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God: Difference between revisions

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**[[Yune]], one of the aspects that Ashunera split into, represents chaos and change.
**[[Yune]], one of the aspects that Ashunera split into, represents chaos and change.
* [[Sothis]], the goddess of whom the [[Church of Seiros]] worships as "the Beginning" and the "progenitor god". She is capable of manipulating time to a limited degree, and can bestow this ability to others.
* [[Sothis]], the goddess of whom the [[Church of Seiros]] worships as "the Beginning" and the "progenitor god". She is capable of manipulating time to a limited degree, and can bestow this ability to others.
* [[Nifl (character)|Nifl]], the founder of [[Nifl|the country named after her]]. She can grant humans her divine power, at the cost of shortening their lives.


===Minor gods===
===Minor gods===

Revision as of 06:41, 18 July 2021

Ashunera, the ancient creation goddess, among the first people of Tellius.
It’s true, we don’t have much use for gods. But, well… You show us what we should aspire to. We need inspiration. You give us a reason to grow. To become more than we are. And if we don’t have that, Yune, we’re nothing more than statues.
— Ike, to Yune

A god or deity (Japanese: god), feminine goddess (Japanese: 女神 goddess) is an exceptionally powerful supernatural being. Gods are regarded by humans and other races as divine and supreme entities, and are very often the subject of religious orders and worship from humans. The majority of Fire Emblem series games feature at least one god or character considered to be a god.

Characteristics

There are virtually no rules as to what a god must be like, with gods in Fire Emblem ranging from the humanoid to the monstrous and grotesque. The abilities, appearance, and powers of each god vary greatly from individual to individual. Typically, as most religions presented in the Fire Emblem series are pantheistic, each god has their own domain over which they have absolute control, rather than omnipotent rule over all domains of nature. They often bear extreme magical powers, including the ability of creation, or the ability to revive the dead.[1][2]

Relationships with other races

Usually, the relationship held between gods and mortals is that of religion, where the god is the object of worship from human societies. Many individual nations or societies have a religion or form of worship specific to them, but all have in common the reverence of gods as supreme beings responsible for the well-being of the world. The magical disciplines of light magic and staff usage are both derived from faith in and worship of the gods,[3] and the vast majority of wielders of light magic in particular are ordained members of the clergy, to the point where Micaiah using light magic while not being a priest is notably rare and unusual.[4]

For their part, however, gods very rarely intervene directly in mortal affairs, and even more rarely directly appear before them. Some gods, such as Ashera, even express clear detachment from and disinterest in the lives of humans. At some point in the history of Valentia, however, both Mila and Duma physically manifested themselves among humans and directly shaped their chosen nations' viewpoints as a result. Ashunera is also said to have lived among the first sentient creatures of Tellius, the Zunanma, in ancient history, and it wasn't until the Great Flood that she, as her split selves Ashera and Yune, retreated from interacting with other races.

List of gods

Major gods

These gods are explicitly named and play a significant role in the stories of their respective games.

  • Ashunera, the god who created the world that Tellius resides in. Split into two after the Great Flood.
    • Ashera, one of the aspects that Ashunera split into, represents order and stasis.
    • Yune, one of the aspects that Ashunera split into, represents chaos and change.
  • Sothis, the goddess of whom the Church of Seiros worships as "the Beginning" and the "progenitor god". She is capable of manipulating time to a limited degree, and can bestow this ability to others.
  • Nifl, the founder of the country named after her. She can grant humans her divine power, at the cost of shortening their lives.

Minor gods

These gods are mentioned in passing during the game, or mentioned in supplementary material. These gods typically have no particular relevance to the game in question, although they may be connected with an available item.

  • Salamander, the guardian god of Pyrathi.[5] May be a fire dragon analogue to Naga, and possibly may be related to the fire dragon "god" Salamand from Jugdrali lore.
  • A god known by the names "Grann" and "Yudu", the pagan god of Jugdral, worshiped by the humans there until Loptous and Galle spread their own influences.[6]
  • Ethnia, an earth goddess in Jugdrali culture mentioned by Leif (not to be confused with Tailtiu's sister or Miranda's mother).
  • Mother Earth and Father Sky, two loosely defined nature deities in the traditional Sacaen faith.
  • Delphi, a sky god of Elibe who legend says protects all living creatures. He is associated with the Delphi Shield item, the effects of which are described by an Arcadian villager reciting the legend as blessing fliers to allow them to fly without danger.[7]
  • Fale, a minor war god of Magvel.[8]

Unnamed gods

In some cases, religions and cults exist while their gods are not identified by name throughout the course of the game.

  • According to Yoder, the faith of Saint Elimine is pantheistic and cites multiple gods, with one notable parable told by its priests centering around Elimine helping an owl and an eagle find the "land of the gods". None of these gods are named, as the bulk of known information about the religion centers on Elimine herself, but are frequently mentioned in general by various Elimine bishops as "the gods".

Worshipped as gods, but not actually gods

Throughout the series several powerful beings, often Manaketes, are revered as gods by humans, though they themselves are not gods.

  • Naga, a powerful divine dragon. Blood bonded with the crusader Heim at the Miracle of Darna. Naga is worshipped as a deity in both Archanea and Jugdral, with few knowing of Naga's true nature as a dragon, with further worship in later years in Ylisse and Valm actively acknowledging Naga as a dragon as part of the worship.
  • Duma, the Valentian "fell god" whose teachings emphasize power above all else, the brother of Mila. In Gaiden, he was not stated to be a dragon.
  • Mila, the Valentian "Earth Mother" whose teachings emphasize peace above all else, the sister of Duma. In Gaiden, she was not stated to be a dragon.
  • Loptous, an earth dragon who hates humanity, made a blood pact with Galle. The central object of worship of the Loptrian religion founded by Galle.
  • Forseti, a divine dragon who made a blood pact with the crusader Ced at the miracle of Darna.
  • Salamand, a dragon who made a blood pact with the crusader Fjalar.
  • Nine other dragons that are worshiped as gods in Jugdral, however their names are never given.
  • The Twelve Crusaders are occasionally regarded as gods by certain people in Jugdral, although for the most part, the "god" term remains reserved for the twelve dragons.
  • Grima, a draconic being created by an alchemist named Forneus. Worshiped by the Grimleal, apparently made a blood pact with a member of the cult in the past.
  • The First Dragons are revered as gods in Hoshido and Nohr.
  • Anankos, a silent dragon, was worshiped by the people of Valla before he destroyed it after his fall to madness.

Gallery

References

  1. "She can even restore life to the dead. ...Surprised?" — Celica, talking about Mila, Fire Emblem Awakening
  2. "Yune: These soldiers… We’ve killed them already. They’ve been reborn in flesh but not spirit.
    Sanaki: Brought back from the dead…
    Elincia: A miracle of the goddess…
    Caineghis: A blasphemy, you mean! How could the goddess of order violate the most fundamental natural law?
    " — Yune, Sanaki, Elincia and Caineghis, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
  3. "Your magic stems from faith in the unknowable, the divine presence." — Knoll, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
  4. "Micaiah of the Dawn Brigade. The only wielder of light magic not bound to the clergy." — Class roll description for the Light Mage, Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn
  5. "わが しゅごしん
    サラマンダーの
    いけにえとなり すべて
    やきつくされるものとしれ!!" — Mannu, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
  6. "By the way, the highest god is the sky deity called Yudu (or Gran), but these gods aren’t mentioned ingame." — VincentASM, translation of comments by Shouzou Kaga, Fire Emblem: Treasure (webpage), Serenesforest.net, Published: ?, Retrieved: May 15th, 2015
  7. "Have you heard of the sky god, Delphi? He is said to race through the skies and protect all living things. They say that with his blessing, wyvern riders and pegasus knights can fly freely without danger..." — A villager, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
  8. "But this is… The war god Fale’s amulet!" — Vanessa, upon receiving a gift from Syrene in a support conversation, Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

See also

Races and animals of the Fire Emblem series
Major species BeorcBrandedDragon (ManaketeDivine DragonEarth DragonFell DragonFire DragonFirst DragonIce DragonWar DragonWyvern) • EmblemGodHumanKitsuneLaguz (Black DragonCatHawkHeronLionRavenRed DragonTigerWhite DragonWolf) • MirageMorphNabateanTaguelWolfskinZunanma
Animals and other species CorruptedFabricationGriffinHorseIllusionKinshiMonsterPegasusPhantomRisenWolf