Tharja

"And I have a bit of a rebellious streak, I'm afraid. A...dark side."

- Tharja's recruitment quote with Chrom in Chapter 9

Tharja (サーリャ, Sārya, Sallya in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Awakening.

She is voiced by Akutsu Kana in the Japanese version and by Stephanie Sheh in the English version.

Profile
Tharja is a Dark Mage who hails from Plegia, though she does not care about the conflict between Plegia and Ylisse. After joining Chrom's army, she falls in love with the Avatar, regardless of the Avatar's gender. Her support with Nowi reveals that she has the power to read fortunes using a Manakete's claw, and can divine the location of anyone or anything using one. She is well versed with curses, ranging from a constant runny nose curse to a cooling hex to bring down fevers. She has the darkest thoughts in the army. She is the mother of Noire and a potential mother of Morgan. Her birthday is April 2nd.

Tharja is among the forces trying to stop Chrom and his army from rescuing Emmeryn in Chapter 9 at Plegia Castle. However, Tharja questions why she has to fight for such a pointless reason. If Chrom speaks to Tharja, Chrom will ask her to join his cause since that is what his sister would do. Tharja, who is reluctant to fight in the first place, joins afterwards.

After the war, if Tharja is still single, Tharja's obsession with the Avatar leads her to a life of casting curses and hexes to reunite with them.

Supports
In all of Tharja's supports with the Avatar, the Avatar is uneasy with her following them everywhere and is disturbed by her strange knowledge of every action they do from how many books they read the previous days to how many times they tossed and turned during their sleep. After slipping a comment about them appreciating a normal level of concern from a "normal" person, Tharja works on learning how to act like a "normal" person, completely flipping her personality around until they find it too weird for her to act that way and request that she returns to her normal ways. Tharja later stumbles upon the Avatar with a fever and quickly tries to help them. Tharja is worried that they might suspect that their illness is her fault but they reassure her that they would never think that she would do such a thing. Tharja can realize her dream of winning the male Avatar's affections if they reach an S-Support, where he asks her to stay with him forever as his wife.

Tharja hails from a family of shamans and sorcerers and claims to have started learning the dark arts since her umbilical cord was cut according to her support with her daughter, Noire. Occasionally, she demonstrates that curses can be utilized for purposes other than inflicting pain, such as curing colds and even implied to be able to cure Lon'qu's gynophobia if he wished. It is also implied in her support with Libra that her curses can remove or replace memories in people's minds. Her support with Gregor reveals that she can communicate with the dead by casting a curse using her body as a medium. However, there is one drawback to her curses revealed in this same support: she cannot curse anyone if she does not know their real name. In her support with Henry, both can reflect curses back at the caster, although Henry outdoes her in this regard.

Personality
Tharja comes off as a stalker due to her unhealthy obsession with the Avatar, regardless of their gender. She even values the Avatar's life more than her own and usually acts quite amorously around them. She is willing to do whatever it takes to win their affections, even if it means changing her whole personality to suit their taste. Around others though, she is a rather cold individual, usually threatening to curse them if they stand in the way of her plans of gaining the Avatar's affections. Despite Tharja's grim personality around others, she is capable of loving another person, though her love for the Avatar still takes a higher priority in the end. She is also sensitive about others to an extent, even vaguely telling Nowi, that her parents are dead, while passing it off that they are "far away". It is revealed that she is very self-conscious in her conversation with Cordelia in Xenologue 17. She is also shown to feel guilty for not being able to save her fellow soldiers that died in a battle mentioned in her A rank support with Vaike.

Recruitment
Chapter 9: Enemy, talk with Chrom.

Base Stats

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Lunatic=

Growth Rates

 * 90%
 * 30%
 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 45%
 * 30%
 * }

Max Stat Modifers

 * 0
 * +3
 * -1
 * +1
 * -3
 * +1
 * 0
 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Frederick
 * Virion
 * Stahl
 * Vaike
 * Kellam
 * Donnel
 * Lon'qu
 * Ricken
 * Gaius
 * Gregor
 * Libra
 * Henry

Other Supports
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Nowi
 * Noire
 * Morgan (Only if Tharja is her mother)

Class Sets

 * Dark Mage - Promotes to Sorcerer or Dark Knight
 * Knight - Promotes to Great Knight or General
 * Archer - Promotes to Sniper or Bow Knight
 * Bride - Requires Wedding Bouquet

Base Class
Tharja's growths may be a little strange compared to the 3 mage characters present before her recruitment, but as a Dark Mage, Tharja performs her role nicely. Although the Avatar, Miriel, and Ricken may already be at a higher level, Tharja is able to take physical hits better than Miriel, she is stronger and faster than Ricken, and does not have the varied growths that the Avatar has. Her Skill is indeed quite low, though her skills in Hex and Anathema help compensate for that by lowering the opponents' Avoid and Critical Avoid. Though Tharja may need some catching up to do by the time she is recruited, she has the gimmick of using Dark Tomes. She has Nosferatu upon her recruitment, which can be a good relief weapon in case she takes a beating. 4 chapters after her recruitment, Tharja will be able to wield as many as she can once Carrion Isle begins to sell them.

Tharja can perform well as both a Sorcerer and a Dark Knight. As a Sorcerer, she is slightly stronger magic wise but unfortunately has low skill. Luckily her attacking skill from this class, Vengeance, has a high activation rate, though Henry will generally activate it more often than her due to his higher skill rating. Tharja can learn Tomebreaker which will boost her hit and dodge rate against tome units, allowing her to possibly be used as an anti-mage character. Tharja works well as a Dark Knight and between Tharja and Henry, there is very little difference aside from her stronger magic but lower skill. Despite the loss of Dark Magic, the Dark Knight gives Tharja the Slow Burn skill to help with her low skill and luck, as well as Lifetaker to prolong her survivability from the double-edged sword of the Vengeance skill.

Reclassing
Tharja's two reclassing options are Archer and Knight classes. Though Tharja will struggle in these classes after first joining them, owing to her inability to utilize her strong magic offense, grinding her strength through Energy Drops and leveling up can actually turn her into a decent Longbow Sniper, due to her access to Prescience, Hit Rate +20 and Anathema to patch her mediocre skill stat, as well as strong damaging skills like Vengeance and Luna. Furthermore, Bowfaire is her only weapon-boosting skill, in turn making Sniper perhaps the only physical class worth ending Tharja in.

While reclassing to one of the Knight-family classes makes her rather lackluster, reducing her strengths of high magic and speed, the Great Knight class holds useful skills for her in the form of Luna (a less risky, more reliable alternative to Vengeance) and Dual Guard+, which makes a good filler skill whenever she's paired up. As a General, she's less than effective, though Pavise can be picked up to patch her defense as a Sorcerer, and also compliments Vengeance quite well, especially if she opts not to run Lifetaker so that Vengeance's damage output is increased. Combining skills like Dual Guard+, Pavise, Bowbreaker, and Tomebreaker altogether make her very difficult to kill, which in turn makes her Vengeance all the more deadly.

Recruitment

 * Chrom: You there! Are you with the Plegians? You seem reluctant to fight.
 * Tharja: Death comes for all of us eventually. Why invite it early, fighting for a cause I don't believe in?
 * Chrom: So...I should take that as a no, or...
 * Tharja: Let's just say I'm keeping my options open. I mean, long live the king and all, but I'd like to keep living as well. And I have a bit of a rebellious streak, I'm afraid. A...dark side.
 * Chrom: Then perhaps you would rebel now and fight for our cause?
 * Tharja: ...You would trust me? What if this is all just a ploy to plunge a dagger in your back?
 * Chrom: My sister, the exalt - I think she would trust you. And I'm trying to learn from her. Besides, I already need to watch my back, whether you're with us or not.
 * Tharja: Well, that's odd... Usually when I bring up the backstabbing bit the discussion is over. All right, then - consider me your new ally. ...For now.

Event Tiles

 * "What have we here? Maybe I can use it for my hexes." (item)
 * "Ah, finally, a perfect voodoo doll. The Avatar will have eyes only for me..." (exp)
 * "Me, weaving horrible, awful hexes? Oh those were just PRACTICE curses. Honest." (weapon exp)

Asking

 * "Well, lah-dee-dah. Don't you look happy. Trying to make the gloomy woman feel bad?" (happy)
 * "Our foes grow stronger. Why don’t you and I fight together next time?" (team up)
 * "Have I mentioned you've been acting odd lately? Why do you wander off from camp?" (free time)
 * "I've devised a hex to make dreams come true. Tell me your desires and hold still..." (dreams)

Replying

 * "Go away. What do you care how I feel?" (happy)
 * "Oh, I see. You think I'm too weak and puny to fend for myself. Have it your way..." (team up)
 * "What do you think? I hack together hexes and fish for fools to try them on. ...Busy?" (free time)
 * "Dreaming is dull. Who wants to walk around with sparkles in their eyes? Not me." (dreams)

Asking - Avatar

 * "You look happy today, Avatar. Fallen victim to a certain someone's curse?" (happy)
 * "Have I told you that I admire your strength, Avatar? We should team up." (team up)
 * "So, Avatar. How do you fill your spare time? Inquiring minds want to know." (free time)
 * "Avatar, you always study so hard. Do you have some secret goal? A dream?" (dreams)

Replying - Avatar

 * "Maybe I’m simply happy to be around you. Does that thought...scare you?" (happy)
 * "Fight with you? YES! I mean...YES! I won’t let those monsters touch you." (team up)
 * "Me? Oh, I uh...try to divine my own future! ...With you." (free time)
 * "You want to know? You care, don’t you?! I dream that you’ll... Gah! I can’t say it!" (dreams)

Asking - Married

 * "Still in one piece, (name)? If you die before me, you’d better run in the afterlife." (promise)
 * "You look handsomer than usual today, (name). ...The hex worked." (compliment)
 * "I love you, (name). And if you cheat on me, the consequences will be dire." (love)
 * "What’s that you have there, (name)? You can’t hide anything from me." (gift)

Replying - Married

 * "Don’t worry. I’ll be with you always. ...Even if it’s as a vengeful ghost." (promise)
 * "I may have used underhanded means to achieve that effect. Just to let you know. " (compliment)
 * "I feel the same. ...Haven’t we been over this?" (love)
 * "It’s an accessory. Why don’t you put it on? Let everyone know you BELONG to me." (gift)

Asking - Child

 * "Noire/Morgan, can I practice on you? ...I mean, practice WITH you?" (train)
 * "Anything you need, Noire/Morgan? You deserve a reward for being my guinea pig." (gift)
 * "Are you all right, Noire/Morgan? You look pale. That may be my fault..." (concern)
 * "Tell me about the future, Noire/Morgan. ...What? I’m curious." (story)

Replying - Child

 * "Bold words. But don’t say I didn’t warn you if you start barking like a dog." (train)
 * "How about some animal bones? ...And no, it’s not for curses. I’m making a flute." (gift)
 * "I’m always like that. Now stop looking at me like I have the plague." (concern)
 * "Oh, you know—hex this, hex that. I’ve always been a girl with dark tendencies. And since you’re my daughter you should probably learn the trade. ...Or at least sacrifice to advance it. Care to help me test the teethgrinder hex?" (story)

Level Up

 * "I can feel the darkness growing ever stronger..." (6+ stats up)
 * “And this is before I even sharpen my nails.” (4-5 stats up)
 * "Hee hee hee....." (2-3 stats up)
 * "You had better not hold this against me." (0-1 stats up)
 * "My vast powers will win Avatar's gaze!" (0-1 stats up, most stats capped)

Class Change

 * "These new powers give me some wicked ideas..."

Armory

 * "A gift? If you try to sell it back later, I may hurt you." (buying)
 * "This was your plan all along... wasn't it..." (selling)
 * "No promises that I won't kill you with it later." (forging)

Alone

 * "Any who would harm Avatar will burn...Heh heh, oh yes indeed..." (misc)
 * "I feel ickier than usual today... Splendid! Oh, the curses I could hex up now..." (surge)

Greetings - Normal

 * "Avatar! My hex worked! Uh, I mean... Fancy meeting you here." (morning)
 * "Avatar! The hex worked! Um, I mean... How nice to see you! (midday)
 * "Avatar! The hex worked! Uh, I mean... What a coincidence!" (evening)
 * "Avatar! The hex worked! Um, I mean... What are the odds?" (night)
 * "Oh! Happy birthday, Avatar!" (Avatar's birthday)

Greetings - Married

 * "Hello, Avatar. You look ravishing today." (morning)
 * "Hello, Avatar. Where can I stalk you today?" (midday)
 * "Hello, Avatar. I do love the night..." (evening)
 * "Hello, Avatar. You can’t go to sleep yet!" (night)
 * "Oh! Happy birthday, Avatar!" (birthday)

Roster
''A mopey Plegian dark mage with a jealous streak. She usually keeps to herself and chants disturbing hexes but openly stalks (the Avatar), in whom she has an unhealthy interest. The one with the darkest thoughts. Born on April 2nd.''

Help Description
A dour Plegian with a jealous streak and a knack for curses.

Confession
"Ahh… I can’t believe you made me love you! Course, if you back out… I’ll murder you in your sleep."

- Tharja's English Confession

Final Chapter
"Get up, Avatar! No one goes down without my say so..."

- Tharja's final chapter quote.

"Stop grinning, you shameless fools! ...You want to make me smile, too?"

- Tharja's quote after Grima was defeated by Chrom

"Forget saving the world--I just want you. Gods have mercy on anyone who interferes!"

- Tharja reassuring the Avatar for his choice if she is his wife

"He/She had better march back here and try again! I only send people off on my terms! ...Or in a casket."

- Tharja's quote after the Avatar's sacrifice of killing Grima

The Golden Gaffe Pre-Battle
"How dare you steal my toolkit. I would have GIVEN you my gold. But the lock of Avatar's hair in that pouch was...priceless. Return it now, or I will kill you a thousand times over!"

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

EXPonential Growth Pre-Battle
"A bandaged corpse like you would make for an excellent vict - Er, guinea pig. But I suppose Avatar would frown on my letting you live. Oh well. I promise I won't make it hurt. ...Much."

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Infinite Regalia Pre-Battle
"You must be so bored with standing around guarding a pile of treasure. Dead or alive, I couldn't stand the lack of company. No one to torment! If it's any consolation, I can help you kill time. ...Before I kill you, of course."

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Death's Embrace Pre-Battle
"This place reeks of blood and death... What a marvelous place to weave a horrific curse! But... another part of me wants to get far, far away... as fast as I can."

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Five-Anna Firefight Pre-Battle
"It's not my problem if some stupid merchants wandered into a deathtrap. But Avatar has me twisted around his/her little finger... *sigh* If he/she says "Leap over a pit of hot magma," what can I answer but "How high?""

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Roster Rescue Pre-Battle
"Let's make a deal. You tell me what the roster says about Avatar, and I'll let you go. Especially if it's a juicy secret no one else knows... ...No response, huh? Oh dear. Too bad for you..."

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Summer Scramble Pre-Battle
"Why is everyone having so much...ugh, gag me...so much FUN? This "resort" nonsense will only lead to trouble. I must distract myself... You there... Prepare to be cursed in Avatar's name!"

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Hot-Spring Scramble Pre-Battle
"A public bathing area? In the nude?! Has this whole town gone mad? Wait... What if they have? That's it! The steam is hexed to loosen inhibitions! Hee hee... I know exactly who to try it on once this battle is over..."

- Tharja's pre-battle quote.

Dual Support

 * "I guess I'll help..."
 * "Just don't die..."
 * "Yay, danger..."
 * "Oh, joy..."
 * "Get on with it..."
 * "Hmm...Riveting..."
 * "Knock 'em dead..."
 * "Just don't fail..."
 * "What now?"
 * "Win, lose. Whatever..."
 * "I'll save your bones..."

Dual Strike

 * "Take this..."
 * "Still hungry...?"
 * "You're not even trying..."
 * "Do you mind...?"
 * "We're not impressed..."
 * "No one loves you."

Dual Guard

 * "What are you doing...?"
 * "Useless..."

Critical

 * "You're already dead..."
 * "Do you like darkness...?"
 * "Die now...!"
 * *Giggle*

Partner Defeats Enemy

 * "I can handle myself..."
 * "Killing is my job..."
 * "Satisfied...?"

Enemy Defeated

 * "Had enough...?"
 * *Giggle*
 * "You deserved worse..."

Defeated By Enemy

 * "You'll...pay..."

Death/Retreat
"Nngh... Curses! Literally: curses...on you till the end..."

- Tharja's death quote in Chapter 9

"Curses! I can't die HERE in the filth and mud of a battlefield! I'm sorry, Avatar... But I can't help you anymore..."

- Tharja's defeat quote (classic mode)

"Ow, that HURTS! I've gotta pull back...but I won't forget this insult!"

- Tharja's retreat quote (casual mode)

Possible Endings

 * Tharja - Grim Stalker
 * Tharja's jealous obsession with Avatar never subsided, even after her return to Plegia. Anecdotal evidence suggests she devoted most of her effort to hexes and curses that might reunite them.


 * Tharja and the Avatar
 * Many wrote of Avatar's legendary exploits, but accounts of his origins and character varied. Scholars, poets and bards agreed on one thing alone—he loved his wife, Tharja, above all else.


 * Tharja and Frederick
 * As Ylisse's new knight captain, Frederick took charge of keeping the peace and training new recruits. Tharja's rare appearances at the training yard sent terrified recruits screaming into the night.


 * Tharja and Virion
 * Virion returned home to Rosanne where he was labeled a traitor and a coward, or else ignored entirely. But a few well-placed hexes from his wife, Tharja, eventually brought the populace to their senses.


 * Tharja and Stahl
 * Stahl continued his service as an Ylissean knight and led crucial missions across the realm. His scatterbrained gaffes caused Tharja's eyes to roll, but the pair still made a happy life together.


 * Tharja and Vaike
 * Vaike returned to the streets that raised him and was welcomed as a hero and brother to all. Still, he was no match for Tharja, whose frequent curse slinging put her husband in an understandably foul mood.


 * Tharja and Kellam
 * Even after her return to Plegia, Tharja kept an unhealthy obsession with Avatar that led her to vanish for weeks or months at a time. Her husband's name has been lost to history.


 * Tharja and Lon'qu
 * Lon'qu returned to Regna Ferox and served as Basilio's right-hand man. The cold Feroxi winters proved too much for Tharja, who left time and again in search of heat more in line with a Plegian desert.


 * Tharja and Ricken
 * While continuing to study magic, Ricken realized how childish some of his actions had been. Tharja stayed with him and perfected her hexes, and the couple's magical talents soared.


 * Tharja and Gaius
 * Gaius never lost his sweet tooth, though he ultimately returned to less savory enterprises. Meanwhile, his wife, Tharja, set up shop and hexed people for a living. The pair were said to get many odd looks.


 * Tharja and Gregor
 * After the war, Gregor briefly sank into a life of excess, but fear of his wife's hexes led him to resume work as a sellsword. Tharja secretly tagged along and used her talents to keep him safe.


 * Tharja and Libra
 * Many an unfortunate child found joy in the small orphanage Libra and his wife built after the war. The younger tykes were very fond of Tharja who feigned annoyance, but secretly enjoyed the attention.


 * Tharja and Henry
 * Henry settled down with Tharja and turned out to be a surprisingly good father. Their newborn daughter's mood was said to shift violently, perhaps due to having two dark mages as parents.


 * Tharja and Donnel
 * Donnel returned to his tiny village and built a happy life with his mother and his wife, Tharja. The latter never warmed to the villagers, but she was said to smile around her family.

Smash Bros. Series
Tharja does not directly appear in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U. However, one of Lucina's Palette Swaps is based around Tharja's color scheme.

Etymology
Tharja may come from the Indian name Tharaja meaning "star with full glow".

Her Japanese name, Sallya, is a Hebrew name meaning "princess".

Trivia

 * Tharja was the 3rd most popular female character and the most popular parent character (behind the female avatar) in the Japanese Fire Emblem Awakening popularity poll.
 * Tharja shares her English voice actress, Stephanie Sheh, with Kjelle.
 * Tharja also shares her Japanese voice actress, Akutsu Kana, with Cherche.
 * Tharja is the only character to have special Event Tile/Barrack relationship quotes when paired with the Avatar.
 * Tharja's confession scene ends with the a bubble background like most of the cast, however her background is green instead of pink like the others.
 * Tharja has had numerous instances of censorship and change.
 * Her original Japanese roster description "Has nicest body in the army" was changed to "The one with the darkest thoughts." However many other characters received different roster descriptions as well.
 * Tharja's conversation with Nowi in the Harvest Scramble DLC was altered in European versions to talking about her hair rather than her body. The North American version retained the original Japanese conversation.
 * In the Summer Scramble DLC her swimsuit CG was censored in North American versions of the game.
 * In a leak from the ESRB, Super Smash Bros for Nintendo 3DS was supposed to have 686 Trophies and a Tharja Trophy was shown in the leak. However her Trophy is not present in the released game as well as the fact that there are only 685 trophies. She was most likely removed to avoid a "T" rating rather than the E10 the game has.
 * It's implied that the character of Shara in Fates is in fact a reborn Tharja.
 * Shara is an exact duplicate of Tharja physically, save for her outfit and her hair color which can be different depending on parentage.
 * Both are spellcasters with a specialty in curses.
 * Both have a very callous, brutally honest personality.
 * Both fall in love with the Avatar at first sight and are infatuated with them regardless of gender.
 * Both share the same voice actress in the Japanese version.