TheShrine of Seals (Japanese:封印の神殿Shrine of Seals) is a temple dating fromthe Scouring, located deep in the Kingdom ofBern inElibe.

History

Following the defeat ofIdunn, thedemon dragon, at the end of the Scouring,Hartmut of theEight Legends traveled deep into the remote mountains of what would later become Bern and constructed the Shrine of Seals as a place to safely keep Idunn, imprisoning her within it using theBinding Blade.^[1] He then sealed the Binding Blade within its altar, locking it so that only theFire Emblem could unseal it.^[2] The shrine was also used by fellow general,Bramimond, to seal away their own legendary weapon,Apocalypse, within the shrine's depths. Bramimond then cast a seal across Elibe which locked away the other legendary weapons in their own hiding place, after which he permanently took up residence in the shrine's depths to guard the seal.

After finishing the Shrine of Seals, Hartmut founded the Kingdom of Bern so that his descendants could continue to guard the Shrine and Idunn. The obscure location of the shrine became a state secret of Bern, known only to members of the royal family and under extremely heavy protection,^[3] and its very existence was little known as well. The rival kingdomEtruria once conducted a mission to find the shrine and investigate it upon learning of its existence, but none of the mission's members are known to have survived.^[4]

Despite the secrecy and security, 980 years after the Scouring, theLycian noblesEliwood,Lyn andHector were tasked byAthos with finding the Shrine of Seals in order to gain the power to defeatNergal. They eventually earned passage and directions from QueenHellene after retaking the Fire Emblem from theBlack Fang and thwarting an assassination attempt on PrinceZephiel, and traveled there to prove to Athos their worth to wield the legendary weapons. At Athos's request, Bramimond undid the seals on the legendary weapons, allowing them to be used. Twenty years later, the Shrine of Seals was the site of one of the closing battles of theDisturbance of Bern and the bloodiest day in Elibe's history, when the Etrurian army under GeneralRoy attacked it as the first part of their invasion of Bern. After defeating the Bern army and GeneralMurdock, Roy used the Fire Emblem to claim the Binding Blade for use against King Zephiel and Idunn.

Structure

Surface altar

The ground-level part of the Shrine of Seals is relatively small, occupying a single raised chamber. An altar sits at the top of this chamber, and the Binding Blade was sealed within it until Roy obtained it.

Depths

Underground, the Shrine of Seals continues into a labyrinth whereBramimond once lived and where the legendary weaponApocalypse is kept. The labyrinth isdark and hinders vision, and is liberally coated with traps intended to ward off would-be thieves of Apocalypse.^[5]

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Map noting the Shrine of Seals' location (marked with the flag) inThe Binding Blade.
• 
  The Shrine of Seals inChapter 21 ofThe Binding Blade.
• 
  The Shrine of Seals' labyrinth inChapter 21x ofThe Binding Blade.
• 
  The Shrine of Seals inChapter 27E/29H ofFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

References

See also

• Dragon Sanctuary