Fernand

"I would rather die than kneel to some whelp who was birthed in the hay."

- Fernand

Fernand (フェルナン Ferunan) is a character who appears exclusively in Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia.

Profile
The son of a noble family, Fernand's and Clive's families knew each other for a long time, leading him to grew up with Clive and Clair like siblings. Fernand had two younger siblings, both of which were a result of his father's second marriage, but was very close to both. Prior to the game's events, due to the drought that had plagued Zofia for the past few years, there was an insurrection in his territory in which his estate was attacked, and his family was killed. After this event, Fernand became extremely hostile to commoners as a result.

Fernand helped establish the Deliverance alongside Clive in order to fight against Desaix. Overtime, Fernand's ideologies conflicted with Clive's, but he remained determined to overthrow Desaix.

He first appears following a battle in Southern Zofia, where, upon learning of the fall of the Southern Outpost, he rode out in order to aid Clive's sister, Clair, who had been taken captive at the outpost. However, the group led by Alm and Lukas had already liberated the Outpost and freed Clair before Fernand's arrival. Fernand is frustrated that Lukas would have allowed common villagers to join the Deliverance, but is convinced to accept them by Clair, who reminds him of Clive's belief that a soldier's worth should not determined by their birth. He eventually returns to the Deliverance Hideout in disgust, after Clair chooses to remain with Alm's group instead of returning with him.

Shortly after, Alm and his group arrive at the Deliverance Hideout, and are greeted heartily by Clive, who is grateful to them for rescuing his sister. Clive decides that, with the increasing number of commoners joining the Deliverance, he should cede the Deliverance's leadership to Alm, the grandson of the legendary knight Mycen, as he believes that Mycen's story of rising above his common birth to become a knight and count of Zofia resonates with the commoners, and Mycen's grandson would be better suited to lead them. Fernand is outraged by this, and abandons the Deliverance on the spot, rather than allow himself to be led by a common villager such as Alm. He leaves the Deliverance Hideout, and is arrested by Desaix's soldiers shortly after.

Following his arrest, Fernand is brought before Desaix at Zofia Castle. Fernand tells Desaix of his decision to quit the Deliverance, and of its new leader. Desaix mulls over this new information, before determining that, rather than killing Fernand, he should instead serve under Berkut, the imperial prince of Rigel, who Desaix claims better befits Fernand's ideals. Fernand tells Berkut of Alm, the commoner now leading the Deliverance, to which Berkut responds that a commoner cannot hope to successfully lead an army of knights. Fernand is immediately enraptured by Berkut's words. The two observe the battle between the Deliverance and Desaix's forces, but the Deliverance proves victorious, forcing Berkut to retreat, with Fernand following him.

Fernand later appears as part of a battalion led by Zakson of the Rigelian army in northern Zofia. The members of the Deliverance are shocked to see Fernand as part of the Rigelian army, but Fernand explains that he believes Rigel's morals and standards to be worth fighting for, and that he would rather see Berkut unite Valentia under Rigel's rule, than fight for Zofia alongside a group of commoners. Fernand claims that Clive was wrong in making Alm leader of the Deliverance, as his main reasoning, that Alm was Mycen's grandson, was a lie. This, together with a similar claim made by a man at Zofia Castle, plants doubts in Clive's mind. Battle ensues, and the Deliverance once again are successful, forcing Fernand to retreat. He rejoins Berkut's group at the Forest Crossroads, where Berkut decides to challenge the Deliverance himself for "sport", with a small group consisting of himself, Fernand, and a single Paladin. This proves to be a misjudgment on Berkut's part, and he is defeated and forced to withdraw.

Before departing for Rigel, Fernand visits Desaix's Fortress, where Clive's lover Mathilda is being held prisoner. Fernand informs Mathilda of his decision to leave the Deliverance, stating he has no desire to fight for Zofia again, despite Mathilda's attempts to convince him to reconsider; however, he does muse that, with Mathilda by his side, he might have remained with the Deliverance. Fernand departs, saying what he expects to be his final farewell to Mathilda, as she is due to be put to death by Desaix.

Fernand next encounters the Deliverance on the border between Zofia and Rigel, where Berkut intends to defend Rigel to atone for his failure in the Forest Crossroads. Despite their best efforts, Alm once again prevails against them, making Fernand convince Berkut to withdraw.

After the death of Emperor Rudolf and the revelation that Alm is the Emperor's one and only son, Fernand goes into the Duma Temple where he finds Berkut desperate for power to defeat Alm and claim what should have been rightfully his. He witnesses as Berkut sacrifices Rinea, turning her into a witch, as payment to Duma for power. Blinded by his new power, Berkut makes Rinea attack Fernand and mortally wounds him. Just as he nearly makes it to the entrance, he encounters Alm's group, who had entered Duma Temple to stop Duma himself. Fernand, on his death throes, pleads to Alm and Clive to stop Berkut and finally rids himself of all of the rage and hatred he held towards the common masses, realizing that he was blinded by those thoughts, dying in the latter's arms.

Personality
Fernand is highlighted by his strong vengeful thoughts towards the commoners of Zofia. This was a result of an insurrection attack by the commoners on his family's estate that resulted in their deaths.This hatred was so strong that he was willing to abandon the Deliverance simply because Clive let Alm become leader whom he thought was a peasant at the time. He is also quite judgemental and withholding, as shown when he berates Alm and Lukas simply because of their social status. However, on his death throes, he realizes that these feelings blinded him from the truth and repents for his mistakes.

Prior to the tragedy, Fernand was a very blunt man, easily and freely speaking his mind about anything that went against his morals, such as Slayde's conduct at Zofia Harbor. Like Clive, he held a strong sense of duty for the Kingdom of Zofia. He was steadfastly loyal to Clive as his equal and was more than willing to aid him at any time for whatever Clive's endeavors may be, a sentiment that Clive reciprocated.

Chapter 3

 * First Time
 * -|Normal=
 * Dropped upon Defeat
 * -|Hard=
 * Dropped upon Defeat
 * Second Time
 * -|Normal=
 * Dropped upon Defeat
 * -|Hard=
 * Dropped upon Defeat

Chapter 4

 * -|Normal=


 * -|Hard=

Trivia

 * The armor that Fernand wears remains unchanged regardless of whether he is a Cavalier or a Paladin.

First Turn Selection

 * "Who among you will face me?"
 * "I await your word." (half health)
 * "I am in no shape for this..." (low health)

Enemy Dodges

 * "What?!"

Critical Hit

 * "This fight is mine!"
 * "Submit!"

Defeated Enemy

 * "For Zofia!"
 * "Predictable."
 * "Better luck next time."
 * "Haha!"

Nearby Ally Below Half Health

 * "Attend to those wounds!"

Boss quotes
"Come at me. Surely you detestable vermin don’t think you can stand against a true nobleman?"

- Act 3 battle quote

"Nnngh… I have…no choice… I must fall back…and rejoin Lord Berkut in the main force…"

- Act 3 defeat quote

"I needn’t test you as Lord Berkut does. I already know how pathetic you are!"

- Act 3 battle quote

"Careless… But next time will be different."

- Act 3 defeat quote

"Your existence is a black mark on the honor of Zofia. It ends today!"

- Act 4 battle quote

"Gyaugh! How…how can I lose to such rabble…?"

- Act 4 defeat quote