Ishtar

"I mean no disrespect... but do understand I take great pride in being a warlock of Freege. With the murder of my parents and my brother... it pains me to sit here doing nothing. Please allow me to fight!"

- Ishtar to Yurius in the Epilouge

Ishtar is the princess of Freege. She is the daughter of Blume and Hilda, the granddaughter of Reptor, and the younger sister of Ishtore. Her aunts are Tailto and Ethnia and her cousins are Arthur, Teeny, Amid, and Linda.

Through her father, Ishtar is a descendant of Tordo, one of the Twelve Crusaders, and has major Tordo holy blood, allowing her to use Tordo’s holy weapon, the Thor Hammer. Because of Ishtar’s immense power, she is called the Goddess of Thunder. From her mother’s side, she is a descendent of another crusader, Fala.

Ishtar is the lover of Prince Yurius, and she seems to be the only person he truly cares about. Yurius goes as far as making Ishtar get rid of her personal guard since childhood, Reinhardt, because he suspects Reinhardt has feelings for Ishtar. Ishtar is very loyal to Yurius, except when it comes to his child hunt propaganda.

Ishtar is of the Camus Archetype. Despite being an enemy, she appears to be kind and compassionate. Even though her mother, Hilda, constantly abused Teeny and Linda, Ishtar was nice to them and became one of their dearest friends. Even the villagers, who despise Blume and Hilda, admit Ishtar is a decent person. On top of that, Felipe, Emperor Alvis’s former attendant, informs Celice that Ishtar actually helped in the escape of the children who had been kidnapped from their families in order to be sacrificed to the Earth Dragon Loptous.

Despite her kind heart, Ishtar fights against Celice and the Liberation Army. Her love for Yurius and her loyalty to her family prevent her from switching to their side even when Teeny begs her to. Ishtar makes her last stand in Barhara, fighting for her love and her family’s honor, and perishes on the battlefield.

Appearance
Ishtar appears to be a young woman in her late teens. She has long, silvery hair, which is common among Freege’s nobility, and she keeps it tied back in a ponytail, similar to her aunt, Tailto. She is usually shown wearing dark-colored robes.

Personality
Ishtar has a rather complex personality. She is a major antagonist in the game, but unlike most of the other enemies, she doesn’t seem to be ruthless and cruel. Unlike her mother, she is kind to her cousins, Teeny and Linda. She also speaks out against the hunting and sacrificing of children. When her protests are not heeded, she herself coordinated an escape plan for the children and kept the soldiers away from the monastery they were staying in. She is described as “a very caring individual.”

Ishtar’s weakness is her love for Yurius even after he becomes possessed by Loptous and her pride in being a member of the Freege household. When Yurius asks her to play a game with him, in which each will try to beat the other in killing a member of the Liberation, Ishtar doesn’t refuse because of her love for him. And when the Liberation Army kills her family, her pride forces her to go out and face them in battle instead of sitting around doing nothing.

Abilities
Ishtar is so powerful, that even before she received the Thor Hammer, she was called the Goddess of Thunder. When the Liberation Army approaches her, Yuria goes into a trance and warns Celice to not fight Ishtar because she possesses extreme power. Ishtar can use staves and fire, thunder, wind, and light magic.

Biography
Ishtar was the second and last child, as well as the only daughter, born to Lord Blume of Freege, and his wife, a noblewoman from Velthomer, Hilda. When she was a child, the knight Reinhardt was assigned to be her personal guard, and he later becomes the first in command under her to the Gelpritter Squad, a group of elite Mage Knights who were Ishtar’s personal guards. Ishtar becomes an immensely powerful sage, so much so that people begin referring to her as the Goddess of Thunder.

Ishtar’s mother Hilda was a cruel and ruthless woman. Although she seemed to care about her husband and children, she despised her sisters-in-law, Tailto and Ethnia, and abused them until they died from depression. Hilda then began abusing their daughters, Teeny and Linda. Despite her mother’s treatment towards her cousins, Ishtar was considerate towards them, and the cousins became very close.

Sometime before the start of the Liberation Wars, Ishtar and the Imperial Prince Yurius fell in love with each other, much to Hilda’s delight, who wanted Ishtar and Yurius to marry for her own personal gain. After Yurius was possessed by the dark lord, Loptous, he turned against his mother, father, and twin sister and tried to kill them without any hesitation or regret. However, he still loved Ishtar, and this made Ishtar the only person he felt affection towards in his possessed state. Despite what he had become, Ishtar would remain loyal to Yurius for the rest of her life. However, when he began hunting down and sacrificing children to the Dark Lord, Ishtar tried to convince him to stop. When he tells her not to worry about them, she began secretly helping the children to escape.

Soon afterwards, while the couple was in Conote, Yurius caught a high fever. Ishtar became very worried about him and journeyed to Lenster Castle, where she asked the bishop Cyas to return to Conote with her and cure Yurius. After he became well again, Yurius began noticing that Reinhardt, who had accompanied Ishtar to Lenster, seemed to have developed feelings for her. Yurius became extremely jealous and enraged, and tells Ishtar to get rid of Reinhardt or he’ll kill him the next time he sees him. Ishtar reluctantly agrees to get rid of him, but begs Yurius not to kill him. Ishtar and Yurius then traveled together to Miletos, where Hilda was currently residing.

Around this time, Ishtar’s older brother and only sibling, Ishtore, and his lover, Liza, were killed by the Liberation Army, whom Teeny (or Linda) later join. Shocked and saddened by his son’s death and his niece’s change of sides, an alarmed Blume begged Ishtar to protect him, saying she’s the only one he has left. Ishtar is taken aback by how agitated her father is and agrees to do as he tells her. She asks for the Thor Hammer, the legendary weapon of the Freegis, which Blume reluctantly hands it over to her.

Despite her great strength and the power of the Thor Hammer, Ishtar is defeated by the Liberation Army. Before she dies, Yurius teleports to her side and takes her to Chronos Castle, which Hilda controls and where Ishtar will be safe. However, Ishtar’s defeat leaves Blume with no one to protect him, and he is soon also killed by the Liberation Army.

Yurius tells Ishtar to send the children to be sacrificed to his castle and break down the will of the people. After he leaves, Hilda appears and tells Ishtar that she is the person most deserving to be Yurius’s wife and must try to get Yurius to marry her. She then tells Ishtar to go to Miletos Castle and get the children ready to be sent to the capital.

In Miletos, Emperor Alvis, who is Yurius’s father, appears and tells Ishtar to free the children. Then Yurius himself appears, informs Alvis that Ishtar serves only him, and asks his father to leave the castle. He then tells Ishtar that the Liberation Army has arrived on their doorstep and proposes they play a game to see who can be the first to kill one of its members. Ishtar readily agrees.

After either of them kills someone or is defeated, they both leave the battlefield together and travel to the capital of Grandbell, Barhara. Eventually, Hilda too is killed at the hands of the Liberation Army. Hilda’s dying words are for Ishtar to avenge her. With her death, all of Ishtar’s immediate family members have been killed, and she bears a life-long grudge against the Liberation Army because of their deaths.

After she hears of her mother’s death, Ishtar requests permission from Yurius to lead the Weissen Litter in battle. Yurius is reluctant to let her go on the battlefield and asks if she is trying to elude him. Ishtar replies that she loves him, but she can’t sit there and do nothing while the people who murdered are family are before her. Yurius allows her to go, and she takes the Falcon Knight sisters, Meng, Bleg, and Maybell, with her to help defeat her enemies. However, the sisters are soonowerpowered and killed. Ishtar herself then begins to fight the Liberation Army. Even if Teeny pleads that she doesn’t want to fight Ishtar, remembering her kindness towards her, Ishtar refuses to stop fighting, fueled on by her anger over her parents’ and brother’s deaths.

Eventually, the Liberation Army is finally able to defeat the Goddess of Thunder. With her last breath, Ishtar calls out Yurius’s name, then dies.

Aftermath
After defeating Ishtar, the liberation army marched on to Barhara and defeated Yurius as well. With the end of his tyrannical rule, the continent of Jugdral once again becomes prosperous and peaceful under the reign of Celice.

In-Game
Ishtar appears to fight against you three different times, in Chapters 8, 10, and the Epilogue, and she is very powerful all three times you face her.

- In the first two encounters, Faval with the Ichaival should be able to defeat her in one shot.

- In the final encounter, it's best to have your Holsety user defeat her, or you could have Sety with 28 magic or more and a Magic Ring silence her with the Silence Staff.

Chapter 8
|Sage |Major Tordo |22 |42 |5 |22 |24 |29 |12 |10 |19 |6 |Continue Ambush |Fire - B Thunder - * Wind - B Light - B Staff - B |Thor Hammer


 * Leadership Stars: 1
 * Gold: 5000

Chapter 10
|Sage |Major Tordo |27 |50 |5 |28 |24 |30 |13 |10 |26 |6 |Continue Ambush |Fire - B Thunder - * Wind - B Light - B Staff - B |Thor Hammer Barrier Ring Life Ring


 * Leadership Stars: 0
 * Gold: 5000

Final Chapter
|Sage |Major Tordo |30 |70 |6 |30 |27 |30 |15 |18 |27 |6 |Continue Ambush |Fire - B Thunder - * Wind - B Light - B Staff - B |Thor Hammer Barrier Ring


 * Leadership Stars: 5
 * Gold: 5000

Death/Defeat Quotes
"Ahh... Lord Yurius..."

- Defeat quote in Chapter 8

"Eh? Why...?"

- Defeat quote in Chapter 10

"My Lord Yurius...I..."

- Death quote in the Final Chapter

Archetype
Ishtar is of the Camus Archetype. Camus was knight in a previous game who was honorable and kind, as well as extremely loyal to his country. When his country is being attacked, even though he knows the attackers are fighting for a virtuous cause and he even has friends amongst them, his loyalty stops him from abandoning his country and joining its attackers. He instead ends up fighting against his friends.

Ishtar, similarly, is very loyal to Yurius and her family. Even though Teeny and Linda, whom she deeply cares about, are in the Liberation Army, her loyalty blinds her and she takes up arms against them.

Etymology
Ishtar was the name of the Assyrian and Babylonian goddess of fertility, love, and war. She had many lovers, but because of her love for them, most of them met with misfortune in some way. For example, she had loved the god Tammuz, and this love led to his death.

It makes sense for Ishtar to be named after the goddess of love and war because of her love for Yurius and her prowess on the battlefield. It should also be taken into account that Ishtar is called a goddess by the other people in the game. However, the role of the deity Ishtar and her lovers seem to be reversed in the game because it is Yurius’s love for her that leads to her downfall instead of the other way around.

Oddity/Error

 * Ishtar should have minor Fala blood from Hilda as well as her major Tordo blood. Ishtore also did not inherit minor Fala blood.