“Do me a favor, and leave the dangerous fighting to me and my men.” —Ogma to Caeda in a conversation in Shadow Dragon.
Ogma (オグマ Oguma, Oguma in the Japanese version) is a playable character from the Archanea Series of Fire Emblem. The hard-edged captain of a group of mercenaries comprising of Barst, Bord and Cord, Ogma is also the personal bodyguard of Princess Caeda of Talys. He appears to share a rival-based relationship with Navarre, one that sees the latter constantly seeking opportunities to engage the former in duels.
Ogma was born in Pyrathi as the son of a lower-ranking Archanean nobleman and a Grustian-born lady. During a political strife that broke out in Pales, Ogma's father was executed, and Ogma and his mother were left to fend for themselves. Tragedy later struck once again, as Ogma's mother perished in an attempt to protect her son, and he was later forced to become a gladiator in Knorda as a means of subsistence. During his stint as a gladiator, Ogma was captured and severely tormented for aiding in the escape of his fellow gladiator Samto. In the midst of his torture, Princess Caeda intervened and halted his tormentors, later granting him the opportunity to escape from his life as a gladiator by appointing him as one of her personal bodyguards. From this point onwards, Ogma swore eternal fealty to Caeda, in gratitude for having extricated him from the mires of despair. At some point after he was given a new lease of life, Ogma stumbled upon Malice and Dice, who had collapsed on an unnamed road and were about to die from starvation. He saved them by giving them some food, although when reminded of his act of compassion much later, he had no recollection of it.
Alongside Barst, Bord and Cord, Ogma is handpicked to function as the bodyguard of both Marth and Caeda. Joining Marth's army in Chapter 2 of Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Ogma then aids Marth in bringing the War of Shadows to an end, before returning to Talys to serve her people.
Some time after the conclusion of the war, upon learning that Caeda is engaged to Marth, several Talysian clans rise up in revolt, embroiling the country in a civil war. The events of Downloadable Episode 3 of Shin Monshō no Nazo are then incited, where Ogma leads Bord and Cord on a mission to save Caeda, who has returned to the country to visit her father. Midway through the ensuing battle, however, Ogma is ambushed by Navarre, who intends on settling an old score through a duel. Caeda later enters the scene with Norne, whereupon she rushes to Ogma's aid by convincing Nabarl to defect to her cause. During the same battle, Ogma manages to enlist the aid of Malice and Dice, both of whom intend to repay the debt that they owe to him for saving their lives many years previously. After the remainder of the hostile stragglers are routed, Ogma, in a rare display of emotion, tenderly expresses his gratitude towards Caeda for having both saved him from the clutches of despair and restored his faith in humanity, before bidding her to live happily as the wife of Marth.
Chronologically, Ogma reappears in his version of Prologue VI of Shin Monshō no Nazo, where he aids Cain in instructing the 7th Platoon in warfare. After he is bested in the ensuing training session, he offers to aid the 7th Platoon in completing their stint as trainees until they are officially recognised as knights at the end of Prologue VIII.
Later, Ogma appears in Chapter 1, where, under the behest of General Lorenz of Grust, he makes his way to the fortress that Lorenz is stationed. Here, Lorenz makes the request for him to escort the Grustian royal twins, Yubello and Yumina, to Wendell in Macedon. He is unable to fulfil the request, however, due to Yumina's adamant refusal to abandon Lorenz, and thereafter promising to find a way to aid him, departs. Yubello and Yumina are later captured by Lang, although Ogma succeeds in infiltrating his castle and escaping with them around the same time as when the events of Chapter 3 take place. Later in Chapter 4, when Ogma catches wind of the imminent arrival of Marth's army from the southwestern reaches of Holm Beach, he, alongside a mysterious knight named Sirius, protects Yubello and Yumina from the assault of the Macedonian Vikings and leads them to the army. In Chapter 5, he encounters his old subordinate, Barst, living an ordinary life as a woodcutter, and requests him to lend his strength to Marth's cause once more, in which Barst immediately complies and accompanies him in eliminating Lang. Ogma continues to aid Marth in ending the War of Heroes, later disappearing from the records of history thereafter.
The most prominent trait that defines Ogma is his unwavering sense of honour and loyalty. This is best illustrated through his relationship with Caeda, where, following his rescue from a life of tormenting bleakness as a gladiator by Caeda, he pledges steadfast allegiance to her. This fact is solidified through the actions that he engages in throughout the games that he appears in, in which he primarily fights to protect her from coming under harm, and even when he begins to function as Marth's bodyguard, he only does so at her earnest behest.
In spite of the agonising circumstances of his past, Ogma has not completely cast aside his humanity, regardless of his proclamation that the unslakable thirst for bloodshed through mindless, primitive fighting is ingrained within him in Downloadable Episode 3 of Shin Monshō no Nazo. This is proven through the compassion that he has displayed on several occasions despite not being under any obligation to do so; for one, he has saved Malice and Dice from starvation, and on another, he has also chosen to act as Yubello and Yumina's bodyguard for Lorenz's sake.
Ogma plays a fairly important role in the canceled OVA of Fire Emblem. He first appears during the pirate attack at Talys, where he saves Marth and Caeda in a duel with the pirate Gazzak. When Marth's army reaches Galder, Ogma has a brief flashback of when he was once a gladiator, recalling the day Caeda saved his life from his tormentors. At the end of the last episode, Ogma engages Navarre in a sword duel. Before they engage in the battle, Ogma mentions that he has heard of Nabarl and his style of fighting with two swords. The fight is abruptly halted when Caeda enters the scene and stands between the two of them. She then pleads with Nabarl to stay his hand, a fact that convinces both combatants to withdraw their weapons.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Hirosi Yamaguti novel) - Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light (Shinozaki Sunami novel) - Fire Emblem: Illusion Kingdom
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Takayashiki Hideo novel) - Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem (Shinozaki Sunami novel) - Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem Game Book
Mercenary
Hero
Hero Crest
Hero
Mercenary
Sword - C
Steel Sword
Iron Sword
Master Seal
Hero
Axe E
Mercenary
Hero
Skill Bond
Strength Bond
Hero
Armsthrift
Patience
Sol
Axebreaker
Wrath
Sword - B
Axe - C
Silver Sword*
Hero
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