Abel

"Yes, sire. Princess Elice bade us protect you."

- Abel to Marth in Shadow Dragon.

Abel (アベル Aberu) is a playable character from the Akaneia Series of Fire Emblem. Alongside his boon companion Cain, Abel is a cavalier of Altea who is also known under the alias "Panther" (黒豹 Kurohyō, lit. Black Panther in the Japanese version).

War of Darkness
Chronologically, Abel makes his first appearance in Prologue II of Shadow Dragon, where, under the orders of Elice, he and Frey assists Marth in escaping through the gates of Altea Castle. Thereafter joining up with Jagen and later Cain, Gordin and Norne, the small squadron of retainers manage to succeed in assisting Marth in fleeing Altea and taking up refuge in Talys. Should Abel be selected to act as the decoy of Marth in Prologue IV, he will thus not be available to assist his liege in bringing the War of Darkness to an end. Canonically, Abel is not selected to be the sacrifice, and after the War of Darkness concludes, he retires from his knighthood and, after marrying Est of the Medonian Pegasus Sisters, sets up a shop with her.

War of Heroes
During the events of Book 2 of Mystery of the Emblem and its remake, Abel returns in Chapter 15, where it is revealed that the Akaneian Empire has taken Est hostage, forcing him to take up arms against Marth's army against his will. Should Marth or Est be directed to speak to him, he will defect to Marth's army and thereafter aid his liege in bringing the War of Heroes to an end. After the war concludes, Abel leaves to search for Est, who makes the decision to leave him in her ending.

Personality
Like a majority of the cast appearing in Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi and Mystery of the Emblem, Abel's character is not very well developed. Nevertheless, it is possible to deduce several points about his personality based on the few interactions that he has. Similar to many other knight characters in the aforementioned games, Abel is devoutly loyal to the liege that he serves, willing to sacrifice himself in the line of duty. This does not, however, deter him from attaining emotional fulfilment, as he opts to wed Est after the War of Darkness instead of continuing to serve Marth as a knight.

Abel's love for Est is evidently very strong, to the point where he is willing to betray his country in order to preserve her life, a fact that is proven through his actions in Mystery of the Emblem and its remake. This is further expounded on through his base conversations with Est in Shin Monshō no Nazo, where he constantly expresses concern over her well-being, desiring nothing more than to be able to share in any burdens that she shoulders. Adding on to this is the fact that Abel has tried to befriend Est's pegasus steed under the belief that it is a necessary prerequisite to marry her, although all his attempts have ended in failure.

Recruitment

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Recruitment

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Base Stats

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Promotion Gains
'''Note: Relevant to Book 1 only.

Support Relationships

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Recruitment

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Class Sets

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Growth Rates

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 * Reclassing Options
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 * -|Archer/Sniper=


 * -|Myrmidon/Swordmaster=


 * -|Mage=


 * -|Curate=


 * -|Sage/Bishop=

Support Relationships

 * Supports


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Supported by


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Recruitment

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Class Sets

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Growth Rates

 * Default


 * Reclassing Options
 * -|Dracoknight=


 * -|Sniper=


 * -|Swordmaster=


 * -|Sage/Bishop=

Support Relationships

 * Supports


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Supported by


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Support Conversations

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Overall
Whether or not the player decides to use Abel over Cain or vice versa, this is dependent on both personal preference and the actual title that they appear in. While differences vary amongst the games that they participate in, certain common points hold true across all these games; Abel excels in Strength, while Cain excels in Luck.

Differences between the two characters vary wildly amongst different games. In Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Abel has more balanced growths as compared to Cain, and sports a higher strength growth, alongside slightly lower growths in Skill, Speed, Luck and HP. Abel's bases are all either the same, or higher than Cain's, with the exception of Luck. He is preferred in this game by many players for his well-rounded stats and superior strength growth, which proves to to be more useful than the slight speed and skill growth lead that Cain possesses.

In Book 1 of Mystery of the Emblem, Abel and Cain's growths are almost exact carbon copies of their first game, with the minor addition of a Mag/Res growth, and a significant decrease in Cain's health growth (from 90% to 60%), one of the three superior growths defining Cain in the first game. A more significant difference between the two in this game is that of the two characters' bases: They both start out with bases that contradict their respective growths, which has set the precedent for the Cain and Abel pair archetype that will come to be repeated in future titles. Cain starts out with higher Strength in Book 1 (7 to Abel's 6) while possessing lower Skill and Speed, while Abel starts out with less Strength and more Skill and Speed. They end up very similar in this portion of the game, largely because their growths balance out their bases, and despite eventually going in different directions stat-wise, they still perform very well regardless.

In Book Two, however, differences between the two are far more noticeable, aside from their growth rates, which remain almost exactly the same (aside from Cain gaining less level EXP as compared to before). Cain is recruited much earlier in the game (Chapter 8), while Abel joins much later (Chapter 15). For one, their level differences are a major factor: Abel starts out as a Level 1 Paladin, and following the trend set in Book 1, has base Skill and Speed that exceed his Strength. Cain, on the other hand, starts out as a Level 9 Cavalier with lower bases in everything (due to the fact being, of course, un-promoted) and therefore, Abel has "better" bases and more balanced stats. Cain also regains his higher HP growth advantage, where it is increased to 90%. Leveling them up, of course, Abel proves to have higher strength once again, and is preferred by many in the end as compared to Cain, even though both prove to be very useful and are usually on most players' rosters. While Abel often boasts better base Defenses on average, Cain contrastingly winds up with superior HP.

In one of the recent DS remakes, Shadow Dragon, the two characters' bases are very similar to Book 1 of Mystery of the Emblem: Both starting out pretty alike, Cain's is still slightly stronger while less swift and skilled, while Abel's bases are the opposite, with better skill and speed and worse strength. The similarities end here, however, as their growths are markedly different from both of the previous games. In this game, Cain and Abel actually have identical Speed and Skill growths. Abel has a significantly inferior Luck growth (the luck gap between the two is not as extreme in previous incarnations), less HP growth (65% compared to Cain's 75%) and a slightly better Strength growth (40% compared to Cain's 35%). Abel is often preferred over Cain, often placed higher (if only slightly) on Shadow Dragon tier lists due to his slightly higher strength growth, which is on par with common hard hitters like Barst

Another reason justifying this is the fact that there are often no real situations that can be handled by Cain better than Abel; Abel proves to be superior in quite a number of situations that Cain cannot handle as well, due to (assuming they are of the same level and class) the fact that Abel will quickly surpass Cain's Strength while usually staying slightly ahead on Skill and Speed. The loss to luck is not felt too badly on Abel, and the HP growth difference between the two is usually not something that determines their overall combat usefulness, as they both have high growths in this department regardless. Many players therefore choose Abel over Cain, even though both are very useful and preferred in a game that is generally considered to have a poor roster of characters.

In the next DS remake, however, the differences separating the two are once more made distinct, their growths being more unique in Shin Monshō no Nazo. Again, Abel is superior in Strength while Cain wins out on Luck. However, for the first time, their Defence growths do not match (as they were identical in every other game that they appeared in together), with Abel winning out (40% compared to 35% on Cain). Abel upholds his reputation of being more balanced by having slightly lower Skill and Speed once more (both 60%), while Cain supersedes him in this regard, possessing exceptional growths in these areas (70%). Also, oddly enough, Abel actually has a higher HP growth than Cain, swapping the HP discrepancy of the two characters. This game being a remake of Book Two of Mystery of the Emblem, Abel once again joins later while Cain is recruited much earlier. In the end, Cain proves to be a stronger, more reliable character overall, while Abel proves to be merely decent. Abel's growths, while arguably better, are nonetheless hindered by his later arrival and worse bases, and on average, Cain at the same level as Abel appears (Level 1 Paladin) has superior stats in every area.

On the whole, in all games that Abel and Cain appear in, they prove to be valuable members of the army, being shining jewels among the sea of mediocre or bad characters.

Book 1
Altea Knight

"He retired from the army to start a small shop. Recently there have been rumours of his upcoming wedding…"

Book 2
Altea Knight

"After the war, he left the country to find Est and afterwards he was not seen again."

(If Est died) "Saddened by the loss of Est, he left Altea and afterwards he was not seen again."

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Altea's Shield

"Abel left the army and opened a small shop. He was to be married; but in the end his fellow knights were his most steadfast companions."

Fire Emblem: Shin Monshō no Nazo ~Hikari to Kage no Eiyū~
Altea's Shield

"After the war, Abel left the kingdom to search for the missing Est. He was never seen again."

Archetype
Abel, along with Cain, began the trend of a duo of Cavaliers who automatically join the army at the start of any given title. They are often portrayed as close friends who are very loyal to the Lord character and subordinates of the Jagen character. Invariably, one of them will specialize in Strength, HP and Luck (usually the Green Cavalier), and the other in Skill and Speed (usually the Red Cavalier). The two often have distinct personalities as well - the Red Cavalier being serious and stern, and the Green Cavalier easy-going and passionate.

However, there are exceptions to this personality rule; between the Cavalier pair, Ruke and Rody, Rody, the serious knight, is statistically closer to Abel, while Ruke, the easy-going knight, boasts stats similar to Cain. Oscar and Kieran also reverse the personality trend as well.

List of Abels
Notable characters befitting Abel's half of the archetype include:
 * Rody (FE3/12)
 * Noish (FE4)
 * Kain (FE5)
 * Lance (FE6)
 * Sain (FE7)
 * Kyle (FE8)
 * Oscar (FE9/10)
 * Stahl (FE13)
 * Kaze (FE14)

Anime
Abel plays a less significant role in the anime as compared to Cain, where he is portrayed as a calm, composed and formal character. He saves a child from falling to death after his captor, a pirate, throws him up into the air after being attacked by Cain, and Abel remarks, "I can't believe I'm still picking up your messes after all these years". Like Cain and Jagen, he is present when Marth makes the decision to travel to Devil Mountain and rescue sister Lena.

Abel is voiced by Okiayu Ryotaro (置鮎 龍太郎) in the Japanese version.

Manga
Abel has a more significant story in the manga than in the anime. Retaining his role as Cain's close friend, he is known to tease him at times, as exemplified from the scene in which Cain became drunk after the victory at the Aurelis Secondary Castle. Some time later, Abel sets off to prepare for the battle at Lefcandith when he spots a suspicious-looking girl tending to her pegasus in a forest. She reveals her name as Est, but promptly leaves before Abel could tell her his name. He realizes too late that she was a spy for Minerva, but meets her later under friendly terms after Minerva and her Whitewings join Altea. The two fall in love over the course of the war, and after it concludes, retire to live together as a married couple in Altea.

When the Akaneian League arrive in Khadein for the first time, Abel is changed from a secondary character to a main character. When Marth finds himself pulled into a battle with a Fire Dragon, Abel goes off to rescue him, urging Cain to protect Marth with his life if he falls. After a long battle, Marth and Abel are defeated, but with Lena's Warp Staff, only one of them is rescued.

Soon after Marth is teleported to safety, the Falchion appears in front of Abel. Hearing Naga's voice, Abel's energy is restored, whereupon he wields the Falchion to slay the Fire Dragon. However, Gharnef had placed a spell on the Fire Dragon beforehand, one that would cause it to self-destruct when killed. This causes the building that Abel and the dragon fought in to explode, leading to the Akaneian League believing that Abel had perished in the battle.

Later, when the Akaneian League arrives in Macedonia, a person who looks suspiciously like Abel is discovered to be working with the enemy. When Cain catches wind of these rumours, he goes off by himself to seek the truth. When he finds Abel, Cain immediately demands he is working with the enemy, only to be knocked out in the process.

The next time Abel appears, he is observed to be working alongside Michalis, as a means of repaying the debt of having been rescued by him. When Abel announces that he will be defecting to Marth, Michalis threatens to kill him unless he leaves the Falchion behind. Abel then stabs the Falchion in a nearby wall and proclaims that he will do anything to be by Marth's side, even if it means giving up the precious blade.

Soon after Abel leaves Macedonia, he runs into the archsage Gotoh, who praises him for his honourable deed, but chastises him for his foolishness in leaving the Falchion behind. Abel's response to this is that Marth does not need the Falchion, and if he ever does need it, he will play its role.

The last time Abel appears is when he rescues Cain from battle and joins the Akaneian League once again.

Etymology
The name "Abel" could either mean "A breath" in Hebrew or be a reference to the character of the same name in the Christian Bible. In the latter interpretation, Abel is the son of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis. A shepherd whose offering to God is favoured over that of his brother Cain's, Abel is murdered out of jealousy by Cain. In Mystery of the Emblem, this is slightly reversed: Abel falls out of Altea's favour for treason, although this does not involve Cain.

Trivia

 * Abel is mentioned along with Cain in the C support conversation shared between Stahl and Sully in Fire Emblem: Awakening, where his title as the "Panther" is assumed by Stahl, a character that is modelled after his archetype.

Gallery
Abel