Dark Magic (闇魔法 Yami Mahō lit. Darkness Magic) is one of the three core classification of Magic throughout the Fire Emblem franchise.
Overview[]
Dark Magic is most commonly associated with evil as it is the source of several powerful tomes wielded by major antagonists starting as early as Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light with the immensely powerful Imhullu tome. Due to its reputation with evil acts and general malice, most magic users gravitate to Anima or Light magic disciplines instead. As a result, Dark Magic is rarely used among the playable cast of each game.
Most practitioners of the art point out that Dark Magic in itself is not necessarily evil, with several claiming that Dark Magic is merely magic in its purest essence. Some choose to label it as Elder Magic instead and state that it is the wielder who determines its usage and thus its reputation. Dark Magic may come from different sources depending on the game. Canas states that Dark Magic involves inviting darkness into one's heart and not becoming consumed by it. Knoll explains that Dark Magic comes from the concept of knowledge rather than an innate desire to inflict pain. Henry claims that Dark Magic is fueled by willpower and the ability to inflict harm on a target requires that the caster have similar if not greater willpower. Thus enemies who have exceptional willpower are able to ignore the effects of most curses. Regarding curses, Tharja asserts that the victim of a curse enters a trance state with no memory or awareness of their actions. On the other hand, a hex creates an intimate bond between the mage and victim—"a resonance of souls".
Dark Magic is considered one of the hardest magic disciplines to master but has the widest range of effects. At its tamest, these comprise of light hexes and curses that can cause mundane things from inflicting minor pain and runny noses. As they increase in intensity, they can inflict status ailments from poisoning and petrification. At its pinnacle, it can cause instant death. In exchange for this raw power, Dark Magic tends to come with steep penalties for their users. Bramimond for example allowed the darkness to consume themselves, turning themselves into a voided being who has no identity and personality, rendering themselves into a mere reflection of whoever is talking to them as a consequence of using Apocalypse. Nyx's youthful appearance is the result of a mishandled curse that made her incapable of aging due to her hubris. Some are the actual embodiment of an evil being such as Loptous tome which contains the soul of Loptous himself and the Medusa spell, which channels the wrath of Medusa herself.
Despite its dubious nature, Dark Magic can be use practically and beneficially outside of its combat uses. Tharja and Odin demonstrate that curses and hexes can perform useful benefits like cooling fevers, repelling insects, and giving vivid, pleasant dreams. These can be done with raw spellcasting or by the crafting of talismans as protective charms. Because they are not completely immune to curses, many Dark Mages learn how to dispel unfriendly curses cast upon them and strong enough Dark Mages like Henry can return them to the original caster.
Miriel has stated that hex casting is "the art of unleashing magic through a series of movements", and that it isn't the tomes or staves that grant efficacy, but the ritual itself. There is a bit of a somatic component to casting curses as Noire attempted to learn Dark Magic by mimicking Tharja's movements. Tharja states that mere movement is not enough to cast Dark Magic as it alone lacks "substance."
Combat[]
Dark Magic was first introduced strictly as an enemy exclusive weapon type in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. The first ever playable character to wield dark magic was Salem in Fire Emblem: Thracia 776. Since then, most Fire Emblem games feature at least one or two playable characters capable of wielding Dark Magic by default without considering Class Changes or Reclassing, but remains one of the rarest weapon types to be used by characters after Dragonstones.
Salem was a Loptrian Mage, which serves as the class template for most future playable characters of the type. While the Game Boy Advance Fire Emblem games used the Shaman class as the playable Dark Magic class, the Dark Mage class has become the standard Dark Magic wielding class since Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon.
They are often very heavy, making it difficult to perform Follow-Up Attacks, and sometimes have poor accuracy. In exchange, they tend to have more power compared to the other magic classifications, thus making them the equivalent of Axes in the Trinity of Magic. Due to their rarity, Dark Magic tends to have the least amount of usable Tomes in comparison to Light and Anima Magic and are rarely found in most standard Shops. In exchange, several Dark Magic wielding classes allow the usage of Anima magic, making Dark Magic more of a bonus specialization.
Their other mainstay feature that differs from both Anima and Light Magic is that spells do not progress in the same way as there are no direct "El-" or "Arc-" spell for all Dark Magic. Flux is the general starting Dark Tome in most games and is a pure damage tome with no bonuses. From there, Dark Tomes have unique names as their levels progress and often have wildly different effects even when progressing to the next tier. For example, there is Nosferatu which leeches Hit Points, Luna, which ignores parts of the enemy Resistance and has a high critical hit rate, and Dark Spikes Τ, which deals effective damage against Horseback Units. There are numerous Dark Tomes that are completely enemy exclusive like Imhullu, Ereshkigal, and Naglfar.
The Sacred Stones[]
In The Sacred Stones, certain monster attacks are considered Dark Magic attacks, such as Evil Eye, Demon Surge, and Crimson Eye, making Light Magic Users very useful.
Tellius Series[]
Dark Magic is notably absent from Path of Radiance. This is mostly attributed to the reintroduction of the 'Anima' Magic Triangle with Wind, Fire, and Thunder magic, last appearing in Genealogy of the Holy War. With all the new spells created, Dark Magic was omitted, as to not overwhelm the player. Meanwhile, Light Magic took up a position outside of the Anima triangle, much like Bows for the weapon triangle.
Dark Magic was reintroduced in Radiant Dawn. It is particularly useful, as the 'original' Magic Triangle was reintroduced alongside the Anima Magic Triangle, meaning Dark magic trumps all Anima Magic, but is weak against Light Magic.
There are only 9 Dark magic users in Radiant Dawn, including enemies and allies. It is seemingly implied that Dark Magic users are likely to be Spirit Charmers, as Dark Magic is "too difficult for most mages", which explains their rareness.
Fódlan Series[]
Dark Magic within the Fódlan series is tied to Reason magic. It also is an extreme rarity as it is only usable by five characters, Edelgard, Hubert, Lysithea, Jeritza, and Hapi, who all learn it naturally. The Fódlan Dark Mage and Dark Bishop class are exclusive to male units.
Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes adds Shez and Arval as innate Dark Magic users.
List of Dark Magic Tomes[]
Normal Dark Tomes[]
Notable Dark Tomes[]
- Eclipse
- Nosferatu†
- Luna *
- Jörmungandr
- Waste
- Aversa's Night
- Odin's Grimoire
- Iago's Tome
- Dark Spikes T
- Hades Ω
- Tharja's Hex
- Blood Tome
- Dark Scripture
- Corvus Tome
- Eternal Tome
- Void Tome
- Hermit's Tome
- Petrify
- Tome of Despair
- Tome of Grado
- †Originally a Black magic Tome in Fire Emblem Gaiden, Nosferatu alternates in subsequent games between Light magic and Dark magic.
Legendary Dark Tomes[]
Enemy only[]
- Poison
- Loptous
- Evil Eye
- Demon Surge
- Crimson Eye
- Shadowshot
- Ereshkigal
- Dulam
- Hel
- Glower
- Grima's Truth
- Bohr Χ
- Quake Σ
Gallery[]
