Medeus
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“ | All hope turns in fear before me... | ” | — Medeus |
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Medeus (Japanese: メディウス Mediuth) was an Archanean earth dragon king and the only known earth dragon to have willingly become a Manakete. He was the first and only ruler of the Dolhr Empire, reviled and feared across Archanea as the tyrannical Shadow Dragon (Japanese: 暗黒竜 Dark Dragon). His years of watching over his captured brethren on behalf of the divine dragon Naga deeply embittered him against humanity and their cruelty toward his fellow Manaketes, to which he sought revenge by founding Dolhr and subjecting humanity to years of cruel conquest and oppression under his rule.
For all his brutality, Medeus's two reigns over Dolhr were relatively brief, totalling only ten years or so. His first period of rule, presiding over the conflict which would later be called the War of Liberation was ended with his defeat at the hands of Anri, the future founder of Altea who wielded the blade of light Falchion against him. A century later Medeus was resurrected a century later through the machinations of the rogue sorcerer Gharnef, and he engaged humanity in another war of conquest dubbed the War of Shadows. Though he had seen great success in luring human nations to ally with Dolhr, he was undermined by the efforts of Anri's descendant Marth, who killed him again at the climax of the war. Afterward, three years later, the second resurrection of Medeus was the culmination of Gharnef's grand scheme in the War of Heroes, and this time Medeus took a new form: that of a true shadow dragon.
Biography
The decline of the dragons
Centuries before the founding of the Holy Kingdom of Archanea, when the dragonkin were experiencing their degeneration, Medeus was the only earth dragon to willingly shed his dragon form and become a Manakete, thus escaping the degeneration of the dragons. All of his fellow earth dragons refused this idea and ultimately devolved into wild beasts which posed a grave threat to the fledgling human race. At the conclusion of a great war between the divine dragons and wild earth dragons, which resulted in all other earth dragons being sealed beneath the Dragon's Table, Medeus was entrusted by the divine dragon Naga with the task of guarding the altar and its seal.
The War of Liberation
As the age of the dragonkin faded into legend, the following centuries saw mankind rising to take the place of dragons as the dominant species of Archanea, finalized with the foundation of the mighty Holy Kingdom of Archanea in the year 0. As humans came to dominance, however, they also came to frequently abuse and mistreat the surviving Manaketes, now largely powerless. From his post at the Dragon's Table, Medeus was forced to observe the atrocities humans constantly subjected his fellow Manaketes to, and ultimately his fury was such that in the year 490, he united the Manaketes into a new nation of their own, the Dolhr Empire. Dolhr was by policy openly hostile to humans, an attitude which culminated three years later in a conflict known as the War of Liberation, as Dolhr declared war on Archanea as retribution for the horrid treatment of Manaketes by humans.[1]
The first great action of the war was the Dolhr assault on the Archanean capital palace, Millennium Court, which was a resounding Dolhr victory. Medeus's army succeeded in conquering Archanea and wiping out all members of its royal family, save for Princess Artemis, who evaded captivity. The rest of the world soon fell too, and so for five years Medeus dominated the entire world. The tide turned against him with the rise of a rebellion in the Altea region led by Cartas of Archanea. At the war's end, Medeus personally entered the fray and decimated Cartas's army with ease.[2] Even as Medeus's immense power seemed impossible to overcome, he was foiled by the sudden appearance of Anri, a young man wielding Falchion. With Falchion, Anri engaged Medeus in battle and emerged victorious, killing Medeus. With Medeus's demise, Dolhr crumbled and faded into history.
The War of Shadows
Earth dragons, by their very nature, are difficult to truly kill,[3] and so nearly a century later Medeus was reawakened through the machinations of the the vengeful sorcerer Gharnef; however, his revival remained incomplete, and he could only maintain his earth dragon form and powers while within the walls of Dolhr Keep itself.[4] Medeus recreated the Dolhr Empire and soon resumed his mission of world conquest. This time, however, through Gharnef's schemes he now had human nations as his allies in the form of Grust, Gra and Macedon. Through both the sheer power of his armies and those of his allies, and through treachery and back-stabbing, the Dolhr forces rapidly conquered Archanea and most of its allies starting with the second conquest of Millennium Court, subjecting the territories to Medeus's rule.
However, one aspect of Medeus's plan failed to be adequately completed to his designs: the extermination of the Archanean royal family. As with before, one member survived his army's onslaught, when the princess Nyna entered the custody of Camus of Grust as he occupied the capital. Medeus grew weary of Camus's refusal to bring Nyna to be imprisoned under Medeus himself, and so four years into the war he tasked his subordinate Brzak with retrieving the princess. When Brzak's mission met with resistance from Camus and his Sable Order, resulting in the death of Brzak himself, Medeus himself travelled to Aurelis to personally deal with the situation. Though Nyna managed to escape, Medeus captured Camus and brought him to Dolhr for punishment for his treachery.
A year later, the war came to an end with the arrival of the Archanean League, the united army under Marth, at Dolhr Keep. Medeus and the last of the Dolhr army engaged Marth in a final battle within Dolhr Keep, with Medeus unleashing his full power against the army. Ultimately, Marth's army emerged victorious and Medeus died for a second time, swearing to return so long as darkness remained in the hearts of mankind.
The true Shadow Dragon
Medeus would not remain dead for long, for a mere three years after the end of the War of Shadows, Gharnef was resurrected from his own demise and executed on a new plan to revive Medeus. By the end of the War of Heroes, Gharnef and his minions used the life force of four abducted noble maidens to resurrect Medeus at the Dragon's Table, now in an even more powerful form: a true shadow dragon. Even as Gharnef worked to revive Medeus, the seal on the Table, long weakened by the breaking of the Binding Shield, had at last begun to fade enough to allow the captive earth dragons to emerge from within its depths to serve Medeus.
Even as this happened, however, Marth had been entrusted by Gotoh with the task of restoring the Binding Shield and averting the re-emergence of the earth dragons. Having succeeded in completing the shield following the defeat of Emperor Hardin, Marth travelled to the Dragon's Table to stop Medeu's resurrection. By the time Marth reached the Dragon's Table, Falchion in hand, Medeus had already been revived, with the four maidens Nyna, Elice, Maria and Lena surrounding him, hypnotised, in preparation to be sacrificed to him to complete the revival process. Around him, wave after wave of earth dragons emerged from the Table to confront Marth, only to be re-sealed by the Binding Shield. Despite his immense newfound power, Medeus fell for the third and final time to the might of Falchion and the Binding Shield wielded together by Marth. As he died Medeus swore that, should mankind's greed overtake it and the Binding Shield be broken again, he would rise from the dead once more. However, according to Gotoh, this death was very likely permanent and completely obliterated any chance of Medeus returning again.[5]
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light
Role
Medeus is the final boss of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, and is fought at Dolhr Keep in the Endgame. He fights solely using his Earth Dragon form via the Earthstone, and accordingly is immune to long-ranged attacks and must be fought at 1 range.
Stats
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Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem
Book 1
Role
Medeus is the final boss of Mystery of the Emblem Book 1, and is fought at Dolhr Keep in the Endgame. Like all Earth Dragons in Mystery, he takes only half the usual damage from attacks.
Stats
Transformed Untransformed
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- Note: Medeus is shown transforming from the untransformed state on turn 1 player phase and never reverts; as a result, Medeus actually cannot be fought in the untransformed state.
Book 2
Role
Medeus is the final boss of Mystery of the Emblem Book 2 in its true ending, and is fought at the Dragon's Table in the third part of Endgame-2. In order to defeat Medeus, the four maidens surrounding him—Nyna, Maria, Elice and Lena—must be recruited and moved out of harm's way; otherwise, should Medeus's HP be reduced to 0, he will kill them to replenish all of his HP. He is entirely immune to tome attacks.
Starting stats and growth rates
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Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga
Role
Medeus only appears in the opening cutscene of the fourth episode, The Beginning, giving Brzak his orders to retrieve Nyna.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Role
Medeus is the final boss of Shadow Dragon, and is fought at Dolhr Keep in the Endgame. Before beginning the chapter, he is classed as a Manakete, but permanently becomes an Earth Dragon for the rest of the chapter in an opening cutscene.
Stats
Normal Hard-5
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Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
Role
Medeus is the final boss of New Mystery of the Emblem in its true ending, and is fought at the Dragon's Table in the third part of the Endgame. In order to defeat Medeus, the four maidens surrounding him—Nyna, Maria, Elice and Lena—must be recruited and moved out of harm's way; otherwise, should Medeus's HP be reduced to 0, he will kill them to replenish all of his HP.
Stats
Normal Hard Maniac Lunatic
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Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE
Role
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Stats
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Personality and character
Medeus's primary motivation was his quest for vengeance against humanity. Owing to the persecution of the Manaketes he witnessed during his years at the Dragon's Table, he believed humans deserved to be treated in kind and sought to implement that through conquest.[1] As part of this, he sought to crush the hope of any who would dare resist his rule by making torturous examples out of those who did, in fact, attempt to do so.[6] He adamantly insisted that all of his conquests and brutal conducts were entirely justified, and that for their crimes against the Manaketes, humans deserved the painful deaths he awarded.[7]
Quotes
Battle quotes
“ | Fools who have awoken me: burn in agony from the fires of hell! | ” | — Medeus, in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. |
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“ | I have awoken from my slumber. Rebels! You will suffer a fiery death by the flames of Hell. | ” | — Medeus, in Mystery of the Emblem Book 1. |
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“ | I... HAVE RESURRECTED... STUPID HUMANS... I WILL KILL YOU ALL... | ” | — Medeus, in Mystery of the Emblem. |
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“ | Foolish humans! You dare disturb me while I slumber? Oh, how you will regret it as you die slowly...painfully...writhing in the fires of the inferno! | ” | — Medeus, in Shadow Dragon. |
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“ | Hmm? So... I am not the only dragon revived. I had heard you perished the last time. No matter; you've recovered even less of your power than me. This time, you have no chance! | ” | — Medeus, when fighting Nagi in Shadow Dragon. |
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“ | I HAVE... REVIVED... FOOLISH HUMANS... I WILL LEAVE... NONE ALIVE... | ” | — Medeus, in New Mystery of the Emblem. |
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“ | DO YOU PLAN TO... DEFY ME ONCE MORE... DESCENDANT OF ANRI...? | ” | — Medeus, when fighting Marth in New Mystery of the Emblem. |
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“ | A MERE HUMAN SUCH AS YOURSELF... WISHES TO CHALLENGE ME...? HOW FOOLISH... | ” | — Medeus, when fighting Kris in New Mystery of the Emblem. |
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Death quotes
“ | Ugh... I... lost... to the humans... But remember, Prince of Light. One day... As long as there is darkness, my manifestations will appear. Remember... As long as there is light, there will always be darkness... | ” | — Medeus, in Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. |
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“ | Urgh... I could be.... Defeated by humans... But the heart. Altea’s prince, protected by the light... There will be... one day... When peoples’ hearts only have evil inside them, and that is when my manifestations will appear. The heart... As long as there is light, darkness will never fade away... | ” | — Medeus, in Mystery of the Emblem Book 1. |
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“ | GWA...! WHY... WHY HAVE I... BEEN DEFEATED... SO EASILY...... IS THIS... THE POWER... OF NAGA’S... BINDING SHIELD...? BUT... HUMANS. DON’T FORGET... AS LONG AS GREED LIVES ON IN YOUR HEARTS... YOU WILL LOSE THE SHIELD AND I WILL RISE FROM THE EARTH ONCE AGAIN... REMEMBER... TH...IS... | ” | — Medeus, in Mystery of the Emblem Book 2. |
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“ | Nngh...Defeated again...by humans! Know this, Altean prince... That light which surrounds you is only a temporary respite. So long as the darkness in your hearts continues to sustain me...I cannot be...destroyed..... Rrraaahhh!!!!! | ” | — Medeus, in Shadow Dragon. |
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“ | GWAH...! WHY......? WHY... HAVE I... BEEN DEFEATED... SO EASILY...? IS THIS... THE POWER... ...OF NAGA'S... BINDING SHIELD...? KNOW THIS, HUMANS... THIS LIGHT IS ONLY A BRIEF RESPITE... SO LONG AS EVIL LURKS WITHIN THE HEARTS OF MAN... SHOULD THIS ACCURSED SHIELD BE LOST, WE SHALL RISE FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL... DO NOT... EVER FORGET... | ” | — Medeus, in New Mystery of the Emblem. |
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Other appearances
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Medeus appears as a support spirit.
Trivia
- Medeus was originally named (Japanese: ガイア Gaia), after the earth goddess of Greek mythology.[8]
- Counting remakes and Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, Medeus has been the final boss in a total of five games, the highest among other recurring characters.
Etymology and other languages
Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
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Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
English |
Medeus |
Possibly invoking the Latin deus, "god"[9]. |
Spanish |
Medeus |
As above. |
French |
Medeus |
As above. |
German |
Medeus |
As above. |
Italian |
Medeus |
As above. |
Gallery
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style="border: 1px solid #b0b0b0; width: 50%; background: #232855; Template:Round" align="center" | Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light
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style="border: 1px solid #b0b0b0; width: 50%; background: #232855; Template:Round" align="center" | Mystery of the Emblem
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Artwork of Medeus from Mystery of the Emblem.
Artwork of Medeus from Mystery of the Emblem.
- TCGCipher Marth 02.png
Artwork of Medeus from one of Marth's cards from Fire Emblem Cipher.
Medeus's Manakete portrait in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem.
Medeus's shadow dragon portrait in New Mystery of the Emblem.
Medeus giving instructions to Brzak in Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga.
Marth and Medeus's showdown in Shadow Dragon.
Medeus's corpse at the conclusion of Shadow Dragon.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 " Y'see, I don't like humans. I've got nothin' but contempt for those who treated the defenseless Manaketes like insects. So I can understand why Medeus despised you humans so. Medeus, a member of the earth dragon royalty, was the only one of his tribe who become a Manakete. And, as ordered by Naga, he guarded the Dragon's Table. But the once peaceful human race, drunk with power, began to rule with tyranny. They oppressed the dragons who had done nothin' wrong. Furious at their betrayal by humans, the Manaketes gathered in Dolhr, and they created a nation for their people. Then they fought to conquer humanity." — Xane, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
- ↑ "Thanks to the heroic people of Altea who stood up to protect the princess, the people of Archanea came to know she was alive, and resumed their battle against Dolhr. Their liberation army was led by Duke Cartas, who fought with the royal shield given to him by Artemis, and thanks to their efforts, the tides of battle turned to their favor. However, the king of the earth dragons, Medeus, finally decided to make his move. [...] Before his overwhelming might, it seemed like Altea's resistance wouldn't last any longer. But then, a sage appeared before them. He spoke of a divine sword enshrined in the ice shrine in the distant north. With that blade, it would be possible to fell Medeus, but the way to obtain it would be by no means easy... And that would be Anri's Way. The way we're going through right now..." — Jagen, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
- ↑ "However earth dragons boast tremendous life force, and cannot be completely eliminated so easily..." — Gotoh, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
- ↑ "I recall Lord Gotoh saying his return is not yet complete; only within the keep’s walls can he maintain dragon form." — Malledus, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
- ↑ "Marth, brave prince of Altea. Thanks to your valiant efforts, Shadow Dragon Medeus has been completely obliterated. Medeus's servants--the earth dragons-- have once again returned to darkness." — Gotoh, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
- ↑ "Throw him in a cage, and drag it behind the carriage. He'll prove a fine example of the fate that awaits those who oppose Dolhr. Strip him! Give him only enough food to keep him alive. Everyone shall laugh at the misery of their once great hero, Camus..." — Medeus, Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem
- ↑ "Before Medeus, the dragonkin had few dealings with the human realm, but when the Shadow Dragon came, everything changed. He sunk all Archanea into a cycle of war, in which heroes rose and heroes fell—always claiming his cause was just and the humans' deaths deserved." — Opening narration of Chapter 24, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
- ↑ Making of Shadow Dragon (NES) - Serenes Forest
- ↑ http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/deus#Latin
This article is part of Project Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in the Fire Emblem series. |
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