The Deadlords are the twelve undead warriors that serve the Loptr Church and the Grimleal.
Overview[]
The Deadlords trace all the way back to Emperor Gair. The names and identities of the Deadlords are consistent each time they are summoned, but their summoning uses the bodies of chosen dead as their hosts.
Jugdral Series[]
In Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War, very little is said about the Deadlords at all, but they are fought in the Final Chapter alongside Julius. This battle is re-enacted in Fire Emblem Heroes during Julius's Grand Hero Battle, with some of the Deadlords arriving to the battlefield after the others are defeated.
In Fire Emblem: Thracia 776, the Deadlords are explained in more detail, but only six of the twelve appear: Mus, Bovis, Tigris, Draco, Canis, and Porcus. It is learned in this game that Deadlords are "born" by the Loptr Church turning others into them, and both Manfroy and Veld seem to have the ability to do this. Regardless of player action, after Raydrik is killed, he is remade into the Deadlord Mus.
The remaining Deadlords that appear will all be created from potential player-characters if the player either fails to recruit them or they die. If Eyvel is not saved, she is remade into the Deadlord Draco. Galzus, Sara, and Lifis will become the Deadlords Bovis, Canis, and Porcus, respectively, and Dagdar will become the Deadlord Tigris if Chapter 8x is skipped. If the player manages to recruit all of these characters and keep them alive, the Deadlords will be created from otherwise unnamed indviduals, but their portraits retain appearances similar to the player-characters'.
Awakening[]
The Deadlords appear in Fire Emblem Awakening in the main story and in the DLC episode Infinite Regalia, although their origins are shrouded in mystery. They appear during the main story in Chapter 22, An Ill Presage. They appear to be aiding Aversa though none of them speak, nor is their presence elaborated on. Five of the Deadlords wield holy weapons of Jugdral while the others wield Brave weapons.
In Infinite Regalia, 36 Deadlords appear (although there are only 12 unique ones), wielding a variety of powerful and legendary weapons spanning from Archanea to Tellius. These Deadlords appear to have retained some degree of their humanity, and even go as far to express sadness when Chrom and his companions leave them. They proclaim to Chrom that they are warriors who fell in a battle with the world at stake. Some of the characters express a mysterious sense of familiarity with the Deadlords, and Lucina remarks that at least one of them has the Brand, suggesting some of them are Chrom and his companions who fell in the battle with Grima. Due to the large variety of weaponry, it's possible the Deadlords also include fallen warriors from other continents.
Deadlords[]
The Deadlords, their class, and other information are:
| Name | Name (JP) | Class | Gender | Character (FE5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mus | Eins | Baron (FE4-5), General (FE13) | Male | Raydrik |
| Bovis | Zwei | Hero (FE4-5), Bow Knight (FE13) | Male | Galzus (if dead or not recruited) |
| Tigris | Drei | Warrior | Male | Dagdar (if Chapter 8x is skipped) |
| Lepus | Vier | High Priest (FE4), War Cleric (FE13) | Female | - |
| Draco | Fünf | Sniper | Female (FE5), Male (FE4 and FE13) | Eyvel (if dead or not recruited) |
| Anguilla | Sechs | Mage Fighter (FE4), Dark Knight (FE13) | Female | - |
| Equus | Sieben | Bishop (FE4), Paladin (FE13) | Male | - |
| Ovis | Acht | Sage | Male | - |
| Simia | Neun | Swordmaster | Female | - |
| Gallus | Zehn | Dark Bishop (FE4), Sorcerer (FE13) | Male | - |
| Canis | Elf | Shaman (FE4), Sage (FE5),
Valkyrie (FE13) |
Female | Sara (if dead or not recruited) |
| Porcus | Zwölf | Thief Fighter (FE4-5), Assassin (FE13) | Male | Lifis (if dead or not recruited) |
Etymology[]
In Japanese, the Deadlords are named after the numbers 1 through 12 in German. In English, they are named after the figures of the Chinese Zodiac in Latin. The English names for each correspond with their Japanese name counterparts in Chinese Zodiac order. Thus, Mus/Eins is one, Bovis/Zwei is two, and so on.
Trivia[]
- While Anguilla, Equus and Ovis' vessels bear the Minor Holy Blood associated with their element of choice, they are the only Holy Blood bearers among the Deadlords.
- While the Deadlords in Genealogy of the Holy War may resemble counterparts of the Twelve Crusaders, the Crusaders had two lance users among them, while there is only one among the Deadlords, with a Dark Bishop in place of a second Lance-wielding unit.