Emblem of Zofia
- Not related or to be confused with Sophia, a character from Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade.
Zofia (ソフィア王国 Sofia Ōkoku, Kingdom of Sofia in the Japanese version) is one of the two kingdoms of the continent of Valentia. Its people worship the Earth Mother, Mila, who blesses the lands and allows crops to grow. The Temple of Mila was built towards the north of the kingdom.
History
Founded on the year 189 of the Valentian Calendar, the Kingdom of Zofia was built on the southern lands ruled by Mila. During the reign of Lima II in the Year 366, trouble arose within Zofia’s political circle, and by request of the king, Mycen sortied Rigelian troops into Zofia. This helped Lima II immensely and stability returned to the government, prasing Mycen and requesting him to remain in Zofia and eventually being appointed as a Zofian general.
In the Year 382, King Lima III perished, with his eldest son, Lima IV, being crowned. However, he inherited the Zofian throne at a young age, and lacked proper custodians to guide him away from his wayward path, causing him to arrogantly flex his power and begin a reign of tyranny, leading to strong enmity towards him. When an assassination plot against Lima IV was exposed, the perpetrators–a branch of the royal family–were executed along with their kin. Desaix, who claimed to have prevented the plot, received Lima IV’s recognition and started to participate in governmental affairs. Mycen made multiple attempts to reason with Lima IV, but he was stopped by Desaix at every turn. Slowly, Mycen was distanced from the royal family and Zofia Castle. Of course, the general populace was not pleased by these events, but with its bountifulness made then uncaring as long as they could live in peace, which caused Desaix’s political rise to go unchallenged.
With the king now as Desaix’s string puppet, anything could be whispered to him and it would lead to immediate imprisonment or even execution. To further consolidate his power, Desaix had conspired several suspicious deaths within the Zofian royal family, then framed Mycen for his crimes, banishing him as a result, and although some Zofian officers stood in his defense, because Mycen originally hailed from the Rigel Empire, his departure was never scrutinised.
With the corruption within the Kingdom deepened further, since after Liprica’s death, Lima IV’s philandering habits only got worse, eventually leading to the royal villa the remaining children, Anthiese and Conrad lived in being set ablaze. Thanks to Mycen who came rushing to her aid, Anthiese escaped, while it was later discovered that Conrad fled to the Lost Treescape in Rigel. Unfortunately, all the villa’s other residents were slain by assassins hired by Desaix.
In the year 398, after Zofia rejected Rigel's request for assistance following a famine and drought, both nations entered all-out war. For over a year, the inexperienced Zofian army was repeatedly defeated by the overwhelming Rigelian forces and Rigel steadily crept into Zofian territory. Desaix managed to contact the upper echelon of the Rigelian Army and negotiated a cease-fire in exchange for a large compensatory sum of gold, Desaix to be appointed as Zofia’s chancellor and autonomy be retained. In truth, he had sold Zofia to Rigel. Collecting wealth and food from the citizens in the name of compensating the empire, heavy taxes were imposed across the nation, with those who opposed their tyranny or were suspected of doing so were immediately caught and executed. The Rigelian Army remained garrisoned in Northern Zofia and tensions continued to grow.
A year after, Desaix triggered a coup d'etat and the Zofian royal family including Lima IV were killed, with the missing Anthiese as the only survivor. Meanwhile, away from the capital, villages and the like became playgrounds for Desaix’s thieving soldiers, giving rise to desperation and poverty, while ruffians gathered and spread in influence. In addition having lost Mila’s divine protection, strange happenings persisted throughout Zofia, such as the expansion of the arid desert and snowfall even in warm places.
The Deliverance was established soon after by the Zofian knights and nobility in opposition to Desaix, with Clive as its leader. However, it struggled to gain a footing on the battlefield, leading to a tug-of-war battle between the Deliverance, who were determined to guard Zofia Castle, and Desaix’s overwhelming siege forces, backed by various powerful houses. Suffering a heavy defeat at the hands of Desaix and the Rigel forces, the Deliverance would be pushed back into a corner, but would rally behind the new leader Alm and route the Rigel army, as the news of Lima IV’s death, which had been kept hidden, began to spread among the populace. They would go on to slay Desaix in his own lands and push onward into Rigel itself. Following the resulting war with Rigel, Alm would wed Celica, the missing Anthiese, and unite the two kingdoms into the Kingdom of Valentia which worshipped both Mila and Duma.
Notable Locations
- Zofia Castle
- Ram Village
- Priory
- Novis
- Novis Cemetery
- Novis Greatport
- Sea Shrine
- Zofia Harbor
- Desaix's Fortress
- Temple of Mila
- Gorge of Valentia
Known Zofians
Royalty
- Zofia I - Founder and first ruler of Zofia.
- Zofia II - The second ruler of Zofia.
- Lima I - The third ruler of Zofia.
- Lima II - The fourth ruler of Zofia.
- Lima III - The fifth ruler of Zofia.
- Lima IV - The cruel and hedonistic king of Zofia who was killed by Desaix.
- Liprica - Late love of Lima IV and former priestess of Mila.
- Anthiese - The exiled princess of Zofia.
- Conrad - The child of Lima IV and Anthiese's half-brother.
Military
Deliverance
- Clive - An idealistic noble cavalier who's focused on the good of the kingdom. Founder and original leader of the Deliverance, and the brother of Clair.
- Clair - An outspoken pegasus knight and Clive's younger sister.
- Mathilda - Founder of the Deliverance and a legendary knight of Zofia.
- Fernand - Co-founder of the Deliverance and Clive's second-in-command who betrayed them to Rigel.
- Python - Guard of the Deliverance camp headquarters. Works directly under Clive.
- Forsyth - Clive's lieutenant in the Deliverance.
- Lukas - A young noble soldier who is calm and considerate.
Ram Village
- Gray - An easygoing and loyal Villager who's worldly and competent.
- Tobin - A honest Villager who likes to earn his own living.
- Kliff - A Villager who's eager to see the world.
- Faye - A devoted Villager that is eager to follow Alm. (Exclusive to Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia).
Clergy
- Silque - A Cleric who serves Mila and is captured by Thieves.
- Nomah - The wise Sage of Mila's faith who watched over Celica at the Priory, and trained Boey, Mae and Genny.
- Genny - A soft-spoken Cleric that is loyal to Celica.
- Boey - A Mage of calm demeanor from Novis who grew up dirt-poor, but is devoted to Celica's protection.
- Mae - A cheerful and energetic Mage from Novis who has a tendency to get carried away.
Others
- Luthier - A reclusive mage seeking to master sorcery.
- Delthea - A naturally talented mage who hates training and hard work.
- Atlas - A villager seeking to rescue his captured siblings.
- Jesse - A Mercenary who enjoys life without restrictions.
- Deen - A Myrmidon born from a long line of soldiers.
- Leon - A handsome but narcissistic archer who adores his friend Valbar.
Etymology
Zofia is the Polish variant of the name Sophia, which means "wisdom" in Greek.