Ayra

"You better not double-cross me, Cimbaeth. Because I'll hunt you down... and put your head on a stick! Even if it takes me to the ends of hell! Got it!?"

- Ayra to Cimbaeth, after the latter kidnaps Shanan in Genealogy of the Holy War

Ayra (アイラ Aira lit. Ira in the Japanese version) is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.

Ayra is the first female "Sword Fighter" to appear in the Fire Emblem franchise. She has been credited with introducing the current form of the Myrmidon class and refining the Navarre Archetype into a distinct class from the Mercenary or standard Ogma-pattern sword fighter.

Alongside Shanan, Ayra is one of the first characters to appear in the default demo sequence of the game. She is officially introduced at the beginning of Chapter 1 of Genealogy of the Holy War, shortly after Eldigan speaks with Sigurd at Evans castle. When she is introduced, she is seen speaking to her employer Cimbaeth, threatening to kill him if he reneges on their deal.

Ayra makes a cameo appearance in Fire Emblem Awakening, via the SpotPass function.

Profile
Ayra is a descendant of Odo, one of the Twelve Crusaders of Jugdral. She was born and raised in Isaach Castle, the capital city of that country. She is the daughter of King Mananan and an anonymous deceased mother, and the half-sister of Prince Mariccle, who is 12 years her senior. If paired, she will be the mother of Larcei and Ulster.

According to unofficial sources, Ayra was born in the Gran Calendar year 738~740 and stands at 169 centimeters. She weighs 53 kilograms, and her blood type is AB. It is revealed that she knew Chulainn during their childhood. She appears to be cold and uncompromising towards strangers and enemies, but she shows a more caring side towards people close to her. As an Isaachian warrior, she is willing to reciprocate trust to those who choose to trust her.

In Gran 757, the Kingdom of Isaach was on the verge of destruction. After the Isaachian army of Rivough Castle attacked Grannvale's territory in Darna, Prince Kurth of Grannvale led a counterattack in response to reports of atrocties being carried out by Rivough. Ayra's father Mananan intended to tell Prince Kurth that only the Rivough army had attacked Darna, but was assassinated by Duke Reptor of Freege under the influence of Manfroy. Manfroy and Reptor wanted the Isaachian-Grannvaleian war to continue, in a conspiracy that also involved Duke Langobalt, in a bid to obtain more power for themselves.

At the time of the Isaachian-Grannvaleian war, the defeated men and children of Isaachian royalty were to be executed and the women were brutalized and enslaved, with many of them dying as well. Mariccle foresaw his own death and the fall of Isaach, and did not wish for either Ayra or Shanan to endure this suffering. Knowing that Grannvale's military was stronger than Isaach's, he ordered Ayra and Shanan to flee to Verdane. Verdane was the only country not allied with Grannvale at that time due to their own border disputes.

Upon arriving in Verdane, Shanan found his new life in Verdane amusing, even going so far as to make a game out of it. However, Ayra struggled to make ends meet both for herself and Shanan, and forced herself to work as a mercenary for Cimbaeth.

She first appears with Cimbaeth in Chapter 1 of Genealogy of the Holy War, taking place in the Gran Calendar year 757. She is employed to guard his castle, Genoa, while he advances northward to retake Evans Castle. Cimbaeth, having left only a pittance of his army at Genoa, had Shanan locked in the dungeon to prevent Ayra from shirking from her duties. This results in Ayra threatening to impale Cimbaeth on a stick in order to prevent him from breaking his promise.

When Sigurd and his forces approach Genoa Castle, Ayra declares that she will kill anyone who dares to come near her and goes on the attack. However, Sigurd manages to conquer Genoa Castle, rescuing Shanan in the process. After Shanan explains his and Ayra's situation, Sigurd speaks with her and makes a promise to protect Shanan despite their countries being at war. Despite still viewing Grannvale as her sworn enemy, Ayra pledges her sword to Sigurd and enlists in his army to repay him.

Later in Chapter 1, after Sigurd manages to convince her to join his army, she will discuss the political situation between Isaach and Grannvale with Quan. Through this conversation, it is revealed that Quan's father, King Calf of Leonster, holds Ayra's father Mananan in high regard. Ayra then informs Quan that in response to her father's death, her brother Mariccle launched a full-scale war against Grannvale. However, Grannvale's military might is far beyond that of Isaach, and Marricle has perished.

In Chapter 3, either Lex or Chulainn may present Ayra the Brave Sword. If it is Chulainn, he will tell her that the battle will likely escalate and he cannot always be there to defend her.

In Chapter 5, after Sigurd conquers Lubeck Castle, Ayra's children, Larcei and Ulster (provided she is paired up by this time), will flee alongside Shanan, Oifey, and Seliph to the safety of Isaach, where they eventually settle down in the town of Tirnanog. After the three depart, Ayra will inform Sigurd that she has decided to clear her debt to him by fighting in the Battle of Belhalla, expressing the desire to raise Shanan. However, Sigurd and his forces are soon betrayed and ambushed by Arvis. Ayra becomes one of the many characters who disappear from history.

Neither the game itself nor other official sources reveal her fate after the Battle of Belhalla, resulting in the arising of heated debate concerning her whereabouts. According the manga adaptation by Oosawa Mitsuki, Ayra survived the Battle of Belhalla but died years afterwards, a plausible perspective that is not confirmed.

However, Genealogy of the Holy War and Thracia 776 confirm that the all of the other female members of Sigurd's army who were present in the Battle of Belhalla managed to survive, leading certain sources to claim that Ayra had perished in the Battle of Belhalla.

Recruitment
Getting Ayra to join Sigurd's forces is somewhat difficult, but she is well worth the effort. First off, Sigurd and his forces have to lure her away from Genoa Castle. Alec and Arden are good candidates because of their Nihil skill, which prevents her from activating Astra. This will give Sigurd the chance to approach Genoa Castle and retake it without Ayra engaging in battle. She will be recruited upon speaking to her with Sigurd after Genoa Castle is captured.

Another way to recruit her is to lure her away from the castle by a mounted unit she cannot reach. With this, Sigurd can capture the castle. Upon capturing the castle, Ayra will go towards it to see Shanan, upon which Sigurd can intercept her and talk to her.

Base Stats

 * [[File:Minor_Holy_Blood_Indicator.gif]] - Minor Holy Blood
 * [[File:Major_Holy_Blood_Indicator.gif]] - Major Holy Blood

Growth Rates
(With Holy Blood Bonuses)


 * 70%
 * 30%
 * 5%
 * 60%
 * 30%
 * 20%
 * 20%
 * 5%
 * }

Love Growths

 * Sigurd: N/A
 * Quan: N/A
 * Finn: 0+2
 * Noish: 0+2
 * Alec: 0+2
 * Arden: 0+2
 * Lex: 0+2
 * Azelle: 0+2
 * Midayle: 0+2
 * Dew: 0+2
 * Jamke: 0+2
 * Chulainn: 0+2
 * Lewyn: 50+2
 * Beowolf: 50+2
 * Claud: 200+2

Overview
She is the first recruitable enemy in Genealogy of the Holy War. Owing to the difficulty of recruiting her (stemming from both the convoluted requirements to speak to her and her aggressive behavior as an enemy unit), inexperienced players may accidentally kill her off. This is detrimental in the short and long term, as both she and her children are valuable assets to the armies of both generation.

Ayra displays traits of the Navarre archetype: deadly offense, high Evasion, and low durability. However, unlike other Navarre-type characters in the series, her lethality comes from her Astra skill, which allows her to attack five times in a row. (Other Navarres usually come equipped with the high-crit Killing Edge.) Ayra is the unit with the single most physical damage potential of all of the first generation units, where Jamke is the most dangerous physical ranged unit, and Lewyn is the most dangerous Magic unit. While all three are capable of dealing massive damage, Ayra has the highest overall potential assuming she activates Astra on each possible swing while equipping her Brave Sword.

Ayra can be trained to her promotional level without using Boss Abuse or the Elite Ring. On top of killing enemy units easily, she also has a very easy time clearing the Arena as her offensive potential can make short work of almost any arena enemy. Without even feeding her many enemies on the map, she should promote around the beginning of Chapter 4 due to clearing the Arena every map.

Ayra does come with two notable downsides despite her amazing potential for damage dealing: her low Movement and low overall durability. In Genealogy of the Holy War, maps are very large and it is quite easy for your mounted units to clear up the majority of enemy units before your units on foot can even reach the battle. You can have your mounted units restrict their movement so that your ground units can keep up, but this often comes at the price of losing potent items to burnt down villages or recruitable characters dying. To alleviate this, you could have Ayra obtain the Leg Ring during Chapter 3, though many players opt to give this item to either Sigurd, Erinys, or their favorite mounted unit.

Either way, Ayra is an offensive powerhouse, and you will not be disappointed with her combat results.

Mother Overview
Because of Ayra's excellent stats, practically any playable male character in Sigurd's tale can be the father of her children without ruining them. Though any male is suitable, some prime candidates for Ayra's husband are Lex, Chulainn, Noish, or Dew. The males that do not really do anything for Ayra's children are Azelle, Alec and Claud as they give no skills (or in Alec's case, one skill of dubious use for her children) and most other pairings offer better stats or weaponry. There are more instances where Ayra is the ideal choice as a mother than any other female unit in Sigurd's army.

Though Lex and Chulainn can give Ayra a Brave Sword, she is not required to take either of them as a husband to obtain the weapon, and therefore should accept the event whether or not she is meant to marry the character granting it. When pairing Ayra with a male unit that can use B-level swords but not A-level swords (Noish or Alec), it's advisable to have her give her Brave Sword to him and then win the Silver Blade from Chagall, as that way both her children will inherit an excellent weapon.

Noish offers solid stats and will make Ayra's children more offensively impressive with Charge and Critical (a skill they are both perfectly suited for) and offers inheritance of B rank swords to Ulster.

Lex gives excellent stats with his Neir blood, and Paragon being inherited by two of the starting characters in the second generation will maximize its usefulness; however he does not grant any weapon inheritance and therefore Ulster must make do with his starting weapon until a better one can be bought or won.

Dew offers perhaps the best stat growths for the children, as well as the useful Sol and Bargain skills.

Chulainn is the most straightforward: he will make both slightly better versions of their parents and will grant full inheritance to Ulster, as well as the useful Luna skill to both of them. Pairing Ayra with Chulainn also gives her children major Odo blood.

As previously stated, any of them will still result in her children being excellent. Note that Astra, Luna, and Sol cannot simultaneously activate, therefore it is somewhat redundant to accumulate more than one such skill on her children.

SpotPass
*Enemy only, joins unequipped

Recruit Conversation
Sigurd: Ayra, wait! We've got Prince Shanan. You don't need to fight anymore! Ayra: What!? YOU rescued Shanan? Prove it to me! Sigurd: Prince Shanan told me that you're the younger sister to the King of Isaach. He also said that you'd be hostile towards us since we're from Grannvale. But consider the facts. You have a young prince to protect. Is this war really worth risking your life over!? Ayra: My brother, the king, was prepared for death when he entrusted Shanan with me. We've come this far ... But you're right. I can't risk my life for Verdane! I must see Shanan through until he's old enough to become a respectable king. Sigurd: Then put down your sword. As descendant of Baldur, the Crusader of Light, I will not betray you. Ayra: ... Consider yourself reciprocated then. That's the way of the Isaachian warrior. For now I consecrate my sword to thee. But I still view Grannvale as my sworn enemy. Just so prepare for the day when that enemy may include you. Sigurd: War sure can be cruel. Ayra, warrior of Isaach ... I pray that day never comes.

Death Quotes
"Shanan ... I'm sorry."

- If Ayra dies as an enemy in Genealogy of the Holy War

"Shanan, be strong."

- If Ayra dies as a playable character and does not have a lover in Genealogy of the Holy War

"Shanan, be strong. , I want to see you again ..."

- If Ayra dies as a playable character and has a lover in Genealogy of the Holy War

Conversations
In Chapter 1, after Genoa Castle is captured, Sigurd may speak to Ayra to recruit her.

In Chapter 1, after Ayra is recruited, Quan may speak to her, but nothing will result of it.

In Chapter 3, if neither Ayra, Lex, nor Chulainn has a lover, either one of the two male characters may speak to her, resulting in her receiving a Brave Sword and 100 love points with the conversation initiator.

In Chapter 5, after Lubeck Castle is captured, Sigurd may speak to Ayra, but nothing will result of it.

In Chapter 5, if Ayra's lover is either Lex, Chulainn, or Arden, she may speak to him, but nothing will result of it.

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

Etymology
Ayra's Japanese name, "Ira", is Latin for Wrath. Ira is also a diminutive form of Irina, a given feminine Slavic name and Irene, meaning peace. Ira is also a given unisex Hebrew name meaning "watchful".

Trivia

 * Ayra is the rare figurine in the Fire Emblem: Exceed a Generation Trading Figure collection.
 * The Fire Emblem Treasure family tree reveals that Mariccle and Ayra may have different mothers.
 * Ayra is paired with Lex in the Oosawa Mitsuki manga adaptation of the game. In said adaptation, they are shown to engage each other in battle when the they first meet.
 * In the Nattsu Fujimori manga adaptation, Ayra is first courted by Alec, but is shown to reject his affections. Later, she is paired with Chulainn, whose child self appears to her in her dreams, although it took her quite a while to recognize him.