—Ishtar to Julius in the Final Chapter of Genealogy of the Holy War
Ishtar is an enemy character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. She is the daughter of Bloom and Hilda, as well as the sister of Ishtore. She is also the cousin of Arthur, Tine, Amid, and Linda, the niece of Tailtiu and Ethnia, a granddaughter of Reptor, and a distant relative to Victor, Arvis, Azelle, Julia, Saias, and Julius, with Julius being her lover.
Through her father, she is a descendant of Thrud who has inherited the ability to use the Mjölnir. From her mother's side, she is a descendant of Fjalar. As a result of her immense power, Ishtar is known as the Goddess of Thunder.
Profile[]
During her childhood, Reinhardt was assigned to be Ishtar's personal guard. While he became the first in command under her to the Gelben Ritter, she became a very powerful mage who is widely known for her skill with thunder magic.
Despite her mother's cruel treatment of Tine/Linda, Ishtar did not treat her with disdain, and instead did her best to comfort her in her times of need.
Some time before the Liberation War, Ishtar and the Imperial Prince Julius of Grannvale fell in love with each other. Her mother was very pleased with this relationship, as she wished to benefit from their union. After Julius received the Book of Loptous, he murdered his mother and tried to kill his sister, but his love for Ishtar never changed. Despite knowing what happened to him, she remained loyal to him and continued to love him. However, once he began performing the child hunts, she became shocked and attempted to convince him to stop. After Julius ignored her protests, Ishtar began to work with Emperor Arvis to secretly free the captured children.
Soon afterwards, while she and Julius are in Conote, he comes down with a high fever. She becomes very worried about him and travels to Leonster Castle to ask Bishop Saias to cure Julius of his illness. Around this point in time, Julius begins to notice Reinhardt's romantic feelings for Ishtar, which makes him extremely jealous and furious. He orders Ishtar to remove Reinhardt from his status, which she reluctantly agrees to, although she also begs Julius not to kill him. Afterwards, Ishtar and Julius travels to Miletos, where Hilda is currently residing.
Around this time, Ishtore and his lover, Liza, are killed by the Liberation Army led by Seliph, who soon recruits Tine/Linda into his army. While Bloom is saddened by both his son's death and his niece's betrayal, he summons Ishtar to Conote and begs her to protect him. Surprised by her father's panicking, Ishtar agrees to his pleas, but asks him to give her the Mjölnir before she leaves to fight the Liberation Army.
Despite her immense magical power, Ishtar is defeated by the Liberation Army, but before she could die, Julius suddenly appears and rescues her. This ultimately leaves Bloom with no one to protect him, and he is soon slain by the Liberation Army.
After recovering from her wounds, Ishtar is ordered by Julius to send the captured children to Belhalla Castle so that he could sacrifice them. She reluctantly obeys, and after his departure, Hilda reminds Ishtar that she is the best candidate for Julius's affections, urging her to marry him as soon as possible. Following this, she is commanded to travel to Miletos Castle and prepare the children to be sent to the capital.
In Miletos, Emperor Arvis asks Ishtar to free the children. However, Julius soon appears and informs him that she serves only him while also commanding him to leave. After this, Julius informs Ishtar that the Liberation Army had come to Miletos and proposes for them to play a game in which the victor is the first person to successfully kill an enemy soldier. After either of them are defeated or kill someone, they leave the battlefield together and travel to Belhalla.
In the Final Chapter, Ishtar learns that Hilda has been slain in battle against the Liberation Army, and as a result, she asks Julius for permission to lead the Weissen Ritter into battle. While he is reluctant at first, he agrees to it once she declares her love for him. Along with her, she takes the Falcon Knight sisters, Meng, Bleg, and Maybell. Ignoring Tine's pleas for her to stop fighting, Ishtar ultimately dies fighting against the Liberation Army.
Personality[]
Ishtar has a complex personality and appears to be torn between duty and desire. Although she is a major antagonist, she is a kind and caring woman who is not cruel or ruthless in the least. Because of this, she is viewed positively by the people of the Friege region. Despite her undying loyalty to Julius, she is willing to defy his will behind his back, as seen when she helps the children who were captured in the child hunts.
Despite her lack of personal disdain towards them, Ishtar remains persistent in fighting against Seliph. Her love for Julius and her family are major factors that prevent her from defecting to the Liberation Army, despite Tine's efforts to convince her.
As confirmed in Heroes, Ishtar deeply regrets staying with Julius and knows what she's doing is wrong (fighting the Liberation Army). There are two possible reasons as to why Ishtar sides with Julius during Genealogy: either she loves Julius and hopes she can change him or she fears Julius' power and doesn't defect due to her fear. Whilst neither of these theories are confirmed (at first) they both have some validity. However, she never openly says she wished she could have fought against the empire.
Her Ascendant Hero form, introduced in Heroes, does admit that she truly loves Julius and wants him to change and use his powers to make the world better. She also admits that they were happy before his corruption by Loptous and her loyalty to the empire was genuine. That said, she also admits that she dislikes what he has become, fears his actions and powers and dreams of leaving to "be free". Therefore, ultimately both theories are correct.
Ascended Hero Ishtar also explains that she wishes to atone for her past actions during the Jugdral series, implying that she represents an Ishtar of an alternate timeline, where she chose not only to free the children at Miletos, but to turn her back on Julius for good. Consequently, this alternate Ishtar appears to have survived the events of the Final Chapter of Genealogy.
In-Game[]
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War[]
Stats[]
Starting Class | Holy Blood | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sage | Thrud | ||||||||||
Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Lead | Gold |
22 | 42 | 5 | 22 | 24+20 | 29+10 | 12 | 10 | 19 | 6 | 1 | 5,000 |
Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
Adept Vantage | Fire - B Thunder - Wind - B Light - B Staff - B | Mjölnir |
Overall[]
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.
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Ishtar appears to engage the player in battle three different times, specifically in Chapters 8, 10, and the Final Chapter. She is a force to be reckoned with in all three instances.
In the first two encounters, Febail with the Yewfelle should be able to take her out in one hit. Additionally, if a staff user has a high enough magic stat, the Silence Staff can be used to cripple her. This allows you to attack her without fear of retaliation.
In the final encounter, it is recommended to use the Forseti user to defeat her, or have Ced with at least 28 magic or more and a Magic Ring to silence her with the Silence Staff.
Fire Emblem Awakening[]
SpotPass[]
Starting Class | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sage | |||||||||
Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
20 | 73 | 9 | 40+7 | 37+5 | 38 | 28 | 26 | 37 | 6 |
Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||
Magic +2 Focus Rally Magic Tomefaire Astra | Tome - A Staff - B | Mjölnir* |
*Enemy only, joins unequipped
Fire Emblem Heroes[]
- Thunder Goddess
- The heir to Mjölnir, she carries the blood of the royal family of Friege. The descent of her love, Julius, into the darkness troubles her.
Base Stats[]
Rarity:Title | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thunder Goddess | |||||
Group | |||||
Infantry | |||||
Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
1 40 | 15/16/17 34/38/41 | 7/8/9 31/34/37 | 9/10/11 33/36/39 | 3/4/5 13/17/20 | 6/7/8 23/26/30 |
Skills | Weapon | ||||
Mjölnir New Moon | Tome |
Skills[]
Type | Name | Prerequisite | Default | Unlocked |
---|---|---|---|---|
Thunder | - | - | - | |
Elthunder | - | - | - | |
Thoron | - | - | - | |
Mjölnir | - | - | ||
New Moon | - | - | ||
Moonbow | New Moon | - | ||
A | Darting Blow 1 | - | - | |
Swift Sparrow 1 | Darting Blow 1 | - | ||
Swift Sparrow 2 | Swift Sparrow 1 | |||
B | Vantage 1 | - | - | |
Vantage 2 | Vantage 1 | - | ||
Vantage 3 | Vantage 2 | |||
C | Odd Atk Wave 1 | - | - | |
Odd Atk Wave 2 | Odd Atk Wave 1 | - | ||
Odd Atk Wave 3 | Odd Atk Wave 2 |
Overall[]
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.
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Base Set[]
Ishtar is yet another quintessential offensive blue mage is comparable to Linde for the role, having only one point less in her Atk, but slightly better physical bulk, meaning that there are a few more match-ups that she can potential survive over Linde. Otherwise, she sports a great offensive stats of 48 Atk and 36 Spd but has terrible physical bulk that makes her crumple against most conventional physical attackers. Still, she is among the lucky Book I units that has a Resplendent form that brings her stats a little more up to date with the start of Book VI when she received it. Ishtar is a fantastic choice for a Blue Mage if looking for one and will provide powerful damage output with a minimal amount of investment.
What separates Ishtar from Linde is her starting kit and base weapon Mjölnir, which not only accelerates her special cooldown, but also has a Darting Blow 3 effect, increasing her Spd by 6 when initiating combat. This allows her to reach an impressive 42 Spd during the player's turn. Its later refine gave her a powerful change in effects as her Spd+6 boost either needs her to initiates combat or simply not be adjacent to an ally. Under the same activation conditions, she also gains an additional Atk/Spd+5 and stops enemy skills that prevent her from performing her follow-up attacks.
Swift Sparrow syncs well with her base Mjölnir effect and its refined version for an additional +2 Atk/Spd when initiating combat. Moonbow is a quick charging special that allows her to ignore 30% of her opponent's Res and thanks to Mjölnir it can charge in a single round of combat. Vantage can save her in a pinch against ranged enemies that she failed to kill during her turn, but it is subjective at best. Odd Attack Wave is an extremely valuable Skill C as it gives her a +6 Atk boost during odd numbered turns, giving her somewhat of an inconsistent, but powerful buff when used properly by the player. The weapon refine of Mjölnir strengthened her even more, as now her speed gain will trigger if she's not near an ally as well. The special refine of the weapon grants her immunity to follow-up attack preventions, such as Wary Fighter 3 and Blue Tomebreaker 3, plus 5 points to her attack and speed under the same conditions. Reaching 51 Spd, Ishtar becomes a menace for slower red units.
Counters[]
Ishtar is weak to physical units in general, even a handful of Reds. Those who pack Distant Counter are particularly strong counters such as Hector or strong dragons like Myrrh and Fallen Male Robin. High Res units like Deirdre, Yune, and Selkie can easily take a hit from her and retaliate as even her Magical Bulk is lukewarm at best.
Skill Inheritance[]
Ishtar is perhaps one of the cheapest units to build as Draw Back or Reposition are standard support skills for player team synergy. Luna may have a slightly longer cooldown than Moonbow, but her tome will charge it quickly, essentially giving it the same cooldown as Moonbow on most other units. Desperation is a far better Skill B as she wants to nuke her opponent as fast as possible and if she can safely damage herself into the threshold, there are only a small handful of units who can survive her attacks. Those who have much more premium skills to spare can upgrade her Swift Sparrow to its 3rd tier. With Mjölnir's refine, she can run Windsweep, shutting down troublesome units carrying Distant Counter and hitting them twice thanks to her refine.
Meet Some of the Heroes[]
Thunder Goddess Ishtar | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ishtar is a Hero who serves the Grannvale Empire, and she's also a descendant of Thrud, one of the crusaders who saved Jugdral long ago. Like her ancestor, she's a talented mage who has the lightning magic tome Mjölnir at her command! | |||
Some call her the Thunder Goddess because of her incredible power, and while that might sound intimidating, she's actually a very kind and caring woman in person. Her subordinates respect her for her talents rather than out of fear! | |||
She also truly loves Julius, the prince of Grannvale. Even when he completely changed overnight, her feelings didn't. | |||
And so, Ishtar does everything in her power to make the wishes of her beloved a reality. Nothing will stand in the way of the Thunder Goddess, even if it costs her her life! | |||
Closely Associated Characters | |||
Julius | Prince of the Grannvale Empire. Was once a kind boy but suddenly came to have a cruel nature. Ishtar's lover. | ||
Reinhardt | Formidable and admired mage knight in Friege's army. Ever ready to lend an ear to his younger sister, Olwen. Ishtar's confidant. |
- Thunder's Waltz
- The heir to Mjölnir, she carries the blood of Friege's royal family. Dances with the power of rolling thunder. Appears in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
Base Stats[]
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
Title | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Thunder's Waltz | |||||
Group | |||||
Flying | |||||
Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
1 40 | 16/17/18 33/36/40 | 5/6/7 31/34/37 | 7/8/9 33/36/39 | 2/3/4 12/16/19 | 2/3/4 19/22/26 |
Skills | Weapon | ||||
Mögþrasir Dance | Tome |
Skills[]
Overall[]
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[]
For a dancer, Soiree Ishtar is among the strongest offensively oriented Dancer units in the game with an offensive spread of neutral 42 Atk/34 Spd. In combination with her Red Tome Flier status, she has superb range and mobility all while having the option to Dance an ally should she not be suited for the current opponent's in range. She does trade this off for low overall bulk and will go down from most enemies that are able to get to her first, but so long as she can remain safely out of danger, she can be a terrifying unit who can multitask supporting and attacking.
Mögþrasir is her weapon and is functionally similar to Dire Thunder allowing her to double attack when initiating combat, potentially quad attacking over her enemies if she has enough Spd. Though she lost 2 Spd off of her neutral 36, it still is at a decent range to launch quad attacks over certain powerful enemies.
She packs Swift Sparrow 3 bringing her neutral offense to 48 and 41 respectively, which synergizes perfectly with Mögþrasir, leaving only a small handful that can potentially survive her attacks. Desperation ensures that, once she is damage, she can unleash her four consecutive attacks immediately, even less units who can retaliate her. Finally Air Orders grants adjacent allies a Flier Formation effect.
Counters[]
Soiree Ishtar is easily defeated by anything who can get to her first as her power is at her weakest when her opponent initiates on her. She is unable to damage most high Res units like Lute, Micaiah, and Selkie who can all easily retaliate through her low bulk. As a flier, a single shot from a Bow user will spell her demise as well.
Skill Inheritance[]
Soiree Ishtar's only needed skill is Luna or Moonbow as the res shaving will help her secure kills and given her tendency to quad over opponents, she can usually fire it off every single round. Air Orders can be replaced with a plethora of supportive skills to better suit mixed teams or flat out focus on other Flier skills like Hone Fliers and Ward Fliers.
Meet Some of the Heroes[]
Thunder's Waltz Ishtar | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ishtar is coming to the ball! She's a member of the royal family of Friege in the Empire of Grannvale, as well as the queen of Northern Thracia. | |||
She's wearing some of her iconic formalwear this time, including a long skirt that goes all the way down to her ankles. That regal purple color scheme really makes a statement too... There's no argument about who the queen of this dance is! | |||
Her dancing is both powerful and passionate. It's like she's able to show off exactly what's in her heart with every step! | |||
Ishtar normally wields a magic tome in battle. For her party look, however, her weapons are a goblet and a lethal smile! | |||
Closely Associated Characters | |||
Julius | Prince of the Grannvale Empire. Was once a kind boy but suddenly came to have a cruel nature. Ishtar's lover. | ||
Reinhardt | Formidable and admired mage knight in Friege's army. Ever ready to lend an ear to his younger sister, Olwen. He has pledged his loyalty to Ishtar. |
- Echoing Thunder
- Princess of Friege who turned her back on her lover, Julius, and secreted captured children to safety. Later took part in the holy war. Appears in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Base Stats[]
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
Title | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Echoing Thunder | |||||
Group | |||||
Infantry | |||||
Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
1 40 | 17/18/19 36/40/43 | 10/11/12 38/41/45 | 9/10/11 39/43/46 | 3/4/5 13/17/20 | 6/7/8 28/31/34 |
Skills | Weapon | ||||
Thunder's Mjölnir New Moon | Tome |
Skills[]
Overall[]
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[]
Echoing Thunder Ishtar | |||
---|---|---|---|
Ishtar, inheritor of the tome Mjölnir, is called the Thunder Goddess by some. Now she's making a grand appearance as an Ascended Hero! Clad in special attire and wielding more power, she's ready to take part in the battle between the liberation army and the Grannvale Empire! | |||
Ishtar's lover, Julius, had embarked on a campaign of sacrificing children to his dark god. Unable to bear the sorrow, she worked against him to help the children to escape. | |||
In fact, the stuffed toys she's carrying and the flowers in her hair are actually gifts from the children she helped. These heartfelt gifts are more precious to her than any treasure. | |||
Ishtar was torn between her love for Julius and her sense of justice. However, they say that when the Thunder Goddess appeared on her final battlefield, she wore a gentle smile on her face... | |||
Closely Associated Characters | |||
Julius | Prince of the Grannvale Empire. Was once a kind boy but suddenly came to have a cruel nature. Ishtar's lover. | ||
Reinhardt | Formidable and admired mage knight in Friege's army. Ever ready to lend an ear to his younger sister, Olwen. Ishtar's confidant. | ||
Hilda | Wife of Bloom, leader of House Friege. Feared for her cruelty after it is revealed she forces children to participate in evil rituals. Ishtar's mother. |
Quotes[]
Genealogy of the Holy War[]
—Ishtar's battle quote in Chapter 8
—Ishtar's battle quote in Chapter 10
—Ishtar's battle quote in the Final Chapter
—Ishtar's defeat quote in Chapter 8
—Ishtar's defeat quote in Chapter 10
—Ishtar's death quote in the Final Chapter
Awakening[]
—Ishtar's SpotPass parley quote
—Ishtar's SpotPass battle quote
—Ishtar's SpotPass recruitment quote
—Ishtar's battle quote as an enemy, in Rogues & Redeemers 1
—Ishtar's battle quote versus Tiki in Rogues & Redeemers 1
—Ishtar's battle quote as an enemy, in Rogues & Redeemers 3
—Ishtar's battle quote versus Tiki in Rogues & Redeemers 3
—Ishtar's death quote as an enemy, in Rogues & Redeemers 1
—Ishtar's death quote as an enemy, in Rogues & Redeemers 3
Heroes[]
Non-Canon Appearances[]
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)[]
Ishtar 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 | 136 | Genealogy of the Holy War |
2,076 |
CYL2 | 43 ↑93 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
4,935 ↑2,859 |
CYL3 | 44 ↓1 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
5,387 ↑452 |
CYL4 | 89 ↓45 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
1,870 ↓3,517 |
CYL5 | 94 ↓5 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
1,049 ↓821 |
CYL6 | 78 ↑16 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
1,258 ↑209 |
CYL7 | 91 ↓13 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
712 ↓546 |
CYL8 | 104 ↓13 |
Genealogy of the Holy War |
689 ↓23 |
Etymology[]
Ishtar, also known as Inanna, was the name of the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, and war. She had many lovers, but because of her love for them, most of them met some form of misfortune. For example, her love for the god Tammuz led to his death.
It makes sense for Ishtar to be named after the goddess of love and war because of her love for Julius and her prowess on the battlefield. It should also be taken into account that Ishtar is called a goddess by the other people in the game. However, the role of the deity Ishtar and her lovers seem to be reversed in the game because it is Julius’ love for her that leads to her downfall instead of the other way around.
Trivia[]
- The three Falcon Knights in Ishtar's SpotPass team in Fire Emblem Awakening represent Meng, Bleg, and Maybell.
- From her in-game portrait, Ishtar appears to be heterochromic, as her left eye appears to be purple, while the other appears to be brown. A similar effect is present in Ced’s portrait. This is only an effect, though, as neither of them are actually heterochromic.
- Ishtar should have inherited minor Fjalar holy blood from her mother, but it is not shown in the game.
- The models used for female Sages in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery of the Emblem have a pose identical to that of Ishtar's concept art.
- Ishtar shares her English voice actor, Ratana, with Leonie from Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
- In Rogues & Redeemers, Ishtar's Defense increases to over 30 whilst her Resistance drops to below 20.
- Ishtar is the first Resplendent Hero to have her attack animations change after her initial release.
Gallery[]
- See main article: Ishtar/Gallery.