Grimleal

This article is about the cult. For the chapter in Fire Emblem Awakening, see The Grimleal.

The Grimleal (Japanese: ギムレー教団 Gimurei Church) is a religious order centered around the worship of Grima, the Fell Dragon, and is the state religion of the Theocracy of Plegia.

Overview

Main story

The Grimleal rose with Grima himself as his supporters and servants, and following Grima's defeat at the hands of the first Exalt of Ylisse, the Grimleal remnants founded Plegia and established their religion as the religion of the nation, fixated on one day ensuring Grima's return. They worship Grima as the God of Annihliation,^[1] and believe he must be given blood sacrifices.^[2] At some time after the Schism and the breakage of the Fire Emblem, Plegia and the Grimleal took possession of the gemstone Sable,^[3] which they came to see as "protecting" it from being used to reassemble the Fire Emblem, an artifact with a treacherous reputation to Plegia owing to its role in defeating Grima.^[4]

As the state religion of Plegia, Grimleal adherence was mandated by law under King Gangrel. Its stated the religion was popularized more then ever before by Gangrel.^[5] Yet most ordinary citizens do not hold Grimleal beliefs, believing in other gods and living in fear of Grima.^[6] King Gangrel himself later theorized that the Grimleal members were driven to the faith to find solace from his despotic rule.^[7] In the intervening millennium, the Grimleal constantly worked toward breeding a viable human host for Grima, with the lineage of the cult's eventual leader Validar the consistently failed lineage of these efforts, until Validar's child proved a worthy vessel.^[8] Grimleal are eager to lay down their life, and give up their spirits as nourishment for Grima.^[9] It appears they've sacrificed themselves to Grima for years.^[10]

1,000 years after Grima's defeat, Plegia started a war against neighboring Ylisse, using the alleged atrocities of its former exalt as a pretext. When Plegia lost the war, its subsequent turmoil and despair of Gangrel's death drove more of it's citizens than ever to the Grimleal as a form of solace, resulting in a further bolstering of the cult's ranks, as planned by Validar.^[10]

In the aftermath of the war between Ylisse and Valm, Validar used his child to wrest possession of the near-completed Fire Emblem from Ylisse's Prince Chrom, after luring him into a trap by offering Sable. After completing the Emblem himself, he readied the Awakening to revive Grima. All Grimleal adherents, save Validar and Aversa, who helped prepare the ritual, were summoned as if by hypnosis to the Dragon's Table as self-sacrificial offerings to strengthen Grima and fuel his return.^[10] Though Robin resisted Grima's possession and Validar was killed by Chrom's army in an ensuing battle to stop Grima's revival, a power-deprived incarnation of Grima from another timeline appeared to continue the Awakening, consuming the people of Plegia and restoring himself to his full power.

The Future Past

In an alternate future in which Grima successfully dominated the world, the Grimleal mostly no longer existed in light of the near-extinction of humanity, with the majority of Grima's will in the pursuit of survivors performed by Risen. The few actual humans in his service, including alternate versions of his human host's biological child, were still referred to as Grimleal, and he still spoke of the organization as if it existed.^[11]

Members

Character	Description	Appears in
Validar	A dark mage who wishes to architect the world's end.	Awakening
Aversa	A cruel, high-ranking Plegian officer with a sultry aura who is secretly a pawn of the cult.	Awakening
Gangrel	The self-styled "Mad King of Plegia". He is officially a member of the cult, but does not truly follow their beliefs.[12]	Awakening
Excellus	The Valmese Empire's cold and calculating tactician and a Grimleal double agent.[13]	Awakening
Algol	A Cunning Plegian General who serves a dual role as a Grimleal priest.	Awakening
Chalard	A priest with fanatical reverence for Grima.	Awakening
Jamil	A Grimleal thug who kidnaps and sacrifices villagers.	Awakening
Ardri	A Grimleal priest who kidnaps and sacrifices villagers.	Awakening

In addition, the Grimleal faith encompasses the vast majority of Plegia's citizens as its state religion. The order also has some control over the Risen, including the Deadlords.

Trivia

• Sources differ on how the Grimleal was popularized under Gangrel's rule:
  • Gangrel says in his supports that citizens likely joined the cult to rebel against the oppression of his barbaric rule.
  • Aversa claims that Gangrel's death drove the mourning people to the Grimleal, despite Gangrel losing support from all but his closest followers.
  • The art book says Gangrel turned Plegia into a Grimleal state by force to secure power.^[14]
• Owing to the thuggish nature of the Grimleal, in several chapters, Grimleal units are labeled "Ruffian."

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

References