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Durban
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| “ | I am power. Power without peer. I am the dragonhunter. I am the fleshbiter, the bonecrusher, the skullbreaker, the doombringer. | ” | — Durban |
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Durban (Japanese: テュルバン Turbin) was a member of the Eight Legends of Elibe and a hero of the Scouring. He was the original wielder of the Thunder Axe, Armads, and established a warrior clan in the Western Isles.
Biography
Late in the Scouring, Durban was chosen as one of the eight mightiest warriors of mankind to wield the newly-forged legendary weapons against the dragonkin.[1] He was given Armads and participated in an attack the Dragon Sanctuary in order to defeat Idunn, the demon dragon. During this battle, the sheer power of the legendary weapons caused the Ending Winter and forced the dragons to revert to weak, human-like forms.[2] Durban and the other Generals took the opportunity and easily slaughtered the manaketes.
Durban was present at the confrontation between the Generals and Idunn in her manakete form. After she was sealed away by Hartmut and his Binding Blade, Durban traveled to the Western Isles and established a warrior's clan there.[3] He sealed Armads away in a cave, and after he died, his soul came to rest there as well.
Ten years before the Disturbance of Bern, the Armads cave was visited by Hector and Athos, who desired to use Armads against Nergal. After subduing the axe's phantom guardians, Durban's ghost appeared before Hector and warned him that, if he were to wield Armads's power, he would doom himself to a death on the battlefield, a fate which Hector readily accepted if it meant helping Eliwood. Durban then allowed Hector to take Armads.[4] After this encounter, Durban's soul probably passed from the world of the living for good, like Roland's did after giving his weapon to Eliwood.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Role
Durban appears as a ghost in the closing cutscene of Chapter 30, exclusively in Hector's Tale.
Personality
Durban was a bloodthirsty and war-hungry figure befitting his title of berserker, to the point of even taking his axe's name as his own[5] and possibly believing that he and Armads were one and the same.[6] He believed that to seal away a power as great as Armads and not use it is a waste of that power, and that peacetime was a similar waste and that a death in battle was preferable to waiting around and doing nothing with his power.[7] Physically, Durban is said to have been absolutely enormous beyond ordinary men.[8]
Choose Your Legends placement history
| Round | Placement | Character | Votes |
|---|
| CYL 5 (2021) |
736 |  Durban The Blazing Blade |
32 |
| CYL 6 (2022) |
740 (+2) |
Durban The Blazing Blade |
33 (+1) |
| CYL 7 (2023) |
781 (+41) |
Durban The Blazing Blade |
17 (−16) |
| CYL 8 (2024) |
802 (+21) |
Durban The Blazing Blade |
20 (+3) |
| CYL 9 (2025) |
815 (+13) |
Durban The Blazing Blade |
16 (−4) |
| Total results | This character has 5 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls. | 118 |
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Trivia
- Despite his portrait depicting him as shirtless, Durban is shown wearing a suit of armor similar to Hector's in the opening cutscene of Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English |
Durban |
Probably derived from Turpin, a Frankish archbishop who was depicted in La Chanson de Roland as an ally of the titular Roland and wielder of the sword Almace. |
| Japanese |
テュルバン |
Turbin; corruption of "Turpin", as above. |
| Spanish |
Durban |
-- |
| French |
Durban |
-- |
| German |
Durban |
-- |
| Italian |
Durban |
-- |
| Portuguese |
Durban |
Used in the Choose Your Legends polls for Fire Emblem Heroes. |
| Traditional Chinese |
杜爾班 |
Turban; used in the Choose Your Legends polls for Heroes. |
Gallery
Durban's portrait in The Blazing Blade.
References
- ↑ "Jahn: However, the humans soon found out about the demon dragon. They concluded that their numbers were not enough to defeat us. They focused their efforts into forging weapons that would pierce our scales. They are what you humans call the legendary weapons.
Roy: That much I know...
Jahn: The strongest human warriors were chosen to wield their newly crafted weapons." — Jahn and Roy, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "Jahn: They came and attacked this sanctuary. However, the immense power of the weapons clashing with our own power... It caused something none of us had anticipated.
Roy: What happened?
Jahn: The laws of nature started to collapse. Snow began to fall in summer. Stars shone in the middle of day...
Roy: You mean it caused the Ending Winter? I thought it occurred because the dragons released vast amounts of energy...
Jahn: Is that how your legends go?
Roy: The power of the legendary weapons were used to restore order to nature. That's what I learned.
Jahn: So in other words, we were the cause of everything bad that happened. How typical of you humans. But the truth is as I said." — Jahn and Roy, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑ "The berserker Durban's final glory was to create a warrior's clan in the Western Isles." — Opening narration of Chapter 11E, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- ↑ "Hector: This is one dangerous-looking fellow... Hey, Durban... I mean, Armads... Whatever. Doesn't matter. Hey, you, lend me your strength!
Durban: You desire strength? Then prepare yourself. Once you have gained such power... Your life will not end in a comfortable bed. You will die on the battlefield. In the savage garden of war's bloody delights.
Hector: ...I don't care. I will help my friend. That's why I've come this far. Armads! Your power! Lend it to me.
Durban: ...It is yours." — Hector and Durban, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade - ↑ "My name is... Durban... I am called Armads..." — Durban, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- ↑ "I am power. Power without peer. I am the dragonhunter. I am the fleshbiter, the bonecrusher, the skullbreaker, the doombringer." — Durban, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- ↑ "I require no seals. I have no need of this idleness called peace. Power unused is power wasted. Better to lie spent in the grave than to sit in wait. I care not who... I would fight someone..." — Durban, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- ↑ "Armads was wielded by Durban the Berserker, who was said to be a colossus of a man." — Elffin, Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
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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. |
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