Edelgard

"Such a brutal, irrational world we live in. Some believe the Crests, tokens of the Goddess's power, are necessary to maintain order. But they're wrong, Teacher. The Crests are to blame."

- Edelgard speaking with Byleth

Edelgard is a playable character and one of the protagonists in the upcoming Fire Emblem: Three Houses. She possesses a minor Crest of Seiros. Edelgard is 17 at the start of the game.

Early life
Edelgard is the fourth daughter of Emperor Ionius IX, and a princess and heir to the Adrestian Empire, and a student at the Officers Academy in Garreg Mach Monastery. She is also the house leader of the Black Eagles.

Edelgard had a less than ideal childhood. Born in Imperial Year 1162, she grew up witness to the debilitating illnesses of her other siblings.

Among her siblings, Edelgard was the only one born with a Crest. In attempts to produce other Crest bearers, her siblings were forced to endure painful Crest experiments resulting in either their deaths or going mad, leaving Edelgard the only survivor. Edelgard herself was forced to endure such experiments in order to place the Crest of Flames in her body. Though she was able to survive the effects would eventually turn her hair white.

In Imperial Year 1171, at the age of 9, she and her mother, Patricia, were taken by her uncle, Lord Volkhard von Arundel, to the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus during the Insurrection of the Seven. Volkhard was one of the key conspirators against the Edelgard's father, and with his help the Duke of Aegir stripped the emperor of much of his power. Though her mother would go one to marry King Lambert Edelgard would live with her uncle. She would eventually meet and befriend Dimitri he would not learn that she was his step-sister until he was older. Edelgard returned to the Empire three years later, without her mother. These events would forever color her view of Crests, the Church and the Caste system of Fódlan.

Academy phase
In 1180, she arrived at Garreg Mach Monastery to complete her education, and was resolved to reclaim what her father had lost.

Personality
Edelgard has a dignified, high-minded, solemn air about her, and she coolly evaluates her surroundings and those around her before she acts. That is not to say that she doesn't have like letting herself loose or act casually, but she take such great lengths to conceal these aspects that even her colleagues express surprise whenever she does so.

There are few lines Edelgard won't cross to make her ambitions a reality, and is more than willing to use force against those who would try to oppose her. As far back as the beginning of the game, she uses several incidents to try and get an advantage on her plans to unite Fodlan.

Growth Rates

 * 40%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 45%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 35%
 * 35%
 * 60%
 * }

Maximum Stats

 * 81
 * 81
 * 72
 * 61
 * 57
 * 42
 * 61
 * 47
 * 85
 * }

Learnt Magic

 * D
 * Fire
 * Heal
 * D+
 * Nosferatu
 * C
 * Banshee Θ
 * Recover
 * C+
 * B
 * Luna Λ
 * Seraphim
 * B+
 * A
 * Hades Ω
 * A+
 * }
 * Luna Λ
 * Seraphim
 * B+
 * A
 * Hades Ω
 * A+
 * }
 * A
 * Hades Ω
 * A+
 * }
 * A+
 * }
 * }
 * }

Overall
Given her skill levels, Edelgard will have easy access to the Myrmidon class family (Myrmidon, Mercenary, Thief, Swordmaster, Hero, Mortal Savant), the Soldier class family (Armored Knight, Fortress Knight), the Fighter class family (Fighter, Brigand, Warrior), and the Monk class family (Monk, Mage, Warlock), as well as her exclusive Lord class family, (Lord, Armored Lord, Emperor).

Three Houses

 * Edelgard/Quotes

Heroes

 * Edelgard/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings
Edelgard - Flame Emperor
 * As the new Adrestian emperor, Edelgard dedicated her life to reshaping the delicate political structure of Fódlan. With tireless work and great sacrifice, she reformed the class system to ensure a free and independent society for all. In her later years, she entrusted her life's work to a worthy successor before finally vanishing from the public eye.

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Edelgard is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

Etymology
Edelgarde is a female German name meaning Noble Protector.

Hræsvelgr is a figure from Norse mythology who is a giant that takes the form of an eagle.

Trivia

 * Edelgard shares her English voice actress, Tara Platt, with Awakening's Miriel and Flavia.
 * She shares her Japanese voice actress, Ai Kakuma, with Flora from Fates.
 * Edelgard was voiced by Cristina Vee in the original E3 2018 trailer for Three Houses, whom she shares with Tatiana from Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, as well as the Fire Emblem Heroes appearances of Lachesis and Athena.
 * Edelgard's pre-timeskip artwork depicts her wielding a Killer Axe while her post timeskip artwork depicts her wielding Aymr.
 * Aymr bears the Crest of the Beast, which Marianne possesses, but Edelgard does not.
 * Edelgard is the only house leader to not be strong in her kingdom's specialty weapon.
 * She does have a budding talent for Reason magic, however.
 * Edelgard is the only Fire Emblem lord to be confirmed bisexual. Edelgard can be romanced with a female Byleth as well as Manuela