Naga (character)

"But know this: I am no god. I am no creator. I possess not the powers of making or unmaking. And neither does Grima. Neither of us bears the power to destroy the other utterly."

- Naga to Chrom after the Awakening.

Naga (ナーガ, Nāga, alternatively translated Narga in Fire Emblem Treasure), is a recurring character in the Fire Emblem series, specifically the Akaneia and Jugdral Series. Naga is the leader of the Divine Dragons, but due to her sympathy for humanity and great power, is often hailed as a god.

Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi/Mystery of the Emblem/Shadow Dragon
Naga was the leader of the Divine Dragon tribe of Manaketes, protecting mankind from the Earth Dragons by utilizing the powers of the Shield of Seals, which she forged from her own fangs. Naga was one of the first Dragons to take human form to preserve sanity and avoid degeneration. Contrary to popular belief, Naga did not come up with the idea of sealing their powers in Dragonstones and assuming human form. Instead it was the little mentioned Dragon Tribe Elders as explained in Chapter 14 of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake. Naga was a prime proponent of doing this, however. After the Degenerated Earth Dragons were sealed, Naga created the sword Falchion from yet another one of her fangs, and ordered the surviving Earth Dragon prince, Medeus, to guard the seal. Shortly before her death, she placed her newborn daughter, Tiki. She then entrusted fellow Divine Dragon Gotoh with the task of watching over humanity in her place and ensuring that Tiki did not go degenerate and annhilate humanity. Thus Gotoh was tasked with keeping Tiki asleep at all costs, particularly if the Binding Shield was lost.

In the remake, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon, the new addition of Nagi is hinted to be a reincarnation of Naga, if not Naga herself. Nagi then bestows a weaker version of the Falchion upon Marth, attempting to make up for the original one that he did not possess. Medeus later further implies that Nagi is the reincarnation of Naga, stating that he is not the only Manakete returned. Nagi's ending title in the Japanese version of the series is that of the "Divine Dragon King's Incarnation", further supporting this point.

Genealogy of the Holy War/Thracia 776
Naga, taking the form of a young maiden, was one of the dragons who blood-bonded with the Twelve Crusaders during the Miracle of Darna, specifically Saint Heim, who would wield the tome named after her. As a result of this blood bond, Prince Kurth, his daughter Deirdre, and later Deirdre's children, Julia and Seliph, will possess Naga's blood.

Official developer notes later reveal that Naga transferred her will into Heim with the Naga Tome, similar to what Loptyr did with Galle, and later Julius, and what Forseti did with Lewyn. This possession proved that, with Naga as the leader of the dragons, her human vessel would be the leader of the Crusaders.

Fire Emblem Awakening
Naga is the Divine Dragon who protected mankind, and bestowed her power upon the first Exalt of Ylisse to defeat the Fell Dragon Grima. Because of her benevolence and her role in sealing the Fell Dragon, she is hailed as a god, leading to the formation of Ylisse, a country who worships her.

All descendants of Ylissean royalty bear the Brand of the Exalt (Mark of Naga in the Japanese version) on their body, a sign of the ancient pact between Naga and the first Exalt. This can be anywhere, from their forehead to their eye. This mark generally does not appear initially upon birth, but will eventually surface. Sometimes, the mark may never appear, such as the case of Lissa. However even though she does not bear the mark, her son inherited the mark. It is also likely this mark is the same borne by descendants of Heim, given its similar gifting.

After Grima's resurrection, Chrom arrives at Mount Prism to perform the Awakening. Chrom's will is tested and is accepted by Naga, who unlocks the Falchion's true power, allowing it to become the Exalted Falchion. Though Naga is seen as a god, she admits that neither she nor Grima are gods to Chrom, Lucina, and the Avatar. However, she wishes to end the Fell Dragon once and for all but reveals that even with her blessing imbued on the Falchion, it will only seal him for another 1000 years. Without much time to delve further, Naga points them to Origin Peak where Grima is quickly regaining power.

Upon arrival at the peak, the Avatar realizes that, because of the fellblood and their link to Grima, if they deal the final blow, Grima can be killed once and for all. However, Naga warns them that if the Avatar does kill Grima, the avatar will die along with Grima. However, she does mention that the Avatar may survive if the bonds of the army is strong. After defeating the last few Plegians, Naga warps Chrom and his army onto Grima's back. Grima severely weakens the army and pulls the Avatar into a void. After the Avatar breaks free from the void, Naga heals the army and they engage Grima in battle. Naga leaves the final decision to slay Grima to Chrom and the Avatar. Regardless of choice, Naga will thank Chrom and the Avatar for ending Grima's impending destruction of the world.

In Nah's supports with Morgan, Nah prays to Naga and she occasionally answers back. In her responses she reveals she has a surprisingly dry sense of humor.

In the Future Past DLC chapters, the Outrealm Naga is killed by Grima (Which is somewhat contradictory, as Naga states neither her or Grima has the power to destroy the other). The Naga of the current world summons Chrom and his army to assist 12 children on their quest to recover the Fire Emblem and the 5 gemstones so they can defeat Grima once and for all. After recovering the Emblem and the Gemstones, Lucina is able to perform the ritual. However because Naga is dead, Tiki, who was previously killed by Grima, becomes the new Naga of that realm. When the Awakening is performed, Tiki accepts Lucina's will and unlocks the Falchion, allowing her to seal Grima once more.

Personality
While Naga only directly shows up that in Awakening, it can be seen that Naga possesses a great love for humanity, yet Naga is also indicated as distant and almost cold by human standards. In order to protect humanity, she even put her daughter into a deep slumber and even considered killing her if it meant protecting humanity from Tiki degenerating like the Manaketes were. Although she is worshiped like a deity in the world, Naga recognizes that she is nothing more than an exceptionally powerful Manakete.

In Awakening, Naga shows a more laid back side, encouraging Nah and Morgan to get together when prayed to by the former. She also is noted by Nah to have a dry sense of humor. It is also revealed in the same game that the name of Naga can be inherited, like a title, adding more ambiguity to Naga's character, implying that the "Naga" throughout history could very well be differing individuals. This was revealed during The Future Past 3 when Tiki took the role as the new Naga of the world for the alternate future.

Gender
Despite being referred to as male and even being depicted as a blonde warrior in the opening cutscenes of Mystery of the Emblem, there is evidence that Naga may be female: Nagi, Naga's possible reincarnation, is female, alongside Naga herself appearing in the form of a young lady to both Heim and Chrom. Not only that when Naga was depicted as a male warrior god it could be because humans depicted Naga as a god and had no way of knowing Naga's actual gender

In Awakening, Naga is depicted as a female, but is noted in legend as appearing in both forms in the past.

Trivia

 * Although this is not explicitly stated in Path of Radiance or Radiant Dawn, the character Kurthnaga's name is derived from a combination of both Naga and Prince Kurth's.
 * The King of the Emiyu in the backstory of TearRing Saga: Utna Heroes Saga appears to be based on Naga.

Etymology
The Nāga is a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology, and usually assume the form of a king cobra. Nāga may also refer to an ordinary snake, or even a tribe of people. A female Nāga in deity form is known as a nāgī.