Matthis

"They forced me to enlist- you know I hate warfare, but it was into the army or onto the chopping block."

- Matthis

Matthis (マチス, Machis) is a playable character in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryū to Hikari no Tsurugi, Monshō no Nazo and Shadow Dragon.

Background & History
Matthis is the brother of Lena, who has an acute distaste for war and violence. He was forced to join the Medonian army, after being threatened with death upon his refusal. He is later recruited into Marth's forces by his sister during battle and fights with them. if the player has him talk with Marth he reveals that the ruler of Medon, Michalis, puts the most scared-looking soldiers on the front lines and kills those who disobey orders. This causes him to be scared of Marth initially, being startled by the fact that this is in fact Marth and saying, "S-Stay your rapier!" (much to the confusion of Marth) before finding out Marth is nothing like Michalis. He then says he will not mistake Marth for Michalis again and that Altean princes he can trust.

In Monshō no Nazo, Matthis' situation is expanded upon slightly when recruited. After Lena rejected Prince Michalis' marriage request and fled from Medon, Michalis despised Matthis and forced him to fight or be executed. Matthis heard that she had denied his request, and realizes that Michalis is punishing him for it, and he tells Lena that his life "is going to be hard with a sister like you". He also flatly tells Lena not to fall in love with a theif.

During the second book, Matthis's sister is kidnapped by Gharnef to help revive Medeus. He originally disapproved of Julian's feelings for his sister, seeing Julian as only a thief and believing that his sister could do much better. During the second book, he can be recruited by Julian who wants to help him save his sister. Although reluctant, Matthis joins with Julian and is eventually convinced of Julian's good character after traveling with him for a second time.

Base Stats
|Cavalier |2 |20 |5 |0 |2 |6 |0 |7 |0 |9 |Sword - E Lance - D |Iron Lance

Growth Rates
|90% |40% |0% |30% |20% |30% |30% |0%

Base Stats
|Cavalier |4 |21 |7 |0 |3 |7 |1 |9 |0 |9 |Sword - E Lance - D |Iron Lance Javelin

Growth Rates
|100% |50% |0% |40% |30% |30% |30% |5%

Support Relationships
Supports Supported by
 * Lena
 * My Unit
 * Julian
 * Lena

Overall
Matthis is often discounted in the games he appears in as inferior to other Cavaliers, and having inferior growths. This is often stated to be a misconception by some fans of him however, who train him with success. It has also been suggested by his fans that he does well in many of the Class Swap possibilites he has in Shadow Dragon.

Trivia

 * A running gag among fans of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon consists of how Matthis will attack his sister Lena as an enemy before being recruited. Just right before the actual attack, he will have a short dialogue about missing his sister, apparently not reconizing her at the encounter, his attack would usually result in him killing Lena.
 * In the manga adaptation of the first game, Matthis is an expert tactician.
 * He shared a portrait with Vyland in the first game, another cavalier whose abilities are often called into question.