Battle of Belhalla

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 an event at the end of Chapter 5 of Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, occurring in Gran Calendar Year 761. It is the final event in Sigurd's tale, and it is planned by Arvis in order to remove all obstacles in his plan to unify the continent.

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.

Sigurd suspects nothing, and after he talks with Arvis for a little while about King Azmur, Arvis decides to cut him off and tells him that he is still considered a traitor guilty of killing Prince Kurth (even though he and his father Byron, who was also blamed, were innocent). Arvis then brings Deirdre out long enough only for Sigurd to be in shock and for Deirdre to suspect that she knows Sigurd (she had her memories of him erased during Chapter 3). Arvis then incinerates Sigurd with the Valflame. Sigurd’s army is simultaneously bombarded by a storm of Meteor spells cast by the Roten Ritter, and they are surrounded by the Royal Guard, but some of his army manage to escape.

Aftermath

Regarding those who fought with Sigurd during the First Generation, here is what is known aside from Sigurd's death:

• Quan and Ethlyn died in the Yied Desert during Travant’s ambush, later known as the Yied Massacre, occurring just a short while earlier.
• Quan's loyal retainer Finn survived because he was in Leonster at the time of the Battle of Belhalla.
• Lewyn was killed by Manfroy, but was later revived by Forseti.
• Lex, Alec, Midir, Arden, Claud, Jamke, Dew, Chulainn, Beowulf, and Naoise are all known to have died.
• Deirdre did not die because she was brainwashed by Manfroy in order to have Arvis take her for his wife. She would die some years later at the hands of a Loptous-possessed Julius.
• Erinys, Tailtiu, Lachesis, Edain, Sylvia, and Brigid are known to have survived, as they either are known to have had children sometime after the battle or were seen afterwards. The sole exception is Ayra, as she was the only playable mother at the Battle of Belhalla who could've died, and her fate is left ambiguous at the ending of Genealogy of the Holy War.
  • By the time of Seliph's tale, both Erinys and Tailtiu had died. Erinys, the Queen of Silesse according to Thracia 776 and the manga, died of an unspecified illness. Meanwhile, Tailtiu died of illness and depression after years of being forced to live in the Friege castle and enduring abuse from her sister-in-law Hilda; her health took a big hit for protecting her daughter Tine from Hilda's abuse, making sure that the girl would not be physically attacked, instead taking the abuse herself.
  • Although Brigid survived, she suffered a severe bout of amnesia and became the swordmaster Eyvel during the events of Thracia 776. She eventually regained her memory, and then was reunited with her children Patty and Febail, but not until well after the Empire was taken down.
  • Around the time of Seliph's tale, Edain had become an abbess and was conducting church services in Isaach; as said above, Brigid lost her memories and became Eyvel, who was Leif, Nanna, and Mareeta's caretaker; Lachesis left Leonster to try to search for her son Diarmuid and disappeared in the Yied Desert; and Silvia's whereabouts are unknown. One scrapped possibility is that Lachesis and Silvia were captured by the Loptyrian Cult and turned to stone by Veld.

Sigurd's army was branded as traitors, and it is hinted in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 that those captured were turned into stone by Veld, as it is stated by August that the stone statues in the Yied Shrine included "the captives of the war in Belhalla from a decade ago".

During Chapter 10, Seliph defeats Arvis to avenge his father, and he battles and kills Manfroy alongside others in the Final Chapter.

Trivia

• The Battle of Belhalla is one of few times in the Fire Emblem series where a lead playable character is killed off during the course of the story. Other examples include Azura in Fire Emblem Fates, albeit only in two routes, and Chrom's death in the opening of Awakening, which was in an alternate universe undone by Lucina's time travel. The Battle of Belhalla is, however, the only time when a main Lord of a given game is canonically killed.
• 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.