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Battle of Barhara

Battle of Belhalla, as shown in the book Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 Illustrated Works.

Grannvale's disturbance, stemming from the campaign in Isaach, led one young man into a disastrous fate. ”
—Closing of Chapter 5 in Genealogy of the Holy War

The Battle of Belhalla (バーハラの戦い, Battle of Barhara in the Japanese version), also known as the Belhalla Massacre, is a significant event at the end of Chapter 5 of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, occurring in Gran Calendar Year 760. This event marks the end of Sigurd's tale in Genealogy of the Holy War.

Profile[]

The forlorn prelude to the Battle of Belhalla begins after Reptor of Friege is defeated, and Sigurd confronts Arvis’s confidant General Aida in Velthomer. Aida tells Sigurd that Arvis knew of his innocence all along, and that the Royal Guard led by Arvis has prepared a celebration for Sigurd’s army near Belhalla.

Suspecting nothing, Sigurd and Arvis chats about King Azmur before Arvis abruptly cuts him off, revealing that Sigurd is still considered a traitor, guilty in of killing Prince Kurth despite the fact that he and his father Byron had been cleared of the charges. To make matters worse, Arvis reveals his new wife to be none other than Deirdre whose memory had been erased in Chapter 3. Arvis betrays Sigurd, incinerating him with Valflame as his army is bombared by a storm of Meteor spells from the Roten Ritter. The ensuing slaughter nearly wipes out all of Sigurd's force with only a small portion managing to escape.

Aftermath[]

Sigurd's execution marked the beginning of Arvis's tenure as Emperor of Grannvale. Despite the mercilessness of the event, the Empire saw a brief period of peace under Arvis's rule with him eventually fathering twin children Julius and Julia with Deirdre. Sigurd in turn was vilified as a traitor, which would persist throughout the remainder of the events of Genealogy of the Holy War.

Regarding Sigurd's forces, several of them were confirmed to have died in the massacre with Lex, Alec, Midir, Arden, Claud, Jamke, Dew, Chulainn, Beowulf, and Naoise all confirmed as casualties. Some members were able to survive the event and escape, though this depends if they were paired with another member by the end of Sigurd's tale. Azelle and Ayra's fate remains completely unknown regardless if they were paired or not. Some members members of Sigurd's forces were not present at the time handling other matters such as Quan and Ethlyn traveling in the Aed Desert, Oifey and Shannan transporting the young Seliph to Isaach, and Finn was still in Leonster.

Even among the of survivors, various tragedies would fall upon them with some confirmed to have died under various circumstances such as Quan, Ethlyn, Lewyn, Erinys, and Tailtiu either directly in Genealogy of the Holy War or Thracia 776. Some of the others who survived were captured by the Loptr Church and turned to stone by Veld, though none of Sigurd's forces are explicitly named to have met this fate, with only some remarks from August in Thracia 776 stating that the captives of war in Belhalla were statues in Aed Shrine.

Aside from Seliph, Leif, and Altena, who all exist by default, the other children of Seliph's generation passively confirm the survival, at least in the immediate aftermath of the incident, of their respective mothers. By the time of Seliph's tale, they either died or went missing. Edain is one of the few survivors who is confirmed to still be alive. Brigid survived, but developed amnesia and went under the new name Eyvel. The events of Thracia 776 directly confirm the immediate survival of Lachesis, Lewyn, and Erinys due to their children existing in that game.

This event paved way for the Loptr Church to take advantage of Arvis's ascension to power and manipulate his marriage to Deirdre to bear a suitable vessel for the dark god Loptous who would eventually possess Julius, resulting in the death of Deirdre and eventually Arvis's own downfall.

Trivia[]

  • The Battle of Belhalla is the first instance in the Fire Emblem series where a lead playable character is killed off during the course of the story. Though other lead characters have also died in the course of their stories, Sigurd's death is the only one thus far to both occur no later than the story's midpoint and for the death to remain permanent. Azura dies in the final chapter of the Birthright and Conquest storylines of Fire Emblem Fates. Chrom's death in the premonition chapter of Fire Emblem Awakening is a vision that is later averted. Alear dies at the end of The Return chapter of Fire Emblem Engage, and is resurrected shortly thereafter.
  • The site of the Battle of Belhalla is used in Fire Emblem Heroes as the Grand Hero Battle site featuring Arvis. Unlike in the original story, the player has the control over the units to actually defeat Arvis.
  • Diamant's Bond conversation with Sigurd in Fire Emblem Engage mentions the Battle of Belhalla.

Gallery[]

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