Astrid

"Wh-what did you just say!? There are no gentlemen in this land half as fine as Sir Makalov!"

- Astrid, putting in a good word for Makalov.

Astrid (ステラ Sutera, Stella in Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. She is a member of the Crimean Royal Knights, and a former member of Begnion's noble House Damiel. She was engaged against her wishes to Duke Lekain of Gaddos, a sinister man and major antagonist of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. She left home to avoid becoming a trophy wife.

Character History
Astrid was born into House Damiell, a prominent house of nobles in Begnion. Her family was very strict and controlling. Many of her brothers and sisters were married off by her parents to people they did not love nor grow to love, and Astrid could tell their sorrow from their letters. Astrid herself was later arranged to marry Vice Minister Lekain, who was thirty years older than her. She decided to rebel against her family afterwards, and she did so by enlisting with the Begnion knights so she could make her own path through life. However, she was also somewhat timid and hestitated while wielding her bow in battle, even after her training. At the same time she endeavored to overcome this weakness, and she was also assigned Gatrie as a bodyguard.

Path of Radiance
Astrid made her first appearance in Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in Chapter 13. The ship Astrid had boarded was actually going to meet up with Ike and Princess Elincia and was carrying the Apostle Sanaki. When Ike spotted the ship, it was under attack from Daein soldiers (who flew no flag) and a few hired Kilvas Ravens. Ike's group then rushed to the ships aide.

Before the Chapter 13 battle between the three ships Astrid talks to Gatrie, whom she had hired to escort her. Gatrie was not fond of the idea of Astrid fighting but she insisted anyways, and her skill with a bow is undeniable.

After the chapter, Astrid joined up with Ike's group, figuring that eventually she will be able to follow them away from Begnion, even though they went back to Begnion after the ship battle in Chapter 13. Astrid will stay on with the group until the game's end.

Through her Path Of Radiance Support Conversations, it was shown how nice Astrid is. She was often shy and meek when speaking to people, but very kind. At one point, she gave a family heirloom to Makalov, who planned to sell it for money to gamble. However, in the Level-A conversation he returned it, saying Marcia made him (if Marcia was slain in any battle previously, it would be Ike who demanded that Makalov return it to Astrid); however, returning it gave Astrid a great respect for Makalov, despite his wild ways.

After the events of Fire Emblem: Path Of Radiance, Astrid joined the Crimean Royal Knights.

Radiant Dawn
Astrid appeared in Part 2 of Radiant Dawn along with Makalov, Kieran and the other Crimean Royal Knights. When she first appeared, she defended Makalov's actions in Largo and Calill's Inn.

She, along with the other Crimean Royal Knights (and Danved if you read the base conversation), launched an attack on Ludveck in Chapter 3 of Part 2. However, Ludveck was not there, and was attacking Fort Alpea. The Royal Knights then arrived as reinforcements in the Part 2 Endgame.

Astrid ended up joining the Laguz Alliance in Part 3. Then, later in Part 4, she became involved in the march on the Tower Of Guidance. She can usually be found during that period following Makalov around, "cleaning up his messes", as Marcia says. Her friends wondered what she saw in the man.

In Radiant Dawn, she wa engaged to Makalov, despite her friends' protests. She adamantly defended Makalov whenever he is criticized for his drinking, gambling, and poor work habits.

She married Makalov if they have an A support, but she never tames him. They are one of only a few units in the game that can marry after the Endgame if they share an A-Level support, and most of the other units that can marry are those who are more important to the story line (Naesala, Elincia, etc...)

Recruitment

 * Chapter 13: Starts as an Other Unit. Speak with Ike.

Base Stats
|Bow Knight |Wind |1 |20 |6 |2 |6 |7 |3 |5 |4 |7 |9 |8 |Bow - D |Paragon |Iron Bow Knight Ward Vulnerary

Growth Rates
|45% |40% |20% |55% |50% |40% |30% |25%

Support Conversations
Sothe, Makalov, Gatrie

Overall
Her paragon skill, which doubles the amount of EXP she gets (including bonus exp, which is only true in FE9), makes her easier to level up and bring up to par with your other units. However, it is more difficult to accumulate WEXP that way. It is a good idea to remove her paragon skill once she gets up to par with your other units. Overall, she will have pretty balanced stats, and though her hp is a little low, this is supported with her unusually high defenses for a female paladin, and her Knight Ward. If you have a spare arms scroll lying around, consider giving it to her after she promotes and reaches a rank B in bows. Her strength and luck growths are average, meaning they are rather shaky; they can wind up really high, or really low. However, such growths can be fixed by giving her certain bands on a second or later walkthrough. So while she is difficult to train, she can end up a very well-rounded unit if you train her.

Recruitment
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |○ |△ | | | | | | | | | |○ | |○ | | |○ |□ |□ |□ |□ |□ |□ |○ |□ |□ |□ |□ |□ ◎=Forced　○=Available　□=Available for selected　△=Reinforcement
 * Part 2: Chapter 3: Automatically from Base, and she appears as reinforcement at turn 8 in Endgame.
 * Part 3: Chapter 9: Automatically from Base, available in Chapter 9, 11 and Endgame.
 * Part 4: Can select to join the team Micaiah/Ike/Tibarn, available in which team she joined and Endgame.

Base Stats
|Bow Paladin |Wind |2 |32 |13 |8 |16 |15 |17 |10 |14 |7 |31 |9 |Bow - B |Paragon Canto |Steel Bow Iron Longbow Concoction

Growth Rates
|55% |40% |20% |45% |40% |70% |30% |50%

Overview
Astrid is one of the hardest characters to train in Radiant Dawn, due to her low availability and level. Although Oscar and Geoffrey are easier to train for Silver Knights, and Rolf and Shinon for an SS-rank bow user, if effort is put into her, she can still be passable unit when she becomes a Silver Knight. Promoting her into the third tier before level 20 is not recommended, as she will need the levels she can get.

When she first joins in Chapter 2-3, despite her personal Paragon skill coming in handy in battle (but not in Bonus EXP), she will be difficult to level, due to her low base base stats, her strength in particular. Getting her up to par means letting her have the finishing blow if enemy units for maximum EXP as possible, though such would involve a high amount of coddling. Using a bit of bonus EXP beforehand is recommended to bring her up in leveling and stats. In part 2-4, when she joins as a reinforcement, it is even more difficult to use her, because the characters are a bit tougher. Regardless, using her the same way as the previous chapter (finishing blows) is still recommended. Her stats will start catching up once she starts gaining levels, her HP, skill, and resistance in particular.

Once she re-joins in part 3, assuming she gained a couple of levels (she should at least be at level 8; if a level or two behind, use some spare bonus EXP), she can still catch up. Giving her the Discipline skill is recommended to allow her to reach weapon ranks quicker, and any spare stat boosters would be handy to fix any stats that have fallen behind. If she is properly trained in parts 2 and 3 in the little time available, her Paragon skill will play its part, as she should be potentially able to come close to par with the other units available (once this happens, you can remove her Paragon skill). Despite still having some shortcomings in strength, speed, and defense, her HP, skill, and resistance will start to shine, giving her the option to transition from finishing blows to a mage killer. Her magic stat also has the potential to become unusually high, making the Imbue skill ideal for her.

In Part 4, Astrid should already or be close to promoting to a Silver Knight. Once she promotes, she will acquire the Sol skill and the ability to use lances, increasing her capabilities. At this point, she does not need the Paragon skill, and she does not need as much as coddling, though she still should not go straight ahead against a bunch of hard-hitting opponents, or to go off on her own. Also, her strength and speed will start to reach par, though her defense will still be noticeably low. Assigning her a skill that utilizes her higher stats, like Imbue or Miracle, is recommended to help her with her endurance.

In the endgame, Astrid's high resistance can make her rather useful, assuming the player has taken the difficult journey of training her. In addition, although there are Marksmen that can use it about just as well, Astrid makes an excellent candidate to use the immensly powerful Double Bow. Giving her the Nihil skill is not a bad idea, as she can negate some of the last few bosses' most dangerous skills, like Aurora and Ire.

So while Astrid is relatively difficult to train, and easier-to-train substitutes are available, she can still catch up to par and become a useful unit.

Recruit Conversation (Path of Radiance)
Ike: Are you all right? Astrid: Who are you? Ike: My name's Ike. I'm with the Greil Mercenaries. I came to defend this ship-- and the apostle, if I can. Astrid: Is that so? I am Astrid, of House Damiell. Ike: A blueblood, huh? Well, unless you're good with a sword, you'd better hide yourself in a cabin. Astrid: I'll do no such thing. I once trained with knight and cavaliers. I may be of noble birth... but I know something of battle. I can fight. Ike: Well, if you can fight, we can use you. Let's work together. You going to be all right with that? Astrid: More so than I would be with hiding belowdecks, certainly.

Death Quotes
"I...wanted... to live...more freely... Grandmother..."

- Death Quote in Path of Radiance

Path of Radiance
"Good-bye, General Ike. This war has given me the confidence to enter the service of the Begnion knights. Thank you so much!"

- Astrid's epilogue quote to Ike

Radiant Dawn
As a Royal Knight renowned through the land, Astrid's beauty and prowess were known to allies and enemies alike. Astrid disregarded opposition and married the worst idler in three countries, but never tamed him.
 * Unassuming Knight (つつましき弓騎士 Tsutsumashiki Yumi Kishi)
 * (A support with Makalov)

Etymology
Astrid comes from Astra, which means star.

Gallery
Stella