].

* RightForTheWrongReasons: [[spoiler: When we meet him, we quickly learn that he sees Dimitri as TheDreaded out of the fear of him being a vengeful beast put for his head. While [[VillainHasAPoint he's not entirely wrong]], as Dimitri does possess a hidden AxCrazy side that drives him to be obsessed with avenging those who died in the tragedy of Duscur, it's clear that this is born more out of his paranoia and whatever semblance of guilt he possesses, seeing as he ignores Dimitri's legitimate attempts to end his revolt bloodlessly.]]

* HateSink: [[spoiler: Not only is he responsible for the Tragedy of Duscur, leading to Faerghus nearly collapsing, traumatizing Dimitri, and the near extinction of the Duscur people, but he also emotionally abuses Dimitri and has the gall to criticize him for killing his own kin when he did the exact same to Lambert. Not only that, but instead of ruling Faerghus effectively, he has let it fall into disrepair while he womanizes. He shows no remorse for any of his wrongdoings.]]

** [[spoiler: In Azure Moon and the Three Hopes demo, it's revealed that Kingdom nobles, including Viscount Kleiman and Grand Duke Rufus, were the ones who helped orchestrate the death of King Lambert and framed the Duscur populace for the crime, leading to the Tragedy of Duscur. Rufus did it so he could have the throne for himself and expressed some remorse as he was being executed, but according to Kleiman's servant, the Kingdom nobles who took part in the Tragedy of Duscur believed what they did was justice because they felt King Lambert's reforms were far too radical. [[TautologicalTemplar Despite their actions having led to the near extinction of the Duscur populace, the deaths of many Kingdom soldiers, knights and officials, the near collapse of Faerghus's government (and the resulting suffering of the common people due to bandit proliferations and riots), causing a revolt in Fhirdiad over who would become King and, on a lesser note, psychologically scarring Dimitri]], the nobles responsible for the Tragedy believe they were on the side of righteousness.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Gerth is portrayed as a man who puts his duty and loyalty to the Empire above nearly everything, making his part in the Insurrection to be implied due to believing that Ionius' actions threatened the stability of the Empire. Notably, his House isolated itself from the others afterwards, choosing to perform his duties and not much else, and even then, in Constance and Yuri's paralogue it's shown [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight he's willing to turn a blind eye to it if it means fulfilling a debt]]. This likely why in ''Three Hopes'' [[spoiler:after Edelgard and the Eagles oust Thales/Arundel and Ludwig, despite Gerth taking no part in the battle on their side unlike Leopold and Waldemar, he was simply sent off to fulfill his duties by negotiating with western Fódlan in the aftermath rather than suffer execution, imprisonment, or being set up in a UriahGambit.]]

* WellIntentionedExtremist: Gerth is portrayed as a man who puts his duty and loyalty to the Empire above nearly everything, making his part in the Insurrection to be implied due to believing that Ionius' actions threatened the stability of the Empire. Notably, his House isolated itself from the others afterwards, choosing to perform his duties and not much else, and even then, in Constance and Yuri's paralogue it's shown [[ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight he's willing to turn a blind eye to it if it means fulfilling a debt]].

* DarkAndTroubledPast: Shez never knew their birth parents, their adoptive mother died some time ago, and they've lost so many of their fellow mercenaries over the years that they purposely avoid forming intimate connections.

** Additionally, thanks to Arval's intervention, Shez meets with the three house leaders before Byleth does, preventing them from ever meeting and causing Jeralt and Alois to miss each other. This results in Byleth not becoming a professor at the Officer's Academy and by extension Jeralt not being reinducted into the Knights of Seiros.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: He looks alot like his son, with shorter hair and glasses.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: As shown in ''Three Hopes,'' he has the same hairstyle as his son Lorenz in the timeskip.

* KarmaHoudini: Despite his involvement in [[TheCoup the Insurrection of the Seven]], which eventually led to the war, [[spoiler: he is one of the few nobles who isn't purged in Edelgard's ascension and gets to keep his position as the Minister of Domestic Affairs in her empire, which suggests he earned a pardon (something backed in ''Three Hopes'', where he and Count Bergliez assist Edelgard in purging the Agarthans' influence from the Empire). Unlike Count Bergliez, there is no word of his fate on routes where Edelgard is an antagonist.]]

* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: He participated in the [[TheCoup Insurrection of the Seven]], which ultimately lead to the war being started. [[spoiler:The war that ended up with him dead years later]]. That said, [[spoiler:he also always survives ThePurge of corrupt nobles following Edelgard's ascension, and is granted important command positions, suggesting he earned his pardon.]]

* {{Hypocrite}}: In ''Three Hopes'', when Hubert tells him about what was done with Duke Aegir for what he did, he seems to be shocked about it and proclaims he's nothing like Duke Aegir. If you've seen Bernadetta's supports with Byleth and Dorothea in ''Three Houses'', you'll know that he had the gall to say that when he's not much better since he put Bernadetta through immense emotional trauma.

** {{spoiler: In Azure Moon and the Three Hopes demo, it's revealed that Kingdom nobles, including Viscount Kleiman and Grand Duke Rufus, were the ones who helped orchestrate the death of King Lambert and framed the Duscur populace for the crime, leading to the Tragedy of Duscur. Rufus did it so he could have the throne for himself and expressed some remorse as he was being executed, but according to Kleiman's servant, the Kingdom nobles who took part in the Tragedy of Duscur believed what they did was justice because they felt King Lambert's reforms were far too radical. [[TautologicalTemplar Despite their actions having led to the near extinction of the Duscur populace, the deaths of many Kingdom soldiers, knights and officials, the near collapse of Faerghus's government (and the resulting suffering of the common people due to bandit proliferations and riots), causing a revolt in Fhirdiad over who would become King and, on a lesser note, psychologically scarring Dimitri]], the nobles responsible for the Tragedy believe they were on the side of righteousness.]]

** [[spoiler:In Azure Moon, it's revealed that Viscount Kleiman, a noble who betrayed Faerghus and sided with Edelgard, was involved in the Tragedy of Duscur. When Dimitri, Byleth and Gilbert question Kleiman's servant, he explains that the Viscount thought King Lambert's reforms were dangerous and had to be stopped. Based on what the servant said, the Viscount believes what he did to be justice... [[TautologicalTemplar despite his actions having led to the near extinction of the Duscur populace, the deaths of many Kingdom soldiers, knights and officials, the near collapse of Faerghus's government (and the resulting suffering of the common people due to bandit proliferations and riots) and, on a lesser note, psychologically scarring Dimitri]].]]

* UriahGambit: Per the Western Church's Bishop, [[spoiler:Lonato was set up in a suicide mission for the sake of furthering the branch's goals.]]

* TarotMotifs: Death, which signifies change. [[spoiler:He certainly changes alright, and his transformation into a Black Beast leads to his own death. Interestingly, his Beast form has [[https://imgur.com/a/dQamxVH a marking on the face]] that has 'DEATH XIII' and the Gautier Crest on it, implying that it was completely intentional.]]
** The reverse also serves true. That signifies refusal of necessary but painful change, hopes destroyed, and stagnation. His lack of a crest readily destroyed his hopes as he became ineligible for the head of the family. He stagnated as soon as Ferdinand was born as he piled all his problems on the one with the crest and tried to give up all responsibility in life based on being crestless. The refusal change obviously means running a bandit crew for as long as he could but also [[spoiler: had he accepted his fualts and tried to make amends he not only would have gotten over his jelousy that lead to him using the lance which would corrupt him but as Edlegard's comments show in the new empire he would have been a respected and powerful individual should he have applied his talents toward's Edlegard's goals.]]

* AbusiveParents: Due to how House Gautier operates, it only accepts heirs who have Crests. When Sylvain was revealed to have a Crest, he immediately became heir of House Gautier, robbing Miklan of his chance to inherit anything. Eventually, Matthias Gautier disowned Miklan and exiled him from his territory for lacking a Crest. While it's never shown or implied that Matthias was abusive towards Sylvain, he could qualify for neglecting Miklan instead of comforting him.

** The reverse also serves true. That signifies refusal of necessary but painful change, hopes destroyed, and stanation. His lack of a crest readily destroyed his hopes as he became ineligible for the head of the family. He stagnated as soon as Ferdinand was born as he piled all his problems on the one with the crest and tried to give up all responsibility in life based on being crestless. The refusal change obviously means running a bandit crew for as long as he could but also [[spoiler: had he accepted his fualts and tried to make amends he not only would have gotten over his jelousy that lead to him using the lance which would corrupt him but as Edlegard's comments show in the new empire he would have been a respected and powerful individual should he have applied his talents toward's Edlegard's goals.]]