Velthomer (Japanese:ヴェルトマーVelthomer) is one of the six duchies of the Kingdom ofGrannvale. It is located in the north-east corner of Grannvale, near the border with theAed Desert and north-east of the capitalBelhalla. It was founded in the year 649, shortly after the fall of theLoptrian Empire, byFjalar of theTwelve Crusaders alongside Grannvale itself and its other duchies; its ruling family are her descendants and possessher holy bloodline, permitting them to wield the holy fire tomeValflame. As with the other duchies, House Velthomer commands an elite squadron of knights: theRotritter, an army of fire mages.

History

Around the years Grann 736–738, House Velthomer experienced internal familial turmoil. At the time, the state was ruled by DukeVictor, a notorious drunkard and philanderer who nonetheless had a wife,Cigyun. Despite constant news of Victor's abuse of and philandering toward countless mistresses and the news of Victor raping one of her closest attendants, Cigyun nonetheless remained with him until she had an extra-marital affair withKurth, Grannvale's prince. Upon learning of this, Victor denounced the pair in a final message and committed suicide, causing Cigyun to flee Grannvale.^[1] With Victor's death, rule of Velthomer fell to his seven-year-old son,Arvis, who successfully retained hold of Velthomer's leadership with Kurth's behind-the-scenes support.^[2]

By Grann 757, Arvis had been assigned the role of leader of the Weissritter in Belhalla, tasked with the care of the ailing kingAzmur while the armies of Grannvale were at war withIsaach. In Grann 760, as part of the plan to "fight" the alleged traitorSigurd's return to Grannvale, the Rotritter underAida and the Friege army underReptor used Velthomer Castle as their last line of defense, only for Aida and the Rotritter to turn on Reptor as per Arvis's plan and assist Sigurd in killing Reptor's army, after which Aida led Sigurd to the capital to be received by Arvis and the Rotritter, leading to theBattle of Belhalla.

Through marriage toDeirdre, Arvis became Grannvale's emperor, departing Velthomer; at some point in the intervening years, in an effort to thwart hisLoptous-possessed sonJulius, Arvis hid theBook of Naga in the treasury of Velthomer Castle in a box whose key was bound to Deirdre'scirclet, for later use by its sole remaining potential wielder,Julia. At the conclusion of the war, the Velthomer throne was ascended bySaias, Arvis's illegitimate son and full-blooded heir.

Characters from Velthomer

Character	Description	Appears in
Fjalar	The "Mage Fighter" of theTwelve Crusaders, and the founder of Velthomer.	None
Victor	The late Duke of Velthomer prior to his suicide in approximately Grann 737.	Genealogy of the Holy War
Cigyun	The former Duchess of Velthomer, Victor's wife and Arvis's mother. Fled Grannvale after Victor's suicide.	Genealogy of the Holy War
Arvis	The Duke of Velthomer from Grann 737 onward, and Victor's son. Later Emperor of Grannvale through marriage toDeirdre.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Awakening,Heroes
Azelle	Victor's illegitimate son and Arvis's half-brother. JoinedSigurd's forces to rescueEdain fromVerdane.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Heroes
Deirdre	Wife of Arvis, and a former resident of the Verdane Spirit Forest.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Awakening,Heroes
Julia	Deirdre and Arvis's twin daughter, and inheritor of her mother's majorNaga holy blood.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Thracia 776,Awakening,Heroes
Julius	Prince of Grannvale, Arvis and Deirdre's twin son, and the human vessel ofLoptous.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Thracia 776,Awakening,Heroes
Aida	A Velthomer general, and leader of the Rotritter in Grann 760. Mother of Saias.	Genealogy of the Holy War
Saias	Son of Arvis and Aida, and a renowned tactician in Velthomer's service.	Thracia 776,Awakening,Heroes
Vaja	A Velthomer commander of great repute.	Genealogy of the Holy War
Hilda	A cousin of the Velthomer nobility, and the wife ofBloom ofFriege.	Genealogy of the Holy War,Heroes
Cohen	A Velthomer general, father of Aida, and grandfather of Saias.	Thracia 776

Genealogy

Genealogy of the House of Velthomer
Fjalar ??? Kurth Cigyun Victor Unnamed maid Deirdre Arvis Aida Azelle Hilda Bloom Julius Julia Saias Ishtar Ishtore
An unbroken line indicates a direct relationship; a dashed line indicates descent over generations.

Gameplay

Velthomer Castle is present as acastle inChapter 5 andthe Endgame inFire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. It acts as the final destination of Chapter 5, albeit with the goal of talking to its NPC guardian,Aida; in the Endgame, it is the penultimate castle, situated on the other side of Belhalla and guarded byManfroy; while assaulting it is not necessary to complete the game, doing so will allow Julia to be re-recruited and theBook of Naga to be obtained.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Map of Grannvale with Velthomer's location marked from theFire Emblem Trading Card Game.
• 
  The coat of arms of Velthomer from theFire Emblem Trading Card Game.
• 
  Velthomer Castle inChapter 5 ofGenealogy of the Holy War.

References