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Hellene
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| “ | It is my son who shall reign in Bern! My son, Zephiel! Ha ha ha ha ha! How it gives me such pleasure to say those words! | ” | — Hellene |
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Hellene (Japanese:ヘレーネHelene) was the Queen ofBern as of the year 980.
Biography
Queen of Bern
Hellene ofEtruria, as part of an arranged marriage aimed to achieve a political gain, married KingDesmond of Bern. However, he was already in love with a different woman and held no affection for Hellene, and when the marriage eventually yielded a son, PrinceZephiel, he took out his resentment on Zephiel.[2] The marriage soon came to an end with a separation, exiling both Hellene and Zephiel to live apart from Desmond in a private, well-attended manse, while he engaged in a relationship with the woman he actually loved; this relationship yielded a daughter,Guinivere, upon whom Desmond doted heavily. As the time passes, Hellene's lingering resentment towards her former husband grew stronger and stronger, making her more taunting and aggressive towards Desmond as Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony approached.[3]
As Guinivere and Zephiel grew up, Desmond forbade Zephiel and Hellene from visiting Bern Keep; this never stopped Zephiel, whose bond with Guinivere was deep, and the people of Bern soon came to revere Zephiel as the nation's future - to the joy of Hellene and displeasure of Desmond.[4] This led Desmond to undermine Zephiel's claim to the throne by any means necessary. His actions included hiring theBlack Fang to steal theFire Emblem and thus cancel Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony, denying Zephiel the ability to be named heir. Desmond even commissioned the Black Fang to directly assassinate Zephiel soon after. With the help ofLouise;Eliwood,Hector andLyn sought Hellene's aid to gain access to theShrine of Seals. She said she would provide assistance to their group if they managed to retrieve the Fire Emblem before Zephiel's coming-of-age ceremony. Afterthe rescue of Zephiel, Hellene showed appreciation for getting the emblem back, but did not show any concerns for her son's well-being, leading Eliwood to call her out on her careless behavior and wish she thought more about her son's desires. Frustrated, she initially refused to help the group get access to the Shrine of Seals, butMurdock, shocked to hear what happened during the night from one of his men, passed on an account of what had transpired to Queen Hellene and convinced her to keep her promise, follow Eliwood's words and care more about her son.
Assassinations
As Zephiel's popularity with the people of Bern grew even higher, Desmond sought to suppress his claim to the throne by annoncing directly to Zephiel that the next king of Bern would be Guinivere's future husband. While Zephiel claimed to not mind the decision, the public pressure upon Desmond to properly recognize Zephiel and ultimately caused him to lose his patience by attempting to kill Zephiel again by a poisoned drink during a banquet.
While Zephiel survived thanks to the assistance of Murdock, Desmond made no further known attempts to kill his son, although according to Guinivere, it is rumored that he sought to have Hellene, Murdock and anyone else associated with Zephiel assassinated instead.[5] In response, Zephiel faked his own death to protect others and had a funeral staged. During the funeral, when Desmond came to observe his son's corpse, Zephiel rose from the casket and, sword in hand, killed Desmond.[6] While what exactly happened to Hellene after that remains unknown, Zephiel succeeded Desmond as the King of Bern.
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
Role
Hellene's fate remains unknown by the time the events ofThe Binding Blade occur, but she is mentioned byGuinivere when she relates the story of Zephiel's descent into misanthropy toRoy.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Role
Hellene appears in cutscenes in Chapters23 (24 Hector),24 (26 Hector), and26 (28 Hector).
Personality
Hellene was an unforgiving character when it comes to her marriage with Desmond, constantly rejoicing of her son's exploits and showing disdain to Guinivere for being a illegitimate child to the displeasure of her former husband.[3] While they both never feel actual love for each other in their arranged marriage, Hellene's behavior gives fuel to Desmond's paranoia towards her and Zephiel and anyone loyal to them, interpreting virtually any gesture they made as a clear sign of traitorous, throne-stealing intent.[7]
Choose Your Legends placement history
| Round | Placement | Character | Votes |
|---|
| CYL 5 (2021) | 773 |  Hellene The Blazing Blade | 20 |
| CYL 6 (2022) | 760 (−15) | Hellene The Blazing Blade | 25 (+5) |
| CYL 7 (2023) | 796 (+36) | Hellene The Blazing Blade | 13 (−12) |
| CYL 8 (2024) | 834 (+38) | Hellene The Blazing Blade | 14 (+1) |
| CYL 9 (2025) | 842 (+8) | Hellene The Blazing Blade | 13 (−1) |
| CYL 10 (2026) | 870 (+28) | Hellene The Blazing Blade | 6 (−7) |
| Total results | This character has 6 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls. | 91 |
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Trivia
- A character named "Helen" existed inFire Emblem 64. This may or may not be a coincidence, as Hellene's name and appearance is very similar to this scrapped character.
Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English | Hellene | Derived from "Helene", a variant of Helen used in some languages.Helen of Troy (Greek:ἙλένηHelénē) was a character in accounts of the mythological or semi-mythologicalTrojan War fought between the Greeks and the Trojans. |
| Japanese | ヘレーネ | Helene |
| Spanish | Hellene | -- |
| French | Hellene | -- |
| German | Hellene | -- |
| Italian | Hellene | -- |
| Portuguese | Hellene | Used in theChoose Your Legends polls inFire Emblem Heroes. |
| Traditional Chinese | 赫蓮涅 | Helene; used in the Choose Your Legends polls inHeroes. |
Gallery
Portraits
Portrait of Hellene inThe Blazing Blade.
Portrait of Hellene after her change of heart inThe Blazing Blade.
References
- ↑"Queen Hellene was born in Etruria. She and I are related, albeit a distant relation." — Louise,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
- ↑"Guinivere: ...Zephiel and I have different mothers. In actuality, I am his half sister.
Roy: I heard that Zephiel's mother was an Etrurian noblewoman.
Guinivere: That's correct. They were arranged to be wed for political reasons. However, our father was already in love with another woman. That was my mother. [...] The marriage between the king and Zephiel's mother was forced. Our father didn't love Zephiel's mother and always resented their son." —Guinivere andRoy,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑3.03.1"Hellene: At last... Once the ceremony ends, our son, so long lingering in the shadows, will be received by all as the legitimate heir to your throne. Do you know how he has longed for this day?
Desmond: Cease your complaints. You and Zephiel, queen and heir of Bern, have never wanted for anything.
Hellene: We are here in this manse, while you live in the palace with...that woman. You must be so disappointed that she bore you not a prince but a princess.
Desmond: Hellene! You go too far!!
Hellene: My child, who through me carries the noble blood of Etruria in his veins, will in ten days be named as the right-born heir to the throne. Ha ha ha! No matter how you may dote on her, your illegitimate daughter, Guinivere, is destined to be nothing more than a baseborn shadow... It is my son who shall reign in Bern! My son, Zephiel! Ha ha ha ha ha! How it gives me such pleasure to say those words!" —Desmond and Hellene,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade - ↑"Desmond: I have heard that Zephiel is... a gifted student, a stunning fighter, excelling in all he tries. And I've also heard that he is much loved by the people.
Hellene: Yes! It is true. All of it! He is a worthy son.
Desmond: I...excelled at neither books nor blades.
Hellene: What do you–
Desmond: I cannot say that I command the love of my subjects... Zephiel and I are opposites in every way. It is hard to believe that he is my son." —Desmond and Hellene,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade - ↑"I have heard that he schemed to have Murdock and Zephiel's mother killed. He was scheming to murder everyone connected to Zephiel." —Guinivere,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- ↑"Guinivere: Upon learning of our father's intentions, Zephiel feigned death. At his funeral service, our father leaned over the coffin to view Zephiel's body. It was at that moment that Zephiel sprung from the coffin and...sword in hand...
Roy: ......
Guinivere: I was but a child then, so naturally I could not understand what was going on. All I knew at the time is that our father died, and Zephiel never smiled again. Before then, he was stern at times, but always a kind and loving brother. But after everything that happened..." —Roy andGuinivere,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑"Desmond: ...I've told you to stay away from the castle.
Zephiel: Yes...I know... I beg your pardon. I heard that Guinivere was ill and I was...worried.
Desmond: Hah, you mean you came to see if she would die, don't you?
Zephiel: Father...
Murdock: I beg your pardon, Your Majesty, that...
Desmond: Hold your tongue, Murdock! Do not forget whom you serve! The king of Bern!!
Murdock: ......
Zephiel: It's all right, Murdock... Father, I would never want to see Guinivere harmed in–
Desmond: You and your mother think of nothing more than stealing my throne. You plague me. Return to the manse!" — Desmond,Zephiel andMurdock,Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
 | This article is part ofProject Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in theFire Emblem series. |
