Mozu

"No! I have to fight! For Mother! For all my friends! For everything those monsters took from me!"

- Mozu, Paralogue 1

Mozu (モズメ Mozume in the Japanese version) is a playable character in Fire Emblem Fates and an ally on all of the routes. She is voiced by Juri Kimura in the Japanese version, and by Karen Strassman in the English version.

Profile
Mozu is a villager from Hoshido.

In her Paralogue, her village is attacked by the Faceless, killing everybody else in the village. As Mozu and her mother nearly make it out of the village, her mother is killed by one of the Faceless. As luck would have it, she would be rescued by the Avatar and their army, who were looking for survivors, of which she was the only one. Faced with few options, since she is by herself and has nothing of value anymore, she joins the Avatar's army, and strives to be useful to their cause and to make up for everyone else's sacrifice.

Personality
Often portrayed as a meek character with low self-confidence, Mozu is hesitant to attempt new things that she is not particularly adept in. Her supports depict her as such, where she requires the encouragement of her conversational partners in order to pick up skills that are useful to her on the battlefield. Her supports with Silas and Ryoma particularly support this fact, as both men offer to personally train her, to which she does not accept at first but eventually agrees in order to move on from her trauma, be of use to the Avatar's army as a soldier and prove to herself that she does have courage. Despite this, she is actually physically robust. As revealed in her supports with the Avatar, her life as a villager is one that demands her to engage in manual labour such as crop cultivation and animal hunting for subsistence and has grown surprisingly strong for someone of her age as a result.

Mozu's low self-esteem is exclusive only when she is faced with picking up new skills; her supports reveal her to be in possession of a blunt, unabashed personality, where she does not hesitate to point out the mistakes committed by others and their flaws. She is also one of few female characters in S supports who consistently and proactively ask for her love interest's hand in marriage.

Mozu is also known to possess a humble spirit, not valuing any wealth or luxuries and preferring a simplistic lifestyle as opposed to an extravagant one. This is made evident in her supports with Oboro where, in response to Oboro cheerfully remarking that her endearing appearance will be enhanced with the right clothes and makeup, she quietly states that they will not obscure the fact that she is, at heart, a country girl.

As a villager, Mozu has acquired, if not excelled in, a variety of skills and traits that has helped her throughout her life on the farm and still helps as a member of the Avatar's army. One of Mozu's more recognizable talents is cooking. When taking shifts in the Mess Hall, if she cooks food of a good quality, she will proudly mention that back home, the villagers often asked her to cook, a clear indication of their appreciation of her cooking prowess. Mozu's cooking talent is further confirmed through her supports with Saizo, where her cooking reminds him of the food native to his home village, stating that he prefers it over the heavier food commonly served in Shirasagi. Her hunting and trapping skills are among the best in the army, as she hunted a bear single handedly from learning skills and tricks from an old man in her village prior to the Faceless attack and is capable of hunting boars alone.

Mozu's birthday falls on October 6.

Growth Rates
NOTE: For the Aptitude skill, add 10% to the values.

◾ Note: These are Mozu's default growth rates, unaffected by class.
 * 30%
 * 40%
 * 5%
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 35%
 * 30%
 * }

◾ Note: Growth Rates are on the character in her starting class.
 * 40%
 * 50%
 * 5%
 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 65%
 * 45%
 * 30%
 * }

◾ Note: Growth Rates as a Master of Arms.
 * 50%
 * 55%
 * 5%
 * 60%
 * 65%
 * 55%
 * 45%
 * 30%
 * }

◾ Note: Growth Rates as a Merchant.
 * 50%
 * 60%
 * 5%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 60%
 * 45%
 * 35%
 * }

Max Stat Modifiers

 * 0
 * 0
 * +1
 * +1
 * +1
 * 0
 * -2
 * }

Standard Sets

 * }

Friendship Sets

 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }

Partner Sets

 * -|All Routes=


 * }
 * -|Birthright/Revelation=


 * }
 * -|Conquest/Revelation=


 * }

Special Classes

 * }

Supports
Romantic Supports
 * The Avatar (Male)
 * Jakob
 * Kaze
 * Silas

Hoshido

 * Ryoma
 * Takumi
 * Saizo
 * Azama
 * Hinata
 * Subaki
 * Hayato
 * Kaden

Nohr
Other Supports
 * Xander
 * Leo
 * Laslow
 * Niles
 * Odin
 * Arthur
 * Keaton
 * Benny
 * The Avatar (Female)


 * Oboro
 * Effie
 * Nyx
 * Mozu's child

Base Class
Mozu is the Villager character of Fates. She starts off with extremely poor stats, but makes up for this thanks to her base class' starting skill Aptitude, which boosts all of her growth rates by 10%, making all of her stat growths, minus Magic, a base 50% or more chance of increasing when leveling up. The Paralogue in which she joins provides a sizable number of targets for her to train off of, she can easily catch up to your army if fed enough foes. However, she will need a lot of assistance from the player's units to help her grow from her poor base stats.

When trained up to Level 10, she learns Underdog which increases her hit and avoid when battling foes of higher level, which Mozu will have to deal with most likely as she trains. Once properly trained, Mozu becomes a potent offensive unit and a master of terrain thanks in part to her personal skill, Forager, which heals 20% of Mozu's maximum health at the start of the turn if she is standing on a Mountain, Forest, Field, or Waste tile. Unfortunately, this personal skill drops off near the endgame, as the final few maps in each route are all indoors battles. If time is put into her, she can become one of the most powerful units in the game and is worth the initial struggle to bring her to a usable level. It should be noted, however, that Aptitude is less effective than it was in Awakening. It does not adequately compensate for her poor base defenses until she reaches very high levels, so unlike Donnel, Mozu will still have limitations even with proper training, though she will likely outperform the rest of the army all the same.

Unlike the Villager class in Fire Emblem Awakening, this iteration of the Villager class can promote, and both promotions still retain usage of Lances, so training her with lances are not lost upon class changing. The Master of Arms class highlights versatility, having access to Swords, Lances, and Axes; making her the Hoshidan equivalent of a Great Knight, offensively. While it does not have standout stats to cement her in a particular role, there are advantages. Seal Strength can cripple high damage enemies and, if she has proper defense stats, set up safer kills for other units. Life and Death is a risky skill that gives herself and her opponent more base damage. If willing to use this skill, expect high risk for high reward.

Her other option is the Merchant class, which emphasizes utility. The Merchant's stat caps emphasize defense and strength at the expense of speed, and are overall not as good a match for Mozu's growths as those of the Master of Arms. It adds Bows/Yumi into the mix, and its two skills are built around each other. Mozu's high Luck (including its growths) makes her a good user for Profiteer, which gives Mozu a chance (based on her Luck) to obtain a Gold Bar for the first 7 turns of the map. Spendthrift allows Mozu to expend a Gold Bar when attacking to increase her damage by 10, while reducing damage taken by 10. It is a much more beneficial version of Life and Death, though Mozu must have Gold Bars readily available to utilize it. If the player has other characters with the skill, they can utilize them to help Mozu acquire Gold Bars and vice versa. Alternatively, having a stockpile in the Convoy can work as well, but the Avatar must be on the map in order for that to work.

Secondary Class
Mozu's secondary class is the Archer class. As an Archer, Mozu benefits from avoiding the front lines, where her low HP stat could give her trouble. This gives her an immediate niche in Conquest, where enemy Sky Knights are numerous and player-controlled archers are few and far between, but are of dubious value in Birthright. Archer provides Quick Draw, which increases Mozu's damage by 4 when initiating combat. Although she will drop her Lances, promoting to a Sniper makes her excellent for taking down enemies with high critical rates and skill activations if she has any. It also gives her Certain Blow to increase her Hit Rate when initiating combat, and Bowfaire to add more strength to her bows. The Kinshi Knight class could be considered an aerial, glass cannon version of the Merchant class as it has the same weapons, but with more mobility and emphasis on Speed and Skill. Even if Mozu is not kept in this class, Air Superiority can give Mozu good presence as an anti-aerial unit, good for some of the late game, heavily Aerial enemy maps, and Amaterasu to give her allies a heal zone. Finally, reclassing Mozu into an Archer gives her time to raise her bow rank before going into the Merchant class.

Friendship Class
Mozu has three Friendship Units: Oboro, Effie and Nyx
 * Oboro - Oboro provides the Spear Fighter class, a class whose main weapon is something she is very familiar with. If looking to maximize Mozu's lance prowess, this is the class to be. She first learns Seal Defense to cripple high defense targets like Generals and Great Knights. Swap can be used to give squishy units cover in case the player overextends too deep. In the Spear Master class, she learns Seal Speed as another means to cripple targets and is good against quick units like Ninja, Samurai, and Outlaws. Lancefaire gives her lances more sting. Because it can reach S in lances, she can be a deadly user of the Waterwheel given her strong growths that can make her outshine Oboro herself. Alternatively, Basara gives offensive adaptability with access to Tomes and Scrolls, though Mozu's Magic power is slightly lacking. Nevertheless, she retains her lances and the class provides Rend Heaven, a solid attacking skill against enemies of high Strength. Quixotic is there to boost her activation rates of skills, which can help out generating Gold Bars for her Profiteer skill, or give Rend Heaven that extra percentage to activate.
 * Effie - Effie provides the Knight class, another class whose main weapon is within Mozu's specialty. Mozu can grab many good defensive skills to give her better lasting power. The class provides Natural Cover, which reduces damage taken when Mozu stands on a tile with terrain effects. This compliments her personal skill, as she can reduce damage taken on those tiles and then regenerate health after tanking hits. The General class provides Wary Fighter, which can further increase her tankiness by denying higher speed enemies from doubling on her. However, the skill will prevent herself from doubling, which could be troubling, as her speed growth is relatively high. Pavise is useful for it can shave off damage from direct weapons. The Great Knight provides Luna, a great attacking skill that ignores half the enemy's defense stats when attacking, and Armored Blow to further add tankiness when she initiates.
 * Nyx - Nyx provides the Dark Mage class, a class that does not benefit Mozu as much. Mozu's personal magic growth is 15% with Aptitude, making her not ideal for magical classes. However, she can still collect the more useful skills from the Dark Knight class. The class provides her with Seal Magic and Lifetaker, which Seal Magic could decrease magical damage while Lifetaker could provide emergency healing if the healers are unavailable. The skills from the base class (Heartseeker and Malefic Aura) could be useful for allies, but does not directly benefit Mozu as a unit, such as Heartseeker helping to decrease enemy Avoid when Mozu already has little problem hitting and Malefic Aura increasing magical damage when Mozu would not be dealing magical damage to begin with. The Sorcerer class provides Vengeance and Bowbreaker. Vengeance would not be useful for Mozu's rather low Max HP even after promotion. Bowbreaker could be proven useful in Conquest for the large amounts of enemy bowmen.

Partner Class

 * Avatar. Mozu gains the Avatar's secondary class upon her marriage, giving her access to some classes she could not otherwise have, such as Oni Savage, Wyvern Rider, and Apothecary lines. However, such planning tends to at cost to other available options for the Avatar, so such should be taken into consideration first
 * Silas / Xander. Silas and Xander offer her the Cavalier line. She will be right at home in this class due to her familiarity with Lances and balanced growths. Elbow Room increases her damage if she is standing on terrain with no effects, making her more dangerous in indoor maps. Shelter could be used to protect an ally in danger. Cavalier offers the Great Knight and Paladin promotions. As a Great Knight she gains increased Strength and Defense at the cost of Speed and Resistance, as well as access to the full weapon triangle. It offers Luna, a useful attacking skill to help her take down bulkier enemies and Armored Blow, which reduces physical damage taken when she initiates the attack. It can be used alongside Life and Death to dish out incredible damage at no extra cost, so long as Mozu initiates the attack. Paladin has more balanced growths than Great Knight. Defender is a useful skill early game to increase her stats in Guard Stance, although it falls off later. Aegis is a useful skill to help make up for her low Resistance, which she should activate often due to her high Skill.

Quotes
Refer to Mozu/Quotes.

Possible Endings
Mozu - Rural Power (田舎娘 Ianka Musume lit. Country Girl)
 * Mozu returned to her village and began rebuilding all by herself. Inspired by her efforts, nearby villages began their own rebuilding efforts. Mozu was eventually hailed as a local hero and humanitarian.


 * Mozu and Arthur
 * Arthur returned to his true calling, justice. Scholars believe his luck improved slightly after the war. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Hinata
 * Hinata's passion for the blade did not end with the war. He practiced morning, noon, and night. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Kaden
 * Despite marriage, Kaden continued to travel, returning favors. Later he served as chief of his village. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Kaze
 * While no official records of Kaze survive, he appears in many rumors and tales of heroic exploits. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Keaton
 * Keaton returned to his homeland. He frequently visited old friends and got lost on the way home. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Laslow
 * Laslow vanished after the war, but he inspired generations of Dancers and rallied the spirits of many. Mozu also disappeared from sight. According to folktales, she lived happily ever after in a new world.


 * Mozu and Saizo
 * Saizo disappeared from official records after the war, but no doubt he served the royal family forever. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.


 * Mozu and Silas
 * Silas served loyally as a knight of Nohr. He was beloved by trainee knights for his great patience. His wife, Mozu, meanwhile, was a constant source of support and a humanitarian in her own right.

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

Etymology
Mozu is the Japanese word for a shrike, a Eurasian species of bird.

Trivia

 * Mozu is the first playable female Villager in the Fire Emblem series.
 * Mozu was voted as the 25th most popular female on Nintendo's official Fates character poll.
 * Mozu shares her English voice actress, Karen Strassman, with Hana, Anna, and Olivia from Awakening. She also shares her Japanese voice actress, Juri Kimura, with Nyx.
 * In the North American localization, Mozu's profile in the Unit Roster says that she is from a village in Nohr, even though her infobox says that she is from a Hoshidan village.
 * Mozu's artwork from the 4koma Book depicts her wielding a Brass Naginata.