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Roland
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| “ | If I might help my children, there is nothing else I need do. | ” | — Roland |
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Roland (Japanese:ローランRoland), the "Little Knight" (Japanese:小さき勇者Little Hero), was one of theEight Legends ofElibe, hailing from what was at the time the small town ofOstia. Toward the end ofThe Scouring, when theDivine Weapons were forged to combatdragons, he was deemed to be powerful enough to be chosen to wield one of the weapons, the Blazing BladeDurandal,[1] possessing the strength and skill to wield it in spite of being a rather small man compared to its enormous blade.[2] With the other Generals, he traveled to theDragon Sanctuary in what would later becomeBern and launched an assault on it, accidentally causing theEnding Winter and forcing the dragons to becomeManaketes.
After the imprisonment ofIdunn and the end of the Scouring, Roland returned to Ostia, now a war-torn wasteland, and with Durandal restored life to it.[3] From there, he establishedLycia, then as a single kingdom with one ruler;[4] after his time, the nation would fragment from a kingdom into a league of duchies, with the ruling houses of each mostly descended from him. He also sealed away Durandal in a cave near Ostia, shielded byBramimond's seal. When he died, his spirit continued to linger with Durandal in its enshrinement in the cavern, along with that ofGeorg and other warriors once in his service.
Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade
Role
980 years after the Scouring, the Durandal shrine received its first visitors since Roland's death:Eliwood ofPherae, one of Roland's many distant descendants, guided by his former comradeAthos. Having convinced Bramimond to unseal the Divine Weapons, the two had come to claim Durandal in order to gain the power necessary to combatNergal and avert the return of dragons to the world. After Eliwood defeated Georg and the other spirit guardians of the cavern, Athos called upon Roland's dormant spirit to awaken and appear before them, which he did. Athos introduced Eliwood as one of Roland's descendants, explained their predicament and requested his strength in combating the threat. Having no physical form anymore, Roland decided to channel his soul into Durandal to enhance its power; when Athos pointed out that it would cause him to die and pass on from the world permanently, Roland expressed that if it were to help his descendants, he would be glad to do it. Roland did so, freeing Durandal for Eliwood's use, and his spirit permanently left the world.
Choose Your Legends placement history
| Round | Placement | Character | Votes |
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| CYL 5 (2021) | 500 |  Roland The Blazing Blade | 134 |
| CYL 6 (2022) | 502 (No change) | Roland The Blazing Blade | 133 (−1) |
| CYL 7 (2023) | 561 (+59) | Roland The Blazing Blade | 76 (−57) |
| CYL 8 (2024) | 312 (−249) | Roland The Blazing Blade | 190 (+114) |
| CYL 9 (2025) | 513 (+201) | Roland The Blazing Blade | 75 (−115) |
| CYL 10 (2026) | 462 (−51) | Roland The Blazing Blade | 65 (−10) |
| Total results | This character has 6 entries across all Choose Your Legends polls. | 673 |
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Etymology and other languages
| Names, etymology, and in other regions | ||
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| Language | Name | Definition, etymology, and notes |
| English | Roland | FromRoland, the foremost of theTwelve Peers ofCharlemagne, and the main hero of the Frankish epicLa Chanson de Roland, in which he wields theDurendal. |
| Japanese | ローラン | Roland |
| Spanish | Roland | -- |
| French | Roland | -- |
| German | Roland | -- |
| Italian | Roland | -- |
| Portuguese | Roland | Used in theChoose Your Legends polls forFire Emblem Heroes. |
| Traditional Chinese | 羅嵐 | Roland |
References
- ↑"Jahn: However, the humans soon found out about theDemon Dragon. They concluded that their numbers alone would not be enough to defeat us. Therefore, they put their efforts into constructing powerful weapons that would pierce our scales. They are what you call the Divine Weapons.
Roy: That part is the same as our legends...
Jahn: The most powerful and potent were chosen out of the humans to wield their newly crafted weapons." —Jahn andRoy,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑"Roy: So this is Durandal... It's bigger than I thought. I don't think many of us are going to be able to swing it.
Lilina: But history has it that Roland was a small man. I think it's the person's skill that determines whether he can use it or not." —Roy andLilina,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade - ↑"There's also another story behind Durandal. After the Scouring ended, Roland returned to his hometown of Ostia. He then raised Durandal high above his head, and the land that had been trampled upon during the war suddenly bloomed with life again." —Lilina,Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
- ↑"Long ago, in the depths of this cavern... When Lycia was a single country, an altar was built." —Athos,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. |
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