"Binding Shield" redirects here. For the skill, seeBinding Shield (skill); for the Tactics Drill, seeSkill Studies 25: The Binding Shield.

TheFire Emblem (Japanese:ファイアーエムブレムFire Emblem), also known as theBinding Shield (Japanese:封印の盾Shield of Seals), is a key item in the plots ofFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light,Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Book 2, their respective remakes, andFire Emblem Awakening. It was forged by thedivine dragon rulerNaga to protect humanity from theearth dragons, and is later adopted by the kingdomsArchanea andYlisse as a relic of the realm used to oppose the antagonistic dragonsMedeus andGrima respectively. It is the first incarnation of thetitular item of theFire Emblem series, and only one of two to appear as a usable item in a character'sinventory, the other beingFates'sYato.

Overview

History

The Binding Shield was originally forged inthe year −740, Archanea calendar, at the conclusion ofNaga's war with theearth dragons. After placing a magical seal upon the defeated earth dragons beneath theDragon's Altar, they created the Binding Shield and its fiveorbs to fuel and maintain the seal indefinitely and prevent the earth dragons from escaping.^[1] She enshrined it andFalchion within theFane of Raman, but around 730 years later, the Shield was stolen from the Fane byAdrah, then a mere thief. Adrah broke the five orbs from its surface and sold them to raise funds for his campaign to found his own kingdom,Archanea. He rechristened the shield as the "Fire Emblem", and adopted it as a treasure of House Archanea; unbeknownst to Adrah, his vandalism of the shield weakened the earth dragon seal.

In the subsequent centuries, the Emblem accrued a mythical role in the society of Archanea: it is bestowed by the nation's royalty upon a chosen hero who acts as the representative leader of Archanea's efforts to save the world from a dark force.^[2] Two known heroes have borne the prestige of wielding it: DukeCaldas during theWar of Liberation, having received it from PrincessArtemis, and the Hero-KingMarth ofAltea during both theWar of Shadows and theWar of Heroes, having received it from PrincessNyna; both wielded it in opposition to the Shadow DragonMedeus. During the War of Heroes, Marth recovered all five orbs and restored them to the Emblem, reforming the Binding Shield and re-establishing the seal over the Dragon Altar following his defeat of Medeus. In the war's conclusion the entirety of Archanea was united under Marth's rule, and both the Binding Shield and Falchion were adopted as companion treasures of the realm.

Eventually, the Kingdom of Archanea became the smaller Halidom ofYlisse, still ruled by Marth's descendants, and the completed Binding Shield remained in their possession under the name "Fire Emblem". The Emblem was used bythe first Exalt of Ylisse in the rite ofAwakening, bestowing Naga's power upon him to combat the Fell DragonGrima. Some time afterward, an unidentified event known as the Schism caused the Emblem to lose its gemstones again, with four of them being scattered across the various nations of the realm while one of them,Argent, remained affixed to the Emblem. Eventually, the Emblem was re-completed by PrinceChrom as he sought to prepare to oppose the revival of Grima byValidar of theGrimleal, during which time Validar briefly stole it to use for himself, and was used by Chrom to perform another Awakening for Naga.

Powers

The original purpose of the Binding Shield was to seal the earth dragons in theDragon Altar, and so as long it remains intact, the seal upon the earth dragons remains intact; if even one orb is removed from it, the seal is weakened. Additionally, its existence prevented manakete children such asTiki from degenerating as all other dragons did, and the removal of the orbs inhibited this protection as well.^[3] In its complete form, the Shield has a repelling effect against earth dragons escaped from imprisonment, banishing them. Additionally, in both of its forms the Emblem allows its bearer to open any treasure chest they desire.

In the era of Ylisse, the Fire Emblem is used primarily for the rite ofAwakening, described byEmmeryn as saving the world at its hour of most desperate need. The Emblem is to be used in conjunction with a sacred site in which Naga's power is strongest—traditionally Mount Prism in Ylisse's east—in order to perform the Awakening, whereupon Naga would confer her power upon the worthy. Legends abound of its power among the nations of the era, one of which is attested byGangrel to claim that the Emblem can be used to fulfill all of the wishes of an individual.^[4]

Gameplay

InShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, while not an item in the traditional sense, Marth having the Fire Emblem is shown by an icon () next to his name, and allows him to openchests. InMystery of the Emblem, the Fire Emblem acts the same as in the first game; however, it appears in Marth's inventory. When awakened as the Binding Shield inMystery of the Emblem Book 2 and its remake, it also grants Marth the ability to banishEarth Dragons; inNew Mystery of the Emblem, this ability is also accompanied by a +2 boost to every visible non-HP stat. The Binding Shield is also critical to the ending received by the player: if the player fails to obtain it at the appointed time, then the game ends there with the bad ending.

In all of its appearances as a usable item, Marth is the sole wielder of the Fire Emblem.Chrom, Marth's distant descendant, is the Fire Emblem's wielder inAwakening; however, he is unable to utilize it as a usable item.

The orbs

The Emblem's power is dependent on the five orbs which were embedded in it at the time of its forging. Each orb contains great power in and of itself, and the shield's powers depend on having all five mounted upon it. Finding the five orbs and restoring the Emblem to its full power was central to bothMarth andChrom's quests.

	Archanean name	Ylissean name	Position	Color
	Lightsphere	Argent	Top	Yellow/white
	Starsphere	Azure[5]	Mid-right/bottom-right	Blue/green
	Geosphere	Vert[6]	Bottom-right/mid-right	Green/blue
	Darksphere	Sable	Mid-left	Black/purple
	Lifesphere	Gules	Bottom-left	Red

Data

In the mainFire Emblem series

Game	Icon	Uses	Worth	Effects and notes
Mystery of the Emblem (Fire Emblem)		--	Cannot be sold	Locked toMarth'sinventory. Allows Marth to open any treasure chest.
Mystery of the Emblem (Binding Shield)		--	Cannot be sold	Locked toMarth'sinventory. Allows Marth to open any treasure chest. At the beginning of each turn, it removes any currently present enemyEarth Dragons from the map.
Shadow Dragon (Fire Emblem)		--	Cannot be sold	Locked toMarth'sinventory. Allows Marth to open any treasure chest.
New Mystery of the Emblem (Fire Emblem)		--	Cannot be sold	Locked toMarth'sinventory. Allows Marth to open any treasure chest.
New Mystery of the Emblem (Binding Shield)		--	Cannot be sold	Locked toMarth'sinventory. +2 strength, +2 magic, +2 skill, +2 speed, +2 luck, +2 defense, +2 resistance when in inventory. At the beginning of each turn, it removes all currently present enemyEarth Dragons from the map.

Locations

Mystery of the Emblem

Fire Emblem

Binding Shield

Shadow Dragon

New Mystery of the Emblem

Fire Emblem

Binding Shield

Other appearances

Monster Hunter: Frontier G

In theWii U version ofMonster Hunter: Frontier G, the Fire Emblem is usable as a shield as part of the crossover promotion involvingChrom andLucina armor sets. The Fire Emblem is paired withFalchion (Chrom's)/Parallel Falchion (Lucina's) as part of a combined shield and single-handed sword set.

Monster Hunter Generations

The Binding Shield (known as the "Sealing Shield") appears as an item inMonster Hunter Generations for the 3DS and its expanded versionMonster Hunter Generations Ultimate for the 3DS and Switch.

Dragalia Lost

This article or section is a short summary of the Fire Emblem skill inDragalia Lost. Dragalia Lost Wiki featuresa more in-depth article.

The Binding Shield (known as "Fire Emblem" in the game) is one of Marth's skills in the game. It causes Marth's sword to be enveloped in flames and shoot a wave of them at enemies, attributes usually linked to the Binding Blade from Elibe instead of the item from Archanea.

Flavor text

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Trivia

• InAwakening, the Fire Emblem is wielded as a shield byChrom in hisGreat Lord battle model. During the periods in which Chrom does not hold it, it is not present on his battle model.
• This Fire Emblem makes a cameo appearance as anaccessory inFire Emblem Fates, looking as it did inAwakening. It is only obtainable when there isAwakeningStreetPass data on the 3DS the game is played on. When it is given toOdin,Selena, orLaslow, they will comment on it.
• This Fire Emblem makes a cameo appearance as a school logo inTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE. It is visible onItsuki's school uniform in the opening cutscene, as well as on the "School Life"costumes for every party member exceptKiria (who does not have access to the costume at all).
• The Fire Emblem appears as an unused item inFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, named F. Emblem (Japanese:Ｆ・エムブレム). It does nothing.
• InMystery of the Emblem, the Fire Emblem item actually does nothing. The ability to open chests is a flag set for Marth after he obtains it in the story that is shown by the Fire Emblem icon to the right of his name (likeShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light), and if cheats or hacks are used to remove it from his inventory, he will still be able to open chests. Similarly, earth dragons will still be removed from the map at the beginning of the player phase, even without the item. However, progressing toEndgame 1 is dependent on whether Marth has the Binding Shield in his inventory.
• The colors of theStarsphere andGeosphere are swapped in the DS games.Awakening goes with the original colors,^[5][6] and theStar Jacinth item fromShadows of Valentia, which is very similar to the Starsphere, is blue.

Etymology and other languages

Fire Emblem

Binding Shield

Gallery

• 
  The incomplete Fire Emblem inMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  The Binding Shield inMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of the Binding Shield andFalchion from theFire Emblem: Archanea War Chronicles Vol. 1 guide.
• 
  Artwork of the Fire Emblem fromAPE'sMystery of the Emblem guide.
• 
  Artwork of the original Fire Emblem design from theMystery of the Emblem: Haoh Game Special 6 guidebook.
• 
  Artwork of the complete Binding Shield fromMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of the broken Fire Emblem from theFire Emblem Trading Card Game.
• 
  Artwork of the complete Binding Shield from the Trading Card Game.
• 
  Artwork of the complete Binding Shield andFalchion fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of the broken Fire Emblem fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of the complete Binding Shield fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of the complete Ylissean-era Fire Emblem fromAwakening.
• 
  Concept artwork of the Ylissean-era Fire Emblem fromAwakening.

Other appearances

• 
  The Fire Emblem from the manga adaptation ofShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light^{[clarification needed]}
• 
  The Fire Emblem andFalchion inMonster Hunter: Frontier G.
• 
  Replicas of both eras of theFire Emblem from theCipher event atComic Market 97 in 2019.

References

See also

• Binding Shield (skill)
• Fire Emblem (skill)