Holy Blood

Seliph's Holy Blood chart, marking his major Baldr and minor Naga blood.

“	On your hand...that is the Brand, yes? The mark is proof that you descend from dragons, our gods of yore. I, too, carry the Brand. The blood in my veins entitled me to wield the divine blade that led me to victory. But it also cursed me to a lifetime of tragedy... Namely, my father's death and a terrible war with my half-brother. So much blood spilt over blood...	”	— Seliph asking Robin about their mark in Awakening

The Holy Blood system is a gameplay mechanic of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War and a story element in Genealogy of the Holy War, Thracia 776, Awakening, and Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. It deals with the genealogy of the descendants of the Twelve Crusaders and the ability to inherit their "holy blood", the connection with the dragon gods bestowed upon the Crusaders at the Miracle of Dahna. Possession of holy blood increases the combat abilities of an individual and allows them to wield the holy weapon of their ancestors.

In Fire Emblem Fates, the ability to use Dragon Veins is based on a similar principle. Three Houses also features a similar concept, known as Crests.

Overview

In Jugdral, there are thirteen lines of holy blood: the twelve lines of the Crusaders themselves, and that of their enemy Loptous, passed on through the emperors of the Loptrian Empire and linked into the modern day by Saint Maera. The lineages of the Crusaders were preserved through their assembly of various kingdoms and noble houses across Jugdral, while the descendants of Maera secluded themselves into Verdane's Spirit Forest to prevent the Loptous bloodline from influencing the world. Most of the lines are simply named for their Crusader originator, for example "Baldr blood" for the lineage of Baldr; the exceptions are Heim and Ced's lineages, which are instead named for the dragons with whom they made a blood pact, Naga and Forseti. Outside of Jugdral, there exists two further holy blood lineages not associated with Loptous or the Twelve Crusaders: that of the royal family of Ylisse, whose ancestor also made a blood pact with Naga, and that of the Fell Dragon Grima's vessels.

Major and minor blood

Holy blood manifests in two distinct forms: minor blood and major blood. While both carry power, minor blood carries signficantly less. Possession of major blood grants an individual the ability to wield the holy weapon wielded by their Crusader ancestor, whereas minor blood does not. Generally, even in direct lineage, major blood is significantly rarer and, in groups of children of a given bearer of major blood, will often only manifest in just one of the children, with no criteria as to on which child it will manifest. Major holy blood in children will manifest either if one parent possessed major blood themselves, or if both parents possessed the same type of minor blood; Manfroy of the Loptr Church used the latter to his advantage in the sect's scheme to revive the Loptous lineage, by having two bearers of minor Loptous blood reproduce to produce a child bearing major Loptous blood, able to wield the tome and become a vessel for the dark god.

Holy weapons

In the Miracle of Dahna, each Crusader received a holy weapon alongside their blood pact from their respective dragon, each incredibly powerful and boosting the natural abilities of their wielder even further. These twelve weapons all contain a dragonstone from their creator dragon, and are sealed in such a way that only possessors of major holy blood in the matching bloodline are capable of wielding them. Additionally, the connection to the holy bloodlines can enable the weapons to restore lost memories of their wielder; for example, wielding Yewfelle helped restore the memories of Brigid after being raised by the pirates of Orgahil.

By the era of Awakening, however, the sealing of the weapons to the holy bloodlines appears to have faded, as five of the weapons were wielded by the Deadlords and can be subsequently used by any member of Chrom's army of suitable skill.

Brands

"Brand" redirects here. For the Tellius race of mixed beorc and laguz heritage, see Branded.

Alm and Celica inspect their brands.

Possession of holy blood manifests physically by the appearance of Brands on the bodies of their possessors, appearing at a varying point in their life and acting as proof of their holy lineage; however, in rare cases the Brand will not appear on a descendant, but will still show up on the descendant's own children. The placement varies based on the individual. It is unclear whether only major holy blood causes Brands to appear or whether they are present on minor holy blood possessors too. The following are all known brand wearers, along with their locations:

Brand	Person	Location
Od	Galzus	Back
Od	Mareeta	Back
Naga	Deirdre	Forehead
Naga	Emmeryn	Forehead
Naga	Chrom	Right upper arm
Naga	Lucina	Left eye
Naga	Owain	Upper arm
Naga	Ophelia	Arm
Naga	Inigo	Right eye
Grima	Robin	Back of the right hand
Duma	Alm	Back of the left hand
Mila	Celica	Palm of the right hand
Loptous	Julius	Forehead (Oosawa manga only)
Forseti	Lewyn	Chest (Suzuki novelization only)
Ullr	Brigid	Back of the right hand (Suzuki novelization only)

As obvious distinguishing traits of holy blood lineage, the people of some countries, like Agustria, have historically taken advantage of this in witch hunts to find and burn bearers of Loptous blood, though generally unsuccessfully and never capturing actual possessors of Loptous blood. Arvis, a possessor of minor Loptous blood, was paranoid about his Loptous heritage being revealed despite also possessing major Fjalar blood, and so made an effort to keep his Brands hidden.

Mechanics in Genealogy of the Holy War

Inheritance

For the second generation, a child unit will, unlike the lore might suggest, inherit all of the holy blood types held by both of their parents. A child will always inherit at least minor holy blood of these blood types; to inherit major holy blood, one of a handful of circumstances will allow them to do so:

• If a parent of the same sex as the child has major holy blood, the child will also have it.
  • The exceptions to this rule are the children of Brigid and Ethlyn. The former's son will always inherit her major Ullr blood and if her husband has major blood, it will be inherited by her daughter instead. As for Ethlyn, her daughter will always inherit her husband's major Njörun blood while her son will only have minor Njörun.
• If both of their parents possessed the same type of minor holy blood, the child will have major holy blood.
• Ares and Shannan are fixed characters, completely independent of the love and inheritance system, and will always have major Hoðr and Od blood respectively. From a story perspective, both fit the first criteria: Ares's father was Eldigan (major Hoðr), while Shannan's father was Mariccle (major Od), and neither of their mothers are known to have had any holy blood of their own.
• The parents of Seliph and Julia are fixed, and so they will always inherit from their parents the major holy blood matching their weapon type (Baldr and Naga respectively). Additionally, neither will inherit Loptous blood from their mother or, in Julia's case, her father.

With major holy blood, there is some inconsistency in the ability to use their matching holy weapon. For example, Larcei and Scáthach are both Myrmidons, and if Chulainn (who has minor Od just like their mother) is their father, both will inherit major Od blood. However, only their cousin Shannan is allowed to use the matching holy weapon, assuming a glitch to move Balmung into their inventory is not used. Also, even if a character had the needed major blood to wield a holy weapon, they are unable to wield it unless their class is able to use its weapon type.

While all holy blood types except Dáinn are available in playable units, there are five where it is impossible for a player unit to have major holy blood. No playable unit can have major Thrud, Fjalar, Nál, Dáinn or Loptous holy blood, as there is either no access to parent units who possess major holy blood of these types, or because there is no access to two parent units of different genders who both possess minor holy blood of these types.

Substitute units, of course, do not inherit anything as they are static characters who are not the product of playable parent units being paired up. Linda and Amid are the only substitute units to possess any holy blood at all (both have minor Thrud), for story reasons to adequately fulfill their role as substitutes for Tine and Arthur.

Growth rates

Each type of holy blood is associated with a set of growth rate bonuses, with each totalling up to a 50% overall bonus. A unit in possession of minor holy blood in a bloodline will have these growth rates added to their own base growth rates; for example, Ayra possesses minor Od holy blood, so she gains a further 20% HP growth and 30% Skill growth added on top of her own base growth rates of 50% HP and 30% Skill.

The same principle applies for units in possession of major holy blood; however, the growth rate bonuses are doubled for such units.

For example: Larcei, Ayra's daughter, will by default inherit minor Od holy blood from her mother and will gain the +20% HP and +30% Skill growth bonuses. However, if Chulainn (minor Od) is her father, she will instead inherit major Od holy blood, doubling the bonuses given to +40% HP and +60% Skill.

The growth rate bonuses will stack, so units in possession of multiple holy blood types will gain the growth bonuses from both types.

For example: if Larcei's father is Lex, she will inherit minor Nál as well as minor Od, giving her the stacked bonuses of +40% HP, +30% Skill and +30% Defense.

Weapon levels

As a general rule, a unit in possession of a line of holy blood will receive an increased weapon level in the line's matching weapon type if they are capable of using said matching weapon type in their base class.

For example: Patty (minor Ullr blood by default) will receive an increase in her sword rank if Chulainn (minor Od) is her father as she, a Thief, is capable of using swords, but she will not receive an increase in her wind magic rank if Lewyn (major Forseti) is her father, as she is incapable of ever wielding wind magic.

If this criteria is met, a unit in possession of minor holy blood will have their matching weapon level increased one rank from its base value, and a unit in possession of major holy blood will possess a ★ rank in their matching weapon type, granting them access to the matching holy weapon.

For example: Tine and Arthur both normally possess a C rank in wind magic. If Lewyn is their father, both will inherit his Forseti blood, but only Arthur will receive major blood while Tine will receive minor blood, as above. If this is the case, Tine will possess a B rank in wind magic because of her minor blood, while Arthur will receive a ★ rank because of his major blood, allowing him to use the Forseti tome.

If children obtain new weapon types upon promoting, they will also gain the weapon level boosts afforded by their holy blood. Additionally, should their promoted class increase the weapon level of their current weapon types, their rank boost will added to their new base rank.

For example: Arthur is a Mage and thus would normally have a C rank in fire, wind and thunder magic. Suppose that Chulainn is Arthur's father, thus he possesses minor Thrud and minor Od. As a Mage, he would now have a B rank in thunder magic (base rank C + 1 from minor Thrud) prior to promotion; when promoted to Mage Knight, a class which has base B ranks in swords, thunder, fire and wind, his holy blood increases will boost him to an A rank in swords and thunder instead.

Data

Jugdral

Bloodline	Weapon	Default bearers	Growth rate bonuses
Baldr	Tyrfing	Byron, Sigurd, Ethlyn, Oifey, Seliph, Altena, Leif	MHP +20% Spd --% Str +10% Lck +10% Mag --% Def --% Skl +10% Res --%
Od	Balmung	Mananan, Mariccle, Ayra, Chulainn, Shannan, Galzus, Larcei, Scáthach, Mareeta	MHP +20% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag --% Def --% Skl +30% Res --%
Dáinn	Gungnir	Travant, Arion	MHP +20% Spd +30% Str --% Lck --% Mag --% Def --% Skl --% Res --%
Ullr	Yewfelle	Ring, Brigid, Edain, Andrey, Febail, Patty, Lester, Lana	MHP +20% Spd --% Str --% Lck +30% Mag --% Def --% Skl --% Res --%
Bragi	Valkyrie	Claud, Silvia, Lene, Coirpre	MHP +10% Spd --% Str --% Lck +10% Mag +10% Def --% Skl --% Res +20%
Thrud	Mjölnir	Reptor, Bloom, Tailtiu, Ethnia, Arthur, Tine, Amid, Linda, Ishtore, Ishtar, Kempf, a vessel of Anguilla	MHP +20% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag --% Def --% Skl +30% Res --%
Fjalar	Valflame	Victor, Arvis, Azelle, Hilda, Julius, Julia, Saias, a vessel of Equus	MHP +20% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag +30% Def --% Skl --% Res --%
Hoðr	Mystletainn	Eldigan, Lachesis, Ares, Nanna, Diarmuid	MHP +20% Spd --% Str +30% Lck --% Mag --% Def --% Skl --% Res --%
Njörun	Gáe Bolg	Calf, Quan, Altena, Leif	MHP +20% Spd +10% Str +10% Lck --% Mag --% Def +10% Skl --% Res --%
Nál	Helswath	Lombard, Danann, Lex, Brian, Iuchar, Iucharba	MHP +20% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag --% Def +30% Skl --% Res --%
Naga	Naga	Azmur, Kurth, Deirdre, Seliph, Julia, Linoan	MHP +10% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag +20% Def --% Skl --% Res +20%
Forseti	Forseti	Lewyn, Ced*, Fee*, Musar, Mabel, Meng, Bleg, a vessel of Ovis	MHP +20% Spd +30% Str --% Lck --% Mag --% Def --% Skl --% Res --%
Loptous	Loptous	Maera, Cigyun, Deirdre, Arvis, Julius, Saias	MHP +10% Spd --% Str --% Lck --% Mag +20% Def --% Skl --% Res +20%
Note: A bold name means that character possesses major blood, while an italics name marks a nonplayable character, or a character unseen in the gameplay of Genealogy of the Holy War who has been confirmed to possess that holy blood by other material like Thracia 776 or official artbooks explaining backstory.

Ylisse

Bloodline	Weapon	Default bearers
Naga	Falchion	Emmeryn, Chrom, Lissa, Lucina, Owain, Ophelia
Grima	N/A	Validar, Robin, Morgan

Note: No clarification has currently been made in any source material as to whether these characters possess major or minor blood; it is implied that most of these characters possess major blood, however nothing has been confirmed.

Valentia

Bloodline	Weapon	Default bearers
Duma	Falchion*	Rigel, Rudolf, Alm
Mila		Zofia, Celica

Note: No clarification has currently been made in any source material as to whether these characters possess major or minor blood; it is implied that most of these characters possess major blood, however nothing has been confirmed.

Trivia

• There are several weapons that are mentioned to be derived from the power of a dragon and are personal weapons of characters who possess said dragon's blood, but are not formally stated to be holy weapons:
  • Grima's Truth channels its power from Grima and has Grima's mark on its cover. Both of its users, Validar and Morgan, possess Grima's blood.
  • Mila's Testament derives its power from Mila. It is a personal weapon of Celica, who possesses Mila's blood.

Etymology and other languages

Names, etymology and in other regions
Language	Name	Definition, etymology, and notes
English	Holy Blood	--

Gallery

• 

  Artwork of the Holy Blood chart from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.

• 

  Lewyn's brand of Forseti in Genealogy of the Holy War - Sigurd's Chapter - End.

• 

  Deirdre's brand of Naga in Genealogy of the Holy War.

• 

  Chrom's brand of Naga in Awakening.

• 

  Lucina's brand of Naga in Awakening.

• 

  Alm and Celica's brands of Duma and Mila in Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.