The students, staff and clergy members of the Church of Seiros as they appear in Demon In Fodlan.
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Garreg Mach Monastery
The Black Eagles
Linhardt
Linhardt von Herving
The son of a Count, Linhardt is known for his rather sleepy demeanor and his tendency to slack off given the chance. Though he is studious and insightful whenever motivated by things that interest him, such as his research on Crests and other subject matters. On Edelgard's recommendation, he joins Goetia's class.
- Brilliant, but Lazy: If the subject matter doesn't interest him at all, he would simply doze off in boredom. That said, Lindhart is competent if properly motivated enough, as on his first day in Goetia's class, he was the first one to achieve his mental trigger which even Lysithea was having trouble with. Not to mention he's one of the few to quickly grasp some of workings of Goetia's magic.
- Deadpan Snarker: He often gives snarky remarks in the same flat tone.
- Fell Asleep Standing Up: Chapter 34 has him waiting for Goetia with the others in the Library... and happened to fall asleep while still standing. Goetia fixes the issue by cursing him to remain awake for a couple of hours.
- Skewed Priorities: During the mock battle against the Golems that Goetia conjured up, Linhardt is more invested in studying and analyzing the Golems rather than fighting them, to Dorothea's frustrations.
Dorothea
Dorothea Arnault
A former songstress, she's one of the few students who's welcoming to Goetia on his first day. She joins Goetia's class on Edelgard's recommendation.
- Brainy Brunette: For a songstress, she was able to adapt to Goetia's class fairly easy, even achieving her mental trigger on her first day in his class, much to his surprise. She has shown to also be perceptive, deducing that Goetia was related to a noble lineage based on Goetia's personality, intelligence and mannerism.
- Charm Person: According to Goetia, she has a proficiency with Charm-based magecraft because of her quick adaptability to self-hypnosis.
- Did You Just Scam Cthulhu?: Well, former Beast. She manages to convince Goetia to experience 'a date' with her by prodding on his pride, knowing that someone as prideful as Goetia would never accept that anyone can be better than him in a field. Though it is less on romantic interest and more to help teach him some social skills, something Goetia needs.
- The Fashionista: As a former opera singer, Dorothea knows that dressing nicely is always key to first impression when around the company of nobles and has been seen in other outfits outside of her uniform. It's because of this that she manages to convince Goetia to get a new change of clothes.
- Ms. Fanservice: She's very open with her good looks and has worn several outfits that compliments her figure very well during her 'dates' with Goetia.
- Nice Girl: Although flirty, she is kind and pleasant to others, save for a few. She was the only student who wasn't afraid to talk to Goetia during his first day, even giving him advice to look out for the people who would be more vocal in their dislike of him.
- The Nicknamer: She calls her friends by shorten names and even calls Goetia by 'Gotie'.
- The Tease: She's known to flirt with anyone, which is best shown in Chapter 73 where she playfully flirts with Goetia when he invites her for breakfast as a way to ask her some questions he has, even going as far as to change into a more skintight outfit for the occasion.
- Thinks Like a Romance Novel: When the Black Eagles noticed that Rhea and Goetia have become somewhat amicable (though mostly on Rhea's part), Dorothea and a few others come to the conclusion that there is some romantic tension between the two. For Dorothea, she can't help but be excited over the idea that Goetia and Rhea are having a secret affair and plans to help, starting with helping Goetia get new clothes.
The Blue Lions
Mercedes
Mercedes von Martritz
A kind-hearted young woman who was a former Adrestian noble before moving to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus and settling down as a commoner. She joins Goetia's class after Dimitri asks the mage to teach her healing spells that he knows.
- Achievement In Ignorance: In a combination of charging the gems with too much magic and the gems that Goetia created too weak to contain them, she accidentally causes them to explode— she basically just learned Rin Tohsaka's gem attacks.
- Awesomeness by Analysis: Goetia teaches her Structural Analysis, scanning objects and their inner workings enables her to learn what needs to be fix.
- Combat Medic: She's the primary healer in the Blue Lions and is taught by Goetia Healing magecraft. But shown during the Blue Lions training battle against Goetia that she's willing to fight, such as throwing an overcharged practice gem at him as an explosive.
- Cute Clumsy Girl: She often forget things, such as leaving to bake Goetia an apology cake for accidentally overcharging the practice gems he gave her... forgetting that he was in the middle of teaching her.
- Gemstone Assault: Goetia only introduce Jewel magecraft as a means to help her store magical energy. She accidentally discovers they can be used as explosives after she overcharge the practice gems, he gave her. She uses it for the first time during the practice battle against Goetia, taking him off guard, though he advises her not to use it so casually without practicing, least she'd lose her fingers.
- Irony: She's one of the most religious characters and yet she studies healing magecraft under a foreigner who is considered a heretic by the Church's clergies.
- Nice Girl: She's easily one of the sweetest and kindest amongst the students, being one of the few who is kind to Goetia.
- Skewed Priorities: Upon learning from Goetia that Jewel magecraft for offensive use requires years of practice as the practitioner could lose their fingers from an exploding gem, she's more concern that she wouldn't be able to sew anymore rather than the fact she'd lose her fingers, as Annette points it.
- Sweet Baker: She's fond of baking and even offers to bake Goetia a cake as a thank-you gift for his lessons.
- Textile Work Is Feminine: She knows how to sew, even using a metaphor about it to understand Goetia's lesson.
Ashe
Ashe Ubert
The adopted son of Lord Lonato, who has a great admiration of stories about chivalry and knighthood.
- Bookworm: He enjoys tales about heroic knights and was excited about the training battle against Goetia as the role-play simulation seems to be lifted from one of those stories.
- Break the Cutie: The events of Lonato's rebellion have not been kind to him. He and the other students are forced to quell down the rebellion with the Knights of Seiros when it becomes clear that Lonato has become too much of a threat to be handled alone. Then when they finally confront Lonato, he can only beg for his adoptive father to stop, only for it to fall on deaf ears as a grief-stricken, rage fueled Lonato refuses to listen and proceeds to attack his classmates. To top it all off, Lonato was willing to beat him to death just for trying to stop him. The aftermath of the rebellion leaves him not only mourning over the loss of his adoptive father, but also conflicted about Goetia since he is both his savior and Lonato's killer.
- Human Shield: During the training battle against Goetia, the mage uses him as a shield against Felix's attacks.
- Jumped at the Call: He was the only one who readily agrees to explore the Abyss with Byleth and the three lords, while Hilda and Linhardt were forced to come along.
- Knight in Shining Armor: He loves reading books about heroic knights and aspires to become like them. During their role play battle against Goetia, he was given the role as the knight who has come to rescue Flayn from Goetia as a distraction.
- Turn the Other Cheek: When Goetia attempts to goad Ashe into taking his anger out on him for Lonato's death, believing that the boy holds a grudge against him for it, Goetia's left surprised when Ashe turns down the offer. Ashe reasons that while Goetia did kill Lonato, the former demon also saved Lysithea and the rest of his classmates from his adoptive father's mad quest for vengeance.
- You Killed My Father: To Goetia. He admits that he was uneasy around the mage after Lonato's rebellion, but when Goetia offers him a chance to get revenge for Lonato's death, Ashe ultimately refuses, citing that he would be no different from what Lonato did.
The Golden Deer
Leonie
Leonie Pinelli
A young girl from a village within the Alliance. Competitive and determined, she aspires to become a mercenary like her idol, Jeralt — including competing against his daughter, Byleth. For that reason, she becomes Goetia's student.
- Badass Normal: She lacks a Crest and isn't skilled in magic compared to the rest of Goetia's students, but he notes that she's in physical peak condition for a woman around her age.
- Competition Freak: The reason she joined Goetia's class in the first place was because Byleth became his student and she saw this as a chance to challenge and prove that she can surpass Jeralt's daughter. Goetia finds himself disappointed in her motives because she joined to compete against Byleth rather than wanting to better herself.
Lysithea
Lysithea von Orelia
The youngest student in the Academy and a magical prodigy. Despite her age and gift in magic, she is a hard-worker and dislikes being looked down upon as a child. After a rough first encounter, she becomes Goetia's first student and becomes one of the few individuals that the mage becomes attached to.
- Adorably Precocious Child: Due to her young age, she actively tries to dissuade her peers from seeing her as a child, including Goetia.
- Ascended Extra: She made no appearance in the original Cindered Shadows DLC. In the story, Goetia brings her along midpoint of the arc because he has confidence in her abilty to help them find the Chalice of Beginings.
- The Baby of the Bunch: The youngest student enrolled at the academy. Bringing it up or treating her as a kid as a result however, is likely to set her off.
- Badass Adorable: A cute young girl who so happens to be a powerful and talented mage.
- Berserk Button: Being treated as a child is this to her.
- Child Mage: The youngest student who is a mage and becomes Goetia's first student.
- Child Prodigy: Her magical abilities are described to be this, to the point Goetia is amazed to find one to be impressive by Fodlan's standards.
- Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She absolutely hates being looked down as weak and helpless. When recovering in the infirmary from being nearly killed by Lonato, she figures out that the bracelet Goetia gave to her earlier was in fact a Mystic Code to monitor her health and notify him when she's in danger. Thinking he did it because he didn't trust that she can protect herself, she snaps at him so hard that even he can't get a rebuttal in until she calms down to listen.
- Morality Pet: She's one of the few people that Goetia is attached to, and it is noted that despite him being treating his students fairly, he is shown to have a soft spot for her. Her being gravely wounded by Lonato is enough for Goetia to break his vow as an observer and interfere in the battle.
- Reluctant Warrior: Her making use of Magecraft that she learned from Goetia's classes against human opponents shakes her to the point of confiding to Goetia that the magecraft she learns will never be dedicated to ending lives which pleases him.Lysithea: "...I wanted to advance my mastery of magic so that I could actually achieve something and all I've done is kill with far more theatre. What is the point in that? What value is there in what I can do when a soldier could just as easily do the same? I am not a soldier and I do not want to be a soldier."
- Secret-Keeper: Alongside with Flayn, she learns of Goetia's true origins as a demon and his connections with Sitri after the latter confesses to them in amidst a breakdown in Chapter 65.
- Squishy Wizard: She may be a powerful spellcaster, but she's still a young girl who isn't suited for close combat. She almost got killed by Lonato when he manages to dodge her spells and got close enough to stab her.
- Sweet Tooth: She loves sweets and desserts, as much as she tries to hide it. She even invited Goetia to have some cake with her after recovering from her near-death experience, which the demon accepts.
- What the Hell, Hero?: She absolutely gives an earful to Claude after his insensitive questions causes Goetia to angrily lash out at him, calling her leader out for his lack of boundaries towards other people's personal life.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: She's absolutely terrified of ghosts. She mistaken Goetia as a ghost the first time they met and when he went to quietly get her help in the Cindered Shadows arc and was flinging spells left and right at the Wraiths during the arc out of panic.
- Your Days Are Numbered: Her dual Crests drastically shorten her lifespan as the result of being unnaturally implanted. Goetia becomes conflicted on whether he should help her or not in this, no part because it reminds him of Mash's situation.
- You Remind Me of X: Part of the reason for Goetia's growing fondness towards her is because she reminds him of Mash Kyrielight, despite both girls being complete opposites. The reminder becomes painful when Goetia discovers the full extent of her condition.
The Church of Seiros
Rhea
Rhea
The current Archbishop of the Church of Seiros. Her kind and motherly disposition hides a strict and severe attitude towards her enemies. To show her gratitude for them saving the House Leaders, she offers Byleth and Goetia job positions in the Monastery as a professor and an assistant librarian respectively. Though it soon becomes clear that Rhea has some ulterior motive for hiring them.
- Achievements in Ignorance: While Rhea admits she's not well-versed in the art of crafting artificial life, the fact that she managed to create homunculus with a lifespan of twenty years within a few centuries, inclusion of a Divine Core aside, is nothing short of impressive. For reference, the Einzberns, the foremost experts and pioneers on creating artificial life, were unable to create such a homunculus until they neared the modern day. Even then, it's implied Rhea's homunculus are superior to theirs; Goetia notes that, based on Sitri's symptoms as explained by Rhea, she died of anemia, meaning she could have very well lived much longer.
- All for Nothing: She went against Sothis' wishes and values in her attempts to resurrect her mother. As noted below, however, her efforts only succeed in alienating Sothis, who makes it very clear that she doesn't want to rule Fodlan, and because of her lack of memories, Sothis is more disgusted with Rhea than grateful. In her own words after getting hit face-first with the results, she "sinned" just for nothing.
- The Atoner: The aftermath of the Cindered Shadows arc and Goetia's 'talk' with her helps snaps her out from her self-pity, resolving to address the issues in Fodlan that she has ignored due to her unhealthy fixation with Sothis. Her first action is to enbark on a journey to Enbarr to speak to the clergy residing there and pass on her wishes to the current Emperor.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: She spent millenia trying to bring her mother, Sothis, Back from the Dead. She finally succeeded when Sothis awakened within Byleth. Unfortunately, Sothis is reborn as a total amnesiac with no recollection of her past or her knowledge and powers as a Goddess, makes it clear she wasn't interested in taking control of Fodlan again as she hoped, and having seen Seiros' more unsavory actions with Byleth means Sothis shows a less than favorable opinion of her to the point of not even acknowledging her as her daughter.Goetia: Would that make it simpler? If she hated you for it?.
Rhea: I could understand! If mother knew everything that I did to bring her back, then I could understand why she wouldn't want to look at me! I could accept that! But she doesn't even know what I did, she doesn't know what being awake even means… She doesn't know the lengths I went to for her and she already hates me… - Berserk Button: The Agarthans, for very understandable reasons, to the point where Goetia has to remind her to keep her temper in check whenever they are brought up during their conversations.
- Broken Pedestal: By the end of Chapter 77, she has lost Jeralt's full trust after she reveals the truth behind Sitri's death and Byleth's birth, and leaves Seteth and Flayn disappointed in her for going against Sothis' teachings in hopes of resurrecting the Goddess. Even Byleth, while not as affected badly by what she revealed them as her father is, now has mixed feelings towards Rhea because of her father being hurt from the truth.
- Break the Haughty: The proud and confident Archbishop secludes herself in her quarters, moping from shame and guilt after being confronted over the revelation that her plan to revive Sothis has failed from the start along with the resulting fallout from her close allies and her own mother. Even a visiting Goetia remarks that he can't find any amusement if he decides to mock her failures in her depressed state.
- Camp Cook: When accompanying the Black Eagles on the way to Enbarr, she cooks dinner when they setup camp for the evening, much to the surprise of everyone bar Goetia who even intervenes on her behalf when the Black Eagles are embarrassed to let her cook.
- Consummate Liar: She feels the need to hide the full truth from everyone, including from her closest allies. Including to the list is her not telling the full truth about Sitri's death and Byleth's birth to Jeralt, hiding the full truth about Nemesis and the War of Heroes in history. This is one of the reasons Sothis was more willing to confide to Goetia than to her, because unlike her, Goetia is (mostly) honest to her and Byleth.
- Control Freak: As Goetia notes, she seems to be in need to be in control of everything in Fodlan that even Sothis, who is her own mother, calls her by this title later. From ensuring that the Goddess of Seiros is worshipped as the one true God of Fodlan to keeping Fodlan in a constant Medieval Stasis to maintain stable peace for the past years in part because of her experiences with the Agarthans. Even her interactions with Byleth and Goetia reeks of this. She places a lot of high expectations for the former because she's Sothis' vessel, as such, expects Byleth to behave in certain ways. As for the latter, Goetia is such an unknown factor that she tries to rein him on a metaphorical leash, disliking the fact he's not willing to embrace the Scripture of Seiros and trying to encourage the foreign mage to actively help the Church. After Goetia uses his magic to break into the prison-cells to prove the peasants' innocence on their assassination attempt, she effectively imprisons him within Monastery grounds, having his movements monitor by guards and limiting his interactions with the students. Goetia even points out that she was just waiting for the chance for him to slip up so she can excess some control over him.
- Didn't Think This Through: After Rhea finishes recounting Sitri's death and the circumstances behind Byleth's birth, the latter asks her what she would have told Jeralt if she succeeded in reviving Sothis. It takes Rhea several seconds to answer, admitting the thought never even occured to her. Jeralt is NOT happy to hear this.
- Even Evil Has Loved Ones: She's not exactly evil, but much of her actions come across as manipulative and selfish. That said, the Flashback Episode shows that Rhea loved Sitri as though she were her birth daughter, so much so that the complications regarding Byleth's birth made her despair at the notion of Sitri dying, a possibility she refused to accept, nearly verging on I Reject Your Reality.
- Everyone Has Standards: While she definitely has a problem with Goetia, the Cindered Shadows arc makes her realize that Goetia is like her, Flayn, and Seteth in that he's the Last of His Kind. Naturally, when Demon God Pillar Sitri attacks Goetia after the latter refuses to help it, she's abhorred, especially since Goetia begged Sitri to stand down.
- Freudian Excuse: Rhea attempts to justify her actions and efforts to revive Sothis with this. Flayn has none of it, angrily pointing out to her that not only did she lose just as much family as Rhea did, but also understands what it's like to lose a mother.
- While in the middle of Goetia's pep-talk, she again tries to justify that Sothis will do better in fixing the neglection of the Church's current state which she help created, Goetia immediately tears it down and even points out that the Blue-and-Orange Morality of a Goddess will lead to very radical changes that will be different from the Church's policies.
- Heel Realization: Has a brief one after overhearing Goetia's angry rant where she realizes that Goetia's reasons for staying in Fodlan and the Monastery is not of malicious intentions but rather because he is condemned to wander the world aimlessly after his kin are wiped out.
- Hidden Depths: Chapter 89 shows that she knows how to cook when she decides to make dinner for the Black Eagles at camp.
- Improperly Paranoid: Having sense something was off with him from the moment they met, Rhea hired Goetia partially because she wants to observe him on whether he's a threat to Fodlan and is convinced that he has ulterior motives in getting close to Byleth and the Monastery. It's because of this that beneath her cordial attitude, there is some underlying hostility and manipulativeness towards Goetia during the earlier parts of the story. While she does have some justification for her paranoid behavior considering that Goetia is a former Beast and King of Demon Gods who incinerated humanity, the problem is that Goetia has no intentions on restarting his plans nor does he have any ulterior motives in befriending Byleth in which she only finds out after overhearing his Last of His Kind rant towards Claude.
- Inadequate Inheritor: She views herself only as a proxy for Sothis, the goddess and her mother, whom she considers the rightful ruler over Fodlan. Despite having influenced and assist in the development of Fodlan and their society, Rhea still feels that her efforts aren't enough and believes once Sothis returns, Fodlan will prosper to its fullest again. Ironically, it's her grievance over her mother's death and fixation on the past that caused her to neglect Fodlan as a whole that caused several longstanding problems. Goetia calls her out on this when Rhea was wallowing in self-pity over her mother's rejections, remarking that, despite the flaws in her leadership, it was Rhea who actively contributed to Fodlan's governance despite not being programmed to do so, unlike him. In his own way, he tells her that she should see through her duties to the very end, not push it onto someone else.
- It's All My Fault: She feels immense guilt for Sitri's condition that lead to Byleth's birth complications, believing if she were more skilled in creating life like her mother, Sitri wouldn't need to be confine to the Monastery her entire life due to her illness.
- I've Come Too Far: How Rhea justifies her actions in maintaining the status quo throughout Fodlan and her efforts to revive Sothis. By the time Sitri was born, Rhea had all but given hope of reviving her mother, but she couldn't let go of her obsession so long as the possibility remained.
- Kick the Dog: While she understandable has reason to place Goetia under surveillance after he used hypnotism to break into the dungeons in order to make his case, forbidding him to teach his classes during his probation seems to be pushing it.
- My God, What Have I Done?: After being "disowned" by an amnesiac Sothis and realizing that all of her efforts and immoral actions to revive her mother have been for naught, she slips into this after Sitri's attack, quietly describing herself as a "lowly sinner" during a sermon and secluding herself in her quarters after being confronted by an angry Jeralt and a disappointed Seteth and Flayn regarding her actions.Rhea: In using my position as Archbishop, I betrayed the trust of those who placed their faith in me. Using it to further my own selfish aims.
- Never My Fault: Averted. When the amnesiac Sothis "disowns" her and refuses to partake in her plan to help mend Fodlan, she briefly accuses the unconscious Goetia of turning Sothis against her after witnessing Sothis trusting Goetia more than her, only to immediately disregard the notion when she realises that even Goetia, of all people, is at lost regarding Sothis' amnesia.Rhea: ...What poisonous words did you spout to her?
...
Rhea: ...You don't even know, do you? ...Oh Mother... - "Not So Different" Remark: A subtle one, but after Goetia's rant after he reached his Rage Breaking Point, Rhea is described has having wide eyes, most likely realizing that both she and Goetia have a lot more in common than she first thought. Despite their clashing worldviews and personalities, both are willing to go to extreme lengths for their goals, especially Goetia back when he was a Beast. Not to mentioning being the only surviving members of a dead race and their powers and position have kept them from being able to connect to someone. This view is strengthened after the events of Sitri's rampage, allowing Rhea to empathize with Goetia, though Goetia being Goetia initially thought she was projecting her problems onto him.Rhea: What a horrible way to find common ground.
Goetia: ... Finding common ground with you, irks me.- For bonus points, both have parent issues, Solomon for Goetia and Sothis for Rhea.
Rhea: As has been made abundantly clear with recent events…I am not one who can inspire the same confidence in her actions as I used to. And my own mother….
Goetia: Forget what Sothis thinks. Neither of us are ever going to be considered worthwhile in the eyes of our progenitors. - Older Than They Look: She looks like a young woman in her mid-20s yet has been the Archbishop since Jeralt's days as captain of the Knights of Seiros. She is in fact Saint Seiros herself and the Immaculate One.
- Pet the Dog:
- When confronted regarding the circumstances of Byleth's birth, she reveals to Jeralt that she knew that he faked his death during the fire and allowed him and the infant Byleth to run away from the Monastery despite the risk of losing Sothis' crest stone forever.
- After her trip to Enbarr, she offers Goetia the role of a lecturer as a way for him to continue his magic classes after a long hiatus.
- Rank Scales with Asskicking: She is the Archbishop of the Church of Seiros and has shown to have high-level Faith magic and can fight on an even footing against Demon God Pillar Sitri without the need to transform into her dragon form.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: She's quite accommodating and considerate, whenever she's not in a vengeful state of mind. She employs both Byleth and Goetia regardless of their background and social status, though the latter more to observe him due to sensing his inhuman nature. This starts to fade after the Lonato arc after she sentences Goetia to house arrest and forbids him from interacting with the students any more than necessary.
- She does regain this after the Cindered Shadow arc when she realizes she and Goetia are more alike than both would admit and even offers Goetia the role of a lecturer in the Academy after their trip in Enbarr.
- Relative Button:
- Badmouthing Sothis, her mother, will leave her very enraged. When Jeralt ended up calling Sothis a freak due to her possessing Byleth with the possibility of his daughter suffering a Death of Personality she went from being apologetic over his plight to furious to the point of viscously biting back had Sothis not called her out first.
- When Jeralt accuses her of viewing Sitri as a test subject, Rhea gets enraged with this accusation, claiming that she indeed loved Sitri as if she was her own family.
- Sanity Slippage: Whatever Lemegeton stole from the Vault, was so important that it sent her into a frenzy in the aftermath of the Rite of Rebirth.
- Statuesque Stunner: She's a beautiful woman who stands a head taller than Goetia's human form (whose height is around 178cm since his human form is based on Solomon's). Though she seems to be made taller in the story than in canonnote .
- Stronger Than They Look: She has the appearance of a graceful and serene young woman, but she easily crushed the fake Chalice that Goetia created with a hand alone. It makes sense on why she possessed such strength since she is The Immaculate One.
- Took a Level in Kindness: Her interactions with Goetia in the early chapters border on veiled hostility and manipulativeness due to his open disregard and criticism to Fodlan's rules and the Church, not helped by his status as a Wild Card. Rhea does everything she can to reign control over Goetia, which includes placing him under house-arrest and even suspending his magic lessons. It is during the Cindered Shadows arc that she starts to soften her views on him after overhearing Goetia's rant regarding his current state and after he gave her a "pep" talk when she became depressed in the aftermath of getting "disowned" by Sothis and telling the whole truth to Byleth and Jeralt that she becomes friendlier to Goetia, much to his confusion.
- Tranquil Fury: After finding out the item kept in the Vault has been stolen by Lemegeton, Rhea remains calm, but her eyes and tone of voice makes it clear she's furious to this thievery.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Like in the canon DLC, keeping Sitri's corpse in Abyss is what lead to Aelfric discovering it, making him obsessed in finding the Chalice in a desperate attempt to revive Sitri. It gets even worse in this story as Aelfric's obsession led the dying Demon Pillar Sitri to Fodlan and possessed the Cardinal, leading to events that result in a number of deaths and half the Monastery destroyed when the Demon Pillar went on a rampage.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: While her policies and guidance as the Archbishop kept the stability in the continent for many years, it came at the cost of Fodlan's society becoming stagnant and corrupt to the point where the Agarthans are exploiting the existing corruption to their advantage to spark several tragedies in the present day.
- She neglects the corruption present in the nobility and the Crest System in favor of reviving Sothis again out of belief that Sothis will do better than her in fixing said issues.
- Her putting Fodlan in a Medieval Stasis is born from her trauma from the Agarthans using their technology to ravage the land to the point where Sothis in her prime had to descend into slumber after using all of her power to repair the damages, which led to her being vulnerable to being butchered by Nemesis.
- With Us or Against Us: She gives Goetia an ultimatum in Chapter 53: Either fall in line with the rules of Fodlan or become an enemy of the Church. Reluctantly, Goetia chooses the former, though on the condition that she allows him to teach his students Magecraft again, which she accepts.
- Following the aftermath of Sitri's attack on the Monastery, she is willing to overlook that part of Goetia for helping stop Sitri and save Byleth and Sothis, even if it continues to annoy her.
- Worth It: The reason on why she disobeyed Sothis' rule regarding the boundaries of life and death, she is fully aware that she is going against Sothis' wishes when attempting to resurrect her but if the end result is the Goddess being alive again to fix Fodlan, then she can accept the disappointment and anger towards her. Unfortunately, the result has Gone Horribly Right, with Sothis being reborn with no recollection of her past or her knowledge and powers as a Goddess, not to mention having no interest in fixing Fodlan, on top of having less than stellar opinion towards her own daughter.
Seteth
Seteth
The advisor of the Archbishop, who is strict and orderly man who dotes on his younger sister Flayn, to the point of being overprotective over her. He was against Rhea's decision to hire Byleth and Goetia as a professor and assistant librarian respectively, thus observes them to ensure that her judgement wasn't misplaced.
- Badass Bureaucrat: He handles most of the administrative work in the Monastery and is a formidable warrior, which surprises Jeralt during Lonato's rebellion.Jeralt: I'd also be more concerned about yourself, considering which one of us is actually the accredited knight.
Seteth: Ha. Your concern is appreciated, but if all it took were pushing quills to run the Church, my job will be less stressful. - Big Brother Instinct: He is known to be overprotective towards his younger sister. Who is really his daughter.
- Dragon Rider: He rides a wyvern to the battle against Lonato.
- Only Sane Man: As Rhea's advisor and the one running the administrative duties within the Monestary, it is in his nature to be the only rational and sane being. This is played even straight in the Omakes where he has to deal with the antics that Goetia unintentionally causes.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Seteth has been on the unfortunate end of not being in know of certain important things, such as Rhea's plan to resurrect Sothis through Byleth or the Chalice of Beginnings. He was even the last to be informed that Goetia's not human and it was only revealed to him because Goetia forgot that Seteth wasn't informed after Sitri's attack and just casually dropped that revelation to him in a conversation.
- My God, What Have I Done?: While he condemns Rhea's actions and experimentation to revive Sothis, he is conflicted regarding his current stance on Rhea afterwards because of realizing that the remaining Children of the Goddess along with him abandoned her after defeating Nemesis.Seteth: She acted out of grief and despair. What she did was inexcusable but that does not alter the fact that once Nemesis was dead, we all abandoned her.
- Papa Wolf: He is very protective of Flayn despite being her brother, though he can be overbearing. His overprotectiveness over Flayn is widely known throughout the Monastery, which even Goetia lampshades about it. It even plays this straight when he's actually her father. In the "Matchmaker" omakes, several characters consider pairing Flayn with anyone to be a death sentence as the unlucky boy in question would have to deal with Seteth. The only person the lords consider a reasonable match for Flayn and unlikely to die at his hands is Dedue.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: He's even more reasonable than Rhea. While initially skeptical towards Byleth and Goetia, it isn't without justification, and he does allow them to show that Rhea's judgement isn't misguided.
- After condemning Rhea's actions, he realizes that the remaining Children of the Goddess along with him leaving her all alone played a part in enabling her unhealthy actions.
Flayn
Flayn
Seteth's little sister, whom he is very protective towards. While she loves her brother, Flayn can find his protectiveness overbearing and yearns for some independency. The arrivals of a new professor and foreign mage piqued her curiosity, which results in her meeting with Goetia. She soon starts talking to Goetia from time to time since then.
- Bad Liar: It's clear whenever her age is brought up, she often dodges the question or just gives a bad excuse about it.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Flayn is a sweet, but gullible, young lady who hates unnecessary violence and bloodshed. But when her family and home are in danger, she's prepared to fight back, as Sitri learned the hard way.
- Big Damn Heroes: She stops Sitri from unleashing a barrage of Eye Beams on Goetia and the others with the repeated use of Excalibur. Her arrival soon shifts the battle to Goetia's favor.
- Cannot Keep a Secret: She's well aware that because of her terrible at lying and inability to keep quiet from a bit of gossip, she's not one to keep secrets. One of the reasons she tells Goetia about Seteth's and Rhea's reaction to the Tower's alarm that he installed earlier was because she knows that he's not one for gossip. She even needs Lysithea's help to remind her not to say too much about Goetia's true nature after The Reveal.
- The Confidant: Flayn becomes this to Goetia after revealing his true nature to her when he was having a breakdown, confiding to her about his troubled thoughts and confused emotions that comes with becoming human because she has more insight on that field.
- Cooldown Hug: Flayn gives one to Goetia after he has a breakdown over the fact that he killed Sitri, someone he knew for three-thousand years, in order to protect humans that he only knew for a few months. What makes it heartwarming is that earlier in his breakdown, Goetia confessed to Flayn and Lysithea that he is a demon like Sitri. Instead of hating him for being related to Sitri, Flayn sympathized with his plight, thanking him for saving her father.
- Covert Pervert: When Flayn invites Goetia to her room for a private talk in Chapter 68, he spots a book on her bed that's implied to be an erotic romance novel. This prompts Flayn to quickly hide the book in embarrassment. She claims to be reading them because of the touching tale. Definitely not for the intimacy scenes.
- Cynic–Idealist Duo: She has this dynamic with Goetia, being the kind, optimistic and naive idealist who believes in the best in people.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Her isolation due to Seteth's overprotectiveness results in her eagerly talking to new people who come to Monastery, which was why she approached Goetia.
- Nice Girl: Flayn is a kind, gentle and sweet young lady who hates violence and was one of the few people who welcomes Goetia without any hostility. She doesn't even hate Goetia for being a demon that's connected to the one that nearly killed her father.
- Savvy Guy, Energetic Girl: She has this dynamic with Goetia, being the friendly and enthusiastic foil to the stoic and cynical Goetia.
- Secret-Keeper: Alongside with Lysithea, she learns of Goetia's true origins as a demon and his connections with Sitri after the latter confesses to them in amidst a breakdown in Chapter 65.
- Turn the Other Cheek: When Goetia confesses in his breakdown that he is the same creature as Sitri was, he was expecting Flayn to hate him because of his connections to the demon that nearly killed her father. To his surprise, Flayn doesn't hold it against him, understanding that Goetia was forced to make a hard choice to kill his last remaining breathren in order to protect them.
Jeralt
Jeralt Reus Eisner
The famed Blade Breaker and Byleth's father. He was the former captain of the Knights of Seiros before he left for undisclosed reasons and he once again rejoins the knights after his daughter was hired as a teacher in the Officer's Academy.
- The Ace: He is regarded as the strongest knight that is known.
- Action Dad: He is Byleth's father and the strongest knight.
- The Alcoholic: He enjoys hitting up bars and the thing that Byleth does to make him believe she is back after Sothis manages to give her back control of her body, was to recount the many times she had to cover for him for his unpaid tabs.
- Big Eater: According to Alois, he ate the most back in his days with the Knights of Seiros.
- Boyfriend-Blocking Dad: Downplayed. He's not normally this, but after Goetia expresses 'interest' in Byleth, Jeralt has been keeping an eye on the former demon whenever he's alone with his daughter. It is justified on Jeralt's part— a stranger whom your daughter only knew for a few minutes since meeting him, seems to know a lot about her, so it's little to no wonder Jeralt is wary of Goetia's intent.
- Broken Pedestal: He used to respect Rhea, but Rhea's involvement in his wife's passing and his daughter's birth caused him to be uneasy around her, to the point where he staged a fire to escape with his infant daughter. After a guilt-ridden Rhea reveals the full truth to him, any trust he had for her is gone. And he would have left the monastery with his daughter if Byleth hadn't begged him not to leave, unwilling to abandon her students.
- Drowning My Sorrows: After believing he lost his daughter because Sothis was still possessing her body with no idea how to relinquish control, Jeralt starts drinking excessively at a tavern in depression. It takes Byleth back in her body to snap him out of his depression.
- Emergency Transformation: The reason for having the Major Crest of Seiros and having an extended lifespan that dates back three hundred years ago was because Rhea gave him her blood after he got mortally wounded from protecting her. This makes him a first-generation Crest bearer, which is the reason Lemegeton takes an interest in him.
- Locked Out of the Loop: He has a bad habit of not being in know in regard to Rhea's plans and how his wife and later daughter were involved. Once he learns the full truth, he is less than happy and understandably wants nothing to do with Rhea. Though he is currently out of the loop about the 'Demonic Beast' that attacked the academy while he was away, Goetia knowing how uncomfortable it would be to learn that it was a demon who shares the name of his deceased wife.
- Mentor Archetype: He taught Byleth and Leonie everything he knows. He even was one to Alois back when he was the Captain of the Knights of Seiros.
- Not So Stoic: Believing that he may have lost his daughter to possession and learning the full truth about Rhea's plans for his late wife and daughter are the few times Jeralt stoic demeanor crumbles.
- Older Than They Look: He may look like a middle-aged man, but he's actually around three-hundred years old.
- Only Sane Man: This is the reason why Goetia approached him for more insight about the Church of Seiros—Jeralt lacks the zealous adoration and worship that many knights have, making him unbiased and neutral in giving information.
- Papa Wolf: While Byleth can take care of herself, Jeralt will not allow harm to befall on his daughter.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After Rhea reveals the full truth to him, the first thing Jeralt does to start packing his things, intending to leave the monastery with Byleth. Though averted as the only reason he stops his attempts is because Byleth begged to stay, having grown fond of her students that she can't abandoned them.
The Gatekeeper
The Gatekeeper/Harold
An ordinary Knight of Seiros who is tasked with guarding the gates to the Monastery. He often talks to Goetia whenever he passes by the gates.
- Ascended Extra: The unassuming Gatekeeper gets involved in the Cindered Shadows arc when Goetia is asked for his aid.
- Butt-Monkey: Downplayed, but most people can never properly remember his name and he always gets interrupted before he can introduce himself by his given name. Not even traveling with the students to Abyss or getting promoted to Sergant changes that.
- Cynic–Idealist Duo: He's the optimistic, friendly and naive idealist whenever paired with Goetia.
- The Generic Guy: Goetia outright calls him an utterly unremarkable man, and that there is - quite literally - nothing special about him, hence why barely anyone remembers his name. Not that he minds.
- Dramatic Irony: Despite being a virtual nobody in the grand scheme of things to the point of most of the cast not even remembering his name, he's the first member of the cast outside of Rhea, Seteth and Flayn to gain an inkling of the true nature of Fodlan's history via an Agarthan book detailing Sothis' arrival that Goetia handed off to him in the Abyss.
- Named by the Adaptation: He is named Harold in this story, though only Goetia remembers his name.
- Nice Guy: He's friendly and polite to those he greets, and one of the few knights who's welcoming towards Goetia despite his disposition. He doesn't even hold against anyone for failing to remember his name.
- Only Sane Man: He's one of the few knights who is friendly to Goetia and isn't quick to judge the commoner students. He is also fairly open-minded towards people with different beliefs.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: As Goetia's guard during his house-arrest, he allows Goetia to aid Byleth and students during the Cindered Shadows arc as long as he stays close by.
- You Are in Command Now: He gets promoted to Sergant after the events of the Cindered Shadows arc, if only because most of the upper knights were killed during Sitri's rampage.
Aelfric (Unmarked Spoilers Below)
Aelfric Dahlman
The Cardinal who oversees Abyss and the caretaker of the Ashen Wolves. A calm and forgiving man, the Ashen Wolves place their full trust of him despite their own misgivings with the Church. Though something seems off with him beneath the surface.
- Asshole Victim: The plan to initiate the Rite of Rising and use the Ashen Wolves as sacrifices were initially his plans, as both Rhea and Yuri can attest to. Sitri merely just swooped in and decided to use those plans for itself. The reason Rhea would at least attempt to pardon Sitri for the death of Aelfric when Goetia was trying to talk to it was because she suspected that Aelfric would attempt the ritual regardless of the Demon God Pillar's interference.
- Big Bad Wannabe: He's the one who gathered all the members of the Ashen Wolves so that he can perform the Rite of Rising to resurrect Sitri. Unfortunately, he gets usurped by Sitri, the Demon God Pillar, who managed to possess him for months.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: A kind man who created a place for the outcasts to stay in, including the Ashen Wolves. He turned out to have gathered those bearing the Apostle Crests to commence the Rite of Rising. Then it turns out to be literal when it's revealed that Sitri took over Aelfric and used his body to for its own goals.
- Dead All Along: Sitri slowly assimilated Aelfric into it when it possessed him that by the time of the Cindered Shadows arc, it has fully absorbed Aelfric's memories and personality, essentially becoming Aelfric.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: His desire to revive Sitri turns out to be his undoing, as that very desire acted as an anchor for the dying Demon Pillar Sitri, guiding it to Fodlan and using Sitri's name to easily possess him.
- Kill and Replace: How Sitri's possession works. Not only did it take Aelfric's body as its own, but it also absorbed all of Aelfric's memories, personality and knowledge— essentially becoming Aelfric.
- Necromantic: Even to this day, he's still in love with Sitri Eisner, willing to use any means to revive her. Demon Pillar Sitri used this in order to overcome Aelfric's will and possess him.
- Seeks Another's Resurrection: Discovering Sitri's pure and untouched corpse in Abyss is what drove him to any means to bring her back from the dead. Sadly, Sitri the Demon God Pillar had another idea in mind on who will be restored.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: It was Aelfric's strong desire for Sitri's revival that drew the Demon Pillar sharing her name to Fodlan, leading to him being possessed and Sitri eventually going on a rampage throughout the Monastery, killing countless humans along the way.
- Walking Spoiler: Just like in the original game, being possessed by one of the Demon Pillars who managed to survive and found their way to Fodlan like Goetia.
Sitri (Unmarked Spoilers Below)
Sitri Eisner
A nun who lived in the Monastery, Jeralt's late wife and Byleth's mother. In actuality, she is Rhea's twelfth attempt in creating a homunculus for the purpose of being a suitable host for Sothis. She shares the same name with a certain Demon God Pillar, which plays a huge role in the Cindered Shadows arc.
- Artificial Human: Rhea created her in an attempt to create a suitable vessel for Sothis, which failed due to her lacking in the art of creating life. While not physically or magically powerful like the homunculi that the Einzbern's were known for creating, Sitri managed to live a natural lifespan for twenty years despite her ailment, whereas the Einzbern's homunculi would only live for a few years at best.
- Death by Childbirth: While she survived giving birth to Byleth, the complications stemming from her illness resulted in Byleth being stillborn. Knowing she doesn't have much time left herself, she requested Rhea to transplant her Crest Stone to Byleth, sparing her daughter while knowing she herself will perish in the process.
- Delicate and Sickly: Her flawed creation resulted in her being physically frail and unable to leave the Monastery throughout her entire life, which likely contributed to Byleth's birth complications. Though from the symptoms Rhea described, Goetia deduced that Sitri possibly had anemia, which could've been stablized with proper medication if Fodlan had advanced more in their development.
- The Lost Lenore: Jeralt and Aelfric never got over her passing, the latter even taking drastic measures that a Demon Pillar took advantage of.
- Mama Bear: At the brink of death, she chose to save her daughter's life at the cost of her own.
- Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Like her daughter and predecessors, Sitri shares the same name with a demon from Ars Goetia. This similar name is the reason the dying Demon God Sitri manages to find its way to Fodlan.
- Small Role, Big Impact: She's long dead when the main story starts, but Aelfric discovering her untouched remains in Abyss is what motivated him in finding the Chalice of Beginning using the Rite of Rising to restore her, which in turn drew Demon God Pillar Sitri to Fodlan and possess Aelfric.
- Walking Spoiler: It is hard to talk about Sitri without revealing Aelfric's motives, Rhea and Byleth's past and Demon God Pillar Sitri's involvement in Fodlan.
The Ashen Wolves
In General
- All the Other Reindeer: Each one of them reside in Abyss because they were ostracized or persecuted in the surface area. Yuri initially believed that Goetia seek refuge in Abyss because of his foreigner status and being under house-arrest.
- Secret-Keeper:
- By the end of the Cindered Shadows arc, the Ashen Wolves learn that Goetia's a former demon and Rhea is the Immaculate One. They don't see any reason to reveal these secrets considering the individuals in question would have dealt with them if they did.
- They are also the only ones in Abyss who know what really happened to Aelfric and what he was planning to do. They only kept this a secret to maintain order within Abyss and avoid a scandal from this.
- Targeted Human Sacrifice: The Ashen Wolves bear the Crests of the Four Apostles, which is necessary to fuel the Rite of Rising. Sitri, following Aelfric's plan, kidnaps the Ashen Wolves along with Byleth in order to increase the success of the ritual in order to restore its power.
Yuri
Yuri Leclerc
The leader of the Ashen Wolves house and the one overseeing the Abyss second to Aelfric. He is a former student of Garreg Mach who was expelled due to running afoul between the Knights of Seiros only to be exiled to the Abyss.
- Deadpan Snarker: Like Claude, he has a wry sense of humor, even in tough situations. He's not even afraid to dish some to Goetia despite learning of his true nature.
- Forced into Evil: Like in canon, he was basically forced into helping with Aelfric's plans because the Cardinal was holding his mother hostage.
- Guile Hero: Yuri's wit and cunningness are his greatest assets and he uses it to help defend Abyss and his friends by any means.
- The Leader: He is the leader of the Ashen Wolves and to an extent, Abyss, just behind Aelfric.
- Mama's Boy: He cares for his mother and Aelfric used her in order to blackmail Yuri prior to Sitri possessing the Cardinal.
- Nerves of Steel: He seems to able to keep his cool, whether it be confronting ghostly specters or being held captive by a Demon God where he calmly asks Sitri how long it has been impersonating Aelfric.
Constance
Constance von Nuvelle
The last survivor of House Nuvelle. Despite losing her status due to the fall of her house, she is determined to restore her family's name and regain her title.
- And Then What?: Goetia keeps on asking her what she plans to after she finally regains her noble status, finding it disappointing that she would probably be no different from the other nobles lounging around in their luxuries without changing a thing to the status quo. Constance finally admits Goetia has a point when discussing this with the others and Byleth while they are captured by Sitri.
Balthus
Balthus von Albrecht
A rowdy and hearty man who goes by the self-proclaimed title "Leicester's King of Grappling". His carelessness in gambling lead him falling into a heavy debt, residing in Abyss because of it.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Balthus is stubborn to a fault, but even he knew when to quit after he fails to break out of Sitri's magical bindings with raw strength alone. It does help that the more he struggled, the tighter the bindings get, making it harder for him to breath.
Hapi
Hapi
A dour woman who hails from the hidden village of Timotheos in the Adrestian Empire who has a condition which allows her to summon Demonic Beasts to her location whenever she sighs. She is very vocal in expressing on what irks her.
- Blessed with Suck: She is a walking Demonic Beast beacon thanks to her tampered Crest and believes herself to be a danger to everyone near her whenever she sighs. Because of this, she distrusts the Church for just leaving her in the Abyss when they couldn't find a cure for her condition.
- Mundane Utility: Her Crest, which is tampered by the Agarthans, allows her to summon Demonic Beasts to her location whenever she sighs. Goetia is planning to make use of this as a way for her to contribute to the economical boon of The Abyss by summoning monsters and harvesting their parts after defeating them.
Unaffiliated
Anna
Anna
A mysterious red-headed merchant setting up shop in Garreg Mach who strikes an odd partnership with Goetia with her business.
- Money Fetish: As per usual, her love for money has her charging her wares at a higher price, something that has several of the Knights of Seiros complain about. Goetia isn't that bothered by it since she has it in her right to charge how she wishes and one of the reasons she agreed to business deal with Goetia is because of how his unique products would become a valuable source of income for her.
- You Remind Me of X: The reason why Goetia chooses to make a deal with Anna to sell his wares is because her methodology and personality greatly reminds him of the Queen of Sheba.
