Crest

"[They] are power incarnate. They are said to be bestowed upon humans by the goddess countless ages ago."

- Hanneman explaining Crests to Byleth.



Crests (紋章 Monshō) are a game mechanic introduced in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Similar to the Holy Blood from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, many of the nobility, who are descended from Fódlan's Ten Elites and Four Saints who fought during the War of Heroes, hail from families that bear Crests.

Overview
Believed to be blessings bestowed by the Goddess, Crests grant special powers to those who hold them such as high aptitude for magic, enhanced strength, and other boons that give them an edge over others. Crests are inherited by blood and thus recipients of Crests come from an ancestor who likewise had the same Crest. The actual Crest inheritance varies greatly. In most cases, a singular child of a family inherits a Crest. In some cases, such as the Bartel family, multiple children of the same generation inherit the same crest. In Sylvain and Ingrid's shared ending, it is also possible for all children of two different Crest bearing parents to not inherit either Crest.

Being a Crest holder is not physically obvious and leaves no mark on its bearers. However, those who possess them may have certain qualities such as unnatural strength that indicate their status as Crest holders. Hanneman, an avid scholar of Crests, developed a device that can show an individual their Crest. Catherine has an innate knack for identifying a person's Crest just by looking at them, but it is a rare ability.

In Fódlan, Crests have had a significant impact on society. They are often seen as a sign of prestige and respect. Many noble houses value crests and are desperate to obtain one as a sign of their nobility. Some have been known to marry or adopt individuals of lesser houses or even commoners who have spontaneously inherited a Crest just to obtain one should their own heirs by birthright lack a Crest. The crest is not universally inherited by the eldest child, leading to power struggles within houses when a younger sibling is born with one. Houses are known to disown or otherwise disregard all other non-crest bearing childern, heaving all expectations on the crest bearer while ignoring the others.

Crests are classified as either Major Crests that contain immense power, or Minor Crests that contain weaker, but somewhat potent power. Generally, it is believed that the stronger that a hero's blood runs within an heir, the higher the chance of that heir possessing a Major Crest. It is still possible for a child from a distant branch of a bloodline to be born with a Major Crest unexpectedly and it is unknown why this occurs.

As a general rule, it is considered impossible for an individual to possess more than a single Crest at once, but there have been some exceptions. Lysithea is one such individual, and she holds a Major Crest of Gloucester and a Minor Crest of Charon.

These are not natural occurrences, but rather the results of inhumane experimentation to endow individuals with more Crests. The procedure, called blood reconstruction surgery, has a high failure rate as most attempts in the past wound up killing the test subject or driving them to madness. In the rare instances where the surgery is successful, the immense physiological strain of bearing two Crests still causes harmful side-effects, including turning the individual's hair white and dramatically shortening their lifespan.

Several Crests appear prominently in the coat of arms and insignia throughout Fódlan: the Crest of Seiros for the Adrestian Empire and the Church of Seiros, the Crest of Blaiddyd for the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus, and the Crests of Riegan, Goneril, Daphnel, and Gloucester for the Leicester Alliance. The Crests of Seiros, Blaiddyd, and Riegan are also used on the map of Fódlan to mark the domains of each country's ruling family.

Each Crest is associated with a specific type of dragon, which is only seen via the signs obtained on New Game Plus.

In truth, Crests are derived from the blood of the Nabateans. Nemesis plundered the Holy Tomb, slaying Sothis in her sleep and turning her bones into the Sword of the Creator and removing her heart, granting himself her crest, the Crest of Flames. His Ten Elites slaughtered the Nabateans in Zanado.

As a reward for their efforts, the Ten Elites were given a Heroes' Relics, weapons and equipment of exceptional power crafted from the remains of the slain Nabaeans. They in turn also took the Nabateans blood and created the Crests that would allow them full control and power over the Relics. The exception was Wilhelm I, who betrayed Nemesis for Seiros and was given her Crest after she shared her blood with him. The Crests of the Four Saints are implied to have passed down the same way.

After Seiros kills Nemesis and the Ten Elites were suppressed by her forces, the history of Fódlan was rewritten into making the Ten Elites heroes who fought alongside her against Nemesis. Thus propagating the history commonly known in Fódlan by Imperial Year 1180.

The Crests do not need to come from a deceased Nabatean's blood as Jeralt received a Major Crest of Seiros when he received a blood transfusion from Rhea, who is Seiros herself.

In-Game
Crests serve as combat enhancements that empower the wielder of one special properties in battle. These can range from damage increase to attacks or reservation of spell usage. Crests are fixed to specific characters and cannot be removed. Their effects act as passive Skills that activate randomly, activating it more often if they have a Major crest or occasionally if it is a Minor crest.

Several characters will have innate Crests that will always appear on them such as Lorenz having the Crest of Gloucester or Ingrid having the Crest of Daphnel. Others such as Ashe or Leonie do not have crests and cannot acquire one normally.

In New Game+, players can spend Renown to buy items that bestow specific crests onto various characters. This allows even Crestless characters to obtain a crest and receive the full benefits, though it will have no narrative effect on the story.

Crests of the Ten Elites
&dagger; Indicates the holder of a Minor Crest.

&Dagger; Indicates the holder of a Major Crest.

Crests of the Four Saints
&dagger; Indicates the holder of a Minor Crest.

&Dagger; Indicates the holder of a Major Crest.

Crests of the Divine
&dagger; Indicates the holder of a Minor Crest.

&Dagger; Indicates the holder of a Major Crest.

Crests Lost to History
&dagger; Indicates the holder of a Minor Crest.

&Dagger; Indicates the holder of a Major Crest.

Trivia

 * Many Crests appear subtly in many locations; some even appear where they don't completely associate with their location.
 * Maurice's Crest is seen on Aymr, even though Aymr is associated with Seiros' Crest.
 * Ernest's Crest is found on Anna's clothing.
 * Timotheos' Crest appears on the balcony of Garrech Mach.


 * The Dark Creator Sword, wielded by Nemesis, contains the crest stones of Noa and Timotheos.
 * The Crests bear similarity with the major arcana, whether its in appearance, their description, or the characteristics of their crest bearer. Ernest starting as The Fool, followed by Macuil as The Magician, and continues until the Crest of Flames as The World.