This page is about the location. For the chapter ofMystery of the Emblem andNew Mystery of the Emblem set in this location, seeThe Dragon's Table. For theWarriors chapter, seeThe Dragon's Table (Warriors).

TheDragon Altar orDragon's Table (Japanese:竜の祭壇Dragon Altar) is a temple situated on top of a mountain in the Wyvern's Dale on the continentArchanea; in the era ofArchanea it is located on the border ofDolhr andMacedon, and later in the era ofYlisse it falls within the territory ofPlegia. It is the resting place of almost allearth dragons, sealed in a permanent sleep underneath the altar byNaga in order to protect the people ofArchanea from their destructive and feral behavior. It was later appropriated by theGrimleal as an important monument in their worship of the Fell DragonGrima.

History

Archanea

At the conclusion of the war between thedivine andearth dragons in theyear −740 AC, the Altar was the site where the divine dragon leaderNaga imprisoned the defeated earth dragons, to ensure they provided no further menace to the fledglinghuman population of Archanea. Using theBinding Shield she created, Naga placed almost all earth dragons in a permanent sleep underneath the Altar,^[1] then entrusted the guardianship of the site toMedeus, the former earth dragon prince and the sole earth dragon to become aManakete.^[2] Medeus eventually abandoned the Altar after over a thousand years in order to found Dolhr and seek vengeance against the crimes of humanity; additionally, four hundred years earlier the seal upon the imprisoned earth dragons was weakened by the breakage of the Binding Shield byAdrah, the founder ofArchanea. At some point after Medeus's departure, the Altar came to be occupied by an assortment of barbarians and other feral dragons.^[3]

In the year 608, three years after Medeus's second death, the Dark PontifexGharnef and his fellowship of heretic priests occupied the Altar for use in Medeus's resurrection, hypnotising the Altar's assortment of vagabond denizens for use as servants and warriors for their defense.^[4] By this time, the imprisoned earth dragons had begun to awaken and emerge, centuries after the weakening of the seal by the breaking of the Binding Shield.^[5] However, PrinceMarth ofAltea had restored the Shield to its complete state, and so travelled to the Altar to prevent Medeus's revival and the release of the earth dragons. At the Altar, he and his army engaged Gharnef and Medeus's followers in battle, slew both again and used the Binding Shield to return the earth dragons to slumber.

Plegia

Following his seizure of the Fire Emblem fromChrom, the Grimleal leaderValidar commenced a ritual at the Dragon's Table to awaken and empower Grima. Most of the population of Plegia was drawn to the Table as if by hypnosis, with Chrom's army in pursuit to investigate. Outside the Table, Chrom engagedAversa and theDeadlords in battle, then he andRobin fought and killed Validar within it. After the battle, Grima revealed himself and fed upon the people of Plegia to restore his full strength.

In an alternate timeline, Chrom's battle with Validar ended differently, with a Grima-possessed Avatar slaying Chrom after the two defeated Validar. This event led to the downfall of Ylisse and the domination of Grima, leadingLucina and her companions to travel back in time to aid Chrom and prevent it from happening.

Characters from the Dragon Altar

Character	Description	Appears in
Medeus	The soleearth dragon Manakete, appointed as the guardian of the Altar by Naga. Later turned against humanity and was eventually resurrected there byGharnef.	Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light,Mystery of the Emblem,Shadow Dragon,New Mystery of the Emblem

Gameplay

The Dragon Altar is the subject ofChapters 22,23 andthe Endgame ofFire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem, withChapter 21 set in the Wyvern's Dale approaching it. The same applies forMystery of the Emblem, of whichNew Mystery of the Emblem is a remake, except here these four chapters are instead all parts of the same finale chapter.

The Dragon's Table is also the subject of three chapters ofFire Emblem Awakening:Chapter 22 is fought in its exterior courtyard, the "Table Approach" location, whilethe Premonition andChapter 23 are both fought within the Dragon's Table itself, as alternate versions of the same battle againstValidar fought within it. After clearing each chapter, each location'sarmory becomes accessible on theworld map andskirmishes can be fought in each; the Table Approach hosts skirmishes with enemies ranging from promoted levels 14 to 19, and the Dragon's Table itself houses skirmishes between promoted levels 17 to 19.

Trivia

• InFire Emblem Warriors, there is a Dragon's Table location in the "Dragon Valley" (Japanese:竜の谷Dragon Valley); it is presumably a reference to this Dragon's Table, which is located in the Wyvern's Dale (Japanese:飛竜の谷Wyvern Valley).

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Exterior of the Dragon Altar, fromMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Left and right floor tile backgrounds used inPart 1 andPart 2 of Endgame II ofMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Left and right floor tile backgrounds used inPart 3 of Endgame II ofMystery of the Emblem.
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  Left and right altar tile backgrounds used in Part 3 of Endgame II ofMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Throne background used in Endgame 2 ofMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of a wall design within the Dragon Altar fromAPE'sMystery of the Emblem guide.
• 
  Artwork of the Dragon Altar from theMystery of the Emblem: Winning Strategy guide.
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  Artwork of the Dragon Altar from theMystery of the Emblem: Winning Strategy guide.
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  Artwork of the Dragon Altar from theMystery of the Emblem: Winning Strategy guide.
• 
  Artwork of the Dragon Altar from theFire Emblem Trading Card Game.
• 
  Exterior of the Dragon Altar, fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Exterior of the Dragon's Table at a distance, fromAwakening.
• 
  Map of the Dragon Altar location, fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  The Table Approach on theworld map, fromAwakening.
• 
  Interior of the Dragon's Table inAwakening'sPremonition.

References