Katarina

"Avatar... I want to be of use too. That feeling is mine and mine alone. Not just some order! But my own truest desire... My treasure."

- Katarina to the Avatar in Chapter 20x

Katarina (カタリナ Katarina), real name Reese (アイネ Aine, Eine in the Japanese version), is one of the exclusive characters in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem. She joins the 7th Platoon of the Altean Knights along with the Avatar, Roderick, Luke, and Ryan; and aspires to be a tactician.

Background
Not much of Katarina's past is known, only that she was an orphan from the town of Knorda, where she was treated like an animal, beaten just for fun, and that her real name is Reese. Eventually, she was found and taken in by Eremiya, who raised her to be an assassin. She was partnered with her friend Clarisse and Legion when going on missions. Reese always tried to act as an older sister towards Clarisse, though she was usually ordered around by her.

After the War of Shadows, Reese and her companions were assigned to wipe out the remnants of the Soothsires and save the townspeople that were captured. While Clarisse showed no interest in helping the others, Reese desired to help the people and stop their suffering. During their mission, they encountered Athena, who wished to save the children from the Soothsires, and worked together, wiping out the remains of the once dangerous bandits.

Upon completing their mission, Reese and Clarisse saw a painting that seemed to be familiar to Clarisse, and thus she told Reese to go on ahead. As Reese saved the children, she encountered a girl that thanked her, who said that her name was Katarina, a name that Reese said was hers as well. As the children escaped, Reese met up with Clarisse again, who warned Reese not to tell anyone about what happened with her.

Assassination Mission
Before the War of Heroes began, Reese had been assigned a mission: to assassinate Prince Marth. To do this, Reese had to pose undercover as Katarina and join the Altean Knights, so that she could drug all the guards inside the castle, while simultaneously act as a guide for her accomplices. She encountered a fresh recruit when beginning her mission, Avatar. Claiming that she cannot fight and merely desired to be a tactician, Katarina had Avatar partner with her so they could get through their training. Katarina also recommended to Luke and Roderick that Avatar would serve as their commander for the 7th Platoon, even hastily accepting Luke's challenge against Avatar in Avatar's place.

When they were on march duty and got lost, they tried to find their way back to the castle. However, Katarina pointed them towards a village that was under attack by bandits. They worked together, along with the mage Merric that had arrived soon enough, and killed all the bandits, though Avatar noted to themselves that one of the bandits, a masked person, was not among them. They might or might not have told Katarina this depending on the player's choices, though the matter is waved off in the end. Katarina and Avatar were then summoned by Prince Marth himself, who praised them for helping save the lives of many people by subjugating the bandits, though Katarina thought they would be reprimanded for disobeying orders. Prince Marth found their progress to be very well and wants to appoint them as Royal Guards, though does not want their answer immediately and advises them to think about it.

Later on, as they prepared for their next test, Luke was contemplating a hair change to attract girls as no girls wished to date him, though Katarina remarked the other girls saw Luke as small-fry, and that their other comrades were preferred, with Ryan being a "cutie", Roderick being "Ohmigosh, so cool!", and some even lusting after Avatar (regardless of gender). She also points out that Luke needed to work on his attitude more than anything, before noting that Jagen wanted them all to gather for their next training.

As their next training began, it was noted by Jagen that it had been 3 months since their training began and only 20 recruits have made it through, shocking Katarina. Before their training began, Katarina spoke with Avatar and mentioned using some special connections of hers to acquire stronger weapons and also getting Cecil, a recruit from the 9th Platoon that had her comrades desert her, to join them

After completing the training, Katarina spoke to Avatar and expressed how she desired to be a part of Marth's Royal Guard, and believed that together with Avatar, they would be an unstoppable force, and how imagining a future like that made her happy, and asked if Avatar felt that way, to which Katarina can express joy that Avatar shares her desire, or disappointment when Avatar admits they had not thought much on it at the moment.

As their final test approached, Avatar later encountered Katarina crying and believed that she had been bullied by someone, though Katarina insisted that that was not it, and said that she would tell them later after they finished their test. Passing their final test, Katarina noted how happy everyone was and how she was happy as well. That night, Katarina and Avatar spoke together, as neither could sleep due to having a lot on their mind. Katarina spoke a bit about her past and noted that Avatar and her were alike in that they were doing what they did for the sake of another, and noted that it would not be long now, before deciding that they should sleep.

Katarina left, but came back quickly and gave Avatar a headband from Cecil, who wanted Avatar to try it as it would make them be more "psyched". Katarina shows excitement if Avatar accepts to try the headband, and disappointment if they do not.

The next day, Katarina notes how long its been since they met and spoke in nostalgia as she vowed to never forget the memories they shared, something that Avatar noted to be odd. As they are knighted by Marth, a soldier arrives to inform them that enemies are attacking the castle, the numbers being unknown. While Jagen goes to investigate and neutralize the threat, the newly appointed knights remain behind. While Luke wishes to go help and Roderick assures that there are plenty of guards inside the castle, Katarina finally removes her cover and says that all the guards had been drugged, and while there was no danger to their lives, the drugs would prevent the guards from moving for a few days.

Horrified at what they were hearing, Katarina soon tells them that her name was not Katarina, but Reese, and she was sent to assassinate Marth. She then went to open the doors to allow her accomplices to enter the room, where Legion also showed up to watch Reese's mission, revealing that the attack on the village back then was nothing but a ploy to win Marth's trust. As Katarina leads her accomplices to attack Marth's group, she is stopped by her former comrades from the 7th Platoon and faces Avatar in combat, revealing that everything was a lie and she had deceived them, before telling them to forgive her. Despite the plan and the help she received, Reese is defeated and forced to retreat with Legion.

Reese's betrayal had left a deep wound to her comrades, specifically Avatar and Cecil, who vowed to bring her back one day, believing that the Katarina they knew was still there.

War of Heroes
Reese would not resurface for some time until after the War of Heroes began, where Katarina and Clarisse are tasked with hunting down and killing all of Marth's former comrades from the War of Shadows, the first target being a cornered Wrys. However, they are discovered by Marth and the Altean army, whom Reese predicted would arrive as she knew that they would never abandon a comrade.

As Reese asked if Clarisse was up to the task, Clarisse waved her off, as she thought of the Altean army as weak trash. This made Reese warn her to not underestimate them, or she will get herself killed. She spoke of how she served as Avatar's tactician, but hardly acted as one, not giving the advice a tactician should give, and even without her, Avatar and their comrades were strong. Clarisse was flabbergasted at how Reese spoke of them, thinking that Reese had grown attached to her former comrades and warned Reese to stay out of her way, making Reese leave.

When Wrys is saved and Clarisse's mission a failure, Reese reminded her that she had given Clarisse a fair warning about the Altean army being strong, which annoyed Clarisse and made her question if Reese was on the Altean's side and thinking of betraying Eremiya, though Reese refutes this, and knows that for Eremiya's sake, she must defeat the Avatar.

Later on during the war, Katarina went to Eremiya and reported that the original Legion was killed by the Altean army when Legion attempted to kill Horace. Noting that with Legion now dead, the Altean army has become too strong and that they should consider refraining from pursuing them any further, but Eremiya refuses to, as it was an order from Gharnef. Despite Reese insisting that they should pull back, Clarisse mocks her for being afraid and insists that she will take care of the Altean army. Moving on from that, Reese questions what to do with the remaining Legion clones, and to her horror, Eremiya orders the rest to be killed, as they are now useless now that the original Legion was dead.

Trying in a vain attempt to sway Eremiya from killing the clones, Clarisse once more mocks her, calling her useless and offering to do it in her stead, to which Eremiya agrees and praises Clarisse for being a good girl, mocking Reese along the way as a failure.

As Clarisse later went to ambush Marth, she was later on defeated and left on the verge of death. Reese had found her and quickly brought her to the hideout, much to Clarisse's shock. When Clarisse questioned this, Reese simply said that Clarisse was her little sister, even though they were both orphans. Reese further stated that she did not mind if Clarisse hated her, because the bond that she shared with Clarisse was precious to her and if she lost it, she would be all alone again. As she went to Eremiya to request to aid Clarisse's injuries, Reese is instead ordered to abandon Clarisse for failing her mission. Horrified and unable to help her little sister as Clarisse accepts her death, Reese was asked by the dying Clarisse to stay by her side, and finally called her sister with her dying breath.

Heartbroken at losing her beloved sister, Reese is mocked by Eremiya, who said that Reese was never wanted in the world, and her life was trash, meant only to be used for Eremiya's sake. She was then ordered to kill the Altean army and her former friends, the only remaining people that Reese cared about, much to Katarina's despair.

Following her orders like the puppet she was, she confronted Marth and her former comrades, despite how neither Marth nor the Avatar wanted to fight her, but she merely replied that she had no choice. Facing the Avatar in battle, she expressed how she once had a dream, a happy dream where she and the Avatar became Royal Guards, saved many people, were thanked many times, and simply being together with the Avatar, before saying that it was nonsense and there was nowhere for her to go back to, and resumed her battle with the Avatar. However, the Avatar was not fighting her any longer, despite insisting that they were enemies and had to fight, and if they didn't, she would kill them.

However, the Avatar finally spoke to Reese by calling her Katarina, who questioned why Avatar refused to fight her, to which Avatar responds that Katarina was their friend. Avatar reminded Katarina of the days they trained together as Altean Knights with Luke, Roderick, Ryan, and Cecil, and reminded her of the words she spoke to them. Reese began to remember her days when she was Katarina, meeting Avatar, their training together, and her desire to become a Royal Knight. Reese tried to insist that they were all lies, nothing but deception, and the truth was that she did not care about any of them. However, Avatar refuted this by asking why she was crying if she did not care. Unable to contain her emotions, she tried to deny her tears, but Avatar pushed further, insisting that she can still come back to them. Reese stated that it was too late and that she had committed too many unforgivable sins, to which Avatar responded by saying that she can start atoning for them, and that no matter what happens, they would stand by her side. Telling her to return to them once more, Reese finally broke down and joined Avatar, once more resuming her fake name as Katarina, the name she had when she had felt true joy.

After the battle ended, she stood before Marth, and pleaded death for the many unforgivable crimes she had committed, but much to her surprise, Marth would do no such thing. Despite insisting that she should atone for her sins with her death, Marth refuted that that was simply running away from her sins, not atoning for them. Marth states that if she truly regrets what she had done, then she should atone with her life, not death. However, Katarina was unsure on how to even start atoning, to which Marth stated that for once, Katarina would have to think for herself, not be ordered by others, which would be his punishment to her.

After Hardin's defeat, Marth and Avatar received word on Eremiya's whereabouts, and intended on facing her to end things once and for all. However, Katarina had been listening in and told them of a hidden passageway to where Eremiya was. While she was not sure if this would be a way to atone for her sins, she would try to help in any way she can.

As she led the Altean army to Eremiya's hideout, she spoke of how the children like herself were raised in darkness and would have no will of their own, but assured Avatar that she was not like them anymore, and that she now had a will of her own, which she would treasure. As she assists the Altean army, she confronts the woman that had raised her. Though it crushed her heart to have to face the woman that had saved her, and that she would much rather die, her desire to be useful to Avatar made her stand her ground.

When Gharnef and the resurrected Medeus was slain, and the War of Heroes had come to an end, Katarina would try her very best to serve Marth in Altea, as a way of atoning for her past sins.

Personality
Katarina seems to be a kind and caring person, even when she was serving as an assassin for Eremiya. Her very reason for serving Eremiya is not only due to how she was raised to be a puppet for Eremiya, but also out of gratitude for saving her from her life as an orphan, where she was beaten and treated as if she were an animal. Even after betraying Eremiya in the end, having to confront her in battle was incredibly hard for Katarina, as she admitted that she would much rather die.

Though a professional raised from childhood to kill, she seems to undermine her own plans and courses of actions, presumably out of coming to care for her targets. This gives off the impression being of an incompetent assassin, though as demonstrated by the determination and emotional strength she develops after being recruited, she does indeed seem to be capable in her own right.

Unlike her fellow assassins, Katarina displays no signs of bloodlust like Legion, or arrogance like Clarisse and Eremiya. She seems to instead show a more pure desire to help others, as when they were tasked to wipe out the remnants of the Soothsires, she did it because it would save the captives and not cause anymore harm to befall the innocent. Katarina also seems to lack confidence in herself and has little to no self esteem, often displaying nervousness and being very concerned about atoning for her actions.

Katarina is particularly caring for her comrades, as they are all children that she grew up with. She is especially caring towards Clarisse, calling herself Clarisse's big sister, even though Clarisse seems to mistreat her. She was also horrified at the thought of having to kill Roro's clones, even though she knew that they were useless now that the original Legion had been killed. Much to her despair, she was also forced to let Clarisse die when she was defeated in battle later on, and all she could do was be with her little sister as she perished in her arms.

While she spent time undercover in Altea for her mission, her meeting with Avatar, Luke, Roderick, Ryan, and Cecil had a profound effect on her, as she had come to truly care for all of them, especially Avatar and Cecil. She even cried privately at one point prior to her betrayal at realizing that soon she would have to soon fight them as enemies. She was also nostalgic during their ceremony when they were being knighted, and expressed at how she would always cherish her memories with her comrades, right before she would ultimately betray and abandon them. In her conversation with Cecil after her recruitment, she admitted that her laughter and peace, along with her friendship with Cecil were real, and she was determined to prove to her friend that it was the truth, even exerting herself by hiding an injury she sustained in a fight out of worry that it would remove her from further battles.

Katarina displays a guilt complex when she confronts her former comrades for the final time, she knew that she had nowhere left to go to and seemed prepared to die in the fight, hinted by her death quote. After joining Avatar, she pleads to Marth to execute her to atone for her sins, believing it to be the only way, but was instead forced to try and learn how to atone with her life, and for the first time had to think on her own, rather than be ordered. After the war, she works tirelessly for Marth to try and atone for her sins.

It is strongly hinted that Katarina has feelings for the Avatar. In her third conversation with the male Avatar, she practices confessing her feelings out of earshot from him. She expresses that she does not mind if she was not his first or if he prefers other girls, and her desire just to talk to him and be around him, as just those makes her feel joy. Cecil will also note that Katarina seems rather transfixed on a certain person, implied to be the Avatar, with this conversation taking place regardless of the Avatar's gender.

Recruitment

 * Chapter 16x: Enemy, talk with the Avatar three times.

Base Stats
Boss=


 * -|Playable=

Growth Rates

 * 80%
 * 0%
 * 40%
 * 70%
 * 75%
 * 70%
 * 20%
 * 40%
 * }

Katarina/Base Conversations

 * The Avatar - Magic Bond obtained after the A-level conversation
 * Cecil - Speed Bond obtained after the A-level conversation

Support Bonus
Supports
 * The Avatar
 * Cecil

Supported by
 * The Avatar
 * Marth
 * Cecil

Overall
As a boss, Katarina will not have much of a problem making short work of any unit with low resistance with Elfire, so precaution must be taken when fighting her. However, when joining as a Sage, she has low base stats, notably very low Luck and Resistance. However, should you choose to fight with her, you can take advantage of her growth rates for HP, Skill, Speed and Luck, all of which are impressive for a pre-promoted unit. Her best asset as a Magic User is her high defense, and relatively high growth rate for it, which will make her sturdier than some other choices.

Awakening

 * -|SpotPass=

*Enemy only, joins unequipped
 * -|DLC=

Overall
As a SpotPass character, Katarina does not stand out from other SpotPass characters. However, Katarina's wide berth of classes will still make her a decent unit like many of the other SpotPass characters. Katarina, like other SpotPass characters, lacks the ability to support with any unit, but this can be minimized if she learns Dual Support+ from the Valkyrie class. If chosen, Katarina will need to spend time in a few classes to find her maximum potential. If you plan on playing Katarina as a solo offensive unit, Katarina should consider learning Armsthrift and Sol to keep her health up and preserve weapons. Additionally, it is recommended that she classes into a Dark Flier to learn Galeforce. Katarina's best final class would either be Sage or Sorcerer due to her high magic, but any class could work well with enough grinding. Spending some time in the Mercenary class to acquire Armsthrift also helps to preserve Forged tomes and Legendary Tomes.

The DLC version of Katarina is a powerful unit as she can utilize all possible Rally skills as she has the male Rally Strength skill learned. Katarina is one of three possible units to have this skill alongside a Morgan and/or her sister who inherited Rally Strength from their Avatar father and DLC Palla. She also has the Shadowgift skill, allowing her to utilize Dark Magic like Aversa's Night and Nosferatu even when not in the Dark Mage/Sorcerer classes. Overall, DLC Katarina serves an interesting skillset niche that is only possible on an Aversa mothered Morgan.

Description

 * Wayward One
 * Reserved and harboring a dark secret, this trainee tactician depends on others. Appears in Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

Base Stats
Rarity:

New Mystery of the Emblem
"Avatar, that's a wonderful name. We're here for the same reason, then. My name is Katarina. I came because I wish to serve Prince Marth."

- Katarina introducing herself to Avatar.

"I... I'd like be a Royal Guard, if you're in with me.. Together, we'd be an unstoppable team... When I imagine a future like that, I feel very happy. ...Um, what about you, Avatar? Do you, perhaps, feel the same as I...?"

- Katarina talking to Avatar.

"Avatar. I... had a dream. It was short... but it was a very happy dream. Avatar, you and I... Both of us became Royal Guards... We saved many people, received many thanks... And then, the two of us... Avatar... I... I'm sorry... I'm talking nonsense. There's no going back for me. ...Let us resume our battle, Avatar."

- Avatar talking to Katarina the first time in Chapter 16x.

"Thank... you... ... Now I... won't have to hurt Avatar... anymore... Avatar... I'm... glad I could meet you... During those days of training... you showed me a beautiful, happy dream... Hey, Avatar... Today's training... is about to begin... Look, there's Prince Marth and the others... Don't... wait for me... ... ..."

- Katarina's Death Quote in Chapter 16x.

Awakening
"Please, call me Katarina."

- Katarina's Parley quote.

"So, we stand as enemies..."

- Katarina's SpotPass pre-battle quote.

"Ah! Really? I’ll do my best..."

- Katarina's SpotPass recruitment quote.

"Y-you need another tactician?"

- Katarina's DLC recruitment quote.

Heroes

 * Katarina/Heroes Quotes

New Mystery of the Emblem

 * Atoning Strategist
 * "Katarina tirelessly served Marth in Altea, as if to atone for her past sins."

Etymology
Katarina is Germanic variant of the name Katherine/Catherine which comes from the Greek name Aikaterine. The etymology is debated: it could derive from the earlier Greek name Hekaterine, which came from hekateros "each of the two"; it could derive from the name of the goddess Hecate; it could be related to Greek aikia "torture"; or it could be from a Coptic name meaning "my consecration of your name". In the early Christian era it became associated with Greek katharos "pure", and the Latin spelling was changed from Katerina to Katharina to reflect this. The name was borne by a semi-legendary 4th-century saint and martyr, Saint Catherine, from Alexandria who was tortured on a spiked wheel

Trivia

 * Katarina's Fire Emblem Awakening artwork depicts her wielding Eliwood's Blade and a yellow Tome.
 * Although the Tome's cover cannot be seen, it is possible that it is Katarina's Bolt.
 * Her artwork in Heroes depicts her wielding an Arcthunder tome.
 * Despite the fact that Marth and the others learn that Katarina's true name is Reese, they continue to refer to her as Katarina, as do the text box labels that appear when she speaks. In fact, the only characters that ever refer to her as Reese are her fellow assassins (Clarisse, Legion, and Eremiya).
 * Stranger still, the text box refers to her as Katarina before she ever takes up the alias.
 * In a conversation with the Avatar, Katarina states the she and Clarisse have the same birthdays. Though none of them know their real birthday, Katarina states that Clarisse "allowed" her to have the same birthday after forcing her to get a gift.
 * Along with Palla, Katarina is the only Einherjar that can learn all Rally skills in Fire Emblem Awakening.
 * Katarina is the only unit in the Fire Emblem series (so far) that has two weapons named after her: Katarina's Book and Katarina's Bolt.
 * According to a developer interview, Katarina was originally going to disguise herself as a boy.