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Those who slither in the dark
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Those who slither in the dark (Japanese:闇に蠢く者those who wriggle in the dark) are a hidden organization operating throughoutFódlan. They are the remnants of an ancient civilization known asAgartha (Japanese:アガルタAgartha).
History
Ancient Fódlan
Agartha was an ancient civilization whoSothis and the Children of the Goddess, also known as theNabateans, shared their knowledge with, allowing their people to create highly advanced technology and architecture. Over time, the Agarthans started to fight with each other and brought destruction across Fódlan, all while wishing to overthrow their Nabatean rulers.[1] According to a text located inAbyss—heavily implied to have been written by an Agarthan—they also feared Sothis would retaliate against them due to their penchant for carnage.[2] All of these factors led the Agarthans to create "pillars of light", giant ballistic missiles powered by magic, which they employed to wage war against Sothis. They ultimately lost their battle to impose their hegemony on Sothis' kin. As a result, most of their civilization went extinct at the hands of Sothis in an phenomenon described as a flood called "Despair".[3] This forced the remaining survivors to hide underground alongside any remains of technology available. The Agarthans soon created their current base of operations, Shambhala, and plotted their revenge against Sothis and the Children of the Goddess for causing their destruction and taking from them what they believed was their right to rule the surface world.
It is speculated byRhea andSeteth that sometime after this, the Agarthans allied themselves with a thief calledNemesis, whom they lead to the Holy Tomb where Sothis rested after her battle with the Agarthans. They had him harvest Sothis' remains in order to create theSword of the Creator and obtain theCrest of Flames, which Nemesis later used in Zanado to slaughter more Nabateans to obtain more power by collecting more material for the Agarthans to forge into weapons.[4] These were named the Heroes' Relics, which he later shared withhis allies. After his death at the hands ofSeiros, the Four Saints, and theAdrestian Empire in Imperial Year 91, the Agarthans recovered Nemesis' corpse and hid underground once more.
Many years later, they attempted to destroyGarreg Mach Monastery with another pillar of light, which the humans from the surface referred to as a "javelin of light". Unbeknownst to them, Sothis had placed a jamming spell on the Holy Tomb, which redirected their weapon into the village of Ailell, consuming it in flames. This created what is known as the Valley of Torment, a place bathed eternally in lava, believed by the commonfolk to be a product of the goddess punishing the sinners who resided in the village. In a burnt report located in Abyss, it is speculated "those who slither in the dark" were involved with with the creation of theHoly Kingdom of Faerghus by aiding Loog's rebellion, providing him weapons, soldiers and possibly also his strategist, Pan.[5] After Loog's victory over the Adrestian Empire in 751, the Church of Seiros mediated between both sides, granting Faerghus its independence under the condition the Seiros faith would be the kingdom's main religion. Then, the Agarthans vanished again.
Modern Fódlan
During the next twelve centuries, the Agarthan descendants made their way to the surface, slowly replacing and impersonating key people with their own agents, such as Faerghus' Court mageCornelia, Garreg Mach's librarianTomas and Adrestia's regentVolkhard von Arundel. This let the group capitalize on both theTragedy of Duscur, acting as instigators of the conflict, and theInsurrection of the Seven. They infiltrated the Adrestian EmperorIonius IX's repression of the Hrym territory so they could perform test runs of "blood reconstruction surgeries" on the scions of House Ordelia with the purpose of infusing crests into humans. Additionally, they allied with Adrestia's Prime MinisterDuke Ludwig von Aegir in order to secure access to the Hresvelg line of heirs, all for the purpose of securing a manipulable vessel they would bestow the Crest of Flames, which would become their ultimate weapon against the Children of the Goddess and those who worship them. Sometime around 1175 to 1180, the only surviving Hresvelg scion,Edelgard von Hresvelg, allied with the group with the intention of using their resources and troops to take down the Church of Seiros and unify Fódlan for her own separate reasons. In return, the Agarthan descendants supported her by providing some of their soldiers and weapons. In spite of this alliance, however, Edelgard planned to dispose of them once she had achieved her goals as revenge for destroying the lives of her family and siblings, as well as for their involvement in the Tragedy of Duscur. Her retainerHubert, future head of House Vestra, also began researching the group during this period in order to facilitate their eventual destruction for his future emperor. It was in the course of this process that he began using the nickname the Agarthans are known as during the story: "those who slither in the dark".
Three Houses
In 1180, "those who slither in the dark" collaborated with Edelgard under the identity of theFlame Emperor to orchestrate several violent conflicts within Fódlan, including an attempt to steal Seiros' remains from the Holy Mausoleum, the abduction of the NabateanFlayn, the massacre of the inhabitants of Remire Village, the assassination of the Knight of SeirosJeralt, and an attack onDuke Gerth of Adrestia in order to steal theFetters of Dromi. Their ultimate goal was to use Edelgard to wipe out the Kingdom, Alliance, and Church so they could rule over Fódlan. Eventually, Edelgard led a raid on the Holy Tomb, was exposed as the Flame Emperor, and formally declared war on the Church.
Five Year War and Downfall
When Edelgard declared war on the Church of Seiros, "those who slither in the dark" aided Edelgard during the invasion of Garreg Mach, attaining victory over their enemies. On non-Crimson Flower routes, ArchbishopRhea was captured during the fight and jailed in a secret chamber in the Imperial Palace, kept alive by Edelgard as a bargaining chip against the Agarthans,[6] while Byleth was pushed into the depths of a canyon by a blast of Thales' dark magic and went missing for the next five years. Then, they had the agent impersonatingCornelia overthrow Faerghus' PrinceDimitri in a coup and turn the Kingdom into the Faerghus Dukedom. The group silently supported Edelgard's army throughout the war by sending some of their troops to key battles, such as the Battle at Gronder (Azure Moon and Verdant Wind), the Resistance Army's/Leicester Alliance's invasion of Enbarr (Silver Snow and Verdant Wind) and during the final battle at the imperial palace.
On the Silver Snow and Verdant Wind routes, the Agarthans used a "javelin of light" to destroy Fort Merceus in an attempt to kill Byleth/Claude's forces. Hubert used this attack to discover the secret location of Shambhala and exposed them in a posthumous letter, allowing the Resistance/Alliance forces to besiege Shambhala. Facing defeat, the Agarthan leaderThales used all of his javelins of light to destroy Shambhala, and the Resistance/Alliance only survived thanks to Rhea turning intothe Immaculate One. Only on the Verdant Wind route, the Agarthans resurrected Nemesis and unleashed him on Fódlan in one final act of spite, but he was defeated by the Alliance. The surviving Agarthans (including Cornelia) went into hiding as a result.[7] If Claude marries Byleth, it is mentioned that the Agarthans teamed up with Imperial remnants to attack Derdriu, but were repelled by Almyran forces led by Claude.
On the Azure Moon route, after the Battle at Gronder, Kingdom forces led by Dimitri besieged and liberated Fhirdiad and killed Cornelia. Thales, in his disguise as LordVolkhard von Arundel, led an attack on the weakened Alliance, but was repelled and slain by Dimitri. Agarthan troops led by the warlockMyson supported Edelgard in the final battle of the war, but were again defeated, and the survivors were driven back into hiding.
In most of Hapi's character endings, it is mentioned that those who slither in the dark eventually returned to menace Fódlan once again, but were opposed and ultimately defeated.
On the Crimson Flower route, Edelgard worked to minimize the Agarthans' influence within the Empire throughout the war. After the Leicester Alliance was conquered, the Agarthans collected the Heroes' Relics from the former Alliance territories. Edelgard later double-crossed the Agarthans by attacking Fort Arianrhod in Faerghus and killing Cornelia, causing Thales to destroy Arianrhod with a javelin of light in retaliation. Edelgard and the Empire ultimately won the war, reunified Fódlan, and set out to completely destroy those who slither in the dark; multiple character endings confirm the group was eventually wiped out.
Warriors: Three Hopes
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Members
| Character | Description | Appears in |
|---|---|---|
 Thales | Current leader of "those who slither in the dark". Infiltrated the Adrestian Empire in 1174 after assuming the identity ofVolkhard von Arundel. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Solon | High ranking member sent to inflitrate Garreg Mach Monastery in 1179 under the identity ofTomas. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes,Heroes |
 Kronya | High ranking member. InWarriors: Three Hopes she's stationed in a hidden stronghold in early 1180, while inThree Houses she's sent to inflitrate Garreg Mach Monastery later in the year under the identity ofMonica von Ochs. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes,Heroes |
 Cleobulus | High ranking member sent to infiltrate Faerghus between 1165-1167 under the identity ofCornelia Arnim. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Myson | High ranking member involved with miscellaneous tasks. Provides reinforcements to Edelgard in the Azure Moon route. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Bias | High ranking member in charge of summoningTitanus in Shambhala. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Pittacus | High ranking member in charge of keeping theViskam operational in Shambhala. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Chilon | High ranking member in charge of guarding Shambhala's center room. | Three Houses |
 Odesse | High ranking member who provides reinforcements to Nemesis in the Verdant Wind route. | Three Houses,Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Anaximandros | High ranking member introduced inWarriors: Three Hopes. | Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Dolofonos | High ranking member introduced inWarriors: Three Hopes. Serves Kronya's troops after the timeskip. | Warriors: Three Hopes |
 Epimenides | An ancient leader of "those who slither in the dark" who achieved god-like strength as means of opposing theChildren of the Goddess. Fell during theWar of Heroes, though their consciousness and powers were salvaged and later ended up onShez's body. | Warriors: Three Hopes |
Flavor text
| Game | Text (English) | Text (Japanese) |
|---|---|---|
| Three Houses | A mysterious group working in the shadows to sway the faith and leadership of Fódlan. | フォドラの支配と信仰を揺るがすべく 活動する謎の組織。 |
Trivia
- All high ranking members have names of Greek origin; seven of them are named after theSeven Sages of Greece, while Kronya is either likely named after the festivalKronia or the nymphClonia. Likewise, all of them—save for Thales under the disguise of Lord Arundel—haveAgarthan Technology as their personal abilities.
- Character data indicates that, inThree Houses, Cleobulus (Japanese:クレオブロスCleobulus) was intended to appear in the game before beingcut from the final release for unknown reasons.Warriors: Three Hopes later revealed that Cleobulus was the Agarthan impersonating Cornelia.
- InThree Houses, all enemy units identified as Agarthans have pale white skin on their 3D models, but this trait is lost inWarriors: Three Hopes.
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English | Those who slither in the dark | -- |
| Japanese | 闇に蠢く者 | Those who wriggle/squirm (i.e. move like a worm) in the dark |
| Spanish | Serpientes de las Tinieblas | Serpents of Darkness |
| French | Serpents des Ténèbres | Serpents of Darkness |
| German | Schattenschleicher | Those sneaking in the shadow |
| Italian | Serpi dell'Ombra | Serpents of Shadow |
| Portuguese | Aqueles que espreitam pelas sombras | Those who lurk by the shadows |
| Korean | 어둠에서 꿈틀대는 자 | Those who slither in darkness |
| Simplified Chinese | 暗黑蠢动者 | Those who slither in darkness |
| Traditional Chinese | 暗黑蠢動者 | Those who slither in darkness |
Agarthans
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English | Agarthans | Likely named afterAgartha, which is a mythical kingdom said to have been located within a hollow Earth's core. |
| Japanese | アガルタ人 | Agarthans |
| Spanish | Agarthanos | Agarthans |
| French | Agarthiens | Agarthans |
| German | Volk von Agartha | People of Agartha |
| Italian | Agarthiani | Agarthans |
| Portuguese | Agarthanianos | Agarthans |
| Korean | 아가르타 부족 | Agarthan tribe |
| Simplified Chinese | 阿加尔塔人 | Agarthans |
| Traditional Chinese | 阿加爾塔人 | Agarthans |
Gallery
The banner of "those who slither in the dark".
Artwork of Shambhala, the headquarters of "those who slither in the dark".
References
- ↑"Kusakihara: In that world, originally the race that could change into dragons, the so called citizens of Nabatea, were scattered about Fódlan in the different places/lands as governors (rulers) but, there were the citizens of Agartha who held hatred against the citizens of Nabatea… in other words, Those Who Slither in the Dark wanted to overturn this state of affairs (of the Nabateans as rulers) and as such, they devised schemes." —Nintendo Dream May 2020 Issue, translated by Serenes Forest,Published: March 21, 2020,Retrieved: March 25, 2020
- ↑"In the land of Thinis, where the old gods are said to live, the False God has awakened. [...] It will bring extinction to all children of men, and salvation to all beasts of the land, sky and sea. For the children of men who spilled too much of the blood of life, it promises only cruel retribution." —Romance of the World's Perdition in the Shadow Library ofAbyss,Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- ↑"Yet even still, the False God stands. And soon, a flood apty named Despair will drown this world. The children of men fled to the depths of the earth, beyond the sight of the False God, beyond the embrace of the sacred sun, and beyond the reach of the waters called Despair." —Romance of the World's Perdition in the Shadow Library ofAbyss,Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- ↑"Kusakihara: They granted humans the technology to make powerful weapons from the corpses of the citizens of Nabatea, or so was their plan that they enacted, to which they went forward with this plan using the human, Nemesis. As a result, what would happen to humans who gained power... they would want even more power, and find a dragon much stronger to beat in order to collect materials forcefully, in order to make even more powerful weapons... and so that was the cycle that was born." —Nintendo Dream May 2020 Issue, translated by Serenes Forest,Published: March 21, 2020,Retrieved: March 25, 2020
- ↑"...The Faerghus Rebellion. I harbor doubts about the army Loog has raised. How did he recruit so many soldiers without raising suspicions in the Empire? How did he acquire those mysterious weapons, so like Heroes' Relics? What is the rumored identity of Pan, the tactician, rumored to have been integral to Loog's victories? And Those Who Slither In the Dark..." —Burn Remnants of a Report in the Shadow Library ofAbyss,Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- ↑"I've got a message for ya... from a dead man. The emperor was keeping the archbishop alive as insurance against those who slither in the dark." — A thief found inAbyss duringSilver Snow/Verdant Wind's Chapter 20/21,Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- ↑"Cornelia of the Faerghus Dukedom seems to have disappeared from the palace...and rather swiftly. [Cornelia and Count Bergliez] must have realized that the revival of the old Kingdom was a real threat." — A merchant inGarreg Mach Monastery duringVerdant Wind's Chapter 21,Fire Emblem: Three Houses
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