Pelleas

"You’re not the only one who knows nothing about battle. I don’t either. But if I don’t act, the devastation of Daein will grow ever worse. So, I have to be brave. Please, I’m asking you to do the same, Micaiah… For the sake of the future of Daein, will you join our cause?"

- Pelleas to Micaiah

Pelleas (ペレアス Pereasu) is believed to be the son of Ashnard and the Prince of Daein. He has a strong devotion to his country and desires to free it from oppression by the Begnion Occupational Army. Pelleas acts as a figurehead for the Daein Liberation Army, which he entrusts Micaiah to lead in his stead as the commanding general.

He is one of the two characters that can be unlocked during the second playthrough of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn and onwards, and one of the two playable characters in the game able to wield Dark Magic, Lehran being the other.

History
Pelleas grew up in an orphanage in Daein, having no idea of his supposed royal blood. When he was thirteen years old, he made a pact with the spirits to protect him and grant him magical power, thus he obtained the mark of the Spirit Charmer. It was because of this mark, and Pelleas’s blue, curly hair, similar to Ashnard’s, that led Izuka, who was at this time already working for the senate, to claim that Pelleas was Ashnard’s only son. He showed Pelleas’s mark to Almedha (who was half-mad with grief from losing her birth-right, her son, and her brother Rajaion) and she immediately believed Izuka’s story, as did Pelleas. Izuka continued to spread the rumor of Ashnard’s heir, and this led to the formation of the Liberation Army of Daein. The rumors eventually caught the attention of the Dawn Brigade, who joined forces with the liberation army, with Micaiah as its commander.

It is on Pelleas’s behalf that the Liberation Army overthrows the Occupational Army. Just before their assault on Daein Keep, Pelleas, despite his lack of talent in speech-making, delivers a speech of encouragement that reflects the one Elincia, as a princess, had made near the end of Path of Radiance.

On the day of his coronation, Izuka fools him into signing a Blood Pact with Begnion that forces him to follow the orders of Begnion’s Senate: should he not, the senate would invoke the pact’s curse, leading to the slow deaths of all of Daein’s citizens. This pact is what forces Pelleas to send the Daein Army against the Laguz Alliance. Later, he presents the national weapons of Daein to the original members of the Dawn Brigade for their service, the weapons being Caladbolg, Lughnasadh, and Tarvos, to Edward, Leonardo, and Nolan, respectively. Upon conferring with Micaiah, he frantically begins to research a means of dispelling the pact, and learns that its curse can only be prevented if the signer of the pact is killed by a third party. He then asks that Micaiah kill him to save Daein.

At this point, the player is given the option of having either Micaiah or Tauroneo kill him. Either option will result in the player finding out that killing Pelleas was futile, as dispelling the blood pact also requires the destruction of the document itself. In this case, the mark of the blood pact will transfer to Micaiah, and remains on her wrist until the second requirement is met. However, in all subsequent playthroughs, the player can have Micaiah refuse the request altogether. In this case, Pelleas realizes that killing Lekain would also dispel the blood pact, and he thus begins to regain his confidence. He also finds out that his mother is a dragon laguz, and this is what first leads him to question his heritage.

He will later fight with Tibarn’s army in Part IV. During that time, Almedha would try to cling to him, prompting Pelleas to keep his distance for a while out of discomfort. Eventually, perhaps because he feels he doesn’t deserve a mother’s love for his actions (and the fact that he doubts his heritage by now), he rejects his mother and takes to the field, feeling the need to be useful. When Tibarn’s group confront Izuka, Pelleas learns from him that he is not the true heir: he was merely intended to be Izuka’s puppet. Izuka had apparently been promised dominion over Daein if he fulfilled the senate’s wishes.

If Pelleas is brought to the Tower of Guidance, he can exact his revenge on Lekain for using him, stating that his newfound friends give him the strength to face him. After the battle, the pact is destroyed and the mark vanishes from Pelleas’s wrist. Later, when Pelleas faces Sephiran, the chancellor confirms to Pelleas what Izuka told him, stating that the true heir is a dragon-laguz Branded. Sephiran also admits that he alone was responsible for binding Daein in the blood pact, since he needed Daein involved in the war to awake the goddess Ashera. Upon this note, Pelleas shows no mercy towards Sephiran.

During the epilogue of the second play-through, Pelleas will reveal to his “mother” Almedha the truth about his mark and his lack of royal blood. However, he does admit that, for the short time that he had known Almedha, he was happy that he was able to feel a mother’s love for the first time in his life. If certain conditions are met throughout the second playthrough or onwards, Pelleas will subtly reveal to Almedha that the missing heir of Daein is in fact Soren, being a dragon-tribe Branded.

Afterwards, it is said that Pelleas willingly abdicates the throne to Micaiah, and instead chose to serve at the official Daein court, learning to speak easily to all.

It is never revealed who Pelleas’s biological family is or what happened to them.

Personality
Pelleas is shown to be a kind yet weak leader who follows Almedha’s and Izuka’s advice without question, though his love for his country is shown to be extraordinarily strong. He comes off as quite shy as well, for he never gives gifts to his soldiers directly, but prefers to give them to people he trusts, like Micaiah or Sothe, and tells them to do what they see fit with such gifts. He realizes his own inexperience, which is why he trusts Izuka, who he claims has given him a life and a purpose, to advise him on everything about being a ruler, despite his twisted nature. This trust in Izuka leads to his undoing, however, for it is because of Izuka’s treachery that forces Pelleas into Lekain’s blood pact.

Pelleas is also someone who feels he shouldn’t burden others with his problems, which is why he is so hesitant to confess his signing of the blood pact. He is also very hard on himself, for he believes that the only way to redeem his mistakes as king is to take his own life, which is later discovered to be futile. His rash decision to throw his life away is what causes Micaiah to tell him to stop running away from his problems, on the second playthrough, if he is spared from death.

During the time Pelleas and Micaiah are associated with each other, Pelleas develops a strong respect for Micaiah, both in her abilities and her strength of character. It is even implied that he somewhat envies her popularity. It is because of this that Pelleas realizes that, like Micaiah says, he must make his own decisions if he wants to be a good king. This is what motivates him both to defend Muarim when Izuka tries to turn him into a feral one (an act which causes Izuka to hold a grudge against him), and to make his speech to his army at the end of Part I.

Despite supposedly being the son of Ashnard, other characters keep stating how gentle and frail he looks. Tibarn states that Pelleas is so fragile compared to Almedha, who he describes as a formidable woman, thanks to her dragon heritage. Even she states that he was always “such a sickly little boy.”

In stark contrast to his supposed father’s ruthless nature, Pelleas is characterized by an overly meek and thoughtful personality, rarely lashing out or expressing hostility toward others. Despite this, it is shown that Pelleas is a rather passive-aggressive individual: he is usually very modest and timid in cutscenes before a battle; but when on the battlefield, especially when ridiculed by a chapter boss, like Valtome or Sephiran, as he stands his ground and shows fortitude, even when he gets flustered. His nervousness is likely a result of his inexperience as a soldier, since he has never killed or even been on a battlefield before he does so in the final chapter of Part Three. This much is confirmed if he meets Ike on the battlefield there, and also at the end of the chapter he joins in, where he gasps for breath and requires several moments to compose himself in front of an amused Tibarn, who remarks that he is “quite the momma’s boy.”

Something else of note may be Pelleas’s power. Despite his clear lack of experience, Pelleas clearly wields a sizable amount of power, and before ever setting foot on a battlefield he is already a promoted sage. Even Sephiran, perhaps the most powerful magical unit in the game, acknowledges that he is a powerful magic user. This may be attributed to his status as a spirit charmer.

Availability
◎=Forced　○=Available　□=Available for selected Note: Pelleas will only join the player's army from the second play-through onwards.
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Base Stats

 * FE10 Pelleas Dark Sage Sprite.png Dark Sage
 * FE10Water.png
 * 12
 * 33
 * 13
 * 24
 * 20
 * 21
 * 14
 * 14
 * 19
 * 9
 * 9
 * 6
 * FE10 Thunder Magic.gif Thunder - A FE10 Dark.gif Dark - S
 * Shove.png Shove Miracle.png Miracle
 * FE10carreau.png Carreau FE10verrine.png Verrine FE10fenrir.png Fenrir
 * }

Growth Rates

 * 35%
 * 25%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 60%
 * 40%
 * 30%
 * 45%
 * }

Promotional Gains
Promotion to Archsage
 * HP: +4
 * Strength: +4
 * Magic: +2
 * Skill: +2
 * Speed: +2
 * Defense: +4
 * Resistance: +2
 * Con: +0
 * Move: +0
 * E FE10 Staff.gif Rank
 * Flare.png Flare skill

Supports
Support Bonus (Water): Attack: +0.5, Defense: +0.5

Like most supports in Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn, Pelleas’s support are short, generic, and impersonal. However, the basic trend of his supports with most characters is as follows:

C: Pelleas is very passive in greeting the character, saying that he was merely wondering how they were faring in battle and not wanting to be a nuisance to that character.

B: Pelleas offers to help the character, if he/she wants help that is, or he expresses a strong desire to fight alongside him/her.

A: Pelleas admits that the character has had a great impact on him, especially if he is supporting a Royal Laguz, and that his life would mean nothing if he/she died.

Overview
Compared to the other playable Archsages, Pelleas is noted to be the only character able to wield Dark Magic tomes. Unfortunately, due to his low statistical caps and extremely limited availability, he is criticized as being inferior to the other magical units in the game. One of his main problems is joining underleveled in the final parts of the game as a second-tier Dark Sage, when most of the player’s army will already be in their third tier classes. As a result, he will need to level up many times by defeating weakened enemies (such as from Elincia’s Mercy skill) before he can become an adequate fighter. For the sake of efficiency or due to being on a higher mode of difficulty, though, players may prefer to promote him immediately at his base level using a Master Crown and give him utility as a staff-user. This is helped by the fact that Pelleas’s staff mastery level starts at B instead of E, letting him use high-ranked staffs like Physic or Recover immediately. He is also notable for being the only Archsage able to reach S-rank in staves, which enables him to use Fortify as well.

Fortunately, by being in Elincia and Tibarn’s group, Pelleas may have an easier time to level up because of the large number of respawning feral laguz in the final chapter before Endgame, as these enemies have a higher Experience yield than most enemies in the game, especially with the Paragon skill. He will be good at defeating Dragon Laguz, if given a Thunder (tome). However, Pelleas is noted to have low caps in his final class like the rest of the Archsages, limiting his usability somewhat. In particular, his poor Speed cap reduces his Attack Speed potential significantly, despite having a fairly high growth rate for it. Pelleas may face Hit issues as well because of his low Skill combined with his inaccurate weapon type, since Dark Magic normally trades accuracy for increased might. This problem can be mitigated by having him support a character whose affinity gives a high Hit bonus, such as the Heaven affinity. However, his late joining time may cause him to not have enough time to create a support bond with another character before the Endgame chapters. He can also have a higher hit chance when facing a Mage unit (not to mention receiving an avoid bonus).

Arguably, Pelleas may qualify for the Est Archetype, a recurring character that joins late and underleveled in the game, but has the hidden potential to become powerful after accumulating enough stat growths, usually as a result of their elevated growth rates. Although Pelleas’s growth rates are not particularly impressive, he has the highest Speed growth out of all the possible Archsages, and his other growths are reasonably well-rounded, barring his HP growth. Some may argue, however, that compared to the Est characters before him, Pelleas is not as impressive, considering rival Archsages such as Soren, and his low Skill hinders his ability to use Balberith, an inaccurate weapon to begin with. Nonetheless, he can still turn out to be adequate when given the time and effort.

Death Quote
"I should have…died then… I fear…nothing…"

- Pelleas’s death quote

Retreat Quote
"To die in this lonely place… It’s my fate… But… For Micaiah… I must… I…must live…"

- Pelleas’s retreat quote in 3-E

"Ugh… Guh…"

- Pelleas

"You fought bravely. But enough is enough. No more. You’ll break your mother’s heart."

- Tibarn

"…Y-yes…"

- Pelleas’s retreat quote in Part 4, before Endgame

Pelleas vs Ike
Ike: You’re King Pelleas? The son of Mad King Ashnard? I expected you to be…bigger. Pelleas: You are the hero of Crimea, General Ike. You killed my father… Ike: It was nothing personal. Your father had to be put down. Wait, are you shaking? Pelleas: I’ve never killed anyone before… I’ve never even stood on a battlefield before today. Ike: Then why did you come here? Do you want to die? Pelleas: I do, but it won’t change anything… I promised Micaiah that I wouldn’t run from my destiny. General Ike, you may be able to take me down easily, but I will not run. Ike: Just what Daein needs…another mad king. Let’s see if you’re as tough as your father.

Pelleas vs Soren
Soren: The new king of Daein, Pelleas. How convenient. I can end this farce right now. Surrender or die. Pelleas: Who are you? That mark on your forehead… Is it a mark of Spirit Protection? Soren: No. It’s something rather different. Pelleas: But that shape… It looks so much like mine! Soren: Is that so? You might be still more powerful than you let on. Still, I doubt this changes anything. Prepare yourself, Pelleas. Pelleas: But wait! There’s so much I want to ask you!

Pelleas vs Valtome
Valtome: You are no soldier! Who are you, boy? Pelleas: I… I am Pelleas, king of Daein. Valtome: Oh, how precious! I was hoping that I’d meet the simpering moron who signed the blood pact with Lekain… How funny! Uwee hee hee! Pelleas: Y-you will regret this!

Pelleas vs Izuka
Pelleas: Izuka! Izuka: Ah, my dear prince Pelleas! Excuse me, King Pelleas! I’d assumed that you had been turned to stone. How nice to see you again! But I am saddened to see that you would betray me and fight alongside these shortsighted fools! I found you and set you on the path to royalty! I served you well, did I not? Pelleas: I know that you’ve been working for the senate, Izuka. Izuka: So you found out. Very well. At least I don’t need to pretend anymore. It isn’t like you will spare my life, anyway. Pelleas: With most of Daein turned to stone, the blood pact can no longer harm anyone. But that doesn’t change the fact that you tricked me into risking the life of every citizen of my kingdom. Why would you betray me, Izuka? Were you ever loyal to Daein? Izuka: Betrayal? What of your betrayal of me? I remember well how you valued one worthless laguz life over mine! It was your betrayal that forced me to abandon my work! You were supposed to be my puppet, a weakling boy-king that I could control, giving me free reign! Pelleas: What? How could that be… Izuka: Oh, princeling boy, how completely I’ve fooled you… You are not King Ashnard’s son. All I did was look for a boy that could pass for the king’s son. Pelleas: But… Mother said… She said she was certain that I was her child! Izuka: Ah yes, Lady Almedha, paragon of sanity! She is certainly fit to identify a boy she hasn’t seen in fifteen years. She was so desperate to have her son again that she would have believed anything I told her. Pelleas: No… No! Stop it! Stop talking!

Pelleas vs Lekain
Pelleas: Vi-Vice-Minister Lekain… Lekain: Hm? Ahhh, still alive, are we? I suppose that I can still find a use for you… I know! Go and attack the enemy general. Pelleas: Um… Lekain: Why are you not obeying, fool? That look on your face… You think you’re going to save your people! That is precious! You can’t possibly believe that one so flawed as you has a prayer against me? Pelleas: I do, actually. Lekain: Whaaat?! Did I hear you correctly?! Pelleas: I said I believe. I believe in myself, and I believe in my companions. Even if I falter and fail… My friends will defeat you. This belief sustains me. I can fight you because I am no longer alone. Lekain: Let us test your theory, then! Die, upstart!

Pelleas vs Sephiran
Sephiran: King Pelleas, correct? Aren’t you brave, coming all this way! Pelleas: If you’re the one who’s been pulling the strings behind all this, please tell me… Who… Who am I? Sephiran: …I don’t know. All I know is that you are a powerful practitioner of magic… I know that you were an orphan born and raised in Daein. But that is all Izuka ever told me. Pelleas: So… I’m not Ashnard’s true son? Sephiran: No, you’re not. Ashnard’s son is of dragon tribe blood and is thus Branded. Pelleas: I think I’m going to be ill… Sephiran: Be assured that you were essential to Daein’s reconstruction, which was a vital step toward waking the goddess. Fortunately, Izuka was able to use you to execute my plan. Pelleas: You are going to pay! You are going to…BLAAARRRGH!

Epilogue
After revealing his lack of royal blood, Pelleas gave up the throne but served at court, learning to speak easily to all.
 * Spirit-Charming Sage (闇精を操る者 Yami sei o ayatsuru mono)

Etymology
It is unclear what the name Pelleas means; the name might come from the Greek ‘Pallas,’ a hero of the Aeneid killed by Turnus. Pallas is also another name for Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, which probably comes from the Greek word for maiden. Also worthy of mention is Peleus, the father of Achilles. Pelleas is a Knight of the Round Table according to later middle-English Arthurian tradition.

As recorded in Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte d’Arthur,” Pelleas is a young, virtuous knight in love with the lady Ettard. However, Ettard scorns Pelleas’s love and refuses to let him into her castle; she would send knights out to drive him off, but Pelleas would easily defeat them, then surrender to them. As the story goes, Sir Gawain came across Pelleas defeating the knights, then surrendering to them after. Curious about him, Gawain asks about Pelleas’s predicament, and then promises to help him. Subsequently, Gawain goes to Ettard’s castle and tells her that he’s killed the annoying Pelleas for her. Ettard takes a fancy to him and they sleep together. Pelleas comes across them lying naked together in a garden and, in a rage, draws his sword to kill them. However, his kind nature wins, and instead Pelleas lays his sword across their necks and then leaves in a fit of madness. The Lady of the Lake, named Nimue (other versions call her Elaine or Ninian), finds Pelleas and falls in love with him. She puts a spell on Ettard to love Pelleas and a curse on Pelleas to release him from his obsession with Ettard. Then Pelleas and Nimue get married and live happily ever after.