Magic (Japanese:魔法 or魔道magic) is an important world element in theFire Emblem series.

There are many classes that use magic instead of physical weapons, the most basic of which is themage, appearing in every game exceptRadiant Dawn. Magic in theFire Emblem series generally falls into one of three categories:anima,light anddark. These three categories form atrinity of magic, much like theWeapon Triangle, in which anima beats light, light beats dark and dark beats anima. Within the anima category lies another trinity of magic formed byfire,thunder andwind, where fire beats wind, wind beats thunder and thunder beats fire.

In games where magic does not fall into categories, magic-users usetomes. InFates only, they also can usescrolls.

Overview

In general magic is learned and honed in academies by students or in places of worship by the clergy. With only two continental exceptions—Valentia andFódlan—practitioners of magic must use tools to channel magic, such as tomes, staves, or scrolls. A tool is not the only required thing, however, each spell has its own set of incantations and activation words used to perform the spell.^[1] Technically speaking, a mage does not need to know how to read to use spells and tomes,^[2] though it is obviously of great benefit to learning of magic to be literate.

History

In Archanea

InArchanea, initially, thedragons mastered and refined magic, and for a long era of time they kept its use exclusive to them.

TheManakete and White SageGotoh established a magic academy inKhadein hundreds of years before theWar of Shadows, and showedhumans how to harness the power of magic with tomes and staves by sealing the power of nature within them; the creation of powerful magic such asAura requires the power of theBinding Shield's orbs. However, the people misused magic for war and sold it to the public, disappointing Gotoh, who vanished. It is stated that onlyBishops can wield both tomes and staves, and they can only wield weak magic such asFire orHeal. Powerful magic like Aura can be wielded only by a limited few.^[3]

In Valentia

Unlike Archanea the precise history and origins of magical practice onValentia is unknown, but it clearly differs from Archanea, and even between magic practiced inZofia versus magic practiced inRigel. It is possible thatDuma andMila introduced magic to the humans in their respective regions. Magic practiced in Zofia appears to be fairly similar to Archanean magic, featuring basic spells likeFire andThunder. Rigelian magic differs from its Zofian relatives in general theme, featuring ominous imagery like skulls and a possible connection to the landscape. Making contracts with entities also seems to be a viable method to obtain access to spells.

Regardless of the differences between regions, Valentian magic differs from other continents in that the caster needs no tomes to harness magic, they only need to know the spell itself. However, this comes at a cost of the caster'sown energy.

In Jugdral

Similarly to Archanea, the dragon tribes introduced magic toJugdral as well; however, unlike Archanea, this introduction was not entirely planned or intended. Initially, religious figures in Jugdral did not wield magic, and only knew writing, herbal remedies, and basic non-magical medical techniques. A practitioner of the early Jugdrali religion,Gair, traveled to Archanea in his youth and learned a strain ofdark magic tomes, as well as staves, from the dragonLoptous. Gair returned to Jugdral and used his new power to form a powerful cult in worship of Loptous, and kept his magic exclusive to the upper ranks of society.^[4] For two centuries the Loptous empire ruled Jugdral with its magic.

Hearing of the Loptous empire,Naga and eleven other Divine Dragons traveled to Jugdral and blessed twelve warriors with legendaryregalia, with three legendary anima tomes and one light tome included. With these weapons theTwelve Crusaders dismantled the Loptous empire, and tomes and staves came into more widespread use by the populace, with the Crusader regalia being passed down the houses founded by their respective crusader.

In Elibe and Magvel

This section has been marked as astub. Please help improve the page by adding information.

In Tellius

Like other continents, excepting Valentia and Fódlan,Tellius mages use tomes and staves to channel their magics. The source of all magic in Tellius is spirits and their interactions with the world.^[5][6]Sephiran once claimed that these spirits are the reason magic users can move through desert sand unimpeded, although this may have been said in jest.^[7]

Each person is born with a certain amount of "essence", a measure of their potential for using magic. Those who lack this essence cannot achieve the same heights of magical mastery as those who possess it.^[8] Even capable mages, such asTormod andCalill, may have a low amount of essence.^[9]

A mage can also make a pact with a spirit in exchange for an increase in their essence, and by extension, increased magical abilities, at the cost of allowing the spirit to enter the mage's body and consume their soul.^[5] Making the pact is called Spirit Charming, and those who undertake the pact are marked somewhere on their body.^[6] This mark is similar to the brand borne by thebranded, and so spirit charmers are sometimes confused for the branded, and vice versa.^[10][11] According toPelleas, a spirit may rarely choose to initiate a pact with an infant, should that infant have a high affinity for magic.^[12]

Aslaguz generally do not wield weapons, onlybeorc andbranded have shown to be able to use traditional magic. The only exception isLehran, who wielded tomes and staves while disguised as a beorc. Theheron laguz use an unusual form of magic known as "seid magic", which they cast by chantinggaldrar.

Of the different magic types,fire,thunder andwind magic are the most common.Light magic is wielded only by the clergy, with the sole exception ofMicaiah.^[13] Water magic is considered to be one ofAshunera's powers of creation, anddark magic is associated withYune, known as "the dark god"; both are forbidden for most to study.^[14]

In Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla

This section has been marked as astub. Please help improve the page by adding information.

In Fódlan

Similarly to Valentia, tomes are not necessary to cast spells; a caster simply needs to know the spell. Unlike in Valentia, a caster does not have to expend some of their life energy to cast a spell, but they can cast any given spell only a certain number of times per battle, with more powerful spells having fewer available uses.

Anyone can learn to cast spells through study and training, though some individuals will be better at magic than others, affecting the time it takes them to learn new spells and the spells that they can learn.Dark magic tends to be more difficult to learn thanblack magic, and requires a large degree of natural talent. An individual that bears a magic-relatedCrest, such as the Crests of Gloucester, Dominic, or Cethleann, will be born with greater magical aptitude, with some Crests improving skill in black or dark magic and other Crests improving skill inwhite magic.

Etymology and other languages

References

See also

For more in-universe historical context to the events mentioned here please refer to the following timelines:

• Timeline of Archanea, Valentia, and Jugdral
• Timeline of Elibe
• Timeline of Magvel
• Timeline of Tellius
• Timeline of Hoshido, Nohr, and Valla
• Timeline of Fódlan