Credits: ChinaFE

Intelligent Systems originally planned to do a second designer’s notes page for Genealogy of the Holy War, but never made it in the end. The first page’s contents were included in the Fire Emblem: Treasure book, while it’s likely the second page’s contents were included in this book – the Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War Playing Guide (link to Amazon).

Q: Is there any relationship with the continent of Akaneia from the previous game?

A: Yes. In terms of eras, the era of Genealogy of the Holy War occurs long before the continent of Akaneia. Jugdral was an advanced country, whereas Akaneia barely held any level of civilisation. At this time, the dragon tribes of Akaneia were deciding on how to handle the human race. The Divine Dragon tribe and the Earth Dragon tribe divided into two opposing sides, the same Earth Dragon tribe appearing in Genealogy of the Holy War.

Note: Oddly, I don’t see any mention of the Miracle of Darna or calendar years, which are cited by some Japanese sources.

Q: What is the relationship between Loputousu and Narga?

A: The ancient dragon tribes possessed terrifying power and established a glorious civilisation, but they were currently facing extinction and it seemed impossible to avoid this fate. The Divine Dragon King, Narga, suggested to the other dragon tribes the idea of passing on the new age to the humans. However, the Earth Dragon tribe, who considered humans to be common insects, openly opposed the Dragon King’s decision and launched an attack with the aim to exterminate the humans. To prevent this move, Narga started a great war, recorded in the holy scriptures of Akaneia as the “Guardian God Narga’s War”. In Genealogy of the Holy War, the ambitious Bishop Galle believed the legend that “drinking the blood of the ancient dragons grants one tremendous power and eternal life” and traveled around the world, finally arriving at the continent of Akaneia. He met with one of the Earth Dragons, Loputousu, who allowed him to form a blood pact.

Q: Why did Narga grant his power to the humans of Jugdral?

A: In the beginning, Narga didn’t realise that Loputousu was planning something on another continent, until he discovered the existence of the Loputo Empire, which Galle had created using the dragon tribe’s power. In order to restore order to the world, Narga allied with 11 other dragons and decided to give humans their power in the form of the Holy Weapons.

Q: How do the Holy Weapons work?

A: The dragon tribe has the ability to transfer their power and will into dragon stones (what humans refer to as orbs). The Falchion from Mystery of the Emblem and powerful magic like Aura, as well as the orbs on the 13 Holy Weapons of Jugdral, are all dragon stones. Humans can obtain tremendous strength from these dragon stones, but they are also in danger of losing their own will. Usually, only those who have formed blood pacts with the dragon tribe can use the power of the dragon stones, but there are exceptions if the seal on the orb has been broken.

Note: I’m not sure if by “dragon stones”, they mean the ones that Manaketes use to transform with. Similar case with the “orbs”, I don’t know if they’re referring to the same orbs as the Starsphere and etc.

Q: We’re clear about Narga’s intentions, but why did Holsety decide to help?

A: Loputousu, Narga and Holsety held different positions compared to the other dragons. Loputousu’s plan was obvious – “to use Bishop Galle to wreak vengeance on the humans”, which is why he formed a blood pact with Galle. The holy dark tome Loputousu contained Loputousu’s overpowering hatred and resentment towards humans, and was able to control the human who broke its seal (namely Bishop Galle’s descendants, those who inherited large amounts of the original pact-former’s blood). So it was, a human who possessed Loputousu’s strength and will was born. (The final boss of Genealogy of the Holy War was his victim.) In resistance, Narga gave the holy light tome, which he transferred his own will and power into, to Saint Heim. For Narga, who had always disliked interfering with the human world, this was a very worrying decision.

Holsety was younger and held a higher level of good will and sympathy for the humans compared to other dragons. If he had the chance, he would even reside at Jugdral and protect the humans there. However, he was convinced by Narga that it was silly to stay, so he had no choice but to return to Akaneia. Still, his passion and will was inherited strongly within the wind magic tome Holsety. For this reason, the humans who inherit the Holsety tome inherit Holsety’s will as well as his power.

As for the other 10 weapons, when they pass on their power to their successors, they do not affect the user’s personality. This is why within the Genealogy of Gods, there are 10 holy weapons whose name does not match up exactly with their god.

Q: How is it possible to distinguish those who can wield holy weapons?

A: A mark known as a “holy marking” surfaces on their bodies, which is the proof of forming a blood pact with the dragon tribe. Although, the time of appearance of the holy markings differs wildly for each person, sometimes appearing during their youth or even when they’re in their old age. Additionally, it doesn’t matter if the person is the eldest child or if they’re male, there is no rule, so often there are occasions where the direct family has no successors of the holy weapons. For instance, the Nodion Royal Family are all branch descendants of Black Knight Hezul (the direct descendants are the Agusty Royal Family), but they are the sole inheritors of the pact-forming blood (of Hezul who formed a patch with the dragon tribe) that allows them to wield Mistolteen.

Q: Is the Levin in the 2nd half of the game the same person as Holsety?

A: I already mentioned previously how the Holsety tome would have a strong effect on the the user’s will. As soon as Levin obtained the Holsety tome from his mother, Queen Rahna, his body already contained another person’s persona. The question of who Levin from the 2nd half is doesn’t have a clear answer, but compared to the previous Levin his personality has undergone an obvious change. Even whether Levin’s own persona is alive or not is unclear.

Note: The Treasure interview also talks about this, I’m not sure if they contradict eachother.

Q: Is there any special meaning behind Celice’s ability to dismount?

A: The reason for that is a simple one that I’m a little embarrassed about, which is for “aesthetic purposes”. At the beginning, we guessed there would be many female fans who see Leaf, for example, and think “he looks so handsome in battle, I don’t want to promote him!”. Originally, we wanted every mounted character to have the option of dismounting like in Mystery of the Emblem. However, because of space issues we had to give this idea up, so in the end only Celice’s dismounting option was kept.

Q: Thracia and Lenster were formed by two siblings, how did the two country’s relations get so bad?

A: Originally, Dain and Noba had a strong sibling relationship that made many envious. Together with the other 10 Crusaders, they toppled the Loputo Empire’s authoritarian rule, allowing freedom for the citizens, and formed a prosperous kingdom at the Thracian peninsula. After 10 years of peace, the two experienced an event that would be passed on for generations [referring to the Tragedy of the Gaebolg].

Afterwards, the one who would succeed the Thracian throne was Dain’s son, but he wasn’t the type of person who would make a good king. After ascending the throne, he implemented a terror policy, operated by his trusted subordinates, to suppress the masses. This resulted in Noba’s son leading the marquesses to rebel, and in the end they successfully subdued the northern, fertile lands. Later, by Grandbell’s mediation, the small countries to the north pushed Lenster to become the leader of the alliance, and with Thracia’s permission they officially obtained independence.

Q: What was the Tragedy of the Gaebolg?

A: Noba married a knight who was friends with her brother Dain and lived a happy life with him. One day, her husband and King Dain fought each other over some dispute. Noba tried to stop the two fighting, but accidentally killed her beloved husband (the weapon that took his life was her lance). That was the beginning of events, Later, Nova committed suicide and King Dain died a mysterious death. Afterwards, within the Lenster Royal Family the legend was passed on that “the Earth Lance and Heaven Lance call to each other” and “the Earth Lance is a lance that causes love and sorrow”.

Q: Why is it that the Nodion Royal Family can wield Mistolteen and not Agusty’s leader?

A: Black Knight Hezul founded the Agusty Royal Family. He had many children and one of them, his youngest daughter who possessed the holy markings, was married off to the Nodion family. From then on, the successor of the holy markings appeared within the Nodion Royal Family and they were allowed to take the Demon Sword Mistolteen if they swore an oath of loyalty to the Agusty Royal Family. In terms of bloodline, the rulers of Agusty were Hezul’s direct descendants.

Q: What led Trabant to raise Altenna?

A: Trabant is a person who tirelessly carried on the role of villain. For his beloved Thracian land, he would tarnish his name and resort to underhand tactics. In terms of the peoples’ view of him, it would seem that he is unbothered, but in reality he was an extremely passionate man. During his battle with Cuan, he made the mistake of killing Ethlin. He wasn’t a blood-thirsty person at heart and that event perhaps influenced his decision to raise Altenna. That’s what he probably thought at the beginning, but later he must have decided to raise Altenna as he knew she was an important figure to Thracia, and that’s why he later educated her to become a ruler. Maybe he also considered the possibility of one day letting her marry Areone. If he wasn’t born in Thracia, he would have been a true hero.

Q: Did Alvis know that Diadora was his half-sister?

A: Not in the beginning. Within the palace, there were few people who could tell him about Prince Kurth and Cigyun’s relationship, and he was only 7 years old when his father committed suicide, so he would likely have been uninterested in the palace gossip that was occurring during that time. Afterwards, his beloved mother Cigyun disappeared, but because of his powerful trust in his mother he wasn’t disturbed by the rumours. Alvis always held the belief that his mother would return for him. He became the ruler of the Velthomer family in his youth and his influence frightened the nobles. Often he would quarrel with them after they disrespected his mother (even though they spoke the truth) and in extreme cases, he even killed people.

Although he had no interest at all in girls, when he first saw Diadora he fell in love at first sight, which may have been influenced by his mother complex. After marrying Diadora, he noticed that Diadora often seemed to be another person, and was afraid that one day she would leave his side like his mother did. Gripped by this thought, he lived his days with great unease (so we can see how much he loved Diadora…) and heard rumours that “Sigurd’s wife had gone missing”, leading him to carefully watch Sigurd. So during Chapter 5, he progressed with his plan (to let Diadora meet Sigurd), which was caused by his inability to let go his endless worry. He obviously shouldn’t have checked, but he was unable to control himself; that was the extent of Alvis’s sorrow. Following that, he investigated Diadora’s past, traveling to the Spirit Forest, and found out that she was Cigyun’s daughter.

However, after discovering his wife was in fact his sister, his feelings still hadn’t changed. He simply tried his best to not let Diadora find out the truth. The sorrow that Diadora would feel after discovering the truth was the most unbearable thing for him… In the end, although Diadora never recovered her memory, she did discover that Sigurd was her husband, but she didn’t hate Alvis at all. When her own son Julius was about to kill her, she didn’t show any resistance, which is due to her subconsciously trying to repent for her crime. Regarding Diadora’s character, there are many ways one could judge her, but as for this issue, it is still too early to draw a conclusion.

Missing pieces

Apparently there are notes regarding Claude and Sylvia’s relationship, although I heard it doesn’t provide any interesting information. There is also some discussion about the faults of the 2nd generation characters.

Finally, there is a final word from Kaga who mentions that every player has their own story; the discussions here are just a few of these stories, they aren’t supposed to be the true answers or settings.