Alm

"Of course, Celica thinks I should take a more compassionate approach to enemies... But really, it's a battlefield! How do you compassionately stab someone? It may sound barbaric, but that's just how I feel. If you hurt me, I hurt you back...tenfold."

- Alm

Alm (アルム Arumu, Arum in the Japanese version) is one of the two protagonists from Fire Emblem Gaiden and its remake, Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia. He is 17 years old in Echoes.

He appears as DLC in Fire Emblem Awakening, where his map introduces the Dread Fighter class.

He is voiced by Natsuki Hanae in the Japanese version.

Profile
Alm is a childhood friend of Celica and was raised by Mycen in the village of Ram in Zofia. Mycen trained Alm extensively, teaching him both battle tactics and even battlefield medicine. He joins and eventually leads the resistance against the rebelling forces of Desaix. After routing Dozah to his fortress, Alm reclaims Zofia Castle and reunites with Mycen and eventually Celica. The two go on their separate journeys and Alm's forces visit the Forest Village, where the mage Luthier asks him to save his sister Delthea. Alm slays Desaix and captures his fortress, freeing the Zofian knight Mathilda. At the floodgate Alm and his army confront and slay Tatra, freeing Delthea from his mind control. The floodgate opens after the corresponding floodgate at the Temple of Mila is opened first.

Alm then leads the counterattack on Rigel. After capturing a fortress belonging to the sorcerer Nuibaba, he finds the saint Tatiana who explains that Nuibaba took her prisoner in order to make her lover, Zeke, fight. Upon seeing that Tatiana is safe, Zeke cooperates with Alm's army to defeat the corrupt Jerowm. At first Zeke refuses to join Alm's army due to his loyalty to King Rudolf, but changes his mind upon seeing a cross shaped mark on his right arm. He explains that Rudolf told him that the mark would belong to Valentia's savior and that he must follow that person. Eventually, Alm confronts Rudolf in battle, although Rudolf refuses to attack him. Rudolf is defeated, but before he dies he reveals that Alm is his son, and that his real name is Alpine Alm Rudolf, and also requests that he claims the Falchion and slays the dark god Duma.

At Rigel Castle, Mycen explains that Rudolf was the one who entrusted Alm to his care and that he had to make himself the "destroyer" in order to instigate the appearance of the true heroes who would save mankind from the destruction that would come of the negative consequences of Duma and Mila's deep involvement in mankind. Alm then goes to confront Duma and joins with Celica's army, who were set up to be sacrificed to Duma by Juda. Eventually he defeats Duma with the Falchion and is entrusted to govern the land justly by Duma before he returns to slumber in the shadows. After the war he marries Celica and becomes the Exalted King Alm the First of the united Kingdom of Valentia.

Awakening
Alm's legacy as the King of Valentia would endure for a century before the Schism. It was at this event, many of the kingdoms in the Archanea Series were reestablished. The Kingdom of Valentia was eventually changed into the Valm Empire, named after Alm.

Personality
Like Celica, Alm heavily values justice and has subtly idealistic morals which are often interpreted as recklessness. In contrast to Celica however, he has a more narrow and black-and-white outlook on war, and as a consequence, he traumatically suffers from the revelations after his fight with Emperor Rudolf. As stubborn and hotheaded as he is, he is just as emotional. Alm is especially vulnerable in his aforementioned emotions, such aspect even manages to surface in his Gaiden dialogue. As the game nears its end, Alm develops into a more open-minded person, as he questions his own leadership skills and admits Celica's ideals were in fact, reasonable.

Growth Rates

 * 50%
 * 35%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * 30%
 * 0%
 * }

Overall
As the main Lord character of Gaiden, Alm has very good stats for a Level 1 unit. Though his growths may seem low compared to future games, his growths in Gaiden are considered very strong as Gaiden has brutally low growth rates. He will likely end up with very high HP, Strength and Skill and relatively high Speed and Defense by endgame, so he can be used as a shield or offense type unit as you wish. His lowest growth is Luck, which is merely average.

When he promotes, he gets even more potential as he can use Bows, which are deadly in this game as they have a natural range of 3 that can be increased to a range of 5 with a Bow weapon equipped. The Falchion can only be wielded by Alm in Gaiden and is a necessity to defeat the final boss as he is immune to all damage inflicted on him once he reaches 52 HP (aside from a Nosferatu tome.) Alm should be given as much training as possible as not only is he key for the final boss, but his offensive strength for the army can prove to be very rewarding in the long run.

Alm is easily one of the strongest characters in Gaiden. He has strong base stats, some of the best growths in the game, can equip a huge variety of awesome Swords and Bows, and he is with you from the start of the game. His only real weakness is that he can only Promote once, and his Promotion requires you to find an optional hidden village in the Lost Woods that can be easy to miss.

Base Stats

 * -|SpotPass=

*Enemy only, joins unequipped.
 * -|Enemy (Xenologue 2)=


 * -|DLC (Xenologue 5)=

*Enemy only **After recruitment

Ending
''In ages to come, this is what was passed down: He who sundered the evil chains of the gods And established this thousand-year reign Must never be forgotten: Our Exalted King, Alm the First!''

Death Quote
"Damn!! Just a bit more..."

- Alm's death quote in Gaiden

Death Quote
"Damn, I was so close...I'm sorry Celica."

- –Alm's death quote in Fire Emblem Echoes

Etymology
Alm takes its reference from the alpine pasture of the same name. This is further supported in his full name, Alpine Alm Rudolf.

Alm is ostensibly derived from the Old Norse word "álmr", meaning "elm tree." Alm could also be a reference to giving alms, or an act of charity.

Alm's first name, Alpine, is derived from the Latin word "Alpīnus " which means of pertaining to the Alps, a mountain range in Western Europe.

His last name, Rudolf, is a Germanic name deriving from two stems: Rod or Hrōð, meaning "fame", and olf meaning "wolf."

Trivia

 * As with many characters in Gaiden, Alm's hair color differs in various art assets. It is green on the manual and cover art, yet blue in game. In the manga adaptation of Fire Emblem Gaiden, Alm has green hair as well. In Fire Emblem Awakening, Alm has green hair but the very tips are blue, effectively combining both hair colors. In Shadows of Valentia, his hair is green in both official art and in the game itself.
 * He is one of the few main characters to have a specified last name, the others being Sigurd, Seliph, Leif, Elincia, Sanaki, and Marth in the anime.
 * His Awakening artwork depicts him wielding Alm's Blade.
 * Alm was originally right-handed in Gaiden and all subsequent materials. However, Echoes depicts Alm as left-handed, both in his promotional arts and in-game appearances.
 * Alm was born in the year 590 in the Archanean calendar and year 385 in the Valentian calendar, making him 17 in Gaiden.