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“Jealousy. Hatred. Greed. Friends and family are driven to murder one another by these petty emotions. Such emotions spawn fathers who would even kill their own brood. As long as humans control, as long as humans dictate, as long as humans exist, this madness will never end.”
—Zephiel, to Roy in The Binding Blade.

Zephiel is the main antagonist of Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and a minor non-playable character in its prequel, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Profile[]

Born to King Desmond of Bern and his wife Queen Hellene, Zephiel was born to be the future King of Bern. Their marriage was arranged for political reasons and neither truly loved the other. Desmond's true love was another woman who he would eventually take as a mistress. Hellene was otherwise treated poorly and despite siring his first child, both Hellene and Zephiel was sent to live in a separate manse outside of the castle. To make matters worse, with his mistress, Desmond fathered a daughter, Guinivere. Slighted by Desmond's poor treatment of them, Hellene used Zephiel's true birthright as leverage over his desire to have Guinivere succeed him.

Despite the hostile relationship of his parents, Zephiel was truly loved by his mother and her ire directed at Desmond was for Zephiel's sake. Despite living away from his father, Zephiel wanted to impress his father and devoted himself to his education and training to prove his worthiness. Though only his half-sister, Zephiel held strong brotherly affection for Guinivere, which she mutually shared. Desmond would often deny him visits with Guinivere, making excuses such as sickness to keep him away. Ironically, this only further fueled his desire to see his sister.

Despite the internal strife within the family, Zephiel gifted talents, such as his skill in falconry, and disposition made him extremely popular with the citizens of Bern and many believed that he would become the next great King of Bern. This would only further sow discontent with Desmond who believed that Zephiel and his mother was plotting to usurp the throne from him.

The Blazing Blade[]

Zephiel is first seen in The Blazing Blade entering Bern Castle after hearing that Guinivere was sick. He quickly finds Guinivere in full health and he promises to her that he will try to visit her more often. Desmond quickly intervene and sends Guinivere away so he can deal with Zephiel. Before she leaves, Zephiel presents Guinivere with a fox cub he had captured while hunting. Desmond admonishes him, believing that Zephiel's genuine concern over Guinivere's health was merely a ploy to see if she was deathly ill. Though Zephiel denies his father's claims, Desmond refuses to hear them and sends him out of the castle. Later, Desmond orders a soldiers to take Guinivere's fox and kill it in secret from her.

With Zephiel's coming of age ceremony approaching, Hellene taunts Desmond that once the ceremony happens, Zephiel's legitimacy is confirmed and she becomes the true ruler of Bern until Zephiel formally ascends when he is slightly older. Desmond forms a contract with The Black Fang to steal the Fire Emblem, thus delaying the ceremony until it is "recovered." He also forms a contract with Sonia to assassinate Zephiel on the eve of the ceremony, with the task delegated to Nino with Jaffar accompanying her.

By sheer chance, Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn approach Hellene with Louise for permission for safe passage to the Shrine of Seals. Hellene grants the request to Louise as she is her niece only if they can recover the Fire Emblem. The Lords infiltrate the Black Fang and recover the gem, but also learn of the assassination plot. To ensure he is as vulnerable as possible, Desmond orders one of Zephiel's most capable and loyal retainers, Murdock, to be detained on the night of the assassination. In the middle of the night on the eve of his coming of age, Zephiel is eagerly awaiting the ascension and begins to pray for peace between his parents and for his whole family to have a loving relationship. Nino enters Zephiel's quarters in the middle of his prayers and hesitates. Though Jaffar was ordered to execute Nino if she failed her mission and still kill Zephiel, Jaffar decides to spare Nino out of gratitude when she rescued him a few days earlier. Instead, Jaffar knocks Zephiel out cold and proceeds to flee from the manse with Nino in tow.

Another Black Fang member, Ursula, witnesses the duo fleeing the Royal Manse and deduces that they failed to kill Zephiel. Ursula launches an attack on the Manse to complete the assassination and vows to hunt down Jaffar and Nino as traitors. Zephiel awakens after the attack begins and surmises that he was nearly assassinated. Arming himself with a sword, he awaits his assailants. During the battle, it is possible for Eliwood to enter Zephiel's room and interact with the prince. Fearing a possible attack by Bern on Lycia if word reached Desmond of his defense of Zephiel during the assassination attempt. Though Zephiel is skeptical at first, noting that Eliwood had time to attack him during the conversation, chooses to trust Eliwood for the remainder of the attack. At the end, Zephiel survives the assassination and the Black Fang are successfully repelled.

In the aftermath, Murdock is released and quickly deduced why he was detained as he headed for the Manse. The next morning, Eliwood, Hector, and Lyn give Hellene the Fire Emblem, securing Zephiel's ascension. The trio notice Hellene's obsession with the gemstone for her son's coronation and Eliwood asks her if she truly cares for her son. Having offended her by the notion, the trio prepare to leave. Hellene follows them only to encounter Murdock at the entrance who was quickly informed of the previous night's events by one of the few soldiers stationed at the manse. Outside, the trio prepare to leave only to be stopped by Hellene. Knowing the full truth of the previous night's events, she offers a sincere apology and gratitude to them for protecting her son, giving them the book with the information regarding the Shrine of Seals and a Heaven Seal.

With the revelation on how her behavior and ambitions nearly cost her Zephiel's life, Hellene speaks to Zephiel and apologizes to him, vowing to bring their whole family together and promises to include Guinivere, much to Zephiel's delight.

The Binding Blade[]

Zephiel's ascension proceeds with him formally becoming the King of Bern. Despite Hellene's desire to restore their family and Zephiel's continuous desire to prove worthy for Desmond, the King's paranoia persisted. Many years since the first assassination attempt, Desmond once again plotted to kill Zephiel and make Guinivere the next monarch. Desmond summoned Zephiel under a false pretense that he had accepted Zephiel. Handing him a poisoned cup of wife, Zephiel fell deathly ill. Betrayed by his father and crushed by Desmond's heartlessness despite Zephiel's constant desire to appease him finally broke the once kindhearted prince.

Reports reached Desmond that Zephiel had perished by poisoning. Murdock, still loyal to Zephiel, arranged for a funeral service which Desmond attended purely for decorum sake. Zephiel laid in his casket until Desmond approached and then murdered his father in cold-blood. Jaded from his life under his father, Zephiel took the Fire Emblem and used it to awaken the Demon Dragon Idunn. Her awakening spurred another dragon, Jahn, into an alliance to have Dragons take over Elibe. Zephiel would spend the next five years amassing an army and begun an invasion across Elibe.

The Bern army swept across Elibe with lightning speed, taking over the nomadic nation of Sacae first, lead by Brunnya. Ilia fell next by forces lead by Murdock. Though initially lead by Narcian, Bern attacked Lycia next with Zephiel eventually leading the assault on the Lycian League. Zephiel would eventually cross blades with the Marquess of Ostia, Hector and fatally wounded him. Roy and the Pherean army would eventually reach Hector in the aftermath mere moments before he dies.

Zephiel later forged an alliance with the corrupted nobles of the Kingdom of Etruria, Roartz, and Arcard, and caused a rebellion there. Shortly after, Zephiel, along with Narcian, Flaer, and a reluctant Perceval, arrived at Castle Missur, where Etruria's General Cecilia, leader of the Loyalists' rebellion against the Etrurian coup d'état, was resisting the forces of Bern in their efforts to seize the castle while protecting Princess Guinivere, who had earlier fled Bern in order to stop Zephiel. Due to the failure of his army in seizing the castle, Zephiel chose to personally give Cecilia the "honor" of fighting him in a one-on-one duel, easily defeating and severely wounding her. With Cecilia's defeat, his forces moved in and occupied the castle, and Guinivere was brought before Zephiel. Guinivere tried to reason with Zephiel, who in response explained his motives to free the world from the destructive nature of man and attempted to justify the slaughter of countless innocents his process entailed. Zephiel then ordered Melady to escort Guinivere back to Bern and to ensure that the Fire Emblem she carried was returned to the Shrine of Seals, and after telling Narcian to send some of his forces into the Nabata Desert to find the rumored hidden dragon village, he departed.

Later on, the Etrurian Army, now under the command of General Roy, arrived at Bern Keep, and Zephiel received the news of Murdock's death. Zephiel, knowing that he may die, ordered Brunnya to take Idunn and flee, lest they lose Idunn and the entire war be rendered pointless; he also instructed Idunn to continue their work even if he falls in the upcoming battle. Roy's army soon fights its way into the throne room, unlocked by two switches and the Fire Emblem, and Roy himself confronts Zephiel.

During the confrontation, Zephiel again explains his motivation in full, stating his disgust with the treachery and immorality of humanity, his intent to give the world back to the dragons, and that the defeat of the dragons in the Scouring was a mistake he intends to correct. Roy rejects his claims, pointing out that the rule of dragons will differ little from the rule of mankind, and that he, with his faith in mankind, refuses to give in to one with no faith in his people or in himself. The two then battle each other and Zephiel is defeated. With his dying breath, he tells Roy that his will shall live on, still believing that mankind will lead themselves to ruin. Following his death and the end of the war, Guinevere becomes the queen of Bern.

Personality[]

In his youth, Zephiel was an idealistic and talented prince who desired to become an ideal ruler of Bern. He disapproved of the feud between Hellene and Desmond, desiring to live a happy life with his parents. To quell any doubts from his father, Zephiel sought to better himself and prove worthy as his successor. Despite the fact that Guinivere was a bastard child and his half-sister, Zephiel adored her and often sought excuses to meet with her. He even caught and delivered a fox cub for her as a gift. Unfortunately, Desmond's paranoia lead to several plots at Zephiel's life which ultimately culminated into Zephiel's own descent.

Zephiel's trust in Desmond was utterly shattered when Desmond attempted to assassinate Zephiel by poisoning, thus marking the beginning of Zephiel's despair and jaded outlook of humanity. Viewing humanity as demons, Zephiel planned on utilizing the War Dragons to raze all of Elibe and rebuild society free of humanity's failings, releasing Idunn as a means of launching this campaign. Even in his death, Zephiel truly believes that his will shall endure and humanity will eventually fall.

Zephiel is considered gifted and skilled with a blade, garnering a considerable amount of supporters from his youth and was also well-loved by the citizens of Bern. It was thanks to this that Zephiel drew in several powerful figures, most notably his Wyvern Generals. Many noted that despite his ruthlessness, Zephiel ultimately became a competent ruler backed by skills that allowed him to be a formidable force on the battlefield, even taking down Cecilia, the Mage-General of Etruria, with a single strike. However, Zephiel still held onto a small bit of his brotherly affection for Guinivere even after his descent, greeting her somewhat warmly even after she allied with Lycia to stop him, even forgiving her, but vowed that he would not a second time.

In-Game[]

The Blazing Blade[]

Description: The crown prince of Bern. Both clever and wise.

Base Stats[]

Starting ClassAffinity
FE7prince PrinceN/A
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
112077858137?
WeaponStarting Items
Sword Sword - ASilverswordSilver Sword
ElixirElixir

The Binding Blade[]

Description: The mighty king of Bern. A talented and gifted genius.

Base Stats[]

Starting ClassAffinity
King KingN/A
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
2070242014152224175
WeaponStarting Items
Sword SwordEckesachs Eckesachs
Herocrest Hero Crest

Starting ClassAffinity
King KingN/A
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
2071242014152224175
WeaponStarting Items
Sword SwordEckesachs Eckesachs
Herocrest Hero Crest

Starting ClassAffinity
King (Ally) KingN/A
LevelHPStrSklSpdLckDefResConMov
2060242014152224175
WeaponStarting Items
Sword Sword - SEckesachs Eckesachs

Growth Rates[]

HP S/M Skl Spd Lck Def Res
85% 50% 10% 10% 30% 10% 5%

Fire Emblem Awakening[]

SpotPass[]

Starting Class
FE13 NPC Generic General Map SpriteGeneral
LevelHPStrMagSklSpdLckDefResMov
2075411234352341+2335
SkillsWeaponStarting Items
Defense +2Defense +2
IndoorBattleIndoor Fighter
DefenseCryRally Defense
Great Shield (FE13)Pavise
FE13ConquerorConquest
LanceIconFE13Lance - A
AxeIconFE13Axe - B
Spear FE13Spear*

*Enemy only, joins unequipped

Fire Emblem Heroes[]

The Liberator
King of Bern. Once a kindhearted boy who became disillusioned with humanity. Wants his world to be ruled by dragons. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.

Base Stats[]

Rarity:
✯✯✯
Heroes Zephiel Sprite (3*)Title
The Liberator
Group
Heroes Armored Armored
LevelHPAtkSpdDefRes
1
40
24
51
8
31
2
13
11
34
4
21
SkillsWeapon
FEH skill offense Steel SwordFEH Sword Sword
✯✯✯✯
Heroes Zephiel Sprite (4* & 5*)Title
The Liberator
Group
Heroes Armored Armored
LevelHPAtkSpdDefRes
1
40
24
52
9
33
2
14
12
36
4
22
SkillsWeapon
FEH skill offense Silver Sword
FEH skill special Retribution
FEH Sword Sword
✯✯✯✯✯
Heroes Zephiel Sprite (Eckesachs)Title
The Liberator
Group
Heroes Armored Armored
LevelHPAtkSpdDefRes
1
40
25
55
9
35
3
16
12
38
5
24
SkillsWeapon
FEH skill offense Silver Sword
FEH skill special Retribution
FEH Sword Sword

Skills[]

TypeNamePrerequisiteDefaultUnlocked
FEH skill offenseIron Sword---
Steel Sword-FEH Star Rarity 3-
Silver SwordSteel SwordFEH Star Rarity 4FEH Star Rarity 3
EckesachsSilver Sword-FEH Star Rarity 5
FEH skill specialRetribution-FEH Star Rarity 4FEH Star Rarity 3
ReprisalRetribution--
AFEH Life and Death 1 Life and Death 1-FEH Star Rarity 3
FEH Life and Death 2 Life and Death 2FEH Life and Death 1 Life and Death 1FEH Star Rarity 4
FEH Life and Death 3 Life and Death 3FEH Life and Death 2 Life and Death 2FEH Star Rarity 5
BFEH Wary Fighter 1 Wary Fighter 1--
FEH Wary Fighter 2 Wary Fighter 2FEH Wary Fighter 1 Wary Fighter 1FEH Star Rarity 3
FEH Wary Fighter 3 Wary Fighter 3FEH Wary Fighter 2 Wary Fighter 2FEH Star Rarity 4

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[]

As one of the earliest Grand Hero Battle units, Zephiel remains one of the few to start off strong and remain a powerful unit long after. Zephiel is a powerful juggernaut as was the strongest Sword Armor unit upon his release. His most noticeable stat is his monstrous 55 HP which was the highest HP at the time of release, but it was later usurped by Arden. His Atk and Def are respectably high, giving him a decent damage output and high physical bulk respectively. Unfortunately, his Spd is atrociously low and he cannot take magical hits well thanks to his low Res. Despite these shortcomings, Armor units are easily able to amend these issues thanks to their exclusive set of skills and thus, Zephiel can take full advantage of this.

Eckesachs initial effect is rather lackluster as it merely inflicts a Threaten Defense 2 effect, reducing the Def enemies within two spaces him by 4. With the introduction of Weapon Refinery, he gained a significant boost. A refined Eckesachs instead applies a Threaten Def 4 equivalent effect, reducing a minus 6 Def penalty except for dragon units, a reference to his in-game goals. Its refined effect also grants him a Distant Def 3 effect, increasing his Def/Res by 6 when a ranged opponent initiates combat on him. Unfortunately, he does not have Distant Counter in his base kit to take full advantage of the effect, but this can be inherited.

Reprisal takes 30% of his current lost HP and adds it as true damage to his attack when it activates. With his high HP, he can reach astounding levels of damage, but the inconsistency of it means that it can inflict massive damage or add nothing. Life and Death sacrifices 5 Def/Res and adds it to his Atk/Spd. Unfortunately the Spd addition will hardly affect anything, though the Atk boost is decent. Wary Fighter completely prevents his enemies from performing a follow-up attack so long as his HP is over 50%, addressing his low Spd as a result.

Counters[]

Zephiel's Spd means that he is likely to be doubled by nearly everyone but the slowest of units. While Wary Fighter helps prevent this and slows down his opponents, he can be easily brought down to this especially by magical units if he is not running Distant Counter. Micaiah is an especially potent counter as Thani easily can destroy him in a single shot thanks to targeting his much lower Res and dealing armor effective damage, even rendering the Distant Def effect useless in its wake. Dragon units ironically serve as powerful counters as they target his lower res and are completely unaffected by a refined Eckesachs. Staff users running Dazzling Staff/Wrathful Staff combo will easily ignore his attempts to counter attack and slowly inflict damage on him. Null Follow-Up will also render Wary Fighter useless.

Skill Inheritance[]

Zephiel greatly enjoys an Armor Skill kit starting with Pivot or Swap for mobility and Bonfire or Ignis to take advantage of his excellent Def for high special damage. Distant Counter is an excellent choice for his A Skill as it combos well with a refined Eckesachs and even if it is not. Taking Vengeful Fighter will increase his enemy turn retaliation as a result and make him nigh unstoppable against most ranged units or Bold Fighter to give him mixed phase power. Armor March helps amend his and his armor allies movement issues, though any Armor unit Skill C works well. As the second highest HP holder in the game, he is an excellent Panic Ploy user as well as literally the only unit who can resist it without merges and skills is Arden.

Meet Some of the Heroes[]

The Liberator Zephiel
Zephiel the liberator pop01 Bern, the eastern kingdom of Elibe, is a mighty military nation with a great many wyvern knights under its command. Standing at the peak of power and prestige in Bern is none other than its king: Zephiel!
Zephiel the liberator pop02 Zephiel was born the heir to the previous king, Desmond. He was shrewd and clever from an early age, and he was a kind big brother to his sister, Guinivere.
Zephiel the liberator pop03 However, once Zephiel took the throne, he seemed to transform into someone completely different. Taking the royal sword Eckesachs in hand, he used strange draconic powers to invade Bern's neighboring countries!
Zephiel the liberator pop04 I don't know why Zephiel changed the way that he did, but I suspect that he'd been keeping this ambition of his a secret for a long time. Do you think maybe one day he'll go back to being the kind soul he used to be?
Closely Associated Characters
Idunn Transformed into a Demon Dragon and sealed during the Scouring. She was awoken by Zephiel and serves him so he may realize his ambition.
Guinivere Princess of Bern and Zephiel's younger sister. When her brother suddenly changed, she took the Fire Emblem, another of the royal treasures, and fled the kingdom, hoping to find a way to stop him.

Winter's Crown
The wise prince of Bern. Attending the winter festival to expand his horizons. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade.

Base Stats[]

Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Zephiel Winter's Crown Heroes spriteTitle
Winter's Crown
Group
Heroes Armored Armored
LevelHPAtkSpdDefRes
1
40
21/22/23
45/48/51
9/10/11
35/38/41
3/4/5
16/19/22
7/8/9
35/38/42
11/12/13
33/36/39
SkillsWeapon
FEH skill offense Bellringer+
FEH skill special Chilling Wind
FEH Sword Sword

Skills[]

TypeNamePrerequisiteDefaultUnlocked
FEH skill offenseIron Sword---
Steel Sword-FEH Star Rarity 3-
BellringerSteel SwordFEH Star Rarity 4FEH Star Rarity 3
Bellringer+Bellringer-FEH Star Rarity 5
FEH skill specialChilling Wind-FEH Star Rarity 4FEH Star Rarity 3
GlaciesChilling Wind-FEH Star Rarity 4
BFEH Vengeful Fighter 1 Vengeful Fighter 1--
FEH Vengeful Fighter 2 Vengeful Fighter 2FEH Vengeful Fighter 1 Vengeful Fighter 1-
FEH Vengeful Fighter 3 Vengeful Fighter 3FEH Vengeful Fighter 2 Vengeful Fighter 2FEH Star Rarity 5
CFEH Def Res Gap 1 Def/Res Gap 1--
FEH Def Res Gap 2 Def/Res Gap 2FEH Def Res Gap 1 Def/Res Gap 1-
FEH Def Res Gap 3 Def/Res Gap 3FEH Def Res Gap 2 Def/Res Gap 2FEH Star Rarity 5

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[]

Winter Zephiel is more in line with a standard Armor unit in the current Heroes meta than his original form, but shares the same low Spd and high Atk. While his HP is nowhere near his original's, the loss is put into his Res, giving him fantastic mixed bulk. Unfortunately, he faces stiff competition, most notably his original form as well as the Black Knight and Arden, three existing Sword Armor units who are already in the game and can be invested into without having to expend orbs. Nonetheless, he is well put into consideration given that unlike them, he has access to Boons and Banes to help adjust his stats.

Bellringer heals him 5 HP after battle so long as he hits his opponent during a battle. Even if he deals 0 damage, he still will recover the health afterwards. This gives him some level of recovery, though it is at best a 10% heal.

Glacies deals 80% of his Res as bonus damage, which is a solid stat, but his Def is slightly higher unless he either has a boon in Res and or chooses Res as his stat refine for Bellringer. Vengeful Fighter accelerates his Special Cooldown per hit and guarantees a follow-up attack when his opponent initiates combat on him. Def/Res Gap increases the Def/Res of the ally on his team that has the highest total combined Def/Res. Depending on his partners, and especially on armor teams, he can give ludicrous bulk to already bulky allies, making them nigh unkillable.

Counters[]

Winter Zephiel is mainly hindered by his low speed, but his access to armor skills helps address this, but a high Def opponent with at least 24 Spd can easily take his two attacks and retaliate. Armor shredding units like Oboro and Est can pierce through him with effective damage and color advantage. Micaiah is also still a strong counter, but he has better Res than his base form so she is not quite as dangerous.

Skill Inheritance[]

As an Armor unit, Swap or Pivot are excellent supportive skills for positioning Winter Zephiel and his armor allies due to their low mobility. Ignis is a better option given that his natural Def without factoring boons and banes is higher than his Res. Distant Counter grants him the ability to counterattack from range, though Steady Stance and Death Blow are worthy budget alternatives as the former increases his physical bulk when attacked, which syncs well with Vengeful Fighter, while the latter increases his player turn offense. The latter pairs well with Bold Fighter which is a better overall option for hyper focusing on the players turn. Special Fighter can also be considered. A Skill C focused on Armor teams are a better option with Armor March being a standout while Hone Armor/Ward Armor being easy alternatives.

Meet Some of the Heroes[]

Winter's Crown Zephiel
Zephiel winters crown pop01 The Kingdom of Bern occupies a vast stretch of the continent of Elibe. One day, it will be ruled by Prince Zephiel—but today, he's here to celebrate the winter festival in style!
Zephiel winters crown pop02 Zephiel is truly gifted, both as a warrior and a scholar, but that's not the only reason why he has such strong support. He's wise and kind, and he cares about others.
Zephiel winters crown pop03 For the winter festival, he's donning a brilliant red outfit and personally delivering presents to everyone. I bet that toy fox he's carrying is a special present for his sister, Guinivere!
Zephiel winters crown pop04 Prince Zephiel keeps working to better himself so that he can be a good and just leader for his people. With someone as kindhearted as him on the throne, I'm sure a bright future awaits Bern!
Closely Associated Characters
Guinivere Princess of Bern. Adores Zephiel, her doting stepbrother.

Quotes[]

Battle Quotes[]

“You shall not bar my path!”
—Zephiel's battle quote in The Binding Blade.

Death Quotes[]

“...I am defeated... But remember this... My will shall never die... As long as humans retain control, madness will reign...”
—Zephiel's death quote in The Binding Blade
“Mother...”
—Zephiel's death quote in The Blazing Blade

Heroes[]

Zephiel/Heroes Quotes

Non-Canon Appearances[]

Manga[]

Hasha no Tsurugi[]

Zephiel makes his first appearance in person in Volume 6 after defeating Cecilia, where he engages Al in a duel. Al is nearly defeated, until he touches the Fire Emblem and promotes to a Dragon Lord, and nearly defeats Zephiel until the Fire Emblem leaves his possession. After the battle Zephiel regains the Fire Emblem and figures out that Al is the son of Hartmut and Militha, a Dragon, who, along with Al, was sealed by Hartmut to hide that fact. Zephiel later appears at the final battle with Roy. This battle is slightly different, as Zephiel starts with the Eckesachs and Sword of Seals, which he uses to seal Al again. Al then partially escapes and distracts Zephiel enough for Roy to get the Sword of Seals and kill him.

Several times in the manga, Guinivere remembers Zephiel as a kindhearted boy, and even remembers a scene that took place in The Blazing Blade, when Zephiel gave her a baby fox.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)[]

Zephiel is illustrated in the trading card game with the following cards:

Choose Your Legends Placement History[]

Round Placement Character Version Votes

CYL1 274 CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
808
627 CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
104
CYL2 303
↓29
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
704
↓104
512
↑115
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
231
↑127
CYL3 294
↑9
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
711
↑7
440
↑72
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
236
↑5
CYL4 316
↓22
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
393
↓318
497
↓57
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
99
↓137
CYL5 287
↑29
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
257
↓136
471
↑26
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
33
↓66
CYL6 300
↓13
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
258
473
↓2
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
43
↑10

CYL7 262
↑38
CYL Zephiel Binding Portrait
The Binding Blade
180
↓78
408
↑65
CYL Zephiel Blazing Portrait
The Blazing Blade
24
↓19

Etymology[]

Zephiel is named after Ζέφυρος Zephyros, the Greek god of the west wind and one of the Anemoi, a group of four Greek wind gods each associated with a cardinal direction; his name is commonly rendered as "Zephyr". The "Zephiel" rendering of the name may be invoking the Hebrew suffix גַּ el, "of God", a common component of names of Biblical origin such as "Ariel" and "Gabriel

Trivia[]

  • On the official Japanese website for Nintendo, Zephiel won 29th place out of 80 in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade. The male-female vote ratio is 5:1. The voter comments seem to generally focus on him being a powerful antagonist the player must face and his traumatic backstory.
  • The "Choose Your Legends" event of Fire Emblem Heroes revealed that his Binding Blade incarnation was 274th place, while his Blazing Blade incarnation was 627th place out of 791, with 808 and 104 votes respectively. This makes his latter self the lowest scoring character of the Blazing Blade portion.
  • Like many characters in The Binding Blade, Zephiel seems to be a revisitation of a character from Archanea, in this case, Book 2 Hardin. Both start out as wise and benevolent allies to the protagonist who seem to have a bright future ahead as a ruler, yet turn out to be brutal tyrants because they were unloved (Hardin by his wife, Zephiel by his father), their loved ones even fooling them at one point (Nyna by proposing to Hardin due to Boah's advice and Desmond pretending to reconcile with Zephiel before his murder attempt). Hardin and Zephiel both seem to be the same age (Late 20s or early 30s) when encountered as bosses, are connected to the Nyna Archetype, have the same gold streak in their armor, are in the game's best class, Zephiel even had glowing red eyes in some pictures like corrupted Hardin, and both finally die in a chapter with hordes of Hero reinforcements. Additionally, they both wield Legendary Weapons that at least appear to be Lances and are closely associated with their kingdom (Gradivus, one of house Archanea's Three Regalia and Eckesachs, a blade that can only be wielded by Bern's King)
    • However, there are prominent differences; Even in death, Zephiel was steadfast in his belief that humans would lead themselves to ruin, while Hardin returned to his old self before dying. Hardin has a connection to Marth, the main character of his respective game, while Zephiel's connections are to Eliwood, the father of the main character of his respective game, and Hardin uses Lances while Zephiel prefers swords (Although Eckesachs does appear to be a Gradivus-like lance before mechanically morphing into a sword)
  • Zephiel is shown in Hasha no Tsurugi [1] as having the Anima affinity, unlike the game, where he shows no affinity.
  • In Hasha no Tsurugi, the special attack that Zephiel uses together with his sword Eckesachs is named Vassilios Dione (王者の劫渦バシリオス・ディーネー), with the name of the attack meaning "Kingdom of the Goddess"; and the kanji of the name meaning the "Coercing Vortex of the King".
  • Zephiel shares his English voice actor in Fire Emblem Heroes, Jamieson Price, with Hawkeye, Virion, and Nemesis.
  • In Fire Emblem Heroes, Zephiel's Grand Hero Battle map in based on a portion of The Binding Blade Chapter 22.
  • Zephiel's artwork in The Binding Blade and Heroes depict him in the King Class, while his artwork in The Blazing Blade depicts his younger self in the Prince Class.

Gallery[]

See main article: Zephiel/Gallery.
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