Wyverns (Japanese:飛竜wyvern) are one of the dragon subspecies ofArchanea and other continents in theFire Emblem series. Wild wyverns are frequently tamed byhumans and ridden as steeds for battle, comprising theWyvern Rider class and its advanced forms.

History

Archanea

As with the other dragon tribes, the wyverns were once part of the flourishing dragon civilization in the antiquity of Archanea. This changed one thousand years before Archanea's formation, as the dragons began to show signs of deterioration. When the Divine Dragon elders recommended that dragons seal their power intodragonstones andtake a human form to ensure their survival, it is uncertain whether any wyverns co-operated as no wyvern manaketes have ever been seen; either way, a large number of wyverns refused to shed their dragon lives and eventually degenerated into wild beasts. The wild wyverns lived primarily in theMamorthod Desert, the Wyvern's Dale, and in the forests of what would later becomeMacedon.

Humans first adopted the art of riding wyverns as mounts duringMedeus's first reign of terror upon the land, in theWar of Liberation in the year 493. In the Macedon region, a revolution arose among the abused slaves to theDolhr Empire, spearheaded by the heroIote. Iote and his companions were the first to tame the wild wyverns for use as steeds, and with them fought back against Medeus's occupation to free the slaves. Following the defeat of Medeus byAnri, Iote founded the Kingdom of Macedon, which rapidly gained fame as the home of thedracoknights, renowned and fearsome warriors who continued to tame wyverns for use as their mounts.^[1]

While wyvern-riding knights are most prevalent in Macedon, other countries likeGrust utilize them as well.

Elsewhere

In other continents and worlds, wild wyvern populations are typically found only in one country on the continent, and in a similar vein to Macedon that country's military tends to be famous for its wyvern-riding knights. These countries are:

• Thracia, inJugdral
• Bern, inElibe. In the past, wyverns used to roam the entire continent.^[2]
• Grado, inMagvel
• Begnion, inTellius, although duringAshnard's reign theDaein army also played host to wyvern riders who defected from Begnion
• Plegia, in Ylisse-era Archanea
• Nohr
• Almyra

Characteristics

Physical appearance

Wyverns are significantly smaller and more agile than other dragon clans, and are characterized primarily by their affinity for quick flight. Wild wyverns and wyvern-transformed manaketesbreathe fire like thefire dragons, but tamed wyvern mounts appear to never use this ability, with the exception of theSavage Blow skill ofMalig Knights. Some tamed wyverns, such asCherche's wyvern Minerva, exhibit relatively high intelligence and are capable of comprehending human speech to some degree.^[3] However, this ability seems to be as much a result of the skill of the rider in communicating thoughts and emotions without using words as anything else,^[4] and is compared to the ability of some people to communicate with their pets.^[5]

Their general appearance and number of limbs varies between different games in the series. Traditionally in European cultures, awyvern is defined as being more serpentine in their general shape and possessing only two legs, as opposed to the four legs of traditional European dragons. In this respect, the majority ofFire Emblem depictions of wyvern mounts differ significantly from their mythological origin: some have four legs and almost all look more like a lizard or traditional dragon in their body shape. The best visual match for the traditional wyverns are the Wyvern Knights ofFire Emblem: Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light andThe Sacred Stones, whose serpentine appearances differ greatly from the other wyverns in other games.

The number of legs shown on wyvern mounts in each game are as follows:

• Two-legged wyvern mounts:Shadow Dragon & the Blade of Light,Mystery of the Emblem,Genealogy of the Holy War (Dragon Rider only),Thracia 776 (Dragon Rider only),The Sacred Stones (Wyvern Knight only),Awakening,Fates,Three Houses,Engage
• Four-legged wyvern mounts:Genealogy of the Holy War,Thracia 776,The Binding Blade,The Blazing Blade,The Sacred Stones,Path of Radiance,Radiant Dawn,Shadow Dragon,New Mystery of the Emblem

"Wyverns" and "dragons"

In the Japanese version of theFire Emblem series, the classes which are referred to in English as riding wyverns are usually referred to as "Dragon Knights", specifying dragons rather than wyverns; the English versions ofRadiant Dawn andShadow Dragon do this as well. However, the dragon name primarily acts as a title for the class in these cases, and in dialogue these tamed wyvern mounts are still explicitly referred to as "wyverns" in the Japanese version, spelled the same way as the wild wyverns ofMystery of the Emblem.^[6] It is thus a safe assumption that no matter how varied the appearances of these mounts are, they are indeed meant to be the same species as the wild wyverns.

Notably, the battle sprites used for wyverns inMystery of the Emblem are identical to the the wyvern mount in theDracoknight class's battle sprites. The Nintendo DS remakes did not retain this similarity.

Notable wyvern mounts

• Kate (Japanese:ケイトKate):Eda's wyvern inThracia 776.
• Tryffin (Japanese:トリフィンヌTrifinne):Melady's wyvern inThe Binding Blade.
• Levrey (Japanese:ルブレーRubley):Zeiss's wyvern inThe Binding Blade.
• Hyperion (Japanese:ハイペリオンHyperion):Heath's wyvern inFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.
• Umbriel (Japanese:アンブリエルUmbriel):Vaida's wyvern inFire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.
• Genarog (Japanese:ゲネルーガGeneruga):Cormag's wyvern inThe Sacred Stones.
• Minerva (Japanese:ミネルヴァMinerva):Cherche andGerome's wyvern inAwakening; named forMinerva of Macedon.
• Ace (Japanese:ミシェルMichel):Percy's wyvern inFates; the Japanese name appears to be intended as a corrupted reference toMichalis.
• Camille (Japanese:カーミラCarmilla):Rosado's wyvern inEngage; the name appears to be a reference toCamilla.

Wyvern-mounted classes

Twelveclasses have used wyverns as mounts throughout theFire Emblem series.

Class data

Wyverns exist as an individual class only inFire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem and its remake,New Mystery of the Emblem. Wyverns attack withFire Breath, are the only dragon class to act as an actual flying class with immunity to terrain penalties, and also possess a largemovement range. The games' playableManaketes can transform into wyverns using the rarewyvernstone items, exclusively available fromsecret shops, although onlyTiki can use them in the originalMystery.

InMystery, the main advantage to the Wyvern transformation was the movement bonus, but in the remake dragonstones function purely as weapons and do not allow the user to stay in that state, removing the movement benefits that were there initially.

Base stats

The stats forNew Mystery of the Emblem are used to calculate the stats of a Manakete using a Wyvernstone in combat.

Max stats

The stats forNew Mystery of the Emblem are used to calculate the stats of a Manakete using a Wyvernstone in combat.

Miscellaneous stats

Class growth rates

Class change

All appearances

Base class
Wyvern

Trivia

• The Wyvern class has the greatest basemovement stat of any playable class in theFire Emblem series, possessing 12 movement.

Etymology and other languages

Gallery

• 
  Artwork of the Wyvern from theTrading Card Game.
• 
  Artwork of Minerva with her wyvern fromShadow Dragon and the Blade of Light.
• 
  Artwork of Minerva with her wyvern fromMystery of the Emblem.
• 
  Melady, aWyvern Rider, with her wyvern, Tryffin, inThe Binding Blade.
• 
  Galle, aWyvern Lord, with his wyvern inThe Binding Blade.
• 
  Jill, aWyvern Rider, with her wyvern inPath of Radiance.
• 
  Haar, aWyvern Lord, with his wyvern inPath of Radiance.
• 
  Artwork ofCherche and her wyvern, Minerva, fromCipher.

References

See also

This article is part ofProject Classes, a project focused in writing articles for every class present in theFire Emblem series.