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“Why? Why is it wrong to manipulate humans? Your race is weak. It's forgotten its place in the world—forgotten its benefactors. You exist solely for the amusement of your betters—dragons! So answer me, Corrin! Why am I the one left to suffer? Why am I the one left to die? Why do humans flourish while I am buried here...ignored...forgotten? TELL ME WHY!”
—Anankos in Chapter 27 (Revelation)

Anankos is the overarching antagonist and the true final boss of Fire Emblem Fates. He is also responsible for creating an impostor Garon and possessing Takumi in both Birthright and Conquest. Once revered as one of the First Dragons, his degeneration resulted in the obliteration of Valla and almost all of its people.

Profile[]

Anankos is one of the First Dragons, known as the Silent Dragon and the Dragon of Wisdom. He loved humanity and gave them longevity and knowledge. Anankos became particularly close to the kingdom of Valla and started to live among its inhabitants. He was particularly close to Cadros, the first king of Valla. To a select few, he gave the essence of his blood, allowing them to utilize the power of Dragon Veins, a trait that was passed down through the Vallite royal bloodline.

However, as with the other First Dragons, he began to degenerate over time. Unlike the other First Dragons, Anankos did not shed his mortal shell, opting to stay behind as a figurehead for the Vallite people. Through the power of a song and a fragment of his dragonstone, both of which were passed down through Vallite royalty, his urges could be quelled. However, after many generations of kings, Anankos' rage grew strong enough for him to burn down a forest. The people of Valla blamed him for it and tried to kill him.

Unable to comprehend that the very people he had helped had betrayed him, Anankos locked himself away in a mountain cave, where his resentment of humanity festered. The King of Valla and a few select people would make trips to his cave to express their belief in him. Unfortunately, he lost control of himself and killed the King of Valla of that time. Before he completely degenerated, he tore off a portion of his soul, containing the last of his sanity, in a last bid to stop his rage. Anankos then began to form an invisible army consisting of many of his former Vallite subjects, even resurrecting the dead to strengthen his army. He also self-sired a daughter named Lilith to further his goals.

The discarded portion of Anankos' soul later developed a human form along with his own personality. This human Anankos wandered with no memories of his past before meeting Mikoto. The two fell in love and eventually gave birth to a child. However, soon after the birth of the child, the human Anankos recovered his memories. Knowing how his dragon counterpart ruined the kingdom, he sends his family away from Valla to protect them from the Silent Dragon. Beforehand, Anankos made Mikoto promise to never tell their child of their true father to spare them from the burden of his past sins. With his newfound clarity, he had a vision of another world where many heroes felled a great dragon. He desired to seek help from the warriors of that world.

Hidden Truths[]

Anna fates portrait
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"

The backstory of Anankos' soul is shown through the two Hidden Truths Xenologues. Anankos transported himself to another world and arrived in Ylisse some time after the fall of Grima. He called out for anyone to help him, and the message was received by Owain, Inigo, and Severa. Bringing them to the Mila Tree, he asked for their help by coming to their world and the three agreed to, before Vallite forces sent by his dragon form ambushed them.

After defeating the Vallite forces sent by his dragon form, Anankos thanked the three for helping and offered to fulfill any request they desire. Initially, the three hoped that Anankos could resurrect their fallen parents and friends from their original timeline; however, he could not fulfill that request. Instead, they asked that the original world be beautiful once more and that their parents and friends would have proper graves, which Anankos grants. Before they leave for Valla, Anankos finds a Fell Brand, presuming that it came from the tactician of that world.

Upon bringing them to Valla, he is given time to explain his story to them. He makes a request for them to head to Hoshido first to see Mikoto and help his child fulfill their destiny to assemble the five divine weapons to take down his dragon self. Before he can tell them of his child's name, Lilith appears under orders of Anankos' dragon self to stop him. Shocked by the news, she informs him that his child had been taken to Nohr. Owain, Inigo, and Severa attempt to attack Lilith, but are unable to. Anankos had a vision prior to their arrival showing that the three would be defeated if they met a girl in Valla. Anankos offers to send them back home, but the three refuse and choose to stay and fight. After they encourage him to believe in them, Anankos gives them the power to defeat Lilith and bestows onto them their new names — Odin, Laslow, and Selena. Lilith summons a large contingent of Vallites to stop them, including Arete, but the three manage to escape.

At the conclusion of the battle, Lilith continues to summon more soldiers to fight, but Anankos warps them straight to Nohr and tells them to become retainers for the Nohrian royal family in hopes of finding his child. Left alone to deal with Lilith, the young girl tries to kill Anankos' human avatar, but finds herself unable to do so. Anankos tells Lilith that he really does love her despite just meeting her, but Lilith remains conflicted because his dragon form never expressed that same sentiment with her despite her efforts to please him.

When she finally decides to abandon her attempt to murder his human avatar, the Silent Dragon senses his daughter wavering and attempts to kill her. Sensing this, Anankos sacrifices himself, taking the hit in her place. As he slowly dies, he asks Lilith to smile for him as he speaks his final words, apologizing to Lilith, Mikoto, and his child. Back in the Vallite Castle, Anankos swears to start a war between Hoshido and Nohr and end the human race. However, a fragment of his human avatar speaks through him, expressing his belief that Selena, Odin, and Laslow will one day bring Corrin to him and defeat him.

"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Fire Emblem Fates[]

Anna fates portrait
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"

By the events of Fates, Anankos has become completely insane, acting as the tyrant king of Valla and killing nearly everyone across the land. The few that survive end up enslaved. In his mad lust to destroy humanity for abandoning him to his pain, he gains control of Nohr through King Garon, whom he possessed and gave a portion of his power to. He also resurrects Sumeragi and has him act as his agent as the Hooded Man that assassinates Mikoto with Ganglari, thus instigating the war between Hoshido and Nohr.

Birthright and Conquest[]

In Birthright, Anankos gives Garon additional power, transforming him into the Dusk Dragon in a final attempt to kill Corrin's party, but this fails and he loses a significant portion of his power.

In Conquest, he possesses Takumi's body in a final attempt to kill Corrin's army; however, this also fails and Anankos is forcefully driven out of Takumi, who truly dies shortly afterwards.

Revelation[]

According to Azura, Anankos killed and usurped the previous king of Valla and slaughtered all of the residents there, except for her, the previous queen of Valla, Arete, and (unbeknownst to her) Mikoto and her child, Corrin. His ultimate goal is the complete annihilation of the world because of his hatred of humans. It is revealed in the third route that he also resurrected Sumeragi, Arete, and Mikoto to kill Corrin and their army. Throughout most of Revelation, as revealed in Chapter 26, Anankos possessed Gunter, akin to how he possesses Takumi in Conquest. While under possession, Gunter "faithfully" serves Corrin as he normally would, but he would attempt to kill them whenever they were alone. One of these attempts resulted in Scarlet being killed instead.

Towards the end of the game, Anankos is exposed and finally fights the party in the throne room with Gunter's body. After being defeated, Anankos is exorcised from Gunter by Azura's singing and Gunter stabbing himself after Corrin speaks with him. The mad spirit finally returns to his own body and demands to the army to know why he alone should suffer, and that humans deserve to share his torment. While the party is initially overwhelmed by Anankos' power, Corrin's Yato gains the power of the legendary weapons carried by the Nohrian and Hoshidan princes, transforming the sword into the Fire Emblem. With the Fire Emblem's devastating power, Anankos is forced to summon his servant Garon, who offers himself as a vessel for Anankos. Anankos, however, consumes Garon to reclaim the power that he originally granted him. Now with his full power, Anankos unleashes his full might and destroys Castle Gyges and transports the army to a new dimension with a black hole. While the party is despairing at first, believing that there is no way to defeat Anankos, Corrin successfully encourages the army to not give up, declaring that they can defeat him so long as they work together. During the fight the army has to first attack Anankos' arms, then the head and finally his true form (a massive orb with eyeballs). In spite of his efforts, Anankos is ultimately slain by the army. With the dragon's tyranny at an end, peace is restored to Nohr and Hoshido, while Valla is later reestablished under Corrin's rule.
"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Heirs of Fate[]

Anna fates portrait
"Just a minute! The following section contains spoilers. Viewing it will cost a lot. Are you prepared to pay for it?"

Anankos makes an appearance as the main antagonist of the Heirs of Fate DLC. This version of Anankos comes from a distorted version of Revelation. Rather than being killed by the united Nohrian-Hoshidan army like he was in that route, Anankos instead destroyed Omega Yato and slaughtered the entire army, with Azura and her son Shigure being the only survivors. Unsatisfied with only conquering one realm, Anankos set his sights on invading other worlds where either Nohr or Hoshido won the war.

Unable to attack Nohr and Hoshido personally, as he would be much weaker outside Valla, he sends his Vallite minions to attack all the Deeprealms that the parents are keeping their children in to remove the only significant threat to his plans. While largely successful, one child from each world managed to escape unharmed.

In order to rid himself of the children without much effort, Anankos casts an illusion that makes the Nohrian and Hoshidan children see each other as Vallites, in the hopes that they will kill each other for him. This plan almost succeeds, but Shigure dispels his illusion, bringing both sides together. Shigure confronts Anankos, believing that he wanted to destroy all of humanity. Anankos, in his deteriorating mind, mistakes him for his old friend Cadros and explains that he was searching for a suitable place to build a new Valla free of human dominance. Shigure attempts to sing the full version of Lost in Thoughts All Alone, prompting Anankos to attempt to stop him, as he did not want to see "Cadros" go into eternal suffering like Azura, stating that he is "not ready" for it. Suddenly, the other children teleport in, interrupting Shigure. Anankos becomes disappointed with "Cadros" for siding with humanity and prepares to battle with his Vallite minions, including the fathers of the children (barring Corrin). Despite his best efforts, he is eventually defeated.

There are two endings:

  • Ending A (Good Ending): Shigure sings the full version of Lost in Thoughts All Alone; because the other children gave their memories as payment, Shigure is not subjected to eternal suffering for the rest of his life. Anankos thanks Shigure for saving him from his "nightmare" and prepares to leave, when Lilith arrives and accompanies him.
  • Ending B (Bad Ending): Same as the good ending, except Lilith does not arrive to accompany Anankos.
"End of spoilers. It's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Personality[]

Anankos is portrayed as ruthless, seeing himself as no less than a god. Fully controlled by his draconic instincts, he loathes humanity and will stop at nothing to exterminate the human race. Although he considers himself to be the King of Valla, the Vallite people are no more than pawns whom he can freely control to bring his goals to fruition and will get rid of if they outlive their utility. Even Garon and his "daughter" Lilith, both of whom were steadfastly loyal to him, were nothing more than disposable pawns when the time was needed. After having succumbed to dragon degeneration, he is unrelentingly cruel and sadistic towards humans, especially towards Corrin, in whom he takes a special delight in tormenting through his puppet Garon. He also does this to the children in Heirs of Fate, by pitting them against each other for his own amusement. In Heroes, his cruelty and sadistic views are so chaotic that even other beings like Elm are deeply disturbed by his behavior. When confronted, he is shown to be incredibly irascible, ranting about how humans betrayed him and how they deserve to suffer for having left him abandoned. But even in his maddened state, Anankos is shown to still feel hurt over having been shunned and rejected by the humans he used to care for so dearly, as shown when he begs Corrin to tell him why humans get to flourish, while he remains forgotten and buried.

In the past, Anankos was a benevolent dragon who loved humanity. Unfortunately, his draconic instincts eventually led to his degeneration. Before he could fully fall, he sealed himself for as long as possible to protect humanity. Still, a fragment of him lived separate from his body, keeping his original benevolent nature intact.

Eventually falling in love with Mikoto proved to be the biggest change in his life, as he became steadfastly protective of his family to send them away from harm long before the threat of his dragon counterpart became apparent. Even after finding out the true nature of Lilith, he readily accepted his "daughter" and ultimately gave up his life to protect her. In the end, Anankos' love for his family was laid bare in his final breaths, as the last things on his mind were Lilith, Mikoto, and his child. He apologizes frequently, a trait that his child shares.

In-Game[]

Fire Emblem Fates[]

Revelation Chapter 27 - Hear My Cry[]

Help Description: One of the First Dragons, who has long since lost his once-formidable mind.

Revelation Endgame - Anankos[]

Arm[]
Head[]
Eye[]

Heirs of Fate - End: Lost in the Waves[]

Arm[]
Head[]
Soul[]

Fire Emblem Heroes[]

Seething Silence
The dragon of wisdom having succumbed to madness. The memories of those he once held dear lie in the depths beneath the waves. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats[]

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Anankos Seething Silence Heroes spriteTitle
Seething Silence
Group
Heroes Armored Armored
LevelHPAtkSpdDefRes
1
40
17/18/19
39/42/45
9/10/11
39/42/46
13/14/15
41/44/48
9/10/11
33/36/39
6/7/8
28/31/34
SkillsWeapon
FEH skill offense Silent Breath
FEH skill special Daylight
FEH Thunder Breath Breath

Skills[]

TypeNamePrerequisiteDefaultUnlocked
FEH skill offenseFire Breath---
Fire Breath+---
Flametongue---
Silent Breath-FEH Star Rarity 5FEH Star Rarity 5
FEH skill specialDaylight---
NoontimeDaylight--
AFEH Darting Stance 1 Darting Stance 1--
FEH Kestrel Stance 1 Kestrel Stance 1FEH Darting Stance 1 Darting Stance 1-
FEH Kestrel Stance 2 Kestrel Stance 2FEH Kestrel Stance 1 Kestrel Stance 1-
FEH Kestrel Stance 3 Kestrel Stance 3FEH Kestrel Stance 2 Kestrel Stance 2FEH Star Rarity 5
BFEH Savvy Fighter 1 Savvy Fighter 1--
FEH Savvy Fighter 2 Savvy Fighter 2FEH Savvy Fighter 1 Savvy Fighter 1-
FEH Savvy Fighter 3 Savvy Fighter 3FEH Savvy Fighter 2 Savvy Fighter 2-
FEH Savvy Fighter 4 Savvy Fighter 4FEH Savvy Fighter 3 Savvy Fighter 3FEH Star Rarity 5
CFEH A S Near Save 1 A/S Near Save 1--
FEH A S Near Save 2 A/S Near Save 2FEH A S Near Save 1 A/S Near Save 1-
FEH A S Near Save 3 A/S Near Save 3FEH A S Near Save 2 A/S Near Save 2-

Overall[]

Secret Book (Artwork)
Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
Base Set[]
Counters[]
Skill Inheritance[]

Meet Some of the Heroes[]

Seething Silence Anankos
Anankos seething silence pop01 This strange-looking man with his face hidden by his hood actually isn't human at all—he's Anankos, one of the First Dragons, who rules the Kingdom of Valla with an iron fist!
Anankos seething silence pop02 Anankos was once a gentle dragon who loved humanity, but after many, many years of life, his mind became corrupted by madness.
Anankos seething silence pop03 Eventually, he grew to despise humanity—and the world itself. He turned Nohr and Hoshido against each other, starting their bitter war.
Anankos seething silence pop04 Anankos despises all of creation and wishes to destroy it. But...could there still be at least one memory of the time he spent with those he held dear lingering in his heart?
Closely Associated Characters
Corrin A young royal who was born in Hoshido and raised in Nohr, but was later forced to choose sides. Wields the divine blade Yato. A descendant of Anankos.

Quotes[]

Fates[]

“I am the forgotten god. The betrayed King. The buried dragon.”
—Anankos' battle quote
“Whyyyyy...”
—Anankos' defeat voice clip
“Curse you...vexing humans... Once again...you've...”
—Anankos' defeat quote in Chapter 27
“Haha... Such a...demanding daughter... I wish I could stay with you...and protect you forever... Soon, I won't be able to affect this world... I won't be able to experience its wonder... I won't be able to make amends... Or believe in anything... I'm so sorry, Lilith... I'm sorry, Mikoto... I'm sorry... Corrin...”
—Human Anankos' final words in Xenologue 8

Engage[]

“Why am I the one left to suffer? Why am I the one left to die?”
—Anankos' defeat quote

Heroes[]

Anankos/Heroes Quotes

Non-Canon Appearances[]

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)[]

Anankos is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

Choose Your Legends Placement History[]

Round Placement Character Version Votes

CYL1 199 CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
1,293
CYL2 194
↑5
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
1,325
↑32
CYL3 139
↑55
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
1,900
↑575
CYL4 195
↓56
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
781
↓1,119
CYL5 177
↓18
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
545
↓236
CYL6 139
↑38
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
717
↑172

CYL7 117
↑22
CYL Anankos Portrait
Fates
542
↓175

Etymology[]

Anankos may come from the ancient Greek word ἀνάγκη (ananke), meaning "divine will", "need", "inflicting pain", or "fate". This could hint at both the title and the structure of the game, revolving around Corrin's choice from which the three storylines begin. Even though it is less common, another meaning of the same word is "blood bond", which could refer to the relationship between Corrin and Anankos. In Greek mythology, the Hydra is a serpent-like water monster which possessed many heads, and for each one cut off, it grew two more. It was slain by Heracles during the second of the Twelve Labors.

Trivia[]

  • Anankos' human form resembles the Plegian Hierophant from Awakening; both wear a hood shrouding their face.
  • Prior to the release of Three Houses, Anankos had the highest total HP out of any enemy in the series, with 286 HP (63 HP for each arm, 80 HP for the head, and 80 HP for the eye) in the final chapter of Revelation on Lunatic mode.
  • Anankos' dragon form shares his Japanese voice actor, Akio Ōtsuka, with Garon, while his Human form shares his Japanese voice actor, Nobunaga Shimazaki, with the Male versions of Corrin and Kana, hinting at their connection.
    • Anankos' Dragon form shares his English voice actor, Travis Willingham, with Lon'qu, Brady, Garon, Ogma, and Camus, while his Human form shares his English voice actor, Cam Clarke, with Arthur, Hinata, and Male Corrin.
    • In Heroes, Anankos shares his English voice actor, Imari Williams, with Benny, Fuga and Valter.
  • Anankos' mask is heavily influenced by how Buddha is usually depicted, while his unmasked form's head design resembles several Buddhist depictions of Nāga, which are occasionally depicted as having multiple heads, much like Anankos' Japanese namesake, Hydra.
  • In Chapter 27 of Revelation, prior to awakening Omega Yato, it's shown that Anankos is immune to harm from all weapons, including Alpha Yato. It is implied that Omega Yato is the only weapon capable of harming Anankos, but the player can actually choose to have him finished off by any other weapon. This could be explained as a case of gameplay-story segregation, or that Omega Yato naturally weakens him, thus making him susceptible to damage.
  • In the Hidden Truths DLC, Shigure refers to Anankos' sphere form as both his true form and his heart.
  • Anankos is oddly similar to Grima from Awakening:
    • Both are incredibly powerful dragons revered as divine beings.
    • Both are able to raise the dead as their pawns (Faceless and Risen respectively)
    • Both share an open hatred of humanity and wish to annihilate them.
    • Both share a blood connection with the Avatar of each game, which ends up proving instrumental in their death.
    • However, unlike Grima, who hated humanity from the beginning, Anankos loved humanity in his early days and was even friends with the former Vallite King, Cadros. Trouble started when Anankos's madness grew strong enough for him to burn down a forest. The people of Valla blamed him for this and tried to kill him. Anankos, unable to comprehend that the very people he had helped had betrayed him, locked himself away in a mountain cave, where his hatred of humanity festered.
  • In Heroes, some of Anankos' eyes can be seen in Fallen Lilith's attack animation.

Gallery[]

See main article: Anankos/Gallery.
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