Leif

"I’ve never hated the Empire as much as I do now. They killed my parents, and they even took away the one person who I could call my mother. I hate the Empire…and I hate that Raydrik, who follows its commands to do evil."

- Leif, after Eyvel is turned to stone

Leif (リーフ Rīfu, Leaf in the Japanese version), full name Leif Faris Claus (リーフ・ファリス・クラウス Rīfu Farisu Kurausu, fan translated as Leaf Faris Claus), is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, and Fire Emblem Awakening. He is the prince of Leonster, the son of Quan and Ethlyn, and the younger brother of Altena. He is also a cousin of Seliph and the grandson of Byron, Calf, and Alfiona. He is a descendant of Crusader Noba from Quan, and inherited Baldur's blood from Ethlyn.

Leif is revealed to be fifteen years old at the beginning of Thracia 776, and sixteen during the events of Genealogy of the Holy War.

Profile
Leif was born in the time between Quan and Ethlyn's departure from Sigurd's army and their deaths at the hands of King Travant of Thracia in the Yied Massacre. After the fall of Leonster, he managed to flee alongside his guardian, Finn, and Nanna. During his childhood, he hid in several cities on the Thracia Peninsula, including Alster and Tahra, but had to flee from all of them when the Grannvale Empire's soldiers came in search of him. Eventually, he and Nanna arrived in Fiana, where they asked the village's leader, Eyvel, to help Finn, who was wounded. Although Nanna begged in tears, Leif only glared at Eyvel and offered to give the Light Brand, a keepsake from Ethlyn, to her if she would help Finn.

At the beginning of Thracia 776, Leif departs on a mission to rescue Nanna and Mareeta after their capture at the hands of Raydrik and the imperial army. In Chapter 3, he and Eyvel surrender to Raydrick after he uses Nanna as a hostage against them. While Eyvel is taken to Manster's arena to meet with Nanna and Mareeta, Leif is imprisoned in the dungeon, where he meets Fergus and Karin. With help from them as well as the Magi Squad, he escapes the dungeon and travels to the arena. There, he rescues Nanna and witnesses Bishop Veld use his dark magic to turn Eyvel to stone. As a result of this, Leif begins working to save Eyvel, and later discovers that the only way to do it is to use the Kia Staff, which can only be wielded by Archbishop Manfroy's descendants.

At Safy's request, Leif arrives in Tahra and provides aid to Linoan, but they are later forced to flee when the Thracian army captures the city. Afterwards, he leads his army to Leonster and liberates it from the Grannvale Empire's soldiers. At the end of Chapter 18, he decides to send half of his army to Alster to aid its civilians in their rebellion, which results in failure and the death of one of his advisers, Dorias. With his weakened forces, Leif spends the next six months fighting to prevent the imperial army from retaking Leonster Castle. He eventually receives aid from Seliph, who continues his effort to defeat King Bloom and liberate the kingdoms of Northern Thracia. Meanwhile, Leif travels to Manster, where he obtains the Blaggi Sword and uses it to defeat Raydrick. In the final chapter of Thracia 776, he defeats Veld and liberates Manster, thereafter joining up with Seliph's forces to fight against Thracia and the Grannvale Empire.

During Seliph's invasion of Thracia, Leif learns from Finn that Altena is still alive and has been raised by Travant as his own daughter. In Chapter 9 of Genealogy of the Holy War, he informs Altena about her heritage as the princess of Leonster, causing her to demand the truth from Travant and later join up with Seliph's army.

After the Liberation War, Leif becomes the king of the New Kingdom of Thracia, consisting of the entire peninsula. He canonically marries Nanna, as revealed in Thracia 776, although he can fall in love with most of the other female characters instead in Genealogy of the Holy War. In Thracia 776, it is mentioned that his name will never be forgotten as long as history exists.

Personality
Leif is initially quite naive and childish, but later grows to be a responsible leader. He is generally a kind and gentle person who cares for the people close to him. He is also very reckless, as shown in his conversation with Finn in Chapter 8 of Genealogy of the Holy War. He despises Thracia and initially refuses to seek aid from it in Thracia 776, and his adviser, August, calls him out for it, due to their lack of options at that point. He wishes to have revenge against both Bloom and Travant, the former because he caused the suffering of Leonster's people, and the latter due to his actions in the Yied Massacre.

Base Stats
Notes: Parent characters are assumed to be at Level 30 by the end of the First Generation. Unlike most male children, Leif inherits the equipment of his mother, Ethlyn, instead of his father.
 * [[File:Minor_Holy_Blood_Indicator.gif]] - Minor Holy Blood
 * [[File:Major_Holy_Blood_Indicator.gif]] - Major Holy Blood

Growth Rates
(With Holy Blood Bonuses)


 * 130%
 * 60%
 * 7%
 * 50%
 * 45%
 * 25%
 * 50%
 * 10%
 * }

Overall
Leif may start out fairly weak, but evolves into a formidable unit after promotion. It is recommended to have the Pursuit Ring passed down to him, as he will be unable to perform double attacks without it until promotion. Leif will also come with the Light Brand, assuming that Ethlyn had received it from Deirdre in Generation 1.

He comes with the skills Adept and Critical, and gains the Pursuit skill after promotion.

Conversations
In Chapter 7, Leif may speak to Seliph, but nothing will result of it.

In Chapter 8, Finn may speak to Leif, and Leif will gain three points of strength.

In Chapter 9, if Finn is alive at the beginning of the chapter, Leif may speak to Altena, resulting in her taking her leave of the battlefield. This will essentially allow her to be recruited later in the chapter.

In Chapter 10, if neither Nanna nor Leif has a lover, she may speak to him, and she will gain three points of HP.

In Chapter 10, Leif may speak to Altena, and she will gain one point of luck.

In the Final Chapter, if Tine is in love with Leif, she may speak to him, and he will gain three points of magic.

In the Final Chapter, after Edda Castle is captured, if Leif is in love with Nanna/Jeanne, she may speak to him, and he will gain three points of defense (Nanna) or HP (Jeanne).

Love
Original and replacement characters have the same love growths, unless stated otherwise.


 * Julia: 0+0
 * Altena: N/A
 * Lana: 0+2
 * Larcei: 0+2
 * Nanna: 100+2
 * Fee: 0+2
 * Lene: 0+2
 * Patty: 0+2
 * Tine: 0+3

Growth Rates

 * 70%
 * 35%
 * 10%
 * 35%
 * 40%
 * 40%
 * 25%
 * 15%
 * 3%
 * }

Support Bonus
Supports
 * Finn - 10%
 * Eyvel - 10%
 * Ronan - 10%
 * Safy - 10%
 * Dalsin - 10%
 * Asbel - 10%
 * Nanna - 10%
 * Hicks - 10%
 * Carrion - 10%
 * Selphina - 10%
 * Olwen - 10%
 * Tina - 10%
 * Linoan - 10%
 * Miranda - 10%
 * Sara - 10%
 * Xavier - 10%

Supported by
 * Nanna - 10%

Overall
Compared to his appearance in Genealogy of the Holy War, Leif is much weaker in this game, thanks to his mediocre base stats, and growth. However, Leif has tons of perks that make him a fairly solid character in his own right.

Leif has the ability Adept, which allows him to get an extra attack at times. Leif's Light Brand is pretty useful thanks to its 1-2 range magical attack property, +10 Luck bonus and 60 uses. It can also act as a Vulnerary, but compared to the aforementioned item, it is not as effective.

It is recommended to give the Chapters 1 - 3 Life, Shield, and Speed Ring to Leif to patch up his low stats, since the only early game characters who is still alvailable to use in Manster are Leif, Eyvel (for a very short time), and Lifis. A stats boosted Leif is arguably the best unit in the team during Manster other than Brighton, thanks to the Magical property of the Light Brand and the massive amount of high defense enemies during Chapters 4 - 7. Following the end of those chapters, Leif is still a capable unit, but his massive amounts of combat during that time, followed by his late game promotion, will made him lag a bit compared to other units.

To make up for his low bases and mediocre growths, the player can throw him some Scrolls. Despite its marginal at best boost, Leif's late-game promotion is a blessing in disguise in this regard, since his class power does not change (unlike most promotions), which allows Leif to quickly mend his stat deficiencies, provided he is given the proper scrolls.

Finally, Leif has a massive amount of supported units that allow him to boost another units by being near with them. Notably, Leif has a two sided support triangle with both Nanna and Finn. This can be further enhanced by giving Leif the King Sword, which is quite useful in some tough chapters with thick enemy density. This is made even better thanks to being the Lord. Leif is unaffected by the fatigue mechanic, so he can always provide this bonus.

Overall, Leif is essentially a clutch during the early chapters who falls down, and later gets a chance to catch up. He is a useful character in his own right because he is always available to use.

Base Stats

 * -|SpotPass=

*Enemy only; joins unequipped
 * -|DLC=

*Enemy only; joins unequipped
 * -|Enemy (CoY2)=

Quotes
"Father... ...Mother..."

- Leif's death quote in Genealogy of the Holy War

"Everyone... I'm...sorry..."

- Leif's death quote in Thracia 776.

Ending
Leif - The Prince of Leonster (レンスターの王子 Rensutā no ōji)
 * (If Nanna is alive)

Leif led the Jugdral Liberation Wars along with Seliph. After securing Belhalla, he continued to travel around the continent, liberating those under oppression. In the Gran Year 780, Leif united Northern and Southern Thracia into the New Kingdom of Thracia, where he declared himself king. Along with his queen, Nanna, and his sister, Altena, he carried on the legacy of Dain and Noba, devoting his life to maintaining peace and prosperity in his nation. As long as history exists in Thracia, the legendary King Leif's name will never be forgotten...

Leif - The Prince of Leonster (レンスターの王子 Rensutā no ōji)
 * (If Nanna is dead)

Leif led the Jugdral Liberation Wars along with Seliph. After securing Belhalla, he continued to travel around the continent, liberating those under oppression. In the Gran Year 780, Leif united Northern and Southern Thracia into the New Kingdom of Thracia, where he declared himself king. Along with his sister, Altena, he carried on the legacy of Dain and Noba, devoting his life to maintaining peace and prosperity in his nation. As long as history exists in Thracia, the legendary King Leif's name will never be forgotten...

Etymology
Leif's name could be derived from 'Leif', a name of Scandinavian origin which befittingly means "heir" or "descendant". In Norse Mythology, Lif (closer to the japanese pronunciation) was the name of the woman who survived Ragnarok and means "Life". Leif's name could also be a reference to Lugh, a deity from Irish mythology who was the son of Cian (Quan) and Ethnia (Ethlyn).

Trivia

 * Leif is the only Lord from the early Japanese-exclusive games whose name was not mentioned in the official site for Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade in the History of Fire Emblem section.
 * Leif's Fire Emblem Awakening artwork depicts him wielding Leif's Blade, which in turn is based on the Light Brand, his personal weapon in Thracia 776.
 * One of Marth's alternate costumes in Super Smash Bros. Brawl is based on Leif.
 * Additionally, according to a 2002 Famitsu interview, Leif was originally considered as a Marth clone instead of Roy for Super Smash Bros. Melee.