Ephraim

"Trust me. I don't pick fights I can't win."

- Ephraim citing his motto to Kyle and Forde before charging Renvall.

Ephraim is a playable character and a protagonist in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones. He is the crown prince of Renais and Eirika's twin brother. He is a headstrong and determined man whose skill with a Lance is unsurpassed by any other in his country, having been taught by Duessel. He has a semi-friendly rivalry with Prince Innes of Frelia and is also good friends with Prince Lyon of Grado. He wears the Solar Brace which is one of a pair of bracelets that together grant access to Renais' Sacred Stone.

Ephraim appears as a Sticker in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.

Profile
Ephraim is engaged in guerrilla war against Grado in an attempt to divert Grado troops from their invasion into Renais, concurrently with his father's death. During this time, he encountered the manakete Myrrh and rescued her from Grado forces. Blaming himself for his inability to aid his father in his time of need, he wonders where his sister went and traveled to Renvall with his companions Forde, Kyle and Orson. Upon disposing the commander inside, Orson reveals his true colors, forcing Ephraim, Forde and Kyle to flee. Tirado later spread false news about Ephraim's capture to lure Eirika into Renvall.

Upon falling into Tirado's trap, Ephraim heard of the news and rushed to his sister's aid, joining forces with her and defeating Tirado. Upon returning to Frelia, Ephraim decided to go to Grado to get answers.

In his path, Ephraim first approaches Fort Rigwald, with its defenders attempting to hold out a Frelian siege. After rescuing Tana whom was captured while looking for his group. Ephraim and his forces kill the commander inside, forcing the garrison to surrender. Upon interrogating one of the prisoners, he learns about Duessel's reaction to the war, and heads towards Bethroen to assist him.

Upon arriving at Bethroen, Ephraim assists Duessel in repelling the forces sent to kill him, and Duessel later joins Ephraim on his journey. Ephraim hears rumors about a phantom ship destroying anything in its path in the Grado's seas, and goes out with his group to determine if the rumors are false or not. The rumors are true, and with Dozla and L'Arachel's help, destroy its crew. Upon arriving at Taizel, Grado forces led by Caellach surround them, but Caellach is quickly recalled to the capital by Riev. Riev supplements the army there with monsters, and Ephraim is shocked that the monsters are not attacking Grado soldiers. Despite this, his group manages to push on to Za'albul Marsh, where he encounters Myrrh, who tells him not to kill Selena. He is forced to however, as she refuses to move aside due to loyalty.

After dispatching her, he finally arrives at Grado, where he besieges the castle, killing Vigarde. He later reunites with his sister in Jehanna, and takes the throne back from Orson, before heading to Rasuten and finally Darkling Woods to stop Fomortiis from destroying Mavgel. After Formortiis' body is destroyed, he returns to Renais and rebuilds the nation with Eirika. Marrying Tana or L'Arachel if he has an A-Rank support with either of them and uniting Renais with either Frelia or Rausten.

Personality
Ephraim is revered by his comrades as a brave leader, as well as someone who is renowned for his battle prowess, gift for strategy, and unwavering determination. He is shown to have a very straight-to-the-point attitude, and dislikes wasting time on anything that strays from whatever goal is at hand. He even explains to Eirika that he also has a calling to battle, and it is something he is not sure he can control. One of Ephraim's dreams included becoming a mercenary in order to travel the world. But, Ephraim also puts his responsibility and kingdom first despite this longing for battle, which means he was never able to achieve this dream of his even after the end of the game.

Outside of battle, Ephraim is shown to be a kind, strong, and mature person despite being rather young. He takes criticism rather well, even if he disagrees with what is being said. However, Ephraim seems to struggle with communication, as well as consideration of others, due to the fact that he was raised to be a distant prince, only ever opening up to Eirika, Duessel, and his retainers; he states he could not afford to feel real affection toward anyone because of this. Ephraim also explains in his level 40 conversation in Fire Emblem Heroes, that he is always striving to strengthen these lacking qualities, especially after losing Lyon, who he refers to as 'a good friend of his' in his dialogue. Ephraim can come off as aloof at times because of this, and even a bit shy, which is shown in his support conversations with L'Arachel and Tana, which portrays his inability to hold a conversation with them well.

Ephraim's biggest flaw is his overconfidence. Though he picks and chooses battles he is sure to win, he will easily put his life on the line in order to secure a victory. An example of this behavior is shown when he, Orson, Forde, and Kyle storm Fort Renvall by themselves, with Forde and Kyle questioning Ephraim's sanity for directing such an order at first.

Growth Rates

 * 80%
 * 55%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 50%
 * 35%
 * 25%
 * }

Supports

 * Eirika
 * Kyle
 * Forde
 * Myrrh
 * L'Arachel
 * Duessel
 * Tana

Overall
Ephraim is one of the two Lords in the game, and he will become the main lord of the storyline if his story is taken at the route split. Unlike his sister, Eirika, who joins with very low base stats, Ephraim's primary stats are fantastic for his join time and level, and he has among the best growths in the game all around. He is also locked to a far better weapon type than Eirika, who has Swords, as Lances have higher damage, a reliable ranged attack option, and are less susceptible to weapon triangle disadvantage against the majority of enemies that use them as well.

His personal weapon, Reginleif, is also immensely powerful and light enough that he can use it without any Speed penalties. It is effective against armored and mounted enemies, but is powerful enough to use it against standard enemies to great effect as well, and its many uses allow the player to use it with impunity. When he promotes, he gains a mount to allow him to keep up with faster units, and the Sacred Twin Siegmund, a powerful Lance with which he can nearly one hit kill the majority of monsters in the game even with no stats increases of his own.

Ephraim's main weakness is his late promotion, his lance lock, and lack of a mount until he promotes. He may fall behind any mounted units in the player's army up until that point and will require ferrying to remain on the front lines. He is also not preset at all in Eirika's route until he meets back up with her in Chapter 15, leaving him with very few chapters of availability. When engaging Axe using enemies, he is at weapon triangle disadvantage unless he equips an Axereaver. He also has fairly low stat caps, though during the main campaign this does not come into play to any notable degree. These issues do not stop him from being one of the strongest Lords in the Game Boy Advance titles, and perhaps even the series, especially once he promotes.

Base Stats

 * -|SpotPass=

*Enemy only; joins unequipped
 * -|DLC=


 * -|Enemy =

Fire Emblem Heroes

 * -|Original=
 * Restoration Lord
 * Prince of Renais. Eirika's twin. Cares deeply for his sister. His confidence has sometimes put him in danger. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Weapon Refinements

 * Siegmund

Passive

 * -|Legendary Lord=
 * Legendary Lord
 * Prince of Renais. Eirika's twin. It's said he destroyed the Demon King of old and saved the world. Appears in Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones.

Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯

Death Quote
"Forgive me, Eirika."

- Ephraim's death/game over quote in The Sacred Stones.

Heroes

 * Ephraim/Heroes Quotes

Possible Endings
Ephraim, Restoration King (碧空の勇王 Hekikū no Yūō lit. Brave King of the Clear Sky)
 * "Busy days awaited him upon his return to Renais. He oversaw the rebuilding not only of his country but also of the entire continent of Magvel. His work was difficult, but his success made him a legend."


 * (A Support with Tana)
 * "Once Renais was stable again, Ephraim and Tana were wed. Innes protested vocally, but when he saw how happy Tana was, he gave the marriage his blessings. Renais and Frelia are now bound by blood as well as friendship."


 * (A Support with Eirika)
 * "Busy days awaited Eirika and Ephraim as they struggled to rebuild Renais. Their work gave new hope to those ravaged by the war, and with Eirika's constant help, Ephraim grew to be a trusted and honorable king."


 * (A Support with L'Arachel)
 * "Ephraim and L'Arachel each returned home after the war, but L'Arachel visited Renais often. Over time, the two were wed. Their marriage threw Rausten into turmoil, but L'Arachel's self-centeredness carried the day."


 * (A Support with Myrrh)
 * "After the war, Ephraim returned to Renais and Myrrh to Darkling Woods. They both turned their attention to their respective duties but never forgot one another. Though Myrrh never again left Darkling Woods, Ephraim often visited her."

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

 * Sticker Info

Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Ephraim is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:

Etymology
According to the Bible, Ephraim is the second son of Joseph (son of Jacob and Rachel). Joseph's eleven brothers sold him into slavery in Egypt out of jealousy, but he was released from prison when he won the Pharaoh's favor through his gift for prophecy, and the Pharaoh gave him as his wife Asenath, daughter of the priest Potiphera. Genesis 41:52 says of Ephraim's birth, "[Joseph] said, 'God has given me children in the land of my trouble,' so he named his second son Ephraim.'"

The name Ephram is the Hebrew word for 'give children,' or is sometimes translated as 'fruitful.'

He and his sister Eirika both have names similar to common English names with an added "i" (Erika and Ephram)

Trivia

 * Ephraim came in 7th place for males and 13th overall in the Fire Emblem Heroes Choose Your Legends popularity poll. He had 14,908 votes.
 * In the Choose Your Legends Round 2, Ephraim came in 2nd place for males and 3rd overall. This time, he had 31,027 votes.
 * Anytime Ephraim is attacked from at least a space away, no matter what weapon he is holding, his sprite will show that of a ranged lance-type weapon (Javelin, Short Spear, or Spear.) A similar oversight happens with the Great Knight class.
 * When he becomes a Great Lord, his max stats are almost identical to Eliwood's.
 * Ephraim shows up in two DLC maps in Awakening as an enemy Soldier. The Playable DLC version of Ephraim is a Great Knight with the unique skill Conquest.
 * His Awakening artwork depicts him wielding Ephraim's Lance.
 * In Awakening, Ephraim's SpotPass Team consists of himself alongside 5 Griffon Riders and 4 Valkyries. This could be an allusion to the troops he led in Eirika's Route when the party joined her, as Kyle mentions that he would be riding with "Frelia's finest" at his back.
 * In the Paralogue "Unbreakable Bond" in Fire Emblem Heroes, Ephraim references a common fan theory that his relationship with Eirika is incestuous, citing the rumor as "disgusting."
 * This comment is not included in the Japanese release of the game. In the Japanese script, in the Paralogue 1-3 "Sacred Bond" (original Japanese title: "Siblings' Love Once Again") Ephraim talks a lot about "brother and sister love" and mentions that the depth of their bond resulted in some people "making strange rumors about them." Ephraim's dialogue indicates no negative emotions about said rumors but honest confusion. Eirika interrupts him, embarrassed, clearly more aware what those strange rumors are about.
 * Eirika also interrupts him during Paralogue 1-1 "Family Bond" (original Japanese title: "Siblings of the Holiness and Evil"). Ephraim proclaims that Alfonse and Sharena are their "competition" since they are also a pair of siblings. He says that they won't lose as far as the depth of their "brother and sister love" goes. Eirika cuts him off by saying "Please stop saying things that would make people take it the wrong way!" before she clears her throat, introducing herself to Alfonse and Sharena.


 * In Heroes, Ephraim is the first character whose exclusive weapon is not preceded by a Silver weapon, as it is instead preceded by a Heavy Spear. The only other characters that share this trait are Eldigan, Tana, Joshua, and Mia.
 * He also shares his English voice actor, Greg Chun, with Eldigan, Ike, and Lukas in Heroes.