Shanna


 * Not to be confused with the Light Magic from Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, Thani.

"Yeah. I'm on a pegasus, see? I have a different movement pace than the others, so it's easier to fight on my own..."

- Shanna in a support conversation with Dieck in Binding Blade.

Shanna (シャニー Shanī, Thany in the Japanese version) is a playable character Fire Emblem: Binding Blade; she is the youngest of the three Pegasus sisters. Shanna's sisters Thite and Juno were official Pegasus Knights, while she was just a Pegasus Knight in training then. Shanna joined Dieck's Mercenary crew as part of her training to become a real Pegasus Knight. She used to call Dieck chief but he didn't like that, and she thinks that Lot has a crush on her although Lot only cares about her as a little sister, which makes her call him 'big brother'. In her supports she is also kinder to Lot than to Wade because they ended up fighting in their supports.

She makes a brief cameo appearance in chapters 16 and 17 of the Hasha no Tsurugi manga.

Growth Rates

 * 45%
 * 30%
 * 55%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 10%
 * 25%
 * }

Supports

 * Lot
 * Wade
 * Dieck
 * Thite
 * Juno
 * Zelots
 * Roy

Overall
Shanna is the player's first flying unit and thus is very useful for rescuing others and carrying them around the map. She has very high Skill, Speed, and Luck, but her HP, Defense, and Strength are quite lacking. Combined with her very low Con, her combat can be quite shaky, since she might be unable to deal much damage with Slim or Iron Lances, while using stronger lances may hamper her ability to double and dodge. As such, Shanna serves better as a utility unit than as a fighter. She can still be of use at taking out enemy sword users, and later axe users when she promotes. Her decent resistance makes her a better mage killer than most. Gant's Lance can be useful to her while leveling, due to its good might to weight ratio. Due to her low durability, bow users can often kill her in one hit, even late-game.

Thite is subjectively a better combat unit, especially in Hard Mode due to her stat boosts and more balanced growths. However, Shanna still has advantages of being recruited earlier and at a lower starting level, and having better Avoid. It is not a bad idea to use both, since having two fliers is useful for rescue chains and they can both support each other. Shanna supporting with Roy is also feasible if she rescues him often. This support could give her a much needed boost in attack and critical, though their differing Move hampers the usefulness of this pairing. Supporting with Dieck gives her a nice boost in Defense and critical.

SpotPass
*Enemy only, joins unequipped

Death Quote
"Juno.. Thite... Sorry... I can't go home..."

- Shanna's death quote in Binding Blade.

Possible Endings
After the war, Shanna was knighted and became a full-fledged Pegasus Knight. Throughout her career, she served as lieutenant and squad leader, and she eventually rose to the position of Flightleader of Ilia. Her cheerful personality earned her much admiration and respect from her colleagues.
 * Shanna - Cheerful Knight (朗らかな天馬騎士 Hogarakana tenba kishi)

Shanna gave up the path of the Pegasus Knight and went to Pherae with Roy, where they married. Rebuilding the battered land was a painful process, but her cheerful personality encouraged many people to rise up and help lead Lycia to prosperity again.
 * Shanna and Roy

Etymology

 * Shani is Hebrew for "red".
 * Shanna (often written 'Shana' or 'Shayna') is a Hebrew or Yiddish name meaning "beautiful".

Trivia

 * On the official Japanese website for Nintendo, Shanna won 6th place out of 80 in the character popularity poll for Fire Emblem: Binding Blade. The male-female vote ratio is 2:1. The voter comments seem to mainly focus on her bright, positive, and cheerful personality.