Medeus (Japanese:メディウスMediuth) was anearth dragon king and the only known earth dragon to have willingly become aManakete. He was the first and only ruler of theDolhr Empire, reviled and feared acrossArchanea as the tyrannicalShadow Dragon (Japanese:暗黒竜Dark Dragon). His years of watching over his captured brethren on behalf ofNaga deeply embittered him against humanity and their cruelty toward his fellow Manaketes, to which he sought revenge by founding Dolhr and subjecting humanity to years of cruel conquest and oppression under his rule.

For all his brutality, Medeus's two reigns over Dolhr were relatively brief, totaling only ten years or so. His first period of rule, presiding over the conflict which would later be called theWar of Liberation was ended with his defeat at the hands ofAnri, the future founder ofAltea who wielded the blade of lightFalchion against him. A century later Medeus was resurrected through the machinations of the rogue sorcererGharnef, and he engaged humanity in another war of conquest dubbed theWar of Shadows. Though he had seen great success in luring human nations to ally with Dolhr, he was undermined by the efforts of Anri's descendantMarth, who killed him again at the climax of the war. Afterward, three years later, the second resurrection of Medeus was the culmination of Gharnef's grand scheme in theWar of Heroes, and this time Medeus took a new form: that of a trueShadow Dragon.

Biography

The decline of the dragons

Centuries before the founding of theHoly Kingdom of Archanea, when the dragonkin were experiencing their degeneration, Medeus was the only earth dragon to willingly shed his dragon form and become a Manakete, thus escaping the degeneration of the dragons. All of his fellow earth dragons refused this idea and ultimately devolved into wild beasts which posed a grave threat to the fledglinghuman race. At the conclusion of theBattle of the Guardian Deity Naga—a war between thedivine dragons and wild earth dragons that resulted in all other earth dragons (with the sole exception ofLoptous) being sealed beneath theDragon Altar—Medeus was entrusted by the divine dragon Naga with the task of guarding the altar and its seal.

The War of Liberation

As the age of the dragonkin faded into legend, the following centuries saw mankind rising to take the place of dragons as the dominant species of Archanea, finalized with the foundation of the mighty Holy Kingdom of Archanea in the year 0. As humans came to dominance, however, they also came to frequently abuse and mistreat the surviving Manaketes, now largely powerless. From his post at the Dragon Altar, Medeus was forced to observe the atrocities humans constantly subjected his fellow Manaketes to, and ultimately his fury was such that in the year 490, he united the Manaketes into a new nation of their own, the Dolhr Empire. Dolhr was by policy openly hostile to humans, an attitude which culminated three years later in a conflict known as the War of Liberation, as Dolhr declared war on Archanea as retribution for the horrid treatment of Manaketes by humans.^[2]

The first great action of the war was the Dolhr assault on the Archanean capital palace, Millennium Court, which was a resounding Dolhr victory. Medeus's army succeeded in conquering Archanea and wiping out all members of its royal family, save for PrincessArtemis, who evaded captivity. The rest of the world soon fell too, and so for five years Medeus dominated the entire world. The tide turned against him with the rise of a rebellion led byCaldas of Archanea. At the war's end, Medeus personally entered the fray and decimated Caldas's army with ease.^[3] Even as Medeus's immense power seemed impossible to overcome, he was foiled by the sudden appearance of Anri, a young man wielding Falchion. With Falchion, Anri engaged Medeus in battle and emerged victorious, killing Medeus. With Medeus's demise, Dolhr crumbled and faded into history.

The War of Shadows

Earth dragons, by their very nature, are difficult to truly kill,^[4] and so nearly a century later Medeus was reawakened through the machinations of the vengeful sorcerer Gharnef; however, his revival remained incomplete, and he could only maintain his earth dragon form and powers while within the walls of Dolhr Keep itself.^[5] Medeus recreated the Dolhr Empire and soon resumed his mission of world conquest in a war later known as the War of Shadows. This time, however, through Gharnef's schemes he now had human nations as his allies in the form ofGrust,Gra, andMacedon. Through both the sheer power of his armies and those of his allies, and through treachery and back-stabbing, the Dolhr forces rapidly conquered Archanea and most of its allies starting with the second conquest of Millennium Court, subjecting the territories to Medeus's rule.

However, one aspect of Medeus's plan failed to be adequately completed to his designs: the extermination of the Archanean royal family. As with before, one member survived his army's onslaught, when the princessNyna entered the custody ofCamus of Grust as he occupied the capital. Medeus grew weary of Camus's refusal to bring Nyna to be imprisoned under Medeus himself, and so four years into the war he tasked his subordinateBrzak with retrieving the princess. When Brzak's mission met with resistance from Camus and hisSable Order, resulting in the death of Brzak himself, Medeus himself travelled toAurelis to personally deal with the situation. Though Nyna managed to escape, Medeus captured Camus and brought him to Dolhr for punishment for his treachery.

A year later, the war came to an end with the arrival of theArchanean League, the united army under Marth, at Dolhr Keep. Medeus and the last of the Dolhr army engaged Marth in a final battle within Dolhr Keep, with Medeus unleashing his full power against the army. Ultimately, Marth's army emerged victorious and Medeus died for a second time, swearing to return so long as darkness remained in the hearts of mankind.

The true Shadow Dragon

Medeus would not remain dead for long, for a mere three years after the end of the War of Shadows, Gharnef was resurrected from his own demise and executed on a new plan to revive Medeus. By the end of the War of Heroes, Gharnef and his minions used the life force of four abducted noble maidens to resurrect Medeus at the Dragon Altar, now in an even more powerful form: a true Shadow Dragon. Even as Gharnef worked to revive Medeus, the seal on the Table, long weakened by the breaking of theBinding Shield, had at last begun to fade enough to allow the captive earth dragons to emerge from within its depths to serve Medeus.

Even as this happened, however, Marth had been entrusted byGotoh with the task of restoring the Binding Shield and averting the re-emergence of the earth dragons. Having succeeded in completing the shield following the defeat of EmperorHardin, Marth traveled to the Dragon Altar to stop Medeus's resurrection. By the time Marth reached the Dragon Altar, Falchion in hand, Medeus had already been revived, with the four maidens Nyna,Elice,Maria, andLena surrounding him, hypnotized, in preparation to be sacrificed to him to complete the revival process. Around him, wave after wave of earth dragons emerged from the Table to confront Marth, only to be re-sealed by the Binding Shield. Despite his immense newfound power, Medeus fell for the third and final time to the might of Falchion and the Binding Shield wielded together by Marth. As he died Medeus swore that, should mankind's greed overtake it and the Binding Shield be broken again, he would rise from the dead once more. However, according to Gotoh, this death was very likely permanent and completely destroyed any chance of Medeus returning again.^[6]

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, and is fought at Dolhr Keep inChapter 25. He fights solely using his Earth Dragon form via theEarthstone, and accordingly is immune to both ranged and magical attacks.

Stats

See also:Chosen by Fate

Manakete Level 20 Movement 6 Experience 71

Stats Max HP 45 Speed 10 Strength 10 Luck 0 Skill 10 Defense 12+23 W. Level 16 Resistance 0

Inventory Drops Earthstone -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✗ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗ Ballista ✗ Stone ✓

Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem

Book 1

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofMystery of the Emblem Book 1, and is fought at Dolhr Keep in Chapter 20. Like all Earth Dragons inMystery of the Emblem, he takes only half the usual damage from attacks.

Stats

See also:Chosen by Fate

TransformedUntransformed

Earth Dragon Level 10 Movement 5 Experience 50

Stats Max HP 52 Luck -- Strength 10 W. Level -- Skill 0 Defense 15 Speed 0 Resistance 15

Weapons Items Dark Breath -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✗ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗

Manakete Level 10 Movement 5 Experience 40

Stats Max HP 26 Luck -- Strength 0 W. Level -- Skill 0 Defense 1 Speed 2 Resistance 1

Weapons Items Earthstone -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✗ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗

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Note: Medeus is shown transforming from the untransformed state on turn 1 player phase and never reverts; as a result, Medeus cannot be fought in the untransformed state.

Book 2

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofMystery of the Emblem Book 2 in its true ending, and is fought at the Dragon Altar in the third part ofEndgame 2. In order to defeat Medeus, the four maidens surrounding him—Nyna, Maria, Elice, and Lena—must be recruited and moved out of harm's way; otherwise, should Medeus's HP be reduced to 0, he will kill them to replenish a quarter of his HP per maiden. He is entirely immune totome attacks and theLevin Sword.

Stats

See also:Light and Shadow

Shadow Dragon Level 1 Movement 5 Experience 30

Stats Max HP 52 Luck -- Strength 20 W. Level -- Skill 0 Defense 15 Speed 0 Resistance 15

Weapons Items Dark Breath -- Weapons Sword ✗ Lance ✗ Axe ✗ Bow ✗ Tome ✗ Staff ✗

Fire Emblem: Archanea Saga

Role

Medeus only appears in the opening cutscene ofthe fourth episode, giving Brzak his orders to retrieve Nyna.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofShadow Dragon, and is fought at Dolhr Keep in the Endgame. Before beginning the chapter, he is classed as a Manakete, but permanently becomes an Earth Dragon for the rest of the chapter in an opening cutscene.

Stats

See also:Chosen by Fate

Stats with a decimal can vary randomly; the decimal represents the chance for the stat to increase to the nearest integer, or be otherwise truncated.

Stats

Earth DragonManakete

NormalHard-1Hard-2Hard-3Hard-4Hard-5

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 21 Strength 24 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 25 Skill 26 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 25 Strength 26.5 Luck 0 Magic 0.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 29 Strength 29 Luck 0 Magic 1 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 1.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 2 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Earth Dragon Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 2.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

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NormalHard-1Hard-2Hard-3Hard-4Hard-5

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 21 Strength 24 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 25 Skill 26 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 25 Strength 26.5 Luck 0 Magic 0.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 29 Strength 29 Luck 0 Magic 1 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 1.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 2 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Manakete Level 25 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 30 Strength 30 Luck 0 Magic 2.5 Defense 25 Skill 30 Resistance 23

Inventory Earthstone Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

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Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofNew Mystery of the Emblem in its true ending, and is fought at the Dragon Altar in the third part of the Endgame. In order to defeat Medeus, the four maidens surrounding him—Nyna, Maria, Elice, and Lena—must be recruited and moved out of harm's way; otherwise, should Medeus's HP be reduced to 0, he will kill them to replenish a quarter of his HP per maiden.

Stats

See also:Light and Shadow

NormalHardManiacLunatic

Shadow Dragon Level 30 Movement --

Stats Max HP 60 Speed 25 Strength 25 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 25 Skill 25 Resistance 20

Inventory Dark Breath Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Shadow Dragon Level 30 Movement --

Stats Max HP 76 Speed 27 Strength 31 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 31 Skill 31 Resistance 24

Inventory Dark Breath Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Shadow Dragon Level 30 Movement --

Stats Max HP 92 Speed 29 Strength 37 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 37 Skill 37 Resistance 28

Inventory Dark Breath Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Shadow Dragon Level 30 Movement --

Stats Max HP 99 Speed 30 Strength 40 Luck 0 Magic 0 Defense 40 Skill 40 Resistance 30

Inventory Dark Breath Weapon Levels -- -- -- -- -- --

Note: Boss stats in Lunatic Mode are rounded to the nearest whole number.

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Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE

Role

Medeus is the final boss ofTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE, and is fought on the stage at the peak ofIllusory Dolhr.

According toTiki, Gharnef successfully summoned Medeus in the world where Mirages originate, devastating that world. The dragon was eventually defeated, but could still be revived through the Opera of Shadows and a sufficient supply ofPerforma. To prevent this, Naga banned all forms of performing arts, to prevent the generation of Performa.

This did not stop Gharnef, however – he sought other sources of Performa, and found one through the Idolasphere, which linked the world of Mirages to Tokyo. With the assistance ofYatsufusa Hatanaka, Gharnef gathered enough Performa to perform the Opera of Shadows and revive Medeus in Tokyo.Itsuki and his team ofMirage Masters gather the souls of Marth's allies to perform the counter-ritual, the Opera of Light, but Gharnef takes Marth's soul and sacrifices it along with his own to complete Medeus's revival.

Itsuki's group ascends Illusory Dolhr to face the dragon, hoping that Marth's soul within the beast would still resonate if the Opera of Light is attempted close enough to it. Just as Itsuki's part in the Opera comes, Medeus mortally wounds him, to the Mirage Masters's distress. The souls of Marth's allies fly from the Masters and attack Medeus to take back Marth's soul, which enters Itsuki's body and revives him in a Carnage Form resembling Marth. The Masters complete the Opera and face Medeus in battle, aided by Tiki in her divine dragon form.

The battle consists of two phases, the second of which has Medeus's face break away to reveal a galaxy-like void. Upon the dragon's defeat, all of the Mirages allied with the Mirage Masters regain their lost memories of the Mirage world.

Fire Emblem Heroes

Main article:Medeus/Heroes

There are two different variations of Medeus available inHeroes.

Personality

Medeus's primary motivation was his quest for vengeance against humanity. Before he developed his hatred against humanity, Medeus is implied to be a humble individual, as he was the only Earth Dragon who willingly discarded his dragon form to become a Manakete, and Naga was able to trust him enough to entrust the task of guarding the Dragon Altar's seal to him.

However, owing to the persecution of the Manaketes he witnessed during his years at the Dragon Altar, Medeus's view on humans shifted drastically for the worse; he believed humans deserved to be treated in kind and sought to implement that through conquest.^[2] As part of this, he sought to crush the hope of any who would dare resist his rule by making torturous examples out of those who did, in fact, attempt to do so.^[7] He adamantly insisted that all of his conquests and brutal conducts were entirely justified, and that for their crimes against the Manaketes, humans deserved the painful deaths he awarded.^[8]

Quotes

Battle quotes

Death quotes

Heroes quotes

Main article:Medeus/Quotes (Heroes)

Other appearances

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Medeus appears as a support spirit.

	#635 Fire Emblem Series Medeus
	Rank: ★★
	Cost: ⬣
	Trait: Lava-Floor Resist Reduces damage taken from lava floors.

Fire Emblem Cipher

Medeus is featured on one card inFire Emblem Cipher.

Fire Emblem Cipher data for Medeus
	Revived Shadow Dragon, Medeus
		"MORTAL FOOLS... YOU WILL DIE... EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!"
		Attack: 100	Support: 0	Range: 1-2	Deploy Cost: 7
		Class: Shadow Dragon		Tier:Base	Class Change Cost: --
		Sacrifice the Light, Revive the Shadow:[Special] If your Main Character is destroyed while you have no Orbs, you may reveal this card from your hand and deploy it instead of letting the game end with your loss. If you do, send all other allies to the Retreat Area, and transfer Main Character status to this unit. Until the end of the game, you cannot transfer Main Character status. Revels:[Activate][Once per turn] [Send 1 Bond card to the Boundless Area] Draw 1 card.
	Card #B22-022R • Artist:Daisuke Izuka
Some card information translation provided by Serenes Forest. For more detailed strategic information on these cards, seetheir TCG wiki article on Medeus .

Flavor text

Trivia

• Medeus replaced a cut Earth Dragon boss named "Gaia" (Japanese:ガイアGaia) inShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light, named after theearth goddess of Greek mythology.^[9]
• Counting remakes andTokyo Mirage Sessions, Medeus has been the final boss in a total of five games, the highest among other recurring characters.
• InTokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE Encore, Tiki cannot participate in anySession attacks during the battle with Medeus.
• Medeus inShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light is one of only three final bosses in the series to not have a uniqueclass, the others beingVeld inThracia 776 andTakumi in theConquest campaign ofFates.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

Sprite Gallery
Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light Manakete Untransformed Earthstone
Mystery of the Emblem Manakete Earth Dragon Shadow Dragon Untransformed Dark Breath from anEarthstone Dark Breath
Shadow Dragon Manakete Earth Dragon Untransformed Earthstone
New Mystery of the Emblem Shadow Dragon Dark Breath

Official artwork

• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
• 
  Artwork featuring Medeus fromShadow Dragon & the Blade of Light.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork featuring Medeus fromMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus andAnri from theFire Emblem: Archanea War Chronicles Vol. 1 guide.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromAPE'sMystery of the Emblem guide.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus andGharnef fromAll of Fire Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus from theTrading Card Game.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromShadow Dragon's manual.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus, Anri, andArtemis fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus andMarth fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.

CG images

• 
  CG image of Medeus andBrzak inArchanea Saga.
• 
  CG image of Medeus inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus andAnri inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image featuring Medeus inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus andMarth inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus and Anri inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus's corpse inShadow Dragon.
• 
  CG image of Medeus fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  CG image featuring Medeus fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  CG image of Medeus andMarth fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  CG image of Medeus fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.
• 
  CG image featuring Medeus fromNew Mystery of the Emblem.

Concept artwork

• 
  Concept artwork of the boxart and Medeus fromShadow Dragon.
• 
  Concept artwork of Medeus fromShadow Dragon.

Heroes artwork

Character artwork

• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
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  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
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  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.

Meet some of the Heroes artwork

• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
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  Artwork of Medeus: Earth-Dragon King.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus: Last Earth Dragon.
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  Medeus in artwork ofMarth: Prince of Light.
• 
  Medeus in artwork ofMarth: Hero-King.
• 
  Medeus in artwork of Marth: Hero-King.
• 
  Medeus in artwork ofMaria: Ritual Sacrifice.
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  Medeus in artwork ofLena: Bereft Angel.
• 
  Medeus in artwork ofGharnef: Dark Pontifex.

Other artwork

• 
  Artwork featuring Medeus forHeroes's seventh anniversary.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus,Zephiel, andValidar from thePaired with the Past website.

Cipher artwork

• 
  Artwork of Medeus.
• 
  Medeus in artwork ofMarth.

Other appearances

• 
  Screenshot of Medeus inTokyo Mirage Sessions.
• 
  Artwork of Medeus fromOne Hundred Songs of Heroes.

References

This article is part ofProject Characters, a project focused on writing articles for every character present in theFire Emblem series.