—Deirdre talking to Sigurd in Genealogy of the Holy War
Deirdre is a playable character from Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War. She is a descendant of Heim through her father Prince Kurth and Maera through her mother Cigyun. She is also the half-sister of Arvis.
She becomes the wife of Sigurd with whom she becomes the mother of Seliph. After the death of her husband, her memories are erased by Manfroy and she becomes the wife of Arvis resulting in the birth of her twin children, Julius and Julia.
Profile
Deirdre initially lives in a small village in the Spirit Forest of Verdane. Despite being forbidden to come into contact with men from outside the village itself, she falls in love with Sigurd when they meet in Marpha, and later marries him after the end of Chapter 1. She gives birth to Seliph between Chapters 2 and 3, with Seliph inheriting minor Naga blood from her.
After Sigurd captures Madino Castle in Chapter 3, Deirdre attempts to join him and the others in battle, but as soon as she leaves the castle, Manfroy warps in front of her path and erases her memories. He then warps her into a convenient location for Arvis to find, intending for him to fall for her. This is done to have the duo bear a child, who will as serve a vessel of Loptous. Some time after Arvis finds her, he falls in love with her due to her resemblance to their mother and the two are married.
After Sigurd's death, Deirdre bears Arvis's two children, the twins Julius and Julia. Several years later, Deirdre is slain by Julius after he receives the tome of Loptous from Manfroy, which essentially causes him to lose his mind as Loptous possesses his body. With the last of her strength, Deirdre is able to prevent Julius from killing Julia by warping Julia away to safety.
After Seliph defeats Arvis in the penultimate chapter, Deirdre's spirit appears alongside Sigurd's, and she reminds Seliph to always treasure the people around him. She is also shown to not bear hatred to Arvis for what he did to her, as evidenced by the fact that she does not express joy for the Emperor's death despite Seliph proclaiming to her that he avenged Sigurd's death.
If Verdane is not inherited by Jamke's children, Deirdre is reputed to have become a legendary and saint-like figure in said location, referred to as the "Holy Maiden". Upon learning that Seliph is her child, the populace requests for the kingdom to be annexed into Grannvale, which Seliph gladly accepts.
Personality
Deirdre is humble, kind-hearted, shy and naïve. This unassuming personality of Deirdre's is due to the isolation she has been put through for the most part of her life, a safety precaution put into place to prevent her from being influenced by the outside world. She is aware of her cursed blood and as such is forbidden from being with a man to prevent Loptous's return.
The Oosawa manga adaptation adds on to her personality by depicting her as being very confident in her magical abilities. When Sigurd informs her about Sandima's terrifying Fenrir spell, she is shown to immediately perk up in interest, and immediately offers to provide assistance by Silencing him -- which she is quite capable of doing. She's later vital to defeat Clement without fighting: she arranges an audience with him, then silences him and getting him and Mackily to surrender. She also puts up more of a fight against Manfroy, who gains the upper hand when a young Shannan is beaten while trying to back her up; that disrupts her fighting focus and allows Manfroy to brainwash her.
In the same manga adaptation, while Deirdre recalls her life in the forest as being a rather peaceful one, her childhood memories reveal that she had always harbored a curiosity about the outside world and wondered what life is like beyond the boundaries of the Spirit Forest. While Deirdre is blissfully unaware of her mother's tragic life and her Loptous heritage, she recalls being discriminated by the villagers after the Mark of Narga appeared on her forehead when she was seven years old, with only her grandmother beign consistently kind to her.
Certain authors' notes state that Deirdre, despite never fully recovering her memories, eventually discovers that Sigurd was her first husband years after his death. She keeps her thoughts and self-guilt about this fact a secret, and never could bring herself to hate Arvis for "executing" him. When Julius attacks her under Loptous's influence, Deirdre does not put up any resistance, as she probably wishes to meet her beloved Sigurd once again. The Oosawa manga also expands on this: she reveals to Alvis that she has realized their true relation (even calling him "Brother") and covers for his escape, and her last thoughts as Julius fatally strikes her down are of Sigurd.
In-Game
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War
Base Stats
- Minor Loptous Blood
- Major Holy Blood
| Starting Class | Holy Blood | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Light Priestess |  Naga Loptous | ||||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov | Lead | Gold |
| 3 | 26 | 0 | 14 | 9 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 1,000 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||||
 Nihil Renewal* Miracle* |  Light -   Staff - B |  Aura Silence Staff Circlet | |||||||||
*Due to equipped Circlet
Growth Rates
(With Holy Blood Bonuses)
| HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70% | 10% | 70% | 20% | 10% | 10% | 10% | 70% |
Overall
Deirdre joins Sigurd's army near the end of Chapter 1, and the two of them instantly become lovers as soon as she is recruited. She starts with some pretty good stats: Her Magic, Resistance, and even Speed are amazing for a Level 3 unit. She can immediately be of use by using the Silence Staff on the Boss of Chapter 1, making him harmless. She can similarly silence most any troublesome Magic units on the maps she is available.
However, despite her seemingly strong starting potential, Deirdre is a poor combat unit and she comes with quite a few problems. Despite higher than average overall growth, she has extremely lopsided growths that will not benefit her much in the long run. She will be nearly as useful to you at level 3 as she will be at Level 20 aside from her improved Magic allowing her to silence better Mage units. She is the most fragile unit in the entire game due to her extremely low HP, Defense, and Evasion. She can never Promote. She has no skills aside from Nihil, which is essentially useless to her. She can only ever wield her Aura tome as a weapon, which has an abysmal Weight of 20 and ruins her Evasion. Her low Movement makes it difficult for her to even engage in combat. All of these problems make it very difficult for her to engage in a combat role.
Deirdre does have some good points to her. Despite her limited combat capacity, she is capable of dealing enormous single-cast damage. Her Circlet is unique to her (and her daughter Julia) and bestows the Prayer and Renewal skills to her, meaning she won't be easy to take out of the fight when she is attacked. She also cannot permanently die like your other units, presumably because the antagonists of the story need her alive as part of their plan: if she is defeated in battle, she will be captured by the enemy and will return to Sigurd's army after their castle is seized. A savvy player may, then, want to use her as a decoy to drive enemies away to others.
Despite her limited usability, it can still be a good idea to try and gain her some levels to improve Seliph's Base Stats. She will be abducted during Chapter 3, and she is not deployable from the beginning to the chapter up until she is taken: this leaves little more than a full chapter to use and level her if you wish to. It is recommended that you sell her Silence Staff to Edain at some point and transfer her Gold to Sigurd before she is abducted in Chapter 3. While you can also sell her Aura tome for some Gold to transfer to Sigurd, nobody else in Sigurd's army can wield the tome.
Conversations
In Chapter 2, Deirdre may speak to Ethlyn, resulting in Ethlyn receiving a Light Sword, which will later be passed down to Leif.
Love
Deirdre is bound to Sigurd, thus she does not possess any love growths with any other male character in the game.
Fire Emblem Awakening
Base Stats
| Starting Class | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark Mage | |||||||||
| Level | HP | Str | Mag | Skl | Spd | Lck | Def | Res | Mov |
| 7 | 26 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 3 | 13 | 5 |
| Skills | Weapon | Starting Items | |||||||
 Hex Miracle |  Tome - D |  Nosferatu | |||||||
Fire Emblem Heroes
- Lady of the Forest
- She lives hidden away in the Spirit Forest. She lost the memories of her past. Appears in Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War.
Base Stats
Rarity: ✯✯✯✯✯
 | Title | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lady of the Forest | |||||
| Group | |||||
 Infantry | |||||
| Level | HP | Atk | Spd | Def | Res |
| 1 40 | 16/17/18 33/36/40 | 8/9/10 30/33/36 | 5/6/7 24/28/31 | 2/3/4 12/16/19 | 8/9/10 32/35/38 |
| Skills | Weapon | ||||
 Divine Naga Ardent Sacrifice |  Tome | ||||
Skills
Weapon
| Name | Prerequisite | Might | Range | Effects | SP Cost | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind
|
- | 4 | 2 | - | 50 | - | - |
| Elwind
|
- | 6 | 2 | - | 100 | - | - |
| Rexcalibur
|
- | 9 | 2 | - | 200 | - | - |
| Divine Naga
|
- | 14 | 2 | Effective against dragons.     Foe's bonuses (from skills like Fortify, Rally, etc.) are nullified during combat. |
400 | 
|
- |
Assist
| Name | Prerequisite | Range | Effects | SP Cost | Default | Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardent Sacrifice
|
- | 1 | Heals adjacent ally 10 HP. Unit loses 10 HP (but cannot reach 0 this way). | 150 |
|
- |
Passive
| Name | Prerequisite | Effects | SP Cost | Unlocked | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Quick Riposte 1
|
- | Unit automatically makes follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥90%. | 60 | - | B |
 Quick Riposte 2
|
Quick Riposte 1
|
Unit automatically makes follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥80%. | 120 | - | B |
 Quick Riposte 3
|
Quick Riposte 2
|
Unit automatically makes follow-up attack if attacked at HP ≥70%. | 240 |
|
B |
 Spd Ploy 1
|
- | At start of turn, all foes in cardinal directions with Res 1 or more lower than unit suffer Spd -3 until end of foe's next action. | 60 | - | C |
 Spd Ploy 2
|
Spd Ploy 1
|
At start of turn, all foes in cardinal directions with Res 1 or more lower than unit suffer Spd -4 until end of foe's next action. | 120 | - | C |
 Spd Ploy 3
|
Spd Ploy 2
|
At start of turn, all foes in cardinal directions with Res 1 or more lower than unit suffer Spd -5 until end of foe's next action. | 240 |
|
C |
Overview
Base Kit
Deirdre joins Fire Emblem Heroes with extremely powerful skills all-around. Her tome, Divine Naga, negates all the buffs an enemy has. This makes her an exceptional mage duelist all around the weapon triangle, as Blade-tomes rely heavily on buffs to deal respectable damage. This also cripples mobility-themed teams such as Horse Emblem and Armor Emblem as these buffs are negated with Divine Naga. The bonus damage to dragons is also a useful tech skills are dragons are slowly becoming more prominent in the meta, but is hardly the focus of her tome's strength.
Quick Riposte is one of the strongest skills in the game, and defines Deirdre as an enemy-phase type of unit that thrives at baiting and killing enemy mages. Quick Riposte is an ideal skill for her due to Deirdre's subpar speed. Deirdre introduces Speed Ploy to the game, and with her incredible resistance, she can very easily trigger the effect. Very few heroes in the game are able to match or challenge Deirdre's resistance. Quick Riposte combined with Speed Ploy make Deirdre a deceptively difficult hero to double, despite her low speed.
Ardent Sacrifice is a negligible skill and is best replaced with a mobility assist. Deirdre needs as much HP as she can get to keep using Quick Riposte, so sacrificing her HP to another ally is very counterproductive.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Deirdre's high attack and resistance, coupled with Divine Naga and her speed-mitigating package make her an exceptional mage duelist and a decent magic nuke if necessary. This, combined with her status as a green tome also make her one of the strongest checks against Reinhardt, who will always be a part of the metagame. With the introduction of Sacred Seals, Deirdre can carry another Ploy seal to make her a debuff type support hero.
Though her strengths are so fine-tuned, that means her weaknesses are also very blatant. Thanks to her speed, Deirdre is almost locked into using her base kit of Quick Riposte and Speed Ploy if she wants to be strong, which makes her very lacking in versatility. If she wishes to experiment with a completely new build, chances are she will get outclassed by another Green mage.
Deirdre also has one of the lowest defence stats in the game. any physical attackers can make short work of her, regardless of weapon disadvantage. Her HP is not very impressive either, making her overall poor in physical bulk. This can be mitigated by simply playing strategically and logically. Deirdre should never be in the front lines, and should never overextend unless another ally can assist her and keep her safe.
Skill Options
In terms of her weapon, there is no reason to change her Divine Naga, as it is a very powerful tome and its effects outweigh any raw damage that a Bladetome can provide. She should inherit a mobility-based assist, as Ardent Sacrifice is not a very powerful assist overall.
For her special, Deirdre can look to exploit her extremely high resistance with Iceberg or Glacies, guaranteeing her overkill damage on most opponents. Draconic Aura is also a respectable choice as she has good attack, and Moonbow and Luna are safe options as well as they scale based on enemy resistance.
For her A-slot, Deirdre has several options. The most optimal options are expensive and rare, and include Distant Defence, Warding Stance, and Mirror Stance. Those three skills play to Deirdre's strengths as an enemy-phase anti-mage powerhouse, giving her great resistance (and attack, in Mirror Stance's case) to tank more magic and dish out more punishment. The less damage she takes the more frequently she can use Quick Riposte.
More budget A-slot skills include Fury and Resistance+. The purpose of those skills is much like her more expensive skills: to play to her strengths. Fury gives her some more attack and speed, making it a much more favourable option, but it counteracts with Quick Riposte due to the damage penalty, making a standard Res+ skill feel safer.
For her Sacred Seals, Deirdre appreciates Distant Defense for better tanking, or another Ploy seal. Attack and Resistance Ploys are primary options, as they directly help Deirdre, but Defense Ploy can be used to help her physical teammates do better. Speed Ploy seal will not stack with her C-slot. A raw stat buff stat like Attack+ or Resistance+ are also great options, but any hero can use those and not any hero can use Ploy seals, so distribute your seals wisely.
Quotes
Genealogy of the Holy War
—Deirdre's capture quote
Awakening
—Deirdre's battle quote as an enemy, in Champions of Yore 1
—Deirdre's battle quote versus Henry in Champions of Yore 1
—Deirdre's battle quote as an enemy, in Champions of Yore 3
—Deirdre's battle quote versus Henry in Champions of Yore 3
—Deirdre's battle quote as an enemy, in Lost Bloodlines 1
—Deirdre's battle quote versus Tharja in Lost Bloodlines 1
—Deirdre's battle quote as an enemy, in Lost Bloodlines 3
—Deirdre's battle quote versus Tharja in Lost Bloodlines 3
—Deirdre's death quote as an enemy, in Champions of Yore 1
—Deirdre's death quote as an enemy, in Champions of Yore 3
—Deirdre's death quote as an enemy, in Lost Bloodlines 1
—Deirdre's death quote as an NPC, in Lost Bloodlines 2
—Deirdre's death quote as an enemy, in Lost Bloodlines 3
Heroes
- See Main Article: Deirdre/Heroes Quotes
Non-Canon Appearances
Fire Emblem 0 (Cipher)
Deirdre is illustrated in the trading card game Fire Emblem Cipher with the following cards:
Etymology
Deirdre is an an Irish mythological heroine who was destined to bring war and disaster. She is known by the epithet "Deirdre of the Sorrows". To avoid this, she was imprisoned. Deirdre fell in love with Naoise, a knight, but the king later executes him. Deirdre either commits suicide or dies in grief.
The story of Deirdre parallels her mythological counterpart in many ways. The Deirdre from Irish Mythology was prophesized to bring war, and was raised in isolation in a forest in an attempt to avoid that. Deirdre eventually meets Naoise, her future husband, and they fall in love instantly, similar to how Deirdre and Sigurd fall in love at first sight. Naoise, along with his two brothers and his wife would live happily for a while until the king finds them, killing Naoise and his brothers who tried to defend Deirdre, and taking her as his wife. Deirdre dies shortly after. This also parallels Arvis executing Sigurd and taking Deirdre for his wife, shortly after which she dies.
Trivia
- Deirdre possesses many similarities with Emmeryn from Awakening. They both have kind, gentle personalities, are skilled healers, and they both possess the Mark of Naga on their foreheads, indicating the Naga Holy Blood within them. They also both suffer from amnesia at some point in their respective games.
- Although Deirdre doesn't wield the Book of Naga in Genealogy of the Holy War, she wields it in Fire Emblem Heroes.
- In Fire Emblem Heroes, Deirdre shares her English VA, Erica Mendez, with Warriors' Lianna.
Gallery
- See main article: Deirdre/Gallery.