etymology-of-the-emblem

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Aoibh / イーヴ, Aoife / エヴァ, Ailbhe / アルヴァ, the Aed Desert / イード砂漠, and Fionnuala / フィノーラ

Aoibh, Aoife, and Ailbhe are three Cross Knights guarding Lachesis and Castle Nordion in Genealogy of the Holy War, named as such as the recently released Lil' Nordion fan translation. In the original Japanese, their names are イーヴ (rōmaji: Īvu), エヴァ (rōmaji: eva), and アルヴァ (rōmaji: aruva); these names have been romanized in Japanese media as Eve, Eva, and Alva respectively. These names are in reference to a classic Irish tale known as Oidheadh chloinne Lir, or The Children of Lir.

The story goes that the sea god Lir refused to swear fealty to his political rival Bodb Derg after he was elected the king of the Irish pantheon, the Tuatha Dé Danann. After Lir's wife passed of illness, Bodb Derg took to making amends. He offered to Lir the hand of one of his three adopted daughters—born of Ailill of Aran—as to relieve Lir's grief and establish alliance between them. The widower married the eldest daughter, Aoibh (also called Aebh), who bore four children before passing. When news of this tragedy reached Bodb Derg, he once again told Lir he could wed one of his daughters. This time, the next oldest daughter, Aoife, was the sea god's choice. The remaining bachelorette was Ailbhe (also called Arbha), though there are many versions of the tale that forgo including a third daughter given her lack of importance. The traditional Irish names carried by Bodb Derg's daughters are regularly anglicized from their roots into the phonetically similar Eve, Eva, and Alva—hence why the Cross Knight triplets were called such in extended Japanese media. The Lil' Nordion team wanted to further cement the original reference by using the Irish names, since these anglicizations are used in far fewer adaptations of this tale.

The Aed Desert, known in Japan as the Yied Desert (JP: イード砂漠; rōmaji: Īdo sabaku) is an expansive region sprawling between the Kingdoms of Grannvale and Isaach. Within this harsh land is a remote village called Fionnuala in Lil' Nordion, originally known as Phinora (JP: フィノーラ; rōmaji: finōra). In The Children of Lir, Aoibh gives birth to four children: the eldest daughter Fionnuala, Aed, and the young twins Fiacra and Conn. Aoibh passed after delivering her twins, but the children remained cheerful and were beloved by their father. However, Lir's second wife Aoife was jealous of the love her sister's children received from her husband. One day, she brought her stepchildren to a lake and threatened to kill them. However, she could not follow through, and instead turned them into swans that would sing songs of their grief. When Bodb learned of what his daughter had done, he cursed her into the form of a mindless winged demon. In post-Christianized Ireland, this tale ended with the children being relieved from their fowl forms by Saint Patrick hundreds of years later.

It is possible that the names attached to the Aed Desert are meant to relate to the Loptrians that have hidden in the barely inhabitable lands. Part of the curse Aoife placed on the children of Lir was that they were forced to remain at three locations—each for three hundred years. When they finally were free of this stipulation, they returned to their father's land, only to find it abandoned. Additionally, Aed is also the name of the Irish god of the underworld, befitting of both the Aed Desert and the Loptrians being associated with death. Though Aed in Irish also means "fire," which could just reflect the scorching temperatures found in a desert.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

So... Why Shaman?

Deirdre and Julia are the first characters in the Fire Emblem series to bear this title through their class. Out of all the class name changes made compared to Project Naga, Priestess > Shaman is perhaps the one I feel the most passionate about. It's a choice that will no doubt raise a few eyebrows, but to explain why we made this change, it's important to consider why "Priestess" was chosen.

The chart we provided gives a simple explanation, noting that Shaman has been used as a localization of the standalone katakana rendering "シャーマン" (pronounced Shaa-man) since Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade, which is true. This same rendering is used in Genealogy of the Holy War, so therefore, it should follow rules of consistent localization that the class should be called Shaman in FE 4 as well... right? The matter is more complicated than that, however.

(Apologies for the crusty quality lol..)

In Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, its class names are written in kanji with additional katakana as a guide for how the name should be read. Micaiah's tier 3 class, Light Priestess, is displayed in Japanese as:

巫女(with シャーマン in parenthesis in certain menus)

The kanji used here is Miko, conveying the idea of a shrine maiden, a priestly woman, etc. Due to the kanji used here, Priestess (or Light Priestess) is an apt localization of what's being conveyed for this class. Additionally, it is the use of that Shaman rendering in katakana that makes people believe this is the same class as the one seen in Genealogy of the Holy War, and should thus be named differently than the Dark Magic class found in the GBA games.

When translating Project Naga, bookofholsety took the stance that Radiant Dawn's kanji could be used as a reference for class names.

For example: Although, in Japanese, Scathach's class is Sword Fighter rendered in katakana, he argued the use of kenshi (剣士) in dialogue to refer to Scathach justified translating the class as Myrmidon, as Radiant Dawn did the same. He argued the same point for Deirdre, as dialogue about her refers to her using the kanji miko (巫女), the same kanji Micaiah's class uses in Radiant Dawn. He felt that connection served as strong enough evidence Shaman was meant to be interpreted the same way in both of these instances.

Many also wish to conflate the two classes (Shaman and Light Priestess) because of their similar weapon ranks and function.

All of these are fair points to make; however, recent localization trends by NoA show that these may be faulty lines of reasoning.

For starters, both Heroes and Engage saw the return of FE 4 and 5's unique "Fighter" themed classes, such as the aforementioned Sword Fighter, and rather than translate them in traditional series terms (Myrmidon, Fighter, Archer) they were instead faithful to the katakana and differentiated these classes from those adjacent to it. Notice that Lapis is a Sword Fighter, not a Myrmidon.

What this means is that not only does NoA seem to care about keeping these class names distinct from each other, but it also suggests there are flaws in BoH's claim that usage of RD's kanji in dialogue is a reliable reference for Genealogy's class names. Following FEH and Engage's examples, Ayra, Scathach, Larcei, and Chulainn would most certainly have their class translated as Sword Fighter if an official FE 4 translation were to come out today.

Unless you want to start bending the rules to make Shaman an exception, this would then mean the usage of 巫女 in relation to Deirdre in dialogue is unreliable as well, leaving us with just the standalone katakana rendering of Shaman used in GBA. However, not only does 巫女 fail to make a case as a reliable reference for Shaman for this reason, it also fails because FE 4's manual (included with the game) directly refers to the class using kanji that is notably different than 巫女

Pictured is a page of the manual. Under the entry for Shaman, the kanji Kitoushi (祈祷師) is used, which almost always conveys the idea of a Shaman esc person (witch doctor, healer, etc). Notably different than miko. We believe this to be sufficient evidence to suggest that Shaman in FE 4 was NOT intended to be interpreted the same as its usage in FE 10, and thus that conflating the two is invalid.

Not only that, it didn't exactly sit well with us to give Julia and Deirdre the name of a class that was reserved for Micaiah only, as it would take away from its uniqueness. As for gameplay reasons, we argue that conflating this as part of the "Priestess" group of classes is just as, if not more, confusing than conflating it with Shaman. Fates and SoV both use very functionally different renditions of Priestess, and adding this unpromoted light magic user into the mix would create a situation where three very different classes all have the same name. Localization trends by NoA suggest they don't seem to care super much about this point to begin with, though, as they had no problems showing of Gaiden's quirkyness with restoring the Mercenary > Myrmidon class line. I digress.

At the end of it all, we feel most confident in allowing Deirdre and Julia to be the original Shamans of the series once more. Hell, the fact that this class is later used for dark magic could even be seen as cool in the context of Deirdre and Julia possessing a relation to Loptpus, not to mention other elements of world building around them (Deirdre being raised by a fortuneteller and having access to unique magic and such).

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

An Explanation of Our Mentality With Localization

Almost a day removed, and I have to say I am very happy with how everyone has responded to the announcement of Lil' Nordion. It's still a work in progress with many changes up for debate, but I figure it may do well to further explain the primary mentality we had when making some of our more... out there terminology choices.

First and foremost, the job of a translation is to make it playable for the intended audience, no doubt about it. It was constantly in our mind that this patch would be for those experiencing Jugdral for the first time, switch era fans if you will. As such, we wanted to cater to the most recent localizations the series has used as of Fire Emblem Engage (Perceptive is a bit tricky, see ThePsyShyster's blog). Off of face value, some of our decisions may also seem to contradict that by deviating from series staple terminology in English.

That's where the middle ground comes in. Making things approachable for new fans, but also honoring the game's uniqueness as well as we can. Especially for terms which don't have official localizations (like the zantetsu no ken and Forrest, though the former at least had zantetsu localized as ironbane/piercing in FE Warriors) we wanted to elaborate on what the unique Japanese text was trying to convey. Using Forest Knight > Ranger in Sacred Stones gave us the idea of trying to do something unique with Duke Knight, which is how the historical reference in Banneret, seasoned (bannered, heh) knight commanders who often lead lance knights in specific, was born. We followed a similar idea with Forrest > Forester (called Hero in PN), completing the correlation that class had with Forest Knight/Ranger. These are decisions in line with what NoA does even today, Timerra's classes in Engage being a great example; Vigilante > Sentinel, Pitchfork > Picket. The decision to revert Shaman is another interesting one I could make an entire post about as I was the strongest soldier in favor of the change.

Admittedly, we wanted to find something more flavorful for Mage Fighter and Thief Fighter as well, Spellblade came up often for the former, but figured it might be safest to stick with the other "Fighter" themed classes for now. Of course, we are always open to suggestions.

This reasoning is related to choices like Heal and Ironbane Sword as well. With the primary goal still being to appeal to that modern audience, we also want to preserve FE 4's unique terminology when we can — that middle ground. Part of a game's flavor and identity comes from its namechart, after all. I was also against Lord, Hero, Shaman, etc in PN because it removed so much of the intentional differences in how FE 4 presents itself compared to the rest of the series. Heal (assumed to be a precursor to Renewal) being named differently to match the adjacent Recover skill is part of that. Yes, Renewal is what more recent fans know a skill that heals you every turn to be, but simply naming it that also removes the intentional parallel FE 4's devs wanted to draw with the naming conventions of the skills and staves at the time. FE 5 went on to call this skill of similar effect by its modern name, but with "heal" returning in a skill context as of Three Houses (although doing a different thing), it feels a bit wrong to blatantly ignore what the Japanese text says here just for simplicity sake. It's tricky, as something is missing no matter what name is decided.

Now, a lot of these points were just argued off of vibes prior to FEH and Engage making the conscious decision to bring back the classes of Sword Fighter, Axe Fighter, etc. In a post Engage world, however, where Sword Fighter has been differentiated from Myrmidon twice now, I can't help but feel NoA cares about these small and unique differences in terminology as well. Thus, we followed suit. Like I said many times, this doesn't mean we aren't open to change, far from it! We will even have a discord taking feedback coming soon. This post was just to explain our perspective better than a chart could, provided I did a good job explaining myself, haha.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Greetings, everyone! From this day forward, my Tumblr will serve as the primary place where I give script revision updates, in-depth explanations for changes, and much more for the Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War Lil' Nordion translation. I am ecstatic to finally be able to talk about this publicly. Huge thanks to my partners (Miacis, NMC, ThePsyShyster) who helped put this initial release together and will continue to provide aid going forward!

As indicated, one of my partners runs the Etymology of the Emblem page on tumblr and is taking input of his own, so check that out if you're interested and want to help with our more indecisive translation/localization choices!

So yes, for clarity the ENTIRE script is being retranslated from the ground up, leading to a fresh take on the story which I hope can live up to the quality expected by modern FE players. A few screenshots are shown above of some of the work done thus far, with much more to come. The new world map translations are in the current version, however, so even now there's still some new text to see.

That's all for now, so in the meantime, I'll say that I do accept tumblr asks as an avenue to explain certain things if anyone wants to ask questions. You can also find me in the FE5 Hacking Hel discord and on my socials posted here. That all said, happy 29th birthday to Genealogy of the Holy War!

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

There's A New FE4 Translation—How YOU Can Help!

I am happy to announce that Lil' Nordion—a new fan translation of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War—is in development! I am deeply involved in the project as a translator and localizer, and that includes updating names and terminology. In addition to implementing the official names used in Fire Emblem Heroes, the current release features new localizations of various terms yet to be officially localized with the intent of better capturing specific references to historical and mythological figures, locations, and events. That said, even when collaborating with my three brilliant colleagues, there were some names we simply struggled to reach conclusions for.

This is where YOU come in! This post will shed light on the more contentious names in Genealogy of the Holy War to gauge fan opinion. If you have any comments to give regarding any unofficially localized name, please leave it on this post, or in DMs if you prefer. We also ask you to share this with fellow fans for a wider scope.

Azmur (アズムール) → Ásmundr: The primary opinion I’ve seen from Japanese fans is that his name is derived from Auðhumbla (アウズンブラ; アウドムラ), the primeval heifer of Norse cosmology that fed the jötunn Ymir and unearthed the father god Búri. When I worked on the Spanish translation of this game, I opted to localize this as Auðumbla. For this project, we were initially using the name “Auðmir” due to the Japanese name also having a resemblance to Ymir (ユミール), also called Aurgelmir (アウルゲルミル). Later, our team became rather divided between Auðmir and Ásmundr (アースムンド), a name found in two Icelandic sagas. Ultimately, Ásmundr won out, primarily on the basis of it being an actual name, rather than cobbling together two mythological figures.

Cesare (スサール) → Cessair: This name comes from a post-Christianized tale of the first inhabitants of Ireland. It is said that Cessair, granddaughter of the biblical Noah, led a group to settle Ireland in an attempt to avoid the deluge. However, the name スサール has few search results beyond its use in Genealogy of the Holy War, and the renderings of Cessair in Japanese are very inconsistent. The renderings the most resemble what is used in-game are クェーサル andr ケーサル. With Oifey’s namesake being a notable and powerful woman of Irish mythology, and the name of his grandfather appearing only once in the game’s entire script, we decided to not give it any more thought and signed it off.

Gerrard (ゲラルド) → Gerald: The primary opinion I’ve seen from Japanese fans is that this comes from Gerald FitzGerald, a poet and the third Earl of Desmond in Ireland. He vanished in 1398, and quickly became mythologized, said to be sleeping beneath Lough Ger. Locals adopted a legend originally attributed to Ailill Aulom, king of Munster claiming that Gerald had unpleasantly treated the Celtic goddess Áine. With how the Verdanians ill-treated the abducted Edain, and my belief that Ayra was named after Áine, I quickly accepted this and used it for the Spanish translation. My colleagues were less favorable of Gerald, with Ger[r]ard being considered. Nothing was ever agreed upon, and we opted for Gerald as a placeholder.

Imca (イムカ) → Imka: We did not spend much time looking into Imka. Our best idea was a resemblance to インカ, invoking the Inca Empire. The Inca Empire was known as the “Realm of Four Parts” because it was divided into four regions that unified at the capital city of Cusco, where the Sapa Inca ruled from. The Quechua word inca/inka means "ruler," so with the resemblance, we ran with Imka.

Cuvuli (クブリ) → Kabeiri: When I worked on the Spanish fan translation, I interpreted this as coming from Erc mac Cairpri (エルク・マク・カルブリ). In the Ulster Cycle of Irish myth, mac Cairpri collaborated with Lugaid mac Con Roi (speculated by Japanese fans as the namesake of Lewyn) in claiming revenge against Cu Chulainn for the death of their fathers. In an attempt to differentiate from the playable Coirpre, I used the name “Chairbri.” My colleagues disagreed with this interpretation, instead being favorable of a Greek name befitting of other names tied to Silesse. Kabeiri (カベイロイ), also called Kabiri, were the gods of a mystery cult based on the island of Lemnos. The Kabeiri were also thought to be protectors of sailors, which also works well with names tied to Silesse being associated with water.

Bramsel (ブラムセル): Of the four of us currently involved in this project, none of us have had solid hits for a namesake for this guy. The closest matches we’ve found have been Bramshill (ブラムシル), historically known as Bromeselle and Bromshyll—a civil parish in Hampshire, best known for the Bramshill House—and Brömser (ブレムザー) a German castle. Other names mentioned were Bremser, Bramshall, and Breasal/Brasil (ブレサル/ブラジル); that last one was used for the king of a mythological land known as Hy-Breasal/Hy-Brasil, an island in Irish myth compared to Atlantis. In the end, we decided to leave the name untouched unless we find something we're pleased with.

Muhammad (ムハマド): Our team is unsure how to handle this one. We recognize that Muhammad is the name of the primary prophet of the Islamic faith, and using the name for a minor antagonist is very dubious. However, we also recognize that this is one of the most commonly used names on the planet; when I was involved in the Spanish translation, this was the reasoning for leaving the name be, and the same logic has been brought up on this team. We left the name unchanged for now, but we implore that any Muslim practitioners in our fandom voice their opinion of how this name is used, if it needs to be altered, and to what extent that change should be. We have played around with using some common variants of the name to keep the primary reference in-tact but stripping some of the religious attachment, but we really think the public opinion should come first.

Ovo (オーヴォ): When conducting research for this name, I found a Japanese source claiming that the similar アヴォ was a name belonging to the Norse figure Aurvandill (アウルヴァンディル), who was carried across the icy rivers Elivagar by Thor. Following this lead, I found Viktor Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology: Gods and Goddesses of the Northland, Vol. 3, in which he asserts that the archer Orvandel, enemy of Halfdan Berggram, is the same as Aurvandill, and that Orvandel is the same as the archer Avo, enemy of Halfdan Berggram. With this interpretation being supported by Rydberg's words alone, to our knowledge, the rest of the team rejected this connection. We remained with Ovo, as the katakana used for this character is the same as Castel dell'Ovo in Naples.

Coulter (コルータ) → Gortach: This name our team mostly agreed upon for the thematics. Fear Gorta[ch] lit. “Man of Hunger” is a human-like phantom of Irish folklore that appears in times of famine. Depending on the tale, they can either be bringers of fortune amidst the famine, or the very entities that have brought the famine. With the conditions in Thracia, we found the name rather apt. However, it must be noted that Fear Gortach is rendered in Japanese as ファ・ゴルタ. The earlier-used Coulter would be written as コウルター or コールター, which certainly shares a resemblance to what is used, but lacks any notable uses that stood out to us.

Distler (ディスラー): Another name we’ve had no luck finding anything for. This katakana is used for the names Disler and Distler, of which the most notable people we have found are artist Martin Disler and composer Hugo Distler. My only other idea here is possibly the character of Abelt Dessler (デスラー) from Space Battleship Yamato.

Tyakov (チャコフ) → Tchaikov: This is the Thunder Mage in Chapter 2’s arena. I initially asserted that, despite being rendered rather differently in Japanese, he could be named after Russian writer Pyotr Tkachev (ピョートル・トカチョフ). His philosophies, influenced by Karl Marx and Revolutionary France’s Jacobins, served as a major inspiration for Vladimir Lenin. With Agustria being associated with social upheavals, with the Jacobin’s referenced in the very next chapter, and this arena also referencing Russian revolutionary Mikhail Bakunin, I thought it would be appropriate, even if the katakana didn’t match. However, the rest of the team found the disparity between the Japanese names as a dealbreaker. Instead, Tchaikov was used in reference to Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (ピョートル・チャイコフスキー) and Russian sculptor Joseph Tchaikov (presumably チャイコフ). Of course, neither of those match the Japanese, either, so we may all be wrong.

Chaimos (ケイモス) → Keimos: This is the Forester that replaces Chulainn in the Chapter 2 arena. As far as we can tell, the only use of this name before Genealogy of the Holy War was in the manga From Far Away, in which Keimos is a vicious swordmaster seeking revenge against the only man to have defeated him, Izark. Interestingly, Izark’s name is written the same as the kingdom of Isaach in Japanese, イザーク, so perhaps this is what they were going for. The only only other idea I have for this name is Chemosh (ケモシュ) also called K[h]amos or Chamos, the patron god of the Moabite people according to the Bible.

Geller (ゲラー) → Guerre: This is the Bow Armor in Chapter 3’s arena. The Japanese name is typically used for the surname Geller, which is most associated with self-proclaimed psychic Uri Geller. As such a reference doesn’t seem to fit here (unless it’s meant as tongue-in-cheek commentary), I had the idea to interpret the name as something that fits the chapter better. Martin Guerre (マルタン・ゲール) was a French peasant that vanished after being accused of thievery. Eight years later, he was replaced by a near-perfect impostor. He would eventually be taken to court, but would appeal and have Guerre’s wife and uncle tried for false accusation. In the nick of time, the real Martin Guerre appeared. Despite his hazy memory, he was promptly accepted and the impostor imprisoned and executed. This name works well in the context of this chapter featuring the abduction of Deirdre and the appearance of the missing Brigid. Additionally, the story of Martin Guerre has been retold many times, with one adaptation being by Alexandre Dumas; there are three other references to Dumas’ work in this arena, including his own name, so it seemed like an appropriate change. That said, we recognize that it is a creative stretch, and is only partly liked on our team; if there is a bias to keep the name as Geller or a better reference to be made, we’ll likely change this one.

Kraft (クラフ) → Graf: This is the Mage Knight in Chapter 4’s arena. The idea was presented by one of my colleagues that it could be meant to be Graf (JP: グラーフ), in reference to Ulrich Graf, one of the first N*zis and bodyguard for their leader. It surprisingly fits this arena, as there are names of other notable figures from the 1900s like Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Alexey Kaledin, and Léopold Senghor, and the name is ambiguous enough that it doesn’t just spark thoughts of that specific individual. However, a more conservative reading of the used katakana would be Clough, which has little of note.

The Chapter 7 Arena: It seems that multiple names within this arena are minor alterations of infamous figures of N*zi Germany. Bottsman (ボツマン) resembles Martin Bormann (ボルマン), head of the party chancellery and secretary to the state leader. Kruger (クリューゲ) likely is named after Günther von Kluge (クルーゲ), field marshal and commander of the 4th Army. Mannstein (マンスタイン) is likely from Erich von Manstein (マンシュタイン), field marshal and Chief of Staff for the Army Group South. Wolfen (ウォルフ) is likely derived from Karl Wolff (ヴォルフ), the adjutant of Heinrich Himmler. Hoepner (JP: ヘプナー) is not even altered from Erich Hoepner, commander of the 4th Panzer Group. With how deliberate this was, we were uncertain if we should avoid such direct references to these people. In the end, we figured these names are common enough and their bearers have not come to own their names in the same way that their leader had. If there are objections to this, we will see about altering these names.

Randoch (ランドック) → Languedoc: This is the Warrior in the Chapter 7 arena, and the only name in that arena we have no idea about. Our best approximation was Languedoc (ラングドック), a historic region and former province of France best known for their wine production.

Malder (マーダ) → Marder: This is the Mage Fighter in the Chapter 8 arena. When considering this mage’s massive defense stat and Shield Ring, we interpreted the name as referencing the Marder (マルダー) series of German tank destroyers. Other than that, our only other idea we were considering was Mada (マダ), "pride," one of the Arishadvargas “six enemies” in Hinduism, feared even by Indra, king of the devas.

Heirhein (ハイライン) → Hochrhein: We cannot confidently say what the intention behind this name was. A common interpretation I’ve seen from Japanese fans is that it is derived from the Scottish Highlands (ハイランド); when I worked on the Spanish translation, I called this castle Hielan, a Scottish variant of the word “highland” that better resembles the katakana used. However, the more popular opinion on this team was it was meant to invoke the High Rhine (高ライン), also called the Hochrhein, a section of the Rhine River that serves as the natural border between Germany and Switzerland. More recently, I've considered a possible reference to science fiction writer Robert Heinlein (ハインライン). That said, none of these names really fit well with Agustria or the family over this castle thematically, though Agustria seems to be a bit of a mess with names anyway…

Munster/Miletos District (マンスター/ミレトス地方) → Region: One of the biggest struggles we had with localizations was determining how to translate chihou (地方). Typically read as “region” or “area,” the Japanese version of the World Map labeled these as “districts,” which was retained by Project Naga. Project Exile would later change this to “province,” as they deemed it more appropriate, arguing “district” to denote a smaller administrative area than what we find with Munster. However, the same can be said of “province.” Truly, we felt that 地方 was an ill-fitting word to be used for both of these independent nations, but felt that a drastic change (especially with discussions of using different terms for both Munster and Miletos) could not be sufficiently defended by us. In the end, we settled for the more general term of “region.”

Lord (ジュニアロード) → Lordling: The Japanese name of this class “Junior Lord,” though technically a position in the United Kingdom, does not carry over into English all that well, giving a far more juvenile impression. We initially were considering calling this class “Lord Scion,” interpreting “junior” as emphasizing Seliph inheriting both Sigurd’s lineage and conflict in the manner that a “junior” inherits their father’s name. After a few weeks, the buzz around this name was lost, and we returned to the drawing board. We settled on Lordling, a diminutive of Lord, typically used to denote a young or inexperienced lord, or a lord of minor standings. This had a bit of tension at first, as it has been used in an inflammatory way from one lord to another, but it seemed like the most flavorful way of adapting the class name beyond just “Young Lord.”

Bow Knight (アーチナイト) → Archer Knight: Fairly early on, it was agreed to revert Project Naga’s rearrangement of the names Arch Knight and Bow Knight; the only instance “Bow Knight” has not referred to a promoted class was in Tellius. However, we knew that, with Arch having a connotation of superiority, the base class name could not remain. We never found a name we could all agree on, and just settled for Archer Knight.

Nihil (見切り): There would not have been any debate here if not for Engage. In the most recent entry in the series, the ability Perceptive shares the same icon and name as the Nihil skill. We were evenly split on this for a while, but we decided that, with the skill effects being different between the two games, that we should keep the older name attached to this specific skill effect.

Accost (とつげき) → Onslaught: Perhaps the subject of most debates on the project so far. Our team does not find the Japanese name to be an accurate description of the skill’s effect. 突撃 is typically used in regards to a military charge, in which troops rush their enemy in an attempt to make a decisive shift in the battle. Both “Charge” and “Accost” were deemed ill-suited for a skill that makes combat continue so long as the attacker with the skill is healthy. Things also got confusing with other uses of the skill icon and uses of 突撃 in other entries of the series with different context and effects. However, among the terms we were considering, Onslaught seemed the best match for the relentless nature of the skill, but it was definitely not a unanimous acceptance.

Miracle Bracelet (いのりのうでわ) and Miracle Sword (いのりの剣) → Prayer Sword: You would think that naming these items that grant the Miracle skill that already have Miracle’s Japanese name in their names would have no room for debate. However, Shadows of Valentia and Three Houses both have the Prayer Ring (祈りの指輪), which instead literally translates Miracle’s Japanese name as “prayer.” We decided that, as all of Genealogy of the Holy War’s skill items include the skill name (with the exception of class-specialty skills), we agreed to leave the Miracle Bracelet unchanged. However, with no such precedent for weaponry, we decided to try Prayer Sword, though there was interest in going for a more creative localization.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Python / パイソン and Forsyth / フォルス

Python (JP: パイソン; rōmaji: paison) is a wise-cracking and apathetic member of the Deliverance in Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. Most of you likely know that a python is a type of snake; specifically, the Python genus belongs to the Pythonidae family, consisting of nonvenomous serpents.

Before the name was carried by this subset of snake, the name was attributed to the mythical Python (also called ピュートーン; rōmaji: pyūtōn), enemy of the Greek solar god Apollo. Typically depicted as a great serpent, Python resided at Pytho (later called Delphi), thought to be the center of the world. The story goes (according to Hyginus, at least) that after the goddess Hera learned that her husband Zeus had an affair with Leto, the enraged queen of Olympus sent Python after Leto to prevent the birth of the twins she carried—Artemis and Apollo. Leto found a reprieve, thanks to Poseidon, on the island of Delos and gave birth; not four days after, Apollo would pick up the bow and arrow and sought out Python. Alternatively, some versions tell of Leto and her children leaving Delos for Delphi, only to be attacked by Python once more. All adaptations end the same, however: Apollo brings an end to the serpent by arrows, and Delphi and its oracle would then belong to the sun god. Most likely, the Python in Fire Emblem being an archer was inspired by the mythological beast's slayer.

Forsyth is a straight-laced and passionate member of the Deliverance and Python's best friend. The name Forsyth is Scottish in origin, and has been carried by many notable people. Possible figures that could tie into the character's scholarly background include Scottish theologian P. T. Forsyth and founder of the Royal Horticultural Society and namesake of the forsythia plant—William Forsyth. Also worth noting is the English military journalist and writer Frederick Forsyth and the historic Clan Forsyth of Scotland.

In Japanese, Forsyth is instead called フォルス (rōmaji: forusu), officially romanized as Fols. In Greek mythology, Pholus (JP: フォルス), also called Pholos (JP: ポロス; rōmaji: porosu), was one of the two wise and sophisticated centaurs alongside the more famous Chiron. He appears in the story of Heracles: after the hero captured the Erymanthian Boar, Heracles was offered hospitality in Pholus' cave as he passed through the area. However, when a container of wine was opened, the smell disturbed the wild centaurs in the area, sparking aggression. Heracles would them off with arrows coated in the blood of the Lernaean Hydra, which was capable of inflicting instant death. Pholus, the coward that he was, fled from the battle, but in his curiosity, took to examining a loose arrow, only to drop it on his foot. The gods showed him mercy and placed Pholus in the stars as the constellation Centaurus. (Note that it is common for versions to instead claim Chiron was the one killed by one of Heracles' arrows and made into a constellation).

Lastly, I feel it must be mentioned that there is a very real possibility that these two characters may be named after two programming languages. Python (JP: パイソン) saw its first release in February of 1991,in the middle of Fire Emblem Gaiden's development. Unfortunately, I have no idea how quick Python caught on in the beginning—even less how known it was in Japan in its first year—which is why I feel the Greek inspirations are more likely. That said, Forth (JP: フォース; rōmaji: fōsu) was another programming language made public in the 70's and became very popular in the 80's. Though the katakana used is different, フォルス can still be read as "fo[u]rth," and could potentially have been a stylistic choice.

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Archanea's Ode to Greek Archaeology

The first continent in the Fire Emblem series wore its Greco-Roman inspirations on its sleeves. But hiding behind Marth, Minerva, and Macedon are a handful of locations on Archanea honoring some of the more niche archaeological sites that connect us to the legacy of Ancient Greece. Without further ado, let's get excavating!

Starting off is the fortified Archanean region of Lefcandith, which is a minor alteration of the Japanese name レフカンディ(rōmaji: refukandi), officially romanized as Lefcandy. This is derived from the Greek village of Lefkandi, lying on the western coast of the Euripos Strait in Euboea. The location caught the eyes of authorities from the British School of Athens, and excavations began in 1964. Investigations of the site determined that the area had been first settled in the Early Bronze Age and would be abandoned early into the Archaic period. Amongst the strata was some dating to the then-insufficiently documented Late Helladic IIIC period. Additionally, five burial plots were thoroughly examined; within were valuable deposits dating to the largely unknown Early Iron Age—commonly called the Greek Dark Ages—which cemented academic interest in the location. The name given to the settlement was Xeropolis, and it has been speculated to have been an earlier site of the ancient cities of Eretria or Argura.

Our next Archanean location is the penal colony of Pyrathi. This localized name may be meant to invoke the obsolete form of pirate, pyrate, or the old Trapezuntine territory of Perathia (also called Perateia). Literally meaning "place beyond [the sea]," Perathia consisted of the lands on the coast of the Crimean Peninsula, on the other side of the Black Sea, around the cities of Cherson and Kerch. The Trebezond (and by extension Byzantine) Empire had a weak authority over Perathia. It would become absorbed into the Principality of Theodoro.

In Japanese, Pyrathi is called ペラティ (rōmaji: perati), officially romanzied as Peraty. While the katakana here has been used in reference to Perateia, it also refers to the mountain of Perati, located in Attica, the peninsula that Athens and its modern metropolitan area calls home. The archaeological site at Perati, first excavated in the late 1800s, is a necropolis or large cemetery dated to the Late Mycenaean (Helladic IIIC) period, bringing comparisons to the aforementioned Lefkandi. Artifacts found within the over two hundred tombs within suggest the presence of trade between Attica and the other Aegean peoples at that time.

The last of the Archanean locations belonging to the nation of the same name today is Menedy, one of the marches under the Millennium Court's authority, ruled by Jeorge's father Noah before dying at the hands of Dolhr. The name Menedy is a rare surname of little note, but it's use here may be meant as a nod to Greek philosopher Menedemus, whose works were lost outside of the comments from his contemporaries.

In Japanese, Menedy is called メニディ (rōmaji: menidi), and lacks an official romanization. The katakana seen here is used in reference to the Greek name Menidi, which can refer to a former municipality of Aetolia-Acarnania or a municipality of East Attica more commonly called Acharnes. This use of the name is likely from the latter; more specifically, the tholos—a large, Mycenaean period beehive-shaped tomb—found in Acharnes. Though there are many historic elements of this area, the Tholos Tomb of Menidi is perhaps the most famed. First found by farmers of the then-village of Menidi in 1872, it would receive proper investigation by the German Archaeological Institute in 1879. As it turned out, this tholos is one of the best preserved in not only Attica but all of Greece, and is thought to have housed at least six of the region's social elites or royalty.

It should be noted that both Pyrathi and Menedy could relate to another common name scheme used in Archanea: references to World War II. Ponte Perati was the sight of a major battle on the Albanian border between the retreating Greeks and the Italians. The area of Menidi, also called Tatoi due to its proximity to the palace of the same name, was the site of an airfield used by the Royal Air Force. That said, as no other location in Archanea, to my knowledge, adheres to this trend, I am skeptical of this possibility.

Moving on, Gra (JP: グラ; rōmaji: gura) is an island nation ruled by the traitorous King Jiol. Though the name can be interpreted as Gura, belonging to various people and towns, or the Mesopotamian goddess of medicine Gula, there is a Greek location that matches the katakana. In what may be a classic case of the muddied interpretation of the western L and R, Gla is the name given to a major fortification of Mycenaean (Late Helladic III) Boeotia. The true name of this location remains unknown, which is especially surprising when the remaining fortifications of this presumed citadel is nearly ten times the size of contemporary locations like Athens. There have been assertions of Gla being the same as the town Arne—named by Homer in the Iliad—but these have been hotly contested. What we do know is that Gla rested on an island in Lake Copais, no not for long; the lake was drained around the same time as their erection until the Mycenaean civilization's collapse and the dams broke. It is speculated that the lands of the Copais basin were part of the "city of Gla" and served as an agricultural powerhouse of the time. Some have also suggested that Gla was subservient to the nearby city of Orchomenus. Though parts of the walls were always visible, the first proper excavation of the area was performed by the French School of Athens in 1893. When the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light released in 1990, archaeologist Spyros Iakovides was overseeing his second investigation of Gla, the first being extending from 1981 to 1983.

Lastly, Grust is a nation, prided in their Sable Knights, that was subservient to Dohlr during the War of Shadows. The localized name of Grust comes from a French commune within the Hautes-Pyrénées department on the French-Spanish border. In Japanese, this kingdom is called グルニア (rōmaji: gurunia), officially romanized as Grunia. This katakana is a match to the name of one of the many Minoan excavation sites on the island of Crete called Gournia. This modern name simply meaning "trough," due to the prevalence of stone troughs at the site, the original name has been lost to time. Within this plot is a fifty-house town, including two cemeteries, a court, and a Minoan palace. The settlement of Gournia dates back to the Early Minoan II period and as recent as Late Minoan I (overlapping with the Late Bronze Age), and artifacts suggest them regularly trading with people across the Aegean Sea. Gournia was first investigated under American archaeologist Harriet Boyd Hawes in three sessions between 1901 and 1904. Excavation efforts would continue under Jeffery Soles and Costis Davaras in the 1970s.

Here's a bonus: the idea of referencing these digs date back to the earliest known version of the world map! 2015 saw the release of a book titled The Making of Fire Emblem, which contained an early concept of the Archanean (originally Aritisia/Altesia) continent, featuring all five of the names explored in this post. Additionally, there was a nation by the name of トリコス (rōmaji: torikosu). This is derived from the ancient city of Thorikos, found in the southern parts of Attica. Inhabitance of the area dates to as early as the Neolithic Age, and would become a valuable location to the Athenians, particularly for its proximity to the Mines of Laurion, which were rich in silver, copper, and lead. Thorikos would eventually be ravaged by General Sulla of Rome in the year 86 BCE, and it would be completely abandoned in the 6th century. Luckily, what remained of the city was well-preserved, including the city plaza, the acropolis, the world's oldest theatre, two temples, and many homes.

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Innes / ヒーニアス

Innes is the haughty prince and heir of Frelia in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. Innes is a Scottish name most associated with Clan Innes, which was allegedly founded by a Flemish knight granted the land of Innes by King Malcolm IV. The name Innes is descended from the Gaelic Aonghas, which comes from the Old Irish Oíngus. This is the name of an Irish god of love and youth, typically addressed as Aengus. In Irish tradition, he is the illegitimate son of the chief god the Dagda with Boann, raised by Midir; Scottish myth instead named him as the beautiful son of Beira (also called Cailleach), a deified crone associated with the landscape and weather, and the lover of Brigid.

The Spanish localization of The Sacred Stones instead names this character James. The name James is an anglicization of the Latin name Iacomus, which in turn is descended from an earlier Latin's Iacobus and Hebrew's Ya'aqov (Jacob). Though there are countless uses of the name James, it would be most thematically consistent with other names in the game for this to reference one of the biblical uses of the name James. James the Just (sometimes considered the same as James the Less) was the brother of Jesus Christ, a bishop of Jerusalem, and is accredited with writing the Epistle of James. There is also James the Great, brother of the apostle John and cousin to Jesus; he and his brother were some of the first of the Twelve Apostles. James the Great is considered the patron saint of Spain. Perhaps this was a factor behind the choice of name in this translation?

In Japanese, Innes is named ヒーニアス (rōmaji: hīniasu), officially romanized as Heanius. This most likely is derived from two very similar names: the Hebrew Phinehas or the Greek Phineus, both regularly anglicized as Phineas (JP: フィニアス; rōmaji: finiasu). As narratives of both of these cultures are frequently referenced in The Sacred Stones, either (or both) of these names may have the intended reference.

In the Books of Exodus and Numbers, Phinehas (JP: ピネハス; rōmaji: pinehasu) is the third high priest of the Israelites, following his father Eleazar and grandfather Aaron. During the Exodus, the Israelite men began to seek out the women of the Moabite and Midianite peoples, and would take to worshipping their gods. An angered Yahweh (the Judeo-Christian God) then brought a plague upon the land for his people turning on him. Though Moses warned of a death penalty to be brought upon those who would persist these relations, Zimri, heir of the tribe of Simeon, made a public display of defiance by entering the tent of a Midianite princess. In retaliation and religious fervor, Phinehas brought the spear upon them; Yahweh recognized this as an act of atonement, and would bless Phinehas' lineage. Regarding the name itself, while it is largely accepted nowadays that the name Phinehas is of Egyptian origin meaning "Nubian," others have asserted it to be of Hebrew origin, meaning "snake's mouth." This pairs incredibly well with one of Frelia's Sacred Twins being the Serpent Bow Nidhogg, named after the Norse serpent that gnaws on the roots of the World Tree.

The name Phineus (JP: ピーネウス; rōmaji: pīneusu) appears a few times in Greek myth, but the most commonly referenced is King Phineus of Salmydessus, a land within Ancient Thrace. He was gifted prophetic visions by Apollo, but it was for these visions Phineus would be blinded (at least in some stories). He would be regularly pestered by the Harpies of the sun god Helios, who would take or sully his meals. His story is integrated within the Argonautica—a poetic epic by Apollonius Rhodius telling of the journey of the hero Jason and the crew of his ship, the Argo. After the Argo made land in Salmydessus, Phineus told the visitors of his suffering and a vision he received; Zetes and Calais, the sons of the northern wind god Boreas, were to finally rid him of the Harpies. In exchange for realizing this prophecy, Phineus provided guidance for the Argonauts' future trials.

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Steam died, new stream link. Talking about Agustria, then Chapter 3 arena!

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Back again, and hopefully for the last time in Chapter 2 of the FE4 Spanish translation. Join me in wrapping up Disturbance in Agustria and talking about the last few names of the chapter.

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The Shinto (and Buddhist) Inspirations Behind the Rods of Hoshido

Fire Emblem Fates added a Hoshidan counterpart to the standard staves used in the series, known in English releases as rods. Appropriate of the Japanese-inspired nation they come from, the original Japanese names of these rods are derived from traditional Japanese culture, primarily related to Shinto practices.

Starting with the category name, the rods are called 祓串 (rōmaji: haraegushi), literally meaning "cleansing/exorcising skewer." A haraegushi is a type of ōnusa (大麻), a sasaki baton with a head of zigzag paper streamers called shide (紙垂). These are used in Shinto purification rituals, which always are performed before any ceremony in Shintoism.

The core set of "festal" rods makes use of a more archaic adjective, signifying a relation to festivals. This seems to aim for an equivalent of what is used for the Japanese name, 祭 (rōmaji: matsuri) "festival." Note that in modern times, this word is more often written 祭り. The Japanese names of these rods follow a theming of the seasonal festivals of Japan, each tied to traditional Shinto practice. The Bloom Festal is 春祭 (rōmaji: harumatsuri) "Spring Festival"; the Sun Festal is 夏祭 (rōmaji: natsumatsuri) "Summer Festival"; the Wane Festal is 秋祭 (rōmaji: akimatsuri) "Autumn Festival"; and the Moon Festal is 冬祭 (rōmaji: fuyumatsuri) "Winter Festival". The English localizations seem to aim to less direct and more thematic words to represent the months. Bloom represents the blossoming plants of spring as opposed to Wane, signifying the dying nature associated with Fall. Sun and Moon would correlate to the Summer and Winter Solstices being the days with the longest day and night, respectively.

While these match the Western preconceptions of what represent these seasons, they are ill-befitting of the actual festivals they were originally named after. For example, the autumn festival is meant to be an event held in thanks for the harvest, rather than the annual receding of nature, and the summer and winter festivals do not necessarily have to land on the solstices and have no association with the sun and moon. In fact, it is thought that all of these events and their accompanying ceremonies were originally meant to be tied to the harvest and the appeasement of spirits of the gods, nature, and mankind.

Great Festal is nearly a literal translation of the rod's Japanese name, 大祭 (rōmaji: ōmatsuri) "Great Festival." This is the older name of a festival known as 例祭 (rōmaji: reisai) "Annual Festival." As the two names suggest, this is the most important festival for a shrine, held once a year. While the date of most major festivals are held around similar times among all shrines of Japan, the annual festival's date is dependent on the kami (god/spirit) enshrined at that location.

Additionally, the randomly-obtained Bamboo Branch has a more specific reference in Japanese. The native language calls this rod 笹飾り (rōmaji: sasakazari) "bamboo ornament/decoration." This references an element of the Tanabata Festival (七夕), occurring on the seventh of July (or traditionally, the seventh month of the lunisolar calendar). The day before, people tie small slips of paper called tanzaku (短冊) to branches of bamboo; upon this one writes their wish. It is said that the wish of someone of good penmanship will have their wish granted, so the wish is typically written as poetry. The wishmaking element of Tanabata likely is why this rod provides a Luck boost to the target.

The Lantern rod, more specifically named ちょうちん (rōmaji: chōchin) "paper lantern" may also relate to Japanese festivals, though it is more ambiguous. To this day, paper lanterns are a common staple of festival decoration, but they have more importance in certain events. One of the main examples is found in the Oban Festival (お盆), traditionally held in honor of ancestral spirits and typically held in August. The festival ends with a ceremony called okuribi (送り火) "sending fire" signifying the sending of visiting spirits back to the realm they came from. The most famous form of okuribi is the Daimonji (大文字), in which the five large fires, each shaped like the kanji 大 (dai; "big, great"), are set on the mountains surrounding Kyoto. However, the form of okuribi used more often involves lighting a candle within a paper lantern and letting it flow down a river. Whether intentional or not, a similar practice is sometimes done with the aforementioned sasakazari.

Even the dedicated joke item, the Dumpling Rod, has an amusing amount of thought behind it. The Japanese name 団子串 (rōmaji: dangokushi) clarifies the food on this staff to not be just any sort of dumplings, but dango: a rice-based confection, traditionally served on a stick. Remember how the Japanese name of the rods means "cleansing skewer"? The joke here is that dangokushi uses the same kanji for skewer found in haraegushi (compare 団子串 to 祓串). That said, the Dumpling Rod also makes reference to an element of Japanese customs. This "weapon" appears in-game with a set of pink, white, and green dango. This is the pattern found in the treat's most popular form, hanami dango. These are tied to the eponymous event of hanami (花見) "flower watching," a tradition in which people (originally the aristocracy, later the samurai as well) enjoy the view of sakura blossoms during the spring. Hanami dango has been an enjoyed accompaniment to the event since the Edo period, with their colors said to represent the blossoms of spring, the remaining snow of winter, and the leaves of mugwort, a plant that sprouts in spring and blossoms in summer. This snack became so emblematic of the hanami experience that 花より団子 (rōmaji: hana yori dango) "dango over flowers" or more figuratively "substance over style" developed into a proverb, serving as a commentary to those who go to hanami for the physical enjoyment of dango rather than the fleeting aesthetics of the cherry blossoms.

The three non-recovery rods—the Silence, Rescue, and Hexing Rods—all have radically different names in Japanese, each with a reference to a different element of the nation's religions. Starting with Silence, the name given in the Japanese release of Fates is 神風招来 (rōmaji: kamikaze shōrai) "invite/summon divine wind." Though we have a negative connotation with this word in the west, the term kamikaze (sometimes also called "kamukaze" or "shinpū") is rooted in both Shinto faith and Japanese history. Within the Nihon Shoki (日本書紀), the second-oldest text of Japanese history and mythology behind the Kojiki, is a passage in which the sun goddess Amaterasu provides an oracle to a princess. Here, she calls the lands of Ise: 神風の伊勢の国 "the divine winds' land of Ise" where she wished to remain. In response, the princess made the area fit to enshrine the goddess.

Leap forward in time to the end of the thirteenth century, and kamikaze became a far greater cultural idea. By 1274, Kublai Khan's China (successor to the Mongol Empire) had already conquered Goryeo (Korea) and wished to further expand their dominion to Japan. Any diplomatic attempts to acquire the island nation as a vassal state in prior years were met with declination and disrespect, spurring on a naval invasion by over twenty-one thousand collective soldiers. The Mongols reached Hakata Bay north of the island of Kyūshū with only easy victories over the Japanese. However, the next day the invaders were gone. It is uncertain if it occurred while the Mongols were already en route to Korea, but both Japanese and Yuan sources claim that a great typhoon struck, dismantling the Mongolian naval fleet. Over thirteen-thousand men were lost, and the Mongols did not return to Japan for nearly a decade. When a second invasion launched in 1281, it played out very similarly, with another powerful typhoon bringing an end to the Mongols' advances. These two typhoons would come to be called the kamikaze, allegedly due to the burgeoning of Buddhism amongst the samurai at the time. It's likely that the name of this rod was chosen due to the silence effect rendering a magic-based unit utterly helpless, not unlike the typhoons dismantling the Mongol's fleet.

Moving on, the Hexing Rod is named in Japanese 禍事罪穢 (rōmaji: magagoto tsumi, kegare) "evil/misfortune, sin, defilement." This is an excerpt from a chant known as 祓詞 rōmaji: haraekotoba) "purification words" always recited during the purification rituals mentioned earlier, in which haraegushi are used. It may also be read outside of that context by those who which to be purified. The prayer invokes the Haraedo-no-Okami (祓戸大神), four gods that were born when Izanagi cleansed himself from Yomi, the land of the dead, after trying to recover his wife Izanami. As such, these gods are those that handle the purification rituals, tasked with ridding mankind of their "misfortune, sun and defilement."

Unsurprisingly, there is a bit of nuance to these three terms. Before the Taishō era (1912-1926), there were two forms of "sin." 天つ罪 (rōmaji: amatsutsumi) "Heavenly Sins" are acts that negatively impact agriculture that were performed by the storm god Susanoo. 国つ罪 (rōmaji: kunitsutsumi) "Earth Sins" are forms of impurity by physical blemishes, immoral sexual acts, use of curses and natural disasters. That last one seems a bit odd to us, but calamities like plague and natural disasters were thought to be a result of mankind's tsumi. "Defilement" refers to a state of uncleanliness that someone reaches from having certain experiences. These experiences, when not just tied to the acts of crime or tsumi, tend to deal with death and the running of blood. These are not necessarily "evil" occurrences, but ones that bring a state considered "unclean." That said, tsumi and kegare are were seen as correlating ideas alongside, again, natural disasters. Interestingly, the word for "misfortune" can refer to disasters, but it doesn't seem that the ideas between magagoto and tensai (天災) are related in this context. In fact, magagoto seems to be the least addressed of the three here.

Lastly, Rescue (as well as the Salvage staff introduced in Fire Emblem Heroes) is instead called 七難即滅 (rōmaji: shichinan sokumetsu) "seven disasters instantly destroyed." Unlike everything else we've looked at today, this is specifically derived from Buddhist practice. The name is an excerpt from the 仁王経 (rōmaji: ninnōgyō), or Humane King Sutra or the Sutra of the Benevolent Kings: 七難即滅 七福即生 (rōmaji: shichinan sokumetsu shichifuku sokushō) "seven disasters instantly destroyed, seven blessings instantly born." The full sutra is meant to bring to attention the inevitability of change and to protect a nation by preserving the teaching of wisdom. This is commonly used in China, Korea and Japan with a desire of protecting a nation and its leadership. The verse even impacted Shinto practices, developing into the 七福神 (rōmaji: shichifukujin) "Seven Lucky Gods." It seems the name for this rod was chosen to relate to the protective element of the sutra, (presumably) whisking an ally away from danger in a similar, yet more flavorful, manner as the Rescue name suggests.

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Been a while since I streamed, huh? It's time that I get back to it and finish Chapter 2! Come join in the analysis and discussion of the names in Genealogy of the Holy War!

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Pent / パント and Clarine / クラリーネ

Pent is the Marquess of Reglay and Mage General of Etruria in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. This is a slight alteration from his original Japanese name パント (rōmaji: panto), officially romanized as Pant. This is the name of a character from Arthurian legend, more commonly known as Ban of Benwick. He is the brother of a fellow French king—Bors the Elder—and father of the esteemed knight Lancelot by his wife Elaine. He also fathered Sir Ector de Maris illegitimately.

In most stories, King Ban and Bors were allies of Uther Pendragon and later his son, Arthur. Though they would come to the British kings' aid, Arthur did not uphold his promise to help them when King Claudas attacks. Ban, Elaine, and the young Lancelot fled from their castle at Trebe, but the mere sight of his home ablaze was enough to kill Ban. Elaine would bring her son to Viviane, the Lady of the Lake, where he would be raised alongside the King Bors' sons Lionel and Bors the Younger.

The story of Lancelot was adapted into German by Ulrich von Zatzikhoven in Lanzelet. Many changes came with this version of the tale, including King Ban. He was renamed to Pant von Genewis, and was instead characterized as a terrible tyrant. The lords under his authority revolted and put him to death.

Clarine (JP: クラリーネ; rōmaji: kurarīne) is the daughter of House Reglay that was captured in Laus in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. In Lanzelet, King Pant's wife was similarly renamed from Elaine to Clarine. When her husband is killed, she flees with Lanzelet, but her son is stolen away by a water fairy. Clarine would return to Genewis, where she would be cared for by the temporary lord of the domain, Duke Aspyol. When Lanzelet returned, raised by the queen of the water fairies, his father's land was returned to him.

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Fayre / フェール and Delbray / デルブレー

Delbray is a Crimean county led by the father of Geoffrey and Lucia in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn. There doesn't seem to be an intent behind this name, other than resembling the original Japanese name. In the original language, Delbray was named デルブレー (rōmaji: deruburē), officially romanized as Dherbray. This is derived from ルネ・デルブレー (rōmaji: rune deruburē), René d'Herblay, better known as Aramis of the Three Musketeers.

In Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers and its sequels, Aramis is characterized as a man of great conflict. He is torn between following the church and a more exciting and debaucherous life. He takes to drinking, gambling, and even has a mistress or two. Even beyond that, he is an ambitious schemer seeking power. Before becoming Aramis, however, René d'Herblay was studying to be a priest, but was found intimate with a married woman. He was victorious in a duel against the one who reported him, but with duels being illegal at the time, he took to hiding his identity. In the end, Aramis managed to leave the Musketeers and became an abbot.

Fayre is a county of Crimea under the rule of Count Bastian. Fayre is an archaic word in English, from which we get the modern fair, as in referring to someone's beauty. Additionally, fayre is a dated form of another form of fair, a public gathering of market stalls. The obsolete form from early modern English is rather befitting of Bastian's character, given his flowery manner of speech. He also makes use of iambic pentameter when speaking—a technique first employed by the Middle English writer Geoffrey Chaucer and later popularly used by William Shakespeare.

In Japanese, Fayre is called フェール (rōmaji: fēru), officially romanzied as Fehr. Fehr is a German occupational surname, originally being carried by ferrymen. That said, when considering the origin of Delbray's name, the name is likely from ラ・フェール (rōmaji: ra fēru), la Fère, the county belonging to Athos of the Three Musketeers.

In The Three Musketeers, Athos is the eldest of the Three and acts as a father figure to the protagonist, d'Artagnan. He is the most closed-off of the three, drowning his sorrow in liquor. He eventually loosens his tongue, revealing that he is the Count de la Fère who walked away from his old life after learning his ex-wife Anne was a branded criminal. Though he thought he had killed her, under the employ of the antagonistic Cardinal Richelieu, Anne serves as a spy, now called Milady de Winter. By the end of the first book, he claims his revenge and retires from the Musketeers to return to his position as Count.

Curiously, the dynamics between the faces of Delbray and Fayre seem reverse of their namesake. Bastian is the scheming noble with a penchant for romance and gambling, not unlike Aramis; Lucia and Geoffrey act not only as Elincia's advisors, but as the closest thing to family for the Queen, comparable to Athos and d'Artagnon. Even Lucia's role in the Crimean spy network could tie to Milady. That said, the naming of these two counties were likely chosen to simply invoke the thought of the Three Musketeers in relation to the trio of Bastian, Lucia, and Geoffrey, serving as the protectors of Elincia just as the Three Musketeers are the greatest of King Louis XIII's elite. In fact, one could interpret Ike as the young and inexperienced d'Artagnon.

Though I scoured for quite a bit, I was unable to find any explicit names relating to the third of the Three Musketeers—Porthos, the Baron of Vallon. It's possible this is a result of this last Musketeer taking a more comedic role in the stories; he is a dandy obsessed with money, women, and his self-image, and is always slow to catch on to his compatriots' plans.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

After a few weeks of life happening, I'm back to streaming! Come join me in finishing(?) Chapter 2 and talking about a bunch of names.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Louise / ルイーズ

Louise, known as Luise (ルイーズ; rōmaji: ruīzu) in Japanese, is the ever-capable wife of Marquess Pent of Etruria in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. She most likely is named after the beloved Queen of Prussia, Louise von Mecklenburg-Strelitz, called in her native tongue Luise (JP: ルイーゼ; rōmaji: ruīze).

When Louise was born in 1776, her father Charles was still only a field marshal of Hanover, for he was the second son of a duke. As such, Louise was born to a more humble home. Her mother, Princess Friederike was lost during childbirth when Louise was only six. From such an early age, she took to empathetic charity, giving what little she had to other children without parent. Three years later, after the passing of Charles' second wife, Louise and her siblings were brought to Darmstadt to be raised and educated by her grandmother, Princess Maria Louise, and an appointed governess known as Madame Gelieux. They were provided that befitting nobility, but still were to handle the fashioning of their own clothes. Louise would even be encouraged to continue charity alongside her governess, though she was often scolded for being too giving. At the age of seventeen, her uncle arranged for her to meet with Prussia's crown prince Frederick William III. He was utterly charmed by Louise, and they were wedded before the year's end.

Louise left in incredible impression on more than just her betrothed. The people of Prussia quickly latched on to her as a prided symbol of the nation. During her arrival at Berlin, she even stopped amidst the reception to kiss a child. Her father-in-law was equally welcoming of her, being quoted calling her "the princess of princesses." Before his death, King Frederick William II gladly supported her philanthropy and gifted her a palace in Oranienburg. Before that, Frederick William III was gifted the grand Charlottenburg Palace, one of the largest palaces in the world to this day, for his marriage. Nonetheless, the couple instead took to the far more rural palace of Paretz to happily live away from the court. Louise would maintain the household herself.

When Frederick and Louise were crowned King and Queen in 1797, the latter took her people by surprise. When Frederick toured his lands, he made it a key point to introduce his wife to the kingdom'. Though this initiated great interest in the queen, this was far from the only thing that made Louise stand out. She radically shifted the idea of what a Queen of Prussia should be, breaking traditions by serving a key political actor and adviser to the crown. She made an intricate web of connections with the nation's ministers, and was instrumental in many of Frederick's decisions as king. She even became a face of fashion, bolstering her admiration and popularity.

In the early 1800s Prussia found itself in a loosing conflict against Napoleonic France. During the Battle of Jena, not only King Frederick but Queen Louise herself entered the fray with their army. A year later, when Napoleon and Frederick met for the Peace of Tilsit, the then-pregnant Louise accompanied her husband. They hatched a risky scheme in which Louise, whose name had been dragged through the mud by Napoleon before, would discard her pride and plead with the emperor in private. Though nothing would become of this meeting, Louise' dedication to her husband and country would serve to engrave her name into the annals of history. Louise would pass of illness in 1810 as the image of Prussia and its queen would degrade from France's dominance. Nonetheless, she would remain an icon of her people.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Zanado / ザナド, Shambhala / シャンバラ, and Agartha / アガルタ

Zanado (JP: ザナド; rōmaji: zanado), also known as the Red Canyon, is the site of ruins that the Nabateans once called home in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. This name comes from ザナドゥ (rōmaji: zanadu) Xanadu, more traditionally known as 上都, Shàngdū. Literally meaning "Upper Capital," Shàngdū was the summer capital of China's Yuan dynasty. When it was first constructed, the city was called 開平, Kāipíng; less than a decade later, it would be Kublai Khan who gave it the name we use today. In a century's time, Shàngdū would be abandoned, the people driven off or killed when the Ming dynasty wrested power from Toghon Temür, the last ruler of the Yuan.

Before its collapse, Shàngdū was a great city that even the Western world had heard of. Infamous Venetian explorer Marco Polo had visited during the reign of Kublai Khan. He referred to the city by the name Chandu or Ciandu, and thoroughly recounted the intricate, artistic structure of the city, remarking of rooms gilded and rich with paintings. The city held two palaces—one of marble, one of wicker—as well as a great park containing vast meadows, lovely fountains and brooks, and a plethora of flora and fauna. Three centuries later, the English cleric Samuel Purchas published a work that, for brevity's sake, we'll simply call Purchas his Pilgrimes, which collected descriptions of various locations and religions. Amongst this was a rewording of Marco Polo's account of Shàngdū, which Purchas instead called Xandu.

It was Purchas' documentation that reached English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge in 1797. He was struck by an intensely vivid dream after reading of Xandu, and from this begot his famed Kubla Khan. He exaggerated the beautiful land that Marco Polo wrote of, and gave the world the Xanadu. He also conjured up a canyon that ruptured, the burst releasing a great river through the land. In that moment, Kubla Khan received a prophecy of war. The poem is most commonly thought to portray Xanadu as an idyllic paradise, and that interpretation persists to this day, with the name being synonymous with paradise and being conflated with similar concepts like Shangri-La. Curiously, the concept of Shangri-La is a paradise hidden away in a Tibetan valley.

The Red Canyon leans into the idea of Shàngdū being this long lost paradise. Even the fact that is a canyon of all things is likely derived from the Coleridge's poem. It could be interpreted that both the destruction of Shàngdū by the Mings and the explosion of the canyon relate to the atrocity that befell the Nabateans. Similarly, the fact that Shàngdū was utterly abandoned and forgotten, and is now largely remembered for this idealized image made by someone who only read someone else's account could tie into how the actual significance of Zanado is lost throughout Fódlan.

Shambhala (JP: シャンバラ; rōmaji: shanbara) is the underground city that the Agarthans use as their stronghold. The name Shambhala originates from Hinduism: according to the Vishnu Purana, it is in this city that Kalki, the final incarnation of the god Vishnu, is supposed to be born. It is said that he will end a dark era of unrighteousness and bring about the most virtuous age before Mahapralaya, the end of the universe.

The concept of Shambhala would later be adopted into Tibetan Buddhism, first mentioned in the Kalachakra tantra. In the story, King Manjuśrīkīrti banished thousands of people of his unnamed kingdom for practicing Surya Samadhi, the worship of the sun. As it turned out, these sun-praisers, were the wisest people of the land, and Manjuśrīkīrti was soon begging them to return. The majority of the exiles would found a city called Shambhala, which is prophesized as the origin of a savior similar to the Hindu city. It is said that when the world is overrun with violence and avarice, the Kalki king Maitreya would come from Shambhala and bring about defeat to evil and peace to the world.

Western esotericism would twist Shambhala into another form. Rather than an actual city, it was common for individuals like Alice Bailey to interpret Shambhala as a realm on another spiritual plane where the deity presiding over Earth resides. Further building off the ideas presented in Buddhism, others will interpret Shambhala as a land of a mysterious faction that do good throughout the world.

The Shambhala seen in Three Houses is very much a twisting of the classic prophecies. The Agarthans, while exiled by the Goddess to their subterranean lands like in the Buddhist text, instead use their great capabilities as a way to bring war, chaos, and darkness to the world. They also corrupt the "mysterious faction" found in esoteric works, but that more has to do with the last name to talk about today.

Agartha (JP: アガルタ; rōmaji: agaruta)was a highly-advanced civilization whose people were driven underground into Shambhala. Agartha is a mystical land found at the earth's core appearing in various occult and esoteric beliefs. Despite this, the name is very transparently derived from modern literature: Louis Jacolliot's Les Fils du Dieu told of the rise and fall of a lost Indian capital of Asgartha. The story followed no Indian traditions, instead styling for a historic account of Norse mythology based on various preexisting theories. In fact, Asgartha is derived from the Norse Ásgarðr, the land of the gods.

However, the book (and its two sequels) were incredibly popular in Jacolliot's homeland of France, and the way he framed to books as being derived from ancient manuscripts led to the idea of Agartha evolving into its own entity. Just over a decade later, occultist Alexandre Saint-Yves d'Alveydre would popularize the modern ideas of Agartha in his Mission de l'Inde en Europe. He claimed to have astral projected to an underground city with a population in the millions, all ruled by a powerful master of magic and advanced technology. From there, many occultists and esoterics would interpret Agartha as housing a Grand Lodge made up of the secret rulers of our world. It's easy to see how the concepts of Agartha and Shambhala are now commonly conflated with one another.

The Agarthans of Fire Emblem wear their inspirations on their dubstep-playing sleeves. They are a highly advanced people living under the earth's surface. They infiltrate the political scene of the overworld, manipulating the world to bring about a scenario that will let them claim revenge and utter domination of the world. Not to mention that their leader is a powerful spellcaster with actual missiles at his disposal. And in a sense of irony, all three of the locations we've looked at today are named after lands that have been viewed as paradise. Likely both the Nabateans and Agarthans thought what they once had was that perfect, idyllic life.