Jaffar

"I feel no fear, sadness, pain or happiness...yet I am afraid."

- Jaffar

Jaffar, "The Angel of Death" is an enemy in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken who can become a playable unit later in the game. He was an emotionless killer in the employ of Nergal until he was changed by the kindness of Nino, the first person he ever came to care for.

Background
Jaffar was chosen by Nergal as an orphan because of his ruthless skill with a blade. It is enigmatic how he was orphaned, as all that is said is Jaffar was found amongst a pile of bodies, sleeping on them. He then was raised and trained by Nergal, and was sent to infiltrate the Black Fang, a league of assassins, by posing as a member. Due to his great ability in assassination, he quickly rose through the ranks and eventually replaced one of the Four Fangs the four greatest assassins in the Black Fang.

In Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken, Jaffar was first seen in a cutscene in "The Dread Isle" (Eliwood Chapter 18, Hector Chapter 19). Ephidel upon learning that a member of the Black Fang, Leila was a spy for Ostia, summoned Jaffar to kill her for betraying the group. Ephidel then commanded Jaffar to leave her corpse in the forest for Eliwood's troupe to find.

Jaffar later subdued Lord Elbert at Nergal's command during his escape attempt in "Dragon's Gate" (Eliwood Chapter 19, Hector Chapter 20). During this time, Jaffar had a brief confrontation with Eliwood and his group, but he was ordered to go to Bern and await his next mission. The Four Fangs were later summoned by Sonia in "Kinship's Bond" (Eliwood Chapter 21, Hector Chapter 22) and commanded to track down and kill Eliwood.

The turning point for Jaffar came when he met a young girl named Nino in "Four-Fanged Offense". Nino was supposed to meet up with him after a mission, but then she found Jaffar hurt and bleeding badly, and had tended to his wounds when he passed out on the floor. When he came to Jaffar asked why Nino had spared him, remembering the Black Fang's code to kill the weak so that the strong may rise. This is the first time Jaffar felt emotions, and over time he began to care for Nino.

In "Battle before Dawn" (Eliwood Chapter 26, Hector Chapter 28), Sonia had ordered Jaffar and Nino to assassinate Prince Zephiel for his father, King Desmond of Bern. After Nino accepted the mission, Sonia told Jaffar to stay behind for more details. Sonia told Jaffar the true mission, after assassinating Prince Zephiel he was to kill Nino so that the King would have a scapegoat to blame the Prince's death on.

Jaffar and Nino infiltrate the Prince's manse, and Jaffar, upon knocking out Prince Zephiel, tells Nino it is time for her to do her part. Just before entering the Prince's room Nino hears the Prince praying for his father to accept him so that he, his mother, his sister and his father the King may live a happy life. Nino cannot bring herself to kill Prince Zephiel, as this is all she wants as well, acceptance from her "mother" Sonia. Nino knows that betraying the Fang means death, and tells Jaffar that she is ready to die. She closes her eyes preparing for Jaffar to kill her when Jaffar tells Nino to follow him, and that they are leaving. While they were fleeing the manse however Ursula, another one of the Four Fangs spots them and Jaffar proceeds to fight her and her troops, telling Nino to run and that she deserves to live. He refuses her offer to run with him and makes a last stand to cover for her and protect Zephiel as well.

If you recruit Nino (talk with her using Eliwood/Hector) then she can talk to Jaffar and Jaffar would then join the group at the end of the chapter, although some among the group (particularly Hector and Matthew) did not think he should be so quickly forgiven for all of the comrades he had killed (Leila).

In "Night of Farewells" (Eliwood Chapter 26x, Hector Chapter 28x) Jaffar accompanies Nino in her search for her mother Sonia (as she had already learned from Ursula that Sonia was not her real mother). When Nino confronts her mother and learns her origins, Jaffar is with her, and then they're aided by the rest of the group when Sonia sics Black Fang members on them both. Afterwards, he joins the group for the rest of the journey so that he may atone for his sins.

Initial Stats
Level 13 Assassin
 * HP: 34
 * Strength: 19
 * Skill: 25
 * Speed: 24
 * Luck: 10
 * Defense: 15
 * Magic Defense: 11

Growth Rates

 * HP: 65%
 * Strength: 15%
 * Skill: 40%
 * Speed: 35%
 * Luck: 20%
 * Defense: 30%
 * Resistance: 30%

Jaffar's Overall growth is bad, but he has good starting stats,especially strength. His HP and defense growths are low, but he will more likely dodge oncoming attacks with his incredibly high speed and skill. With a Killing Edge, he can kill many enemies with his high strength (unusually high for an Assassin).

Support Conversation Summaries
Jaffar is capable of having support conversations with three characters: Nino, Matthew, and Legault.

Legault- Legault expresses his surprise at seeing Nergal's right-hand man among Eliwood's ranks and attempts to talk with him. Jaffar remains silent and only once addresses Legault by his nickname, The Hurricane.

In the second conversation, Legault says that he heard about Jaffar rescuing Nino and mentions that he was surprised. He asks Jaffar what prompted the change in character, but Jaffar remains silent. Jaffar suddenly speaks and asks Legault to protect Nino if anything should happen to him. Jaffar says that he still knows nothing of emotion, but he is now afraid for Nino's safety, leading Legault to realize that even though he was still silent and creepy, Jaffar had changed quite a bit.

In the final support conversation, Legault tells Jaffar how things will be different now that he is getting softer, as he could be rendered powerless if anyone took Nino hostage. Jaffar says he intends to live with Nino regardless, so Legault accepts this and tells him to protect her for Linus and Lloyd as well, as they also looked out for her safety before they died.

Matthew- Matthew confronts Jaffar looking for clues as to who killed Leila. He had concluded that only one of the Four Fangs could have killed someone with such skill, and later realizes that Jaffar must have done it. Subsequently, Matthew swears to exact revenge on Jaffar.

In the second conversation, Matthew attempts to kill Jaffar, but Jaffar dodges the attack and swiftly gets behind Matthew. Matthew prepares to die, but Jaffar refrains from killing him. This serves only to anger Matthew even further, and he redoubles his vow to kill Jaffar.

In the final support conversation, Matthew comes to Jaffar saying his friends have Nino held captive and will kill her if he makes a move. Jaffar obeys Matthew and stands still, and Matthew moves in to kill him but he stops at the last moment, saying that Leila stopped him. Matthew recalls what Eliwood had said about Jaffar being under Nergal's control, and so Nergal was the one who really killed Leila. Matthew then releases Jaffar, telling him he was lying about capturing Nino, but before Matthew leaves Jaffar tells him that Leila had whispered his name with her last breath.

Nino- In the first conversation, Nino asks Jaffar about his past and Jaffar tells her about Nergal finding him as a child and training him. Jaffar mentions that when he first heard of Nino, who had been raised by Sonia, he expected her to be something like him as they were both orphans. However when he first saw Nino laughing with the Reed brothers, and tells her that it was at that point he became interested in her. Jaffar tells Nino that when she saved his life, that was when he first discovered feelings.

In the second support conversation, Nino gives Jaffar her greatest treasure, a pendant that her mother once wore. Jaffar does not want to accept such an important item, but she says that she does not deserve it because she doesn't even remember her mother's face even though she had died to protect Nino. Jaffar tells Nino that it was not her fault, that no one could be expected to remember something when they were so young, but none the less Jaffar still agrees to hold onto it for her until she is ready. Jaffar then tells Nino that she is his best friend, and Nino responds by saying that hearing those words made her so happy.

In the final support conversation, Jaffar tells Nino that he can no longer fulfill his promise. Nino becomes angry with Jaffar, asking him how he could do such a thing as to let her trust him. Jaffar then explains that he cannot be her friend because he loves her. Nino reciprocates this love, and Jaffar suggests that when the battle is over, they should live together. Nino agrees and then tells Jaffar, "Don't ever leave me... ...Ever. You have to promise." jaffar replies: "On my honor...on my heart."

Possible Endings
Jaffar has two different endings, depending on whether or not he gets an A Rank Support with Nino.

Default Ending
- Jaffar vanished in the final moments of the last battle. He still avoids the bounty hunters who seek out the famed Angel of Death.

Nino and Jaffar's Ending
- They were married after the conflict and were gifted with two twin boys. Their time in Pherae was happy until bounty hunters came for Jaffar. To protect his family, he disappeared. Nino vanished in search of him.

Quotes
"There were countless corpses stacked one on top of the other... And there, atop of the bodies, they found a lone infant sleeping... You. You are death incarnate. You feel nothing, fear nothing, desire nothing... You kill. Nothing more. Angel of Death... The perfect name."

- Legault talking about Jaffar in a support conversation

"And so it ends"

- death quote

Trivia

 * The overworld sprites of the assassins in GBA games are all based off of Jaffars attire.
 * Curiously enough, the only time in the game where Jaffar can be seen scared and greatly surprised is during Chapter 30: Victory or Death if the player chooses to send him to the ruins to retrieve the talisman, Sophia pops out of nowhere (mistaking the chosen unit for Athos), thus even scaring the always alert Jaffar before giving him the talisman.

Etymology
The name 'Jaffar' means 'stream' in Arabic. Fire Emblem's Jaffar was probably named for the brother of Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's son-in-law and, according to the Shi'ite branch of Islam, the Prophet's successor. According to tradition, Jaffar died fighting the Byzantines and then later appeared as an angel to the Prophet.

It may also be of note that there is a city in modern-day Israel named Jaffa, or 'Yafo.' It was an ancient Phoenician city later ruled at various times by the Israelites, Arabs, and European Crusaders. Jaffa was predominately populated by Arabs until the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and is currently a part of the modern-day city Tel-Aviv.

Gallery
jaffar