Azura

"I see... You have to be willing to risk a lot to accomplish something major... I suppose you're right. ...My own mother lost her life protecting Nohr. But I don't think she regretted her choice. She died to protect the ones she loved. I've made up my mind as well. I will follow you down the path you've chosen."

- Azura to the Avatar in Chapter 6 (Revelation)

Azura is a main playable character and the deuteragonist in Fire Emblem Fates. She is a princess of Valla and Nohr, but was captured and held prisoner by Hoshido, similar to the Avatar's situation.

Profile
Azura is a gifted songstress and dancer who can perform the song Lost in Thoughts All Alone. This song has great power when used in conjunction with her pendant, allowing her to perform miraculous feats at the cost of some harm to her body. If she achieves an S-Support, she will have a son named Shigure and can potentially be the mother of every other child except male Kana. Her birthday is March 3.

Azura was born in Valla as the daughter of its queen, Arete, and her husband, the king. When her father was killed by Anankos and Valla fell at a later date, Arete and Azura, along with Mikoto and her child, the Avatar, fled from Valla to the world outside the Bottomless Canyon. Azura and Arete ended up in Nohr, where Azura eventually joined the Nohrian royal family as a princess when her mother became Nohr's and King Garon's second queen consort a while after Leo was born.

Some time in her childhood, Azura's mother, Arete, became the second queen of Nohr when the first queen, Katerina died. Much of the Nohrian population disliked Katerina's replacement and began to scorn both Arete and Azura. To make matters worse, the Nohrian family was plagued with infighting and political assassinations of the royal children. One day, her mother mysteriously died herself, leaving Azura alone and distant to the remaining Nohrian siblings due to the hostile environment. One day, King Garon plotted the assassination of the Hoshidan King Sumeragi and, as a result, kidnapped the young Avatar to be raised as his own child. In retaliation, Hoshido's military strategist Yukimura hired Shura and his gang to kidnap Azura in hopes of leveraging a hostage exchange. While successful, Garon had little interest in giving the Avatar back and so Azura remained in Hoshido and was treated as a princess of Hoshido at the request of Queen Mikoto. In a new loving environment, Azura finally felt at home and did not desire to ever return to Nohr. While many held suspicious of her due to her Nohrian connection, she was accepted by the royal siblings and the population.

Prologue
The Avatar first meets Azura when they stumble upon her singing by a lake. There, Azura explains that she was a princess of Nohr that was kidnapped by Hoshido, in a similar situation to that of the Avatar's, and that she was always happy in Hoshido despite technically being a hostage. She also mentions that she would prefer to stay in Hoshido if she had the choice to return to Nohr, as Mikoto is a peaceful ruler while Garon is not. Several days later, Azura joins Hinoka, Takumi, and Sakura in giving the Avatar a tour of Shirasagi on Mikoto's request. During the following celebration of the Avatar's return at the capital square, the Avatar's Ganglari is detonated by a hooded man and kills most of the people attending, including Mikoto. Azura (along with Ryoma and Sakura) bears witness to the Avatar's transformation into a mindless dragon. She then warns the Avatar to avoid the Wyrmslayer-wielding mercenaries and assists them in defeating the Hooded Man. After the battle, Azura uses her powers to revert the Avatar back into a human, even though she is nearly killed by the feral Avatar in the process. The Avatar is confused about their dragon form, thus Azura gives them a Dragonstone, telling them that it will allow them to turn into a dragon again but will also keep their mind intact. She advises them to keep it with them at all costs, or the next time they turn into a dragon again without it, she may be unable to save them. She also mentions that she feels close to and safe with the Avatar despite their short time together. Azura joins the Hoshido Siblings and the Avatar to the Plains of Hoshido, where the Hoshidan and Nohrian armies meet. Depending on the Avatar's choice, Azura's involvement with the story of Fates changes.

Birthright
The Avatar decides to side with the Hoshido siblings and Azura assists them throughout their journey.

During Chapter 10, Azura can be brought onto the battlefield against the Mokushu forces. When Takumi arrives and attempts to kill the Avatar, having her talk to him will allow her to banish the presence controlling him, and results in Takumi joining the Avatar's army.

On the way to search for Ryoma, during Chapter 12, Azura offers to help Kaden repay a local songstress named Layla, who wants to visit her dying grandmother but is unable to because she has to perform for Garon. Zola disguises Azura as Layla with his magic, and she dances in Layla's place, using her water manipulation skills to discomfit Garon from the stage. However, during the performance Zola betrays the group, the spell drops, and the Avatar's forces barely escape from the opera house. Outside, Azura collapses from exhaustion. Alarmed, the Avatar tries to find out what is wrong, but Azura tells them not to worry about her.

In Chapter 14, After the Nohr have been routed, that night, a sleepless Avatar sights Azura singing her song while walking around a lake and decides to watch her from a distance, in case she might faint like in Nestra. When they approaches, Azura seems distant and refuses to talk about the song and its powers. She then briefly collapses in pain again, with purple marks crawling on her. She is forced to reveal to Avatar that the blood they share, combined with her medallion, let her infuse magical effects into the song, at the price of her own suffering. Even then, she assures Avatar she is ready to sing and suffer to see Garon defeated and urges them to not hesitate to have her use the song. The Avatar reluctantly accepts.

During Chapter 20, Iago traps the Hoshidan forces inside Fort Dragonfall by reanimating the dragon, rendering the army's weapons incapable of penetrating the walls of the fort. Azura tells the Avatar that with her powers, she can weaken them. The Avatar refuses to let her because of the consequences that came with it, but allows her to after she convinces them. After the battle, the Hoshidans escape the fortress and Azura sneaks away to hide the consequences of using her power. The Avatar notices that it is getting worse, and she admits that the more powerful the target, the more energy she uses, and that using it too long would kill her. The Avatar asks her not to use it too long again, fearing for her life. Azura complies but tells them that she will need to use it on Garon to end the war.

When the Hoshidans arrive at Windmire in Chapter 22, Shura and his gang attack them after the Avatar refuses to relinquish the Noble Yato to them. Azura remembers a secret passageway her kidnappers (whose identities she didn't know at the time) used to escape the castle.

In Chapter 25, Azura and the Hoshidan army arrive at a staircase landing leading to the throne room, where Iago ambushes them once more. He taunts the Avatar for being weak and careless, telling them that the traitor is still in their midst. He then seizes full control over Takumi's mind, compelling him to take Azura as a hostage. Iago thereafter reveals Takumi to be the "traitor", as thanks to him, he knew of their whereabouts, gleefully forcing the Hoshidan royalty to decide whether or not to kill him or watch Azura die. However, thanks to the Avatar's attempt to reach out to Takumi, he regains temporary control of his senses, allowing Azura to sing Lost in Thoughts All Alone to purify his mind and free him from Iago's curse. Iago tries to stop her, but Sakura manages to halt him long enough for Azura to finish her song. Takumi breaks free and shoots Iago, foiling his plans yet again. Iago fails to kill the Avatar and is then killed by Leo for attempting to beg for his life.

In Chapter 27, the Avatar reaches the throne room of Castle Krakenburg, and finally confronts Garon himself. The Avatar attacks him. However, their Noble Yato is unable to penetrate his armor, and in retaliation, Garon launches several blows at them. Azura attempts to use her powers to weaken him, but Garon anticipates this and grabs her, threatening to kill her unless they listen to his demands. Ryoma negotiates with him, and he responds that it is a wise choice. Garon demands that Hoshido unconditionally surrender so its lands can be incorporated into Nohr, then states that he wishes to kill Ryoma. Garon sends a fireball at Ryoma, wounding him.

Ryoma's Raijinto suddenly reacts to the Avatar's Noble Yato, empowering it into the Blazing Yato. The Avatar decides to test the new Yato on Garon, and he screams in pain, stating that it actually hurt. He threatens them with death and calls for his soldiers to kill the Avatar and the Hoshidans, but they fail and the Hoshidans fight and defeat him.

Garon refuses to give up and transforms into his dragon form. Azura tells the Avatar that she will sing Lost in Thoughts All Alone to weaken him. Knowing that it may kill her, the Avatar tells her not to over do it. After a harsh battle, Garon is defeated for good. Azura collapses and dissolves into water as the result of overusing her necklace's power, with the Avatar bursting into tears. In the ending, they converse with Azura's spirit by the lakeside where they first met her before Azura disappears and Ryoma calls them back.

Conquest
The Avatar decides to return to their adoptive siblings from Nohr and Azura fights them alongside the Hoshidan Siblings. After the end of the battle at the Plains of Hoshido, Azura returns to Hoshido.

The Hoshidan people become suspicious of Azura because of her Nohrian origins. Though Ryoma does his best to quell any doubts of Azura's sincerity, Azura is captured by a faction of Hoshidans. She is later reunited with the Avatar at Fort Dragonfall in Chapter 9, when their party coincidentally travels through the fort on their way to Notre Sagesse. Grateful for being rescued, she joins their party.

When the Avatar's party reaches Cyrkensia, she sings and dances before Garon and Nohrian troops, wearing a different dress and a facial veil to disguise herself. Unlike in Birthright, this dance causes visible pain to Garon. After the dance, Iago notices Garon is in pain and attempts to capture the songstress, who he believes inflicted a curse on him during the dance. After Kumagera appears and attempts to end Garon's life to end the war, Azura surprises the Avatar, who did not see her leave her seat during the performance and like the other Nohrian troops, are unaware that she was the mysterious songstress. Afterwards she travels to Valla, unknowingly followed by the Avatar. After rescuing Gunter and returning to the Bottomless Canyon, she reveals to the Avatar that she was the mysterious songstress. However, the song she performed was not a curse, but a purification ritual meant to drive out the evil force controlling Garon. She reveals that it was too late to save him, and the man known as Garon is no more. She explains that the only way to defeat the evil presence is to get Garon to sit on the Hoshidan throne, meaning they would have to gain Garon's trust, continue the war and conquer Hoshido.

Later, when the Avatar is reunited with Xander, they introduce him to his long-lost sister, Azura. Although Azura initially unsure of how Xander will react to her, Xander explains that he was aware of the hardships she faced as a child in Nohr as the people were upset at Garon marrying her mother after his own mother's death and that he, Camilla, and later Leo were discouraged from interacting with her. He then assures her that he is happy to see her again and is glad that all his siblings are reunited and that they can be a family again.

As in Birthright, Azura overuses the necklace's power against the possessed Takumi instead, knowing full well it would kill her. However, none of the Nohrian siblings and the Avatar knew of this, or know what happened to her after the battle. Unlike in Birthright, Azura's death is not shown in this version, but is confirmed missing by the siblings. The Avatar later encounters her at a lake like when they first met, before she dissolves into the light after telling them to close their eyes. The Avatar thanks her for everything, and Xander calls them back.

Revelation
After the Avatar refuses to join a side, the war breaks out between the two nations. Needing a way to catch the attention of Xander and Ryoma, Azura, the Avatar and their assistant, Felicia/Jakob take down the front commanders of both armies. While successful, both Xander and Ryoma take this action as a betrayal by the two. Branded as traitors by both armies, Azura and the Avatar are forced to flee the battlefield.

Labeled as traitors and needing a safe place to escape, Azura takes the Avatar and Felicia/Jakob to the Bottomless Canyon. Asking the Avatar to trust her, they leap off the bridge into the chasm and an unknown land. Azura then takes the Avatar into a cave and explains that they are in the kingdom of Valla, led by King Anankos, who has been orchestrating the war between Hoshido and Nohr. Azura reveals that she is a Vallite princess and is the daughter of the previous king. Additionally, she reveals that she could not tell anyone in the world above of her origins as doing so causes a curse to activate, dissolving the body of anyone who speaks about Valla. Their discussion ends shortly when a Vallite army comes to attack the party. After dispatching most of them, Azura and the Avatar flee from Valla and decide that the best course of action is to have both the armies of Hoshido and Nohr join forces to take down the real threat to their countries.

Azura explains that her father and Arete's first husband was the former King of the mysterious realm of Valla, who was murdered by the mad dragon Anankos. Arete and a young Azura fled Valla for Nohr, becoming a part of the royal family until Arete's death and Azura's kidnapping.

Azura crowns the Avatar as the new ruler of a newly created Valla after the original Valla is sealed up after Anankos' death, serving as their personal advisor. If Azura has obtained an S-Support with the male Avatar, she will instead become the new queen of Valla.

Epilogue
Regardless of the route chosen in the end, Azura's entire existence is a huge mystery by future scholars and historians. If she is married however, her existence is proven thanks to the records of her marriage to her husband as well as the records of her son, Shigure.

Paralogue
In Paralogue 3, in the ship, Azura is enjoying a view in the middle of the sea. Suddenly, Jakob/Felicia informs her that a young man on a pegasus has just crashed their ship. Knowing who he is, Azura goes to see her son Shigure, as he escaped from his Deeprealm to find her as he is being chased by Vallites. Azura is surprised to see him here, but he tells her that strange warriors had been pursuing him from his Deeprealm. Azura is surprised that they are also targeting him, while Shigure is unaware about his mother's powers and the past. Two large ships broadside theirs in the process. Shigure asks Azura if he may fight so that he may avenge his friends, but Azura refuses to let him and asks him to hide somewhere, much to his disappointment. After the battle, Azura tells him that she went to his Deeprealm to find the village destroyed and its inhabitants killed. Shigure sings Lost in Thoughts All Alone as a requiem for his fallen friends. He then asks her if he may join them, having no where else to go. She initially rejects his offer, but changes her mind so that she may protect him.

Personality
Due to the heavy rejection, bullying, and discrimination she faced in her time as a princess in Nohr, and the distrust from some of the people in Hoshido due to said Nohrian ties, Azura developed a reserved and stoic personality, sprouting from her fear of provocation and rejection, only opening up to people she is close to. This stoicism can sometimes cause her to hurt others' feelings without meaning to, like in her support with Elise, though via bluntness rather than naiveté, as she is not afraid of telling someone what she thinks of them, and actually tries to help those she criticizes overcome a flaw or problem by pointing it out to them.

Said traits were even worse in her youth, as seen with her young variant in Heroes, who believes it is inevitable for her to be mistreated whenever she meets someone, even if said person is amicable, and actively rejects any sort of comfort despite wishing deeply for it as well as wanting to have a sense of belonging. She is well aware of these things, as she does not want this happening to her children, if she is married, and wants them to stay the way they are, rather than have them grow up like her. When she does open up, she proves to have quite the mischievous side, as seen when she teases Sakura by scaring her with ghost stories.

Azura feels guilty that she received the love from the Hoshidan people and the royal siblings that rightfully belonged to the Avatar. This is stated directly to the Avatar as well as through her supports with Hinoka and Ryoma where she tells them that they no longer need to love her now that their rightful sibling has returned to them. However, both have expressed that their familial love for her has always been real and regardless of her true origins, she is still their sister. While she still feels guilty, she becomes much less hard on herself as a result.

When she reunites with her step-siblings, she learns that all of them (except for Elise before she was born) still care about her and have never forgotten about her despite the other Nohrians' mistreatment toward her. In Revelation Chapter 12, Azura appreciates when Camilla referred to her as her adorable sister. In her support with Xander, he allowed her to meet with them regularly and eat with them. In her support with Leo, she is caught by Leo while she's singing, which he calls a lovely melody and Azura attempted to forget her time in Nohr, with Leo having heard stories about how she and her mother were mistreated. In her support with Xander in Warriors, she appreciates when he always acknowledges her as his younger sister and even felt when he lost his own family member as she was kidnapped by the Hoshidans.

Although she can get slightly emotional at times, Azura is kindhearted and surprisingly knowledgeable about many things, some of which others would not know about. This is namely information of Valla, her unique ability to manipulate water through the use of her necklace and a brief history about dragons and degeneration from her mother. Although she is more cynical and world-weary than the Avatar, she shares their conviction in trying to make the world a better place and wanting to be with the Avatar until the very end of the path to see peace. Normally neat and tidy, she has the worst cases of bed hair in the army and is a restless sleeper. She also has a weakness for cute things and enjoys telling scary stories.

Chapter 5 - Mother

 * Inventory when rejoining in Conquest Chapter 9 - Another Trial - Vulnerary, Chest Key
 * Brass Naginata is replaced with a Bronze Lance in Revelation.

Growth Rates

 * 25%
 * 60%
 * 25%
 * 80%
 * 80%
 * 60%
 * 15%
 * 35%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

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

Standard Sets

 * }

Friendship Sets

 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }

Partner Sets

 * -|All Routes=


 * }
 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * -|Conquest/Revelation=

* Azura only has access to the Apothecary, Oni Savage, Spear Fighter, or Wyvern Rider class if she marries an Avatar with that class as his secondary class.
 * }

Special Classes

 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Jakob
 * Kaze
 * Silas

Hoshido

 * Ryoma
 * Takumi
 * Saizo
 * Azama
 * Hinata
 * Subaki
 * Hayato
 * Kaden

Nohr
Other Supports
 * Xander
 * Leo
 * Laslow
 * Niles
 * Odin
 * Arthur
 * Keaton
 * Benny
 * The Avatar (Female)
 * Hinoka
 * Sakura
 * Elise
 * Shigure
 * Azura's second child.

Base Class
Azura is a typical Dancer-like unit in her unique Songstress class, allowing her to reinvigorate one allied unit per turn through her Sing command. Like other units from past games like her, Azura is a fragile unit with low HP, Defense, and Resistance growths, but offset by high Speed, Skill, and Luck growths to help her avoid attacks altogether rather than enduring them. In stark contrast to the Dancers from previous games, Azura has a high Strength growth, and can use this to destroy stray enemy units in a pinch. While Azura is generally better off using her song to give units an additional turn, she can still deal reasonable damage as a secondary attacker while in Attack Stance. However, her low defense and health make her fragile to almost any attack and should avoid facing groups of reasonably strong enemies. Due to the fact that her base class does not promote, she is permanently stuck with 5 movement. This can be remedied by teaching her Movement +1 or give her Boots to increase her movement range.

Normally, past units like her were typically recruited mid-game and were extremely fragile due to a low starting level, usually Level 1, and the fact that the enemy Levels were much higher. Azura instead is received pretty early in the game, allowing her to level up with a lot less risk. Additionally, another advantage is the Songstress class' weapon choice of Lances, allowing Azura to attack and retaliate to distant enemies. However, the Songstress class only has a weapon rank cap of C, which will limit her from using more powerful weapons like the Silver Naginata. Finally, her personal skill Healing Descant gives her a two tile heal zone around her that recovers 10% HP to all units within her zone.

The Songstress class has no promotion, but gains a total of 4 skills in its 40 Level cap. Azura will start off with Luck +4, giving her some respite from enemy critical chances, but will lose usefulness later with better skills from other classes. At level 10, Azura's singing becomes more potent with Inspiring Song which grants a 3 point boost to the Speed, Skill, and Luck of any unit that she sings to. Her final two skills Voice of Peace and Foreign Princess gives her two more zone skills that reduce the damage dealt by enemies by two in her two tile zone from the former and a two damage reduction plus a two damage from received ally attacks from the latter. Overall, Azura plays well as a supportive unit and benefits greatly off of tighter gameplay as she can support other units much more easily. She makes an exceptional unit for Rally usage due to the nature of most of her given class skills and especially her personal skill. However, this skill set requires a lot of external help from other player's StreetPass teams or the player's own subsequent playthroughs.

For balancing reasons, both Einherjar and Replicate versions of songstress Azura are unable to use their singing skills to give allies a second turn.

Secondary Class
Azura's secondary class is the Sky Knight class, which will have a decent head start thanks to her base class' usage of Lances as well as her naturally high speed and skill matching this Class set's naturally high skill and speed stats as well. As such, if looking for an more offensive oriented Azura, her secondary class provides that option. The Sky Knight's first skill, Darting Blow, is good for an offensive Azura as it will increase her double attack chances when she initiates a battle. The second ability Camaraderie syncs well with Azura's zone play by providing herself a 10% HP regen when units are within a two tile radius of her at the start of a turn, though is not nearly as good as Renewal if she can get access to the Shrine Maiden class from a Sakura or marriage with Azama or the Avatar with the Priest as his secondary. As a Falcon Knight, she gains Rally Speed to boost all allies within two tile range of her with a 4 stat boost upon using the Rally Command and Warding Blow to make her an aggressive anti-mage unit. As a Kinshi Knight, she gains Air Superiority to avoid aerial units, but her Amaterasu skill gives her zone play the largest regen boost by giving her turn heals an additional 20% HP, giving her a 30% HP recovery for all allies in her zone each turn in tandem with her personal skill. If planning to have Azura stay as a Songstress by the endgame, it is recommended that she gains the desired skills from whatever classes they belong to as soon and as quickly as possible.

Friendship Class
Azura gains a Friendship Class from Elise and Sakura:


 * Elise — Elise provides her with the Troubadour class. Notably, she will gain Demoiselle first as another zone skill to aid male units in her zone with a nice 2 damage reduction. The Strategist class gives her Inspiration which is basically another Foreign Princess skill, but not limited to "Foreign Army" units. Additionally, Rally Resistance is provided by this class for those seeking a Rally Azura. The Maid class gives her mainly Tomebreaker to avoid Tome/Spell damage and Live to Serve if keeping Azura in this healing class is more what the player desires.
 * Sakura — Sakura gives her the Shrine Maiden class. Her base class provides Miracle which could save her in case she is hit by a deadly blow. Rally Luck can be obtained from this class as well. The Onmyoji class provides Rally Magic and is essentially the only useful skill from the class if planning on keeping Azura as a songstress. As a Priestess, she gains Renewal, which is a much more suitable self-recovery skill than Camaraderie since it heals her 30% and does not require her to be around other allied units to activate it. Countermagic is worth considering given her fragile nature and can dish back magic damage taken if needed, resulting in high counter damage.

Partner Class

 * The Avatar - Azura can access whatever secondary class the Avatar is assigned. However, she can only gain access to Oni Savage, Apothecary, Wyvern Rider and Spear Fighter if the Avatar has these classes as their secondary class. All classes increase her Strength and Defense growths by 10-20% and keeps most of her other stat growths roughly the same, greatly increasing durability if enough time is invested in levelling her up while in these classes as well as having skills that can really make a difference if Azura is to be kept as a Songstress.
 * Spear Fighter is of particular note, as it provides her with Swap, which allows her to retreat behind friendly units when necessary, useful when she is a Songstress, and the class utilizes Lances, which is Azura's main choice of weapon, meaning that you do not have to worry with adjusting to a different weapon type in this class. Seal Defense is also useful so that if an enemy attacks her, another unit can pick of that enemy due to having it's stats reduced. If Azura promotes while she is a Spear Fighter has the options of Spear Master and Basara. The former is no different in terms of growth rates and offers Seal Speed, to help prevent most enemy units from doubling her, and Lancefaire, which adds additonal Strength to her if she is using a Lance. The latter isn't as useful for growth, but it does however offer Rend Heaven, which adds half of the enemy's Strength/Magic to her own when activated, and Quixotic, increasing the enemy's as well as her skill activation rate which is incredibly risky due to Azura's lack in Defense growths. With enough patience (and possibly the Boo Camp DLC) one can have Azura gain all the skills from Spear Fighter, Spear Master and Rend Heaven from Basara so that she may have several offensive option if she is being attacked and can counter said attack with efficiency as well as keeping her Lances handy.
 * Oni Savage trades Azura's Skill and Luck growths for higher Strength, Defense and Magic. Apart from switching Lances for Clubs, this class has its benefits such as it's skills, Seal Resistance and Shove, and more offence orientated stat growths. Oni Chieftain is a good choice for promotion if one plans on doing so, as it offers an additional Magic growth while keeping stat growth mostly the same. Death Blow and Counter are good skills for Azura to have, as the former increases her Critical Hit rate if she starts the battle and the latter is handy for repelling attackers considering Azura's shaky Defense. Blacksmith, on the other hand, gives Azura her Speed, Skill and Luck growths back while keeping some of her offensive growth rates. With Salvage Blow in hand, there is the chance that Azura can collect lots of Iron weaponry due to her high Luck and Lancebreaker can help in avoiding powerful Lances when up against an enemy in possession of one. Overall, the Oni Savage and its promotions offer lots of offensive options for Azura, however her Defense may still be below par at best if she spends time in this class line.
 * Wyvern Rider has a balance in advantages and disadvantages; it has excellent stat growths in everything but Resistance and is weak against bows, yumis, the Tome Excalibur and dragon-slayer weapons, which includes all incarnations of the Falchion, the Wyrmslayer and the Dragon Spirit. However, this class and it's promotions give great stats and skills to those who are patient. The Wyvern Rider's skills are Strength +2, which is a short term remedy for Azura's low Strength, and Lunge, useful for getting out of sticky situations. Malig Knight, one of the Wyvern Rider's promotions, gives a good balance of growth across the board and allows the use of Tomes for Azura to tap into her Magic for offensive purposes. Savage Blow can help in her area skill play as the skill removes 20% of any nearby enemy's max HP. Since most enemies throughout the story are unmounted, Trample can be helpful when against anyone without a mount should the need arise. Wyvern Lord can be a good class for Azura to gain some good Defense options and also utilises Lances as a secondary weapon. Rally Defense can be a good skill for use in Rally play when combined with Rally Luck, Rally Magic, Rally Resistance and Rally Speed if playing on Revelation. Swordbreaker can be a good skill to have when avoiding combat and powerful swords altogether. Despite the weaknesses it comes with, the Wyvern Rider class may give way to a sturdier and stronger version of Azura.
 * Apothecary can be considered a risky reclass option if one decides to have Azura reclass into one. This is due to the Apothecary class using yumi, which do not allow their users to retaliate against adjacent foes. On the other hand, the Apothecary has great stat growths in categories that Azura is lacking in and offers the skills Potent Potion and Quick Salve, skills that make healing items more efficient when equipped. Merchant is a good offense class that Azura can use to weaponise her high Luck and a good class for her to reuse Lances. Profiteer allows Azura to gain Gold Bars using her high Luck and Spendthrift gives her the ability to spend Gold Bars for a one-battle boost that increases damage dealt and decreases damage received by 10, which can be potentially life saving considering Azura's shakey Defense growths. The Mechanist class is a questionable reclass option for Azura, as the class has low stat growths across the board and offers no useful skills for her whatsoever. The class uses yumi and shuriken, leaving Azura better of as a different class because of her low strength - leaving her shurikens with no damage output due to their low Might and her low Strength - and the class's skills, Replicate and Golembane, are mostly useless. This is due to Azura's low defence and the fact that replica Songstresses are incapable of using the Sing command. If a class change to Apothecary is in mind, it should be a temporary one that happens after reaching level 30 or 35 so that she may grab all Merchant skills and stats for future purposes.

Fire Emblem Heroes

 * -|Original=
 * Lady of the Lake
 * An enchanting princess raised in Hoshido who sings in battle to help her allies. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Base Set
Azura's is one of two Dancer units that was released in the initial roster of Heroes. Unlike Olivia, she is not as easily accessible, being restricted to 5 Star exclusive. She has a lower Base Stat Total than other units, but she makes up for it thanks to her invaluable ability to Sing, allowing another unit to take another action during the player's turn. On her own, Azura is decent in combat, with good offensive stats, but nothing that makes her a particularly strong offensive unit. She can handle her own against Red units thanks in part to her Sapphire Lance+, which boosts her damage when attacking them. She has Speed +3 for her Skill A for a semi-decent flat speed increase and Fortify Res for ally support. Azura overall is an exceptional Dancer unit and is well worth utilizing not just in PvP modes, but also for general modes including Chain Challenge, Tempest Trials, and unit training.

Counters
As a Singer, Azura's base stat total is lower than most other units in the game. Even when not taking her Sapphire Lance+ into account, she stands little chance Green units of any sort and most Blue units dispose of her easily if she is left in vulnerable range. She can only stay relatively safe in the range of Red units, but for the most part, Azura would rather avoid conflict as much as possible and leave combat to more capable units.

Skill Inheritance Options
Azura can inherit Harmonic Lance since its bonus damage when her special procs helps to give her the offensive boost she needs. Moonbow is overall her best option as her high Spd helps to activate the skill often and helps to deal with bulky foes. Azura's Skill A can either be Triangle Adept or Fury depending on the player's preferences. Both help to boost her offense, either boosting them against Reds or giving her flat increases in exchange for small HP damage after battle. Like most dancers, Wings of Mercy for her Skill B helps her to teleport across the map to help rescue hurt wayward allies and help them get to safety after combat. Finally, Skill C should remain a supportive skill. The skill can be whatever the player desires, though Hone skills seem to suit her best.


 * -|Performing Arts=
 * Lady of Ballads
 * A mysterious songstress who appeared at the theater in Cyrkensia. Has overwhelming singing abilities. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Base Set
Performing Arts Azura is near identical to her standard variation, having only a one point decrease to her HP and Defense in exchange for a one point increase to her Atk and Spd. As such, Azura remains a powerful dueling Singing unit. However, her biggest perk is her own personal weapon Urðr which allows her refreshing ability to also be a 3 point buff to all stats, except for HP, to any ally she Sings for. It does, however, mean that Azura's supporting comes at its strongest after she sings. Nevertheless, Performing Arts Azura is a powerful ally and worth the effort to obtain, especially if she is paired with a Blade Tome user who appreciates the stat buffs even if it is delayed. Azura comes with Triangle Adept 3 which solidifies herself as a blue unit counter. Drive Resistance is a serviceable support skill to assist allies in combat.

Counters
As a Singer, Performing Arts Azura's base stat total is lower than most other units in the game. Her preference of Axes means that she is vulnerable to the huge Red unit pool and thus needs units on her team to address them. Otherwise, on her own, she is subject to the standard Red and Green unit threats in the game.

Skill Inheritance Options
Performing Arts Azura does not require much inheritance to shine. Her high Speed and Atk complement taking Luna or Moonbow for an special skill. Skill A can be Distant Counter since her Resistance is high enough that she can make usage of it to punish mages. Using Wings of Mercy for her Skill B is the standard for Dancer teleportation strategies. Her good Res does make her a good candidate for Ploy skills in her slot C while taking standard supporting Skill C skills works great.


 * -|Happy New Year!=
 * Celebratory Spirit
 * An enchanting princess raised in Hoshido who has never lost a match of the traditional sport hanetsuki when played at the New Year. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Weapon Refinements

 * Hagoita+

Base Set
New Year Azura is the first Flying Dancer unit and the first playable Pegasus Axe user introduced to Heroes. Her existence opened up a huge amount of new tactics and team compositions thanks in part to the support she can give as a Singer and a Flying unit. Her Speed remains consistent with her other forms and she has respectable Res as well. Sing is still a valuable supportive skill like all of her other forms, but now without the restrictions of terrain. New Year Azura's base weapon is the Hagoita+, boosting the Def/Res of all allies within two spaces of her by 2. She has Earth Dance, boosting the Def of allies she dances to by 5. She also has Hone Fliers giving her flying allies a stat buff when they are adjacent to her at the start of the player turn. While New Year Azura can find a place on any team, Azura shines best as a supportive Flying unit with her base skill set.

Counters
New Year Azura is purely built to support even in her new aerial form. She stands little chance on her own against the numerous Reds and strong Green units. Even some properly built bulky Blues can counter her effectively. Finally, as a Flying unit, Archers easily shoot her down with little effort.

Skill Inheritance Options
New Year Azura should either take Moonbow or Iceberg for damage as either benefits off of her stat make up. Skill A can be either Fury, Triangle Adept, or Swift Sparrow depending on the player's preference on how they wish for her to be offensively. Skill B has several options either taking the standard Wings of Mercy like most Dancer units on general team compositions or take Flier Formation for flying teams. Skill C is best left with Hone Fliers for flying oriented teams, but she can run Guidance and Flier Guidance if the player wishes, though the former also can be used as her Seal as well, so utilizing that in Skill C is more if the player wishes to use other seals instead.


 * -|Adrift=
 * Young Songstress
 * The Daughter of Arete, queen of Nohr. She is treated badly by the denizens of the castle, and her heart is touched by darkness. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Stats
Rarity:

Base Set
Young Azura is the first Tempest Trial dancer and is thus the easiest version of Azura to acquire. She still retains her ability to Sing for allies making her a valuable support ally and is also a Green Tome user with great Atk, making her a powerful offensive ally despite her refreshing unit status. However, ultimately Young Azura is hindered by her low Base stats as is case for refreshing units, her low bulk leaves her vulnerable even to neutral match ups and is thus either best used as a utility or as a clean up unit.

Her personal tome Book of Shadows inflicts -4 to all enemy stats if she is adjacent to an ally when initiating combat, giving her great debuffing potential on top of her decent damage output. This tome effect aligns with Spd/Res Bond, pushing her Spd to base 36 when adjacent to an ally. Finally, she has Torrent Dance, boosting the Res of an ally she sings to by 5.

Counters
Being weak in terms of both of her bulk, Young Azura is easily taken down by anyone who can either initiate on her or counter her if she attacks. The wide host of units that can counter her is wide save for maybe some blue units. She should avoid combat at all costs and only as a last resort.

Skill Inheritance Options
Young Azura can take the standard Dancer set up of inheriting Moonbow for her special, Fury for its stat increase, Wings of Mercy to teleport to injured allies, and a wide variety of support skills for Skill C. However, she can maintain her Spd/Res Bond rather than replace it with Fury to sync with her personal weapon or choose another Bond skill if desired.


 * -|Legendary Heroes=
 * Vallite Songstress
 * Daughter of Arete and the former king of Valla. Gripped by an unkind fate, she strives to lead both Hoshido and Nohr to the truth. Appears in Fire Emblem Fates.

Base Set
Legendary Azura is the first refreshing Legendary Hero and is underwhelming in terms of stats when compared to other Legendary Heroes with her only notable stat being her speed, but this is expected of a refresher unit. What separates Legendary Azura from all other Refresher units is her Sing ability which has been upgraded to Gray Waves. Not only can she renew an ally, but if that ally is an Infantry or Flying unit, they gain one additional movement range, extending it to three spaces. While useful, it can be awkward as she herself does not have any means to catch up if she uses it, but the additional range is more of a benefit than anything. Her Legendary Weapon Prayer Wheel takes the highest visible stat boost on an ally she sings for and applies it to all of their stats, thus if an ally received a Hone Atk 4 buff, all of their stats receive the +7 bonus rather than their Atk alone, thus potentially having the highest buffs of all units available.

Legendary Azura introduced B Duel Flying, increasing her Arena scoring by 26 points, which allows her to score higher than her BST suggests. Aerobatics allows her to reposition herself behind an ally near her when needing to refresh. Finally Atk Tactic provides a 6+ Atk boost to allies near her, so long as she is on a mixed team and fulfills the requirements.

While Legendary Azura is yet another dancer, she is both a Flying Dancer and has a powerful effect from her unique Sing and Legendary Weapon, thus separating herself from the others.

Counters
Legendary Azura on her own is very weak defensively and most common offensive units who can either dispatch her allies or target her quickly can counter her easily. Her flying weaknesses also leaves her vulnerable to Bows as well.

Skill Inheritance Options
Legendary Azura can take the standard refresher set by inheriting Moonbow for damage, Fury for stat boosts, Wings of Mercy to teleport to any ally if they are critically injured, and some supportive skill that has a visible buff so she can maximize her usage of Prayer Wheel. If playing her on a Flying team, Hone Fliers is great while a mixed team can maintain either Atk Tactic so long as the requirements are met or any Hone skill to bring out Prayer Wheel's effect.

Supports

 * Corrin
 * Ryoma
 * Xander
 * Chrom
 * Marth
 * Olivia
 * Tharja

Fates

 * Azura/Fates Quotes

Heroes

 * Azura/Heroes Quotes

Warriors

 * Azura/Warriors Quotes

Possible Endings
Azura - Lady of the Lake (泉の歌姫 Izumi no Utahime lit. Songstress of the Spring)
 * There are no official records or stories of Azura from after the war. She was such a mysterious figure that later generations wondered if she truly existed, or if she was merely a spirit in human form.


 * Azura and the Avatar (Birthright/Conquest)
 * Avatar was hailed as a hero, working alongside his spouse to spread peace worldwide. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and the Avatar (Revelation)
 * The two spent the rest of their lives together, Avatar ruling as a wise King of Valla. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Arthur
 * Arthur returned to his true calling, justice. Scholars believe his luck improved slightly after the war. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Azama
 * Azama decided to use his talents to inspire and heal the people of Hoshido—rather than taunt them. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Benny
 * Benny was assigned to train new soldiers but soon retired to live in the forest with his animal friends. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Hayato
 * After the war, Hayato traveled the world before replacing Fuga as chief of the Wind Tribe. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Hinata
 * Hinata's passion for the blade did not end with the war. He practiced morning, noon, and night. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Jakob
 * Jakob served as a butler for the rest of his life, but his true love was reserved for his wife alone. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Kaden
 * Despite marriage, Kaden continued to travel, turning favors. Later, he served as chief of his village. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Kaze
 * While no official records of Kaze survive, he appears in many rumors and tales of heroic exploits. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Keaton
 * Keaton returned to his homeland. He frequently visited old friends and got lost on the way home. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Laslow
 * Laslow vanished after the war, but he inspired generations of dancers and rallied the spirits of many. Few records of Azura and her husband survive. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Leo
 * Leo sacrificed much for Nohr, leading the effort to spread King Xander's radical new policies. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Niles
 * Niles continued to take care of Lord Leo's dirty work while helping reform Nohr's criminal population. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Odin
 * There are no official records of Odin from after the war, but much was written about (and by) him. Few records of Azura and her husband survive. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Ryoma
 * Ryoma was crowned King of Hoshido, and his rule led to an era of unprecedented prosperity. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Saizo
 * Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Silas
 * Silas served loyally as a knight of Nohr. He was beloved by trainee knights for his great patience. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Subaki
 * Subaki was appointed chief of the pegasus knights and served with a perfect record. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Takumi
 * Takumi grew into his position as a leader and prince. He was a crucial part of Hoshido's recovery. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.


 * Azura and Xander
 * As King of Nohr, Xander laid the foundation for a new era of peace and prosperity for the kingdom. There are few records of Azura beyond her marriage. She remains a historical mystery.

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

Etymology
Azura comes from the word azure, a shade of blue.

Aqua, her name in the Japanese version, is the Latin word for water. It is also a greenish-blue color.

Trivia

 * Azura has two different voice actresses in Japanese: her normal voice actress is Lynn while her singing voice is provided by Renka. This has been seen in previous Fire Emblem games when other characters had to sing (like Ashunera and Sephiran in Radiant Dawn and possibly Micaiah).
 * Despite Azura being considered the deuteragonist, the development team actually considers her to be the main protagonist just as much as they do the Avatar. In the West, conversely, the Avatar is instead mainly considered to be the protagonist due to them being meant to be the visual reflection of the player, resulting in the level of control and customization for them to be much higher.
 * Azura's official artwork and portraits depict her wielding the Blessed Lance.
 * The Blessed Lance is also used as her personal weapon in Warriors.
 * Azura placed 5th most popular female character in the official character popularity poll held on the game's official site.
 * Azura placed in the top ten of the Famitsu Popularity Poll at 8th place, and 1st place in the top ten married poll as well.
 * Azura came in 8th for females in the Fire Emblem Heroes Choose Your Legends popularity poll. She had 14,198 total votes.
 * Azura's birthday, March 3, falls under the sign Pisces and evokes the element of water. Under the Sidereal zodiac, her date of birth corresponds to Aquarius or "the Water Bearer". It is also the same day as Hinamatsuri or Girls' Day.
 * Azura is the only character whose supports with the Avatar change depending on the path chosen. This also changes what her confession quotes are as well.
 * Azura draws many parallels to Lady Nimue in Arthurian legends. Both are considered key women in their respective stories, are responsible for giving the protagonists key weapons (a Dragonstone and Excalibur respectively), and both have the epitaph of "Lady of the Lake."
 * In the Heirs of Fate DLC, her portrait is altered to where she is not wearing her pendant, while Shigure's is also changed to where he instead is wearing it.
 * Azura has several unique distinction in Fates:
 * She is the only playable character other than the Avatar that is required to be used in more than one Chapter, being required for The Black Pillar and Surprise Duet.
 * Azura is the only potential mother who will always be the mother of two children as all of her potential husbands have children of their own.
 * Azura is the only royal member who does not have any retainers.
 * Azura (Happy New Year!) is the winner of the 10th Voting Gauntlet (Winter Festival vs. New Year's) and the 19th Voting Gauntlet (New Year's Showdown) in Fire Emblem Heroes, thus making her one of two Characters who have won multiple Voting Gauntlets, a trait she shares with Tharja.
 * Azura (Happy New Year!) is the first Alt to win multiple Voting Gauntlets.