God

Ashunera, the ancient creation goddess, among the first people of Tellius.

A god or deity (Japanese: 神 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. Fought against Múspell prior to the events of Heroes.
• Múspell, the founder of the country named after him. He can grant humans his divine power and resurrect the dead. Fought against Nifl prior to the events of Heroes.
• Embla, the goddess of the country named after her. She can directly take control of mortals from her bloodline, including Veronica and Bruno. She hates Askr as she perceived her people leaving her realm for his as a sign of betrayal.
• Askr, the god of the country named after him. Perished after performing the Rite of Opening for Alfonse.

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's main plot in question, although they may be connected with an available item or be a major part of the backstory.

• A god known by the names "Grann" and "Yudu", is the pagan god of Jugdral and one of the "world builder" gods. He is worshiped by the humans there, especially prior to Loptous and Gair's worship spreading. Yudu is described as the sky god and the highest deity on Jugdral.^[5]
• Ethniu, an earth goddess in Jugdrali culture mentioned by Leif (not to be confused with Tailtiu's sister or Miranda's mother, all of which have the same name in Japanese).
• 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.^[6]
• Fale, a minor war god of Magvel.^[7]
• Sommie, guardian deity of the Somniel.

Unnamed gods

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

• Ancient minor deities exist on Archanea, humanity once greatly believed there were gods in every part of life. Gotoh used these old deities to cautiously introduce magic from dragons to humanity. He introduced magic in the form of chants, to summon the powers of the deities with tomes and staves.^[8]
• 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".

Beings worshipped as gods

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

• Naga, a king of the divine dragons. Naga once saved humanity on the continent of Archanea from Earth Dragons who had gone mad and attacked people. When one Earth Dragon slipped away to wreak havoc on the Jugdral continent, Naga made a blood bond with the crusader Heim at the Miracle of Dahna help save the people there from despair as well. Naga is worshipped as a deity in both Archanea and Jugdral, but isn't viewed the same in both cultures. Naga is called the "Guardian God" in Archanea's Raman bible; Naga was said to have appeared as a giant male warrior with a sword and shield^[9]; while in Jugdral, Naga is known as the "god of light," and is told to have appeared as a little girl. Few know of Naga's true nature as a dragon, so it seemed, with further worship in later years in Ylisse and Valm actively acknowledging Naga as a dragon as part of the worship. In those times, Naga is simply called the "Divine Dragon", and appears as a grown woman.
• Salamander, a dragon worshipped as a "Guardian God" by the small island Pyrathi in Archanea. He is commonly credited for being the king of the fire dragon clan, collectively known as "Salamander". Salamander as well made a blood pact with a crusader in Jugdral, commonly believed to be Fjalar given they both share the title of "god of fire", as well general connection to fire Valflame has. As well as Salamander being referred to as the "god of fire" in Jugdral, it is said he also appeared as an old man there.^[10]
• Tiki is the daughter of Naga. She was commonly referred to as a "goddess," or a "fearsome guardian," when Gharnef placed her within the Fane of Raman.
• 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 Gair. The central object of worship of the Loptrian religion founded by Gair.
• Forseti, a dragon who made a blood pact with the crusader Ced at the miracle of Dahna. He is referred to as the "Wind God".
• 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.
• The heretic bishop Kenneth considers Nergal to be a god.^[11]
• 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

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  Naga, depicted as a male humanoid god in Mystery of the Emblem.

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  A Mila Shrine in Gaiden, depicting Mila in the center.

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  Duma as he appears in battle in Gaiden.

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  Ashunera, was split into two beings.

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  Ashera, one of the aspects of Ashunera.

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  Yune, one of the aspects of Ashunera.

References

See also

• Fell God
• Order Incarnate
• Monster