Duma
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| “ | We and our Lord value human suffering above all. | ” | — Juda, on Duma's philosophy |
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Duma (Japanese: ドーマ Doma) is one of the two gods of Valentia, the brother of the Earth Goddess Mila, and the patron deity of the nation of Rigel. In ancient times, Valentia was split into two nations in a pact between the two conflicting gods, and Duma's beliefs in strength above all else shaped Rigel into a powerful and heartless empire.
Biography
Shaping Valentia
In Valentia's distant past, Duma once dwelled on the continent along with Mila, but he grew to hate humanity's descent into corruption, and the two gods came into conflict over their different views of an ideal world. Duma and Mila engaged in a long, violent struggle to determine whose ideals should shape Valentia, dragging Valentia into an age of darkness. The struggle eventually came to an end through a pact the two made, dividing the land in two and giving each god one half to rule as they saw fit. Duma took the northern half, which became the kingdom of Rigel, and his belief that power was everything guided it into becoming a harsh, militaristic empire with little room for kindness.[1]
Thousands of years later, in the year 604, Duma was involved in the instigation of an all-out war between Zofia and Rigel by providing Falchion to Rigel's Emperor Rudlf in order to imprison Mila. Following this, Zofia fell to a coup by its General Dozer, then to a successful invasion from Rigel. In response to these actions, Alm led a revolutionary army to defeat Rigel while Celica set out to find what happened to Mila.
Their efforts culminated with Alm leading an assault on Duma's Altar, in which Celica was being imprisoned by the priest Juda. The two engaged Duma and his force of priests and monster servants in battle, which ended with Alm defeating Duma using Falchion. With this defeat, Duma entrusted the welfare of Valentia and its people to Alm and Celica, and bade them to rule more justly and balanced than he or Mila ever did.
Legacy
Thousands of years after his defeat at Alm's hands, the site of Duma's resting place, somewhere in Valentia's south-west, became a volcano known as the Demon's Ingle, and was the site of Chrom's showdown with Yen'fay. Notably, the Demon's Ingle is not anywhere near Duma's actual place of defeat.
Fire Emblem Gaiden
Role
Duma is the final boss of Fire Emblem Gaiden, confronted at Duma's Altar in Chapter 5. All units are capable of fighting Duma until his HP has been reduced to 52 or less, after which point he cannot be damaged any further by anything except Alm's Falchion or the Nosferatu spell. After this point, units without these who attempt to attack him will do nothing at all and the battle text will say that "their attack was sealed", and leave themselves open to be counter-attacked by Duma.
Stats
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Fire Emblem Awakening
Role
While Duma himself does not appear, he is mentioned as part of the Demon's Ingle location, which is known in Japanese as Doma's Remains. Like with several other locations on Valentia that appear in Awakening, the location of the Demon's Ingle is not in the location of Duma's Altar, and thus the location of his actual defeat. Duma's name is also listed as one of many Fire Emblem locations a player can select as their home on their StreetPass profile card.
Personality and character
Despite his reputation as an evil god, Duma may not be inherently antagonistic, but he nonetheless came into conflict with his sister goddess Mila over their mutal conviction in their respective viewpoints. Duma strongly adhered to a philosophy of power and military prowess as being the ideal path for mankind, incompatible with Mila's devotion to pacifism. This schism led to a truce in which they divided Valentia into two nations to rule as they each saw fit, and Duma's philosophy took root in his nation Rigel. However, Duma's heavy involvement in Rigel's direction led to the nation practicing his philosophy to an unhealthy extreme, soon becoming a strict and rigid militant regime.[2]
Duma appears to have been aware of the need to end his and Mila's influences on their nations and for Valentia to reach a more balanced state of life. It was he who provided Rigel's King Rudlf with Falchion to seal Mila away,[3] an act which - as planned by Rudlf - led directly to Alm and Celica's uprising against Rigel and Duma and reunification of Valentia.
Quotes
Death quote
| “ | That should be enough... Hero Alm. I entrust everything to you. Inherit the will of us siblings and govern this land... Carrying both the strength of Duma as well as the love of Mila, guide the people justly... You must not repeat the same mistakes we committed. You must never again disturb our slumber... | ” | — Duma, in Gaiden. |
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Trivia
- Duma is one of the few final bosses in the entire series to move.
- Duma also has the highest raw HP of any character or boss in the entire Fire Emblem series.
Gallery
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
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| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English |
Duma |
As of Fire Emblem Awakening. |
| English (unofficial) |
Doma |
Commonly called by this name prior to the English release of Awakening. |
| Spanish |
Duma |
As above. |
| French |
Duma |
As above. |
| German |
Duma |
As above. |
| Italian |
Duma |
As above. |
References
- ↑ "Once, two siblings, Duma and Mila, lived on this remote island known as Valentia. Duma, obsessed with power, despised mankind's corruption, and fought with his younger sister Mila, who wished for peace. Eventually, the two agreed to split Valentia: the north ruled by Duma, The south by Mila... Centuries passed. The gods' domains gave rise to two kingdoms: Zofia, the southern realm, and Rigel, to the north." — Opening prologue, Fire Emblem Gaiden
- ↑ "It was due to the gods that this land Valentia came to be divided into North and South. And in doing so they mistakenly involved themselves too deeply with the concerns of mankind. As a result, the people of Zofia forgot the meaning of toil, and the people of Rigel forgot the meaning of leisure. As things were, we would all certainly come to ruin." — Mycen, Fire Emblem Gaiden
- ↑ "The evil god Duma was the one who provided Rudlf with the sword that sealed Mila." — A priestess, Fire Emblem Gaiden
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This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series. |
